Beauty and the Beasts

“It worked!” Bai Qingqing ecstatically exclaimed. She looked up at Cortis, then turned to look in Parker’s direction. “Parker, come and see… What the hell!”

The fire in the house was blazing, and the stove and pot could barely be seen through the flames, which were half as tall as a human.

“Parker, are you trying to burn the house down?” Bai Qingqing yelled.

Parker’s hand, which had been adding firewood to the fire, paused, and he quickly threw the firewood behind him.

“Forget it. We managed to make rice pulp. Come and see.” Bai Qingqing gestured to him.

Parker heaved a sigh of relief, then immediately stood up and walked towards them. He looked up at Cortis.

Cortis shot back a cold glance at him and the corner of his mouth curved up in a cold smile, indicating his indifference.

Parker secretly sneered at the snake. If you’re so capable, don’t hide your tail behind you.

Bai Qingqing was thrilled. Oblivious to the heated and tense atmosphere between the two of them, she continued to ask Parker, “What do you think? Didn’t we do a good job?”

“Mm.” Parker repeatedly nodded his head. A look of surprise then came over his face when he took a good look at the stone mill.

He reached his hand into the rice pulp and pinched two of his fingers as he asked, “Is this really made from rice? The rice’s still stuck between the stones, right? This has got to be the water that the rice was soaked in.”

Bai Qingqing didn’t mind being questioned. She smiled and replied, “No, it isn’t. The gap between the stones is so small. Could you stop touching the rice pulp? Your hand is so dirty.”

Bai Qingqing slapped his forearm.

Parker pulled back his hand, thinking that Bai Qingqing made sense. He continued to ask, “Are you thinking of making steamed rice? Are you going to steam this so that it solidifies like a steamed egg?”

“All you know is steamed egg.” Bai Qingqing held back her laughter and replied, “It’s not the same. There are a lot of foods you can make with ground rice.”

If only she could bring Parker and Cortis to her world. Their reactions would be so much fun.

Before long, they finished grinding all the rice in the bamboo tube. Bai Qingqing didn’t grind any more rice as the rice pulp would take a long time to dry during the rainy season.

A layer of water appeared on top of the rice pulp after it settled. Bai Qingqing poured away the layer of water before spreading the rice pulp on the lid of the stone pot to make rice cakes.

The aroma of the fish and prawns wafted through the air when Bai Qingqing removed the lid from the stone pot. She then glanced inside the pot and praised Parker. “Parker, you did a great job steaming this. Seems like we should steam the fish and prawns over a large fire in the future.”

“Ah?” Parker grabbed a fish and bit into it. It indeed tasted better. The fish was unbelievably soft.

Parker’s hand reached into the pot again before he finished eating the fish.

Bai Qingqing quickly grabbed a bowl and chopsticks, then filled the bowl with fish and prawns. She turned to Cortis and said, “This is the food we used to make. You haven’t eaten it before. Try some.”

“Okay.” Cortis swayed his snake tail and moved towards Bai Qingqing. Afraid that Cortis would get fish bones stuck in his throat, she picked up a river prawn and blew it before bringing it to his lips.

Cortis opened his mouth and swallowed the prawn without a second thought.

“How does it taste?” Bai Qingqing looked at Cortis in anticipation.

“It’s alright,” Cortis replied. Then, seeing the faint disappointment in Bai Qingqing’s eyes, he quickly added, “It tastes better than roasted meat. I rarely get to eat tasty food, so I like it a lot.”

At least, the prawn tasted better than roasted meat. He really did like it. After all, he rarely came across good-tasting food. However, he still thought that swallowing an entire prey whole was more satisfying.

A smile spread across Bai Qingqing’s face. She shoved the bowl into Cortis’s hands. “Have more of it, then.”

Regret filled Parker’s heart as he watched a large bowl of food land in the snake beastman’s hands. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have made such a huge fire.

The rice pulp on the lid of the stone pot had visibly solidified. Bai Qingqing tried to flip it with her chopsticks, but the rice pulp was too soft and immediately disintegrated the moment she touched it. By the time she managed to completely flip the rice pulp, it had been broken up into several pieces.