Chapter 327 - 213: If It’s For You, Eat It

Chapter 327: Chapter 213: If It’s For You, Eat It

"Are you that desperate for a bite? I haven’t even started cooking and you’re already drooling?"

Lin Chen gave the little glutton an amused look and asked, "Didn’t you say you and your mom don’t get along? Normally, you’d hate everything about her. How can you still have such fond memories of this?"

"I just dislike who she is now and the things she does. She was really good to me when I was a kid, and octopus balls were one of my favorite foods back then. I get nostalgic for them if I go too long without eating any."

"You know how it is. Women are more sentimental. What can you do?"

Lin Chen nodded in understanding. ’So it isn’t that their relationship is bad, just that they lack companionship and communication. To put it bluntly, the girl is going through a rebellious phase with her mom. He was tempted to offer some advice, but then he felt it wasn’t his place to meddle in her family’s affairs. Besides, they’d only known each other for a few days. They were casual friends at best, nowhere near being close friends. It was better not to get involved.’

The sea urchin shells heated up faster than he’d imagined. In just two minutes, the deer fat inside began to visibly melt.

He used chopsticks to rub the piece of deer fat all around the inside of the shells, making sure every corner was coated in grease. This would keep the balls from sticking later on.

After heating them a little longer, he removed the rendered deer fat and ladled potato batter into each of the six sea urchin shells, filling them about a third of the way.

SIZZLE—

The moment the batter was poured into the shells, the shallow layer of grease at the bottom made a tempting sound, and the faint aroma of animal fat began to fill the air.

"This is it! The process is so familiar."

Erica grew even more excited. Unable to sit still, she began to pace around the charcoal fire, holding her camera and filming the entire process from various angles like a professional photographer.

「Not far away.」

Bartel, who had been watching them the whole time, tilted his head in confusion.

’What are those two up to now? Running all over the place, one minute up the mountain, the next down to the sea... Aren’t they just making dinner? Does it need to be this complicated?’

Once curiosity is piqued, it rarely fades until it’s satisfied.

Without much hesitation, he stood up and walked over, still holding a small, charred piece of leftover venison.

Hearing his footsteps, Erica looked up. "You’re back? I thought you weren’t interested in Lin’s cooking."

"I’m just not interested in his roasted steaks. No harm in looking, right? It’s not like I’m going to steal your food."

Bartel was already pushing forty, and as a Hunter skilled in tracking, he was extremely patient. Even after Erica’s two consecutive snide remarks, he showed no sign of irritation.

His gaze soon landed on the six sea urchin shells arranged neatly on the bamboo grilling rack, and he blinked in confusion.

"What’s in there, batter? Where did you get flour?"

"Guess?"

"It doesn’t look like flour, so what could it be...?"

Bartel was suddenly intrigued. He’d only come over out of curiosity, but he hadn’t expected to find something that looked so much like batter.

"Worthy of a chef, to be able to whip up something like this. I’ll admit, you’ve got some real skills. No wonder she calls you the most popular chef in the wilderness survival community."

"No, no, no, I think you’re misunderstanding," Erica said, quickly waving her hand and pointing to her wristband. "I didn’t give him that title. Lin’s fans did."

"He’s so popular in the survival world that a restaurant has a business deal with the production team and him. Whenever he makes something on the show that’s suitable for a restaurant menu, they replicate it."

"The partnership started last season in Alaska. The restaurant’s business was pretty bad because it was in a remote location, but ever since they started working with Lin and the show, it’s been packed solid almost every day. If that doesn’t prove how popular he is, what does?"

"It’s that big of a deal?"

Bartel never imagined there was a story like that behind the title. He couldn’t help but shoot a few more glances at the young man from Great Xia.

Just then, Erica noticed the piece of meat he was clutching and let out a snort of laughter.

"You’re eating *that* for dinner? Ha! What is it, a roasted rock? And you have the nerve to look down on Lin’s venison steaks after charring your own food like this? So, you like burnt meat, do you?"

"This?" Bartel, still not annoyed, smiled and held up his skewer. "I’m used to it. A couple of times, I ate rare venison after a hunt in the wild and got such bad diarrhea I nearly collapsed. I was in the hospital for two weeks recovering. Ever since then, I only eat my venison well-done when I’m out here."

Hearing this, Lin Chen couldn’t resist chiming in.

"It likely had nothing to do with the rare venison. You probably got diarrhea from something else you consumed, like unboiled stream water, or maybe some unripe fruits or roots. It could have even been from getting a chill in the night."

"Huh?"

Bartel froze, thought back for a moment, and said, "Now that you mention it, that might be it. I was in a rush that day, and I was really thirsty, so I drank some water straight from a mountain stream."

"How’s your digestive system in general? Do you get an upset stomach from cold, spicy, or fried foods?"

"I’m fine with a little, but not too much. And my stomach’s gotten even more sensitive since I was discharged from the hospital. Now I don’t even dare to eat much ice cream."

"That’s it, then. It was most likely a combination of factors. The rare venison was just a minor part of it. The main cause was drinking unboiled water, combined with your already sensitive stomach. Eating the undercooked venison on top of all that is what triggered the diarrhea."