Chapter 49: Heartbeat Value Explosion

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Heartbeat Value Explosion

They had personally witnessed that ever since Fu Feng arrived, their own portions had shrunk.

As for Fu Feng, after learning his lesson the first time, he knew that if he wanted to eat more, he had to be faster.

’He’d have to eat even faster once Luan Ting sits down,’ he resolved.

Luan Ting had long heard that Su Luoluo cooked for Xiao Ye and her other beastmen, but he hadn’t expected the place to be so well-arranged.

There was a round wooden table and round chairs.

Even the cooking area had an earthen stove, covered by a small pavilion with a thatched roof.

To the upper left stood several cabinets, displaying a dazzling array of pottery of all shapes and sizes that Su Luoluo had brought back.

Everything here looked incredibly comfortable. It was worlds better than the tribe’s communal kitchen.

Over there, they still just arranged a few stones out in the open and used stone pots. When it rained, they had to drag everything under a large tree, only to move it all back out when the sun returned.

He suddenly understood why Su Luoluo was unwilling to cook back at the tribe.

By comparison, the conditions here were far superior.

Seeing him approach, Su Luoluo pointed to the chair beside her. "Sit here! The hotpot will be ready soon."

Luan Ting sat down as she instructed, but just as he placed his bowl on the table...

Su Luoluo picked it up and put a mix of colorful ingredients in his bowl.

He was still looking confused when Su Luoluo explained, "This is called a dipping sauce. When you eat hotpot, you can dip the food from the pot into it."

’Dipping sauce?’

The other three listened and glanced into their own bowls. She hadn’t bothered to explain it to them in such detail.

’She really does treat Luan Ting differently,’ they all thought.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Su Luoluo began adding ingredients to the pot, explaining as she went, "With hotpot, you just cook whatever you feel like eating. If there’s something you want, feel free to add it yourselves."

Mo Xuan was a carnivore. Eyeing the pork, he dumped the entire plate in without a second thought.

Su Luoluo was at a loss for words.

’That’s... not quite how you’re supposed to do it.’

Her lips twitched, and she added, "Only put in as much as you’re going to eat. That way the food won’t get overcooked."

The moment she finished speaking, three pairs of chopsticks descended into the pot, making the freshly added meat vanish in an instant.

Su Luoluo fell silent once more.

However, the three of them weren’t completely thoughtless. They didn’t touch the portion of meat meant for Su Luoluo; after all, she was the one who had made the meal.

As for Luan Ting’s share... the three of them devoured it with a tacit understanding.

’His own fault for being too slow.’

Luan Ting was stunned. He’d never imagined a simple meal could be so competitive.

Especially Fu Feng. He was a notoriously neat freak of a beastman, yet here he was, perfectly fine with a group of people eating out of the same pot.

Fu Feng, of course, had no idea what Luan Ting was thinking. He was still a neat freak, but he’d made a temporary exception for Su Luoluo.

’Don’t ask why. The reason was simple: get fussy about it and the food would be gone.’

In the end, it was Su Luoluo who had to place a few pieces of meat in Luan Ting’s bowl.

Luan Ting accepted the meat. As he dipped it in the sauce and put it in his mouth, a sour and spicy flavor exploded on his tongue. It was incredibly appetizing; he immediately wanted more.

This was leagues better than the roasted meat back in the tribe!

The other three’s eyes were already sparkling. They devoured the meat, then the fish, then moved on to the various wild greens. They’d never realized these plants could have such distinct and wonderful flavors.

All in all, it was an incredibly satisfying meal.

Luan Ting had been a bit lost at first, but by the end, he had blended in seamlessly, a look of pure enjoyment on his face as he ate.

And it wasn’t just them; Su Luoluo also ate her fill with great satisfaction.

The consequence of eating so much was an audible burp.

She’d expected them to be disgusted, but to her surprise, one by one, the others started burping too.

The five of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Before Luan Ting left, Su Luoluo made a point to tell him, "You should come here to eat from now on!"

After eating something so delicious, Luan Ting didn’t refuse, and agreed with a smile.

After the incident where she’d taken the other three out and left Luan Ting behind, Su Luoluo had learned her lesson. She couldn’t push him away.

’Who knows if Su Nuannuan might use this as an excuse to stir up trouble?’

Eating together was a good solution. This way, Luan Ting would be integrated with the group, no matter what they did.

...

After lunch and a midday nap, Su Luoluo went to find Su Yang to tell him she was going to purify salt.

The crude salt couldn’t be stored for too long, or it would clump together.

While the sun was still strong, she decided to refine the salt.

As soon as Su Yang heard Su Luoluo was going to purify salt, he immediately gathered everyone in the tribe to observe and learn.

As the leader, he had both the authority and the charisma to do so.

Once they learned the process from Su Luoluo, their tribe could become self-sufficient in salt production.

After all, Su Luoluo had already discovered the Salt Well.

The salt refining would take place in the tribal square.

Before she began, Su Luoluo had Su Yang arrange for some grass to be burned into ash.

She then took one of her new pottery jars, filled it with water, and added a handful of salt from a Beast Skin Bag.

Then, she waited for the sediment in the brine to settle.

The crude salt was full of impurities. As it dissolved, a layer of debris and dirt floated to the surface, which Su Luoluo skimmed off with a strainer she had woven from willow branches.

Next, she grabbed a handful of ash from the pile of burnt grass and tossed it into the water.

The tribespeople had been watching intently, but when they saw Su Luoluo toss a handful of ash into the jar, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

"That’s salt for eating! How can anyone eat it if she throws ash in?"

"Yeah, does Su Luoluo even know what she’s doing?!"

Watching from the sidelines, Lan Ya sneered, "I told you she didn’t know what she was doing. Who throws ash into salt?"

Su Nuannuan chimed in at the perfect moment to add fuel to the fire. "If she adds ash, won’t the finished salt be full of ash too?"

Su Luoluo couldn’t be bothered to respond to them, merely sweeping a cool gaze over them. "Why don’t you try, then?"

Her words were met with immediate silence.

After a while, the wood ash she had added to the brine caused the remaining impurities to settle, leaving the water much clearer.

The tribespeople saw this and were secretly amazed.

As Su Luoluo added more wood ash, she instructed, "Go prepare some fine sand and some coarse sand."

The beastmen standing by had already been ordered by the leader to assist Su Luoluo in any way. At her words, they immediately rushed off to find the sand.

After giving the order, Su Luoluo turned to Luan Ting. "Could I trouble you to get some of the black charcoal from beneath my cooking stove?"

Luan Ting left to do it without a word of protest.

A short while later, all three groups returned with the requested items.

Su Luoluo produced another jar she had prepared earlier. She layered the coarse sand, fine sand, and charcoal inside, then poured the cleared brine over it.

There was a hole at the bottom of this filtering jar, placed over another jar to catch the drippings.

Once the filtered water had collected, she had someone start a fire. She brought over her cooking pot and poured the purified water into it.

She began to stir it slowly over the heat.

Gradually, a layer of salt began to crystallize around the edges of the pot.

"Look! White salt is actually forming!" someone shouted from the crowd of beastmen.

"[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Mo Xuan’s Heartbeat Value has skyrocketed. His current value is approaching 80.]"

"[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Xiao Ye’s Heartbeat Value has skyrocketed. His current value is approaching 70.]"

"[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Fu Feng’s Heartbeat Value has skyrocketed. His current value is approaching 70.]"

"[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Luan Ting’s Heartbeat Value has skyrocketed. His current value is approaching 70.]"

"[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Nantu’s Heartbeat Value has increased, bringing the current value to 0.]"

Su Luoluo was in the middle of stirring the brine when the system’s voice suddenly rang out in her mind. She was startled at first, but her surprise quickly turned to ecstasy.

’Showing off my intelligence really racks up points fast!’

’Especially Nantu. He’s a classic intellectual.’

Before Su Luoluo could even fully savor her delight, the system delivered more good news.

"[Ding! Due to the rapid increase in the Host’s Heartbeat Values, the system has decided to grant a reward. Please accept your reward.]"

Su Luoluo raised an eyebrow. "A new reward? What is it?"