RIIDMDR chapter 105

 

After finishing the tofu pudding, Nan Xu put away the bowls and chopsticks, then returned to the kitchen.

He laid the washed and dried gauze flat on the wooden rack, scooped the pudding from the pot onto it, covered it with a wooden lid, and placed a medium-sized stone on top.

Yao Lin returned with the bowl half an hour later. At that time, Nan Xu was lifting the wooden lid and moving the stone off the tofu. The water had been squeezed out of the tofu pudding and dripped into the basin under the rack. The tofu inside the gauze was white, tender, and neatly shaped.

“Zhuang Wu saw me eating tofu pudding and couldn’t stop drooling beside me,” Yao Lin said to Nan Xu.

Nan Xu paused for a moment, realizing that he had forgotten about the two hardworking wild boar demons who lived under the bamboo mountain behind the house.

They had been getting along for quite a while. They had behaved themselves and worked hard without complaint during the autumn harvest. Now that he had made something new, they should get to taste it, too.

With this thought in mind, Nan Xu picked up a kitchen knife, sliced the tofu into a grid-like pattern, lifted several pieces, and placed them in a large bowl. He handed the bowl to Yao Lin. “Help me take this tofu to Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu.”

Yao Lin took the bowl and asked, “Do they eat it the same way as tofu pudding?”

“You can eat it directly, though the texture won’t be as good,” Nan Xu replied. He casually explained a few tofu dishes, such as cabbage stewed tofu, home-style braised tofu, tomato tofu, and mapo tofu[mfn]Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province. It consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension made from douban (fermented broad bean and chili paste) and douchi (fermented black beans), along with minced meat, usually beef or pork.[/mfn].

After he finished speaking, Nan Xu met Yao Lin’s bright eyes and paused. “Did you memorize it?”

Yao Lin nodded. Though their bird tribe’s original form had small heads, their brain capacity was definitely up to par. “Word for word.”

Nan Xu was still uneasy. As he watched Yao Lin’s departing figure, he called out, “Recite it verbatim—no adding your own ideas!”

Yao Lin was reliable when it came to serious matters, but he was absolutely uncontrollable when it came to altering recipes. If Nan Xu didn’t warn him a few more times, Nan Xu feared for the safety of Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu.

Looking at the basket of tofu, Nan Xu pondered for only a few moments before deciding their fate.

He put half of the tofu in a bucket of water to store it, and he cut the other half into evenly sized cubes. Then, he found two wooden boxes, lined them with clean straw, and placed the cubes inside to ferment and grow mold. After that, he poured half a pot of oil into a wok, heated it, and fried the remaining cubes. When the tofu cubes turned golden and floated to the surface, he scooped them out and drained the oil. Fragrant tofu puffs were done.

Nan Xu picked one up and tasted it. Though it had no seasonings, the tofu flavor was rich. The outside was crisp and the inside was soft and tender — an excellent texture.

That evening’s meal naturally featured tofu. The mapo tofu featured generous amounts of chili and Sichuan peppercorns — the numbing heat made one’s tongue water and lips tremble from the spice, yet it was incredibly appetizing. Each spoonful went into the mouth, and it was impossible to stop.

In the pork and cabbage stew, the tofu puffs soaked up the broth so that each bite released a burst of savory vegetable flavor mixed with the freshness of tofu — a different kind of delightful enjoyment.

Everyone ate until their whole bodies were hot, and Nan Xu’s forehead was covered in sweat. In the chilly winter, it felt wonderfully refreshing.

Not far from the courtyard, under the bamboo forest, Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu were also eating heartily. They had lived in the mountains for so long, and apart from the grains the owner had promised them, they had rarely received gifts from him. So, they were pleasantly surprised to receive tofu today.

Following Yao Lin’s instructions, the tofu turned out soft and tender when stewed. Zhuang Wu’s rough hands clumsily tried to pick up the tofu with chopsticks several times, only to end up crushing it into pieces.

That afternoon, while feeding the pigs, Zhuang Wu had seen Yao Lin eating tofu pudding—the white, tender stuff soaked in savory sauce and sprinkled with scallions that released a fragrant smell and wasn’t greasy at all. One look, and you could tell it was made by the owner, making Zhuang Wu drool uncontrollably.

After returning home and telling his brother about the dish, the owner had someone deliver a portion to them too. It looked similar, so it had to taste good.

After breaking it apart several times, Zhuang Wu grew impatient and stood up. “I’ll go get a spoon.”

He had first seen spoons at the owner’s place. Since everything there was good, he and his brother had made a few of their own. However, as rough men who usually drank soup straight from the bowl, they rarely used the spoons. Who knew they’d actually be useful for this dish? The owner was really resourceful and well-prepared.

Zhuang Wu sighed internally but continued eating. Zhuang Si ate in silence, planning to follow the owner’s example by opening a vegetable garden nearby next spring. Though the outside world had thin spiritual energy, the crops grown on Zhuyu Mountain’s main peak carried a trace of it. If they could absorb it through food, it would benefit their bodies. Since they would be working there for a few years, they shouldn’t waste such a valuable resource.

Zhuang Si glanced up at his brother devouring food across from him. His hair wasn’t as coarse as before, and his boar fur must have become glossier, too—all thanks to living on the mountain. The spiritual contract he had signed to survive under the nine-tailed fox demon had turned out to be a new kind of opportunity for the two brothers.

—

After the snow melted, the ground was damp. Fortunately, the courtyard was paved with bluestone slabs. Still, the chill in the air seeped right through clothes. After getting up, Nan Xu tightened his jacket, washed his face, and thought that the sun in the sky today looked just like the light in a refrigerator — bright but not warm.

He opened the system’s weather forecast, and sure enough, the temperature had dropped several more degrees. At this rate, most of the mountain’s winter would stay below zero. The mountain was sparsely inhabited and high in altitude — no wonder the cold penetrated everywhere.

After fermenting for a day, residue floated on top of the grape juice. Nan Xu pressed it down with a spoon, added a generous amount of sugar, and covered it again to continue fermenting.

Afterward, he walked around the main hall, chose a spot, moved things aside, and carried a bamboo basket out the door.

He hauled a load of stone bricks, along with some clay and sand, back from the earthen kiln.

“What are you planning to do?” Tingchuan asked as he entered and saw a pile of materials in the courtyard.

Nan Xu was mixing clay with a shovel. Hearing Tingchuan’s voice, Nan Xu realized it was late. He used to get hungry on time, but now it seemed that several hours could pass without him noticing.

“I’m building a fireplace in the house. It’ll be warmer in the winter when we burn wood,” Nan Xu said.

He spent a long time comparing various heating methods from the human world before choosing the fireplace.

In the rural area where he lived, few households had fireplaces. It was difficult to collect enough firewood in the winter, so most people bought charcoal and used fire basins instead. Later, when their lives improved, some families installed air conditioners, though they rarely used them in the winter.

As he grew older and left for work in the city, he learned that some people even had floor heating. However, such systems weren’t practical for this wooden house. He had also considered a northeastern-style heated bed platform, but the wooden structure made that impossible, too.

After hearing his explanation, Tingchuan had an idea. He inspected the materials in the yard and went out to find heat-resistant stone slabs for firebricks. Zhixing put down his herbs and came to help mix the clay, too.

Since Nan Xu was human and didn’t get hungry, there was no need for lunch, and everyone in the inn was a demon. Seeing the empty kitchen, Yao Lin ran in, saying he wanted to show off his cooking skills. Everyone responded with polite “Mm-hmm”s and “Oh”s, but no one promised to eat it. After all, Yao Lin had “shown off” many times already. The inn’s tolerance for him had reached its limit. As long as he didn’t create another biological weapon, such as the fish sauce, they could compliment his slightly burnt dishes as “improved.”

For safety reasons, Nan Xu placed the fireplace far from the wall, leaving a vent and an ash catcher. He built the hearth with an eight-shaped layout and added a reverse flue on top to reduce heat loss. After a busy afternoon, the mixed smells from the kitchen didn’t bother them, and the general shape of the fireplace took form before nightfall.

After making some final adjustments and installing the fireplace door, Nan Xu finished by evening.

The next day was cloudy. The sun was hidden by thick clouds, and the wind whistled loudly. Early that morning, Zhixing ran into the courtyard, gathered an armful of firewood, and lit the fire inside the hearth. After closing the hall door, the fire blazed warmly and the indoor temperature rose noticeably. The three demons and one human gathered around the fire, none of them wanting to move away. Tingchuan even dragged over a recliner and lay down.

Nan Xu: “…”

When it came to enjoying life, no one could surpass Tingchuan in Nan Xu’s opinion.

Nan Xu nudged Tingchuan with his foot. “Aren’t you feeding your chicks?”

With his eyes half-closed and listening to the crackling fire, Tingchuan said lazily, “They won’t die right away.”

Nan Xu: “But—”

Tingchuan cut him off, speaking slowly, “They’re grown chickens now. They should learn to escape their cage and find food on their own.”

Nan Xu couldn’t argue with that. He turned to Yao Lin and Zhixing, who were huddled near the fireplace, and asked, “Are you demons this afraid of the cold?”

So who exactly is the human here?

Zhixing smiled awkwardly and shrank his neck. Yao Lin replied, “Well, demons like warm places, too!”

After all, bird demons migrate south for warmth before winter!

Faced with such an answer, Nan Xu was speechless.

He didn’t want to move either. However, after lying on the sofa for a while, he couldn’t stand it anymore—not because of the cold, but because, while demons could go years without eating, he’d probably turn into an ice cube if he went three days without food.

Nan Xu went to the kitchen to cook breakfast and claimed the small table, refusing to let the three lazy demons sneak a bite. Three pairs of eyes stared at him, but Nan Xu didn’t relent, focusing instead on his system interface.

Every few days, the system store released limited-time items, sometimes discounted and sometimes limited edition. While cooking, he’d heard a familiar chime, meaning new goods were available.

When he opened the store, the homepage displayed limited-edition yarn in random colors.

Nan Xu’s eyes lit up instantly. Though the price was steep, after enduring the system for so long, he had learned the truth: If you need it, you must buy it or you’ll regret it later.

Judging by the dropping temperature, the two cotton jackets he’d gotten from the system, layered over old T-shirts, were definitely not enough to fend off the cold winter. In this case, wool sweaters would be perfect.

Fearing that it would disappear the next second, Nan Xu hurriedly bought all ten sets of limited-edition yarn. To others, it looked like he had suddenly become excited mid-meal and started eating even faster.

Seeing this, the three demons quietly withdrew their gazes, giving up on getting a bite.

Forget it, their owner clearly looked like someone fiercely protective of his food.

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