The next morning, the sound of birds chirping and insects buzzing woke Jiang Xuan from his dream.
He opened his sleepy eyes and found that the others were awake too, so he greeted them and went to the creek to wash his face.
The creek water was very clear and shallow, with finger-sized fish swimming back and forth in the water.
After sleeping the whole night, Jiang Xuan was very hungry, and everything looked like food to him.
However, these little fish were very slippery, and catching them wasn't easy unless you spent a long time making a fish trap.
"Splash, splash..."
Jiang Xuan washed his face with the cold creek water and immediately felt much more awake.
He suddenly thought that the creek didn't only have fish, but also some animals that were easier to catch.
Like crabs.
It was autumn at the time, the season when crab meat was fat and delicious.
Thinking about the delicious taste of crabs, Jiang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up a stick and started searching among the rocks by the creek.
The rocks were large, scattered on both sides of the creek. Jiang Xuan knew that crabs liked to hide under rocks, and if he saw a crab, he could use the stick to poke them out.
Chi Shao walked over curiously and asked, "Xuan, what are you doing?"
"Looking for crabs."
"What are crabs?"
Chi Shao was somewhat puzzled. The people of the Deer Tribe primarily hunted in the forest, occasionally eating fish, but they usually only speared fish by the creek and never went into the water, so they naturally didn't recognize crabs.
Just at this moment, Jiang Xuan poked his stick under one large rock and disturbed a big crab, which immediately ran out from under the rock, trying to escape in a panic.
Jiang Xuan quickly pressed its shell with the stick, reached from behind the crab, grabbed its four side legs, and lifted the large crab up.
Catching crabs requires skill.
Its two large pincers are very formidable but can only pinch things in front. It has no way to pinch anything to the sides or behind.
"This is it!"
Jiang Xuan felt thrilled because this crab was as big as a soup bowl and quite hefty. In his previous life, such a big crab would be considered a rare item.
"Is this a crab? It looks fierce. Can you eat it?"
Chi Shao picked up a stick and placed it on the crab's pincers. With a snap, the stick was neatly clipped in half.
"Of course, you can eat it. Once, an uncle from the tribe took me to catch crabs by the water, and we could roast them."
To make Chi Shao believe that crabs were edible, Jiang Xuan had to tell a little lie.
Chi Shao nodded without doubting Jiang Xuan's words and didn't ask further about who took him.
Gou Teng, Shi Qiu, and Nan Xing also came over. They looked at Jiang Xuan holding such a big crab with one hand, faces full of admiration.
Gou Teng said, "Xuan, you're so awesome!"
Shi Qiu nodded vigorously; this prey called a crab looked really fierce, yet Jiang Xuan caught it so easily.
Nan Xing was even more eager to try, "Xuan, can I hold it?"
"Of course, but be careful not to get pinched!"
Nan Xing glanced at the stick broken in two and quickly nodded like a pecking chick.
"Don't reach for its front; grab from the back or side, yes, just like this."
Nan Xing followed Jiang Xuan's instructions and picked up the crab. The crab's huge pincers waved left and right but couldn't reach his hand. Nan Xing laughed happily.
"Let me hold it."
"I want to try."
Gou Teng and Shi Qiu both took turns to feel what it was like to catch the big crab, finding it particularly novel.
Jiang Xuan said, "Crabs like to hide under creek rocks. You can look for them too, but it's best to have a stick. When you see a crab, use the stick to press it so you don't get pinched."
"Catch a few more, and we'll get a good meal, then have enough strength to build a shelter."
"Alright, let's go too."
Chi Shao, Gou Teng, Shi Qiu, and Nan Xing each found a stick and then imitated Jiang Xuan's way and started poking the big rocks by the creek.
In this place, human presence is rare, and these crabs have never been caught before. Not only are they large, but their numbers are also astonishingly high.
Before long, they had caught a dozen large crabs.
Jiang Xuan used flexible thin vines to tie the crabs together, forming a large string.
Interestingly, as long as there are two or more crabs gathered together, they would use their pincers to clamp onto each other's pincers or legs and would not easily let go.
This makes it extremely difficult for them to escape.
Jiang Xuan and the others joyfully carried the big crabs back to the bamboo shelter.
Chi Shao pointed at the big crabs and asked, "Xuan, how do we eat crabs?"
Gou Teng and the other three also looked at Jiang Xuan, feeling as if the hard shells all over the crabs made it impossible to start.
"It's simple, just throw them into the fire pit to roast them." Jiang Xuan was confident about roasting crabs because he had done it many times in his past life.
Jiang Xuan first stoked the fire, then cleared a space in the middle of the fire pit, threw all the large crabs in, and continued adding firewood.
The flames burned fiercely, and before long, under the high temperatures, the crabs' shells slowly turned from green-gray to an appetite-arousing red.
However, the crabs might have parasites inside, and given their size, Jiang Xuan had to ensure they were fully cooked before eating.
Jiang Xuan used a stick to push the charcoal over these crabs, covering them up.
After a long while, the crabs' shells turned black from the heat but did not become charcoal; the crab meat inside remained intact.
Jiang Xuan confirmed they were fully cooked and then pulled the crabs out from the charcoal.
Jiang Xuan said, "Sister, lend me your stone knife."
Chi Shao pulled the stone knife from her waist and handed it to Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan first set the largest crab aside, letting it cool slightly, then twisted off its pincers and legs one by one and set them aside.
Then, he used the stone knife to pry open and cut off the curved belly of the big crab, as it couldn't be eaten.
Next, he used the stone knife to pry open the crab shell, removed the crab stomach, heart, gills, and intestines one by one, explaining that these should not be eaten as they might be poisonous.
Upon hearing the possibility of poisoning, the four became nervous and firmly remembered the parts of the crab that shouldn't be eaten.
"Alright, the rest can be eaten."
The large crabs emitted steam, their crab roe full, crab meat white and fragrant.
Jiang Xuan scooped the crab roe into the crab shell and then shaved a bamboo strip, handing it to Chi Shao, "Sister, try it first."
Chi Shao took the crab shell, used the bamboo strip to pick up some crab roe, and put it into her mouth. The delicious taste blossomed on her taste buds, making her eyes shine.
"Delicious!"
Chi Shao exclaimed and then began to eat, causing Gou Teng and the others to drool.
Jiang Xuan laughed, "The meat is also very tasty."
He cut open the large crab, distributing crab meat to Gou Teng, Shi Qiu, and Nan Xing, who were swallowing their saliva on the side.
After eating the crab meat, the three were eager to swallow their tongues; they had never tasted such a delicious flavor.
Then, Jiang Xuan used stones to crack open the big pincers and crab legs, extracting the crab meat from inside to eat.
For the remaining crabs, Jiang Xuan let Chi Shao and Gou Teng and the others take turns to work on them, while he guided from the side.
After decomposing several crabs, Chi Shao and the three boys thoroughly remembered the crab decomposition procedure and could accurately pick out the inedible parts.
After decomposing the large crabs, they didn't care about crab roe or crab meat; they directly gnawed at them. Whatever they couldn't reach, they smashed open with rocks, eating quickly.
Before long, more than a dozen large crabs were eaten up.
Gou Teng cracked open the last crab pincer and stuffed the crab meat into his mouth with relish, "It tastes good, but there's too much shell and not enough meat; I didn't even get full before it was gone."
Everyone nodded; indeed, there was too little crab meat.
Jiang Xuan laughed and said, "This thing isn't meant to be a staple food anyway; let's eat something else. If you eat too many crabs in one day, you'll get a stomachache."
Gou Teng and the others felt it was a pity that such a delicious thing couldn't be eaten more.
However, they didn't dare to risk stomach pain to catch more crabs to eat, so they had to wait until next time.
For now, the few of them ate some wild fruit and plant roots to fill their stomachs, and then began working on building a house.
The bamboo shelter was too simple; to live here long-term, they must build a house that could truly protect against wind and rain.