She knew many ways to cook rabbit meat, like dry pot rabbit, spicy bean rabbit, spicy rabbit head, barbecued mountain rabbit, orange peel rabbit, stir-fried shredded rabbit, stewed rabbit, braised wild rabbit, Sichuan herb rabbit hotpot, scallion stir-fried rabbit, clear stew rabbit, spicy diced rabbit, lotus-leaf-boiled rabbit, and more.
But now, with limited ingredients and cooking tools, she could only clean the rabbit meat, rub it with salt and patchouli leaves, and roast it over a fire. It barely counted as grilled rabbit skewers.
Star and Miles ate happily, finding it delicious, but Tanya thought it was just average. She decided she needed to make pottery first and then go find wild spices or vegetables outside.
She was really craving rabbit stew in an earthen pot, the kind that was soft and falling apart.
If she could find wild mushrooms and add some chili, that would be perfect.
Unlike the panic happening at the village entrance, the four of them were full and satisfied. Then, under Tanya's lead, they started kneading and pounding the clay they had dug up. This was to clean out the sand and impurities and also to remove the air inside to make it denser and easier to shape.
This step had to be done, and done well.
If the kneading wasn't thorough, the air inside the clay would expand and explode during firing.
Tanya demonstrated while explaining, then realized pounding clay was actually really hard work.
Her body was small and weak, and after just a few hits, she was already panting and tired.
Miles quickly brought over a wooden block and told her to sit down. "I'll do this kind of hard work. You just sit and watch."
Tanya waved her hand. "No. We'll do it together."
She insisted on kneading and pounding the clay herself, and even pulled Star in to help. "Let's all exercise together."
So the four of them worked until it was completely dark. Everyone was exhausted. Then Tanya said, "Okay, we'll continue tomorrow."
Star cheered loudly and ran toward the house. She was so tired, she could fall asleep as soon as she lay down.
But Tanya didn't let them off the hook. She grabbed both of them. "Wash yourselves before going to sleep."
The bamboo house was newly built, and the bamboo mats were freshly woven. She wasn't going to let two muddy kids ruin everything.
Of the four, only Miles didn't seem tired. It was like he had endless energy. If it wasn't so dark, he probably could've finished pounding the two baskets of clay all by himself.
So he was in charge of getting water for everyone. The bath area was next to the bamboo house, and since it was hot, cold water was fine.
But suddenly in the middle of the night, it started raining. Tanya got up right away and moved all the clay into the kitchen to keep it from getting washed away.
Miles also heard the noise and got up to help her.
At that moment, with everything quiet and only the sound of rain around them, they suddenly heard wings flapping.
Tanya suddenly remembered. "Oh no! I forgot about the phoenix! It's raining so hard, what if it gets soaked and dies?"
Miles stopped her. "I'll go. You go back to sleep."
Tanya thought he was going to bring the phoenix into his bamboo house, so she said, "Let it sleep in your place tonight. We'll build a separate shelter for it later when we have time."
A phoenix was still a bird after all. It would poop and pee everywhere. She didn't want it near her, so putting it in his room was perfect for her.
Miles had originally planned to tie the phoenix up in the forest. Now he was silent.
The phoenix flapped its wings in protest. It wanted to sleep in the bamboo house. It didn't want to get wet.
Miles frowned and, though clearly reluctant, grabbed its wings and dragged it into his bamboo house. Before sleeping, he warned it, "Behave! If you poop or pee and make my house dirty, I'll roast you for dinner tomorrow!"
This bamboo house had been carefully designed and built with Tanya. He had to keep it clean.
In short, after spending just a few days with her, he already knew that Tanya was extremely clean and couldn't stand anything dirty.
The rain got heavier, covering up the sounds of fear and screams coming from the village entrance.
The next morning, Uncle Arnold came over. Only then did they find out what had happened at the village entrance.
It turned out that last night, the female ancestor appeared and punished Bogart, killing him. His flesh was scattered on the ground, and only his bones were left hanging on the tree.
Star shivered in fear. She didn't expect the female ancestor to be so terrifying.
Miles had a feeling something would happen but didn't expect it to end like that.
But this result clearly shocked the entire Xiaoxi Village.
Because it was Tanya and Miles who caught Bogart. Right after they left, the female ancestor appeared. This was proof that the ancestor trusted Tanya and Miles, and the real problem in the tribe had been Bogart.
Maya, who helped Bogart falsely accuse Tanya and Miles, was also punished by the ancestor. Her face was ruined.
At this moment, Uncle Arnold couldn't help asking, "Miles, do you two want to move back? Everyone knows they wronged you. Even the chief wants you back."
"No."
"No."
Miles and Tanya answered at the same time, then smiled at each other.
Uncle Arnold didn't push them. The men in the village had to go hunting today, so he left quickly.
Miles also had to go hunting. He chose a different part of the forest from the others. Before leaving, he told Tanya, "I'll be back soon. Wait for me at home."
But Tanya didn't agree. She pulled Star along and followed him into the forest.
She knew that after the rain, mushrooms would grow in the humid forest.
She had been craving mushroom stew for a long time. She had to try her luck now.
So two adults and two kids went into the forest behind the bamboo house. This area was close to the Endless Forest, so not many villagers came here. That's why there were more wild animals and plants here than other places.
Once in the forest, Miles went off alone to hunt. Tanya took Star with her to look for edible wild vegetables and mushrooms.
She was lucky. Not long after, she saw a patch of little white umbrellas growing under a tall tree. She ran over happily but wasn't sure if they were edible. After all, in the post-apocalyptic world, most things were mutated and couldn't be eaten.
She picked some and secretly sent them into her space. Right away, she saw the guidebook glow.
[White mushroom, twin mushroom, belongs to the mushroom family. Has food and medicinal value. Rarity: 0 stars. Reward: None.]
Tanya was stunned to see there was no reward.
But since it was edible, she couldn't complain. She quietly used her disappointment as motivation and picked all the white mushrooms in the area. There were also many other edible mushrooms that didn't give any rewards.
She didn't care. She could store them in her space where they would stay fresh forever. No need to worry about them spoiling.