RIIDMDR chapter 29

 

Nan Xu was surprised at first, but then he understood. He looked at Tingchuan and smiled. “Was Ningju’s noise keeping you awake?”

Tingchuan grumbled and felt exhausted; his eyelids drooped.

Unable to rest, the man and the demon chatted by the stream. Upon hearing that dinner would be a fish feast, Tingchuan’s mood grew even more sullen.

“Do you dislike the taste of fish, or are you too lazy to pick out the bones?” Nan Xu asked.

Tingchuan replied, “It’s not tasty, yet you still find the bones.”

Nan Xu thought for a moment and understood. “Then I’ll make you something you won’t need to pick the bones out of tonight.”

Twenty minutes later, Nan Xu washed the fish along with the green onions, ginger, and cilantro. He returned to the courtyard with a puppy and a fox demon.

Ning Ju seemed unaware of his exhaustion; he was still frolicking and running around the courtyard. From time to time, he transformed back into his original form and crashed around a bit. Fortunately, Xu Ji had helped reinforce the fence by the nursery earlier in the day; otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to withstand Ning Ju’s antics.

“Brother Nan, I’m going to sleep in the upstairs room tonight.” Seeing Nan Xu enter the yard, Ning Ju dove over. Nan Xu’s basket, filled with fish, knives, scissors, and other items, nearly frightened Ning Ju into dropping it.

Thankfully, Ting Chuan was quick. A split second before Ning Ju could touch the basket, he grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him to the side.

“Slow down,” Nan Xu said sternly. His heartbeat only slowed down after he saw Ning Ju stop a meter away.

Ning Ju also noticed Nan Xu’s displeasure and realized he had nearly gotten into trouble. His hands tugged at his collar, his eyes fixed on Nan Xu.

Nan Xu thought of the little bird that perched sweetly on his shoulder every day, and his heart softened. “Which room?”

Ting Chuan, who was standing nearby, saw the pitiful expression on the little bird’s face as it nearly got into trouble. Nan Xu’s expression changed immediately, and he turned away silently.

Like many children, Ning Ju’s timidity came and went quickly. After hearing this, he pointed to the room on the left upstairs and said, “I can climb from the windowsill to the roof.”

Nanxu:? !

Nanxu: “Don’t stay!”

Rejected by Nan Xu, Ning Ju retreated and chose the room on the right. He promised this time it was just because of the good scenery.

The bed in the room on the right side of the second floor was empty. Since Ning Ju had chosen this place, Nan Xu couldn’t let them sleep like this. Nan Xu ordered the mattress from the mall that he had been looking at for a long time. He picked it up and spread it flat on the bed. The mattress had springs. As soon as Nanxu laid it down, Ning Ju jumped on it.

Nan Xu had no idea where Ning Ju got all that energy. His last bout of spiritual exhaustion seemed to have limited his performance. Then again, if he hadn’t been so restless, he wouldn’t have ventured into the mountains at just over a hundred.

It was too late to start making toys now. Nan Xu looked around the mall and spent his last twenty silver coins on a wooden Rubik’s Cube. He scrambled it and threw it to Ning Ju, asking him to figure it out.

Ning Ju was naturally restless, but he had never seen a Rubik’s Cube before. After trying it a few times, he found it incredibly interesting.

After taking care of the children, Nan Xu breathed a sigh of relief and went downstairs to cook. He planned to steam, braise, make sweet and sour, and pan-fry the fish. He also planned to make fish balls.

He chose a tender fish and filleted it. Then, he removed the bones, skin, and red mud. Then, he chopped the fish into small pieces, cleaned them, and pounded them in a stone mortar. This process was long and tedious. After only a few dozen strokes, Nan Xu’s arms ached, so he asked Tingchuan, who was on his daily kitchen rounds, to take over.

Tingchuan’s stamina was clearly no match for Nan Xu’s. After pounding for around twenty minutes, Nan Xu stopped when he saw that the fish had become mushy in the stone mortar. He transferred the fish to a bowl, added salt, scallion ginger water, and starch, and mixed everything together. Then, he kneaded the fish into balls and placed them in the pot to cook.

The finished fish balls were white, tender, and perfectly springy. Their delicious, chewy texture was palpable even before tasting them.

“This fish has no bones, but it’s really too much work,” Nan Xu sighed.

Leaning against the kitchen doorway with his arms hanging loosely at his sides, Ting Chuan countered, “Isn’t it me who’s doing all the work?”

—

The countless ways of preparing seafood on the bamboo table that evening caught Ning Ju’s eye. He abandoned his warmed Rubik’s Cube and quickly moved a stool to sit at the table, waiting patiently for dinner. Ning Sui, who had been strolling around, also returned, amazed by the dishes on the table.

A few people gathered around the table. Ning Sui took a chopstick and scooped up a piece of steamed fish. The dish showcased the fish’s tenderness and smoothness perfectly. After dipping it in the broth, the salty aroma lingered, making her mouth water.

“No wonder Xiaoju lost his appetite after visiting the inn owner. My mother was so worried that she hired many chefs, but Xiaoju always complained that the food wasn’t as good as at the inn,” Ning Sui told Nan Xu after savoring the fish.

Nan Xu glanced at Ning Ju, who had been battling sweet and sour fish for three hundred rounds, and a slight smile rose to his lips. Back then, he had nearly gone crazy from being trapped in the mountains when this psychic bird suddenly appeared. Although the food was limited, the bird was more than willing to share. The little bird’s belly bulged every day; it couldn’t resist its gluttony and kept begging for food. It ate exactly the same way he does now.

“I’ve always said Brother Nan is the best cook. This fish is so delicious.” Ning Ju’s mouth was smeared with sweet and sour sauce and he looked particularly amused. “I want to live with Brother Nan and eat delicious food every day.”

Ning Sui’s face darkened at this. When the Bird Tribe ate fish, the more refined ones would toss all sorts of seasonings on it. They’d long since accepted the fishy smell. But my little brother’s palate was incredibly picky. If he didn’t like something, he wouldn’t eat a single bite. If it hadn’t driven his mother crazy, she wouldn’t have taken him on a multi-day flight into the mountains.

Seeing my little brother enjoy his meal so much must have relieved his mother.

Tingchuan poured himself a bowl of fish ball soup with bok choy and was quite satisfied. The fish balls mingled with the fragrant bok choy and had no fishy smell and a unique texture. That night, Ning Ju and Ning Sui took up residence in the second-floor room. Nan Xu returned to his room after finishing his laundry. Candles were lit in the bedroom, and the days of climbing into bed in the dark were finally over.

Nan Xu lay in bed scrolling through the system and wondering why the reward for the chicken coop task hadn’t been paid out yet. Each time a task was completed, the markings in the task column turned gray and disappeared once the system reward was paid out. But ten hours had passed since they finished building the chicken coop that morning, and the markings on this task were still black with no sign of fading.

There was no way, Nan Xu thought, that the system had determined it wasn’t completed yet.

The same thing had happened with the previous quest to upgrade the vegetable garden. The quest wasn’t marked as complete until he surrounded the garden with stones. It seems the system is still not satisfied with this chicken coop!

On the second floor, Ning Ju tossed and turned in bed, keeping Ning Sui awake.

Ning Ju: “Brother, this bed is so soft. Nothing like a bird’s nest.”

Ning Sui: “Yeah.”

Ning Ju: “Brother, how does Brother Nan make so many delicious dishes?”

Ning Sui: “I heard that thousands of years ago, there were humans in this world. They were skilled at making all kinds of tools and cooking. Many of the techniques used by demons today were learned from those humans.”

Ning Ju exclaimed, “Humans are so amazing!”

Ning Sui shook his head. Back then, humans were actually the weakest group. Stories about them were just legends. The sudden appearance of someone like Nan Xu was unbelievable to him, not to mention his ancestors, when he told them last time.

After rolling around in bed for a bit, Ning Ju pulled out the Rubik’s Cube again and tucked it into Ning Sui’s arms. He rested his head on his eldest brother’s chest and twirled the cube around in his hands. “This one Brother Nan gave me is so hard! I haven’t been able to solve it all afternoon.”

As night fell, Ning Sui relaxed to the sound of the Rubik’s Cube spinning and slowly drifted off to sleep.

That night, he slept exceptionally well. As he fell asleep, it seemed as if the spiritual energy within him circulated throughout his body. When he woke up the next morning, his body felt light, and his mind was remarkably clear with no trace of sleepiness.

Ning Sui hadn’t slept so well in a long time. As the youngest in the tribe, his mother took care of his daily chores while the elders made decisions about important clan matters. Their only responsibility was to look after his reckless younger brother. Despite this low-pressure environment, he couldn’t sleep well every night.

According to the tribe’s ancestor, it was because he was at an age where he urgently needed spiritual power. However, the spiritual power in the demon world wasn’t as rich or pure as it had been thousands of years ago. He wasn’t yet able to adapt to the current environment.

The ancestor said the demon world was already in this state and that they would gradually adapt.

Ning Sui had always thought it was normal to not sleep soundly, but last night he experienced the wonders of sleep.

He didn’t know why, but he felt it had something to do with this inn. His bird tribe lived close to Zhuyu Mountain, so they knew the terrain and dangers better than other demon tribes did. He had taken his younger brothers into Zhuyu Mountain before, eaten mountain food, and stayed there, but nothing like this inn.

Here, eating the owner’s food felt like spiritual energy flowing through his body, and sleeping in the inn made him feel relaxed and at ease. These differences seemed to be due to the arrival of a human in the mountains.

Ning Sui sat in bed, deep in thought. The sun rose outside the open window, painting half the sky with color. As the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window, Ning Ju rolled over beside him, closed his eyes, and stumbled to his feet. He stretched, then swung himself over Ning Sui’s back.

“Brother, Brother Nan’s bed is so comfortable here!” Ning Ju mumbled. “Is Brother Nan awake yet? I wonder what goodies you have for breakfast this morning.”

He was already thinking about food before he opened his eyes. Ning Sui felt a little frustrated. Back in the Taifeng Mountains, the little bird demon who had been impossible to wake up that morning was now waking up at dawn just for a bite to eat.

If Nan Xu knew how frustrated Ning Sui was, he would definitely pat him on the shoulder and sigh, ‘You’ll never understand the power of a foodie.

The people of this country managed to eat so many invasive crayfish that they had to start farming them[mfn]Originally, 小龙虾 (xiǎo lóngxiā, crayfish) were considered an invasive species in China, introduced from abroad and not very welcome. But over time, people developed a taste for them. They became so popular as a late-night street food (麻辣小龙虾, spicy crayfish) that demand grew far beyond what could be caught in the wild, leading to large-scale artificial farming.[/mfn]—so what’s a bit of getting up early compared to that?