RPS – Chapter 10 The Fence Gate and Pan-Fried Meat on Stone

Nuo had quite a deep fascination with baskets. Ever since he returned, many members of the tribe had come asking if he had gone to Feng to learn basket weaving. Since Feng wasn’t originally from their tribe, the others always kept a certain distance from him. That’s also why Feng and Li moved out and found a small cave to live in on their own. But Nuo didn’t care about that—he was curious about this outsider named Feng, and kept pestering him with questions. Over time, they became familiar with each other. Though not exactly close friends, Nuo’s naturally outgoing personality made him easy to get along with, so the introverted Feng eventually accepted him as a friend.

These past two days, Nuo had been running to Feng and Li’s cave every day. Partly to badger Feng into teaching him how to weave baskets, and partly because he couldn’t stop thinking about the roasted sweet potatoes. They were so much better than just eating meat all the time. Then there was that green grass meat soup—oh wait, it was purslane meat soup. Who would’ve thought you could eat that kind of weed? This was great! From now on, they’d have more things to eat, not just fruit. And vegetables stewed with meat turned out to be delicious! Even the salt was so magical!

When Nuo arrived at Feng and Li’s cave, Feng was feeding the baby meat soup, while Li had already gone out hunting. Their staple food now mainly came from whatever the men of the tribe brought back from hunting. If they didn’t hunt one day, they’d have nothing to eat except fruit, which wasn’t nearly filling enough.

After putting the well-fed baby to sleep, Feng began working on making a fence-style door. As for Nuo’s basket, he had already taught him the basics—Nuo just wasn’t skilled yet. Now, Nuo came every day to ask Feng to help him check where he went wrong so he could correct it. Meanwhile, Feng busied himself making the door.

A few days ago, he’d asked Li to cut some small branches. Since Li was now out hunting daily and had no spare time, and Feng stayed home during the day, he decided to just make it himself. The fence gate was relatively simple. Back in the orphanage, which was in a remote area, the toilets there had fence-style doors, and Feng had helped out a lot back then—handing things over, watching how it was done—so he had a clear idea of the process.

In addition to teaching Nuo basket weaving over the past two days, Feng also went out nearby to find lots of sturdy vines. He didn’t even bother removing the leaves—using them directly as they were. It actually looked pretty nice, with the green leaves fluttering around. He used a stone knife to strip away all the messy twigs from the branches, then slowly tied everything together with vines. He layered two sets of branches in a crisscross pattern so that the gaps wouldn’t be too big. In the past, they used corn stalks for this kind of thing, but since they didn’t have any now, branches would have to do. They were just a bit heavy, that’s all.

The cave entrance had some height, so Feng didn’t cut off the excess at the top. He only trimmed the bottom neatly. Then he placed a long branch and tied it tightly with vine at three points—top, middle, and bottom—making it very sturdy. The number of branches decreased steadily, and soon, one fence door was complete.

While weaving, Feng had already measured the width of the cave entrance with a branch, so this one fit just right. The uneven tips of the upper branches perfectly covered the top of the entrance. The fence gate was about as tall as a grown man. When Feng lifted it, he realized it was quite heavy. Luckily, the wood was dry, so not overly heavy. He and Nuo could still move it together.

Feng hammered a sturdy post—about as thick as a forearm—into the ground near the cave entrance. Well, “hammered” wasn’t exactly right. The post was also about as tall as a man, designed to match the gate. Feng had dug a deep hole with Nuo’s help, and they lifted and dropped the post into it. Once it seemed deep enough, they filled it with soil, stomping it down layer by layer. To make it even firmer, they used large stones to pound the soil tight. After testing and confirming it was solid, they stood the gate upright together.

Then Feng threaded a long, sturdy vine and some hibiscus branches through a specially left gap in the gate and tied it to the post they just set. He even left a gap of about five centimeters from the ground to allow the gate to swing open easily. In order to suspend and secure the heavy fence gate, Feng had to use a ton of vines—he lost count of how many times he wrapped them.

Once he and Nuo finally fixed the gate in place and tried to open it, they realized it was tied too tightly—it took a lot of effort to swing open. They didn’t have any hinges, so this would have to do for now. Feng was already exhausted. Even if he wanted to fix it, he couldn’t move another muscle.

Nuo was completely stunned and thrilled by the finished gate. He jumped and shouted in excitement. At first, when he saw Feng tinkering with something alone, he didn’t ask. He thought Feng was just working on something random. He never imagined it was a door—a real door to block off the cave!

“Wow, Feng, you’re amazing! This is great! Tomorrow, you have to help me make one too. I’m scared living alone—I want one too!” Nuo clung to Feng’s arm. He knew now that Feng was really capable—he had just woven a basket and now made a gate. This gate was so useful! Now he wouldn’t have to worry about being seen when changing clothes inside the cave.

“Uh… how’s your basket coming along? In a couple of days, we’ll be going out to gather fruit again. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you don’t have a basket to carry stuff in.” Feng quickly changed the subject. Making that gate had completely drained him. He wanted it to be tight and secure, but now his arms were sore. He thought he’d teach Nuo next time and just have him do the tying.

When Li returned with a chunk of meat, he was shocked to see a huge door at the cave entrance. Feng had mentioned wanting to build one, and Li had planned to help when he had time. He didn’t expect Feng to finish it himself—and it looked pretty decent too. Now they didn’t have to worry as much about wild animals breaking in at night. Even if one did, at least there’d be some warning.

Li placed the meat on the stone table and started inspecting the door—opening and closing it several times. Hmm, not bad. Though a bit heavy, it worked really well.

Nuo didn’t go home for dinner that night again and even left Bu, who had come looking for him, behind. He was really shameless. Bu was also a skilled hunter in the tribe—he had caught quite a few animals himself. Agile and quick, with thick brows and large eyes, he had striking features and was quite handsome.

Fortunately, Li had brought back enough meat, and Bu had brought a piece too, so the two chunks were enough for the four of them. Feng looked at the meat—he couldn’t tell which animal it came from—and decided to make pan-fried meat on a stone slab, along with another pot of purslane meat soup. He hadn’t found other wild vegetables or seasonings yet, since he’d been too busy. When he wasn’t taking care of the baby, he was doing all sorts of chores.

He brought the small stone stove outside—it was too stuffy inside the cave, and he didn’t want to smoke out the baby. Eating outside was perfect, and cooler too. The “stove” was just three evenly-sized stones arranged into a triangle. He placed a relatively thin stone slab on top, lit a fire beneath, and started slicing the meat thinly. He also cut some fat to render oil on the stone. The stone knife wasn’t very sharp, so even though the slices were thin, they couldn’t compare to modern knives that could slice meat translucent. Still, it was acceptable.

Nuo watched the soup, while Li and Bu stood nearby, ready to help if needed. Otherwise, they chatted about hunting techniques.

Feng focused on rendering the fat first. Since there was still time and the meat was plenty, he decided to make some lard. The stone slab wasn’t perfectly flat—it had a shallow dip, which made it perfect for holding oil. He cut up the fat and slowly rendered it, moving the cracklings to the side. He then used a wooden spoon to scoop the oil into a small pottery jar and left it to cool and solidify.

Next came the pan-frying. With oil already on the slab, he simply laid the meat slices on top. He flipped them a few times to ensure even cooking, sprinkled a bit of crushed fine salt, and served them in a bowl for the others.

The raw pink meat curled slightly under the heat. Since it was sliced thin, it cooked evenly and remained tender. A bite revealed visible meat fibers—juicy and full of fresh meaty aroma. Combined with the fine salt, it was absolutely delicious. Compared to their usual roasted or boiled meat, this fried version was even better.

Feng took a bite—yep, not bad. The meat was tender, salty, and juicy. Though there were no spices like cumin or chili, the freshness and tenderness of the meat made up for it.

Feng had thought they wouldn’t be able to finish all the meat. But in the end, after rendering the fat, the remaining lean meat was completely devoured. Their mouths still greasy, they sipped the fresh, light vegetable soup—it was heavenly!

Nuo and Bu didn’t want to leave after eating. They sat chatting and digesting, still curious about how the food was made. Nuo especially—after seeing how much Bu liked the food, he was determined to learn it from Feng and make it for Bu someday.

Who knew meat could be used in so many delicious ways? Even the cracklings were crispy and fragrant, not greasy at all. They nearly finished them off as snacks!