RPS – Chapter 27 Not Cooking Tonight

Cornmeal and bean flour from grinding grains, and wild chickens, ducks, and rabbits to catch.

Li Feng was grounded—specifically, it was a unanimous vote by Li, Bu, and Nuo. The man was just too careless with himself. Taking him along on hunts was too risky. So, after just recovering from the scare with the tiger, he was now terrified again—this time by his own “husband.”

He protested for a long time, but to no avail. It was three against one; none of them agreed to let him tag along. Even though they were all now skilled at making traps and it wasn’t too dangerous anymore, the others still didn’t feel at ease. They believed Li Feng was safest at home.

Li had the most convincing reason: “The house can’t go without you. You’re not going to let Mo watch the baby and do chores at the same time, are you?”

Li Feng was speechless. True, he had only thought about going out to hunt freely with them, completely forgetting that only two little kids were left at home now—a baby bun and a slightly older, six or seven-year-old bun. Letting Mo carry the baby was fine, but expecting him to do all the chores too? That didn’t make sense. Besides, even if Mo wanted to do it all, could he even manage?

The little bun wasn’t an easy one either—super mischievous. When Li Feng held him, he would still nap obediently (probably just because he was younger then). But now, the moment Mo picked him up, he’d keep his eyes wide open, “ah ah” nonstop, loving to be carried around, especially through the courtyard to see the animals—which were, after all, his food supply.

Just thinking of Mo, a tiny little kid himself, carrying an even smaller baby around, needing to sit and rest every so often… The bun wasn’t heavy, but Mo wasn’t big either. How much strength could he have? Li Feng mentally pictured Mo struggling to hold the baby, changing diapers and helping him go potty, running around while exhausted with no chance to rest… and felt incredibly guilty. He had adopted Mo to give him a home, not to wear him out.

So Li Feng ended up convincing himself. Fine, staying home it is—someone has to watch the house anyway. Hmph, it’s not like I wanted to go out. I’m tired, don’t even have proper shoes. If you guys want to go, go! I’ll just rest at home. He quietly comforted himself.

“Don’t forget to bring back the corn and beans we found before,” he said. “Take more baskets this time. Bring the grain back first, then go check the traps.” Since they insisted on going, he might as well assign them some real work—this wasn’t going to be easy, so take your time with it!

The next day, Li Feng stayed at home, while the others went to haul the grains. But he wasn’t idle. He planted the seasonings and herbs they had dug up yesterday along the fence in the yard. The rest, which couldn’t be planted, he laid out to dry. That way, he could just pick fresh ones when cooking—super convenient!

Li Feng made boiled corn and edamame for breakfast for himself and Mo. The baby was still on milk. He was a bit more well-behaved today than last night—at least he wasn’t bawling and refusing to drink, which made both Li Feng and Mo breathe a sigh of relief. It had taken so much effort to feed him last night.

They still hadn’t finished the corn they picked yesterday. Li Feng had intentionally chosen some older, mature ears, thinking he could grind them into cornmeal. He rubbed the kernels off the cob, then found a stone mortar. It wasn’t very evenly shaped, but it would work!

Since they had no stone mill, Li Feng had to crush the kernels bit by bit in the mortar. Luckily, the corn he chose was very dry, making it easier to break. He pounded and ground the corn over and over, more than a dozen rounds, until it was relatively fine—at least it resembled flour now, even if there were still bits of coarse grit. But Li Feng was satisfied—finally, some proper staple food! This was what real food meant. Eating meat and vegetables every day didn’t count. He wasn’t from one of those countries where people ate bloody steak!

As for the beans, they couldn’t be ground down with a mortar—they just got flattened. You’d need a real stone mill for that. Li Feng started considering whether to make one. If they had the grain but no mill, what was the point? You couldn’t just gnaw it raw.

But for now, that was impossible. He’d have to make do with cornmeal. There wasn’t much of it, so he decided to make a few corn cakes. When the others got back, they could have a taste. Maybe that would motivate them more to bring the rest of the corn back quickly.

He mixed the cornmeal into dough, kneaded it into a big ball, pinched off small bits, flattened them, and fried them in pork fat on a stone slab until they were golden brown.

It was a pretty simple process. He had timed it right, figuring the others would return carrying loads of corn and beans. The plan was to bring the grain back first, then head out again in the evening to check the traps.

Just as he finished cooking, the others arrived. They dropped their full baskets—stuffed with bean pods and corn—and dumped them out onto the flat, sun-ready ground in the yard that Li Feng had prepared.

“Feng—oh no, Li Feng, what are you making? It smells amazing!” Nuo sniffed and walked into the kitchen. “Wow, these look so pretty—and they smell great too!” He gasped at the golden corn cakes on the plate. Who knew food could look this good?

“Go wash your hands,” Li Feng said, slapping Nuo’s hand away just as he tried to sneak a piece.

“Hot!” Nuo muttered through stuffed cheeks, too reluctant to spit it out. It was scalding, but smelled so good.

Li Feng chuckled at the sight—Nuo wincing from the heat while still trying to shove more in. The cakes were coarse, sure, but after eating meat all the time, even rough grains tasted amazing.

Lunch was corn cakes and salted pork corn soup. The cakes weren’t leavened, just dense and hearty—perfect for filling up. So, no roasted meat today. Too much meat lately was making everyone sluggish and constipated. Time for some fiber to clean out the system!

Mo dipped his corn cake into the pork soup, letting it soak until it was soft—tasted incredible. Li Feng watched in amazement. This kid was clever! Who knew to dip the cake into soup? What a creative little mind. The others didn’t even think of it—they just chomped down on the dry cakes and chased them with sips of soup.

Despite the coarseness, the fresh corn had a fragrant sweetness to it, especially when chewed slowly. After tasting the cakes, the others were even more motivated to bring back the rest of the corn. They’d had tender corn before, but there wasn’t much of it. Who knew the mature corn would taste even better? With this, they could survive even without meat!

Motivation skyrocketed. Li Feng packed up the leftover cakes for them to bring along, something to munch on when hungry. They’d need it, considering how much labor was ahead.

“We’re having corn cakes again tonight!” Li called out, just as he reached the door, turning back to Li Feng who was busy sorting through the beans and corn.

“Got it,” Li Feng replied without looking up, still spreading them out to dry. Only after he answered did he realize what he just agreed to—and his face crumpled. There was no stone mill! That little bit of cornmeal for lunch had taken him the entire morning to make—and it was still super coarse.

Was he really going to spend all afternoon grinding more cornmeal? Using that awful, exhausting method? They all had such huge appetites—how long would it take? He just wanted to rest for a bit…

Li Feng ran to the gate and shouted toward the vanishing figures of the others: “I’m not cooking tonight!”

Then he noticed all the women, elders, and kids left in the tribe staring at him.

He didn’t get what they were all staring for, so he turned to one middle-aged woman who was giving him a teasing smile and asked, “Mi, what are you all looking at me for?” Mi was the beauty of the tribe. In primitive terms, she was quite the attractive woman. Her man had been killed by a wild animal while hunting, so she’d been living alone since.

Li Feng saw Mi’s half-smiling, mischievous expression and thought, Is she into me? His male vanity surged. He never expected to attract a woman’s attention—especially one of the tribe’s beauties. Oh, she was a little older, and he wasn’t into her, but that little thrill still made him smile at her.

“Feng, Li is very strong, isn’t he?” Mi said with a sly grin, eyes roaming up and down Li Feng’s body, finally resting on his round butt.

Li Feng nodded. “Yeah, Li is strong.” He was a skilled hunter, with a great physique.

“HAHAHA…” The surrounding women and elders burst out laughing. Even the kids, not understanding why, joined in.

Ever since Li Feng taught them a bunch of useful skills, the ones left behind in the tribe—those unable to hunt—loved hanging around his house. Some even built homes nearby. Now his home area was bustling every day, with people chatting and weaving baskets in the large open space out front.

So it didn’t take long for Li Feng’s words to spread through the entire tribe. Only Li Feng was still basking in his little fantasy of being admired by a beautiful woman. After all, no woman had ever liked him before. Mi was the first to openly show interest!