Chapter 155: First Bite of Dragon Tooth Rice

At noon, the meal became the most eagerly awaited for everyone; cooking Dragon Tooth Rice, its fragrance had already begun to spread, wafting around the house. Everyone stared at the big pot before them, which was filled entirely with rice.

This meal was the result of everyone's hard work; Chen Chuyang was not stingy—since they were going to eat, they should eat their fill. The Dragon Tooth Rice harvested this time would last them a long while; given their daily consumption, they wouldn't eat much, so the next batch could be planted soon, needing only a few days' wait for a seamless continuation.

Spiritual energy was abundant, so there was no need to worry about weather or soil fertility; the land of Longshe Shan, nourished by the spirit spring water, had already become extremely fertile. Under these conditions, continuous planting would pose no problem—as long as the spirit spring water kept flowing, these spirit fields would remain very fertile.

After harvesting, they began soaking the rice in water; the Dragon Tooth Rice also started this step. They selected good Dragon Tooth Rice as seeds, and for the next planting they would increase the amount severalfold. The speed of reclaiming the spirit fields might not keep up, but in the afternoon and the coming days, Chen Chuyang and the others would all reclaim spirit fields—first plant, then talk.

This would shorten the time until the next batch of Dragon Tooth Rice could be harvested, but they couldn't be careless. After the second batch, Chen Chuyang would have plenty of Dragon Tooth Rice to eat, and then he could give a batch to the Chen Clan.

Shang Hongxue was cooking the rice; Chen Chuyang went out and caught a large wild boar, not huge—about two hundred catties. It possessed some spiritual energy, a fierce beast with two frightening tusks. Unfortunately, it met Chen Chuyang, who killed it outright. After bringing it back, Chen Chuyang skillfully butchered it.

After being nourished by spiritual energy, these wild boars had not yet transformed into demonic beasts, but their meat was truly good, lacking any foul odor. Given a few more decades, they might have a chance to become demonic beasts.

Liu Yuer helped from the side; she was also skilled at household chores, and the cooking was completed with her assistance. Shang Hongxue, this girl, had learned a lot from her; she handed the boiling of the wild boar meat to Chen Chuyang, adding some spirit medicine and simmering it longer to make the meat taste even better.

The wild boar meat was rather tough, requiring longer simmering to make it chewable.

Simmering with pill fire—only Chen Chuyang would be so extravagant; if anyone found out, they'd surely scold him to death.

After half an hour, a big pot of wild boar meat appeared before everyone's eyes; the hungry crowd could wait no longer.

"Let's eat."

The fastest to dig in was the eldest brother, Chen Chusheng; his movements were truly quick—he ate two pieces of wild boar meat in one gulp, filling his mouth.

His hand never stopped; after finishing a mouthful, he immediately shoved another piece in, chewed a few times, and started eating again.

A mouthful of rice, a mouthful of wild boar meat—it smelled wonderful as they ate.

Seeing this, the others all sped up their eating, no longer holding back.

Especially Shang Hongxue and Zhang Nongqian—don't let their being girls fool you; they ate plenty too.

Their speed couldn't match the eldest brother's, but it wasn't slow either.

Zhang Nongqian had also become accustomed; she was no longer as shy as yesterday, taking big bites of meat while sitting beside Shang Hongxue, clearly having grown familiar with her older sister—their relationship was very good, like sisters.

Shang Hongxue liked this little sister very much, taking good care of her; she had always wanted a sister to look after, and now it had come true.

Regarding this, Liu Yuer was very happy; this day was the happiest and most fulfilling of her life, requiring no anxiety, no worry about others causing trouble, and no fear of danger.

She felt Chen Chuyang's attitude toward them—it was good, very respectful.

There was not the slightest contempt because she was a widow; Chen Chusheng and Shang Hongxue felt the same way.

Before the third uncle went down the mountain, he had sought out the eldest brother once; no one knows what he said, but it was merely a warning—telling the eldest brother not to talk nonsense and not to reveal anything to their parents. The eldest brother had nothing much to say about it; he didn't oppose Liu Yuer and the others, but genuine acceptance would still need some time.

He couldn't be as carefree as Chen Chuyang, but he also didn't dare show displeasure to others.

One pot of rice and one pot of meat were completely finished; in the end, not even the broth was left untouched.

The eldest brother polished it all off by himself, just like a rice bucket.

"I'm so full—this is the most satisfying meal I've had in these days, little brother. Your Dragon Tooth Rice really smells wonderful; if we could eat it every day, that would be great."

Chen Chuyang gave him a sideways glance: "Then speed up your reclamation of the spirit fields; don't keep being lazy. I'm about to plant the second batch of Dragon Tooth Rice, and we're still far from ready."

If you want to eat Dragon Tooth Rice, if you want to have rice every meal, how can you get by without effort?

Hearing this, the eldest brother immediately stood up and promised: "You should have said so earlier—I thought you were reclaiming all those spirit fields for nothing; turns out you're planting Dragon Tooth Rice. Fine, I'll go work right now."

Having eaten and drunk his fill, the eldest brother was full of vigor, picking up his hoe to go work.

Chen Chuyang heartily approved of this.

This eldest brother still understood priorities; concerning food and his own interests, he naturally ought to work hard.

Having eaten Dragon Tooth Rice, he could no longer stomach any other rice.

Chen Chuyang rested a while, then went to work as well.

"I'll go with you, Brother Chuyang."

Shang Hongxue wanted to come along to work; she also wanted to happily eat Dragon Tooth Rice and have rice every day.

It was so fragrant; after tasting it once, she couldn't forget it and could no longer eat any other rice.

"Can you do it?"

"I'm pretty strong now, okay, Brother Chuyang."

Shang Hongxue clenched her fists, revealing her arms; although they weren't very muscular, they were obviously much stronger than before.

White and tender, Chen Chuyang stroked them for a while, reluctant to let go.

"Indeed, they're strong."

"Brother Chuyang, stop teasing—I also want to go work."

"All right, you can work too—just don't complain about being tired later."

"Thank you, Brother Chuyang."

Shang Hongxue followed along, hoe in hand, laughing happily; she liked working with Brother Chuyang, and it didn't matter what they did—mainly she wanted to be with him and be of help to him as much as possible.

Liu Yuer stood up, also expressing her willingness to help; living on the mountain, with food, drink, and bodily needs all arranged by Chen Chuyang, if she did nothing she would feel ill at ease and couldn't bear to just enjoy herself all the time.

This meal of rice was the most delicious she had ever eaten in her life—bar none.

That flavor made it impossible for her to forget.

Little Zhang Nongqian also wanted to join the work, saying she had grown up and could help.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, they were full of vigor.

"All right, then let's reclaim the fields together."

"When you get tired, just rest; don't push yourself too hard or overdo it."

Liu Yuer and Zhang Nongqian's bodies were not in good shape; they were somewhat weak, better than Shang Hongxue's initial condition but still quite poor.

For rough work, they could manage, but not too much; they needed a little bodily conditioning, to be strengthened day by day.

As long as they stayed long enough, drinking plenty of Longshe Shan's spiritual energy and spirit spring water would naturally strengthen their bodies—though it required a process.

One must not force it or rush; taking it slow is best.

As for soaking in medicinal baths, the time hasn't come yet; first strengthen the body, then proceed to the next step.