Chapter 100

After being busy for several days, Zhang Fan and his wife finally rested. That day, after Zhang Fan had drained the cooked rice, he poured it into a steamer basket and began to steam it using the remaining fire in the stove. Just as he was about to start cooking, he suddenly remembered that a basketful of tomatoes that Di Er had sent a few days earlier was still sitting in the cellar uneaten.

He immediately called Ba Ke Er to go with him to the cellar, took all the tomatoes out of the basket and brought them into the kitchen. Zhang Fan looked at the basket full of fresh tomatoes, feeling very delighted; the more he looked, the more his mouth watered.

After a while, he still hadn't snapped out of it. Ba Ke Er, watching Zhang Fan's expression from the side, found it rather strange. Unable to hold back, he spoke up and pulled Zhang Fan out of his daydream. When Zhang Fan finally came to, he realized that, without noticing, his saliva had already flowed down three thousand chi.

Seeing Ba Ke Er's puzzled expression, Zhang Fan calmly wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, he gave Ba Ke Er a faint smile, instantly making Ba Ke Er feel embarrassed. Ba Ke Er realized his expression was inappropriate, quickly composed himself, and returned a seemingly gentle smile to Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan naturally knew what Ba Ke Er was thinking! It was simply because his own nonchalant demeanor made Ba Ke Er feel as if he were being meddlesome. However, Zhang Fan did not deliberately say so; instead, he continued to feign ignorance while pretending to be calm.

Ba Ke Er, thinking about how Zhang Fan had been dazed for so long and had even drooled all over the floor, asked him: 'Fan Fan, what were you just thinking about? Did you think of something delicious to eat?'

Upon hearing Ba Ke Er's words, Zhang Fan instantly perked up, as if injected with chicken blood, and exclaimed excitedly to Ba Ke Er: 'Ba Ke Er, with so many tomatoes we can make all kinds of delicious dishes! Today I'll let you try a dish unlike any you've ever had before! This is something you've never eaten before~!'

As a Beastman who refuses to eat without meat, Ba Ke Er, after living with Zhang Fan for so long, has gradually come to enjoy vegetables; in fact, the main reason is that Zhang Fan has turned Ba Ke Er into a top-notch glutton!

Now, hearing Zhang Fan say he would let him try a dish he had never eaten before, Ba Ke Er was even more excited than Zhang Fan!

'Great! That's wonderful! Fan Fan, do you need any help right now?'

Zhang Fan casually took a few tomatoes from the basket, had Ba Ke Er wash them clean, cut them into chunks, and of course reminded him to scoop out the seeds. Ba Ke Er took the tomatoes from Zhang Fan's hands, grabbed a ceramic basin, and went to fetch water to wash them. Zhang Fan looked at the water vat in the kitchen, silently thinking to himself that perhaps that matter should also be put on the agenda soon; otherwise, by the time the cold season arrived, it might be difficult to carry out.

Speaking of the meat bird eggs, Zhang Fan felt a bit proud; initially, the eggs he had picked out of the cage were only the size of chicken eggs, but after being raised collectively for a while, the size of the meat bird eggs had quietly changed.

They had gradually developed from chicken-egg size to now being almost as large as goose eggs on Earth, and of course the birds laying them had also grown several sizes larger than before! Zhang Fan picked up a few meat bird eggs and returned to the kitchen; at that moment, Ba Ke Er had already finished chopping the tomatoes and placed them in a large bowl.

Zhang Fan also took out a large bowl, cracked the bird eggs into it, added some salt for seasoning, then beat the eggs and set them aside for later use. He then had Ba Ke Er chop the prepared beef into chunks, blanch them in water, and toss them into the soup pot to begin stewing.

When the beef in the pot was nearly done, Zhang Fan took half of the tomatoes Ba Ke Er had cut, poured them into the pot, covered it with a lid, and continued to stew. After a while, when Zhang Fan lifted the lid to check, he was overwhelmed by the rising heat and familiar aroma! He inhaled deeply, and his heart began to yearn for the days he had spent on Earth.

After Ba Ke Er put the remaining tomatoes into the cellar, he went to the yard to feed the animals. But upon smelling the aroma, he immediately sped up his actions, finishing everything in the shortest time possible. He set down the items, washed his hands and feet clean, then rushed into the kitchen.

At that moment, Zhang Fan had not yet returned from his reverie; Ba Ke Er, seeing him standing there dazed, knew he was probably thinking of his old home again. He did not go over to disturb him, but instead walked to the other side of the stove and began to help Zhang Fan start a fire.

When Zhang Fan heard the sound coming from the other side of the stove, he finally noticed that Ba Ke Er had already entered. He hurried over, scooped up some clean water to wash the pot, and after Zhang Fan had cleaned the pot, Ba Ke Er immediately increased the fire.

Seeing smoke rising from the pot, Zhang Fan scooped in some animal oil. Once the oil had melted and began to smoke, he poured in the pre-mixed tomatoes and bird eggs together and started stir-frying. Since the bird eggs had already been salted at the start, Zhang Fan did not add much salt when they were about to be done; he merely added a tiny bit.

After the tomato and egg stir-fry came out of the pot, Zhang Fan took a large bowl, scooped out half of it, and also ladled out half of the beef soup, packing them neatly. He handed them to Ba Ke Er, asking him to deliver them to Di Er and Lei Ya.

After Ba Ke Er left, Zhang Fan began to carry the soup, dishes, and rice into the main hall, then sat on a stool waiting for Ba Ke Er.

Meanwhile, Ba Ke Er, upon leaving, immediately headed toward Lei Ya and Di Er's home. Upon arrival, he happened to catch Lei Ya and Di Er preparing ingredients. He promptly stopped them, placing the ceramic jar he was holding and the large bowl he was carrying onto their dining table.

What else could Lei Ya and Di Er possibly not understand? Just look at the red dish in the bowl and the red in the jar—they would realize that the fruits Lei Ya had brought back could not only be eaten raw, but could also be made into a cooked dish!

After Ba Ke Er placed the dishes on the table, Lei Ya immediately went into the kitchen, picked up a steamer basket and took out two pairs of chopsticks. One glance at this posture made it clear that she had no intention of letting Ba Ke Er stay for a meal, even though he had brought them food. Seeing Ba Ke Er still standing there, Lei Ya became somewhat displeased.

'Ba Ke Er, why are you still here? You're not going back to keep Fan Fan company for dinner, so what are you doing lingering in our old couple's home?'

Ba Ke Er, feeling a bit embarrassed, rubbed his nose, then immediately bade farewell to Lei Ya and Di Er, stepped out the door, and ran home.

Di Er saw Ba Ke Er being sent away by Lei Ya just like that, and gave Lei Ya a resentful glance, but Lei Ya, whose attention was wholly fixed on the food, completely missed his cue. Instead, she proceeded to serve Di Er rice and vegetables for herself, then began eating on her own. Only when night fell and they went to sleep did Lei Ya realize how serious it was!

Zhang Fan didn't have to wait long before Ba Ke Er came running back. Seeing Ba Ke Er return, Zhang Fan quickly told him to wash his hands and come back to eat.

Ba Ke Er took the bowl of freshly served white rice that Zhang Fan handed him, began to pick up the dishes from the table and eat, all the while praising Zhang Fan's cooking skills, and of course did not forget to serve Zhang Fan some vegetables. Seeing Ba Ke Er serve him vegetables, Zhang Fan also began to serve Ba Ke Er in return.

The lunch passed in silence like that. After finishing the meal and washing the utensils, Zhang Fan had Ba Ke Er take out the tomato seeds he had dug up. He then began to rinse the seeds in a sieve, washing away the outer husk as he went. By now, everyone probably guessed it—correct! Zhang Fan was preparing to plant tomatoes!

After Zhang Fan repeatedly rinsed the seeds countless times, he finally managed to clean them all. After washing, instead of sowing the tomato seeds directly, he had Ba Ke Er prepare a clean wooden board, poured the seeds onto it, spread them out, and left them to dry in the sunlight.

After finishing those tasks, Zhang Fan finally stopped. He pulled Ba Ke Er along and they left the house, heading toward Lei Ya's home.

Upon arrival, after Lei Ya opened the door, Zhang Fan impatiently asked her about the tomatoes. After obtaining from her the information about where the tomatoes grew, Zhang Fan then returned home together with Ba Ke Er.

Originally Zhang Fan had intended to go to the tomato site, but Lei Ya said that traveling from the Tribe to that location would require half a day of flight. Zhang Fan instantly abandoned the idea of going today, feeling that setting out tomorrow would be just as fine. Thus, after returning home, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er began preparing the dry rations they would need to bring for tomorrow's trip.

……

The next morning, at daybreak, Zhang Fan woke up. After eating a simple breakfast with Ba Ke Er, he set out with the prepared dry rations, flying toward the tomato growing site that Lei Ya had mentioned.

Along the way, Zhang Fan was extremely excited! He was thrilled at the prospect of personally picking tomatoes or transplanting a tomato plant. Of course, he also wondered whether he should use these tomatoes to make some ketchup, since ketchup is convenient to store and tastes great—perfect for cooking.

Ba Ke Er could sense Zhang Fan's fondness for tomatoes, so he exerted himself even more in flight, managing to arrive half a day earlier than Lei Ya had said. Upon reaching the tomato growing site, Zhang Fan became even more excited!

'Good heavens! There are still so many tomatoes! Wonderful! Ba Ke Er, let's hurry down and pick them!'

Upon hearing that, Ba Ke Er immediately responded and began descending to the ground. Zhang Fan stepped off, shouldering his bamboo basket, and ran toward the patch where tomatoes were most concentrated. As soon as he arrived, he began picking, regardless of whether the tomatoes were good or bad, or if they had been bitten by insects—he plucked them all, of course also separating the good ones from the bad as he went.

Ba Ke Er saw how obsessively Zhang Fan was about the tomatoes, shook his head lightly, and smiled indulgently. Then he also began helping Zhang Fan pick the tomatoes. Although the tomato field was large, under the sweeping, tempestuous speed of Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er, it was soon picked clean.

At this point, Zhang Fan still wasn't satisfied, but this plot only had that many tomatoes, and no other location had yet been found to contain them. Having no choice, the two took out the dry rations they had brought, ate their fill, then carried back two fully loaded bamboo baskets and a large cloth sack of tomatoes to the Tribe.

Back at home, the two placed the good portion of the tomatoes they had brought directly into the cellar for storage, while the rotten or insect-bitten ones were dumped in the yard to begin sorting.

Zhang Fan kept the good parts of the tomatoes that had been insect-bitten or partially rotted, washed them clean, and placed them in a ceramic basin. After all the tomatoes had been processed, he had Ba Ke Er take a knife and chop them into a paste.

Zhang Fan also began to start a fire in front of the stove. When the water in the pot had evaporated, he washed his hands, poured the tomato paste into the pot, and began to simmer it over low heat, adding some salt and white sugar during the process for seasoning.

When the tomato paste in the pot began to thicken, Zhang Fan had Ba Ke Er remove the fire and let it simmer in the residual heat. Not long after, the tomato sauce in the pot was finished. Zhang Fan tasted a small spoonful, then quickly had Ba Ke Er bring a clean ceramic jar, into which he poured all the tomato sauce.