Chapter 101: Little Chili Peppers

Zhang Fan waited until the tomato sauce in the jar cooled down; it was already afternoon. Seeing so much tomato sauce, he didn't know when he'd finish eating it, so he simply decided to give some away.

After making up his mind, Zhang Fan had Ba Ke Er go to the storeroom to fetch two slightly smaller jars. Once Ba Ke Er took out the jars and washed them clean, Zhang Fan began spooning some tomato sauce into the small jars.

Ba Ke Er saw Zhang Fan's manner and knew he was probably going to give things away again today; he shook his head helplessly. This small action of Ba Ke Er was, of course, also seen by Zhang Fan, but he showed no reaction, merely smiling silently.

After preparing the two jars of tomato sauce to be given away, the two fetched a basket and put everything inside. Then they closed the door and headed toward Lei Ya's and Dier's homes. After delivering one jar of tomato sauce, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er went to Fei Er's home and gave away the other jar.

Fei Er was very happy about the new food Zhang Fan had sent, and had Mo De bring out some freshly picked beautiful plants to give to Zhang Fan. When Zhang Fan saw the small, cherry-sized, multicolored fruits Mo De had taken out,

He was practically bursting with joy! My goodness! I never expected to find this here! Back when I went away to college, just to eat this I had to run all over the place!

Zhang Fan almost immediately reached out and took the basket of small chili peppers Mo De handed him, then said to Fei Er, who treated the small chili peppers as ornaments: "Fei Er, don't you know what this is?"

Fei Er pondered and said: "Hmm… I really don't know! This fruit has no smell, and although it's not poisonous, I wouldn't dare taste it."

Zhang Fan heard this, laughed loudly, paused, then began to tell Fei Er:

"This is a small chili pepper, a kind of chili, but its texture and how it's eaten differ from ordinary chilies. This small chili pepper only needs to be washed, sun‑dried, placed in a jar, and pickled with soy sauce, ginger, garlic and similar seasonings for a few days before it can be eaten! It's fragrant and spicy, crunchy and refreshing when eaten—perfect as a snack or side dish with rice."

Fei Er listened, very interested, and immediately pulled Zhang Fan indoors, went to the storeroom and fetched another basket, then began washing the small chili peppers with water in the courtyard. After the small chili peppers were cleaned, Zhang Fan did not let Fei Er remove their stems.

Because removing the stems makes them less convenient to eat, Zhang Fan saw that Fei Er had already washed the small chili peppers clean and did not continue staying there; instead, after saying goodbye to Fei Er and Mo De, he took Ba Ke Er, who was carrying a basket of small chili peppers, and they headed home together.

Along the way, Zhang Fan kept smiling happily! Great! He could have small chili peppers to eat again! When they arrived home, Zhang Fan was also grinning. Ba Ke Er saw Zhang Fan so happy over a basket of small chili peppers and knew this was surely another of Zhang Fan's favorites.

Thus, upon entering the house, Ba Ke Er didn't need Zhang Fan to tell him; he immediately scooped water and began washing the small chili peppers. After washing them several times, he stopped, took out a winnowing basket, poured the small chili peppers into it, and placed it in the courtyard to dry.

Seeing Ba Ke Er so proactive, Zhang Fan didn't disturb him but went straight to the kitchen to start a fire and cook rice. Fortunately, yesterday's hunted animal had been processed in time and stored in the cellar; otherwise, the meat left from yesterday afternoon to today would have rotted terribly—let alone being edible.

After Ba Ke Er finished handling those small chili peppers, he went into the kitchen to help Zhang Fan cook.

When Ba Ke Er entered the kitchen, he saw Zhang Fan chopping the ribs of yesterday's wild boar. He hurried over, snatched the knife from Zhang Fan's hand, and said somewhat worriedly: "Fan Fan, why don't you call me to help chop bones? With so many bones, you'll be at it until your hands go soft—or you'd have to chop forever! Let me do it; I'm strong! Hehe…"

Zhang Fan rolled his eyes at Ba Ke Er's words and began to defend himself: "Ba Ke Er, I'm not a porcelain doll—there's nothing I'm afraid you'd do or not do. You snatch every task away, leaving me bored stiff! Besides, you do so much work every day—don't you ever get tired?"

Ba Ke Er always took Zhang Fan's words seriously and acted on them eagerly; yet whenever he saw Zhang Fan doing heavy work, he would immediately rush over to take over! This left Zhang Fan neither able to anger nor scold him—each time he felt helpless, yet could find no fault.

This time was the same; even with Zhang Fan's excuses, in Ba Ke Er's eyes he was just a delicate female who couldn't do heavy work or handle much, needing only to eat and drink well each day. Whenever this happened, Zhang Fan couldn't help wanting to reveal his true identity, but each time the words reached his lips he couldn't speak.

After Ba Ke Er took the knife from Zhang Fan's hand, Zhang Fan had no choice but to first cook the rice. However, before the rice in his pot even boiled, Ba Ke Er had already finished chopping the ribs and came over to help Zhang Fan tend the fire.

Zhang Fan then shifted his focus, taking out a large bowl, pouring in soy sauce, then adding minced garlic, tomato sauce, white sugar, vinegar and similar seasonings, mixing them into a sweet‑and‑sour sauce.

He then added the bite‑size rib pieces Ba Ke Er had chopped, mixing them with soy sauce, ginger and garlic to marinate. Once Ba Ke Er's rice was steamed, Zhang Fan took out a large pottery basin, added flour and water to make a batter, and began coating the ribs with it.

Meanwhile, Ba Ke Er, following Zhang Fan's instructions, made space for the rice, washed the pot clean and added oil. When the oil heated and smoke rose from the pot's surface, Zhang Fan began dropping the batter‑coated rib pieces one by one into the pot to fry, until the ribs were golden brown on both sides.

Zhang Fan then scooped out the excess oil from the pot, poured in the sweet‑and‑sour sauce, covered the pot and began to simmer. When the sauce in the pot had reduced sufficiently, he lifted the lid. Together with Ba Ke Er, he carried the dishes to the main hall and they ate.

After the meal, the two tidied the house, then washed up; only after laundering and hanging up the clothes they had just taken off did they return to the room to sleep.

The next morning, Zhang Fan rose early, made breakfast and ate it with Ba Ke Er, then saw Ba Ke Er off as he left to patrol the tribe. He hadn't expected that, just as Ba Ke Er's front foot stepped out and Zhang Fan had just closed the gate, he would hear Fei Er shouting from outside:

"Fan Fan! Don't close the door yet—I haven't come in yet!"

Zhang Fan, without thinking, opened the gate again, looked up, and saw Fei Er holding a basket of soy sauce fruit, ginger, garlic and similar seasonings. Of course, the main thing was that he was also cradling an empty jar and a large winnowing basket of small chili peppers.

"Fei Er, are you moving house again? Why bring so much stuff over? Or are you intending to give all this to me?"

"Ah! Fan Fan! What are you thinking? I just came over to ask you how to make the pickled small chili peppers!"

Upon this, Zhang Fan was a bit puzzled: "Didn't I tell you the method yesterday? It's simple—just follow my instructions!" Zhang Fan, saying this, suddenly recalled that Mo De was also supposed to go on patrol today, and realized! It turned out Fei Er didn't want to stay home alone.

Having figured it out, Zhang Fan didn't expose Fei Er's little thought, but simply invited him into the courtyard.

Before even entering the courtyard, Fei Er saw the small chili peppers Zhang Fan had laid out to dry. He hurried over with his things, set them down, and then swiftly grabbed a small stool and sat down.

Zhang Fan also didn't entertain Fei Er in the courtyard; instead, he went into the storeroom, fetched a clean jar and various seasonings. After bringing everything into the courtyard, he scooped clean water, washed his hands, and began grabbing handfuls of small chili peppers from the winnowing basket into the jar.

Beside him, Fei Er saw Zhang Fan's action and quickly imitated: after washing his hands, he also grabbed small chili peppers into the jar.

After Zhang Fan had placed all the small chili peppers in the jar, he began pouring in the juice from the soy sauce fruit—he needed a full thirty of them to just cover the peppers. Next he added the other seasonings. Once all the seasonings were in, he put on the jar lid and added water to the rim to create a liquid seal for preservation.

After Zhang Fan finished these steps, Fei Er beside him also slowly finished his own tasks. When they were done, neither Zhang Fan nor Fei Er rushed to put the jar away; they simply left it where it was.

Even though Fei Er had learned all this, he didn't take anything home but continued to loaf at Zhang Fan's house, bringing out snacks to recline on the courtyard lounge chair and chat with Zhang Fan while eating.

The two found it not boring at all, and ended up lounging until almost noon before getting up. At that time, Ba Ke Er and Mo De also returned; Mo De, having left the gate with Fei Er, learned from Fei Er that he was supposed to go to Zhang Fan's place first. Thus, after finishing patrol, he directly followed Ba Ke Er to Zhang Fan's home to fetch Fei Er back.

Fei Er, who had been listless, suddenly sprang with energy the moment he saw Mo De, jumping up and throwing himself into Mo De's arms. Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er, however, were not so mushy; they merely smiled at each other.

After Fei Er and Mo De left holding hands, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er then embraced, exchanged a very tacit cheek kiss, and together went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.