Chapter 60: Making Spicy Cabbage

By the time they returned to the Tribe, it was already noon. Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er, after having lunch, took some cabbage and gemstones to Ba Ke Er's parents' home, and after chatting with the elders for a while, they returned home. Soon after arriving home, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er began sorting through the items they had brought back from outside. Fei Er returned home, had lunch, tidied up his things, and then ran over to find Zhang Fan.

After meeting up, Zhang Fan brought Fei Er along to start preparing for making sauerkraut and spicy cabbage. The two first went to a pottery artisan and ordered enough jars with rims, specially made for pickling salted vegetables and various pickles.

The jars had been ordered, so it was time to handle the cabbage. Since making the jars also takes some time, during this period Zhang Fan took Fei Er and first sorted out the inedible old leaves and stems of the cabbage, feeding them to the household rabbits. Afterwards, they picked a good amount of the chili peppers grown at home, chopped them finely with a knife, mixed them with salt, and stored them.

After receiving the first batch of jars, Fei Er excitedly went with Mo De, bringing cabbage and jars to find Zhang Fan.

"Fan Fan! Fan Fan! The jars are done—are we going to start preparing the cabbage now?"

Zhang Fan saw how excited Fei Er was and felt somewhat helpless, saying: "Yeah, yeah! Fei Er, you seem to have forgotten to bring the salt and chili, right? Today we're making spicy cabbage. How can we make it without chili?"

"Huh? What should we do? How about I have Mo De go back to get them." After saying that, he turned his head, preparing to call Mo De, who had already gone out the courtyard gate with Ba Ke Er, to fetch the items.

Zhang Fan quickly said: "No need! Fei Er, I still have plenty here, no need to have Mo De go back."

"Alright then! Let's get started quickly—I can't wait any longer!"

"Alright, we'll start right away." Having said that, Zhang Fan began to act. He first took out a clean jar, then took out a head of cabbage, and with his hands spread the previously prepared chili over the cabbage's surface; after coating the surface, he separated the leaves and rubbed each piece with chili until the whole head was coated. Then he placed this chili‑coated cabbage into the jar.

After watching Zhang Fan's actions, Fei Er also started moving. He quickly finished coating one head of cabbage, and without forgetting, handed it to Zhang Fan to check whether it was done properly.

"Fan Fan, you see, it's like this, right?"

After receiving the cabbage Fei Er handed over, Zhang Fan inspected it and then placed it into the jar in front of Fei Er, smiling with satisfaction as he said:

"Exactly, that's how it's done. You can treat the remaining cabbage the same way." Having said that, he continued his hand motions, beginning to rub chili onto the cabbage.

The two worked quickly, but after an afternoon's effort they had only finished a small portion of the spicy cabbage; plenty of cabbage remained. At that moment, Ba Ke Er and Mo De returned with game. Since it was still early for dinner, they had not yet begun preparing the meal.

Ba Ke Er and Mo De saw that Zhang Fan and Fei Er were still busy making spicy cabbage, so they washed their hands and went over to help. At first the two were fumbling, making it look less like help and more like a disturbance. However, after Fei Er and Zhang Fan gave them earnest guidance, and the two male Beastmen studied diligently, they were finally able to apply the chili to the cabbage in an orderly manner.

After Ba Ke Er and Mo De mastered the technique, their speed caught up. Compared to the two male Beastmen, Zhang Fan and Fei Er had to admit they were inferior. Zhang Fan silently compared them in his mind and concluded: after all, the speed of the two males is indeed not something that he and Fei Er, two weaklings, can match.

With the help of the two male Beastmen, they quickly processed all the cabbage into spicy cabbage, placed it in the jars, and sealed them. It was now dinnertime. Fei Er and Mo De each took their own household's jar of spicy cabbage and the game back home, while Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er began preparing dinner.

After eating, the two rested sitting for a while, then walked hand in hand around the courtyard a few times to aid digestion. After feeding the household livestock, they washed up and went to sleep.