"Alright. Young Master, your internal injuries are mostly healed. You don't need to keep drinking herbal medicine anymore." Pearl Su withdrew her hand from Alaric Yun's wrist as she spoke.
"These days must've been hard on you, Miss Su. I will keep my promise," Alaric Yun said with a gentle smile. His expression was elegant, and the smile appeared for a fleeting moment like a blossoming flower — quiet and captivating.
"I believe you," Pearl Su replied in a calm voice, glancing at him.
"You should set off in the next day or two."
"Alright. Thank you for putting up with me during this time," Alaric Yun answered without hesitation.
His face still held a soft smile, bright and charming. But only he knew that his fists were clenched tightly.
Pearl Su nodded in satisfaction and turned to head toward her room. She planned to rest another day before going back to the mountain to look for herbs.
Summer noon sunlight was always intense, but people need food like iron needs fire. It was midday — time to cook lunch.
Pearl Su opened the door and walked toward the kitchen. When she got there, she saw Alaric Yun already busy inside.
He was butchering a small wild boar. It weighed around 40 or 50 pounds, a bit bigger than the last one.
Pearl Su raised her eyebrows at the sight. A sly smile played on her lips, and her eyes glinted mischievously.
She said, "Young Master, save the pig organs for me. I have a use for them."
"Why?" Alaric Yun frowned slightly. "Those dirty parts aren't edible."
"Just save them for me. No need to ask why," Pearl Su replied seriously.
Seeing her like that, Alaric Yun could only nod. Then he asked, "Miss Su, we can't finish all this wild pork. Is there a way to store it?"
Pearl Su had already thought of how to deal with so much meat the moment she saw it.
Besides, last time she went to town, she purposely bought a lot of refined salt, knowing this stubborn man would eventually bring back a big catch. She'd be ready.
She replied lightly, "Smoke it. First rub salt all over the meat to season it, then use pinewood and needles to smoke it until it's about 70 to 80 percent dry."
Alaric Yun's eyes lit up. "How long can it be stored this way?"
"Once smoked, if it's kept in a dry place and out of the sun, it can last about three to four months. If you re-smoke it every few days, it can last one to two years."
"One to two years!" Alaric Yun's eyes grew brighter the more he thought about it.
With a method like that, the soldiers and civilians guarding the border would never need to worry about running out of meat again!
"Miss Su, besides this method, are there any others?"
"Yes. You can make oil-cured meat. First, rub it with salt and spices to let the flavor soak in. Then fry the meat until it releases about 30 to 40 percent of its oil. Let it cool, then seal it in jars. Store the jars in a cool, ventilated place. It will resist moisture and heat and can last about half a year to a year."
After Pearl Su explained this, Alaric Yun looked at her with sincere gratitude and said, "Thank you for teaching me, Miss Su. Your knowledge is truly impressive and admirable."
Pearl Su thought to herself, If I told you all the other ways to preserve meat, would you think I'm a fairy from heaven?
But on the surface, she said calmly, "Just happened to know. It's nothing special."
She turned around and picked up the cooking pot, poured in some rice, and went to wash it to prepare rice porridge.
After she got the fire going for the porridge, Alaric Yun came over to tell her he had already saved the organs for her.
Pearl Su acknowledged with a nod. Once the porridge pot started to boil, she removed it from the fire and went to handle the pig organs.
She took out the flour, rice vinegar, and salt she bought last time and used them to clean the organs thoroughly. Then she cut up the organs and ingredients.
Next, she started the fire to boil the rice porridge. Once the water was boiling, she added the pig liver, intestines, and ingredients into the pot, stirred them together, and let it cook. She added seasoning, and the liver and intestine porridge was done.
Then she started a new fire to stir-fry. One dish was stir-fried pig stomach, one was stir-fried large intestines, and the last was stir-fried kidneys.
After all that work, Pearl Su was sweating on her forehead, but just thinking about what was about to happen made her feel amazing.
While Pearl Su finished her cooking, Alaric Yun's roasted pig still needed some time.
Pearl Su poured the porridge out into bowls to let it cool. Once it cooled, the roasted pig was ready too. It was chopped into pieces, and the two of them sat down for lunch.
Alaric Yun sat on a stool and didn't pick up his chopsticks. He stared at the porridge with pig intestines and liver, the stir-fried pig stomach, the stir-fried intestines, and the stir-fried kidneys.
His face was full of confusion. These ingredients looked familiar.
Pearl Su ignored him and took the lead by picking up a spoonful of porridge and drinking it. Her face showed satisfaction.
Mmm, delicious. The nostalgic taste. She then picked up a piece of pig liver and ate it, praising it in her heart—it was so good.
As she ate, she glanced sideways at Alaric Yun. He still looked confused and hesitant, clearly afraid to start eating. She was so amused she nearly burst out laughing.
Finally, when Pearl Su picked up a piece of pig stomach, Alaric Yun spoke up with a soul-searching question.
"Miss Su, what are these?"
Pearl Su didn't plan to keep him guessing. She pointed directly at each dish and calmly said, "This is stir-fried pig stomach. This is stir-fried large intestine. This is stir-fried kidney."
Then she pointed at the porridge bowl. "This is small intestine. This is pig liver. The porridge made from these is called liver and intestine porridge."
There was also stir-fried pig heart and pig lung soup, which she hadn't made yet. She planned to cook those for dinner, since they wouldn't be able to eat that much all at once.
After speaking, she popped the piece of pig stomach into her mouth. It was crispy, slightly chewy, and delicious.
She stared playfully at the man across from her. His face was awful, full of disbelief.
With a calm and mocking gaze, she shattered his last bit of hope and said firmly, "Yes, it's all made from those dirty organs you told me to keep."
Seeing his face turn even uglier, like the fire of hope had gone out in his heart, she was secretly delighted.
She didn't bother trying to convince him that it tasted good or that he should try it. She just sat there calmly and mockingly, watching him struggle and suffer, enjoying her food while observing the changes in his expression. Her mood was at its peak.
Hmph, you thought you could get rid of me? I'll torture you to death first, you damned man. Hmph hmph...
While Pearl Su mocked him inwardly, she continued eating with satisfaction, unable to hide the joy in her eyes.
Alaric Yun looked at her enjoying her food. After struggling internally for a long time...
Considering Pearl Su's habit of turning unfamiliar things into delicious dishes...
He finally picked up his bowl and took a small sip of the porridge, just like Pearl Su.
He tasted it with reluctance. As the food hit his taste buds and challenged his thoughts, he was surprised to find that the flavor was actually pretty good.
It was a different kind of taste than any porridge he had ever had before. The struggling look on his face eased a little.
He followed Pearl Su again, picked up a piece of intestine, and chewed it slowly. It was a little crunchy, had good texture, and took some time to chew. The taste was unique and not bad at all.
Then he picked up a piece of pig liver and tasted it. It was soft and a little chewy—completely unlike anything he'd eaten before, both in texture and flavor.