Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 8

“Don’t you already know?”

Qiu Qi lowered her head, putting on a shy act.

“I really can’t stand bloody things. The moment I see them, I start hyperventilating. If it gets serious, I’ll even faint.”

Pei Yuqing: I do know about your breathing getting faster, but as for fainting, that was probably because I hit you.

But after all, Qiu Qi was the boss of this courtyard. Such a small request was not impossible to satisfy.

Pei Yuqing raised her head and tossed this landmine to Zu Mianmian.

“Mianmian, bring your food over.”

Zu Mianmian was indeed a herbivore, but the grass on her plate was all sweet potato leaves and mulberry leaves. It was vastly different from the little green vegetables humans usually ate. Even if she gave it to Qiu Qi, Qiu Qi would not be able to swallow it.

“No need! Madam.”

Qiu Qi hurriedly spoke up.

“Actually, I prefer staple foods. Does the kitchen have any rice, flour, or something like that?”

“Steward Yan, is there still any in the kitchen?”

Yan Wan nodded.

“I will go prepare it now.”

“Wait.”

Qiu Qi stood up.

“Why don’t I go with you? It’ll be faster if I make it myself.”

“Then what about us…”

Zu Mianmian rubbed her stomach and drooped her face. She was so hungry.

“Don’t just sit there in a daze. Hurry and eat. Aren’t you all hungry?”

Qiu Qi carried the plate full of grass back in front of Zu Mianmian.

“And I’ll trouble Madam to give an order later. Have food delivered to the others in the courtyard too. From now on, no one needs to wait for me. Eat whenever you want.”

Amid everyone’s astonished gazes, only Pei Yuqing calmly nodded.

“Yes, my lord.”

Watching Qiu Qi lift her skirt and disappear in an instant, Xiao Chu’er turned back and said to the others who were still stunned,

“What are you all staring for? Eat! Maybe this is our last lunch.”

“…Do you know how to talk?”

Yin Ci frowned.

…

The kitchen still used the most primitive method of starting a fire. Qiu Qi had already experienced the hardship of it when boiling water before. Fortunately, this time, an old cook was helping from the side, so the pot heated up quickly.

Her gaze swept across the ingredient rack. Among the vegetables, not a single thing looked edible to a human. Fortunately, there was still some pork on the meat side.

Qiu Qi took down a piece of pork and quickly cut it into small pieces.

“Do you have cooking wine here? I’ll remove the gamey smell.”

The old cook looked completely unfamiliar with her words.

“What?”

The beastman race only cared about freshness and original flavor when eating. They never needed to remove any gamey smell. Their highest-level cooking method was nothing more than boiling in water and adding some salt to enhance the firmness of the meat.

There were only two seasonings in the kitchen: salt and sugar. The tiny palm-sized jars could last the entire courtyard two months and still not be used up.

“All right. I was thinking too much.”

Qiu Qi sighed and comforted herself.

“At least there’s salt.”

Fortunately, although she often ate takeout, after years of living alone, she had at least trained her cooking skills to a level sufficient for daily life.

Because there was no oil, Qiu Qi could only render it herself using the fatty parts of the pork. As the lard rendered, a delicious fragrance slowly spread. She took a deep sniff and could not resist picking out a piece of crackling and stuffing it into her mouth first.

“Hiss-ha… So fragrant.”

Pork cracklings had originally been one of her favorite snacks. Especially now that she was so hungry, this little crispy piece of meat seemed even more delicious.

The old cook stood to the side, his reaction to Qiu Qi’s actions summed up in four words: dumbstruck.

“My lord, what are you doing?”

As he spoke, he sniffed. Smelling that aroma, he could not help revealing an intoxicated expression.

“This is called pork crackling. You can render lard from fatty pork. If you use this to stir-fry things, they’ll taste especially good.”

“Stir-fry?”

“Right. You’ll know in a bit.”

Qiu Qi picked up a piece of crackling and held it to his mouth.

“Want to try it? It’s really tasty.”

“My lord, this lowly one does not dare.”

The old cook lowered his head in fear and reverence.

“What’s there to not dare? It’s not like I’m poisoning you. Hurry and open your mouth. My hand is getting tired from holding it up.”

Only then did the old cook lift his head. But he did not dare directly open his mouth to receive it. He pinched it with his hand first, then put it into his mouth.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo! So hot, so hot!”

Something that had just been fried in oil was, of course, hot. But he had not been prepared. With one bite, the crispy outer layer broke open, and the heat wrapped inside filled his mouth. But this was food given by Qiu Qi, so even if he wanted to spit it out, he did not dare.

“Open your mouth and breathe out.”

Qiu Qi instructed him with the attitude of someone experienced.

“Actually, meat tastes best when eaten hot. Just blow on it a couple of times, then hurry and chew. It’s really especially delicious. I’m not lying to you.”

The old cook followed her instructions with tears in his eyes. But as he chewed, he discovered that the meat fragrance in his mouth grew stronger and stronger. The wonderful texture, paired with that indescribably beautiful oily aroma, was indeed far, far tastier than the raw pork they usually ate.

When Pei Yuqing came to look for Qiu Qi, what she saw was this strange scene.

The veteran cook who had been making big-pot meals in the courtyard for over ten years was crying while eating something. His facial features were tightly scrunched together, making him look extremely pained. Very soon, his knees hit the ground, and he knelt before Qiu Qi, prostrating himself and begging for mercy.

“My lord, even if you kill me, I still want to ask you this question. I hope you will grant my wish!”

Pei Yuqing: She bullied the cook into this state in such a short time? Heh. Sure enough, she’s shown her true colors.

Food was the people’s heaven. Moreover, beastmen were a race whose brains followed their desires. It was not uncommon for carnivorous beastmen to fight until one died and one was injured over a delicious prey. From this, one could see how important a mouthful of good food was to them.

“No, what are you doing?”

Qiu Qi crouched down to help him up.

“If you have something to say, just say it. Can you stop smashing your knees against the floor at every turn?”

“I want to ask you for the secret recipe for this immortal delicacy! Please tell me!”

Qiu Qi, who had only simply fried some pork cracklings: “That counts as a secret recipe? Any normal person with hands can do it, and you’re kneeling to beg for it?”

Looks like he really had been tormented quite badly by plain boiled meat.

Old cook: Is she scolding me…

Pei Yuqing: ?

“Madam!”

Qiu Qi raised her head and saw Pei Yuqing standing at the doorway. Her eyes instantly lit up.

“Have you finished eating?”

“Not yet. I just finished notifying everyone that lunch will be moved earlier.”

“You’ve been hungry for a long time too, so why didn’t you let a servant go…”

Qiu Qi remembered. There were no servants in their courtyard.

Beastmen were used to living freely and casually. Although they were now gradually moving closer to human lifestyles, they still were not used to being waited on by others.

Qiu Qi changed what she was going to say and told Pei Yuqing,

“Then perfect. Eat with me.”

Pei Yuqing walked into the kitchen. Of course, she also smelled that unfamiliar food fragrance. She approached the stove and glanced into the pot.

“Madam, do you want to try it?”

Qiu Qi took a pair of chopsticks from the side, blew on the piece to cool it a little, then offered it to Pei Yuqing.

Pei Yuqing originally intended to refuse. After all, who knew whether this thing had been poisoned?

But when she met Qiu Qi’s dog-like eyes that seemed able to speak, she silently swallowed the words of refusal back down. She lowered her head and gently bit the piece of crackling.

“Is it good? Is it good?”

Qiu Qi looked at her expectantly.

Pei Yuqing bit through the crispy coating and chewed carefully. In terms of texture, it was indeed a little greasy, but this was the first time she had eaten pork with such a strong meaty fragrance.

“It is good.”

She swallowed what was in her mouth and gave Qiu Qi the answer she wanted to hear.

“That’s great. If you like the taste of lard, then you’ll definitely like the things I stir-fry later too.”

Qiu Qi rolled up her sleeves, instantly burning with fighting spirit.

As the old saying went: if you wanted to capture a person’s heart, you had to first capture their stomach.

Once she firmly captured Pei Yuqing’s stomach, would she still have to fear Pei Yuqing wanting to kill her again?

Author’s Note:

Pei Yuqing: Fine. Try capturing it.

P.S. I’m not praising one thing by stepping on another. Plain boiled pork is delicious too. dog head