Chapter 40: The Fish Basket

Chapter 40: The Fish Basket

Finely chop sand chives and ginger, then mix with salt and rub evenly over the fish pieces. Once marinated, drain any excess moisture and dredge the fish in flour until each piece is thoroughly coated.

The lard in the large iron pot was almost ready. Wen Ran dipped his chopsticks into the oil; when small bubbles appeared around them, he began adding the fish pieces one by one.

As the fish slipped into the hot oil, a rich aroma immediately filled the air. The sizzling oil, though a little intimidating, couldn't quell the curiosity of the three little ones. Despite their fear, they huddled close to the stove and Wen Ran, licking their furry muzzles as they gazed longingly at the frying fish in the wok.

Frying over low heat to prevent sticking, he continued until the fish pieces turned golden brown, then removed them with chopsticks and placed them on a wooden plate.

After all the raw fish pieces were fried, Wen Ran returned them to the oil for a second fry, ensuring an even crispier texture.

Then, according to personal preference, he placed some salt and chili powder around the wooden plate for dipping.

When the plate of golden, crispy fried fish was set before them, the three little ones' fluffy feline faces first registered confusion. Their glass-bead-like eyes widened with curiosity as they fixed their gaze on this uniquely fragrant "Fish Beast" meat.

The aroma was unlike any other meat Wen Ran had prepared—a distinct blend of rich, oily fragrance and a subtle fishy scent, fresh and tantalizing. It made their noses twitch as the scent continuously stimulated their olfactory nerves.

Lang Zhi cautiously extended a paw, lightly touching a piece of the fried fish. Wen Ran encouraged him with a smile, "Try it, it's really delicious."

As Lang Zhi put a small piece into his mouth, he paused slightly, then his eyes widened suddenly, an expression of disbelief spreading across his face.

Wen Ran, watching his reaction, said with a laugh, "See? I told you it was delicious."

Wen Ran also took a piece and put it in his mouth. The crispy exterior and tender interior burst with flavor—truly satisfying.

Seeing that neither Wen Ran nor Lang Zhi had been struck down by the Beast God after eating, the three little ones each grabbed a piece to try. It was so delicious!

They began eating heartily, emitting contented hums and little purrs, chattering about going to catch more "Fish Beasts" later, as if the fish in the river would vanish at any moment.

Wen Ran reached out to stop them, teasing them good-naturedly, and the three little ones licked their muzzles in embarrassment.

Lang Zhi, originally weary from hunting, now felt as if his fatigue had vanished, replaced by a warm, comforting sensation, and a newfound confidence filled his heart.

Their days would only get better and better!

After eating their fill, Lang Zhi went out with the hunting team in the evening. Wen Ran had originally planned to go out with Lang Zhi to gather food, but since discovering the fish, he decided to stay in the cave with the three little ones and try their hand at fishing in the river.

The first tool that came to mind was a fish basket, but unfortunately, making one required bamboo, which was nowhere to be found in the desert. Wen Ran had to settle for the next best option: making a fishing net.

He had no suitable materials on hand for a net. While he could afford to buy one now, if their cave could buy one, what would other beastmen use to fish?

Moreover, relying solely on buying things to survive felt unreliable; they needed to make their own tools and be self-reliant.

What if one day he truly had no gold coins left? How would they survive?

Besides, the gold coins he had now were needed for other important things. He intended to save them for emergencies during the dry season—if they really ran out of water or food, having gold coins would allow them to buy what they needed!

After struggling all night, Wen Ran managed to weave a makeshift fishing net, but it lacked strength and broke into pieces with a little force.

Sighing, he painstakingly wove a fish basket out of branches. Though not as fine or effective as one made from bamboo, it was better than nothing. He decided to try it tomorrow to see if it could catch any fish.

Wen Ran added another log to the fire, washed up, and went to sleep, cuddling the three little ones.

......

The experimental field was doing even better than Wen Ran had expected.

In what felt like no time, the potatoes and watermelons had already sprouted, broken through the soil, and flowered, soon to bear fruit. Worried that other animals might damage the field, Wen Ran would often check on them. He even made a few scarecrows out of tumbleweeds and placed them in the field to scare away birds and prevent them from pecking at the watermelons.

In a little while, when the watermelons, potatoes, and white radishes were fully grown, they’d have more food supplies, making the dry season much easier to get through!

Pleased with himself, Wen Ran loosened the soil with a hoe around the fields. Perhaps the Magical Spring was too effective—even the previously barren sandy soil now had small grasses growing near the seedlings.

Wen Ran used the hoe to remove the weeds, then watered each plot. His Magical Spring still hadn't changed much; the flow remained a small trickle, but at least it never stopped. It just took more time to water the fields, but he didn’t have to worry about any plot missing out on the Magical Spring’s water.

After finishing these tasks, Wen Ran returned to the cave and found that Lang Zhi hadn’t come back yet.

Lang Zhi was spending longer hours hunting now. Aside from resting and eating, whether day or night, he was mostly out hunting.

It wasn’t just Lang Zhi; nearly all the male orcs of the Sand Cat Tribe were out hunting, leaving only a dozen or so behind to patrol the tribe and ensure everyone’s safety.

Wen Ran also wanted to gather as much food as possible, but he knew that going out with Lang Zhi would only slow him down. So, he could only stay in the tribe and think of other ways to help.

But the materials on hand were limited. Digging traps was impossible since the ground was mostly sand, making it hard to create large traps, let alone expect animals to fall into them. Trying to weave traps from dry branches was also futile—the branches were too dry and brittle, shattering with a single chop, useful only as firewood.

Wen Ran lay sprawled in the shade, gazing at the blue sky through the gaps between the white bones and animal hides, pondering what other methods he could use for hunting.

As for fishing, he hadn't had much success yet. Buying a fishing net would be too conspicuous, and besides, nets were really expensive.

A simple net cost several hundred gold coins. With so many people in the tribe, how many nets would they need? There were cheaper options, but they weren’t durable. The fish in the beast world were strong and could break flimsy nets after just a few uses, making it not worth the cost.

Trying to catch fish barehanded wasn’t practical either. Although the water level was dropping, it was still deep, and the underwater conditions were unknown. There might be dangerous creatures lurking, making it risky to venture into the water, especially the deep areas where larger fish tended to live.

Wen Ran decided to get water first. Before the water source dried up completely, he wanted to collect as much as possible. For this, he specifically bought over a dozen large buckets for water storage.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford more or didn’t want to buy more storage buckets; there simply wasn’t enough space in his storage. Keeping them in the cave would be too conspicuous.

After some thought, he went ahead and bought a large iron door with a lock, planning to install it for Lang Zhi’s cave. Once the iron door was installed, he wouldn’t have to worry about others discovering his stash.

Determined, Wen Ran decided to first try throwing the fish basket into the river before returning to the cave to install the door, just to see if it could catch any fish.

He selected a spot where the current was slow and fish shadows were vaguely visible, then submerged the basket completely, securing it with animal hide ropes. He also placed a few heavy animal bones inside the basket to prevent it from being washed away by the current.

After waiting about an hour, and as it was getting late, Wen Ran decided to check the basket since he still needed to return to the cave to install the iron door. Unfortunately, perhaps because there was no bait inside, the basket was empty.

"Maybe it was too soon," Wen Ran told himself. To attract fish, he placed a few large-bellied crickets inside the basket. As for worms or other insects that fish liked, Wen Ran hadn’t seen any yet, and he wasn’t sure if earthworms could survive in the desert.

He placed the basket back into the water, securing it with branches tied to the riverbank to prevent it from drifting away. Then, the one adult and three little ones headed back to the cave.

Wen Ran felt a bit disheartened, hanging his head and sighing with every step. The three little ones also drooped their little heads, sighing along with him.

Back at the cave, buying the iron door required gold coins. Wen Ran remembered the agave syrup he had brewed some days ago and wondered how it was turning out. It had been about seven days now—typically, it took seven to fourteen days to ferment.

He decided to open one jar to check. Fortunately, the agave syrup originally stored in Lang Zhi’s cave for fermentation had progressed quickly thanks to the mother liquor. The originally clear, bright syrup had turned into a milky, viscous liquid. Scooping a spoonful, he tasted it carefully—slightly sour, exactly like the two jars of agave wine he had made before!

It was ready!

Wen Ran sampled several jars, and none had spoiled; all had successfully turned into agave wine. Excited, he slapped his thigh several times—it was worth spending those three thousand gold coins on the mother liquor!

The three thousand gold coins' worth of mother liquor had fermented one hundred and twenty jars of agave wine, each containing one hundred jin. Based on the selling price of agave wine from other merchants in the marketplace—like the small bottle he had bought before, which was only about one jin and cost over one hundred gold coins, and with inferior quality compared to his brew—each jar of his hundred-jin agave wine could sell for over ten thousand gold coins. That would mean one hundred and twenty jars could bring in about one million two hundred thousand gold coins.

Wen Ran thought this seemed promising. Noticing that others had shops in the dimensional marketplace, he asked the system about it. The system said shop rentals in the marketplace cost one thousand gold coins per month, or twelve thousand per year, payable monthly or annually.

There was also an option for a hosted service, where you could list your goods for sale, and the system would automatically handle sales, but it required an additional monthly hosting fee.

Wen Ran thought about it—he should open a small shop too. But one thousand gold coins was no small amount given his current savings. He still needed those gold coins to get through the challenges of the dry season.