I woke up to find myself transmigrated into a disabled child.

Chapter 100 Pepper Fruit

Perhaps it was the perfect season, but the purple sweet potatoes in this area were growing exceptionally well and in large quantities, enough to make their small team very wealthy.

Seeing that quite some time had passed, Le Man observed the position of the sun and suggested, "Everyone, it's about time. Let's finish this and head back to camp."

"OK……"

"understood……"

With everyone's support, Leman continued to keep watch. Compared to the last time, this gathering activity went very smoothly, and no accidents occurred until Leman led the group back to the camp safely.

"Lezhi, Lezhi, come here quickly." After retrieving the supplies she had stored, Leyou summoned Lezhi to come to the fire pit, eager to try the taste of the newly harvested purple sweet potatoes.

It was indeed time to prepare dinner, so as the commander-in-chief, Lezhi and his team began to make preparations in earnest according to his instructions.

After the last insect attack, everyone received a lot of meat, filling the space to the brim. Even though they hadn't hunted much these past few days, their reserves were still visibly plentiful. So everyone took out their share of meat and put it out, along with some other things they found in the forest today, all put together, waiting for Lezhi to distribute them.

Many of the ingredients were unfamiliar to Lezhi, and as usual, he tried each one briefly first. Most were common berries found in the forest, but there was one that Lezhi immediately noticed was off.

Even before tasting it, the familiar, numbing and spicy aroma alone stirred up long-dormant memories for Lezhi. She tore off a small piece with her teeth and pushed it apart with her tongue; the intense flavor spread throughout her mouth. Eating Sichuan peppercorns on their own wasn't pleasant, but it didn't dampen Lezhi's good mood.

"Leyou, where did you pick this fruit?" Lezhi held up a fruit about the size of a ping-pong ball to show Leyou.

"Hmm, it must have been Le Ting who just put it there. I'll ask him to come and check."

The incredibly efficient Leyou quickly called Leting back from the water's edge, who was responsible for washing things. When Leting saw the fruit in Lezhi's hand, her eyes lit up, and her expression clearly showed some excitement.

"Lezhi, this is something I just picked in the woods. I wonder if it will be useful to you."

"Um, umm." Lezhi didn't quite understand where the excitement in Leting's eyes came from, and answered somewhat awkwardly, "Um, do you remember where you picked it? I want to go and collect some more. This stuff can be used as a seasoning, it's very useful."

Sichuan peppercorns paired with chili peppers are the perfect match for hot pot. Thinking of the various kinds of spicy hot pot from her past life, yet always classic, Lezhi's mouth watered involuntarily.

Having endured days of wind and rain, he was indeed craving something sweet. Since he had found Sichuan peppercorns by chance today, he decided to make hot pot. Having decided on today's menu, Lezhi stared at Leting with bright eyes, awaiting his reply.

"Hmm, on the road we just went along, I stumbled upon these fruits in a corner while I was gathering other fruits. I saw that most of them were already ripe, so I picked some." Actually, the smell of the Sichuan pepper fruit wasn't very pleasant at the time, but when Le Ting thought about how Le Zhi had managed to turn the Flame Grass into such a delicious food, he instantly became interested.

"Do you still remember that place?" Seeing that Lezhi was genuinely interested in the fruit, Leyou quickly followed up by asking.

Looking up at the sky, Leting thought for a moment, "I should remember, it hasn't been long, I should be able to find it if I go again."

Hearing Le Ting's affirmative answer, Le Zhi excitedly exchanged a glance with Le You, their eagerness practically leaping out of their eyes.

At this moment, Lei Xiu, who had been following behind Le Zhi, stepped forward to pour cold water on the idea, "No, it's getting dark now, and the situation in the forest is even more complicated. You absolutely cannot go in on your own."

The proposal, which had not yet been put forward, was rejected by Lei Xiu and died in its infancy. Le Zhi pouted in resentment, but did not protest. He also knew that his idea was unreliable.

Leyou, who was also somewhat dejected, quickly cheered up and comforted Lezhi, who was clearly disappointed, "It's okay, Lezhi. The fruit is right there and it won't run away. Let's rest early today and get up early tomorrow to ask Uncle Leshan for help. Maybe we can make a quick trip there before we leave."

Startled by Leyou's suggestion, Lezhi looked up at the suddenly tall Leyou, her voice tinged with disbelief but also with hope, "Really? Won't this cause trouble for the team?"

Seeing Lezhi looking so pitiful, Lei Xiu reached out and ruffled Lezhi's hair, saying, "Alright, don't think about it now. You still have to cook, so hurry up and get started, or the little furball will start making a fuss."

Interrupted from casting a spell, Le You was about to say something, but Lei Xiu's indifferent gaze silenced him. So he didn't say anything more and obediently helped Le Zhi with chopping and washing.

Lezhi took out a pot and various seasonings, preparing to start simmering the broth. In another pot, bone broth was already simmering. The insects attacked last time were all hard beetles, with no bones in their meat. However, Lezhi later discovered by chance that if the insect legs were cooked with their shells on, and a little scallion and ginger were added to remove the fishy smell, the soup would taste exceptionally delicious.

Collecting them with their shells on is also convenient, so at Lezhi's request, the guard team specially collected a batch of insect legs to carry with them. Recently, insect leg and bone soup has become very popular in the team.

Therefore, as soon as the fire pit was lit, each team immediately set up a soup pot, and the aroma was already wafting out. Their team did the same.

While the bone broth simmered by the fire, Lezhi focused intently on preparing the base. Animal fat makes the hot pot base more fragrant, so even though she brought along some slippery fruit, Lezhi still went to the trouble of making the rendered fat on the spot using tender, fatty insect meat.

The fatty pork that had been specially separated from the pot quickly rendered its oil. Lezhi controlled the heat, stirring it occasionally with a spatula. Seeing that the oil in the fatty pork had been almost rendered out and turned into a very appetizing golden brown color, Lezhi used chopsticks to pick out the cracklings, sprinkled them with salt, and set them aside. This could be considered a pretty good snack.

Next came adding the seasonings. Le You, Le Zhi's capable assistant, had already gained experience assisting Le Zhi. As soon as Le Zhi spoke, Le You knew what Le Zhi wanted, and the two worked together seamlessly. One passed the ingredients to the other, and the other received them without any hesitation; their movements were incredibly smooth.

The wok, several sizes larger than usual, quickly released the aroma of various seasonings enhanced by the oil. As the various aromas mingled and wafted around, the tribesmen who had been wandering around Lezhi's hearth could no longer contain their curiosity and gathered around.

"Leyou, what are you doing?" A member of the tribe who was familiar with Leyou asked loudly without any hesitation.

Leyou, who had gotten used to acting as Lezhi's translator, didn't even look up and answered directly, "Hot pot, we found a new seasoning that Lezhi said is perfect for hot pot."

"Wow……"

Lezhi, who was exceptionally focused when cooking, ignored the onlookers. The scallions, ginger, and garlic in the pot had already been fried to perfection. Lezhi took the huge amount of flaming herbs and Sichuan peppercorns that Leyou had already chopped, took a deep breath to hold his breath, and quickly put them into the pot.

Anyone who has ever stepped into a kitchen knows the power of stir-fried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Although it was outdoors, the intense, pungent smell still gave the naive tree spirits a great shock.