Tang Ling could not imagine what the ash mutton soup was. Based on his understanding, the mutton must be minced until it was as fine as ash and then boiled into a mutton paste.
As a matter of fact, he could only praise Tang Ling for his imagination. The real ash mutton soup required a lot of effort. It required more than a dozen types of special spices from the grasslands to be mixed with the marinated mutton. Underground spring water, which was between Level 3 and Level 2 drinking water, was added into a special earthenware pot and buried under the fire to simmer.
Tang Ling had to pay special attention to the fuel of the fire, but he had no idea what exactly it was.
All he knew was that it took more than three hours for the soup to be simmered in the fire because the whole pile of firewood had to be burned to ashes to be considered done. That was how the ash mutton soup got its name.
When the big pot of soup was served on the table, it was almost dusk outside, and it had turned into a drizzling night.
The rain in the grasslands was precious. In the past, Valencia would be jumping for joy because after the rain, there would always be something fresh to eat in the grasslands, such as the unique mushrooms of the grasslands. Every time she went out, she would come back with a basket of fresh wild vegetables.
Her mother used it to make pancakes, but Valencia was not in the mood for it that day.
She sighed softly as she looked at the rain outside the window. She was afraid that she would neglect Tang Ling, so she forced a smile at him from time to time.
Her father, Wenbu, was able to maintain his composure. After the ash mutton soup was served, he removed the lid and scooped out the mutton. He cut the mutton into pieces and placed them in front of Tang Ling.
The mutton offal was left in the soup.
The soup was delicious and slightly yellow with a lot of spices floating on it. It was rich and mellow to the point that one's tongue almost flew out. There was also a milky aroma.
The tender mutton was scooped out from the soup, and it was paired with a bit of stir-fried and spiced coarse salt. It was dipped in the soup and a big mouthful of garlic was added to the soup. It was the most delicious thing in the world.
Tang Ling had made up his mind to be a gentleman, but after the first bite, he could not help but eat two big pieces. He could not help it. The meat was tender and did not have any foul smell. When he bit into it, all he could feel was the juices of the meat mixed with a little oil. It satisfied all his fantasies of eating meat.
It was a lot more refined than the food culture in Safety Sector No. 17.
The cuisine with a strong local flavor reminded Tang Ling of the ancient Huaxia cuisine.
Although the village was shrouded in sorrow, there were some inheritances that managed to survive under such sorrows.
For example, a culture maintained by food.
It made Tang Ling feel a little emotional. He was also touched by the existence of humans.
After eating three pieces of lamb, he stopped, wiped his hands, and took a sip of the rich and sweet milk tea. He looked at Wenbu with a grateful gaze. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"What are you talking about? No matter how difficult the prairie people are, we will never neglect our friends who come from afar. "Wenbu took a sip of the horse milk wine, and the two red spots on his rough face became redder.
He put down the cup and continued, "I believe in my daughter, so I definitely believe that you are an interesting and friendly person."
Tang Ling did not say anything. All he did was smile. The rain outside the window got heavier and the pitter-patter sounded on the tent. It was comforting, but it also made one sad.
Therefore, the Valencia family could not erase the deep worry between their brows.
It was actually very touching. Wenbu chased Bartu away. "This is my daughter's guest. Bartu, you are not my son-in-law yet. You don't have the right to speak in this house. If you don't welcome my daughter's guest, you can leave. "
How rare was it to be able to maintain such honesty in the Purple Moon era?
Or perhaps, this was a grassland in the middle of the mountains. It had always been a peaceful place.
The herding lifestyle made the people living there not rich, but they did not lack food and clothing.
The drastic changes in the Purple Moon era broke the shackles of evolution, so the barren grassland was once again filled with resources.
They lived a good life, so they were able to pass on the beauty of their spirit.
Is it going to disappear too? Tang Ling held the cup of milk tea with hesitation and sadness.
He believed that extreme tiredness was something that challenged human nature. When one was pushed to the limit, how strong would one's willpower be to not show their bestial side?
However, Tang Ling did not ask anything. Instead, he casually chatted with the family and also asked about the black market.
As expected, there was no black market in the village. There were only merchant groups that came once a month.
The merchant groups would bring some salt, ironware, and other necessities. They would also bring cultivation resources prepared for great warriors and high-end hunters like all kinds of high-grade meat.
The people of the grassland had to trade a large amount of specialty produce for these resources.
Tang Ling stroked his chin. The merchant groups would never be able to satisfy his needs. According to his calculations, the merchant groups would only arrive at Barbarto Village in three days, so he could not afford to waste any more time.
It made Tang Ling realize that in order to locate the underground hideout of the black market, it would have to be somewhere above the safety sector or a huge village that had the geographical advantage of being in the right place.
The villages that he passed by along the way might not even have a chance.
**
After the conversation, it was already deep into the night.
The night in the grassland was colder than the forest. After a long day of hard work, Valencia's family finally fell into a deep sleep.
As an honored guest, Tang Ling was arranged to sit beside the brazier. Valencia's erji covered him with a thick layer of animal pelt and a woolen blanket. It seemed like she was worried that the scrawny young man could not withstand the coldness of the grassland.
Unfortunately, Tang Ling could not enjoy the beautiful gesture right away. After Valencia's family fell asleep, Tang Ling quietly walked out of the tent and found a place to hide from the rain. He then started to cultivate under the Purple Moon.
The moonlight on the grassland seemed to be more abundant than before. The cultivation that would normally take him four hours to reach his limit was reduced to three hours.
Puzzled, Tang Ling opened his eyes and heard intermittent sobbing.
It felt very desolate in the rainy night.
Frowning, Tang Ling stood up and quietly walked over.
It turned out that Valencia was leaning against the stable post outside the tent, sobbing with her head down.
I didn't expect such a cheerful girl to have such a delicate side to her. As the thought lingered in his mind, he walked over to her.
"Hey, Miss Black." Tang Ling squatted down and greeted Valencia.
Valencia was a little shocked. When she saw Tang Ling and heard him call her Miss Black, she could not help but say, "You are the black one! You are as black as the charcoal in the brazier!"
"Not just Barbarto Village, I'm the prettiest in all the villages around here!" Valencia was a little agitated, so much so that a snot bubble popped out of her nose.
"Hahaha!" Tang Ling laughed.
Frustrated, Valencia punched Tang Ling twice.
As a matter of fact, how could a girl from the grassland not be beautiful? His wheat-colored skin was so healthy. His eyebrows were thick, and his cheekbones were slightly red. His lips were plump, and his eyes were big and somewhat sunken. He was full of youthful vigor. He was like a ball of hot flame that burned the hearts of the grassland youths.
Only Tang Ling paid special attention to her.
As a matter of fact, be it black or white, there was no difference in Tang Ling's eyes. It was just a feature. However, he could not explain it to a girl like Valencia.
After messing around with Tang Ling for a while, Valencia calmed down a little.
Tang Ling sat down beside her, plucked a blade of grass, and put it in his mouth. "Are you reluctant to let Warrior go?"
"How did you know?" Valencia was shocked.
"Do I even have to guess? Warrior is very healthy and looks like a horse with a long life, but you're crying and looking at it with reluctance. Aren't you reluctant to let Warrior go? "As Tang Ling spoke, he looked at Warrior and tapped its thigh.
"Be careful." Valencia could not help but warn him. As the saying went, flattery was like kissing the horse's thigh, which meant that patting the horse's thigh was a relatively dangerous move.
However, strangely enough, Warrior seemed to be indescribably afraid of Tang Ling. Not only did it willingly carry Tang Ling all the way back in the afternoon, but it did not even react when Tang Ling patted its thigh.
Valencia was a little surprised by her reaction.
"Why would I be reluctant to let Warrior go?" Tang Ling laid down in front of the stable. The rain was getting lighter, and the thick dark clouds that shrouded the night sky were thinner, finally revealing the unique loftiness of the grassland's night sky.
"Because it's my family's most valuable asset. Even though it's my companion, it can't be kept after this incident," Valencia said in disappointment.
"It's not as valuable as the melon seeds I gave you, is it?" Tang Ling tried to test the waters. As a matter of fact, if it could help the family solve the problem, he would not mind giving her another melon seed.
Although he did not have much in stock, he only managed to get the melon seeds when he ran into a thousand-vine sunflower before heading to the valley.
"No, why are you so dumb? You even told me not to tell anyone about the melon seeds because it will bring disaster. Now you're … "Valencia did not understand whether the chubby young man was really dumb or smart.
"Are you an idiot? You can totally say that you picked it up, robbed it, or whatever. Anyway, no one will be able to find a second one in your house. " The only trouble would be Tang Ling since Valencia's family suddenly had the so-called holy fruit and a strange young man as a guest. It was easy to connect the two incidents together.
However, Tang Ling would have left by then, so he did not care about what they thought. Would they be able to guess his true identity?
"Tang Ling, I don't want to," Valencia said softly, "It's not that I don't want to give up the holy fruit. It's just that the fruit will create another powerhouse for the Uvandidi tribe.
"Once they have more experts, they will only bully our village and other villages even more."
They are no longer the people of the grasslands. They are traitors who have sided with the people with the stars. "
"The people with the stars?" Tang Ling muttered in his heart before he sat up. "What are the people with the stars?"
"They wear fancy uniforms with stars embroidered on the chest. We call them the people with the stars, "Valencia explained.
Tang Ling did not say anything else as he pondered over something.
"Are they bad people? Why don't you side with them? "Tang Ling asked after five seconds of silence.
Has the Stardust Council's hand reached here? The peaceful grasslands that stood aloof from worldly affairs?
What do they want?
"I don't know whether they are bad or not, but they want us to pledge our loyalty and work for them from now on. They want us to protect them.
More importantly, they want us to give up the honor of our ancestors. They want us to lose Barbarto Village and become their subordinate … "Valencia had never left the grassland, so she did not know how to describe the relationship between them.
However, Tang Ling understood right away. The Stardust Council wanted to take over all the villages in the grassland and turn it into their territory. They wanted the villagers to collect resources from the land, which was a form of occupation.
When the time was right, did the Stardust Council want to build a Star Nation?
Since Tang Ling did not say anything, Valencia continued, "Actually, the temptation is very big. In this era, it's not easy to survive. We have to face all kinds of disasters at any time.
More importantly, our children won't get a good education and we won't be able to get the resources from the outside world.
"They said they could provide everything, such as exquisite clothes, powerful weapons, and so on. A lot of people in the village were shaken.
"The ones who rejected them were a group of people led by my father. They said, 'These people with the stars will actually educate the children and turn them into slaves. They took away the freedom that belonged to us and turned our herding and mining work into a service for them, and they will continue to do it forever. "
"I trust my father," Valencia said in a soft voice.
"Then? The few villages didn't compromise, but the Uwadidi tribe did? So what? "Tang Ling raised a brow.
He knew that with the pressure from the Stardust Council, the situation would change sooner or later. Compromise was the trend.
However, it was not to the point where the whole village was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, was it? As a nomadic tribe, they could not even bear to kill a sheep. How poor were they? Yet, this village was rich in cattle and sheep.
"It's because the wolf disaster is coming. At most, in two days, the wolf disaster will come … "Valencia lowered her head and could not continue anymore.
"What's the wolf disaster? What does it have to do with you offering your warriors? "Tang Ling had a hunch about it, but he still asked.
"Because we need the warriors from the Uwadidi tribe to help us defend the village," Valencia answered.
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