Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Ye Qing watched the clay pot closely. She occasionally stirred the noodle pieces inside with a spoon to prevent them from sticking together.

While she stirred, she suddenly heard the system’s mechanical voice in her mind. “Congratulations, dear. The female lead Jiang Jinhuang’s favorability increased by 30. Her current favorability is 0. Your current remaining exchange points are 92.”

Ye Qing froze momentarily. She looked at Jiang Jinhuang with suspicion. Why did Jiang Jinhuang’s favorability rise without any warning? It just suddenly jumped by 30 points?

Jiang Jinhuang noticed Ye Qing staring at her. She raised her eyes and met Ye Qing’s gaze. “What’s wrong? Is something off?”

Ye Qing smiled at her. “Nothing, nothing. Your stir-fried potato strips smell really good.”

Jiang Jinhuang found Ye Qing’s comment odd but didn’t say much. “Well, eat more later then.”

The little one came over too. She first clung to her sister and looked at the dish in the iron pot. Then, she clung to Ye Qing and shook her arm. “Sister Ye, let me see what’s cooking in the pot.”

Ye Qing laughed and picked up the little one. She let her see the food in the clay pot clearly.

The little one’s eyes lit up. “It’s noodle pieces. I like them.”

Children’s teeth weren’t fully developed yet. They liked eating soupy noodles like these.

Ye Qing held her and smiled. “If you like them, eat more. Eating more helps you grow tall.”

“Okay!” the little one said happily.

After playing with the little one for a bit, Ye Qing put her down. The noodle soup cooked quickly. She took four bowls and served the noodle soup. She set Song Zhao’s bowl aside to cool so it wouldn’t be too hot to feed her later.

Ye Qing picked up her bowl and ate the hot noodle soup. She occasionally grabbed some potato strips with her chopsticks.

The wind and snow outside had stopped by now. However, thick snow covered the ground. Ye Qing felt it was colder than yesterday. Holding the steaming noodle soup, she ate with great satisfaction. The little one did too, finishing one bowl and even asking Ye Qing to serve her half a bowl more.

Ye Qing ate another bowl herself. When Song Zhao’s bowl was cool enough to eat without blowing, she took it and walked to Song Zhao. She gently nudged her. “Song Zhao, wake up. Eat something before sleeping again.”

As she spoke, Ye Qing touched Song Zhao’s forehead. Seeing she had no fever, Ye Qing felt more at ease.

Song Zhao woke from the nudge. She smelled the food’s aroma and instinctively swallowed a few times. Then, she looked at Ye Qing. “Master?”

“Eat first. How do you feel today?” Ye Qing asked.

“Much better. The wounds don’t hurt as much,” Song Zhao answered honestly. Yesterday, she was groggy and feverish. Today, her spirit was noticeably better, and her back hurt less.

“That’s good. Tomorrow, I’ll check your wounds when I change the dressing,” Ye Qing said. She fed her with the porcelain spoon.

Song Zhao felt embarrassed but was too hungry to resist. She obediently ate the food. After a bowl of noodle pieces, she felt alive again.

“Thank you, Master. Sorry for the trouble,” Song Zhao said, looking at Ye Qing and smiling gratefully.

“It’s no trouble. Keep resting,” Ye Qing said. Seeing Song Zhao was fine, she took the bowl and walked away.

Jiang Jinhuang had started cleaning the pots and bowls. Ye Qing offered to help, but Jiang Jinhuang pushed her away. “I’ll do it. You go stay with Yangyang.”

“Alright,” Ye Qing said. She took the little one’s hand and walked around the temple a few times to aid digestion.

Later that night, Ye Qing and Jiang Jinhuang took turns keeping watch. After all, they were still in the wilderness, which wasn’t very safe.

The next morning, Ye Qing took a sharp dagger and went out early. She didn’t kill the horse at the temple door. Instead, she walked about twenty meters away. She found an open area to slaughter the horse.

No one had passed by on the snow, so it was clean. Ye Qing tied the horse securely and began slaughtering it to drain the bl00d. After most of the bl00d was drained, she started skinning it. The skinning process alone took Ye Qing a lot of time.

After a while, Jiang Jinhuang woke up. Not seeing Ye Qing in the temple, she washed up with the little one and went out to find her.

The little one spotted Ye Qing from afar. She pointed and said, “Sister Ye is over there!”

“I see her,” Jiang Jinhuang said, smiling at the little one. She led her forward. When they got closer, Jiang Jinhuang was startled. Ye Qing was slaughtering a horse.

She quickly asked, “Why did you kill a horse? Don’t we need it later?”

Ye Qing winked at Jiang Jinhuang. “Not the one we use. Another horse. Since we’re not leaving soon, I thought I’d kill one and store the meat to eat slowly.”

Jiang Jinhuang wanted to ask if the horse meat could be preserved. She opened her mouth but closed it again. She couldn’t do it, but Ye Qing could. After all, Ye Qing had taken out fresh pork on the road before.

“Alright, I’ll help you,” Jiang Jinhuang said. She looked at the little one. “Yangyang, do you want to play outside or go back to the temple?”

“Outside! I want to play in the snow!” the little one said immediately. She then ran around Ye Qing and Jiang Jinhuang, playing joyfully.

Jiang Jinhuang nodded. “Okay, but be careful not to fall.”

“Okay!” the little one replied promptly.

Jiang Jinhuang took out her self-defense dagger, which Ye Qing had given her. She had never used it before, but now it was perfect for skinning.

With Jiang Jinhuang’s help, the process went faster. However, both Ye Qing and Jiang Jinhuang were inexperienced. They struggled since they had never done this before.

A skilled butcher could skin the horse intact, but Ye Qing and Jiang Jinhuang couldn’t. They cut a few times, and a piece of skin came off. Still, after an hour, they managed to remove all the skin.

Jiang Jinhuang looked at the horse, feeling overwhelmed. She frowned and asked Ye Qing, “What do we do next?”

Ye Qing didn’t really know either, but she had killed chickens before. She thought butchering a horse wasn’t much different from a chicken. She said, “Take out the innards first. Keep what’s edible and throw away what isn’t.”

Jiang Jinhuang saw Ye Qing speak calmly and assumed she knew what she was doing. She felt relieved. “Alright, you do it. I’ll help beside you.”

“Okay,” Ye Qing said. She started working. The horse was much larger and harder to handle than a chicken. Ye Qing discarded the inedible innards and stored the meat in her space. She didn’t even bother hiding it from Jiang Jinhuang anymore.

Jiang Jinhuang pretended not to see and kept watching Ye Qing cut the meat.

After handling the meat, Ye Qing took out an axe. She chopped the bones into smaller pieces for easier use later.

She worked until the afternoon (around 2 p.m.). Ye Qing’s stomach growled loudly. The little one’s did too, rumbling now and then as she stood nearby.

Ye Qing stood up to stretch. She looked at the horse meat on the ground and said, “Jinhuang, take a piece of meat back to cook. Remember to add some liquor to remove the smell. I’ll clean up here and come back.”

She then looked at the little one. “Hungry, huh?”

The little one nodded and pinched her flat stomach. “Hungry.”

“Go back with your sister. Food will be ready soon,” Ye Qing said.

“Okay!” The little one happily followed her sister back to the temple.

Ye Qing stored the bones and edible innards in her space. The snow was left with frozen horse bl00d, skin, and inedible innards.

Ye Qing stood up and stretched. She went to a clean spot, grabbed a handful of snow, and washed her hands thoroughly until the smell was gone.

She cleaned the dagger with snow too. Then, Ye Qing returned to the temple.

Jiang Jinhuang had already started stewing the horse meat. She looked up at Ye Qing and asked, “What are we eating with it?”

Ye Qing thought for a moment and said, “Meat-stuffed flatbreads. I’ll make the flatbreads.”

Ye Qing eagerly took out some flour. She also pulled an iron pot from her space. She had taken it from a wealthy household in Linzhou City. It was a round pot, not the flat-bottomed one she wanted, but it would do.

The little one, hungry, bounced around. She checked on Jiang Jinhuang one moment and watched Ye Qing the next.

Ye Qing kneaded the dough and let it rest. Then, she divided it into palm-sized flatbreads. She heated the iron pot, added a little oil, and fried the flatbreads. Soon, one flatbread after another was ready.

Jiang Jinhuang’s horse meat was cooked too. She scooped it into a basin. “Do we just eat it with your flatbreads?”

Ye Qing smiled at her and took out a new cutting board. “Help me cut the meat and some green onions. Chop them as fine as possible.”

Jiang Jinhuang didn’t understand what Ye Qing was doing but followed her instructions. She chopped the meat into a pile and the onions into another. By the time she finished, Ye Qing’s flatbreads were almost done. She made nine in total.

Ye Qing cut the flatbreads open in the middle and said, “Stuff the meat and onions inside the flatbread. Then pour a spoonful of broth on it. It’s delicious that way.”

Ye Qing started doing it herself. She made the first meat-stuffed flatbread and handed it to the little one. “Careful, it’s hot. Eat slowly.”

“Okay!” The little one found this way of eating novel. She took a big bite. The meat’s broth and the onions’ fresh aroma flooded her mouth. She jumped with joy.

“Delicious! So delicious!” she said, taking two more big bites.

Ye Qing made another one and walked to Song Zhao. She handed her the meat-stuffed flatbread.

Song Zhao had woken up hungry long ago. Earlier, when she was alone in the temple, she felt despair, thinking Ye Qing and the others had left. Seeing the pots, bowls, and quilts still there, she felt a bit relieved.

Song Zhao, like an abandoned puppy, glanced at the door now and then, wondering when Ye Qing and the others would return.

Thankfully, after noon, Miss Jiang and the little one returned to the temple. They brought meat and started cooking. This eased Song Zhao’s worries. When her Master returned too, Song Zhao finally felt completely at ease. She hadn’t been abandoned again.