"Crack!"
Jiang Xuan picked up a suitable black pebble from the creek and sharply struck it against a large rock. The pebble split open with a crisp sound, and Jiang Xuan picked up a thin stone fragment with an extremely sharp edge.
Then, he untied a large fish from the vine, using the stone fragment to scale the fish and remove its gills, gutting it open.
"So much fish oil!"
The fish in the autumn were fat, with quite a lot of fish oil in their bellies.
Jiang Xuan was delighted. The wild animals on the mountain mostly had lean meat, with very little fat. For the tribe members, animal fat was a valuable commodity, more desirable than lean meat.
He tore off the fish oil bit by bit and stored it in a bamboo tube, also keeping the fish swim bladder while discarding the rest.
The fish swim bladder, or fish bubble, when dried and boiled, yields fish swim bladder glue, a highly adhesive bonding agent.
Chi Shao and Gou Teng also found sharp stone pieces and helped to clean fish. Once all the fish were prepared, Jiang Xuan obtained over a pound of fish oil and a dozen or so swim bladders of varying sizes.
As for the fish offal, Jiang Xuan instructed Chi Shao to put it all in a bamboo tube and pour it into the pool they had dug earlier to attract more fish.
After finishing, Jiang Xuan and the others cleaned all the fish and brought them back to the bamboo hut to roast.
Actually, they couldn't eat that much fish in one meal because these dozen fish weighed at least fifty or sixty pounds in total.
But it couldn't be helped; if they didn't roast all the fish, in the autumn weather, they would start to rot in just one day and night.
Inside the bamboo hut, above the fire pit, there is a thick bamboo beam, not very high, reachable by stretching out one's arm.
On the bamboo beam hung a dozen woven ropes, each tied with loops capable of connecting other ropes, used for hanging uneaten meat.
The fire pit's flames burn incessantly, day and night, with high temperatures and smoke constantly smoking the meat hanging on the beam. This prevents mosquitoes from coming close, inhibits bacterial growth, and gradually dries the meat, thereby prolonging its preservation time.
This method was not invented by Jiang Xuan but has been a customary practice of the Deer Tribe, reflecting their survival experience and wisdom.
If not for this method, without salt, fresh meat would not last long.
"Leave two to eat later, hang the rest up."
Jiang Xuan and Gou Teng, along with a few others, tied each fish with loops hanging from the beam and suspended them high above the fire pit to be smoked.
Two of the fish were skewered with wooden sticks and roasted beside the fire pit for eating.
As for the dozen swim bladders, Jiang Xuan found a thin vine and hung them on the wall of the bamboo hut for future use.
Jiang Xuan added some wood to the fire pit, making it burn fiercely, the firelight illuminating the fish and the faces of five people.
Surrounding the fire pit are large stones; Jiang Xuan placed the skewered fish on two opposing stones, occasionally turning the fish without having to hold them continuously.
Although the fish had been cleaned, they still retained a faint fishy smell.
"The fishy smell…" Jiang Xuan seemed to remember something.
"Don't roast the fish yet, I need to step out."
Jiang Xuan moved the fish aside, stood up, picked up the Bone Plow, and walked outside, with Chi Shao quickly following, fearing Jiang Xuan might walk far and encounter danger.
"Xuan, where are you going?"
"I am going to find some spices."
"What are spices?" Chi Shao asked, puzzled.
"You'll know soon."
Jiang Xuan walked into the forest beside the bamboo grove, not far ahead, spotting a plant with yellowing leaf edges.
He went over, tried to pull it out but failed, so he used the Bone Plow to dig it out along with the underground root, spreading a pungent smell as the plant's fine roots snapped.
This was wild ginger, commonly found in the forests of the Southern Wilderness. There were several nearby, but Jiang Xuan did not dig for more.
Chi Shao looked at the wild ginger Jiang Xuan dug up: "This is an herb that can detoxify; why did you dig this up?"
Tribe members used many herbs, and wild ginger, commonly found in the mountains, was one of them.
"I heard from Deer Tribe people that this herb can not only detoxify but also remove fishy smell, making roasted meat more fragrant. I want to try using it for roasting fish."
Jiang Xuan shamelessly attributed to the Deer Tribe people, knowing no one could verify it.
"Is that so? I never heard of it."
Chi Shao was half convinced but didn't probe further; it wasn't her nature to dig in.
"We'll know after trying."
Jiang Xuan returned with the Bone Plow and wild ginger, while Chi Shao thought there would be no harm in trying.
Back outside the bamboo hut, Jiang Xuan set down the Bone Plow and cleaned the wild ginger beside the creek, snapping off the stems and leaves and using a sharp stone fragment to slice it into pieces.
Back inside the bamboo hut, Jiang Xuan divided the wild ginger into two halves and put them inside the stomachs of the two roasting fish, then used a thin vine to simply sew the fish bellies, preventing ginger slices from falling out.
Jiang Xuan placed another large stone on the edge of the fire pit, with two fish on it, pulling some glowing charcoals from the fire pit's center to directly roast the fish.
Open flames would scorch the fish, but charcoal is gentler, making it less likely for the fish to burn.
The time passed slowly; as the charcoal roasted the fish, a meat aroma gradually wafted out, along with a faint wild ginger smell.
The fish surface was gradually becoming golden brown, with the fragrance filling the bamboo hut.