36: Chapter 36, you know what I mean~

Everyone stood by the stone stove, facing the rich, meaty aroma wafting towards them. For a moment, they were all stunned, unable to collect their thoughts.

What is this?

Where did it come from?

Did Thumbelina or the Snail Fairy stew this?

On the simple stone stove, a rich and savory scent bloomed domineeringly, threading its way into everyone's nostrils.

Several people subconsciously swallowed, their Adam's apples bobbing. Just smelling this fragrance was enough to instantly hook the gluttonous worms in their stomachs.

Saliva flooded their mouths involuntarily; to exaggerate a little, they could barely stop themselves from drooling!

Seeing Zheng Jing walking down from the vehicle, the group quickly went up to ask why, curious as to why he was back so early today and had already started stewing such a large pot of meat soup.

Zheng Jing rubbed his sleepy eyes, his tone nonchalant as he slowly recounted his experiences today.

Although he intended to make the whole process sound light and breezy, without revealing the danger at the time, the people present had been mixing in the deep mountains and forests for years. They were all veteran Gold Panning folks, so how could they not know the dangers of the wild?

Even though Zheng Jing made it sound simple and easy, everyone knew clearly that the danger of the process was by no means as simple as a few words made it seem, and their expressions tightened a bit.

Guo Kui's face immediately sank. With a mix of blame and worry, he began to scold: "You idiot, I've told you before, when you're out in the wilderness, the things you need to be most wary of are poisonous snakes, insects, and mountain miasma. You must put safety first at all times. And you—your guts are too big! You actually dared to sleep on the ground in the wild? No matter how tired or sleepy you were, you should have gritted your teeth and hurried back to the vehicle to rest. How dare you sleep in the woods!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jing could only smile sheepishly. This was indeed his own carelessness.

Looking at Guo Kui, who was angry out of concern, he hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "It's fine, isn't it? My luck was pretty good, and nothing went wrong."

"You really need to be careful next time," Guo Kui said sternly.

The others also chimed in to advise Zheng Jing, warning him that there were too many variables in the deep mountains and wilderness, and unknown dangers were everywhere. If he were bitten by a poisonous snake of that size, the consequences would be unimaginable. If something really happened, it would be too late for regrets.

It was fine to seek wealth when out and about, but no matter what, one had to act with personal safety as the prerequisite.

Zheng Jing nodded repeatedly, listening humbly to everyone's exhortations, and took the opportunity to gently skip over this slightly serious topic.

Everyone was just concerned and didn't really want to blame Zheng Jing. Seeing his upright attitude, the atmosphere quickly eased.

Consequently, everyone's gaze locked firmly back onto the snake meat soup bubbling on the stone stove.

If Zheng Jing hadn't misidentified it, this was real, authentic King Cobra meat!

Not only was the texture superb, but it was also nourishing, helped dispel dampness, and improved circulation—ordinary mountain goods simply couldn't compare.

The pot was steaming, and the rich, savory fragrance permeated the air. Everyone gazed longingly at the soup pot, full of anticipation.

Seeing this, Zheng Jing stepped forward, reached out to lift the heavy lid, and then pulled out a chopstick to probe into the pot. The meat was easily pierced; it had already been stewed until soft, tender, and flavorful.

He nodded immediately and smiled: "Alright, it's thoroughly stewed."

As he spoke, he signaled for Guo Kui to bring the salt, sprinkled some in, and stirred it.

After finishing all this, he smiled and greeted everyone: "Don't just stand there, come over and ladle out the soup and eat the meat. It's best while it's hot."

Boss Zhao's eyes lit up instantly. Holding his aluminum lunch box, he was the first to line up. Zheng Jing ladled a full box for him: "Boss Zhao, there's more after you finish; this snake is huge."

Boss Zhao nodded repeatedly in thanks, completely disregarding the scalding soup. He immediately picked up a piece of oily, firm snake meat and popped it into his mouth.

The soft, glutinous, and tender meat melted in his mouth, and the delicious soup burst instantly on his tongue. As it slid down his throat, his whole mouth was filled with pure, wild freshness, without a hint of gaminess.

He chewed carefully, savoring it, and sighed with satisfaction: "My god, this is damn good! It really is a rare delicacy."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Guo Jianjun, winked, and showed a mischievous smile that all men understood: "Jianjun, you know what the effects of this thing are without me saying. Your wife is so pretty; since we have this opportunity today, you should drink more soup and eat more meat so you can have a good 'workout' with her when you get back."

Guo Jianjun rolled his eyes at him and retorted with a smile: "Does that mean your wife isn't pretty, so you don't want to 'pay your taxes' to her? Fine, when we get to Hezheng, I'll personally have a good talk with your wife about it."

Don't let Boss Zhao's burly appearance and rough demeanor fool you; in private, he was a genuine henpecked husband. Hearing this, he immediately panicked and couldn't even bother to chew the meat in his mouth. He waved his hands hurriedly to explain: "No, no, no, that's not what I meant! I don't have any such thoughts. You must not talk nonsense; how can you say such things to others!"

He looked embarrassed, waving his hands to admit his mistake, and his appearance made everyone present burst into laughter.

Zheng Jing watched the group joking around and suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing something. He hurriedly walked to Guo Jianjun's side and said: "Oh, by the way, Brother Jun, I almost forgot to tell you something. Because the mountains lacked proper seasonings, the snake meat had a heavy gamey smell I couldn't suppress. There's no signal here, so I couldn't contact you. Without getting your permission, I took the liberty of using your bottle of Erguotou. I poured a little less than half into it as cooking wine to remove the fishy smell. Please don't mind."

Guo Jianjun waved his hand nonchalantly upon hearing this, laughing heartily: "Hey, what's such a big deal about that! You brought back such rare game to treat us brothers; never mind just using one bottle of my liquor, even if you threw me into the pot to stew, I wouldn't have a single complaint!"

This remark from Guo Jianjun made everyone burst into laughter once more.

Glancing down at the remaining half-bottle of white liquor, Guo Jianjun pondered for a moment and suggested: "I was originally thinking of waiting until we dug up good goods and had a harvest to drink a couple of cups. Now that we're eating such good stuff, it counts as an unexpected bumper harvest. Why don't we continue drinking tonight?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone immediately chimed in: "Let's drink, let's drink!"