This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 220: Delicacies Battle!

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Delicacies Battle!

Noon.

Linghu Wetland Park.

Due to last night’s blizzard, the pine forest was covered in a white blanket, with the dazzling snow shining brightly under the noon sun.

A young man was panting lightly, stealthily exhaled white mist, and looked up toward the south entrance of the park.

Twisted rebar hung with icicles, with a wooden plank wide as a table anchored at the highest point, bearing a series of numbers.

"404."

He stared at the wooden sign for a while before Yu Hu softly read out the numbers.

This was a method taught by Old Charlie, and it had recently become a habit.

The idea was to silently read out any words seen on the road that one could recognize and quietly count the strokes in one’s mind.

The more one recognized, the more familiar one became.

This method proved quite effective. Recently, he had learned to write his own name, Little Fish, as well as those of his parents, his brother, and his sister-in-law, in addition to basic numbers and arithmetic operations.

A few months earlier, these skills would have marked him as an educated man on Bet Street.

But now, they were fairly average.

Lately, the town’s passion for learning was extraordinarily high, especially among the young men, who, having heard about the new industrial area’s benefits from Niu Li and others, practically lived in the literacy classes, reluctant to leave.

Of course, part of the reason might have been that it was warmer inside the castle—anyone who visited once didn’t want to leave.

The most dangerous part of the journey was now behind him.

After a brief rest at the entrance of the park, Yu Hu tightened the rope on his shoulder and continued walking through snow that reached past his knees.

Trekking through the snow with game was not an easy feat, but for a seasoned hunter, it posed no issue.

He made a raft from wooden planks and strapped the mutated wild boar he had hunted to it, dragging it behind him with ropes.

This way, he didn’t have to worry about the game freezing stuck in the snow—it was much easier and safer than dragging the game directly.

As long as he was careful with his steps and didn’t wander onto unfamiliar paths, there essentially were no problems.

After passing through a few hundred meters of forest, the view suddenly opened up.

Rows of snow-covered wooden stakes stood in an open field outside the trench, leading to the Outpost Base’s enclosing wall and south gate. Behind it lay houses built by the Blue Jacket group and Brother Chu’s home.

Compared to a month ago, the changes here were enormous.

The tall chimney behind the wall and the clinking and clanging sounds of smithing were gone, along with the trees outside.

In their place were uniquely styled cottages and stone-paved straight streets, as well as an increasing number of people and a richer variety of goods on the stalls.

Yu Hu, who wasn’t very literate and had only recently started to recognize some words, couldn’t think of any fancy words to describe these houses; he simply thought they looked rather nice.

Some houses had upturned eaves, a mix of brick and wood, square and dignified. Others were cylindrical, stacked with stone bricks, solemn and mysterious.

Though different in style, these houses were all neatly arranged, and none was taller than the central dwelling of the settlement—the roof of the sanatorium.

Yu Hu didn’t know what those houses were used for. He only recognized the warehouse and that small wooden hut wrapped in vines, elegantly and uniquely adorned.

He had bought clothes there once and also purchased two meters of fabric for his family; it seemed that his sister’s scarf had also been made there.

Occasionally, when a beautifully furred game was caught, Yu Hu would first bring it here to inquire. The shop owner, looking like a child, would offer a slightly better reward than the nearby warehouse.

According to what Brother Chu said, as long as he brought items here for trade, he could help him out, so Yu Hu didn’t mind much who he sold to.

But he decided to pass on the wild boar.

Yu Hu thought that the adorable little shop owner probably didn’t need such rough leather, so he dragged the wild boar directly to the warehouse.

He dropped the rope at the entrance, just as he was about to ask the steward to help weigh the game, he suddenly saw a familiar face from behind the wooden table.

The man saw him too, his eyes instantly lit up with joy.

"Yu Hu?"

"Zhao Mouse?" Yu Hu looked at him in surprise. "Aren’t you at the brick factory?"

While talking, Yu Hu glanced at the fur coat Zhao Mouse was wearing and a hint of envy appeared on his face.

This guy seems to be doing well.

He even got new clothes!

Seeing the surprised expression on his fellow villager’s face, Zhao Mouse chuckled smugly and said.

"Recently, the base has been doing lots of construction. Both the warehouse and dormitory are being expanded, and they’re short on hands. The conditions looked good, so I volunteered to transfer from the brick factory!"

Actually, he didn’t want to come.

At the brick factory, although he earned a few less silver coins, it was always as warm as spring. Plus, there were always people with their faces full of stories brought in to work.

Those old guys each had their own talents, were pleasing to listen to, and especially loved to boast.

They’d start with "back in my day," and finish with "it’s a long story." When asked where they came from, if not mercenaries from Wandering Swamp, then Centurions from the far west...all from places he had never even heard of.

Zhao Mouse had never left Qingquan City his entire life; the farthest he’d ever been was to the dungeons of the Blood Hand Clan, and he vaguely remembered their leader allegedly claiming to be a Centurion?

At his peak, that bear-like man, commanding around a hundred people, roamed wildly and committed all kinds of evil in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

But what was the use?

In the end, he was wiped out by those Blue Jackets, and now he was probably working in the mines of Red River Town, whether he was still alive or not, who knows.

So... a Centurion is just in charge of a thousand people?

That’s absurd!

Zhao Mouse pondered; all the people he’d seen in his entire life might not even add up to a thousand. He had a headache just trying to remember the names of a few dozen people. Could he really keep track of so many?

Overall, Bull Horse Brick Factory had been a good place. Even if he didn’t believe those old guys’ tall tales, Zhao Mouse still loved listening to them boast.

If he hadn’t been planning to move his family from Bet Street here next spring, taking advantage of the base’s northern expansion to settle down in a new house, he would have wanted to stay in that summer-like pleasant place forever.

It was simply paradise.

"...enough about me, how about you? How bad was the blizzard’s impact? And how is my family doing?" After sharing his own situation, Zhao Mouse eagerly asked Yu Hu about his family’s circumstances.

Last night’s blizzard had blown away another house’s roof, making him so worried he couldn’t sleep all night.

"We’re doing pretty well over there. Your old man asked me to tell you, don’t worry about home and take good care of yourself..." After conveying the message from Zhao Mouse’s father, Yu Hu and his fellow villager continued discussing the recent situation on Bet Street.

Although this winter was colder than anyone had anticipated, with the blizzard fiercely howling enough to chill one’s blood, thanks to the help from those Blue Jackets, they had moved into uniform brick-wood houses early on and the disaster wasn’t as severe as last year.

"If it had been that shack before, it would have been hard to say; likely, many would have died."

In the toughest of days, Old Charlie allowed those poor souls whose houses had been collapsed by the blizzard to move into the former mayor’s castle, while organizing teams to repair the damaged homes.

Under the organization of the street office, everyone united in the face of difficulties.

It turned out that without the old mayor’s rule, they only fared better.

After listening to Yu Hu’s description, Zhao Shu’s face was filled with emotion.

"It’s simply unimaginable in past years."

Yu Hu nodded deeply in agreement.

"Yeah."

When the old mayor’s family was still around, just surviving took all their effort; how could they afford such comfort as now?

Not to mention opening the castle doors to let the disaster victims in.

Even when the victims gathered together to help themselves, the old mayor would send his lackeys, who only dared to bully their own people, to disperse them.

"Speaking of which, Yu Hu."

"What’s up?"

Zhao Shu hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Why don’t you come here too?"

Before Yu Hu could respond, Zhao Shu continued to persuade him.

"Life here is way better than on Bet Street, and everywhere is short-staffed. With your hunting skills, you’ll definitely find work here! You’d surely do better than me!"

Honestly, seeing the changes here, Yu Hu truly felt tempted.

After all, he hadn’t yet settled down; moving out would mean one less mouth to feed at home.

However, after some thought, he ultimately shook his head.

"...Never mind."

Zhao Shu was stunned, not expecting him to refuse, and quickly asked,

"Why not?"

Yu Hu earnestly responded,

"You mentioned it yourself, my hunting skills are all I have. This terrible weather doesn’t help, and I might not catch even a single game in weeks. Rather than being a burden here, I’d be better off staying home learning more characters, that might even prove useful."

What kind of reason is that?

Hearing Yu Hu’s words, Zhao Shu’s face wore an incredulous smile.

"Man, your neighboring granary is almost full. They won’t miss what you’re eating! Besides, learning to read doesn’t have to be at Bet Street; factories here and the security team have night schools too!"

"That won’t do either," Yu Hu stubbornly said, "Brother Chu has already helped our family so much; how could I take advantage of him!"

Seeing how obstinate he was, as stubborn as a stone, Zhao Shu shook his head and sighed.

"You... never mind, I can’t convince you."

Yu Hu scratched his head and chuckled.

"You don’t need to persuade me; I know what I’m doing. Besides, Brother Chu told me to come in the spring next year. He’ll find something for me then; I’ll just come when it’s time!"

Brother Chu was so clever, surely he must have everything well arranged.

Following his advice would certainly be right!

The two gave up talking about moving. With Zhao Shu’s help, Yu Hu weighed the mutated wild boar and promptly delivered it to the slaughterhouse.

Blue Jacket, holding a slaughter knife, stood at the chopping board. He expertly removed sinews, peeled off the skin, and extracted the meat. He tossed the bones and offal into a bucket; his movements were so swift they dazzled the onlookers.

Now, the price for game was much higher than before. The purchase price for mutated wild boar hides increased from 10 silver coins to 20 silver coins which could be exchanged for a full 400 grams of coarse salt!

Previously, although salt was cheaper, it could only be exchanged for 300 grams at most.

The same was true for meat prices. The price for goods here had nearly doubled, but the prices for hunting catches had risen accordingly, so it didn’t affect him much.

More goods could be exchanged with game catches, certainly a boon.

The raw hide was stored away, soon a leatherworker would come to collect it. The raw meat was divided into two portions, the larger share was Yu Hu’s and the smaller was the slaughtering fee, as per the agreement, meant for the base’s warehouse.

Zhao Shu flipped open the ledger, marked it, then seriously counted out 20 silver coins from the drawer, lining them up on the table.

"This is 20 silver, take good care of it."

Looking at the silver coins on the table, Yu Hu picked one up to examine and weighed it in his palm, asking curiously,

"Why did the design of these silver coins change?"

They were heavier than before and looked newer.

Zhao Shu explained.

"The Manager said that the old coins were inconvenient, from now on only these new silver coins will be used."

Although he couldn’t articulate why they were inconvenient, that was the explanation given by the Manager.

"What about the old silver coins then?" Yu Hu remembered he still had some at home. If they were no longer valid, he needed to hurry and ask his older brother to exchange them all for salt.

Anticipating his question, Zhao Shu waved his hand and responded fluently,

"No worries, the Manager said both new and old coins will be accepted by the warehouse and the bank, but they won’t provide them as change anymore."

Knowing this wouldn’t impact his family, Yu Hu finally relaxed and put the silver coins in his pocket.

Watching Yu Hu pack up, Zhao Shu asked,

"Are you heading straight back?"

Yu Hu replied,

"I’m not in a rush; I’m going to check on my little sister later. Do you have anything you need me to take back for you? I can make a trip for you."

Zhao Shu continued,

"Nothing needed; our salary is now paid monthly... But could you pass a message to my family for me? Tell my dad and mom to take care of their health. In another two weeks, when it’s my turn for a break, I’ll make time to go home and visit."

Yu Hu nodded.

"Sure, I’ll pass on your message."

Upon receiving this promise, Zhao Mouse’s face lit up with a satisfied smile.

"Thanks!"

At that moment, several shelter residents ran over from a distance, pointing at the shelves and chattering about something.

Their voices were so excited, it was like they were arguing.

"I want pepper!"

"Me too!"

"Damn! No cutting in line, I was here first!"

Watching the Gnome King Riches snatch the foremost spot, Night Ten, who didn’t outrun him, couldn’t help but blurt out,

"What the hell does a hunter need pepper for?"

Brother Fu Gui rolled his eyes and retorted, full of righteousness,

"Mind your own business! Can’t hunters be cooks?"

How could he, the Gnome King, miss an opportunity to enter the Hall of Fame!

Although he couldn’t cook at all, it didn’t matter!

Isn’t cooking all about having hands?

With the right seasoning, how could the dishes not be delicious?

So, the key was to snatch those seasonings!

Zhao Mouse glanced down at his VM and skillfully took the last two bags of pepper from the shelf, handing them to the person in the front, and said in slightly off pronunciation,

"This is the last of it, there’s no more."

Upon hearing these words, the people in the back instantly dispersed with disappointed faces.

Only the one who purchased, the Blue Jacket, happily said "thank you" and graciously pulled out his VM for payment before hurriedly walking away.

Watching the departing figure, Yu Hu curiously asked,

"What did he just buy? Salt?"

"It’s ’pepper,’ a kind of seasoning. Tastes weird, I don’t really like it," said Zhao Mouse, pausing before adding, "unless it’s on grilled meat."

Grilled meat.

Yu Hu unconsciously swallowed his saliva, thinking of the barbecue stall at the North entrance.

The food there tasted absolutely fantastic!

As he looked toward the North entrance, Yu Hu suddenly noticed an unusual bustle. Many Blue Jackets were scurrying about, some fetching items from the granary, others taking things to the granary, and some were moving wooden tables and tents from the carpentry hut.

Usually, that place only got busier in the evening. Why was it so busy at midday today?

"What’s going on over there?" Yu Hu felt he was more curious today than he had been in the past week put together.

Zhao Mouse said with a smile,

"Over there? There’s a celebration in a week!"

"Celebration?!" Yu Hu looked at Zhao Mouse in surprise, "Is someone getting married?"

A celebration a week in advance, it must be for someone of high status. Could it be...

Brother Chu?!

"No wedding, that’s called... New Year’s Eve!" Zhao Mouse struggled briefly to recall the term, "Those shelter residents plan to celebrate the new year’s arrival. The last and first days of the year seem to be important celebrations for them. I don’t understand it all, but I guess it’s some kind of festive event."

Yu Hu knew about celebrations.

Like the recent one when the old town mayor’s youngest son had just turned a month old. They gave them a Sheep Horn Potato and summoned them to the Castle to work for half a day for free.

Aside from the old mayor and his yes-men, no one was happy.

But...

Celebrating the New Year, being completely new for him, still piqued his curiosity.

Seeing Yu Hu’s expression, Zhao Mouse chuckled,

"It’s not even the busiest time yet. Wait till the last evening of December, you should come and see if you’re free."

"I bet it’ll be super lively!"

Yu Hu nodded vigorously, responding with interest,

"Ah! I’ll remember that... but it might be inconvenient to go back at night?"

"Why go back? Just stay at my place," Zhao Mouse laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, "I have enough room in my dorm, you’ll definitely fit!"

...

Frontline Base North entrance.

At this moment, it was extraordinarily lively.

Players were showing off their skills, either busy setting up stalls or stewing something in big pots; the whole North entrance was permeated with a peculiar smell that even the passing North Wind couldn’t dispel.

Autumn Leaves blinked curiously next to her sister.

She had never seen such a bustling scene.

"Night Badger! Plain-Headed Bro from the wasteland! Anyone want it? Just caught outside Changjiu Farm! Set your price, hurry if you’re buying."

"Street No.76 building sweep, any brothers getting on board? I heard there’s a Hyena den there."

"Three-man team waiting for one Perception type, newbies welcomed."

"Old Na, what did you just throw into the pot?!"

"Crow Boss!! Help check if this has poison in it for Tail!"

"Check mine too!"

"Yikes!! Just leave it on the table, don’t stuff anything into my mouth!" Crow’s cries echoed across the Mushroom Beach, drawing the guards’ eyes before they walked away, seeing there was no trouble.

Not far from the market entrance.

Gnome King Riches swaggered toward Night Ten with two bags of pepper powder in his hand, walking triumphantly towards his teammates, where Brother Mole and Elena were waiting.

Shoving the guy’s back, Night Ten cursed and walked over to his teammates.

"Damn! Couldn’t buy the seasoning! The pepper was completely sold out, which is just ridiculous!"

When did these people get so rich?

Pepper powder at 1 silver per gram, and someone went and bought two whole packets. That’s just excessive!

Old White comforted him.

"It’s okay, if we didn’t get it, we didn’t get it; we might not even need it in the end."

Wild Wind also added.

"Yeah, we should stick to simple ingredients; I think that way we have a higher chance of winning."

Running out of seasoning was something Wild Wind had expected.

After all, the event’s rewards included a yearly exclusive title and an entry into the Hall of Fame.

The competition was going to be fierce; it only made sense, since everyone wanted to be number one, it was right there.

If no one competed, Wild Wind would have to wonder if he was really playing on the official server.

At this moment, there was a Crack Claw Crab lying next to them.

Passing rookies couldn’t help but glance over, feeling envious and secretly cursing those lucky Europeans.

Even with the roads buried in the deep winter, they managed to find a Crack Claw Crab’s burrow.

If not a stroke of luck, then what?

Carrying a bag of flour from the north entrance, Zhang Hai saw the huge crab and his eyes nearly popped out.

He walked up for a closer look and couldn’t help but ask.

"Where did you get such a big crab?"

Night Ten didn’t hide it, lazily boasting.

"Northern shore of Diamond Lake has a cave with a hibernating Crack Claw Crab. We saw it sleeping and took the chance to smack it right in the face."

Although it cost some money, it was well spent.

Zhang Hai cursed, "Damn it! Why do you always find such good stuff?"

Seeing his envious and resentful look, Night Ten chuckled.

"Maybe it’s just luck?"

Zhang Hai: "#%@!"

Fang Chang and Tomato Scrambled Eggs stood together, looking down at the crab, discussing how to cook it.

One had a great appetite, the other a knack for cooking; together, they were quite the odd combo.

"I’ve thoroughly reviewed the event announcement. It requires the dish to be ’simple yet tasty’. We should use ingredients that are easy to get, to increase our chances of winning," Fang Chang said.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs shook his head.

"Such a vague requirement."

Fang Chang pondered.

"True, and preserving the crab meat will be a challenge."

Even in winter, the meat from a hunted crab was hard to keep fresh until the third day, and by the fourth day, although not spoiled, the texture would be much poorer due to dehydration.

And now, there were still a whole seven days until New Year’s Day!

Finding this Claw Crab was purely coincidental, he wasn’t confident they could find another.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs touched his chin, then suddenly spoke.

"I have an idea about preserving the crab meat..."

Fang Chang looked at him.

"Oh?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs continued.

"I once observed the laborers at the brick factory. They gather some grass from the lake to preserve fish that wasn’t eaten immediately, keeping it fresh for the next two or three days. I don’t know if it works on crab meat, but it’s worth a try."

Fang Chang had never heard of such a peculiar plant.

"What grass?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs said.

"The online encyclopedia calls it Buffalo Grass, but doesn’t list specific effects."

Fang Chang immediately asked the key question.

"Can we find it in winter?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs shook his head.

"Not sure, but when I first discovered this, out of curiosity, I gathered a lot, dried it, and stored it in my locker for later study. It hasn’t been used so far."

Hearing this, Fang Chang got excited, enthusiastically saying.

"Good brother! The chance to use it has come!"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs scratched the back of his head.

"Even if we solve the preservation issue... What should we make with it? We can’t just roast it over charcoal, right?"

Although that wasn’t impossible, it lacked technical depth, making it hard to win a prize.

"That’s easy to fix," said Fang Chang with a confident smile, continuing, "I noticed that the storehouse temporarily lifted the restrictions on green wheat and horned potatoes."

Tomato Scrambled Eggs paused, not understanding.

"What do you mean..."

"It’s obvious, the ’cheap yet tasty’ answer lies in these ingredients! Why else would they lift the restrictions at this time?"

Fang Chang looked intently at his brother, continuing.

"Brother, have you ever heard of crab cakes?"

-

(Next Chapter is a bit lengthy and content-rich; hand-disabled party dares not set flags again, but I’ll try to get it done by eleven. If not by eleven, then probably by midnight. QAQ)

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