Chapter 56: Jam, Dumplings, and Wontons

Mutong and Ayu returned home to find the wizard, along with his apprentice and daughter, the chieftain followed by Baima, as well as several neighbors and most of the children from the tribe already waiting. With too many people to fit inside the house, everyone had gathered in the courtyard.

The wizard, the chieftain, and their entourage had come to consult Mutong about the ingredients they had gathered today: what kind of food were they used for, and how were they prepared?

However, why would Baima, who was notoriously playful and never lifted a finger around the house, tag along? No one would believe she came to learn how to cook. Look at Dorje glaring at her right now. Baima, on the other hand, wore an indifferent expression; whenever anyone asked, she simply claimed she was here to learn. What exactly she wanted to learn, however, remained a mystery to everyone.

Mutong didn't even spare Baima a glance. She had never taken this woman seriously.

Baima's gaze was like a knife, staring like a vicious wolf at the two returning figures, particularly fixing on their intertwined hands. She wished she could rush forward and tear them apart. Yet, remembering the purpose of her visit, she forcibly suppressed the discontent surging in her heart.

Sensing the malice in Baima's eyes, Ayu shot her a warning glare: if she dared to pull any stunts, he wouldn't mind teaching her a lesson, even with the chieftain present.

Seeing everyone waiting eagerly, Mutong quickly washed her hands and began preparing to make strawberry jam, pineapple jam, and spine-lychee jam.

The strawberries were hulled, washed, cut into small pieces, and mixed thoroughly with the syrup extracted from sweet-heart fruits before being placed in a pot. Simmered over low heat for half an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, the foam was skimmed off until the jam reached a thick consistency. While still hot, it was sealed tightly into stone jars with lids.

The pineapples were peeled, the flesh cut into fine dice, and mixed with syrup. Brought to a boil over high heat, it was then reduced to a simmer and cooked until the moisture evaporated, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Once turned into jam, it was left to cool before being stored in clean, lidded stone jars.

A basket of spine-lychee flesh—peeled, pitted, washed, and dried of surface moisture—was first chopped finely, then gently pressed with a stone mortar and pestle to extract the juices. The juice and fruit pulp were poured together into a pot, brought to a boil over high heat, and then simmered with an appropriate amount of sugar syrup until reduced to a jam-like consistency, completing the lychee jam.

Three large jars of freshly made, sweet-and-sour fruit jam won the admiration of everyone present. Jam could be stored for a much longer time than fresh fruit. It could be eaten on its own or spread over food, offering even greater benefits during the winter when fruits and wild greens were scarce.

Lord Hui recalled the method Mutong had taught them days ago for making pickled vegetables and narrowed his eyes: this winter, with fruit jam, pickles, purple rice cakes, and konjac flour, they wouldn't have to rely solely on dried meat, a few dried wild greens, and noodle-fruit. The elderly and the children should have an easier time getting through this winter, right?

Basang clearly had the same thought, his eyes flashing with a pleased expression. As chieftain, the more prosperous and populous the tribe, the stronger it would become. Naturally, with an abundant food supply, he hoped the tribal population would no longer decline, but gradually increase.

Unlike the chieftain and the wizard who weighed matters so deeply, the little rascals present cheered loudly upon tasting the sweet-and-sour jam. By now, the children in the tribe all knew that whenever the chieftain and the wizard ran over to Ayu's courtyard, nine times out of ten, there would be something delicious to eat.

Even with three large jars of jam, the greedy children didn't leave much behind, and Dorje put away what little remained.

In truth, with sugar syrup, candied fruits and preserves could also be made, but that process took much longer. Mutong planned to teach everyone step-by-step when she had more time.

Now everyone knew the use of sweet-heart fruit: besides being eaten like sugar, it could be made into jam. What about the remaining dough-skin leaves?

Mutong ran into the house and, pretending to take a large slab of half-fat, half-lean wild boar meat from her bedroom, asked Ayu to mince it into filling.

Mutong washed the celery, blanched it briefly in boiling water, rinsed it in cold water, drained the moisture, chopped it finely, wrung it completely dry, and mixed it into the minced meat Ayu had prepared.

She added a little oil from oil-fruits, along with chopped scallions, pounded ginger powder, hemp-leaf powder, soy sauce, and an appropriate amount of salt, stirring the filling until well combined.

Selecting the thick dough-skin leaves, she wrapped them into dumpling shapes; the thin dough-skin leaves were wrapped into wontons.

With just a gentle squeeze, the dough-skin leaves oozed a slightly viscous liquid, which was extremely helpful for sealing them into dumplings or wontons.

Although Mutong knew these were natural dough-skins whose composition was similar to actual dumpling and wonton wrappers, she couldn't be entirely certain how they would taste once boiled. In her mind, they would probably taste much like wrappers kneaded with vegetable juice.

The women present also washed their hands and joined Mutong in learning how to wrap wontons and dumplings.

Dumplings originated during the Eastern Han Dynasty, traditionally said to have been invented by the Medical Saint Zhang Zhongji; wontons, also known as huntun, were said to have been invented by Xishi during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Both types of food emerged after the Xia Dynasty, the era from which Baima hailed. Therefore, no matter how hard Baima looked or thought, she could find no memory of the origins or any information regarding these two dishes.

Her purpose in coming today, of course, was not to learn how to make them; she wanted to see whether this Envoy of the Gods truly, like her, possessed memories from her past life.

Yet, looking this way and that with her pitifully limited brain capacity, how could she possibly recognize which era or country these items—things she had never seen before—belonged to? Seeing everyone around her gazing at Mutong with looks of adoration, Baima's heart twisted to the extreme.

Then, looking at Mutong, who was dressed in a gorgeous outfit she had never laid eyes on, Baima's gaze darkened: one day, she would find the flaws of this so-called Envoy of the Gods and knock her off her lofty divine pedestal!

The outfit Mutong wore today was a lake-blue ensemble: a half-sleeved, cinched waist blouse on top, ankle-length culottes on the bottom, paired with matching sandals, complemented by stud earrings, a bracelet, and a ring. The overall look was exceedingly pleasing to the eye.

Sooner or later, all these things would be hers! Looking at the outstanding Mutong, Baima felt a surge of jealousy and hatred: she could not tolerate any woman in the tribe being better than her, looking prettier than her, or possessing far more beautiful and novel things than she did. Not even the so-called Envoy of the Gods of the tribe would she allow.

Yet Baima, who had been a camp follower in her past life, was not completely brainless. At the very least, she knew that until she discovered a flaw in this Envoy of the Gods, she would not act rashly.

This Mutong certainly had some tricks up her sleeve; she had seen the bows and arrows Mutong taught the others before. In military camps, she had once been taken by her lover—a minor squad leader—to watch soldiers practice shooting. However, seeing them was one thing; having the ability to actually craft a bow and arrow herself was quite another.

Therefore, having been reincarnated into the Chishui Tribe for so long, she had never once mentioned anything about bows and arrows.