A few days ago, Wei Xuan stumbled upon a recipe for sheep spine stew while looking through his newly collected pile of recipes. He remembered that he had some frozen sheep spine bones at home, so he immediately prepared the ingredients, thawed the bones, and soaked them to remove any blood. Today, he began working on the ingredients and prepared a large pot of sheep spine stew.
Normally, he would just use meat directly to cook, but today, stewing the meat with bones added an extra layer of flavor that made it even more delicious.
“Well, different dishes are best made with different cuts of meat,” Wei Xuan mused as he fished out a large piece of meat from the pot, ignoring whether the spine bones had fully softened. He placed it in a big bowl and eagerly brought it back to the dining table in their bedroom.
The sheep they had hunted was quite large, so its bones were correspondingly large. Wei Xuan had used the biggest frying pan and stewing pot he could find in the community, but even so, he had to chop each bone into at least four or five pieces before they could fit into the pot.
Despite this, he had only used three sections of spine bones, as his pot at home simply couldn’t hold any more.
Fortunately, Wei Xuan’s strength had increased significantly since he obtained his zombie body, allowing him to easily chop the bones himself with a knife. Otherwise, he would have had to ask Du Hang to use his supernatural strength, though it might have been hard on the cutting board.
The spine bones in the large bowl were coated with a sauce that had a rich red hue, and a delightful aroma wafted from them. Due to his inexperience in breaking down such a large game, Wei Xuan had handled the process quite roughly, leaving a thick layer of meat on the bones.
Although the meat hadn’t completely detached yet, it had become significantly tender, making it easy to tear off large chunks.
The rich broth carried a spicy kick, and it was so delicious that Wei Xuan almost wished he could devour the entire bone.
Wei Xuan squinted his eyes in enjoyment as he ate, and he couldn’t help but exclaim again, “Ah, this is the good life… Even if we can’t be human, enjoying good food like this makes us no different from them! The meat is a bit thick, though; it needs a bit more stewing to fully develop the flavor.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Together, they devoured the pot of sheep spine stew that should have been stewed for longer in no time.
It didn’t matter that they finished it all, there was still plenty left in the freezer. With not much to do besides playing games lately, Wei Xuan enthusiastically dragged Du Hang into the room with a large collection of frozen ingredients. They gathered sheep spine bones, sheep hooves, sheep tails, and other parts with plenty of meat, all of which they chopped, seasoned, and stir-fried before simmering them in various-sized pots…
Once again, Wei Xuan felt fortunate that his home had ample electricity, an energy conversion device to “burn” snowflakes for cooking, and a good supply of collected coal for stewing meat. Otherwise, after preparing this meal, his home wouldn’t have any warmth for quite some time.
The weather outside was bitterly cold, making even the inhabitants of warm rooms reluctant to go outside or even get out of bed, and this included zombies, of course.
Wei Xuan was now one such lazy zombie.
Ever since he had stewed all the sheep bones he had at home, he had been living a luxurious life of nibbling on bones, singing songs, and playing games in front of the TV.
Outside the window, it was a world of ice and snow, where the cold winds blew relentlessly. Inside the room, it was a warm and cozy haven filled with the aroma of stewed sheep spine. Oh, and there was also a zombie boyfriend who could double as a human-shaped backrest, a human-shaped pillow, and a human-shaped massager…
However, this human-shaped object was not very obedient. It didn’t just act according to Wei Xuan’s whims and fancies or when he had certain thoughts; instead, it acted whenever it pleased, getting affectionate and getting handsy without any warning.
Wei Xuan was now deeply suspicious that this guy had prior experience. How else could he fall into the trap so easily?
In response, Wei Xuan staunchly refused to admit that he had no resistance or that he had certain inner desires. As an upright person, how could he be so lacking in subtlety?
After finishing the last bone, Wei Xuan checked his electronic wristwatch and consulted his phone’s calendar. He confirmed that the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) was just a few days away. This year, the Spring Festival was relatively early, falling at the end of January. Although this day didn’t hold much meaning in the current world, Wei Xuan still planned to celebrate it properly, especially since he and Du Hang were working hard to satisfy their appetites.
Even though his appetite had grown larger, Wei Xuan found himself cooking less frequently. He still had plenty of chicken and lamb left in the fridge, and if he didn’t come up with new recipes soon, they wouldn’t be able to finish all the food.
With this in mind, Wei Xuan dragged Du Hang out of the house the next morning. Yes, he hadn’t stepped out of his room in over half a month! During this time, two more snowfalls had covered the streets. Although he hadn’t left the house, Wei Xuan had been standing by the window every day, observing the outside world and the situation in the community.
He had noticed that the older zombies among his group would go out for a stroll almost every day, and it was mainly the ones of middle age or older. Additionally, some of the zombies he had brought back to the community were young and strong individuals who tended to stay indoors. Wei Xuan had observed them moving around inside the building.
When he had been sorting and tidying things up earlier, Wei Xuan had intentionally organized most of the edible and useful items in his own building or at least in the same one. So, even though the roads outside had become difficult to traverse due to the accumulating snow, he didn’t have to go far to access most of what he needed.
When Wei Xuan stepped outside, the weather was surprisingly good, despite the snow on the ground. Several zombies were stumbling along the road. They saw Wei Xuan and Du Hang coming out and excitedly approached them, making some noises. Wei Xuan finally understood what they were saying, “Moving things, moving things…” and “Working, working…”
Facing such enthusiastic zombie colleagues who were actively seeking work, Wei Xuan couldn’t help but silently recall his attitude toward work before the apocalypse. Back then, although he took his job seriously and worked hard, he couldn’t deny that he occasionally wished for some time off.
Or maybe it was because his zombie companions had been idle for too long and were feeling restless? Plus, they now possessed nearly unlimited strength, so they were eager to seize every opportunity to work.
With these thoughts in mind, Wei Xuan felt a pang of guilt. Instead of shooing away these eager zombies, he decided to let a few of them help him move things, even though he didn’t anticipate bringing back much.
In the room filled with various food-related items, Wei Xuan pondered while walking. Then he slapped his forehead, realizing he had overlooked something crucial. What should they eat for the upcoming Spring Festival? Dumplings, of course! He had lamb meat and a stash of carrots, so why not make dumplings? But there was one problem – flour.
The quantity of flour and rice he had previously obtained was not substantial. After three years in the post-apocalyptic world, who knew if these items were still edible?
If they were still good, he could easily make dumplings or consume them directly. If not, he’d have to come up with other dishes to enrich their New Year’s feast.
Thinking it over, Wei Xuan eventually had the zombie helpers carry a sealed bag of white flour and some stored carrots he had dug up from the community’s vacant lots before winter. As he prepared to fetch other ingredients from different rooms, he unexpectedly stumbled upon a messy pile of items.
“How could I forget about these?” Wei Xuan slapped his forehead again, feeling a headache coming on. He had intended to deal with these items earlier, but due to his recent busyness and his recent bout of laziness, he had pushed them to the back of his mind. It was only now that he remembered, there were several rooms with expired canned goods!
While they had all expired, most of the canned goods still appeared intact without bulges or visible damage. There was a high probability that they were still edible. However, Wei Xuan didn’t need these items at the moment, and leaving them to slowly spoil would be a waste.
Looking at the weather outside, Wei Xuan suddenly felt inspired. Chinese New Year was just around the corner, and his current strength and speed far exceeded those of ordinary people. Moreover, he had been cooped up indoors for too long. Why not take a little trip?
