Beauty and the Beasts

After breakfast, feeling bored, Bai Qingqing went to look at the waterhole.

The water wheel made clicking noises as it spun, like a worn and rusty piece of machinery.

A layer of ice had formed over the bamboo and was extending inwards. If left to its own devices, it would become completely sealed sooner or later. Most of the water surface had turned to ice, and ripples could only be seen on the iceless surface near the water wheel.

“Bluepool?” Bai Qingqing tossed a pebble into the water.

Very quickly, a blue merman floated to the surface and gazed at her with misty eyes.

Bai Qingqing suddenly realized something was amiss. “Isn’t your nest inside? How did you know I’d come?”

“I was sleeping under the water wheel, so I can see any beastman who walks by. I only constructed that nest for the female to live in.” Bluepool smoothed his blue hair, which spread out in the water in a vibrant and flowy manner like seaweed.

Bluepool blew at the cold air and only then became soberer. He said with a smile, “This water wheel is awesome. Water that it brought down has a much higher oxygen content. It now feels much more comfortable underwater.”

Bai Qingqing smiled too. “I’m relieved to hear that. There isn’t enough food in the water, is there? I’ll ask Parker to bring smoked meat over.”

Bluepool, leaning by the shore, casually flapped his fishtail. “No need. I can transform into a human and go to the river to capture prey.”

“Okay.” Bai Qingqing thought to herself that if he was to live here for a prolonged period, they had to put fish into the waterhole, else he would finish all the fishes around here.

“Ice is forming around the water bucket. Seems like regular maintenance is in place. I’ll go fetch some hot water to melt the ice.” Bai Qingqing waved a hand at him and then turned to leave.

With nothing better to do, Bluepool smashed the ice on the water surface, then glided into the depths of the water with a block of ice in his arms.

At noon sharp, Winston came back with a full bag of stuff.

Bai Qingqing, lazing around in her bed, instantly got excited at the sight of the food he brought back.

“What did you bring back? You’ve been gone for so long.”

Parker wrinkled his nose and transformed into a human. “Did you run into the scorpion tribe?”

Bai Qingqing’s smile instantly faded. “Did they really come?”

“I’d strengthened the defenses of the tiger tribe, so they were discovered the moment they came.”

Winston said after transforming into a human. He wrapped an animal skin around his waist, then poured out the contents of the bag.

There were chestnuts, as well as a large quantity of oval-shaped objects.

Bai Qingqing’s mouth widened, completely forgetting the threat posed by the scorpion tribe.

“Potato!”

“This is stone fruit,” corrected Winston.

“Potato, stone fruit, pretty much the same thing.”

Bai Qingqing was thrilled. She said with certainty as she vigorously sniffed the potatoes, “These were dug out from the soil, weren’t they?”

Although all she could smell was an earthly stench.

Winston’s expression remained solemn, though his eyes were sparkling as he said, “Mm. I know you like to eat vegetables, so I asked the tribe what fruits can be eaten in this season. I was told that only prickly fruits and stone fruits are edible now.”

“From where I came from, this is called potato. So it turned out potatoes exist in this world too. I love potatoes!” Bai Qingqing scooped up quite a few potatoes, feeling an urge to just eat them raw.

So the stone fruits that Ford mentioned were actually potatoes. If she had known then, she would have gone to dig it early on. Potatoes were a form of sustenance too.

They could be eaten by simply boiling. Also, there were other cooking methods like deep-frying and stir-frying. Not to mention, the starch from the potato could also be made into thin noodles, flat noodles, and pan-fried pancakes. Their menu would become much more varied in the future!

She finally found a source of staple food!

Parker glanced at the food on the ground, then questioned with a raised eyebrow, “Why didn’t they tell me when I asked?”

“Stone fruits only turn ripe after the cold season. They only started to ripen now,” explained Winston.

Parker accepted that explanation. He picked up one and wiped it with his skirt, before handing it to Bai Qingqing. “Here, eat this one.”