My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 34 Extra Meal

Several more soldiers arrived and, one after another, crawled into the tree hollow to carry the bags out. The white bags were piled up into a small mountain on the snow.

Ug ignored the commotion behind him.

He spotted the nearest bag of rice, its opening tied tightly with a nylon rope.

He tried to pull it open twice but couldn't, so he simply used his hunting knife to make a cut at the opening of the bag.

The white rice gushed out from the hole, falling onto the snow with a soft rustling sound.

Ug grabbed a handful.

The grains were plump, gleaming with a warm, matte sheen under the orange glow of the amber moss.

He pinched a piece, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and his gray-blue eyes suddenly widened.

"It's delicious." Ug's voice was a little dry.

A low commotion arose among the onlookers.

Someone tried to push forward half a step, but was pulled back by the person next to them.

Several women exchanged glances, and one of them finally couldn't help but speak up: "Chief, this is...?"

Ug poured the contents of his hand back into the bag and clapped his hands.

He turned to Jiang Yuan, his eyes still trembling with shock.

Jiang Yuan said, "This thing is called rice, and it needs to be cooked with water before eating."

"Rice." Ug repeated, glancing down at the white granules in the bag, then repeated again, "Rice."

"Just like cooking wild rice. Add water and cook until it's soft," Jiang Yuan said again.

Looking at the eager eyes of the crowd, Ug said, "Take a few bags and cook them; it'll be an extra meal today!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd, and several soldiers quickly stepped forward, picked up a bag of rice, and walked toward the central open space.

Ug watched them walk away, then turned to look at Jiang Yuan.

"Jiang Yuan," he said politely, "how much of this do you have left?"

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Using divine magic is also a bit of a burden... but as long as the tribe has magic cores to replenish, I can take out some more every now and then."

Ug paused, staring at Jiang Yuan for several breaths before slowly exhaling: "How many magic cores do you want?"

"The leader can give whatever he thinks is appropriate."

Ug paused for a moment, then reached into the leather pouch at his waist and pulled out another magic core, handing it over.

Although it was still only the size of a walnut, this magic core was more mellow and its internal wisps of light were dazzling.

"This is one of my fourth-tier magic cores. You can take it and use it first."

Fourth level! Jiang Yuan's heart skipped a beat. He quickly took the rice, saying, "No rush, let's wait until the rice is cooked."

Ug nodded, his gaze sweeping over the woman boiling water in the distance and then over the tribesmen still peering out from the periphery.

He took a deep breath and strode toward the central open space.

……

An hour later.

Several large earthenware pots were re-erected in the central open space, each a full size larger than the one used to cook wild rice porridge that morning.

As the white rice was put into the pot, steam rose, and a fragrance far sweeter than wild rice filled the entire open space.

The old men emerged from the tree hollow, and the woman put down the leather armor she was mending.

Teenagers and young boys emerged from all corners, and even some of the soldiers guarding the outer perimeter heard the news and returned during their breaks.

The women in charge of cooking used long-handled wooden spoons to stir the earthenware pot, their movements much lighter and quicker than when they stirred wild rice porridge in the morning.

Ug stood beside the central campfire and sent a young soldier to call for reinforcements.

"Come, all of you, everyone!"

The young soldier ran off.

Before long, the curtains of each tree hole were lifted one after another, and the cat-eared people gathered from all directions to the central open space.

Women held their cubs, old men leaned on their canes, and hunters hung their bows and knives at their waists. Cats' ears twitched in the cold wind, and their nostrils twitched incessantly.

An old woman, helped by a young soldier, walked to the edge of the open space. Her cloudy eyes fixed on the several large, steaming earthenware jars. "What are these?" she asked.

"Rice," the young soldier said. "That human brought it."

"Rice?"

"It's those little white granules, and it smells really good."

More and more people gathered.

Some people were asking each other what this "rice" was, some were craning their necks to count how many pots were in the earthenware pot, and others were already discussing whether they could get an extra bowl.

Outside the crowd, Xilu's mother, Yuewu, held Xilu's hand and led her through the crowd toward the central bonfire. Along the way, tribespeople kept nodding and making way for her.

She walked over to Ug and stood down, her gaze falling on the steaming earthenware jars, and then she looked at Ug's expression.

She had seen that relieved yet excited expression on Ug's face for a long time.

"Who created this?" Yuewu asked to confirm.

Ug nodded to her.

At that moment, a commotion broke out in the crowd.

Yuewu turned her head and saw the human they were talking about walking towards her.

He was wearing that strange outfit.

Meanwhile, the first pot of rice was cooked.

The woman in charge of cooking lifted the lid of the earthenware pot.

Steaming hot air rushed up, and the sweet aroma of rice was so strong it felt like you could scoop it up with your hands.

The people in line all took a step forward at the same time.

The white rice grains in the bowl were crystal clear, gleaming with a warm luster under the orange glow of the amber moss, completely different from the grayish-brown wild rice porridge I had that morning.

The veteran at the front of the line picked up his bowl, blew on it twice, and took a bite.

He moved his cheeks a couple of times, chewing, chewing, and then stopped.

The people nearby anxiously leaned closer, "How is it? Is it edible?"

The veteran did not answer.

He shoveled down another large mouthful, this time swallowing it almost without chewing. After swallowing, he looked up at the people waiting beside him, his lips moved, and the words that came out trembled:

"I've never eaten anything this good in my entire life."

The back row of the team immediately erupted in chaos.

"What did he say?"

"He said it's better than wild rice!"

"Of course! Just smell this!"

"Don't push, don't push, is it my turn yet?"

A cat-eared person stuffed a large mouthful into his mouth, his mouth bulging, chewed twice and swallowed, grimacing from the heat, then bent down and shoveled another large mouthful.

Another young soldier squatting next to him had already finished eating.

Several elderly cat-eared women sat around the roots of a tree not far away.

One of them counted the grains of rice in her bowl and ate them one by one. An old woman next to her urged her to eat quickly, but she shook her head and said, "I can't bear to."

People around her laughed at her, but as they laughed, they slowed down and began to sip the rice in their bowls.

The boys and girls over there had already had their second bowls.

The girl with her hair in a small bun, her cheeks bulging, mumbled to her sister, "It tastes even better than wild rice porridge."

Her younger sister squatted down beside her, licked the bowl clean, and then reached out to grab the contents of her older sister's bowl.

When they returned from patrolling Keshan, the first pot had been scraped clean, even the bottom of the pot.

He paused for a moment, standing on the outside watching hundreds of people burying their heads in their food on the open ground, and his scarred face twitched.