Chapter 128 - 130: A Love Rival?

Chapter 128: Chapter 130: A Love Rival?

Xiao Ye looked her up and down, but after seeing that Su Luoluo’s clothes were no different than usual, he averted his gaze.

Fu Feng was also relieved to see that Su Luoluo hadn’t dressed up elaborately.

Mo Xuan glanced at Su Luoluo and let out a huge sigh of relief. She wasn’t wearing the feather skirt he had given her for her date with Nantu.

’He had painstakingly made that feather skirt for Su Luoluo, but she had never once worn it for him. He couldn’t let that fish Nantu get the benefit of it; otherwise, all his hard work would have been for someone else’s gain.’

Seeing Su Luoluo looking at him, Mo Xuan said coolly, "I just wanted to see what you were wearing today."

Su Luoluo: "..."

’These three were so childish.’

’Here so early in the morning, just to see what she was wearing.’

She shook her head and turned to enter the kitchen.

Now that they had flour, breakfast was much easier to make.

Before, Su Luoluo had to wander through the forest and eat whatever she could find. It felt like she was living at the mercy of fate. But now that she had flour, her life was a little easier.

It had been a while since she’d had noodles, so Su Luoluo decided to make some belt noodles.

The flour was from a batch she had ground previously. When she lifted the wooden lid of the storage container, Su Luoluo found there wasn’t much left—only enough for one breakfast. ’Looks like I’ll have to find time to grind more flour,’ she thought.

She poured a suitable amount of flour into a pottery basin, added some salt, and then gradually poured in warm water. Once she had stirred the flour into a shaggy mass, she could begin to knead the dough.

She kneaded the dough until it was smooth, then let it rest before kneading it again.

While the dough was resting, Su Luoluo went into the forest and gathered plenty of wild vegetables and garlic.

As time went on, garlic, one of her staple seasonings, was becoming scarcer.

’If this keeps up,’ Su Luoluo thought, ’one day there won’t be any garlic left.’

’Primitive society might have abundant resources, but they’re still at the mercy of the weather. Some things disappear once their season is over. To be self-sufficient, the best way is to grow some things herself.’

After she finished gathering everything, Su Luoluo used a ladle made from a wild fruit shell to scoop some water from the large ceramic jar into a pottery basin. Once the garlic and wild vegetables were clean, she started chopping the garlic.

The stone knife was a bit dull. Even though Su Luoluo had been using it for some time, she still wasn’t accustomed to it.

Remembering that her Gold Element Superpower could detect ore, Su Luoluo wondered, ’Should I make a knife for myself to make chopping vegetables easier?’

’I wonder if there’s any iron nearby.’

Su Luoluo continued chopping as she thought, and in no time, she had finished with the garlic.

The dough had rested enough by now. She divided it into portions, rolled them into strips, brushed them with a layer of oil to prevent sticking, then covered them with large, freshly washed leaves to rest a while longer.

Once the dough was ready, she took a portion in both hands and began to slap and stretch it, pulling it into a long noodle.

The three men sitting bored at the round table instantly perked up when they saw Su Luoluo pick up a ball of dough and begin to slap and pull it.

’Their female isn’t just efficient,’ they thought, ’she’s also quite a sight to behold when she works.’

’Look at how well she’s slapping that dough. It seems Luoluo’s stamina has improved quite a bit lately.’

As Xiao Ye watched, his thoughts began to wander.

The more Mo Xuan watched, the more satisfied he was with Su Luoluo. ’Where could you possibly find a female as capable as her?’

Fu Feng, however, grew more and more excited as he watched, his tail even beginning to wag with anticipation.

’Just look at her technique! Today’s noodles are going to be delicious.’ He could hardly wait.

The water came to a boil, and just as Su Luoluo was putting the noodles in, Luan Ting and Xi Yi arrived.

Luan Ting sat in his usual spot, his expression unchanged. Xi Yi, on the other hand, ambled over to Su Luoluo. Seeing her dropping the noodles into the pot, his eyes lit up. "Luoluo, you’re making something delicious again today."

Su Luoluo heard him but didn’t bother to reply. Xi Yi spouted that kind of flattery a hundred times a day; she was long since immune to it.

Xi Yi wasn’t annoyed that Su Luoluo ignored him. After saying his piece, he simply returned to his seat.

Noticing the seat beside his was still empty, his eyes crinkled with amusement. "It’s almost time to eat. Why isn’t Nantu here yet? Is he busy getting ready for his date?"

The previously quiet atmosphere instantly crackled with tension at Xi Yi’s words.

Mo Xuan shot Xi Yi a displeased glance. ’That bear really knows how to touch a sore spot. Did he really need to bring that up?’

But despite his annoyance, he still felt a pang of jealousy.

’Could Nantu really be dolling himself up?’

’Before the Moon God Festival, he had it all planned out. If he were the one going on a date with Su Luoluo, he would definitely wear his most magnificent set of colorful feathered clothes and completely dazzle her.’

’He would probably do the same thing!’

Everyone’s feelings were rather complicated, so no one responded to him.

Having said his part, Xi Yi smirked and glanced up at Su Luoluo. She was still methodically going about her work.

It was impossible to tell if she had heard his comment or not; her expression was completely placid.

’He’d thought those Beastmen would start arguing over that.’

’He didn’t expect them to be so calm.’

Once the noodles were cooked, she strained them. After blanching the wild vegetables, she added minced garlic and her sun-dried chili powder to each bowl. Lacking aged vinegar, Su Luoluo squeezed in the juice of some sour wild fruits as a substitute.

Finally, she poured sizzling hot oil over the top to release the aromatics.

The moment the fragrance of the oil-splashed noodles filled the air, everyone’s mouths began to water.

As Su Luoluo brought the noodles to the table, she glanced at Nantu’s seat. It was empty. ’Looks like he really was upset yesterday.’

She stirred her noodles, wondering how she was going to handle the "date," when Nantu arrived.

Seeing his bowl of noodles on the table, he picked up his chopsticks, gave them a casual stir, and began to eat.

Su Luoluo was a little surprised to see him.

’I thought he wouldn’t show up, but he came after all.’

The noodles were delicious, but aside from Xi Yi, the others weren’t eating with much enthusiasm.

Usually, they loved everything Su Luoluo made, but today, they found the food tasteless.

A quiet descended over the table, lasting until Su Zhao strode over with something slung over his shoulder. He called out to Su Luoluo, "This is for you."

Su Luoluo looked up and saw that Su Zhao was carrying a small, already-butchered suckling pig on his shoulder.

She was taken aback by Su Zhao suddenly bringing her prey. "What’s the special occasion? You’ve never brought me a gift before."

Su Zhao rarely gave her anything. For him to abruptly show up with a sizable pig was quite a surprise for Su Luoluo.

Hearing this, Su Zhao rubbed his nose. "It’s not from me. Bai Meng asked me to bring it to you."

’He didn’t know what had gotten into Bai Meng, insisting that he deliver this little pig he’d hunted to Su Luoluo.’

’Bai Meng even said they wouldn’t be good brothers if he didn’t bring it. He had no choice but to haul the pig over.’

’Su Luoluo had finally managed to lose some weight. After eating this whole pig, she’d probably gain twenty pounds right back.’

"Bai Meng?" Su Luoluo repeated, stunned. "Who’s that?"

The other men at the table, who had been eating without any appetite, instantly perked up their ears upon hearing that someone had sent Su Luoluo a gift.