Chapter 14 : fish fry
Just then, a growling sound rumbled from my stomach. I remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since this morning.
So, I returned to the storeroom. The wood I had brought would easily last me a month.
I picked up some wood and stepped out of the house. After walking a short distance, I reached the shade of the very same tree where I had sat holding my fishing rod earlier this morning.
I set the wood down and looked around. Confirming that no one was around, I activated my Telekinesis skill.
Using my powers, I plucked several fish out of the river Ganga, and with a gesture of my finger, they floated over to me.
Along with the wood, I had also brought some utensils from the kitchen. In total, there were about ten fish flailing in the air.
A few minutes later, deprived of oxygen, the ten fish breathed their last. None of them were too big or too small; they were just the right size.
I placed all the fish into a vessel and began searching for two smooth stones to start a fire.
After searching for a while, I managed to find two suitable smooth stones.
Just as I was about to rub the stones together to spark a fire, a familiar voice called out from behind me.
"Hey Karna, I came here a little while ago. I had some news to share, but you weren't around. By the way, where were you?"
It was none other than Vrishali, and she began firing questions the moment she arrived.
"Calm down. I went to the forest to gather some firewood. And as you can see right in front of you, I am about to fry some fish," I replied.
I continued, "By the way, you mentioned you had some news to share?"
Vrishali began to speak. "Have you heard? Prince Pandu and his wife Madri have passed away. It is such tragic news." She expressed her sorrow genuinely.
Hearing this, I pretended to be shocked. "Is it true? That is truly terrible. He was such a noble Prince."
We exchanged a few more words on the matter.
Vrishali had crashed my fish fry like an uninvited guest, and I couldn't refuse her. Taking advantage of being a girl, she demanded half of the fish for herself.
I agreed to her demand. My hunger would be satisfied with just five fish; I had planned to save the other five for later. But since Vrishali had joined in, I decided it was best to give them to her.
However, I wasn't going to give them away for free. In exchange, I assigned her the task of gathering dry leaves.
She accepted the task and began collecting the dry leaves scattered on the ground into a pile.
I didn't sit idle either. I picked up four pieces of wood and headed toward the river Ganga.
I submerged the four pieces of wood in the water and held them there for a few minutes. Once I was certain that the wood was thoroughly soaked and wouldn't catch fire easily, I pulled them out of the water.
Then I returned to the spot. I dug four small holes in the ground to plant the bases of the wet wooden stakes.
After digging the holes, I planted the four stakes into them. I arranged them in such a way that, if connected, they would form a rectangle.
I had also brought along some wooden skewers that I had purchased from the market earlier. I knew they would come in handy for roasting the fish.
Do you know what these are used for in this era? You probably wouldn't guess. People here primarily use them as toothpicks to dislodge food stuck between their teeth.
I didn't dwell on that thought. Instead, I proceeded to skewer the fish one by one, inserting the pointed wood through the tail and pushing it out through the mouth.
"Karna, I have gathered them all. By the way, I never do this kind of work for anyone, but since you are my new friend, I made an exception."
Vrishali approached me with a basket filled with the dry leaves she had collected, boasting about her effort as she did so.
I didn't pay much attention to her chatter and remained focused on my task. I placed two pieces of wood across the top of the stakes I had planted earlier. Now, a structure was ready to hold the fish.
Seeing what I had constructed, Vrishali asked, "Hey Karna, what have you built? I have never heard of cooking in such a manner before."
Without looking at her, I answered her question.
"Just keep watching. You will get your answer soon enough."
Hearing my words, she decided to wait and watch to see what would happen next.
First, I took the pieces of wood I had brought for fuel and placed them inside the rectangular structure I had built. Then, I took the dry leaves from the basket and scattered them over the wood.
I picked up the smooth stones, sat down, and began striking them against each other. The impact produced a few sparks, but it wasn't enough to ignite the fire.
I tried again. This time, luck was on my side; the dry leaves caught fire. The burning leaves soon ignited the wood beneath them, and the fire began to roar to life with a crackling sound.
I placed the ten skewered fish over the flames. The heat began to roast them.
Every so often, I turned the fish to ensure that every side was roasted evenly and thoroughly cooked.
About half an hour later, the fish were thoroughly roasted, releasing a mouth-watering aroma.
Standing beside me, Vrishali caught the rich scent of the roasted fish and couldn't stop herself from drooling.
When she snapped back to reality and noticed me watching her, she blushed in embarrassment at her slip-up. She quickly wiped the saliva from her mouth with her hand.
I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. Seeing her usually proud and haughty face look so flustered, I couldn't resist making a comment.
"Vrishali, I didn't expect that you knew how to blush."
Hearing my words, her blushing face instantly transformed into a glare of anger. I decided it was best to remain silent for the moment and said nothing further. Vrishali, composing herself, pretended as if nothing had happened just moments ago.
"Vrishali, there is only one last step remaining. Once that is done, our meal will be ready," I said with a smile.
"What? Are you talking about spices?" Vrishali asked.
"Yes. I have some spices here—rock salt and black pepper powder," I replied.
I had found these spices in my house, but I am somewhat disappointed with the variety of spices in this era. There really aren't many available right now.
As you likely know, many of the ingredients needed to make complex spice blends come from foreign lands.
I will just have to make do with what I have.
I sprinkled the black pepper powder and salt over the ten fish.
Now, the roasted fish were finally ready to eat.
To be continued...