Wu Liang laughed heartily.
He had the women continue pressing oil while he began preparing the second dish, Braised Lamb Chops.
This time, he used a more complex cooking method, first blanching the lamb chops to remove the gamy smell and then stir-frying them in oil until fragrant.
He added water and some wild fruits for sweetness, covered the pot, and let it simmer slowly over a low flame.
While waiting for the meat to stew, he stir-fried a few vegetable dishes.
Soon, the open space of the new kitchen was filled with seven or eight dishes.
There were meat and vegetable dishes, a mix of red and green, and the aroma was overwhelming.
Smelling the fragrance, women from the Tribe began to gather one after another.
They craned their necks, staring intently at the food, the sound of gulping echoing from their throats.
Stir-fried Greens, Stir-fried Mushrooms, sliced meat... the kitchen was filled with fragrance, and the scent drifted throughout the entire Tribe on the wind.
The prisoners of the Bloodfang Tribe, who were working hard, smelled the aroma and stopped what they were doing one by one.
They gazed blankly toward the kitchen, their stomachs growling uncontrollably.
"What is this smell... I've never smelled anything like it..."
"Do the people of the Black Rock Tribe eat such good things every day?"
"Can we... can we eat it too?"
Their eyes were filled with longing.
In the isolated stone house where she was imprisoned, Akomann also smelled the scent.
She had been leaning in the corner, staring blankly into space.
Over the past few days, the pleas of her tribespeople had been echoing in her mind like a demonic sound, leaving her heart in a mess.
Suddenly, a strong fragrance wafted into her nostrils.
Akomann's stomach immediately let out an ill-timed growl.
She swallowed hard, feeling both ashamed and angry.
Dammit!
What is that man up to now!
She pricked up her ears, listening to the cheers and exclamations coming from outside, feeling as restless as if her heart were being clawed by a cat.
She could imagine the people of the Black Rock Tribe, along with her spineless tribespeople, gathered together enjoying delicacies she had never experienced.
Meanwhile, she could only stay here smelling the scent, enduring hunger and humiliation.
This contrast crushed the last bit of pride remaining in her heart even further.
"I'm not hungry... I'm not hungry at all..."
Akomann hugged her knees and buried her face in them.
"Time to eat! Come on, everyone gets a share!"
Wu Liang gave the command.
The watching women cheered and immediately surged forward.
"Kayla, go and call the Bloodfang prisoners over too."
Kayla, who was feasting, was stunned: "Lord Wu Liang, how are they worthy of eating such delicacies?"
"Just go when I tell you to, why so much nonsense!"
Seeing Wu Liang's expression change, Kayla quickly took another bite and ran out.
Soon, the Bloodfang prisoners were gathered at the kitchen.
Wu Liang took a look and said:
"The Black Rock Tribe members eat first, and the Bloodfang prisoners line up behind. No need to rush, everyone will get to eat!"
Hearing this, none of the Bloodfang Tribe prisoners complained.
Instead, they felt a sense of being recognized.
Wu Liang's actions undoubtedly told them that as long as they worked hard, they too could eat such delicious food.
"Ah! This green vegetable is so delicious! It's crunchy and sweet!"
"This soup! Oh my god, it's so fresh! I could drink a whole pot!"
"So meat can be this tender and fragrant! What I ate before was practically like wood!"
The entire Tribe was immersed in a feast of delicacies.
For the first time, the women discovered that eating could be such a happy and enjoyable thing.
They ate while clumsily learning to use Chopsticks.
Although they were very unaccustomed to it at first, everyone worked hard to learn so they could pick up the food faster.
Looking at the women with grease on their mouths and happy expressions on their faces, Wu Liang felt a sense of satisfaction from being in control of everything.
Food is always the best tool for winning people's hearts.
He wiped his hands, picked up a plate of freshly Stir-fried Meat Slices, and walked over to Wei Xian and Eliza.
"Come, try this."
"Wu Liang, you're amazing! How on earth did you make this?"
Wei Xian praised him incessantly while eating, her eyes full of admiration for Wu Liang.
"This is just the beginning."
Wu Liang fed a piece of meat to Eliza's lips, watching her eat it shyly and contentedly.
"In the future, I will make sure you eat such good things every day."
He calculated in his mind that vegetables alone weren't enough.
When the wheat ripened and was made into flour, there would be even more variety.
At that time, noodles, steamed buns, stuffed buns, flatbreads... whatever they wanted, they would have.
While everyone was enjoying the food, Wu Liang turned his gaze toward the nearby stone house.
Carrying a bowl of Braised Lamb Chops specifically set aside—stewed until tender—and a plate of stir-fried vegetables, he walked to the stone house where Akomann was imprisoned.
"Open the door."
The guarding Female Warrior opened the door.
Akomann was curled up in the corner of the stone house; she had long been driven nearly insane by the fragrance and cheers outside.
She heard the exclamations and groans of satisfaction from her tribespeople, sounds that pierced her heart like needles.
Wu Liang placed the Ceramic Bowl on the ground in front of her.
"Eat." His voice was calm.
The rich aroma of meat wafted into Akomann's nose, and her stomach growled uncontrollably.
The lamb chops were stewed to a bright, tempting red, the meat falling off the bone, the sauce thick—it was irresistible just from the smell.
Akomann turned her head away and bit her lip, refusing to look at the bowl of meat.
"I won't eat! Take it away!"
Her voice was hoarse and stubborn.
"Is that so?"
Wu Liang wasn't angry either; he picked up the Chopsticks, grabbed the largest lamb chop, and began to eat it himself.
He ate with gusto, letting out sighs of satisfaction.
"Mm, the taste is quite good."
"The heat was just right, the meat is soft and tender, it melts in your mouth."
"What a pity, some people don't have the luck to enjoy it."
Akomann caught a glimpse of Wu Liang eating the meat out of the corner of her eye; her throat moved, and she felt like she was about to drool.
Her body was longing for it, but her mouth was resisting.
After finishing one piece, Wu Liang picked up another and deliberately waved it in front of her.
"Look, your tribespeople are all outside enjoying delicacies and learning a new way of life."
"And you, their former leader, have to stay here starving."
"Do you think your persistence still has any meaning?"
Wu Liang's words were like a sharp knife stabbing Akomann's heart.
Images of everything she had seen these past few days flashed through her mind.
Miraculous iron tools, sturdy houses, fields that grew automatically, and now this unheard-of delicacy.
Her tribespeople no longer had faces of numbness and despair, but were filled with longing and passion for a new life.
They... seemed to no longer need her, their failed leader, at all!
Seeing the wavering look in her eyes, Wu Liang pushed the bowl of meat he had eaten from forward.
"Eat, Akomann. Eating meat isn't a disgrace."
"Only when you're full will you have the strength to think about your resistance. If you starve to death here, I'll have to collect your corpse."
Having said that, Wu Liang stood up and walked out without looking back.
The stone door was closed again.
Only Akomann remained in the room, along with that bowl of Braised Lamb Chops radiating a fatal temptation.
Her stomach growled even more fiercely.
Her body, her stomach, were frantically sending her signals of craving.
Akomann looked at the bowl of meat, her eyes struggling.
"Hateful fellow, leaving me leftovers. Hateful man!"
Finally, she reached out a trembling hand and picked up the Ceramic Bowl.
She first carefully tasted a bit of the sauce.
That rich, delicious flavor instantly swept over her taste buds.
"It's so fragrant!"
She could no longer hold back, grabbed a lamb chop, and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Delicious!"
"This lamb is simply too delicious!"
"Hateful Wu Liang! Hateful man, it's too delicious!"