Chapter 45: Boxed Lunches Selling Like Hotcakes

“Swish!”
But that green creature, after sticking its head out, quickly withdrew back into the crack of the tree.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Ye Da would have thought he was hallucinating!
But…
The thing moved too fast.
And since he was in midair, there was no way for him to quickly follow and confirm what it was.
Still…
Ye Da suspected it was the legendary Tree-Eater!
“Woof woof!”
“Woof woof woof!”
Just as Ye Da was studying the Tree-Eater, the two wolf pups started barking below.
He finally tore his gaze away from where the Tree-Eater had appeared and looked down at the pups. At the roots of the tree, at some unknown time, there was now a large vermilion door!
“What?!”
The moment Ye Da saw the wooden door, a rush of blood surged to his head. “Of all times to appear, it just had to show up now! So all that climbing I did was for nothing!”
But there was nothing for it. Ye Da could only slide back down along the tree roots.
“Woof!”
As soon as Ye Da came down, Little White immediately clung to him, begging for a pat.
Ye Da rubbed Little White’s head and said, “Let’s hurry inside and warm up by the fire. You must be freezing.”
“Yip!”
Ye Da twisted open the door handle.
Even though the door had appeared, Ye Da felt a vague sense of disappointment that it had opened at the base of the tree.
He couldn’t quite say why.
It was certainly more convenient, but he regretted missing out on the high vantage point, unable to take in the full view of the forest—a small but genuine loss.
“Rustle!”
As soon as he entered, Ye Da stripped off his soaked clothes and iron chestplate, wrung them out, and hung them on a bamboo rack above the fire to dry.
Though his clothes were wet, at least the yellow mud from earlier was finally washed out.
At least now they wouldn’t be stiff and uncomfortable to wear.
“Shake shake!”
“Shake shake shake!!”
The two little ones rushed in and started shaking themselves vigorously, spraying water everywhere.
They were like a pair of runaway spin-dryers.
“Hiss!”
“Hiss hiss!”
The water they shook off landed in the campfire, making the charcoal sizzle with the cold.
The sound was so much like stir-frying that Ye Da suddenly felt hungry.
He quickly washed some rice, put it into bamboo tubes, and set them on the fire to cook.

Cooking rice took a while, so he got the rice going first, then turned to handle other ingredients.
He’d dug up quite a few bamboo shoots that morning, but unfortunately hadn’t caught a wild boar. He had managed to secure ten portions of Pig Intestines (from a Mimic), but had no idea if they were edible.
Ye Da took out a pack of mimic meat from his backpack, sprinkled some salt, and rubbed it in until all the slime was washed off.
That was how you cleaned intestines, though Ye Da wasn’t sure if it applied to mimics.
But since the stuff looked so much like intestines, Ye Da decided to treat it as a special kind.
As for taste-testing…
Ye Da decided to let other players try it first and give feedback before he ate any himself.
If it turned out to be tasty, he’d eat some.
If not…
He’d sell it all!
In this world where there was no food delivery, every player was short on food. Ye Da believed that as long as it was edible, someone would eat it—no matter how bad it tasted!
After washing the intestines, Ye Da started peeling the bamboo shoots.
Bamboo shoots always looked big, but once peeled, there was hardly anything left. He peeled three or four shoots, each the size of a 1.5-liter water bottle.
After peeling, each was reduced to about the size of a 550ml bottle.
Still, it was enough.
He sliced the shoots into coin-thick pieces—thick enough to absorb flavor but not so thin that they’d vanish in the stir-fry.
He tossed the slices into a pot of boiling water to cook for fifteen minutes; they had to be precooked before stir-frying, or else by the time the shoots were done, the pig intestines would be overcooked.
While the shoots boiled, Ye Da heated a pan and slowly rendered fat from the intestines—no need for extra oil, since the intestines were fatty enough.
Once the intestines turned a light golden color, the bamboo shoots were bubbling away.
Ye Da had bought a crate of stream water, and now he scooped the cooked shoots into cold water for a quick chill—this hot-then-cold treatment ensured they’d be crisp!
At last, he combined the two ingredients in the pan!
“Sizzle!”
As the shoots hit the pan, they soaked up the fat from the pig intestines (mimic), taking on a glossy sheen, almost like a braised dish.
The shoots gleamed with oil, and the intestines, brightened by the shoots, looked fresher and more appetizing.
The aroma of both ingredients was mouthwatering.
It was a dish with the very breath of spring—just looking at it made one’s appetite surge!
But…
Ye Da still didn’t want to be the first to taste-test it.
At that moment, he found himself missing Da Li—someone with a greedy appetite who wasn’t afraid to eat anything!
Unfortunately…
Ye Da quickly rebooted his phone to check.
No signal, as always. He suspected it only worked at midnight.
Left with no other choice, Ye Da decided to seek out players willing to taste-test in the trade market.
[Bearslayer’s Little Shop: Fresh Bamboo Shoots Stir-Fried with Pig Intestines Bento for sale today! One unit of quality wood per portion. Limited quantity—act fast!]
“Ding!”
“Ding ding ding…”

Ye Da had barely posted the listing before the comments started flooding in.
“Reserve one! Please, reserve a portion for me!”
“I have wood! Please, save me a meal, I’m starving! I can’t find anything to eat—please have mercy!”
“Isn’t this a Hakka dish? Just hearing the name makes me hungry. To think I can eat home-style bento here! It’s not expensive at all—totally worth it!”
“Never thought I’d fall so far—working all morning and still unable to buy a single bento! The life of a laborer is so hard!”
“….”
Ye Da glanced over the comments and didn’t waste words.
He figured the bamboo rice was nearly done, so he split open the tubes with his axe and ladled a generous spoonful of stir-fried shoots and intestines over each portion.
The aroma of bamboo shoots and pork fat soaked into the glossy white rice, making each grain glisten.
As soon as he listed the meals, they were snatched up in seconds!
Ye Da hadn’t expected the players to be so wild—they were faster than a cafeteria auntie slapping food onto plates.
Clearly, everyone had had a productive morning.
Otherwise, no one would be willing to trade a hundred units of inferior wood for a meal.
This made Ye Da consider whether he should raise his prices next time—otherwise, he wasn’t living up to his reputation as a shrewd merchant.
With so many people eating, feedback came quickly!
“Delicious!”
“This is amazing!”
“I swear, this doesn’t taste like pig intestines at all. It’s more like sea cucumber—so tender and springy, with a burst of umami!”
“Sea cucumber? Like the kind that costs eighty a pound?”
“Yes, exactly that!”
“I agree—it doesn’t taste like pork intestines, but it’s insanely good! That chewy, springy texture, paired with the crisp, refreshing bamboo shoots—pure satisfaction!”
“Right? And the intestines are filled with a bamboo-scented sauce that bursts in your mouth with every bite! Combined with the rice, it’s absolutely divine. Too bad I can’t afford a second serving, or I’d eat ten!”
“I envy you all. I’m drooling just reading this. Too bad all I have is flax and stone, not enough to buy a bento! Boohoo!”
“Why aren’t you chopping trees? Even if you don’t, the forest is full of dead branches. If you’re diligent, you can easily collect a hundred units in one morning.”
“My spawn point is a rocky shore—there’s nothing but flax and stone for miles! The struggle is real.”
“That’s rough—my sympathies.”
Ye Da had been scrolling through the comments as he ate, and once he saw everyone praising the mimic dish, he let down his guard.
It smelled amazing too, so he scooped himself a generous serving of stir-fried shoots and intestines, ready to dig in—
But then he spotted the comment from the player on the rocky shore!
Well, wasn’t he just short on flax and stone himself?
It was as if a pillow had been delivered to a dozing man—Ye Da wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip by. He hurried to get in touch with the player.