My Magic Age

In early September, at the intersection of the easternmost end of the Neosiachis Mountains and the northwest of the Pai Plateau, there is a green grassland, and the rolling Neosiachis Mountains end here.

A large amount of water from the melted glaciers of the Neosiachis Mountains converges here from several tributaries, and gathers into dozens of large and small lakes on this not-so-large grassland.

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Before the summer comes, millions of bison migrating north to the glacier tundra to reproduce and live will pass through here, trampling this place into a barren land.

Only in the early spring before this, caravans will choose to take this trade route. And now this is also a paradise for various small animals.

I lay quietly in the grass without moving, and even adjusted my breathing very lightly.

There is a wide cloth bag next to me that supports a fist-sized hole**. The entire cloth bag mouth is slightly camouflaged with green grass. The two-foot square cloth bag mouth will become narrower and narrower as it goes in. As long as a guinea pig gets into this bag, it will never get out.

Kuz was responsible for filling the remaining holes with a shovel. This job can only be done by experienced hunters. If one hole is not blocked, there will be no hope of catching a guinea pig.

After filling the nearby rat holes of various sizes, Kuz lit the prepared cow dung at the entrance of a rat hole that was left on purpose. The flames burned more and more vigorously. When it seemed that the time was right, Kuz poured a pile of white debris into the fire. In an instant, a lot of black smoke billowed up, and the wolf dung mixed with pungent and spicy herbs burned.

The wolf dung had been fully burned, and Kuz covered the fire and the rat hole with a linen blanket soaked in water. He smiled and whispered to me: "Ji Jia, hold the bag well, don't tilt it!"

"Okay!" I also answered excitedly in a low voice. Although the soul in my body is no longer young, when my young body lies in the grass, I still become very excited, even a little nervous, worried that those guinea pigs as big as hares will pounce out and I will not be able to hold the cloth bag.

Thick smoke poured into the rat hole, and I could see wisps of smoke rising from all over the grass.

I didn't have time to think about it, and I heard a "whoosh" sound, and the green grass at the entrance of the rat hole was suddenly crushed by a small earthy yellow animal. The yellow shadow didn't even have time to change direction and went into the bag.

Then two more rushed out in succession.

I held the bag tightly with both hands, not daring to be distracted at all.

The guinea pigs, which were as big as rabbits, rushed left and right in the bag. Fortunately, Kuz was worried that something might go wrong here, so he had already fixed the bag firmly on the ground with a wooden wedge. I took a wooden stick and beat the guinea pigs that were not honest and still trying to find an exit, and beat them into obedience.

Crouching beside the bag trap, I thought that I was only seven years old. At this age, I would have cried and pulled my mother's clothes and refused to go to school. But now I have to worry about a bite of food, endure the burning pain on my body, work hard, and use the most serious attitude to integrate into this team and understand this mysterious magic world.

I think I am still afraid of death, so I have been trying to live carefully. During this period, I met some good people, Teacher Kuru, Kuz, Fred, Steward Leipas, and other people in the caravan. They are all very friendly.

Old Kuru not only saved me, but also told me the way to go in the future. His words filled me with hope and courage. It is difficult for me to tell whether such a life is lucky or unfortunate for me.

Kuz's shouting came from a distance, pulling me back from my thoughts.

"Ji Jia, a guinea pig is running away!"

I quickly threw away the wooden stick in my hand and straightened the crooked bag.

At this time, more than ten guinea pigs had already run into the pocket, and a few that had escaped the net rushed out through the gap on the other side of the bag and ran wildly on the grass. They jumped three or four meters away, and disappeared in the vast grassland after just a few jumps.

It seems that the mouse hole found by Kuz belongs to a large family of guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs continued to crawl out of the cave along the choking smoke. Some of the guinea pigs behind them seemed to be drunk. They staggered out of the cave and fell at the entrance of the cave. Their furry bodies seemed to be stretched straight. Their hind legs kicked back weakly twice, and their bodies began to twitch. These guinea pigs were choked to death. Maybe there are more in the cave. I guess it is impossible for them to crawl out alive.

Kuz ran over with an iron rod and bent the iron rod head. He inserted the iron rod into the hole to hook out the guinea pigs that were choked to death in the hole.

His furry face was smoked like charcoal, only his eyes were bright, and when he smiled triumphantly, he revealed two sharp canine teeth that were unique to the wolf orcs.

Our hunting was a great success this time, and we caught 27 guinea pigs, each of which was as big as a hare.

We tied the cloth bag to a long wooden stick, and two people carried it to the camp one after the other. On the way back, Kuz and I discussed inviting the people in the camp to eat stewed meat, and Kuz agreed without thinking.

Originally, I planned to fry the guinea pigs, but I didn't expect to catch so many at once, and the oil originally prepared was not enough.

I had to change the menu temporarily, and it was easier to stew in one pot. Now the early spring season is different from winter, and the meat that can't be eaten can be frozen.

In this season, fresh meat will go bad if it is not kept for three or two days, so it is better to invite everyone to eat together.

From a distance, you can see Old Kuru squatting on the slope next to the camp. His wrinkled face has an indescribable smell. He just sits there quietly with a rough stick in his mouth. Cigarettes rolled from dry tobacco leaves.

It’s just that this trip is very long, and the old Kulu’s inventory is not much. It is said that this tobacco leaf, which is slightly sour and tastes like sea buckthorn fruit, can only grow on the Pai Plateau. It must have come to the doorstep of those who have been reluctant to smoke the leaves. There is no need to save anything.

When Kuru saw that we had returned safely, he slowly walked down the hillock. When he saw the prey in the bag, he was surprised and said: "You are lucky to have caught so many, you two boys!"

"Grandpa, Jijia and I want to treat everyone in the caravan to a nice dinner. We want to treat them to Jijia's specialty dishes. Do you think that's okay?" Kurtz thought in front of Old Kuru. He asked cautiously, as good as a quail.

The rules of the orc tribe are many different from those of the human race. Although Kurz has lived in this caravan for three full years, he still has the vigilance of the orcs towards humans in his bones. This is something that has left a mark on his bones. , will not change easily.

Old Kuru glanced at me in surprise, with some relief in his eyes.

Old Kuru has been hiding and trying hard to integrate Kurtz into human society. I know that old Kuru has always wanted young Kurtz to travel to the human big city in the center of the continent, but if Kurtz always has a repulsive mentality , then this time will be extended indefinitely.

Every orc who wants to be the leader of a tribe needs to be forward-looking, but what this requires is experience and experience.

However, Old Kuru still hesitated, and after a moment of silence, he raised his head and asked Kuz: "Since you want to treat everyone in the caravan to a stew, do you know how many people there are in the caravan? Is your harvest today enough for everyone?" Do you think about how much food you plan to cook?”

"Ah! Yes! Jijia, there are so many people. It seems our guinea pig is not enough!" Kurtz was dumbfounded. A math problem was really difficult for a 12-year-old little orc.

During the days of studying herbalism with Old Kuru, I have already figured out how many people there are in the caravan. In fact, such a large caravan is actually three independent teams, and the smallest number is naturally 2. There are only twenty-seven people in these two adventure groups, and they always walk at the front of the caravan, and will only return to the main force when they need supplies.

The Thunder Rhino team led by Butler Leipas is the real caravan. There are 203 members in total, and there are also 70 huge Thunder Rhinos.

The caravan was closely followed by 13 magic-patterned iron carriages. The Green Empire Dance Troupe only traveled with our caravan, and the number of people in the dance troupe was far more than ours. However, they had their own cooks and had better food than us. Much better. I once saw a young lady in white clothes sitting on the edge of a carriage from a distance, wandering her two slender white calves, holding a piece of white bread in her hand and teasing the calf accompanying the carriage. The silver bell-like The laughter spread far.

I stood up and said: "There are more than 200 people in our team. We may need 200 pieces of brown bread for dinner. This does not need to worry about Kuz and I. As long as we can make enough stew for 200 people, our meal today will be enough." The harvest was only twenty-seven guinea pigs, which was not enough. Yesterday, Kuz trapped seven pheasants and hid them in our tent. We also found more than fifty pheasants in the stew. Add some vermicelli and pork chops..."

"Vermicelli...? Is it the hard hemp rope you made from sweet potatoes in the first few days?" Kurtz obviously didn't agree with the vermicelli I made because he hated those sweet potatoes, because sweet potato is a plant even among the orcs. Only the lowest slaves in the tribe eat it.

Obviously Kuz was worried that I would let him eat those sweet potato vermicelli, so he quickly said: "Maybe we add some tree rice to make it more delicious. I can also ask Mr. Leipas for a bag of tree rice." Or there are a lot of live grass growing in the field, which is also delicious when cooked in a pot. "

In order to eat a meal of pseudo-pork stewed vermicelli, I quickly hugged Kuz and whispered: "Brother Beast, you don't believe me?"

Due to my short stature, I could only stand on tiptoes to hug Kuz, who was still a head taller than me while holding his breasts and abdomen. Kurtz blinked in embarrassment and said to me: "When the meat is served, you must give me more meat."

"Don't worry, you can eat it when the time comes. It's enough!" I promised, patting my chest.

On the easternmost side of the camp, next to the lake, there is a row of large stoves made of large stones. There are ten large iron pots placed on them. Each large iron pot is two meters in diameter. The six pots belong to the dance troupe. , the four pots belong to the caravan.

The cooks in the dance troupe have to stand on the edge of the stove and hold a shovel like a shovel to stir-fry.

In contrast, the cooks in the caravan are much more relaxed. They eat black bread every day. They only need to boil water in a pot, pour some dried vegetables and salt into it, and sometimes add some dried meat. This kind of food is popular among everyone. It's called dried vegetable soup.

At that time, I felt that this stuff was more like a Chinese medicinal decoction with added salt, which was very unpleasant to drink. Unless I was hungry, I would rather eat black bread and drink boiled water.

Kuz has never been picky about food, and he can drink a big bowl of vegetable soup with relish. Later, when Old Kuru saw that I couldn't eat dried vegetable soup, he took Kuz out to hunt occasionally and get some fresh meat for me.

When Butler Leipas heard my and Kuz's request, he didn't say anything else. He took us directly to the stove, reached for a spatula that was taller than me, and asked me: "Jijia, you said you wanted to I want to cook a meal for everyone, and if you can hold this spatula and promise not to fall into the pot, then I will agree to your request."

When I looked at the huge spatula up close, I realized that the wooden handle, which was soaked in grease and became shiny, was almost as thick as my arm. My eyes widened, I held the spatula with both hands and took a deep breath, using all my strength. I couldn't even pick up this heavy spatula.

In addition to the cooks of the dance troupe and the cooks of the caravan, there were many bored idlers gathered around the stove. The caravan camped early in order to take a full rest near the lake and prepare for entering the Pai Plateau. It was afternoon time, and people in the caravan were basking in the sun outside their tents in the warm early spring, taking advantage of the rare good weather. Seeing people gathering by the lake, some people came over.

"Haha, it turns out to be Jijia boy. Be careful of the spatula hitting your toes."

"Hey, let me tell you whose family that child belongs to. Is this little Maotou still nursing? How could Master Le Yi let him carry such a heavy spatula?"

People in the crowd were talking a lot, and when they saw that I didn’t lift the spatula in the end, they started laughing together. However, in private, some insiders began to explain that it was Old Kulu, the pharmacist of the caravan, who wanted to give everyone a good meal with his two children. Then the crowd started to discuss in a noisy manner what they were going to eat tonight.

I was a little embarrassed. I really didn’t expect the spatula to be so big and heavy. I think it should be more than 30 kilograms. Even if I was in the prime of life in my previous life, it would not be easy for me to pick up such a big spatula and stir fry.

"Maybe I can..."

I was hesitant to ask for help. At this time, Kuz beside me stretched out a hand to hold the wooden handle, lifted the shovel like a fly swatter, and asked me naively: "Jijia, this shovel is very heavy." ”

"Ah! Aziz, you are so energetic." I was a little dumbfounded and dumbfounded.

All this time, Kurtz has never shown his extraordinary strength. Sometimes I will be a little childish and play with Kurtz on the back of a rhinoceros. I will also press on him to make him beg for mercy. Kurtz will laugh every time. Admit defeat very loudly.

I didn't feel much at that time. I felt that even if he was stronger than me, he wouldn't be much stronger. At most, he could run very well, had a lot of endurance, could climb trees, and could jump higher than me.

Even if we come back from hunting guinea pigs today, I will still feel that it was the two of us who brought it back. But looking back now, I have brought my thinking back to the original mode and thought of myself very strongly. I I don't think I could handle even a fraction of the number of guinea pigs.

It seemed that Kurtz must have been bearing most of the weight at that time, and I was so careless that I didn't notice as I was walking in front.

I quickly said to Butler Leipas: "Dad Leipas, can we start working now? Maybe I can do some other work, washing meat and carrying water, etc. Kuz is a good cook. "

Leipas looked at me and Kuz with a smile on his slender eyes, then turned to Fatty Anlu, a chubby cook next to him who was covered in oil stains, and ordered: "Today's dinner stew will be left to these two little guys. , I have a request, fat man, please listen, I need you to ensure their safety. If anything happens to any of them, you will receive my anger. In addition, I guarantee that you will not be hurt during the rest of the journey. Enjoy any treatment, you understand?”

An Lu, the fat cook, had a round, fleshy face full of wrinkles. With a grimace, he wiped the oil and sweat on his face with a handkerchief whose color could not be seen clearly. He emerged from the crowd and worked hard to put back his pot-like belly. , said to Butler Leipas with a bitter face: "Master Butler, please don't worry, I will definitely take good care of these two young men."

Seeing that Kuz kept wanting to talk, I grabbed Kuz's sleeve tightly. After Butler Leipas left, the crowd also dispersed, leaving only Kurtz and I with the shovel. I said to Kurtz: "I have all the ideas, but I am not very energetic, so you have to step in too." Try your best, after all, we are cooking dinner for more than 200 people, even if there is only one dish, I can’t do it.”

After hearing what I said, Kuz's nervous face relaxed, and he took a long breath and said, "I don't know how to stew meat, but I have plenty of strength. As long as it's a labor-intensive job, Jijia, just say it."