Day Sixty-Six: Food Delivered to the Door, Part Two — A bonus chapter for Cloud-Rising Serenity

A snake’s head suddenly shot out and startled me, making me instinctively step back.

But I quickly regained my composure. Its head was a somewhat flattened oval, and its snout was rather blunt, unlike a venomous snake. Besides, it looked terrified, as though it were fleeing.

Even so, I had no intention of letting it go. I lifted the axe, swung it in a wide arc, and brought it down at once. The blade fell, and the snake was severed. The two halves were completely split apart, yet they were still writhing. The upper half with the head even lunged forward once more, but only that one time before it stopped. The wriggling continued, though. In any case, I was not about to go near it, and it was no longer any threat, so I left it alone.

As long as it was not venomous, I was not afraid of it. What I feared most was toads... I had been that way since I was little. The rustling beneath the firewood was still continuing, as though more of them were trying to flee in other directions. Perhaps there were several more.

Because I did not know exactly what kind of snakes were inside, or whether any were venomous, I carefully used a branch to pry apart the firewood instead of touching it with my hands. Little Black tried several times to come over and help, but I stopped it each time. If a venomous snake really did come out, I might not be able to stop it in time before something went wrong. Little Black was almost my best companion right now. Without its company, I might not even still be alive.

The pile of firewood had nearly all been split apart, yet I still had not found the remaining snakes. Were they all coiled together? Only one area the size of a washbasin remained. It was filled with small branches, fairly dry, and perhaps that was precisely why the snakes had hidden there.

Before I could even lift the twigs and reach in, two snakes as thick as a forearm burst out. They were probably frightened as well, and did not attack me. Instead, they desperately fled along the wooden wall of the treehouse, trying to slip through the gaps. But I was fast, and with an axe in hand, there was no way I would let them escape.

I cut the snake in front of me cleanly in two, then immediately picked up the axe and rushed after the other one. This one was extremely crafty. As I swung, it twisted suddenly and charged straight toward me, causing my blade to miss completely.

Though I was not afraid of snakes, I was certainly afraid of one charging straight at me. If it bit me, I could not even imagine the consequences. So I leaped over it, took the axe back into my hand, turned around, and charged it again.

And just then, another snake shot out of the firewood pile. That made four. It was almost unbelievable. Had I stumbled into a snake den? Four snakes exactly alike, differing only slightly in size.

After once more barking at Little Black, which was about to rush in, I caught up to the crafty snake from before. This time it was not so lucky. Just like the two before it, I cut it down where it lay.

The fourth snake was fast and was already almost at the doorway. The gap there was huge; not just snakes, even the fat rat from last time could squeeze through. I was not about to let a tiger return to the mountains after catching it. Since it dared to come, it had to stay.

Its head was already outside. I caught up to it, and after half its body had slipped out, my axe came down as well. The end was the same as the others.

...

“Ha... ha...” I had not expected just a few snakes to wear me out so badly. I was drenched in sweat, and both my forehead and my back were soaked through. Beads of sweat kept rolling down my face.

Wiping my face, I carried the axe to the remaining pile of firewood and pried apart every last piece. I refused to believe there could still be a snake!

Just as I let out a breath, I spotted a black snake tail. “Damn it, there’s still one!” I cursed, and the axe did not stop. It came down in a sharp slash, and the black tail sprang up from the blow. Only then did I realize it was just a vine...

Seems I really was a bit too tense...

After resting for a while, it was probably about time to eat again. My stomach had started growling loudly. At that moment, I was also preparing to deal with the snake carcasses.

When hunger meets food, everything falls into place so naturally. Then let there be a full feast of snake. It would not be a waste of those snakes that had delivered themselves to my doorstep.

But I had also become extremely cautious. To determine whether they were poisonous, I took out my Swiss army knife, pried open their mouths, and checked whether they had fangs. Luckily, I did not see any sharp venom fangs. I squeezed the mouths of the snake heads for a long while, but nothing came out.

They should not be venomous. My heart finally settled down. The heads were useless, so I cut them off directly. After that came skinning and gutting them, then rinsing them with clean water at the doorway. I laid them on the table and cut them into sections. Four snakes made a whole large basinful.

Then I could begin trying to make the full snake banquet I had imagined.

The first dish was snake meat soup. I had eaten that once on a business trip to Canton, and I still remembered the dish’s name: Dragon Swimming Through the Rivers and Lakes! The reason it left such a deep impression on me was not only the name, but also the delicious taste, the tender snake meat with few bones, and the fragrant, delicate texture. It was impossible to forget.

Of course, my own skill could not compare with a chef’s. But on a stormy day like this, encountering such food made me excited all the same. The last giant snake had been far too big; its meat could not possibly compare with this. This size was much closer to what I had eaten before.

...

I simply heated a little oil in the wok. When the oil was not yet especially hot, I put the snake meat in. After a quick stir-fry, I added water. If I cooked it too long, I was afraid the meat would turn tough and lose its tenderness.

That part took only a few minutes. After waiting a little longer, the fierce heat brought the water to a boil. Of course, that was not the end. After adding a little precious salt, I waited again until the whole pot of liquid turned somewhat pale. Yes, pale—not the milky white of fish soup, but a white that looked slightly cloudy.

Then came the final step. With a spoon, I scooped some arrowroot starch from the basin where I had made it. It was not completely dry yet, but I was going to use it now. How well it would work, I would only know once I tried.

The spoonful went in, and as I stirred, excitement surged through me at once. Smack! That was the sound of me slapping my thigh. Yes, I was too excited. The arrowroot starch really had worked. As the broth thickened, it immediately became viscous... It should taste wonderfully satisfying.

The second dish was much simpler. After heating oil, I added soy sauce and made braised snake meat.

The third was steamed snake pieces...

The fourth was salted pepper snake...

This time I had also spared no expense. I used a lot of oil, while the salt was already kept to the smallest possible amount...

It would be a lie to say I did not feel the sting of it, but after tasting it, that no longer mattered to me. If I were given another chance, I would absolutely make the same choice again!

Just look at the way Little Black ate, and you would understand. It was wolfing the food down without the slightest restraint...

That snake soup, even for me, who usually could hardly taste anything distinctive, carried a freshness that clung to the tip of the tongue... The snake meat was so tender it was outrageous, and with the slightest pressure of the lips, it fell right off the bone... It barely needed chewing. After spitting out the bones, that delicate snake head seemed to slide naturally down your throat and all the way inside.

My only regret was that the rice pot seemed unnecessary now. That basin of soup alone left me fifty percent full... It was not that I was stubbornly determined to finish everything—it was simply impossible to stop...

The other dishes were excellent too, especially the salted pepper one. Crispy on the outside, tender and smooth within. Ah, I could only close my eyes and savor it... If heaven could return to me the sense of taste that had been taken by my cold at a time like this, the experience would have been even more beautiful...

The steamed version had fewer advantages, offering only one sensation: tenderness. I had even dripped a few drops of lemon juice over it, and I could still faintly detect the light fragrance of lemon...

Compared with the others, the braised one had even less to compare with. It was not worth mentioning.

...

The rainstorm still had not let up. If it could stop tomorrow, perhaps I should renovate the house again. After all, it rained here all year round, and the problem of leaks would have to be solved sooner or later.