The first to be ready was the thinly sliced pork belly. Gu Qingcheng sprinkled it with curry powder and handed it to her mother.
Hu Lanfang took a bite, her eyes narrowing in pleasure. She gave a thumbs-up and said,
"Delicious, it tastes just like the ones from the barbecue stalls!"
"It's definitely better than the barbecue stalls. How can their ingredients be as good as ours?"
Gu Zhaobei took a big, satisfied bite of pork belly. As an outdoor adventure enthusiast, he had some experience in wilderness survival, and barbecuing was one of his specialties.
After the pork belly barbecue, Gu Qingcheng noticed that the Alaskan king crab legs were almost done. Their shells had turned golden, and the white crab meat on their split backs was steaming.
Gu Zhaobei sprinkled the freshly minced garlic directly onto the crab shells and continued to grill for another minute. The garlic aroma mingled with the shrimp's fragrance. He then placed the crabs on paper plates and handed them to his wife and daughter, saying,
"Eat up while they're hot!"
The paper plates were also something Gu Qingcheng had conveniently redeemed from the supermarket on the third floor.
Gu Qingcheng was becoming increasingly adept at using the Mountain Cat Supermarket system. It was so effortless that if her parents needed anything, she could redeem it anytime, and her parents outside wouldn't even notice she had left. The key was the difference in time flow between the inside and outside. She could spend a long time browsing in the supermarket and emerge, and to those outside, it would feel like only an instant. This made it seem as if Gu Qingcheng could instantly produce whatever they needed.
The aroma of barbecue didn't travel far on the riverbank; the wind was strong, and each gust quickly dispersed the scent.
The Q-bouncy texture of the Alaskan king crab, combined with the garlic flavor, had the family of three unable to stop eating.
"It's so delicious, so fresh and tender, just like it was just caught."
Hu Lanfang was so engrossed in eating that she forgot about her stomachache. No one could refuse such delicious food. Gu Qingcheng finished hers, still craving more, but there were still plenty of barbecue items to tackle.
The Wagyu beef was also ready. Under the intense heat, the surface of the Wagyu sizzled with dripping fat, signaling it was almost cooked.
Gu Zhaobei got up, sprinkled curry powder on the Wagyu beef, and flipped it over. "Let's wait a bit longer. You guys aren't used to rare or medium-rare, are you? Let's cook it to about eighty percent done?"
"Okay. Two percent, three percent cooked is how foreigners like it. I prefer my food well-done." Hu Lanfang agreed.
At this moment, Gu Qingcheng had already eaten a skewer of barbecued squid. It was chewy and crisp, and the taste was far superior to what she usually bought from the supermarket.
When it was almost done, Gu Zhaobei placed the Wagyu beef on a paper plate and cut it into three portions with a knife and fork. This time, each portion was roughly the same size, as he knew Gu Qingcheng wouldn't be able to eat more than half of all this meat today, so he divided it equally.
"Wow, Dad, this Wagyu must be real, right? Remember when we went traveling in Japan, the tour guide said they'd take us to eat Wagyu, but we ended up going to a secluded little restaurant. The owner showed us the ingredients before cooking, and I ate so much that day that I felt greasy. My stomach hurt that night, and I had to take digestive medicine. I guess it was too fatty. But eating Wagyu again this time, it just melts in your mouth, and my stomach feels fine." Gu Qingcheng said as she ate.
"If it tastes good, eat more," Hu Lanfang concluded with a single sentence.
"Hmm, no rush. We have all day to eat slowly. Here, the saury is ready. Who wants one first?" Gu Zhaobei, acting as the barbecue master, focused on the food on the grill.
"Dad, I want oysters. I haven't had them in so long. I can't believe we can have a plate of them now." Gu Qingcheng said with quiet satisfaction. As the oysters went into her mouth, the system generously awarded her "satisfaction points."
"Sake is nourishing, dear. You should eat more," Gu Zhaobei said, bringing the grilled sake to Hu Lanfang. The charred skin and white fish meat were incredibly appealing.
They grilled and ate simultaneously. Grilling the ingredients took some time, and they didn't eat large quantities at once, so despite continuously eating, they weren't actually full. It could be said that it was only because the original body was too weak and required a large amount of food for replenishment.
"Dad, I want some New Orleans-style grilled wings. A pair, please." After eating a pile of delicious barbecue, Gu Qingcheng didn't feel the urgent hunger anymore.
"No problem." Like all parents in the world, Gu Zhaobei's energy surged when he heard his child wanted to eat something.
The family of three ate delicious barbecue, chatting and laughing, in high spirits. Gu Qingcheng also continuously gained "satisfaction points." For a hearty meat feast, Gu Zhaobei also skewered some vegetables – leeks, cabbage, water spinach – to grill. Essential vitamins still needed to be maintained. The family of three was harmonious and happy, never dreaming that in just a few short days, they would find such a brief period of happiness here.
"Broccoli, mushrooms, beans, cucumbers. I want to eat these vegetables," Hu Lanfang also placed an order.
"Alright, I'll make them right away." Gu Zhaobei was quick on his feet, sprinkling various seasonings on the grilled vegetables, their aroma so enticing that everyone wished they could eat their own tongues. Their family had all suffered from malnutrition before. Along the way, they couldn't even eat half a meal, and they walked unsteadily, looking like they could collapse at any moment. Now that they had the opportunity to eat heartily, they naturally had to replenish themselves.
They spent the entire morning eating barbecue. By the afternoon, Hu Lanfang insisted on catching up with the villagers. She said her stomach didn't hurt anymore after eating, and she wanted to rejoin the group, feeling insecure being alone. Considering Gu Qingcheng, Gu Zhaobei agreed. Gu Qingcheng felt it would be better to reach Jinsha City sooner and settle down, avoiding the discomfort of constantly sleeping outdoors.
"Oh, why do I feel cold again?" A gust of mountain wind blew past, and Gu Qingcheng muttered.
"Huh? I feel cold too. Isn't it almost noon? Why is it colder than this morning?" Hu Lanfang also asked strangely. They had been busy with the barbecue earlier, feeling warm, and hadn't noticed the temperature drop. Only when they slowed down did they sense that the temperature was not normal.
Gu Qingcheng took out the thermometer she had bought from the Mountain Cat Supermarket and looked at it. To her shock, it had dropped to 10 degrees Celsius – the temperature of early winter! It seemed the extreme cold was approaching faster.
Gu Qingcheng said nervously, "Dad, Mom, we need to head towards Jinsha City quickly. It was 18 degrees before, and now it's dropped to 10 degrees. And it's midday! It'll be 2 or 3 degrees tonight, won't it? We have cold-weather clothes; let's put them on now. I bought thermal underwear from the Mountain Cat Supermarket."
Gu Qingcheng took out three pieces of down thermal underwear. They were the new lightweight models this year, with "cloud cotton" and high-tech temperature locking. They were perfect to wear under their clothes, covered by an outer layer, so no one would notice. Fortunately, all three of them were thin, and their current outer robes were quite loose. Gu Qingcheng found that even with an extra sleeveless down jacket underneath, they could be well concealed, which greatly facilitated their dressing for warmth. However, they didn't need to wear down jackets yet; just the thermal underwear would suffice.