Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35 A Good Catch

Matthew gave him a confused look. “What did you find?”

“I came across something great,” Zachary said in a hushed voice, his eyes gleaming.

He tiptoed toward a nearby rock, crouched beside it, and slid his hand into the water. Before anything could escape, he quickly snapped his fingers shut.

A faint splash rippled across the surface.

“Look at this!” Zachary lifted a river shrimp-barely a few inches long-and waved it proudly at Matthew. beaming.

People in the tribe rarely bothered with these. They had little meat and were troublesome to catch. But seeing how thrilled Zachary was, Matthew quickly finished rinsing the raisins and stepped into the stream to help.

“Go on up. I’ll handle the catching,” he said.

But Zachary had no intention of standing aside. The longer he searched, the more excited he became, eager to flip over every rock he saw.

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“Hey, here!

“Near the grass roots!”

With Matthew’s sharp vision and quick reflexes, catching them was effortless-almost every reach ended with a catch.

Soon enough, a pile of shrimp and a few palm-sized fish gathered on the rocks by the stream.

The more Zachary found, the more energized he grew. Whenever he spotted something bigger, he’d get so excited he’d tug at Matthew’s clothes.

“Careful, don’t slip.” Seeing his slender frame wobbling, Matthew instinctively reached out and steadied him.

“I’m fine! Matthew, there’s something under this rock!” Unable to move it himself, Zachary immediately called for help.

Matthew crouched down and lifted the rock aside. Zachary reacted instantly, grabbing what was underneath -but the large pale blue-green fish in his hands thrashed wildly, splashing water all over his face.

“Haha!” With droplets clinging to his lashes, Zachary raised the fish high. “Looks like we’re having a feast tonight!”

Watching him, Matthew found his mood lifting as well. A rare smile tugged at his lips.

Zachary paused, then his eyes curved with delight. “Matthew, did you just smile?”

Matthew didn’t respond. His gaze dropped to Zachary’s hands and feet, reddened by the cold water. “Let’s head back,” he said quietly.

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Chapter 15 A Good Catch

“Alright.” Zachary was in high spirits, already thinking ahead. “Next time, I’ll make a few traps and bring

them here.”

“Okay.”

Matthew casually picked a few broad leaves and wrapped up the fish and shrimp. Zachary hugged them happily, lowering his head now and then to sneak another look.

Once home, Zachary placed the fish and shrimp into a stone basin filled with water to keep them alive. Then he and Matthew spread the washed raisins evenly across a flat stone.

It was nearly noon. The sunlight was just right-warm against the skin-and the gentle breeze made it perfect for drying both mushrooms and raisins.

Zachary’s stomach began to growl. Since Matthew didn’t usually eat midday, there was no need to prepare much.

He went into the storage area, sliced off a lean piece of grunt-beast meat, and chopped it finely with a stone blade. After finding a smooth stone and washing it clean, he began pounding the meat repeatedly on a stone slab.

Matthew frowned slightly. “What are you making?”

Zachary rotated his wrist as he worked. “I’m turning this into a paste to make meatballs.”

“Meatballs?”

“Yeah. They’re really good.”

Matthew reached over, took the stone from him, and mimicked his movements, pounding the meat himself.

With his greater strength, the task became much easier.

Zachary didn’t stay idle. He prepared chopped wild onions and minced ginger. Once the meat was sufficiently pounded, he mixed in the aromatics, cracked in three duck eggs, added salt, and stirred everything thoroughly.

He filled a stone pot with water and ginger slices and brought it to a boil. Then, using his left hand, he squeezed portions of the seasoned meat into round shapes, while his right hand scooped them into the bubbling water. After that, he tossed in a handful of tender greens. Once the meatballs floated, he added more chopped wild onion and a pinch of salt-the dish was done.

Matthew watched the entire process, stunned. With just a simple squeeze and scrape, perfectly round meatballs formed one after another in the pot.

Soft pink dotted with green-it actually looked quite appealing.

“This is meatball soup,” Zachary said, ladling a bowl for himself and another for Matthew.

The meatballs were tender and juicy, the broth rich and flavorful, and the greens crisp and fresh.

Matthew ate them one by one, finishing the bowl in no time. Even afterward, he licked his lips, still

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Chapter 15 A Good Catch

unsatisfied.

“This meatball soup is really delicious,” he admitted.

“If you make it again, I can help pound more meat.”

Zachary laughed. “There’s still some in the pot. You can have another bowl.”

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Matthew nodded and went for a second serving, though he didn’t take too much at first, leaving plenty for Zachary. In the end, however, most of it still ended up in his own stomach.

That afternoon, Matthew was only halfway through washing the dishes when someone sent by Alfred came to fetch him.

Zachary offered to handle the rest, but Matthew refused, stubbornly finishing every last one before leaving.

After he was gone, Zachary wandered around the cave, bored. Then his gaze landed on a pile of bright red wild berries in the storage area.

Matthew had also brought back some honey that morning-rich and incredibly sweet.

After a moment of thought, Zachary decided to make apple and wild berry jelly-something refreshing to cut through greasy food and stimulate the appetite.

He removed the pits from the berries and the cores from the apples, chopped everything into small pieces, and simmered them in water until soft. Then he mashed the mixture into a thick puree. After that, he added honey and continued cooking it over low heat, stirring constantly. Once it became thick and sticky, he poured it out to cool.

Without a proper mold, Zachary lined a large stone bowl with leaves, poured in the mixture, and placed the bowl in water to help it cool and set.

While waiting, he scooped a few more spoonfuls of honey into a pot and heated it gently. As it bubbled and deepened into a caramel color, he drizzled it onto leaves in small drops.

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Terugated to Raise Panther Cubs