After days without any greasy food, the moment he bit into the battered, deep-fried rabbit tenderloin skewer, he felt the oil burst in his mouth, and a profound sense of bliss washed over him.
[Enjoyed deep-fried rabbit meat in the wilds of North America. Happiness +3]
Nice!
The system notification was just as he'd expected. Abstaining from certain foods for a few days and then eating them again was a great way to earn a lot of happiness.
If it weren't for his limited seasonings, forcing him to eat it plain, he was sure that single bite could have netted him up to 5 points of happiness.
He kept stuffing the crispy, juicy slices of rabbit into his mouth while using his branch chopsticks to flip the rabbit legs over again.
The rabbit legs, already pan-fried to a golden brown on both sides, looked even more tempting than the tenderloin slices. He could almost picture himself holding the two drumsticks like pistols, going to town on them with huge bites.
He moved the pan off the direct flames, using the ambient heat from the fire and surrounding charcoal to continue cooking them slowly.
"Rabbit is too lean, and there isn't enough oil in the pan. I have to lower the heat and cook them for longer, letting the legs roast through slowly."
「A dozen or so minutes passed.」
The fish oil in the pan had almost completely disappeared.
Aside from a small amount that was absorbed by the rabbit legs, the rest had spattered into the fire, feeding the flames.
The two rabbit legs had also visibly shrunk, their skin turning from golden yellow to a dark, crispy brown.
"I tore off this rabbit's skin and fur, so I had to use starch to create an artificial crust. Otherwise, after cooking for this long, it would be so tough it'd get stuck in my teeth."
In another week, it would be November. The temperature in Alaska would plummet, and this area would slowly begin to freeze and snow, approaching Arctic Circle conditions.
For the sake of the future, he had no choice but to preserve the rabbit's pelt.
Besides, once winter arrived, the available plants and prey in the wild would decrease drastically. He had to start thinking about these problems ahead of time.
KRAK.
The tip of his knife scraped against the hard crust of the rabbit leg, making a crisp sound.
Lin Chen didn't even care that it was scalding hot. He wrapped a leaf around the bone, picked it up, sprinkled on a thin layer of salt, and took a huge, savage bite.
With a sound like a potato chip shattering, he tore off nearly half the meat from the leg.
Fresh out of the pan, the rabbit leg was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. While not as juicy as he'd imagined, it wasn't dry either. In fact, the texture was a bit like a perfectly cooked, deep-fried chicken strip—not overdone at all.
[Enjoyed a piping hot, pan-fried rabbit leg in the wilds of North America. Happiness +1]
'Only one point?'
Lin Chen chewed on a large mouthful of the scorching-hot rabbit meat, occasionally exhaling a puff of steam, his brow furrowed in confusion.
'Logically, the rabbit leg was cooked with a completely different method and had a different texture than the tenderloin. The satisfaction should be stronger. It shouldn't have been just one point.'
He carefully assessed his current state and realized he didn't have a particularly strong craving for the rabbit leg. He could take it or leave it.
Subconsciously, he glanced over at the mound of earth where the charcoal was.
"I get it now. I have much higher expectations for the beggar's-style rabbit leg, so eating a plain, pan-fried one gives me a relatively weak sense of happiness. If this leg had been marinated and sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, the happiness would have definitely been 2 or 3 points."
Lin Chen tore off another thick chunk of meat, secretly committing this discovery to memory.
'So, besides deliberately starving myself, the amount of happiness I gain is also affected by factors like this.'
'Before happiness was quantified like this, I never really paid attention to such details.'
The audience watching the live stream couldn't see what he was thinking. It was lunchtime for them, and the sight of Lin Chen holding two golden-brown, pan-fried rabbit legs and tearing into them with huge bites was enough to make them die of envy.
Even though the only seasoning was basic salt, his hearty way of eating still won everyone over.
"Mommy, I want to eat rabbit leg, too!"
It was Saturday, so the school-free children were all sitting around the dining table waiting for their meal, their eyes glued to the tempting rabbit legs on the screen as they swallowed their saliva like crazy.
The white housewife hadn't expected Lin Chen, who had been tame for the past few days, to suddenly pull out all the stops. Caught completely off guard, she could only hurry to serve the Caesar salad she had prepared earlier.
"I know everyone wants to eat it, but they don't sell rabbit meat at the supermarket. If you want some, we'd have to call a restaurant to special-order it, and most restaurants don't serve rabbit dishes anyway."
"No, no, I wanna eat it now!"
"Me too!!"
Hearing they couldn't have any, the three children immediately started a tantrum, repeatedly stabbing their forks and knives into the table and making a deafening racket to vent their frustration.
The woman's brow furrowed. She put on a stern face and was about to scold them when her husband, hearing the commotion, came in from the yard and asked patiently.
"What's wrong, my darlings?"
Before the children could answer, he caught a glimpse of the rabbit legs on the screen out of the corner of his eye.
He froze for a second, then immediately understood and shot his wife a reassuring look.
"Does everyone want to eat rabbit legs, too?"
"YES!!!!!"
"Children who make Mommy angry don't get presents. How about this: first, you all quiet down, and then you apologize to Mommy. If Mommy forgives you, I'll take you all to Uncle John's farm tomorrow to catch rabbits. How does that sound?"
"Oh, yeah!!"
"I'm sorry, Mommy. I shouldn't have made noise with my fork."
"Please forgive us, okay?~"
Seeing her children's pitiful little expressions, the woman's anger instantly evaporated. She walked over, ruffled each of their heads, and then gave her husband a light peck on the lips.
"You always know what to do, dear."
The man's lips curved into a confident smile. "I know you want to taste some rabbit meat too, right, sweetheart? As it happens, John is worried about the rabbits overrunning his farm. I'm sure he'll be very happy to see us."
At almost the exact same time, many livestock farms and slaughterhouses started receiving calls from numerous customers, all asking if they had rabbit meat available.
The owners, who had never encountered such a situation, were completely baffled. They explained that they didn't have any rabbit meat at the moment, but the calls kept coming.
"Hey, this is strange. Why are so many people suddenly asking for rabbit meat?"
John had just hung up the eighth call when he suddenly remembered the rabbits overrunning his own farm. His eyes lit up, but they quickly dimmed again.
Those rabbits were cunning and incredibly fast. Without hunting dogs to surround them, they were almost impossible to catch. Even a gun was no guarantee.
A single gunshot might get you one, sure, but then you wouldn't see another rabbit for the rest of the day.
RING RING RING
He picked up his phone again. Seeing the caller's name, he answered, a little confused.
"Long time no see, pal. How have you been?"