Keep Flirting and Don't Get Killed

"How about we take turns to move the garbage to the wasteland? If we move a little bit every day, it should be done in about a month."

"Well, I guess that's the only way."

"It's almost a sin to do this on such a hot day..."

Jiang Ran patiently waited until the villagers stopped talking, and then he took the opportunity to step forward.

"Esteemed elders, won't you keep these rare charcoals to burn?"

The new guy's question made the villagers turn their attention to him.

"'Charcoal'? What is that?"

"Yes, what is 'charcoal', Banning?"

The villagers' reaction was just as Jiang Ran expected, as no one in this backward village knew the concept of charcoal. So Jiang Ran picked out a piece of burnt 'wood' from the ruins to show everyone. He told the villagers that after the wood was incompletely burned or pyrolyzed in the absence of air, the remaining dark brown or black porous solid material was charcoal, an excellent fuel.

"Incompletely burned?"

"Pyrolysis?"

The villagers were confused, and then someone immediately stood up to question Jiang Ran.

"Hey, hey, you brat, are you kidding us, what use could that garbage be? Don't fool us!"

"Yes, yes! How can something that has been burned be used as fuel? I have been to the town so many times and have never heard of such a thing!"

Suspicious voices emerged one after another, and Jiang Ran did not explain. He looked around and saw that there was no wind at the moment, so he picked up a few pieces of good charcoal and piled them together. 

"Is there anyone willing to help me start a fire?"

Jiang Ran looked around, but the villagers were a little hesitant. At this time, the village chief Woodall walked out of the crowd.

"I'll help you light the fire!"

Because he often hunted, Woodall always carried a flint with him. Seeing that the village chief had offered to help, the other villagers temporarily stopped questioning, and some even took the initiative to bring some dry wood over. This was the fruit of Jiang Ran establishing his popularity everywhere today.

Jiang Ran picked up some stones and arranged them in a circle, then piled charcoal in it and spread dry firewood on it before lighting it. The fire soon started to burn fiercely, and the billowing smoke made everyone back off a few steps, but everyone knew that it was dry firewood that was burning now. 

It would take until the dry firewood burned out to know whether what Banning said was true or false. If the so-called ‘charcoal’ did not burn in the end, then Banning would become a laughingstock and be seen as a mere attention-seeker.

But Jiang Ran was not nervous at all. He believed that the reason why the villagers had not discovered the effect of charcoal was that charcoal was black and unappealing and was not as easy to light as dry firewood. In addition, this village was not only backward but also blocked from information, so it was normal not to know.

Soon, all the dry wood had burned up, the flames were gone, the smoke was gone, and it looked like the fire had gone out.

"Hey, it's not burning?"

"Right! There's not even a flame!"

"Banning, just admit you were lying!"

The villagers who had previously questioned Jiang Ran started to shout again, but Jiang Ran was not panicking at all. He waved his hand for everyone to come forward and feel it. 

The villagers came forward and found that although the flames were gone, the originally black charcoal was now glowing red, and there seemed to be a wave of heat constantly emanating from it. A few brave villagers put their hands on the charcoal to test it. They were immediately burned and backed off, screaming!

"Listen to me, charcoal won't ignite flames like dry wood, but this kind of burning without fire can also continue to release high temperatures, and it can burn longer than the same weight of wood, and it won't smoke or choke people. So it's very convenient whether it's used for heating or roasting food."

After listening to Jiang Ran's explanation, the villagers were all amazed. From time to time, naughty children would reach out to feel the heat of the charcoal from a distance, and then be caught and smacked by their parents. After witnessing and experiencing the magic of charcoal with their own eyes, the villagers changed their words and praised Banning. 

They all felt that it was fortunate that Banning taught them these things, otherwise these precious charcoals would have been thrown away as garbage. Even the few villagers who questioned Jiang Ran at the beginning sincerely apologized to him, and everyone shook hands and congratulated each other.

Afterward, organized by the village chief and with Jiang Ran's guidance, the villagers enthusiastically demolished all the dangerous houses that had been burned by fire, and then selected and gathered the usable charcoal. 

"What kind of cooking method is the barbecue you just mentioned? I used firewood to roast rabbit meat when I was hunting in the mountains. Is it a similar method?" The village chief asked Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran briefly explained to the village chief about the charcoal barbecue. The village chief nodded frequently while listening, and then immediately called everyone to the open space and told them that they would hold a barbecue party together that night!

There was nothing more motivating than eating. Under the call of the village chief Woodall, the entire village of Ella set out to learn how to make barbecue!

Jiang Ran first taught a few young and smart guys, and then they dispersed to teach more villagers. Before long, the whole village was grilling and eating.

Generally speaking, barbecue was mainly meat. However, Ella Village didn't have that much capacity, so Jiang Ran improvised and taught everyone how to roast vegetables. Vegetables such as eggplant, potatoes, green peppers, and corn were also quite delicious when barbecued. It was a pity that the village lacked supplies and seasonings, and he couldn't mix classic sauces such as barbecue sauce and garlic sauce so they could taste even better.

As the barbecue atmosphere became more and more heated, the village chief Woodall moved a table, stood on it, and rallied everyone.

"Listen to me, everyone! Today, we, the Ella villagers, are holding this barbecue party for three reasons!"

"First! In memory of our countrymen who died in the fire! May they rest in peace!

"Second! To celebrate all of us here who survived the fire!

"Third! To welcome this fine young man who has just joined our village! Banning!!"

The villagers applauded and cheered, especially when they heard the welcome speech for Banning. Afterward, at the enthusiastic invitation of the village chief, Jiang Ran ‘very embarrassedly’ went on stage (table) to greet everyone. 

After getting off the stage, Jiang Ran suddenly became the focus of the whole village. Everyone gathered around to say a few words to him and get to know him, worried that they would not become friends with the new rising star of the village in the future.

Violet was also in the crowd of people.

She tried to say something to Banning several times but was pushed away by the crowd. After several failures, Violet looked at the crowd that surrounded Banning, sighed helplessly, and turned around, walking away silently.

At noon, Banning was still a dying man lying on the ground, but now, he had become the hottest new star in Ella Village. This huge contrast was hard to accept in a short time. It was like a good friend suddenly became a powerful person that she couldn't reach... 

However, her relationship with Banning was much less close than that of good friends. After all, they had only known each other for half a day.

Why do I care about him so much... He is just a newcomer who came to the village today... Woo...

But what Violet didn't know was that Jiang Ran actually noticed her presence in the crowd early on and deliberately didn't let her have the opportunity to approach and talk to him.