Delicacies never tire the appetite, and the finer the carving, the better.
Hu Yulin had tasted delicacies on jade plates before, but he had never seen such inferior cooking skills. Rong Xi looked stunned and ashamed, and Hu Yulin felt pity in his heart.
Unexpectedly, the son of the minister would be so poor.
Without attendants or beautiful maidservants surrounding him, without delicious dishes and delicacies all around, only the stumbling old servant and the ignorant young child serving him left and right tasted bland, truly making one feel heartbroken.
He was about to speak when he saw Rong Xi stand up and say with an embarrassing smile: “I am sorry. If you don’t mind, you can wait a moment while I go to cook.”
The dishes cooked by grandpa Liu were really not suitable for treating guests. Rong Xi was so ashamed that he wanted to cook the food himself.
After chatting with Hu Yulin for a day, Rong Xi learned more about the world. Neither Liu He nor Liu Zishi had ever stepped out of Linxi, and their horizons were not as broad as Hu Yulin’s, so they were not discussing in depth before.
As a token of gratitude, cooking and serving the guests personally would be considered as returning the favor.
Unexpectedly, when Hu Yulin heard this, he was extremely surprised and asked immediately: “You are actually good at cooking?”
His curiosity piqued, he wanted to see how Rong Xi cooked, so he followed him to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Liu’s grandfather and grandson were holding bowls to eat. When they saw the two gentlemen coming, they immediately put down their bowls and stood up to greet them.
“Young master, do you have any instructions?” Liu He asked anxiously.
Because Rong Xi didn’t like being served by others when he was eating, Liu He and his grandson did not act like other servants who would attend to the master during meals.
Seeing Rong Xi and Hu Yulin coming, Liu He was frightened, thinking that he had not fulfilled his duties as a servant and had offended the guest.
“Where are the trotters? Master Liu, please go fetch them,” Rong Xi instructed Liu He, and he also asked Liu Zishi to bring auxiliary ingredients such as yellow wine, light soy sauce, dried tangerine peel, red dates, and others.
Liu Zishi was extremely excited to see that his master was going to show off his skills. He ran off to look for ingredients. The patched brown hem of his clothes fluttered in the wind as he went.
When Hu Yulin saw this, he was amazed. Looking at the expressions of Liu’s grandfather and grandson, it seemed that they were looking forward to their young master’s cooking skills. He had tasted countless delicacies and was not looking forward to Rong Xi’s cooking skills. But seeing the son of an official caressing the stove, Hu Yulin was extremely moved because he was a businessman.
Even if the dishes turned out to be less than perfect, the genuine friendship embedded within would surely make the taste extraordinary.
With the trotters brought in, Liu He automatically started gathering firewood and lighting the stove, boiling the water in the pot.
Rong Xi placed the trotters in the pot, boiled them until tender, then removed the water. He poured yellow wine and light soy sauce over them, added dried tangerine peel and red dates into the pot, and simmered them slowly over low heat.
“Brother Hu, please wait a moment.” Rong Xi said with an apologetic smile.
Hu Yulin didn’t feel hungry. He was just curious about Rong Xi’s cooking skills. He didn’t feel irritable, even if he waited for several hours. Moreover, Young Master Rong was knowledgeable and likeable . If it was not inappropriate, he would still want to stay overnight, sleep with him, and chat with him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The two of them communicated in the study about how to do business. Hu Yulin was surprised by Rong Xi’s fantastic ideas. Every time he listened to them, he felt enlightened and admired Young Master Rong a lot.
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The people in the capital were stupid and mistook pearls for fish eyes. No matter how talented Rong Lian was, his open-mindedness and broad vision were far inferior to those of Rong Xi.
“I don’t deserve it. It’s just superficial theory and thin talk, not as talented and practical as Brother Hu.” Rong Xi said.
This was true. Although he knew many theories, if he got involved in practice, he would be dizzy and blind and would not know what to do.
As the time arrived, the trotters were thoroughly cooked.
Hu Yulin watched attentively from the side as Rong Xi sprinkled in chopped green onions, cloves, and rice wine, feeling both the color and flavor were perfect, making his mouth water.
With the trotters stewed to perfection, the flavors melded beautifully. Liu Zishi stood by the door, eagerly eyeing them.
Servants never had a chance to eat such delicacies. Liu Zishi was told about it by Liu He, and he knew the truth, but he couldn’t help but be tempted, and his mouth watered.
But suddenly he heard the young master calling him to come forward. He glanced at the earthen pot briefly, distractedly listening to Rong Xi’s instructions.
“You can share the rest of the jar with grandpa Liu.”
Liu Zishi’s eyes were as bright as stars. The young master only took two pieces of the trotters and gave the remaining two pieces to himself and grandpa. He was extremely moved and saluted repeatedly.
“Thank you, young master!”
However, Hu Yulin couldn’t wait any longer. He sat down behind the dining table and picked up his chopsticks to taste. As soon as the trotter entered his mouth, it melted, tender and not greasy, fresh and tender like fat, with a rich flavor bursting on the tip of his tongue, permeating his heart and soul, leaving him intoxicated.
It was so delicious, no matter how long it took, it was worth it.
Young master Rong’s talents were full of surprises. For such a person to live in Linxi was a real waste of talent.
Hu Yulin sighed with emotion. After finishing the whole trotter, he still felt only half full. In fact, his stomach was already full, it was just his soul that was empty.
“Your cooking skills are higher than those of the imperial chefs.” Hu Yulin praised Rong Xi to the point where Rong Xi couldn’t laugh or cry.
Rong Xi was good at cooking because of his previous life. After he became an adult, he lived alone, was passionate about food, and devoted himself to studying for several years. Although it looked good, it was far from being a real chef.
“It’s Xi’s luck that Brother Hu can enjoy himself to the fullest.”
The two of them had eaten and drunk enough, and the moon had come to an end. Hu Yulin and Rong Xi made a pact, reluctant to part ways.
In the next few days, Hu Yulin visited Rong’s mansion many times, chatted happily with Rong Xi, prepared coal stones, loess, and transported them to the mansion.
In the open space in the courtyard, coal stones were ground into powder and put opposite piles of loess.
Liu Zishi came over with a bucket. The bucket shook slightly, and a little water overflowed, making the uppers wet. The young man didn’t care. He placed the bucket next to the coal pile and asked excitedly, “Young master, what is the use of water?”
He lived a boring life for more than ten years, aimlessly and doing nothing. Since the arrival of the young master, his strong body had finally been put to use, and he had exerted all his strength to serve the young master.
Rong Xi was about to mix the coal and soil with his own hands, but Hu Yulin stopped him with his eyes and said with a smile: “Why do you need to do it yourself? Just call the servant.”
After speaking, he summoned two strong servants, both with strong arms and good physiques.
Rong Xi accepted his kindness and did not refuse. He calmly ordered the two of them to mix the coal and soil evenly according to the proportion, and dig an opening on the top of the pile from top to bottom.
To avoid mistakes, Rong Xi did it himself and poured it slowly with a ladle.
When the coal soil was soaked and slightly sticky, Rong Xi took a new coal tool and inserted it deeply. The crown was filled with coal soil, and the shape was ready. Then he moved to a clean, open space and twisted the mechanism slightly. The cylindrical briquettes become round. It landed on the ground, with twelve holes neatly distributed.
Everyone in the courtyard was surprised.
“This shape is so strange!” Hu Yulin squatted down and observed carefully, ignoring the trail of his robe on the ground, and reached out to touch it.
He had a flexible mind and could sense Rong Xi’s intentions when he saw this.
Such a shape will definitely make it easier to burn and avoid the accumulation of solid briquettes, which will lead to low open flames.
“You are so ingenious, and I admire that!” Hu Yulin stood up and praised Rong Xi.
Rong Xi personally demonstrated the use of coal tools, and everyone already knew it. Liu Zishi saw that it was interesting and did not want to make Rong Xi tired, so he said, “Young master, let me do it.”
Rong Xi was weak. Although he had strengthened his body recently, he was still no better than Liu Zishi and two healthy servants, so he handed the coal tools to them and walked to the porch to drink water and rest.
Hu Yulin actually became more playful and made briquettes with coal tools himself. He was very interested in it at first, but after a few times, he felt pain in his arms and back and stopped forcing it.
He abandoned the coal utensils, washed his hands, and went to the corridor to stand opposite Rong Xi. Seeing the joyful scene in the courtyard, he felt joyful in his heart.
The briquettes were delicate and cute, arranged neatly on the ground, and resembled soldiers in the army. When the military order came out, they rushed to the battlefield and sacrificed their lives for the country.
“It just so happens that there has been no rain recently, so the briquettes can be exposed to the sun for a few days and then dehumidified.” Rong Xi said calmly, holding the lantern.
They just waited until Jiang’s new tool was made, and they would see the results.
Liu Zishi and two healthy servants took turns working until the sun went down before it was completed. The briquettes were round and flawless, and they were lined up on the left and right sides of the courtyard, like ministers entering the court, standing quietly in the palace.
It retained some charm and interest.
Hu Yulin had always had ambitions. He had thought about expanding coal mines many times before, but he couldn’t find the solution. He met Rong Xi a few days ago, and his troubles were relieved. It was really God’s blessing, Hu’s blessing. The most exciting thing for him was to become friends with Young Master Rong, not because of his status, or because of his jade-like beauty, it was because of his broad-minded wisdom, which made people yearn for him.
During the period when the coal briquettes were exposed to the sun, Hu Yulin traveled to and from the town without touching the ground, increasing the number of workers in the mining coal fields. The amount of coal stone was twice that of previous years.
His father, Hu Yun, heard about it and secretly inquired about it in his room.
“Coal mining is carried out annually with a set quota. Why are you doing this?”
The incense in the room was light and elegant, the books were neatly displayed, and the traces of reading were obvious. It could be seen that the owner of the house was a book lover.
Though Hu Yun was a charcoal merchant, his yearning for poetry, books, etiquette, and music was no less shallow than others.
Hu Yulin originally wanted to inform Hu Yun in detail when all the efforts were completed. Unexpectedly, Hu Yun asked him in person, and he had to answer.
“Father, don’t blame me.” He stated his plan in advance on the paper. Now he took it and presented it to Hu Yun, saying, “This is my plan. I’d like you to take a look at it.”
Hu Yun had entrepreneurial talent and was not a shortsighted person. A cursory glance would tell him its meaning. If the power of the coal stone was as good as what was written on the paper, then the Hu family would definitely be able to take it to the next level!
“Yulin, unexpectedly, you found this method. If this method could be achieved, its benefit is not small, and the Hu family’s name will be spread throughout the world.”
After Hu Yun finished speaking, he laughed loudly. The wild cat in the courtyard was frightened, jumped up to the courtyard wall, and meowed softly a few times, as if to express its grievances.
“This method was thought of by my friend. I paid it for 10 guans. Do you think it is good too?” Hu Yulin told him frankly.
Upon hearing this, Hu Yun stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.
“10 guans is too small.” Hu Yun was not a narrow-minded person. Someone with such ingenious thinking must be extraordinary, and ten guans would show that they deceived others.
Hu Yulin told him what Rong Xi said, and Hu Yun sighed with emotion, “He can resist the temptation of a huge profit, it is really admirable. Yulin, what is this person’s name? Where does he live? I’d like to be acquainted with him.”
“Father, have you ever heard that the son of Rong Shangshu in the capital was sent to his ancestral home in Linxi?”
Hu Yun had been a businessman for many years and was quite knowledgeable about the affairs of various parts of the Wei Dynasty. The Linxi’s Rong family was already well-known in the Mengshan County, and the fact that the oldest son was sent to Linxi had long been an interesting topic in the city.
It is just that Hu Yulin suddenly mentioned this matter; could it be?
“The person you are talking about is actually the oldest son of the Rong family?” As soon as Hu Yun said the words, he felt incredible.
Hu Yulin made the narrow and slightly curved eyes with a fox-like smile. His father looked shocked, which did not happen easily. It was really a blessing to see that today.
“Father, it’s Rong’s eldest son, Rong Xi.”
The author has something to say:
The dishes in this article are mostly based on Yuan Mei’s “Suiyuan Food List” or obtained from Baidu.
So is Rong Xi gonna lose weight and become beautiful or be a chubby cutie?🤔
Thank you for the chapter!
He will lose weight. In the ML’s eyes, he is a (not chubby) cutie
Ah alrighty! Thank you for your hard work😁
Ah, real genius and gentleman
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙