The aroma of meat in the courtyard was fragrant, and Liu Zishi stared at the clay pot, his eyes intoxicated.
Rong Xi arrived, opened the lid, looked at it, and told Liu Zishi: “The meat has indeed been simmered perfectly. Let’s dig in after 8 minutes.”
Taizhou’s specialty dried fish, simmered with meat, seasoned with salt, was extremely delicious.
When Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping smelled the taste, they both felt greedy, their stomachs were calling, and their mouths and tongues were filled with saliva.
Jiang Weiping never had any desire to eat, but the taste of this dish was so fascinating that he felt that time moved too slowly. He wished it could come faster so that he could enjoy the food right away.
When Hu Yulin saw his friend’s expression, he knew what Jiang Weiping meant and couldn’t help laughing.
Brother Rong is really a wonderful person!
“What item was brother Rong talking about before?” Jiang Weiping tried to divert attention.
Rong Xi smiled calmly and said, “To be honest, I like to eat. I will always think of new ideas for cooking. I once had the honor to see a strange book, that said that if the pot is thin and the fire is strong, it can be stir-fried.”
“Stir-fried?”
“Thin pot?”
Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping asked simultaneously.
Hu Yulin cares about cooking skills, while Jiang Weiping cares about iron pot craftsmanship. Faced with their doubts, Rong Xi smiled and said: “The book said this, but I have never seen it. Thinking of Brother Jiang’s superb skills, I thought of giving it a try.”
“Could it be that the briquettes and coal utensils were also obtained by brother Rong from the strange book?” Hu Yulin asked with a squinted smile, hitting the nail on the head.
Rong Xi smiled and nodded.
These ingenious ideas were not his own. He learned from them and did not dare take them personally. He just talked about the strange book. Regardless of whether others believed it or not, he felt at ease.
Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping obviously didn’t believe it.
If there really was such a strange book, how come brother Rong was the only one who knew about it? It must be that their friend didn’t want to show off and wanted to keep his clumsiness to himself.
No wonder everyone in the capital said he was stupid.
Thinking about Rong Xi’s life experience, his biological mother died young, and his stepmother took care of the family. If he became famous, he might be plotted by others. Such self-destruction of his reputation was really unbearable.
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.
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Rong Xi was only sixteen years old. He was still hiding his skills. How many more years could it be so he could be free and not need to protect himself?
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Rong Xi knew that the promotion of thin-skinned iron pots was closely related to iron smelting technology.
In the Wei Dynasty, the amount of iron produced was limited, mainly used for making agricultural tools and weapons, leaving little iron for civilian use.
If the art of iron smelting improved and people used it more often, iron pots would come into use.
Those who mastered the core technology of iron smelting were government-run. Although Jiang Weiping’s skills were superb, his smelting skills were slightly lacking.
Rong Xi knew the principles of iron smelting, so he went to the study to pick up some paper and handed it to Jiang Weiping. What the paper said was slightly superior to today’s iron smelting techniques.
Jiang Weiping was skilled in this art. He was deeply moved when he saw it, and he was immersed in it, as quiet as a clay sculpture.
At the time of dinner, the Taiwanese braised meat was well cooked. Rong Xi opened the lid and looked at it. The strong fragrance overflowed and gushed out, awakening Jiang Weiping who was immersed in the wonderful method.
Liu He promptly brought up the food case and placed a lacquer plate on it with sesame cakes and soup.
Rong Xi sat in the main seat, and Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping sat opposite each other.
The three of them shared six portions of the meat in the pot, and the remaining food was given to the Liu family’s grandfather and grandson.
The grandfather and grandson were grateful and retreated to the kitchen.
Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping savored the dish with their chopsticks, momentarily enchanted by its flavor. The meat was tender and succulent, melting in the mouth, with a savory taste reminiscent of fresh fish and the smooth texture of pork, blending harmoniously together, leaving a lingering fragrance on their palate.
The addition of spring onions, peppers, and mushrooms embellished the dish, mellowing its gaminess, enhancing its flavor, and brightening its color. It was truly a stroke of genius.
The two of them ate several pieces of sesame cake with this delicacy, until their stomachs were stretched to the point where they could hardly walk. They regretted that they had to stop their chopsticks and had no choice but to get up.
“I didn’t see brother Rong eating too much just now. Why is that?” Hu Yulin stood in the corridor with his belly filled with laughter and asked curiously.
When dividing the meat, Rong Xi could only eat two or three pieces, and Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping divided the rest. Moreover, Rong Xi only ate one cake, which was a very small amount of food.
Rong Xi was helpless when he heard this, and replied with his fingers: “I am fat and have trouble walking, so I want to eat less and lose weight.”
His skin was as white as snow, and seemed to glow in the dusk light. Despite his plumpness, his quality was pure and graceful, his demeanor extraordinary, making people forget their worldly concerns upon seeing him.
“Compared to the first time we met, brother Rong has become a bit thinner. Be sure to take care of yourself.” Hu Yulin expressed his sincere concern.
Jiang Weiping also nodded repeatedly.
“I am aware of the situation, brothers. There’s no need for concern.” Rong Xi saw the two men preparing to leave, so he escorted them to the doorstep.
If Hu Yulin didn’t still have his senses, he would really want to eat at Rong’s mansion every day.
The three of them said goodbye reluctantly. Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping were about to board the carriage when they saw a servant of the Hu family rushing towards them, sweating profusely and looking frightened.
“Young master, come back quickly!”
Hu Yulin asked seriously: “What happened?”
The servant leaned closer and whispered, and all three of them could hear what he said.
“The Emperor collapsed.”
The king of the Wei Dynasty passed away, and the storm arose. The situation in Shengjing was complicated and confusing, and undercurrents were surging.
Rong Xi was far away in Qingzhou and was not affected at all. It only took one month to pay homage.
All the music should be silent, all the beautiful clothes should stop selling and wearing, and no one dared to sing, dance, or drink wine and discuss the entertainment.
To avoid any trouble, Hu Yulin decided not to visit Rong’s residence anymore, but instead secretly prepared for expanding the coal business. Jiang Weiping shut himself in to craft his utensils, vowing to study the art of iron smelting diligently and not to disappoint Rong Xi’s trust.
Linxi was as calm as the mountains, and no one dared make any noise.
Rong’s mansion was located in a remote area in the west of the town. Although the courtyard was not small, there were no neighbors nearby, and mountains and fields were in the distance. There was only one master and two servants in the house. The door was closed day and night, and no one cared about it.
Rong Xi was happy to be quiet.
Liu Zishi had been enlightened after more than ten years and was determined to learn reading and writing. However, his talent was limited, and it was difficult to understand the meaning of the book. Rong Xi focused on word recognition. The boy copied and learned one hundred words every day. When Liu Zishi took the test the next day, it was never good.
Even so, Rong Xi was pleased.
A few days later, on a rainy night, a group of people dived into Linxi.
When these people planned to stay overnight, they didn’t want to attract attention. They should choose a lonely and secluded house first, so this Rong’s mansion fell into their eyes.
The lamp beans were swaying, and the autumn rain was lingering. Rong Xi rested lightly on the couch, his consciousness gradually drifting away. Suddenly he heard a sound like knocking on the window lattice, which came dimly on a rainy night.
Rong Xi was silent for a moment, but the sound still reached his ears. He stood up and went to the window. He saw that the window paper was broken, and a sharp bird’s beak broke through the window.
The white bird was perched on the window sill, its black eyes met Rong Xi’s.
It seemed to understand human nature. Seeing Rong Xi’s attention, it spat out the thing in its mouth, which turned out to be a ball of paper.
Rong Xi took it and opened it. The writing on it was crooked.
[Please ask the kind-hearted master to let me stay overnight.]
He pinched the paper and raised his head, looking at the white bird. The bird’s head was slightly tilted, as if it were trying to please him.
Rong Xi thought about it. Travelers staying overnight on rainy nights did not want to make any noise, so they must be wary enough to use a bird to convey a message.
Should he open the door to welcome guests, or should he ignore it?
The cool raindrops seeped through the window, bringing Rong Xi back to reality. He decided to go with the flow and act according to his heart. Anyone who could understand the master’s wishes in such a way couldn’t possibly be a tyrant.
He stretched out his fingers to caress the bird’s head, then found rain gear and followed the white bird to the side door.
The door bolt was removed and the old wooden door creaked open. Rong Xi’s face was hidden under the bamboo hat and could not be seen clearly in the dark night.
He smelled a hint of blood.
The people outside the door were extremely happy and were about to say thank you, but they heard the owner of the house speak calmly.
“How much does the customer want to pay for the night?”
The author has something to say:
Taizhou (xiǎng): Taizhou’s specialty is marinated dried fish.
An important person has appeared~
The translator has something to say: yeah, ML will appear in the next chapter
Wah! So happy to discover a new novel!! Thanks 🤩😍
Thanks for the chapter! ML makes dramatic entrance, lol
😂 GET THAT MOOLA 💸💸
Ahahah
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
It’s been food food and food for a few chapters now… Now I start to get hungry again QAQ
Give me some… 😭
This time I thought I got smarter. I prepared a yummy homemade pizza and ate half the baking tray before continuing this novel – and I still want to eat more! 🤦🏻♀️😅 I’m afraid nothing helps. I at least hope the appearance of the ML will distract me from my foodie tendencies
I thought Hu Yulin was the ML 😂