Chapter 42 Getting a bigger slice of the pie, the dragon's cry and the preciousness of charcoal (Please continue reading)

In the southeast corner of Zhuangzi, there is an open space surrounded by large water reservoirs on all four sides, and in the center stands a large bronze cauldron.

The cooking of fine food... takes place right here. As soon as Pang Long announced the cooking of fine food, everyone was immediately excited.

A group of more than ten people arrived together in front of the cauldron.

"Take the lid off!"

Pang Long gave the order.

Li Xian and the other guards climbed up the wooden ladder to the top of the cauldron, which was over ten feet tall and extremely heavy.

The tripod has four handles, and the thickness of its rim is enough for several people to stand on.

After firmly planting his footing, Li Xian bent down, gripped the lid of the cauldron with both hands, and looked at the people around him.

After exchanging glances, the group nodded and began to exert their strength together.

"Boom..."

The lid of the cauldron was moved slightly, and a heavy sound echoed all around.

Including Li Xian, there were five people in total trying to lift the lid. Even with their combined efforts, they could only barely lift the lid slightly.

The sheer weight of this object is truly astonishing.

"Internal energy can be regarded as a kind of strength. When you move internal energy out and wrap it around a heavy object, you can save a lot of strength when lifting it."

"But this thing is huge and heavy, and my inner energy is not enough to contain it. It is very difficult to lift it."

Li Xian gritted his teeth and used all his strength to lift the lid of the cauldron another three inches.

The lid of the cauldron was square. Seeing that everyone was struggling to lift it, Pang Long shouted, "Get the ropes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a guard threw a yellow rope over forcefully. Pang Long caught it, wielded the rope like a whip, and lashed it towards the lid of the cauldron.

With a snap, the rope wrapped around the lid of the cauldron. Then, Pang Long flicked his wrist and pulled it back.

Suddenly, a knot was tied in mid-air, firmly securing the lid of the cauldron.

"Impressive skill!"

Li Xian exclaimed in admiration.

Pang Long smiled, passed the rope in his hand to the other guards, and said, "Pull hard and work together to remove the lid of the cauldron."

This was just like a tug-of-war. Li Xian and others were lifting the cauldron from above, while a dozen or so guards were pulling it from below.

With everyone working together, it took a tremendous amount of effort to finally remove the lid of the cauldron.

It hit the snow and shook the ground.

Li Xian's hands and feet were trembling slightly, which was a normal condition due to excessive exertion.

"Just opening the cauldron is already this troublesome."

"I never had the chance to come into contact with these things when I was a handyman."

A sense of nostalgia arose within me; the last time he cooked fine food, Li Xian had been waiting outside the village, carrying clean water back and forth.

Times have changed, and this time we can finally get a share of the profits.

...

Be careful.

"This is Dragon Roar Charcoal, only the size of a palm, but it costs one tael of silver."

"If you break it, according to the village rules, the money will be deducted from your wages, so go easy on me."

After opening the cauldron, the next step is to spread charcoal.

The charcoal was placed at the bottom of the large cauldron. This "Dragon Roar Charcoal" was cylindrical and had hundreds of tiny holes on its surface.

A piece of charcoal can burn for a long time and has extremely high heat with penetrating flames. It is a commonly used type of charcoal when cooking refined foods.

When it burns, it makes a "whooshing" sound, like the breath of a dragon, hence the name "Dragon Roar Charcoal".

"An ounce of charcoal is worth an ounce of gold."

Li Xian clicked his tongue.

It seems that anything related to the lady is extravagantly expensive. She has a deeper understanding of the phrase "spending money like water".

There were about a thousand pieces of charcoal, arranged in a shape that was pointed at the top and pointed at the bottom. Then Pang Long started a fire.

The fire raged fiercely, distorting the air with its heat. This fire, originating from "Dragon's Roar Charcoal," was extremely special; its flames were pale yellow mixed with purple, and although it burned intensely, it clung tightly to the walls of the cauldron.

At first glance, it looks as if a layer of flame patterns has been applied to the surface of the cauldron.

Having finished all this, Li Xian and the others' work was finally done. Pang Long went straight to the inner courtyard, and when he returned, he had four pieces of meat in his hand.

Its flesh color is peculiar, being grayish-brown.

One large and three small ones; the large one is about the size of three fists, and the small one is about the size of a little finger joint.

Once the cauldron was scalding hot, Pang Long threw the meat into it, which made a sizzling sound.

A wisp of green smoke rose from the cauldron. Li Xian took a deep sniff and found it quite pungent.

"Don't smell it!"

"This thing is poisonous."

Pang Long reminded him. Li Xian was taken aback and immediately took three steps back, moving away from the raging cauldron.

"Commander Pang, was the meat of the Snow Demon Monkey thrown in just now?" Li Xian asked curiously.

“Not bad.” Pang Long nodded.

"The Snow Demon Monkey is much larger than this, why not cook it together?" Li Xian asked.

“It can’t be cooked.” Pang Long pointed to the ‘Dragon Roar Charcoal’ and said, “Everything has to be cost-effective.”

"Logically speaking, the entire body of the Snow Demon Monkey can be considered as [fine food], but... the only meat that is truly suitable for stewing is the back of its neck."

"We've already fully committed ourselves to it."

"Commander Pang, please explain." Li Xian was very eager to know, thinking that the concept of "cost" was still not clearly explained, so he humbly asked for clarification.

Pang Long didn't understand these things either, but he had heard his wife say so, so he quoted her exactly: "As long as you put in the effort, you can always remove the poison from the flesh and blood of demons and boil it into 'fine food' to eat."

"It all depends on whether it's worth it. Demons like the Snow Demon Monkey emerge in winter and hide in summer. They like to eat human liver and gallbladder and their whereabouts are unpredictable. Among the flesh and blood, the back of the neck is where the poison is least concentrated."

"Boil for two days and one night to remove all the toxins."

"However, in other parts, the toxicity increases many times over, and it takes six days and six nights to remove the toxicity before it can be consumed as a delicacy."

"In this way, it is not cost-effective. Because burning for six days and six nights will consume more than 10,000 taels of 'Dragon Roar Charcoal'."

"Moreover, this Snow Demon Monkey is not a very expensive delicacy, and its effects are limited, so there is no need to spend a lot of money on it."

Li Xian secretly noted it down; it turned out that martial artists also valued [cost] and [cost-effectiveness].

He looked at the burning bronze cauldron and secretly estimated that this batch of fine food would be worth over a thousand taels of silver.

A martial artist, a martial artist who has undergone a complete transformation... the expenses involved are truly unimaginable.

"I'm nothing more than a lowly guard now..."

"It seems that there is still a huge distance between us and the first level of martial arts, the Essence Consumption."

This gap cannot be bridged simply by hard work.

It requires opportunity, luck... all of which make Li Xian feel like a frog in a well, only to find the sky vast and boundless. However, the well is thousands of feet deep, and trying to become the frog that gets out of the well is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

After enduring the snow for half an hour, Pang Long began to call on the servants to shovel, sift, and transport the snow.

The sifted snowflakes, crystal clear, were poured into the large cauldron, where they sizzled and turned into water droplets. As the droplets accumulated, they condensed into boiling hot soup.

It boils in the fire, consuming rapidly. To prevent it from drying out, the snow must be constantly sifted, transported, and dumped.

The continuous replenishment of water maintains a dynamic balance, keeping the water in the cauldron constantly boiling.

The evaporated water vapor will carry away the toxins from the flesh.

Snow is everywhere, might as well use it.

When boiling precious ingredients, water is the most important consumable.

A continuous and abundant supply of water is required. It cannot be stopped for a moment, otherwise the refined food will dry out and lose its effectiveness, rendering all this hard work futile.

A lot of money was flowing away.

Yihezhuang is surrounded by many water sources, with several mountains, lakes, waterways, and streams within three miles.

These were all factors that "Madam Wen" carefully considered before establishing the mountain villa.

"Water transport is a long process, and accidents can easily happen along the way, leading to insufficient water supply and ultimately causing the entire effort to fail."

"Cooking refined food in icy and snowy weather can greatly reduce the amount of water used."

"But it will increase carbon loss."

"It's about increasing efficiency while reducing costs. On the contrary, if it's hot in the summer, cooking elaborate meals will save on charcoal consumption, but it will increase the demand for water. That's about reducing costs and reducing efficiency."

"Both have their advantages and disadvantages; it all comes down to which one to choose."

Li Xian pondered the operating principles of Zhuangzi.

Perhaps one day, I will be able to run my own estate?

Although it's far away, it's never a bad thing to learn in advance.

(End of this chapter)