34. Farming, clearing land, and making chicken soup.

◎Vegetable greenhouses kill ancient people◎

Senior Brother Yuan brought back a box of sweet, glutinous, and juicy steamed cakes. After tasting one, the disciples of the Medicine Sect in Biyue Workshop talked about it for three days straight, urging Senior Brother Yuan to buy more several times.

Seeing that they enjoyed the food, Yan Yunzhao also made some crispy red bean rolls, delicate jade cakes, and steamed osmanthus pastries to take with them. For a while, all the pastry chefs in Biyuefang were idle, and the disciples of the Medicine Sect were only scrambling to eat the pastries from Cuiliang's shop.

They couldn't quite pinpoint what made them different, but they were much tastier than other mortal pastries, with layers of flavor that weren't cloying even after eating a lot.

What's even more intriguing is that Boss Yan has a wide variety of recipes. We thought there were only a few types of pastries, but soon they went up the mountain and found some fresh wild fruits and vegetables, and the pastries were given a new flavor. There was really no way we could try them all.

However, an even more concerning piece of news exploded among the disciples: Senior Brother Yuan had obtained a pot of sap from an ancient divine tree.

The disciples who had been pestering Lou Su every day to cure his illness scattered in all directions. No one cared about the hundred-day-old artemisia plant that was intended as a reward. Although it was rare, the sap from the divine tree was even rarer!

Senior Brother Yuan, however, was quite principled. He stubbornly refused to admit it, and when asked where he got it, he wouldn't say a word or reveal a single word about Yan Yunzhao.

"Junior Brother Fang, that's not very kind of you. Your Fang family was originally a declining sect. If it weren't for my family's support, how could you be living such a carefree life today?"

"Senior Brother Ye, calm down. Be careful, or Senior Sister Ye will come and beat you again."

Get out of my way!

The wicked-looking youth kicked him. "Since when did it become your place to tell me how to do things? Is the Tianlin Sect your family's or mine?"

The fair-skinned disciple, who had pretended to be kicked to the ground, slowly got up. When Ye Qin heard the commotion and rushed over, he immediately saw him on the ground and his arrogant younger brother beside him.

Ye Qin, his face dark, lashed out with his whip, startling the birds in the courtyard into scattering. He said coldly, "Ye An, you brat, you want another beating?"

"Sister!" Seeing that Ye Qin seemed to be about to get serious, Ye An became anxious: "Junior Brother Fang obtained a pot of ancient divine tree sap of dubious origin. It is only natural for me to investigate. If they dare to stop me, it means they want to keep it for themselves!"

Yan Yunzhao had already told her about the ancient divine tree. At first, she was also very shocked. But then she thought about it. Yan Yunzhao was someone who could even turn grass roots into human form. She was unaware that she had such a divine artifact by her side, and she even had countless top-grade immortal herbs hidden on her body. Ye Qin didn't even find it strange that such a thing happened to her.

"What ancient divine tree sap? Ye An, have you lost your mind? Even the demon realm can't find a divine tree, and this idiot Fang Baili can find it?"

Ye Qin exchanged a glance with his senior brother, who was called "Fang Baili." He immediately understood and said aggrievedly, "Yes! Senior Brother Ye, although my cultivation is higher than yours and my talent is better than yours, you can't slander me like this."

Ye An's face turned pale and then red, and he clenched his fists, unable to speak. He glared at Senior Brother Yuan and left the courtyard in anger.

“Junior Brother Fang, Junior Brother Chen, I apologize on behalf of Ye An. He has always acted absurdly, so please don’t hold it against him.”

Ye Qin smiled sheepishly and bowed.

"Senior Sister Ye, you're too kind."

"Then you should all leave. Don't gather here to listen to the commotion."

After Ye Qin gave the order, the disciples in the crowd obediently went about their own business.

In the corner, Ye Qin pulled Senior Brother Yuan aside and instructed him, "The matter of the Divine Tree Liquid must not be publicized. This matter may involve the forces of the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm, and I am worried that it will affect Yun Zhao."

Senior Brother Yuan nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, Senior Sister. Miss Yan trusts me, and I will definitely not put her in danger."

Ye Qin nodded and patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

Inside the side room.

After Liu Jiang respectfully invited his master to come down the mountain to treat Lou Su's illness, Daoist Ji Chen sat silently on the futon for the full time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Liu Jiang knew that his master did not like to be disturbed when he was in meditation, but Lou Su's condition was becoming more and more critical, so he hurriedly bowed and said, "Master, this young master Lou has a peculiar constitution. I used spiritual herbs to soothe his meridians, but I found that his meridians in his limbs were blocked, and he looked like a dead man. This disciple is stupid and hopes that Master will teach me."

Master Jichen opened his slightly closed eyes, but instead of answering, he asked, "Do you know who Miss Yan, who brought the deer venom grass, is?"

Liu Jiang paused for a moment, then said, "Miss Yan is the owner of a restaurant in Lixi Town. I don't know how she obtained the Deer-Living Grass, but she is undoubtedly a mortal."

Ji Chen Daoist glared at him with exasperation: "Liu Jiang, how can you be so dull-witted? Her aura was deliberately concealed, but there are still clues to be found. Don't be fooled by appearances."

"No wonder Miss Yan was extraordinary from birth. Could she be the reason why Master was willing to make an exception and descend the mountain?" Liu Jiang suddenly realized.

Master Jichen sighed deeply, "So that's it. She has more than just this one treasure."

He glanced at Lou Su on the bed, his expression unusually serious: "But, unexpectedly, this trip has yielded some unexpected gains."

Liu Jiang followed Ji Chen Daoist's gaze to the person on the bed, understood, and stopped asking questions.

He must be an old friend of my master.

...

The weather has been getting cooler lately, and winter is just around the corner, but there are more vegetable vendors on the streets.

For the people in the town, this was hardly a good omen. This was mostly grain stored up for autumn and winter; once this batch was sold, it would be difficult to buy more later.

Yan Yunzhao was familiar with the climate changes of the Cui Liang lineage: hot in spring and summer, warm in autumn, but extremely cold in winter.

In the past, people would rush to buy grain at this time of year, but Yan Yunzhao was in no hurry. This was precisely when seeds were least valuable, so she leisurely went to the market to buy some vegetable seeds to plant at home.

They still turned the soil and planted seeds. After a month of careful cultivation, the soil became dark, shiny, and fertile. Perhaps because of this, even the free-range chickens that usually roamed around the fields became much fatter.

This time, I bought all kinds of vegetable seeds, almost everything that was available in Lixi Town. I planted them all, covered them with small talismans, and waited for them to mature.

When Yan Yunzhao checked on it again a few days later, the small talisman was warm to the touch and had water droplets inside, indicating that it had a very good heat-preserving and moisturizing effect.

"Boss, the kitchen is on fire!"

Shuyu rushed over and called out. Upon hearing this, Yan Yunzhao grabbed a kettle and rushed into the kitchen.

Jingming and Qingxi were fanning themselves vigorously with two palm-leaf fans. The kitchen was filled with smoke and fire, and the two of them were covered in soot from their busy work, but the fire on the stove was getting bigger and bigger.

Yan Yunzhao's eyes and nose were burning from the smoke, but he didn't have time to cover his mouth and nose. He immediately poured the water onto the blazing firewood.

The fire suddenly subsided, leaving only a hissing sound, but gray smoke filled the entire room, and several people coughed violently.

The four instinctively rushed outside and opened all the windows of the small shop, finally greedily inhaling the fresh air outside. They slumped outside, panting heavily.

"Weren't the three of you processing chicken in the kitchen? How did you manage to set the kitchen on fire?" Yan Yunzhao was both angry and amused. Luckily, they discovered it in time, otherwise the entire small shop would have been reduced to ashes.

Jingming choked on the smoke and coughed a few times before catching his breath. He said, "Qingxi and I were stewing chicken, and we thought the firewood was too small, so we used arson to heat the pot. I accidentally set all the firewood underneath on fire. It really scared me to death!"

Jingming and Qingxi's cheeks were covered in dust, and they scratched their heads in embarrassment. Yan Yunzhao couldn't get angry, so he just smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe their faces: "How could you be so careless? Stewing chicken should be done over a low flame. Chicken cooked over a high flame will be dry and tough, and the broth will easily evaporate."

"It's all my fault. What should I send to Young Master Lou now?" Jingming lowered his head, his eyes filled with guilt.

Yan Yunzhao patted her head and comforted her, "There are plenty of ways. We can cook another pot."

“Pheasants have been hard to hunt lately, and with the cold weather, I don’t know where they’ve gone to find some warmth. Why don’t we stew the black-boned chicken in the yard?” Shuyu suggested.

Yan Yunzhao thought about it and decided that this was the only way. Chicken soup was not greasy or oily, and it was the most nourishing for the patient. The black-boned chickens in the yard had also been carefully raised for some time, and their feathers were black and shiny. Now was the best time for them to taste.

As dusk approached, the group quickly got to work. Jingming led Qingxi to wash mushrooms, Shuyu prepared soup, and Yan Yunzhao processed the chicken. The small kitchen was bustling with activity.

This pot of black chicken soup contains common ingredients such as red dates, goji berries, and longan. Yan Yunzhao added cordyceps mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and beef tripe mushrooms, which are highly nutritious. He cut them into pieces and cooked them in the soup. He also added a few Chinese medicinal herbs, which can both nourish the body and enhance the flavor.

However, adding too many herbs can make it bitter, and cooking it for too long can also make it bitter, so you must be careful with the heat. Add a small amount of thin slices of astragalus and angelica to a large pot and simmer it slowly. Once the minced meat has been skimmed off and the meat has turned yellow and is covered with oil, you can lift the lid.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of meat, and Yan Yunzhao couldn't help but swallow hard after taking a sniff. Since there was enough meat in the pot for everyone's dinner, he served each person a porcelain bowl and placed them on the table.

Chopped scallions float on the surface of the soup, with a few drops of oil. Goji berries and red dates float on the surface, their red color complementing the soup. Tender yellow chicken meat is faintly visible at the bottom of the soup. Judging from the color, this pot of chicken soup must have been cooked to perfection.

As expected, the chicken was tender and juicy, melting in your mouth with minimal chewing. The meaty flavor blended perfectly with the broth, leaving it not dry at all. After finishing the chicken, a sip of the rich soup lingered on your lips and teeth, the warmth soothing your soul.

"Mmm, home-raised chickens are indeed delicious."

“We feed them grains mixed with shrimp every day and let them roam freely, so the taste is naturally excellent. It’s just a pity that the chickens are still small. If they were bigger, the meat would be even chewier.”

The three-grass demon nodded, sipping the hot soup, so delicious it left him speechless.

Eating chicken soup alone wasn't quite enough to fill him up, so Yan Yunzhao also cooked some thin noodles and prepared a few side dishes. The cooked noodles were then scooped into the chicken soup and mixed together, making for a delicious bowl of noodle soup.

After a hearty meal, Qingxi put the chicken soup into a porcelain pot, picked up the box, and delivered it to Lou Su. Yan Yunzhao then took Jingming and Shuyu to continue planting vegetables in the fields.

"The vegetables in the field are growing fast, so we'll have to work harder these days. It's not easy to water such a large area of ​​land."

However, it wasn't a long-term solution for the three of them to water the land every day, so Yan Yunzhao dug a water channel to allow the stream water to flow into the fields more effectively. The water level was already low at this time of year, and the water problem would be a major concern in winter.

Yan Yunzhao looked around, his gaze falling on the divine tree beside him, and suddenly an idea came to him.