Chapter 19 Zhejiang Corn Cake After she finished speaking, she...

After she finished speaking, she finally reacted and asked in surprise, "You're back so soon?"

Ling Zhuzi's figure turned from virtual to real, and he leaned against a tall lacquer pillar with his arms folded. He said casually, "How far is it from here to Yucang Mountain? It only takes me a yawn to go back and forth."

If Fu Li had not been very familiar with some of his little expressions and movements, she would never have been able to tell that at this moment, he was looking forward to it with all his heart: Praise me, praise me quickly, and it would be best if you could praise me in different ways!

Fu Li suppressed the laughter that threatened to burst out, holding her cheeks with her hands, her eyes sparkling. "Wow, you're amazing! It's so far from Boyi to Yucang Mountain. When my master sent me there, it took me several days to walk. And you're back so soon!"

Lingzhuzi: Yes, that's the taste, refreshing. But there's one thing wrong with it, why are the corners of my mouth always so disobedient?

Lingzhuzi: Shut up, you idiot!

After praising him in various ways, Fu Li pushed him further and pulled him over to sit down with her. She asked expectantly, "How's my master doing? Did Uncle Dai give her any trouble?"

"No." Ling Zhuzi answered very straightforwardly, "I not only visited Huanghua Temple, but also visited Dai Yi's palace. Fellow Daoist Wen Zhong had already sent people to warn Dai Bo, so they dared not act rashly."

Fu Li heaved a sigh of relief, patted his chest and said, "That's good, that's good."

Fortunately, Dai Bo, who is narrow-minded and petty-minded, has not transcended the common fear of power and bullying of the weak and fear of the strong among this type of people.

But she owed Master Wen a big favor, so she had to help him develop the fiefdom.

Ling Zhuzi had no idea what she was thinking. With a reserved look on his face, he took out a pile of scrolls, filling up the entire table, and said casually, "These are all for you."

"What are these?" Fu Li picked up a book curiously.

Ling Zhuzi said, "I went back and asked the Goddess Nuwa for help. The Goddess knew that you loved farming and sericulture, so she asked me to copy these down and give them to you."

His tone was very relaxed and casual, as if these bamboo slips came very easily.

But Fu Li thought she knew him well enough to know that this was definitely not the case.

Putting aside other things, who was Nuwa? The Saint of the demon race, the Holy Mother of the human race. If it weren't for Lingzhuzi's matchmaking, how could she have taken a little girl like him seriously?

Besides, Lingzhuzi is so proud. He would definitely feel uncomfortable if he were to bow his head and beg someone, even if it was Nuwa, the goddess who raised him.

Based on this alone, Fu Li felt that the favor he had given was almost as great as Wen Zhong's.

Because of this, this time Fu Li did not treat him as a troublesome tsundere to coax him, but thanked him very solemnly: "Ling Zhuzi, thank you." This made Ling Zhuzi feel a little embarrassed.

He subconsciously scratched the back of his ear and said in a dissembling way, "It's just a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

Fu Li looked at him deeply and said nothing more. She lowered her head and carefully read the scroll in her hand.

Before she finished reading a scroll, she couldn't help but take a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. She carefully placed the scroll on the table, stood up and called Fu Yue to bring incense and candles.

Although these bamboo slips do not record any specific agricultural technology, they record the origin and evolution of all plants in the prehistoric continent, including some innate things that have long been extinct or are very rare.

It can be said that this is a "Compendium of Primitive Vegetation".

Fu Li was not superstitious originally, but after experiencing the underworld and coming to this world where gods and Buddhas dance together, he had long had a sense of awe for those mysterious powers in his heart.

When reading such classics, one must at least burn incense and pray first, not to mention bathing and fasting, to thank the goddess Nuwa for her generous gifts.

Lingzhuzi watched her act from the side without expressing any opinion, but a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

A column of fragrance reached the sky. In the Nuwa Palace on Mount Buzhou, the meditating Nuwa felt a sense of it. She opened her eyes slightly and looked in the direction of Boyi. She counted with her fingers and made some calculations. Then she waved her hand lightly. A ray of light overflowed from her fingertips and floated away to an unknown place.

Back in Boyi, Lingzhuzi, who was praying with Fuli, suddenly shuddered, and something popped into his mind.

He glanced at Fu Li silently and said, "Please ask someone to prepare some blank bamboo slips for me. I still have a little bit of it to carve, so I'll continue here."

Originally, Nuwa only gave him one chance, and he wanted to seize the opportunity to copy more for Fu Li, so he didn't return for a long time.

But halfway through copying, he suddenly sensed that Fu Li was in danger, so he had to give up with regret, and thought that her good fortune had ended here.

Although he wanted to copy it all, he knew in his heart that it would be good enough if he could copy half of it. After all, this was a branch of the "Avenue of Creation" that Nuwa had analyzed after years of research.

Who would have thought that things are so unpredictable. Who knows what kind of unexpected events happened in the world, but the empress changed her mind and passed the remaining half to him, allowing him to continue copying.

He couldn't help but look at Fu Li carefully again: Could it be that the little girl was born with great fortune?

Fu Li didn't care about good fortune or not, or whether her fate was deep or not. She just knew that after burning incense and praying, she could study hard and make progress.

Wouldn't it be a shame to use such a comprehensive collection of ancient plants only to learn how to farm?

Thinking back to every time she was sick, the witch doctors would perform shaman dances, burn talismans, and always stuff some unknown thing into her mouth.

There was no way before; the children's protests fell on deaf ears. Once she's fully understood the pharmacology of plants, she'll definitely open a separate department, bringing authentic Chinese medicine to the world sooner rather than later!

Lingzhuzi blinked, inexplicably not daring to disturb her.

——Nothing special happened, why did she suddenly seem to be ignited?

Seeing that she was completely immersed in the ocean of books, Lingzhuzi simply asked Fuyue for blank bamboo slips. He and Fuli each took one side of the desk, one concentrating on reading while the other worked hard on carving bamboo slips.

As he carved, he thought: Should I start training with her sooner? Once she's in the door, I can transfer these things directly to her sea of ​​consciousness. By the way, is her aptitude good? How many days will it take for her to enter the door?

The hand that was carving the words suddenly stopped. Lingzhuzi looked down in silence for a long time, picked out a few wooden tablets that had just been carved, and rubbed them into ashes.

——I accidentally carved it wrong.

Accident, accident.

But when he picked up the carving knife again, he didn't dare to be distracted.

The sun slowly slid down from the zenith, and with every inch it slid down, the sky became darker.

By the time the sun sets and colorful clouds cover the western sky, the light in the house has become too dim to read.

Fu Li suddenly felt some pain in her eyes, so she quickly put down the letter and rubbed her eyes with her hand. With the crackling sound of her joints, she stretched out her body and squinted her eyes to look out the window.

"Ah, is it that late already?"

Ling Zhuzi was still hard at work carving bamboo slips. Without even looking up, he said, "Your two junior sisters came by one after another just now, both wanting to have dinner with you. Seeing you were engrossed in what you were reading, they didn't dare disturb you."

Fu Li looked at the pile of bamboo slips at his feet, feeling very grateful. She smiled and invited him, "Would you like to go eat something together?"

Ling Zhuzi put down his carving knife, shook his hands, and sneered, "I've been fasting for a long time! Besides, what good is there in the food of you mortals?"

Fu Li said "Oh" thoughtfully, nodded and went out.

Lingzhuzi: “…………”

——No, you won't invite me anymore? If you insist, I will give you a favor.

After knowing each other for so long, Ling Zhuzi felt a little nervous for the first time. He thought for a moment: Was what I said just now too much? Then he thought: Human food is really not tasty, I was right!

But the truth is one thing, and whether or not to tell the truth is another.

Thinking about the good things Fu Li had done for him, Ling Zhuzi still felt that he shouldn't be so outspoken.

But usually it was Fu Li who coaxed him, and now it was his turn to make someone angry. He wanted to give in, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

For a moment, he couldn't even carve the bamboo slips, and sat there with a frown on his face, sulking.

After an unknown amount of time, a sweet scent he had never experienced before filled his nose. Ling Zhuzi suddenly came to his senses and saw a pile of beige strips, covered in a light brown liquid.

It was the first time that someone was so close to him without him noticing. Lingzhuzi was startled and leaned back suddenly, making Fuli laugh out loud with joy.

He glared angrily at the person who was smiling in an uncouth manner, then took another look at the dish. It was some kind of pastry served on a lacquer tray, neatly arranged and quite nice.

Remembering that he had made mistakes before, he ignored Fu Li's laughter and pointed at the cake and asked, "What is this?"

"It's millet cake." Fuli placed the lacquer plate in front of him. "I also sprinkled some mulberry juice on it. Come and try it. Do you like it?"

Fu Li coaxed her proudly, "I just made this cake. I guarantee you'll be the first person in the world to taste it."

Although it does not contain glutinous rice flour or corn starch, and the taste is not as good as what she made in modern times, the aroma of millet itself is more mellow. People of this era have not seen the wide variety of pastries in later generations, so they would at least find it novel, right?

As for the mulberry juice sprinkled on top, it is actually the juice squeezed from sugarcane and boiled in a stone pot, replacing the osmanthus sauce.

At this time, the air in the Central Plains is still quite warm, which is suitable for the growth of sweet osmanthus. Unfortunately, sweet osmanthus has not yet spread here. Whether it is the "osmanthus tree" in the mortal world or the "laurel" in the Moon Palace, they all refer to cinnamon.

Although cinnamon is also very fragrant, there is a big difference between the mellow fragrance of spices and the sweet fragrance of flowers.

When he heard "the first person in the world to taste it", Lingzhuzi's eyebrows curved, and he pinched a piece dipped in mulberry juice out of courtesy, brought it to his mouth and took a big bite.

The perfect combination of the mellow aroma of corn and the sweetness of mulberry juice was a new and delicious taste he had never tasted before.

Ling Zhuzi devoured half the dish in one gulp and said contentedly, "Next time you pray to the Empress, you can offer this as an offering. But don't add the mulberry juice; the Empress doesn't like anything too sweet."

"I understand." Fu Li smiled and gave him an "OK" sign, then stood up and said, "You eat first. After I finish my dinner, we can wear bamboo slips together."

After saying that, he skipped out with light steps.

Lingzhuzi raised his eyebrows slightly, watching her cheerful back, and then realized something that made him happy: In other words, in order to make this pastry, she hadn't eaten yet?

This was the first time since he had developed intelligence that someone had placed him in a position of importance comparable to their own. This feeling naturally delighted him, but it also had a bittersweet, inexplicable bitterness.

But he was sure that he didn't hate this feeling.