Ye Feng was already preparing the second dish – lotus root and meatball casserole.

Although this dish is similar to fried lotus root cakes, which are made with lotus root and minced meat, the taste is completely different due to the different shape of the lotus root, the different preparation methods, and the different ingredients.

The lotus root is still chopped into small cubes and poured directly into the minced meat. After adding other ingredients, a bowl of minced meat is made.

He then spread a layer of spiritual energy on his hands, grabbed a handful of minced meat, pinched it into a circle between his thumb and forefinger, and with a forceful pull, a round meatball appeared from between his thumb and forefinger.

With very few exceptions, the kitchen helpers were mostly teenagers or young adults in their early twenties. Seeing such an amusing scene, they all widened their eyes in amazement. Ye Feng then began to explain the mystery behind it, and the disciples quickly applied a layer of spiritual energy to their hands and began to knead them.

At first, due to his lack of skill, the meat filling he made was all sorts of strange shapes. After a few trials, he was able to make it look quite decent. After a little more practice, he could make it exactly like Ye Feng's. Ye Feng nodded with great satisfaction. He had taught him this micro-control technique patiently. In the past, he would have probably turned the meat filling into dust with just one pinch.

While the disciples were making meatballs, Ye Feng put many small earthenware pots on the fire and boiled water in them. After the water was slightly warm, he put the meatballs made by the disciples into the water to cook. Then he added some spices for seasoning, covered the pots, and simmered them.

After simmering for 5 minutes, uncover the pot, pour in cornstarch slurry, and reduce the sauce over high heat. Before serving, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and the lotus root and meatball casserole is ready.

The disciples were eager to taste the fruits of their labor. This dish was probably the one in which they had participated the most, so their anticipation was naturally even higher.

Ning Shuang carefully picked up the lotus root ball she had made with her chopsticks. As she lifted the chopsticks, a drop of soup dripped from the ball, making it look incredibly tempting.

The thick broth tightly coated the lotus root balls, making the brown balls look shiny and very tempting. However, there wasn't much oil in them. Ye Feng didn't add any oil when cooking the balls; the oil came from the pork, which was three parts fat and seven parts lean.

When you hold it under your nose and take a gentle sniff, a unique fragrance blends with the rich aroma of pork. When you gently pick it up with chopsticks, the meatball splits open to reveal the slightly lighter-colored meat inside. The lotus root juice and meat juice released by the heating process are locked inside, making it look even more moist than the outer skin covered with thickened sauce.

Who can handle this?

Anyway, Ye Feng felt he couldn't handle it, and he guessed his disciples couldn't either.

Ye Feng took the lead in eating, and the disciples ate heartily. Feeling that it wasn't enough, Ye Feng scooped a large spoonful of white jade Wuchang fragrant rice from the large bamboo bucket next to him into a bowl, and then poured the lotus root balls with soup from the casserole on top. The flavor immediately reached the top!

The disciples were all shrewd individuals. Seeing how their junior master ate, they knew that the best way to eat this dish was to eat it with rice and soup. Following suit, they made themselves a bowl, and after taking a bite, they felt as if the whole dish and their whole being were elevated.

"Wow, the broth from these lotus root balls poured over this Wuchang fragrant rice is so delicious!"

"It really is amazing. The fragrant and slightly sweet taste of Wuchang fragrant rice, combined with the soft, glutinous, rich, and crispy flavor of these meatballs, makes it so delicious with rice."

"I think I could eat five bowls of rice with this pot of meatballs."

"Then you're really weak. I can easily eat at least ten bowls."

"Stop bragging. You won't die if you don't brag later. Putting everything else aside, I squeezed these meatballs out myself. I feel that besides the deliciousness of the meatballs themselves, there is a special flavor in them."

Ye Feng nodded and said, "Wuwei is right. Even if the food you make is not as good as what others make, it will taste much better to you than the food actually tastes. Once you have a solid foundation, I will start teaching you how to make your own unique dishes."

After a cheer, the disciples began to eat with great gusto. The most impressive was Liu Qingfeng, who claimed he could eat five bowls of rice, and he actually ate five bowls. Then the pressure was put on Zhou Kun, who claimed he could eat at least eleven bowls.

Ning Shuang smiled and said, "Junior Brother Zhou Kun, you don't have to force yourself if you can't eat. There's plenty more delicious food to come."

Liu Qingfeng also said, "Yes, yes, just be careful not to get an upset stomach. After all, it was just a joke, nobody takes it seriously."

That's what he said, but with his winking and gesturing, he didn't seem like he was trying to persuade anyone at all; he seemed more like he was stirring up trouble.

Zhou Kun looked at Liu Qingfeng and sneered, "Senior Brother Liu, you underestimate my capacity. Ten bowls of rice are nothing to me. I've already eaten six bowls. I'll finish them right away and show you!"

After saying that, he walked directly to the wooden bucket and picked up the spoon used for serving rice.

This spoon is specially made, basically one spoonful per bowl. Zhou Kun picked up the spoon and started scooping into his bowl, one spoonful, two spoonfuls, three spoonfuls... a total of five spoonfuls.

The rice in the bowl had piled up quite high, which was only because he used his spiritual power to hold the rice in place; otherwise, the rice tower would have collapsed long ago.

After filling the rice container, he picked up the clay pot, flipped it over, and poured the broth directly over the rice. The rich broth seeped into the rice, giving the white rice an enticing brown hue.

After finishing all this, Zhou Kun looked around and immediately started the excavator.

The chopsticks danced rapidly in his hands, and his wide-open mouth was like a bottomless pit. No matter how fast his hands ate, his mouth took everything in without wasting a single drop.

He didn't just swallow it directly; his two rows of snow-white teeth were chewing rapidly, making him look like a giant groundhog. His wild appearance made Ye Feng want to laugh.

The tall tower of rice disappeared visibly under his frantic pace, and was empty in just a short while.

After shoveling the last grain of rice into his mouth, Zhou Kun stood up arrogantly and turned the bowl upside down to show that he kept his word, which immediately won him a round of applause.