278

Du Heng walked towards the Beast Garden with a backpack and a food box in his hand. Xiaoxiao was squatting in the backpack and Xiao Wonton was running in front of him. When he was going up the mountain, he met a few Yuanying cultivators coming down from the corridor. When they saw Du Heng surrounded by people, they all stopped and marveled.

Du Heng was quite generous. He politely greeted these monks and did not forget to advertise the First Canteen: "My fellow Taoists, I am Du Heng, the chef of the First Canteen. Starting today, the First Canteen will provide private dishes. For dinner, we will have braised beef, boiled beef, dry pot beef offal and other delicacies. Everyone is welcome to come and taste them!"

It has to be said that Du Heng looks likable. Just a smile from him makes the person sitting opposite him feel a little more favorable towards him.

Soon Du Heng arrived at the Beast Garden. After asking around, he finally found out where Tai Shuhong was. Tai Shuhong was in the largest palace in the Beast Garden, where most of the cubs in the Beast Garden were bred.

The cubs were delicate and could die if they were not careful. Tai Shuhong was troubled by this. When Du Heng came over, Tai Shuhong was looking at a basket of eggs of different sizes and felt very disappointed.

Du Heng's footsteps woke Tai Shuhong up. Seeing Du Heng, he forced a smile. Du Heng smiled and held up the food box: "I brought you some dumplings. Did you not have lunch? Come, have some dumplings."

Du Heng and Tai Shuhong sat side by side in the corridor of the palace, with Xiaoxiao squeezed between them. Tai Shuhong had a plate of dumplings on his other side. While eating dumplings, he said to Du Heng: "The eggs of these spirit beasts are not very active, and they may not hatch."

Du Heng comforted him, "It's okay. Survival of the fittest. There will always be ones that can hatch." Tai Shuhong whispered, "There are indeed some that can hatch, but there are too few that can."

Tai Shuhong said depressedly: "These spirit beast eggs were bought by Su Zhan from outside at a high price. Some of the spirit beasts here are of high grade. But no matter how energetic the eggs are, their vitality will gradually decrease when they arrive at the Beast Garden. I don't know why. If this continues, I don't know how to face Su Zhan."

Du Heng walked to the bamboo basket and looked at the nest of bird eggs. These colorful eggs of all sizes were still warm. If Jing Nan was here, he would probably take the eggs home and cook them.

Du Heng asked: "Is there something wrong? Is the temperature too high or too low, or the humidity insufficient?"

Tai Shuhong shook his head disappointedly and said, "I don't know how to take care of them. I always hire someone to take care of them. Those people were hired from other sects and are the best at taking care of spirit beasts. I even wonder if Shenxu Palace is not suitable for raising spirit beasts?"

Du Heng squatted down and held an egg. His spiritual energy penetrated into the eggshell. The bird that had already taken shape in the eggshell moved after feeling the abundant wood spiritual energy. However, its movements were very slow, just like Tai Shuhong said, it had no vitality.

When he was in the village, Du Heng raised some swans. Although the geese hatched soon after he picked them up, he had seen how the unhatched goslings moved, and at first the embryos in the eggshells did not move much.

Du Heng thought that these eggs could still be saved if they were rescued, especially since he had Xixi at home. At that time, a goose was almost dead, and it was Xixi who saved it. How about... taking it back and letting Xixi try? If it still doesn't work, cook it into five-spice eggs and let Nannan eat it.

He casually asked, "Are these bird eggs still useful?" Tai Shuhong sighed regretfully, "No."

Du Heng asked again, "How do you usually deal with useless bird eggs?" Tai Shuhong said, "Give it to the servants and let them deal with it."

Du Heng said shamelessly: "Do you mind if I take these eggs?" Tai Shuhong nodded: "Okay, you can take them. But may I ask, what do you want to do with these eggs?"

Du Heng said slowly: "Nannan likes to eat spiced eggs. Anyway, they don't have much vitality, I will take them back and make them into eggs." He couldn't tell Tai Shuhong his idea for the time being. What if Tai Shuhong still had hope in his heart, and Xixi failed to save the eggs, how disappointed Tai Shuhong would be.

When Du Heng put the furry eggs one by one in the backpack, he heard Tai Shuhong ask Xiaoxiao: "There is a tribe of small feathers by the Linghu Lake on the mountain. Do you want to go and see them?" Xiaoxiao chirped and agreed to Tai Shuhong. Xiaoxiao also liked the furry little birds.

The spiritual lake that Tai Shuhong mentioned is above the Beast Garden. It's strange that the Shenzao Peak, which is obviously a towering mountain, actually gave birth to a spiritual lake between the eastern peaks. The spiritual lake is quite large, surrounded by trees. Before approaching the spiritual lake, Du Heng heard the noisy sound of birds.

Tai Shuhong said: "Apart from the ancient trees at the foot of the mountain, the favorite gathering place of the Feathered Clan is next to this spiritual lake. Here you can see most of the Feathered Clan in the Beast Garden. Look, that's the red bird that just hatched recently."

Following Tai Shuhong's guidance, Du Heng saw a group of pink, fist-sized fluffy birds, led by a big bird, walking in a line on the bluestone path by the lake. Xiaoxiao laughed, these birds were so delicate, but also so cute.

There were some aquatic plants growing in the lake, and some water birds hiding in the plants. There were many precious feathered creatures playing in the center of the lake, and the blue sky was reflected on the water. Although there were constant birdsong in his ears, Du Heng felt that his heart had calmed down.

Tai Shuhong said: "When the first month of the year comes, disciples from other sects will come here to select spirit beasts. By then, I don't know how many feathered creatures will be left here."

Du Heng asked curiously, "Why do disciples from other sects come to Shenxu Palace to choose spirit beasts?"

Tai Shuhong said, "Because of face." Du Heng was confused: "Huh?"

Tai Shuhong lowered his eyebrows and said, "Shenxu Palace is currently the leader of the five major sects. In the past, when the sects exchanged friendly ideas, they always gave each other gifts. There will be a Ten Thousand Sects Conference next year, and when the cultivators compete with each other, there will always be a prize. Many spirit beasts were given away in this way."

He sighed, "Sometimes I think, if these spirit beasts can meet a good master who can treat them well, I will feel at ease. But once they leave Shenxu Palace, their future fate will depend on themselves."

Tai Shuhong said frankly, "In fact, I am also very partial. I will be reluctant to give up the spiritual beasts I like. At present, the best ones raised in Shenxu Palace are these feathered creatures, and the next are some spiritual foxes and wind wolves at the foot of the mountain. I always feel uncomfortable when I think about sending them away."

What Tai Shuhong said was true. His love for Xiaoxiao and his disgust for the Red Flame Python were already clear to Du Heng the first day he met him.

Walking along the lake, Du Heng recognized many birds, but he could only name a few. Most of these birds were colorful and very pretty.

Tai Shuhong knew all about these beautiful birds. Whenever he saw a bird, he would introduce the species to Xiaoxiao and Du Heng.

Among them was the baby Garuda, which was said to be of the same species as Xiaoxiao. The baby's down was sparse and looked very bald. However, its body was two times larger than Xiaoxiao's, and when it squatted by the lake, it looked more like a vulture. Compared with it, Xiaoxiao was much cuter.

Du Heng was dazzled by the colorful feathers. He exclaimed in amazement: "How beautiful! Are the feathers so good-looking?" If ordinary spirit beasts can be so good-looking, then how gorgeous should the phoenix, the king of birds, be?

Tai Shuhong's eyes sparkled: "Phoenixes should be the most beautiful demon cultivators in the world. Their original bodies are like the most gorgeous brocade, and their postures are more elegant than any other birds."

Only then did Du Heng realize that he had just spoken out what was in his mind. Hearing Tai Shuhong's words of admiration, Du Heng suddenly wanted to see Xixi's true form!

Xiaoxiao flapped his little wings proudly. He was also a phoenix. When he grew up, he would be able to show Du Heng his gorgeous feathers!

After staying by the Linghu Lake for a while, Du Heng had to go back to prepare dinner. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a patch of lush aquatic plants more than a meter tall appearing in the water.

They grow in clusters in the water, with long, flat leaves. When the breeze blows, the long leaves make a sound. This is an elegant and beautiful plant, it does not float around like duckweed, nor does it grow vines everywhere like water chestnuts.

Du Heng looked at the plant with eager eyes, and he couldn't help but stop. His eyes fell on the roots of the plant, where the leaves gathered, the stems were slightly bulging.

Du Heng recognized it at a glance. It was wild rice stem! He didn't expect to see wild rice stem here, and it was ripe.

When Tai Shuhong saw Du Heng stopped, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with these rice grains?"

It turns out that in the Taixu world,茭白 is also called菰?

Du Heng smiled and said, "This dish is edible." Tai Shuhong was stunned for a moment: "This... is it edible?"

Du Heng smiled and nodded: "Yes, and it's just in time." Tai Shuhong wondered: "Where should we eat?"

Du Heng walked to the nearest clump of water chestnuts to the shore, and he bent down to separate the leaves of the water chestnuts. Tai Shuhong saw the leaves of the water chestnuts sway a few times, and Du Heng stood up.

He held a stalk of cattail grass in his hand, with two or three long leaves hanging from the top. After Du Heng broke off the leaves at the top, he was left with a stalk that was more than a foot long and as thick as his wrist.

After peeling off the green leaves on the outside of the stem, he found a white stem that was thick at the bottom and thin at the top. Unlike the slender and tough leaves, the peeled stem looked short and tender.

Du Heng handed the wild rice stem to Tai Shuhong and asked, "Would you like to try it?"

Tai Shuhong hesitated and took the wild rice stem: "This... can we eat it directly?" Du Heng smiled and said: "Yes, eat it directly."

Du Heng grew up in a water town. Based on his intuition, he could tell at a glance that the water chestnut was in its fresh and tender stage.

Tai Shuhong took a bite of the water bamboo. The texture of the water bamboo was not as crisp and tender as the lotus root. It tasted a little floury and sweet if you tasted it carefully.

Du Heng smiled and said, "This is called茭白 in my hometown. It is a seasonal dish that can only be eaten in autumn. This dish is a little sweet when eaten raw, but its picking period is very short. If you miss the picking period, it will grow big and old, and the taste will be like chewing wax and not delicious at all. I didn't expect to see茭白 here, and it's still in the picking period. It's amazing."

Hearing Du Heng say this, Tai Shuhong smiled and said, "A few months ago, two red birds had a fight here and burned the rice here. These rice plants grew later. Do you need this for cooking? If you do, you are welcome to pick it and take it back."

Du Heng was waiting for this sentence. He smiled and said, "Thank you very much. There are more seasonal vegetables tonight. You must come to try them tonight. The fried wild rice with pork, the braised wild rice with oil, and the braised wild rice with pork are all very delicious."

Tai Shuhong smiled and said, "Well, it sounds particularly delicious when you say that." Du Heng used the chicken heads and stems that the sect didn't want to soak to make countless delicious dishes. Tai Shuhong had already seen it.

279

After walking around Linghu Lake, Du Heng had a basket of wild rice in his backpack, and in addition, he held two handfuls of fresh wild rice in his hands. He tied the leaves of the wild rice into knots, so he could just grab the leaves and pull away a bunch of wild rice underneath.

Tai Shuhong was a little confused: "Why not put these rice in the storage bag? Wouldn't it be easier to walk this way?" At first he thought Du Heng didn't bring a storage bag, and he was ready to give Du Heng a few storage bags. But later he found a storage bag in Du Heng's sleeve, which led to Tai Shuhong's question.

Du Heng smiled and said, "I'm used to it. I always feel a sense of satisfaction when I carry these things."

The things were light in the storage bag, and Du Heng felt happy only when he saw and touched them on his back. Besides, he could eat while walking while holding them in his hands.

Tai Shuhong said, "There is a pond at the foot of Shenzao Peak. There are a lot of cattails in it. If you need it, I can send someone to deliver these mature cattails to you." Du Heng thought for a while before he understood where Tai Shuhong was talking about.

He walked along the corridor between the two main peaks from Shenxiu Peak to Shenzao Peak, which was a shortcut. There was a pond below the corridor. Du Heng was satisfied with the information and smiled, "No, no, you are busy enough, I can't trouble you anymore. I will go and see it myself when the time comes. Thank you, Uncle Tai."

Tai Shuhong smiled and said, "It's great to be able to help you."

In this way, Du Heng happily left Linghu with his hands full of wild rice. The wild rice on the edge of Linghu Lake became sparse after being picked off, but after being soaked in the spring water in Lingquan, they will become a lush and green wild rice in just a few days.

When he returned to the dining hall, Xuan Yu had already cleaned up the beef. Xuan Yu liked to cut the beef according to the muscle texture, so most of the beef he processed was pieces of tendon meat. Only the muscles on the belly of the cow were not very obvious, so Xuan Yu kept the belly meat on both sides.

In addition, there were some tough ones, which Xuan Yu picked up and put in a wooden barrel.

Seeing Du Heng coming back with a lot of wild rice stems, Xuan Yu went over to take over Du Heng's backpack. Du Heng quickly said, "Be careful, there are hairy eggs under the backpack, don't bump them."

As he spoke, Du Heng put the fresh and tender water chestnuts he had peeled into Xuan Yu's mouth: "Try it. This is water chestnuts from the spiritual spring of Shenzao Peak. I think it is more fresh and tender than the ones I eat in my hometown."

Xuan Yu chewed it and it made a sizzling sound. "Hmm, sweet and quite delicious. This also grows by the Wenxin Lake in Nanshan."

Du Heng said regretfully, "Yes, I saw it in the spring. I have always told Xiaoxiao that when the wild rice stems and water chestnuts grow well, I will take it to Nanshan to dig lotus roots and pick water chestnuts. I didn't expect that it would come true in Shenxu Palace."

Xuan Yu looked behind Du Heng and asked, "Is Xiaoxiao playing with Tai Shuhong?"

Du Heng smiled and said, "Yes, Tai Shuhong will bring him to dinner later. Xiaoxiao has become much more lively since meeting Tai Shuhong." Xuan Yu replied, "Yes, this child usually comes into contact with too few people, and it is not easy for him to meet a friend who treats him sincerely."

After returning to the kitchen, Du Heng was busy preparing dinner. He took the beef shank and marinated it in the pot. By dinner time, this big pot of beef shank would become boiled beef and beef tendon.

Du Heng cut the beef brisket into one-inch square pieces. While cutting, he asked Xuan Yu, "Where are Nan Nan and Xi Xi? Did they go to bed?"

Xuan Yu said, "No, these two went out to play." Du Heng had question marks on his head: "Play? Play in Shenxu Palace?" Du Heng looked at Xuan Yu seriously. Xuan Yu was not joking, right?

Even if Xuan Yu told Du Heng that the two had gone to explore the forbidden area and sword tomb of Shenxu Palace, he would have thought it was acceptable. But think about it, the two had been very relaxed since they left Dongji Mountain, maybe they really went out to have fun?

Du Heng only took one piece of beef brisket and cut a large pot of meat. He put water in the pot: "Fortunately there is a formation in the pot, otherwise there would be no way to stew so much meat in one pot."

Speaking of the joke that one pot can't cook everything, Du Heng suddenly remembered something. He asked Xuan Yu with a smile: "Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu, have you seen Kunpeng when he grows up?"

Xuan Yu thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I have seen it. Zhou Lianhua and the others are from the Kunpeng clan, so what?" Du Heng smiled and said, "Is it very big?"

Xuan Yu nodded: "Yes, it is very big. Even my demon form is not as big as the grown-up Kunpeng. However, the Kunpeng clan is a bit clumsy when fighting, and they are of peaceful temperament, so they usually do not pose a threat."

Du Heng chuckled: "Then... can our grill and pot stew a Kunpeng?"

Xuan Yu looked at Du Heng dangerously. After a while, he said seriously, "You can't eat demon cultivators." Du Heng poked Xuan Yu, "I'm just making an analogy. Is it okay? I don't really want to eat them."

Xuan Yu thought for a moment and said, "No, the pots and grills at home can't hold their bodies." Du Heng smiled and said, "Sure enough, we need a custom grill."

Xuan Yu smiled and said, "I don't think anyone will customize a grill for you."

After the two of them chattered and laughed in the kitchen for a while, they poured beef brisket and water into the pot to blanch. After adding onion, ginger and cooking wine, Du Heng looked at the big pot of beef brisket and said, "There is a poem in my hometown about Kunpeng, saying that there is a fish in the North Sea named Kun, and Kun is so big that no one knows how many thousands of miles it is. Someone changed this and said that Kun is so big that it cannot be stewed in one pot. That's why I have this question."

Xuan Yu said slowly: "Du Heng, do you really want to go home?"

Du Heng smiled and said, "When I first arrived in the village, I wanted to go back, but now I feel that wherever you are is my home. But sometimes when I think of my parents at home, I always feel a little worried."

Xuan Yu thought for a moment and said, "Once things are settled, I'll go home with you to see the elders."

Du Heng looked at Xuan Yu with complicated eyes. He had a lot of things in his heart that he wanted to tell him, but seeing Xuan Yu's serious expression, he said nothing. These words finally turned into his nod: "Yes! They will definitely be very happy to see you."

After the water in the pot boiled, Du Heng boiled it for half a cup of tea. This cow was given to him by the sect before, and a lot of blood foam appeared when it was blanched. Du Heng skimmed off the foam and said, "I wonder if Lao Dao and the others are doing well in Dongji Mountain."

Ever since leaving Dongji Mountain, Du Heng has lost any news of Lao Dao Yun Zheng, Chonghua and others, and he doesn't know when he will see them again.

Xuan Yu said: "Lao Dao and the others should be fine, you don't have to worry. After we find the Chaos Bead and my natal spirit sword, we will go back to Dongji Mountain to see them. Why did you suddenly think of Lao Dao?"

Du Heng said: "When the cattle and sheep are butchered with an old knife, there won't be so much foam when they are blanched."

Xuan Yu:......

After the beef brisket was blanched, Du Heng picked it up and washed it in warm water. The beef was not as rosy as it was at the beginning, but turned gray. The beef brisket was clearly fat and lean, and each piece of meat had fat and lean. Just looking at these beef brisket pieces, Du Heng felt that they would be delicious after they were cooked.

This dish of stewed beef brisket with potatoes is Du Heng's favorite dish to go with rice. It is really delicious when the soup is mixed with rice in the cold winter.

After the oil in the pot was heated, Du Heng poured the beef brisket into the pot. This time the beef brisket was quite large, so Du Heng had to use his spiritual energy to wrap the beef brisket and stir-fry it in the pot. When the beef brisket was almost stir-fried, he added soy sauce, white wine and white vinegar into the pot.

As the seasonings were added to the pot, a puff of green smoke came out of the pot, and the grayish-white beef brisket was immediately dyed into a sauce color as Du Heng stir-fried it. This was not the end, Du Heng then added the chopped tomatoes.

Speaking of tomatoes, Du Heng has always had a doubt. If he remembers correctly, tomatoes and potatoes were introduced from abroad in his hometown, and they were not introduced for long. Moreover, the varieties he ate in his hometown have been improved, so that there are big and red tomatoes.

However, not long after he arrived at Taixu Realm, he saw common vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, and beans. He asked Jing Nan about the origins of these vegetables, and Jing Nan told him that these vegetables had been grown in Taixu Realm for a long time.

He was thinking that perhaps the Taixu Realm was connected to his hometown, otherwise how could one explain why so many vegetables were similar?

After the tomatoes were put into the pot, Du Heng added the chopped onions. In case the taste was not good enough, Du Heng also added the tomato sauce he had made earlier. After the sauce was evenly stir-fried, some red and purple dots appeared in the sauce-colored pot.

He sprinkled a handful of ground peppercorns into the pot, and after the stir-frying was complete, he added enough hot water to cover all the ingredients. Before covering the pot, he also threw in two handfuls of green onions and ginger.

He casually picked up an uncut tomato the size of a fist from the colander beside him and took a bite: "Xiaoyu, remember to remind me to turn down the heat in the pot after an incense stick."

Xuan Yu was peeling water bamboo, he nodded: "Well, are you going to induce the production of ground eggs...potatoes?" Du Heng said that he wanted to stew beef brisket with potatoes, but there were not many potatoes left in the refrigerator.

Xuan Yu guessed it right. Du Heng left a kiss on Xuan Yu's cheek that tasted like tomatoes. "Yes! Remember to remind me later. I'm afraid I'll forget the time when I'm running my spiritual energy."

Xuan Yu kissed back: "Go ahead, leave the pot to me." Du Heng's lips were like ripe tomatoes, rosy and red, making him really want to take a bite.