Chapter 5
"Is this really for me?" Lu Jiyao's eyes lit up as he looked at the large plate of fish on the table. He smelled the aroma that kept drilling into his nostrils and kept swallowing his saliva.
Ji Mingqing handed him the chopsticks and said, "Of course, the seasoning is not complete, so we can only make it like this for now. You first..." Before Ji Mingqing could finish speaking, Lu Jiyao took the chopsticks and devoured the food in front of him.
Ji Mingqing originally wanted to remind Lu Jiyao that his cooking method was different from what he had eaten in the restaurant before, and the taste might be different. He was also worried that Lu Jiyao would not be used to it.
Unexpectedly, Lu Jiyao took out a steamed bun to eat with the fish, and it was obvious that he enjoyed it very much.
Seeing Lu Jiyao eating so heartily, Ji Mingqing didn't fight with him. He put down his chopsticks and took out two wild fruits he had picked today to eat.
After Lu Jiyao finished eating one of them, he looked up and saw that Ji Mingqing didn't even pick up the chopsticks, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
He lowered his head and shyly pushed the plate towards Ji Mingqing, "You eat, you eat."
Ji Mingqing smiled and said, "No need, I've already eaten. These two are for you."
Lu Jiyao's eyes lit up instantly after hearing this, "Thank you so much!"
When Ji Mingqing was waiting for Lu Jiyao to continue his eating show for him, he heard the door creak and saw someone floating in from outside. Then he looked up and saw an old man with a solemn face and white hair and beard standing by the table.
The old man raised his head and looked straight ahead, not looking at them. He just bent his fingers and gently tapped the bluestone table, making a "dong dong" sound.
Ji Mingqing was a little unhappy and was about to express his dissatisfaction when he saw Lu Jiyao quickly put down his chopsticks, stood up, and shouted at the old man.
"Palace Master."
Ji Mingqing was stunned for a moment, but after hearing the name, he immediately realized that this man was the Palace Master of Anding Palace. Lu Jiyao had described him as having an immortal appearance, but the old man in front of him...
He was dressed in white, with white hair and beard. Except for the exposed skin, everything else was white. He really looked like an immortal.
Although Ji Mingqing was a step slower, he still stood up as quickly as possible and respectfully called out "Palace Master".
The Palace Master nodded, then gave Ji Mingqing a look. "Did you make this fish?"
Ji Mingqing quickly responded, "I made it." Then he handed over a pair of unused chopsticks with great tact, "Try it."
The old man took the chopsticks with dignity, muttering, "You don't even say hello to me and just push people in my place", while he slowly picked up the most tender piece of the fish belly, gently put it into his mouth, and then chewed it slowly.
Ji Mingqing looked nervous, fearing that the strong-flavored food would not suit the appetite of the old senior who had been an immortal for a long time. He didn't know what the palace master's temper was like. Listening to what the old palace master had just said, he seemed dissatisfied with being arranged here.
What if the old palace master has a bad temper and takes this opportunity to fire him?
Ji Mingqing felt a little uneasy. He saw the old palace master put down his chopsticks after taking a bite, pursed his lips, and wondered what he was thinking.
The atmosphere at the scene seemed to be stagnant. Ji Ming didn't even dare to breathe heavily even when he leaned forward, and Lu Jiyao, who was standing opposite him, seemed to be stiff.
"You..." The old palace master paused, "You're not bad. Besides fish, can you cook anything else?"
Ji Mingqing was stunned for a moment. Something else? What was that something else?
"I don't know what the Palace Master is talking about? But I can still control some common ingredients." Ji Mingqing said cautiously.
At this time, the Palace Master took out a storage bag and threw it into Ji Mingqing's hand. "These are the things. Let's see if you can make them."
When Ji Mingqing took a look, he found that it was full of seafood. In addition to a small amount of fish, there were also some conch shellfish, kelp coral, and crustaceans with strange looks.
This is too complicated!
Seeing the big crab, Ji Mingqing couldn't help swallowing his saliva, "I can cook it, I can cook most of them." The seafood in the storage bag was similar to what he had seen before. Although there might be slight differences, they were basically the same.
If all else fails, steaming is always a good idea.
The Palace Master nodded in satisfaction. "Well, you go to the kitchen and just deliver the food to my room every day."
After the Palace Master finished speaking, Ji Mingqing felt troubled. If he stayed in the kitchen, his workload would definitely increase and he would become less free. However, just as he was struggling with this, the Palace Master overturned his own statement.
"No, I won't be able to eat even if you go there." The old palace master thought that he didn't live in Anding Palace at all. He had his own things to do. Even if Ji Mingqing was arranged to the kitchen, he wouldn't be able to eat there many times.
"How about this, you still live here, I'll give you a month, if you make everything in here for me, I'll give you extra immortal beads."
Ji Mingqing didn't expect that things would take such a turn. Not only did he not have to change his job, he even got a new part-time job.
Where can I find such a good boss? Ji Mingqing couldn't believe his luck was so good that he met a boss who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Seeing that the Palace Master looked serious but was still easy to talk to, Ji Mingqing mustered up the courage to say, "Palace Master, I may not be able to make so much in a month." It would take him at least two months to fill a storage bag even if he worked without sleep.
"Is that so..." The Palace Master pondered for a while, then said in hesitation, "I come back once a month. When I come back next time, you can just prepare enough for me to eat for a month."
After saying this, he turned around and looked at Ji Mingqing, "Is this okay?"
Ji Mingqing blinked, and felt that he vaguely saw a hint of desire in the Palace Master's eyes. He felt a little reluctant, as he seemed to be a poor person who was being tortured by the food from the fairy world.
"Of course. I wonder when the Palace Master will be back next month?"
"On the 14th. I come back on the 14th of every month and leave on the 15th. I hope you can prepare everything before then. How about five immortal beads a month?"
Five immortal pearls! This was more than his normal monthly salary. Ji Mingqing was a little surprised, but still refused: "No, no, this is too much. Just give me one immortal pearl."
His monthly salary was 200 spirit beads, which was equivalent to two fairy beads. With this one fairy bead, even if it was not as much as what Lu Jiyao earned from being beaten, it was still a lot easier.
"Alright, as for the rest in the storage bag, you can keep it for yourself." Perhaps because he had never seen anyone voluntarily reduce their monthly salary, the old palace master waved his hand and generously gave all the things to Ji Mingqing. "From now on, someone will deliver things to you every month. What do you think?"
What else could he do? Ji Mingqing was super happy!
This bag of seafood is not available in his territory, so isn't this just a disguised way of enriching his dining table?
After the old palace master left with the fish he had tasted, Lu Jiyao was the first to relax and plop down on the stool. Seeing Ji Mingqing grinning foolishly while holding the storage bag in his hand, he slammed the table and said, "Come back to your senses!"
Lu Jiyao thought that Ji Mingqing was happy because he had left his name with the old palace master, and he didn't know that Ji Mingqing was just happy because he thought of 360 ways to eat seafood.
Ji Mingqing came back to his senses after being patted by Lu Jiyao. He looked at Lu Jiyao happily and said, "We will have delicious food in the future."
"What delicious food?" Lu Jiyao glanced at the storage bag in Ji Mingqing's hand. "Can you really make it? I heard that our Palace Master used these things to find many immortal chefs, but they either refused to cook or made something that did not satisfy the old Palace Master."
"This thing is not difficult to make..." Ji Mingqing really didn't understand why the fairy world had existed for so many years, which should be longer than five thousand years, but the food level had not reached the level of that nation with a five thousand year history.
"Because no one's eating, don't you think you wouldn't be hungry even if you didn't eat?" Lu Jiyao speculated, "Since no one needs to eat, why bother to think about food? Wouldn't it be better to spend this time cultivating and playing in the Three Thousand Small Worlds?"
Ji Mingqing was shocked, "I thought I wasn't hungry because I ate on time!"
At mealtimes, Ji Mingqing would open the gate and a lunch box would appear at the door containing his meals. After he finished eating, he would put the lunch box back to its original place and the formation would take it away.
Lu Jiyao patted Ji Mingqing's shoulder and said, "You are still a near-immortal now, and you are not proficient in controlling the immortal energy. After a while, when you can absorb the immortal energy on your own, you can cancel your meal application."
Ji Mingqing felt that his point of view was overturned, "I won't cancel! Why should I cancel! I look forward to these three meals a day!" After saying this, he felt that he was a little excited and his temper was a little unreasonable, so he looked at Lu Jiyao a little embarrassedly.
"I'll continue to bring you delicious food tomorrow."
After hearing this, Lu Jiyao also put aside the fact that the old palace master had snatched a fish from him, "I think it's okay. After you make it, I'll take it to the fighting arena to eat. Every time after a fight, the immortal energy is insufficient, so I always need to slow down. Eating something can help it recover faster."
Ji Mingqing also sat back on the stool. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he whispered, "Why does our Palace Master only come back two days a month? Why does he live out there?"
Lu Jiyao slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot to tell you that the old palace master comes back on this day every month because the master has to inspect the Xieyue Coast on this day every month. Everyone will consciously leave before the master leaves."
"What was the old Palace Master doing at the Moon Coast?"
The name of the palace is Anding Palace. The old palace master has to stay at Xieyue Coast every month. It seems that he likes water very much. Maybe his blood is related to water?
"Oh, the old palace master goes there for nothing else but fishing."
Fishing? But fish account for the smallest proportion in the storage bag.
As if seeing Ji Mingqing's puzzled expression, Lu Jiyao quietly leaned over and waved at Ji Mingqing.
"I'll tell you something in secret. Someone once saw our Palace Master catch only a few fish in a month. So every time before returning home, he would cast a spell to catch all the creatures in the nearby sea and put them into his storage bag to make up for the loss."
It turned out to be a fisherman who couldn’t catch any fish!
The author has something to say:
There is a saying that goes "A fisherman never gets empty-handed."
It refers to the self-deprecating sentiment of a fisherman who will not return home empty-handed even if he catches no fish.
Even if they don't catch any fish, fishermen will try to bring back some nearby things.
This includes drinking two sips of pond water
Representative figure - my second uncle, the master of Anding Palace
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