Chapter 61: Midnight BBQ (Part 1)
"Actually, the best-selling item was back in the capital. Young Master, you were invited to model for the artist behind 'The Most Beautiful Men in Huntington'. We're still receiving royalties from you now... But several years have passed, and sales have been sluggish. This month, we only got two silver coins," Jericho said. "The witches said they prefer fair and tender skin, not muscular men like you..."
Actually, to be honest, the only one who bought a painting recently was the skeleton Jiangyou, but she was also very poor and didn't pay at all. Jericho only got some food and snacks in exchange for it, so he didn't have the courage to tell his young master.
Andrei sighed again and was about to say something when his eyes suddenly narrowed and he looked up and shouted, "Who's outside?"
"It's me!" The door opened, and a skull poked its head in. The Skeleton Lich said cheerfully, "I just thought I heard your voice. How did you get here?"
"The Baron sent me here to do this," André said unhappily. "In reality, he was just looking for an excuse to get me out of the city and stop me from continuing my investigation."
He waved to Jiangyou and said, "You've come just in time. I haven't had dinner yet. Here's a chicken and two rabbits that I caught on the road, along with some herbs and spices. Take them and roast them. Don't worry, I won't let you work in vain."
Andre took out his saddlebag and pulled out a metal tag. "Here, your business license is here."
When he went to find the Winchester clerk as instructed by the Baron, he grabbed a small clerk and did the job for Jiang You.
Although the Baron was wary of him and secretly tried to trip him up, he had to be polite and keep things peaceful on the surface. People who didn't understand the situation still believed him as the Vice-Grandmaster of the Knights Templar.
Jiang You took the silver-white metal plate and glanced at the curvy earthworm characters on it:
[Store name: Jiang You's Brewing Workshop
Establishment date: 5th day of the midsummer month in the 988th year of the Ta calendar
By order of the King, the shop owner Jiang You is specially authorized to operate within the following business scope: alcoholic beverages, food (including sauces and beverages).
Check every three months].
At the bottom is the seal of the Kingdom Knights, which looks particularly majestic.
"Oh my!" Takumi was overjoyed, "Now I can officially open for business!"
"Yes," Andre said, "No matter where you are, whether you have a store or a stall, if you have this thing, no decent customer will dare to bother you... Unless they are someone with bad intentions, someone with a big background, and they have been deliberately trying to cause trouble for you."
"You're a pretty reliable tenant!" Jiang You happily stuffed the business license into her skull. She picked up the chicken and rabbit and said happily, "Okay, I'll take care of dinner, but you have to help me build a fire."
"Don't bother the young master with this matter, I can do it!" Jericho volunteered.
The two men and the skeleton came to the back of the house.
The backyard was a flat, clean yellow earth surface that looked regularly cleaned. It was quite far from the fields, and there weren't many flammable objects around. There was only a chopped-off tree stump on the left, perfect for a table.
Jericho went to collect firewood nearby, and Andrei skillfully spread a waterproof cloth on the stump and laid out a row of knives. He took out a cutting board, a pot, and a hoe from his saddlebag one after another. No matter what his living standards were, at least he had enough tools.
Without a word, he took the chicken and rabbit from Jiangyou's hands, defecating and bleeding them expertly, then cleaned them with water magic. When the chicken and rabbit returned to Jiangyou's hands, they were already white and clean, with heads and claws removed, ready to be put into the pot.
A man who volunteered to help with work instead of just sitting there waiting for food was very appealing. Jiang You took the salt and pepper he pulled out of his saddlebag and said, "You're lucky. The witch just happened to give me the psychic wood, so I can now use my sense of smell and taste. Now you can experience my true strength."
Relying solely on her own touch and the help of Auntie Wolf, the master of emotional translation, to season the food was certainly not as convenient or accurate as being able to smell and taste the flavors directly. Jiang You felt that her previous dishes had only reached 80% of her level, with the remaining 2% relying entirely on luck... Now, she could let go and give it her all!
Jericho had returned. He was very quick and it was obvious that he was used to doing these chores. In a blink of an eye, he had built a bonfire and set up the pot rack.
Jiang You once again removed her skull and pulled out a can of rose honey and plum preserves and a small bag of glutinous rice from her personal stash. She used water magic to clean the bone claws, then placed the glutinous rice in a small pot, adding clean water summoned by water magic and setting it on a pot rack to boil. She then hollowed out the chicken's stomach, leaving a clean, intact cavity.
The rose honey soaked in candied fruit was poured from the jar and poured over the chicken and rabbit. Then, through repeated application and rubbing with the white bone claws, it seeped into the skin and flesh… This was considered the most basic seasoning. The two rabbits were not old or large, and their meat was quite tender, so they should be good to roast.
The rabbit marinated in rose honey was cut open, spread out with a few iron spoons, and formed into a thick slice. Takuyu handed the iron spoons to Jericho and asked him to grill it over the fire while he continued to process the chicken.
The herbs Andre found were of various kinds, including lemongrass and basil leaves with a minty aroma, which were wrapped in several large lotus leaves. Jiangyou sniffed them slightly with the spiritual wood and felt that these herbs were very suitable for making sweet dishes.
The glutinous rice was already tumbling in the pot, bubbling with the boiling water, now barely cooked. Jiangyou removed the pot from the heat, drained off the excess water, removed the glutinous rice, and stuffed it into the chicken's cavity. She then added a few candied fruits and herbs, then used an iron rod to zigzag back and forth, sealing the cavity.
Finally, wrap the chicken tightly with lotus leaves, cover the lotus leaves with a layer of yellow mud dug from the edge of the field, and put it into the campfire to bake slowly. This is the improved version of the sweet beggar's chicken.
Because of the lotus leaf's insulation, the mud itself doesn't touch the chicken. Heat over a bonfire to sterilize it, creating a hard shell that insulates the chicken from the heat, creating a natural oven that traps the steam from the chicken and glutinous rice. While the increased pressure doesn't reach the level of a pressure cooker, it does accelerate the cooking of the chicken and the partially cooked glutinous rice.
The herbs in the chicken's abdominal cavity will also release their aroma in this steam-filled, enclosed environment, removing the fishy smell from the chicken and adding more complex flavor to the chicken.
The beggar's chicken was slowly cooked over the fire, while Jiangyou took over the grilling of two rabbits from Jericho. At this time, the rabbit meat had begun to change color and exuded a charming meaty aroma.
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