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Du Heng was already very familiar with the process of making potatoes grow. He still remembered the first time he made potatoes grow in the village. He only managed to make two potatoes grow, and he had already used up most of his spiritual energy. At that time, he got a basket of potatoes, and he was so excited that he almost flew to the sky.
Now Du Heng has grown hundreds of potatoes without changing his expression. It took less than a cup of tea to make the potatoes grow, but Du Heng did not use spiritual energy to dig the potatoes out of the soil.
He liked the feeling of a good harvest. He didn't even like using his spiritual energy to probe the soil to find out how many potatoes had grown. He loved this kind of uncertain harvest. When he dug up potatoes one after another from the black soil, the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment in his heart almost burst out.
After Xuan Yu turned down the heat in the pot, he went to the yard to dig potatoes with Du Heng. Looking at Du Heng who was digging potatoes with a smile on his face, Xuan Yu couldn't help but smile: "There are so many potatoes, and they are very big. Much bigger than the ones Nan Nan planted."
Before Du Heng could say anything, Jing Nan's voice floated over: "Hey, when I'm not at home, you two take the opportunity to say bad things about me. What is bigger than me? Huh?"
Xuan Yu said seriously: "We were talking about potatoes." Jing Nan walked in slowly from the kitchen: "Hey? Are you digging potatoes? Take me with you, I really like digging these things. It's very exciting, you can dig a lot at a time."
Du Heng found a soulmate: "Yes, yes, yes! Come, I'll let you pick it over there."
Jing Nan squatted in the vegetable field. He casually pulled off a two-foot-tall potato vine and said, "I'm telling you, I found an interesting place."
Du Heng smiled and said, "Hmm? Where?"
Jing Nan asked, "Do you know that there is a mission hall at the foot of the mountain south of Shenxiu Peak?" Du Heng shook his head, "What is that place?"
Feng Gui strode in. "This is where the outer sect disciples receive their tasks and where the sect issues tasks. Occasionally, people from other sects will come here to entrust the disciples of Shenxu Palace to help them with tasks, but that costs more."
Xuan Yu asked Jing Nan, "What did you two find interesting?"
Jing Nan smiled and said, "I found a task for the beginning of the year. Can you guess what it is?" Du Heng asked curiously, "What is it?"
Jing Nan took out a piece of earth-gray talisman paper from his sleeve and handed it to Du Heng: "Take a look for yourself."
Du Heng unfolded the talisman paper and took a look: "Looking for Du Heng, the servant of Medicine King Valley, the reward is... 10 million spirit stones?!" When Du Heng looked at the portrait, his eyebrows knitted together:
“Is this person… me?”
The person in the portrait was 80% similar to Du Heng, but the person in the portrait was far less lively than Du Heng. Du Heng looked at the person who offered the reward, and there were three words written on the person: No regrets for speaking.
Yan Buhui is Du Heng's shadow! Du Heng was so scared that he threw the talisman in his hand to Jing Nan: "Ahhh, why did Yan Buhui offer a reward to me?! Did I offend him?!"
Thinking about it carefully, it seems that I have offended him. I swallowed the Magical Sky Pearl and killed his chicken...
Du Heng collapsed and said, "How vindictive is he? He actually offered a reward of 10 million spirit stones to capture me?!" And the person in the painting looks so much like him, wouldn't he be recognized as soon as he goes out?
Jing Nan smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, Yan Buhui has already withdrawn the reward for you. Besides, a reward of 10 million spirit stones is nothing in the Shenxu Palace Mission Hall. I checked and the highest reward is 50 million."
Du Heng was very depressed: "You can't blame me, I was just trying to protect myself at the time."
Feng Gui said: "Don't worry, Yan Buhui doesn't have the time to care about you now. He is now paralyzed on one side of his body. It is estimated that he will have to use a wheelchair when he comes to Shenxu Palace to participate in the Ten Thousand Sects Conference next year."
Du Heng was choked: "Hey? What happened to Yan Buhui?"
Jing Nan smiled and said, "He got beaten up." While speaking, Jing Nan had already skillfully taken out a basket of potatoes. The new potatoes were big and white, and they were pleasing to the eye.
Xuan Yu changed the subject and asked, "Besides stewing beef brisket with potatoes, what else are you going to make?"
Du Heng changed the subject as expected: "There is also dry pot beef offal. But I think it would be a bit conflicting to make beef offal since we already have beef stew with potatoes. I just saw a piece of beef tenderloin. I will castrate it and cut it into steaks and fry it tonight."
Feng Gui asked with his hands in his pockets, "I saw some white vegetables in the kitchen. What are they?"
Du Heng said, "Wild rice! Braised wild rice in oil or stir-fried with pork are both super delicious. Oh, it's also delicious when eaten raw."
Du Heng said as he carried a basket of potatoes to the kitchen: "Alas, it's almost the evening hour, we can't waste any more time."
Jing Nan smiled and said to Xuan Yu, "Xiao Yu, guess what the mission with the highest reward in the Mission Hall is for?"
Xuan Yu shook his head: "What?"
Jing Nan said, "It was just posted. Reward: The whereabouts of the Slaughtering Heaven Sword. Xiaoyu, it seems that many people are eyeing your Slaughtering Heaven Sword."
Xuan Yu chuckled and said, "Why not give me the 50 million reward and let me tell them?"
Jing Nan smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I thought so too. So I took on this task for you, no need to thank me."
Xuan Yu looked at Jing Nan steadily: "If the elders of Shenxu Palace knew that you had caused them so much trouble, they would want to kill you."
The smell of stewed beef wafted away. After only half an hour of stewing, Du Heng felt a spiritual consciousness flying towards the dining hall.
After simmering for half an hour, Du Heng put the diced potatoes into the pot and stewed them together. New potatoes are easy to cook. After just two sticks of incense, they will become soft and tender, and taste better than beef brisket.
While the potatoes were cooking, Du Heng washed the rice and cooked. He also took the opportunity to make fried rice stem with pork and braised rice stem with oil.
Stir-fried water bamboo with shredded pork is made by cutting the water bamboo into thin shreds and stir-frying it with shredded pork. After the dish is ready, the meat and vegetables are sweet and refreshing and go well with rice.
The method of braised wild rice stem in oil is similar to that of braised spring bamboo shoots. Take the fresh wild rice stem and cut it into dice. Put it into the oil pan and stir-fry until the wild rice stem is slightly softened, then add soy sauce, sugar and salt, pour a little water and simmer for a while, and a dish of braised wild rice stem in oil with a fresh and sweet taste is ready.
When the wild rice stems were ready, it was time for the beef stew with potatoes. Jing Nan took a small bowl and ate potatoes beside the stove: "Ah, this ground egg is so delicious!"
The beef brisket has been stewed until it is very soft. You can taste the deliciousness of the beef with just a sip. The salty and sweet sauce wraps the evenly fat and lean meat. When you chew it while it is hot, you will feel so comfortable that you shiver.
The edges and corners of the potato's surface have been smoothed by the soup. If the chopsticks are used with a little more force, the potato will break open to reveal the glutinous inside. The sauce penetrates into the inside of the potato, making the yellow-white inside of the potato stained with sauce color.
If the beef is soft, then the potatoes are melt-in-your-mouth. The potatoes soaked up the sauce and are soft, fragrant and fresh, even better than the beef.
Jing Nan stood by the pot and didn't eat the beef but only the potatoes. He was so happy that his eyes narrowed: "For the first time I knew that vegetarian dishes can be more delicious than meat."
I must mention the sauce of the beef stew here. After the potatoes are cooked, the sauce becomes extremely thick. If you have a bowl of rice at this time, scoop two spoons of the sauce on it, just mixing the rice with this sauce will make you eat several bowls of rice.
Feng Gui scooped a spoonful of potatoes into Jing Nan's bowl. He looked around and said, "Feng Lin is not here today? Did he go to Shen Zao Peak to slack off?"
Usually, Xiaoxiao would be the first one to squat at the stove when the food was cooked, but today he was not there, and the sun was rising from the west.
Xuan Yu was also eating, but he was not eating the beef stew with potatoes. He preferred the two vegetarian dishes made by Du Heng, especially the braised wild rice stem in oil.
The sweet wild rice stem was tender, glutinous and fragrant. It was only simply seasoned, but the taste was smooth and long-lasting. Xuan Yu's mouth was already salivating when Du Heng made this dish. When the dish was ready, he couldn't help but eat it first. With just one bite, he fell in love with this smooth and delicious taste.
Seeing Xuan Yu enjoying his meal, Du Heng smiled and said, "Tai Shuhong said that there is a pond between Shenzao Peak and Shenxiu Peak, and there are many wild rice stems in the pond. I think we can go and have a look tomorrow if we have time. If there are suitable wild rice stems that can be picked, can we pick some and keep them?"
Du Heng was worried that the water chestnuts in the pond at the foot of the mountain had already grown old. After all, Tai Shuhong said that the water chestnuts in the pond on the mountain were grown again because they were burned after the fight between the Vermilion Birds.
Xuan Yu said: "Okay, I will go with you tomorrow."
Du Heng said: "I hope we can gain something from this trip."
Xuan Yu said, "It's okay. As long as there are wild rice plants, I can help them grow." Du Heng shook his head, "Potatoes can grow, but wild rice can't. Wild rice swells because of a fungus. It's not a seed, so it can't grow."
As soon as Jing Nan finished speaking, they all turned their heads: "Huh? There's still this?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "Yes, without that kind of fungus, it would be impossible to form a swollen fleshy stem."
Xuan Yu said: "Then try your luck. It doesn't matter if you can't find it."
Jing Nan walked to the dining table with a small bowl in his hand. He wanted to sit down, but he saw the hairy eggs in the basket. Jing Nan was overjoyed: "Hey? What is this? Isn't this a hairy egg?! Du Heng, where did you find the hairy eggs?! Great!"
Du Heng almost forgot about the eggs in the basket. When he heard Jing Nan say this, he quickly called Feng Gui: "Xixi, come and take a look at these eggs. Can they be saved?"
Feng Gui slowly stuffed the beef brisket into his mouth: "Let me finish eating first."
After Feng Gui finished eating the beef brisket, Jing Nan and him squatted beside the backpack and picked and chose. After a while, the two picked out a dozen eggs: "These eggs can be saved, and the ones here should be made into hairy eggs."
Jing Nan was extremely greedy: "Ah, I haven't tasted hairy eggs for a long time. I didn't expect that Shenxu Palace has such a delicacy."
Du Heng placed the dozen or so eggs Feng Gui had named in a basket covered with animal skins: "Tai Shuhong said that these eggs were full of life when they were brought back, but as they were incubated, they slowly became motionless. Xixi, do you know what it means?"
Feng Gui said: "Spiritual beasts are born and raised by nature. Many of their cubs may not hatch even in the eggs. They need the care of their parents to hatch in a row. Without their parents, they will die. No matter how carefully the servants in the Beast Garden serve them, they can't compare to their parents.
"Plus, there are bumps and bruises during transportation, so damage is inevitable. Moreover, there are dozens of spirit beast eggs here, and each has different hatching conditions. If we treat them all the same, they will naturally not hatch."
Feng Gui casually picked out an egg with a green shell from the eggs he had left to cook: "For example, this egg, this egg must be incubated in moist water plants. If the servant treats it as an ordinary spirit beast egg, only death will await it."
Jing Nan added: "What's waiting for him might also be a cute little fox crying out for food."
Du Heng was frowning: "Yeah, so cute." He had never seen such a shameless fox in his life.
281
After half a day of repairs, the dining hall was open again in the evening. However, Du Heng was very worried. He didn't know how to talk to the monks who came to eat. He told the monks that they could eat for free if they hung their seals with him, but now the seals have been taken away by the main dining hall.
Du Heng made up his mind and said to Feng Gui and the others, "At worst, we can treat everyone to a free meal tonight. Let's get the Yi Can Tang sign out first." Feng Gui and the others were very calm. Jing Nan even gave Du Heng a storage bag and said, "Don't worry, even if you lose money, we can still hold on for a while."
Du Heng opened the storage bag and saw that the mountain of storage bags inside blinded his eyes. Du Heng couldn't count how many spirit stones there were in it. Jing Nan said arrogantly, "Here are one million spirit stones. How about that?"
Du Heng was shocked: "Nan Nan, where did you get so many spirit stones?"
Jing Nan stroked her long hair and said, "I went to sell a piece of news. This is the deposit. Don't worry, there will be more balance after the deal is done."
Du Heng always felt that Jing Nan had done something illegal. Just as he looked at Jing Nan with suspicion, Jing Nan happily hugged the hairy egg that Feng Gui had picked out: "Ah~ Spiced hairy egg~"
Looking at Jing Nan like this, Du Heng felt that he was overthinking.
Before the evening hour, the monks came in one after another. Before Du Heng could say anything, he saw the sword cultivators who came in politely bowed and said, "Junior Brother Du, give me a fried steak."
Du Heng: ...What...happened?
The sword cultivators explained, "Elder Jiang said that from now on you will be our Shenxu Palace's mission disciple, specializing in preparing meals here. We are all fellow disciples, so if you need any help in the future, just ask."
Du Heng was extremely grateful. The sword cultivators of Shenxu Palace were really nice. He happily called Feng Gui and the others, "Nannan Xixi, let's prepare the meal."
Today's dining hall only offers four dishes, one soup and one rice. Compared with the previous set meal, today's bowls are larger. Monks can choose to order one or more dishes, and soup and rice can be refilled for free, but the price of the dishes has increased accordingly compared to the previous set meal.
The meat dishes used to cost 10 spirit stones each, but now they have increased to 15 spirit stones each. But because the bowls have become bigger, a monk dining alone only needs to order one dish to be full. Compared to the previous set meal that cost 50 spirit stones, they have saved a lot.
Soon, exclamations were heard in the dining hall: "Is this beef? This soup and rice are so delicious! Junior Brother Du, can I have some beef soup and rice?"
Or: "Hey? What is this? I've never had it before. Is it vegetarian or mushroom? It's pretty good."
The dishes Du Heng made, such as stewed potatoes with beef brisket and boiled beef, were gone before the hour of You. After the monks finished their meal, they put the spirit stones in the wooden box at the door and left with satisfaction.
Du Heng's heart was finally at ease. Jing Nan estimated that the dining hall had made a lot of money from the dinner today. He scanned the box with his spiritual sense and knew that the meal had paid off early.
Jiang Shangzhou showed up on time at the end of the You hour. He knew that Du Heng and his men would cook a small meal after the monks had finished their meal. However, when Jiang Shangzhou happily came to the kitchen, he only saw a bare kitchen table.
Jiang Shangzhou said dissatisfiedly: "Where are the dishes?"
Du Heng was embarrassed: "I forgot to keep some for myself, I sold them all." Jiang Shangzhou was extremely angry: "Isn't that too insincere?"
Du Heng comforted him, "It's okay. I can still do it now."
Feng Gui suggested: "Let's have hot pot. We haven't had hot pot for a long time." As soon as he finished speaking, Du Heng's eyes lit up: "Hot pot is fine! I have beef soup here. How about making a spicy beef hot pot?"
Jing Nan smiled and said, "That's fine." Jing Daxianer would be satisfied as long as he had vegetables cooked in bone broth.
Du Heng found his hot pot, and added spicy base to one side and stewed beef broth to the other. Making hot pot is the most convenient, as you can finish a few plates of hot pot in the time it takes to cook a meat dish.
Du Heng called Xuan Yu: "Xiao Yu, help me take out the prawns in the refrigerator. Xiao Xiao likes to eat prawns." Xuan Yu received the order: "Okay. Do you want to take out some squid and fish fillets?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "Okay, bring out whatever you have. I'll cut some fat beef rolls and slices of meat. Do you want some fat lamb?"
Jing Nan said, "No, if you put that in, the whole pot will taste bad." Du Heng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Soon, rows of red and white meat slices were placed on the table, including chicken wings, duck feet, fish fillets, beef rolls, and of course, the popular yellow throat, tripe, and duck intestines. Green leafy vegetables were scattered among the meat slices, including chrysanthemum, green vegetables, and cabbage, making the table colorful and beautiful.
The hot pot in the middle was red on one side and white on the other. After Du Heng added bone broth into the pot, the aroma of the bone broth and spicy base wafted out.
The charcoal fire at the bottom of the pot was burning slowly. Du Heng couldn't help but look outside the dining hall: "Why haven't Xiaoxiao and Taishuhong come yet?"
Feng Gui said: "He must have fallen asleep because he was tired from playing. Don't pay attention to him. Let's eat first."
Du Heng looked at Jiang Shangzhou again: "By the way, didn't you say you would bring the Grand Elder to dinner?" Jiang Shangzhou was looking forward to the table full of delicious food. He said perfunctorily: "Old Ye is in seclusion. He is stuck recently and can't come out for a while."
Du Heng nodded: "Oh." It seems that he can only wait until next time to express his gratitude in person.
Xiaoxiao and Taishuhong finally appeared at the entrance of the dining hall. Just as Fenggui said, Xiaoxiao fell asleep after playing so much. He was too embarrassed to come in after waking up just now. Du Heng waved at Xiaoxiao: "Come in quickly, you two are the only ones missing."
Xiaoxiao immediately flapped his little wings and flew over: "Swish, swish, swish~" With so many people here, even if the uncle wanted to beat him up, he would be a little cautious, right?
The hot pot was hot and spicy, which made Jiang Shangzhou and Tai Shuhong, who had never eaten it before, enjoy their food. The boiled ingredients were fresh and tender, and Du Heng couldn't help but eat too much.
After the hot pot meal was over, Du Heng looked at the sky. It was only the end of the Xu hour. If he washed up and lay down to rest at this time, Du Heng would definitely not be able to sleep.
After cleaning up the dining hall, Du Heng did not go to the backyard. He smiled and stretched out his hand to Xuan Yu: "Xiao Yu, do you want to go out for a walk?"
Xuan Yu smiled and held Du Heng's hand: "Well, okay."
Ordinary monks would use their spiritual energy to dissolve the food when they were full, but Du Heng would not do that. How could the food that was eaten with great effort be dissolved? How hard did they work to be eaten by people? We must not let their sacrifice go to waste!
Du Heng decided to walk around Shenxiu Peak to digest his food. As soon as he started walking, a group of small animals followed him. Xiaoxiao wonton glutinous rice cakes followed the two of them in a line. When Xuanyu and Du Heng walked through the entrance of the training ground, the monks waving swords at the entrance laughed like crazy: "Look at Junior Brother Du, they are so funny."
Du Heng smiled and waved to everyone: "Is there anything you want to eat? Tell me, I can prepare the ingredients in advance." The people waving swords said in unison: "Okay!" "We'll eat whatever you cook!"
Du Heng wrote down the ingredients the monks mentioned, some of which he had never heard of. But it didn't matter, he could figure it out after some trial and error.
The moon was bright tonight, and the moonlight was shining on the mountain road of Shenxiu Peak. The shadows of the grass on the roadside could be seen clearly. After walking for a while, Nianniansuisui and Ciba ran to the grass to catch mice. After a while, Xiaoxiao squatted on Wonton's back and went back to sleep.
Xuan Yu and Du Heng were the only ones left on the mountain path. It was a wonderful feeling. Even without saying anything, Du Heng felt warm in his heart.
He began to understand the feeling of Mr. and Mrs. Du going out for a walk after dinner every day. Being with the person you love, even if it's just walking, is a sweet thing.
In fact, life does not have so many storms. As long as you can do trivial things with the person you love, say simple words, and move forward together for the same goal, this is already a great happiness.
Du Heng narrowed his eyes and smiled foolishly: "Hehe."
Xuan Yu chuckled and asked, "What's wrong?"
Du Heng held Xuan Yu's hand and said, "I feel so happy."
Xuan Yu responded: "I am very happy too." After a while, Xuan Yu said: "Close your eyes."
Du Heng really closed his eyes, and he heard the rustling of Xuan Yu's clothes. After a few breaths, Xuan Yu said, "Okay, open your eyes."
Du Heng opened his eyes and saw Xuan Yu holding a jade box in his hand. Du Heng looked at the jade box in surprise: "What is this?"
Xuan Yu smiled and said, "Would you like to take a look at the things I got in Zhengyang City a few days ago?"
Du Heng opened the lid of the jade box and saw a palm-sized pink flower in it. The flower had sixteen petals, eight on the outside and eight on the inside, slightly smaller, and no stamens.
This was not the first time he had seen this kind of flower. He had seen such pink flowers fluttering down from the sky in the courtyard of a dining hall. When he wanted to touch the flower, it broke into countless rotating small flowers, and finally turned into a dissipated pink aura.
At that time, he was still thinking, if Xiaoyu could see such a flower, it would be great. Unexpectedly, he saw the same flower again now, and this time Du Heng did not dare to reach out to take the flower.
He held both sides of the jade box with both hands and asked in surprise: "What kind of flower is this?"
Xuan Yu smiled and said, "This is the heart flower."
Heart Flower? This name is clever and cute. Heart blossoms!
Xuan Yu said: "The wisdom tree has a happy heart flower. It is said that obtaining the heart flower can help people understand the way of heaven. The heart flower can reflect the heart of the cultivator. It is said that if there is someone you like in your heart, the other person will be able to feel your thoughts."
As he was speaking, a pink heart flower phantom rose from the jade box. Du Heng knew at a glance that this was the heart flower he saw in Shenxu Palace that day. He reached out and touched the phantom, and saw the flower shatter into countless swirling pink flowers.
On the mountain road under the moonlight, countless little flowers were entwined around Du Heng. Du Heng's eyes reflected these pink elves, and his happiness overflowed from his heart and flowed into his eyes and lips: "It looks good."
Xuan Yu placed the jade box in Du Heng's hand: "I thought the rumor was false before, but now it seems that it is not false. At least this flower really has a shadow."
Du Heng smiled and said, "Xiaoyu, when did you buy this flower?" Xuan Yu thought for a moment and said, "It should be the afternoon of the day you came to Shenxu Palace."
The time was right, and Du Heng had seen the strange phenomenon that afternoon. This little flower in his heart clearly reflected Xiaoyu's inner thoughts.
Du Heng's heart was filled with honey. There was someone in this world who loved him wholeheartedly. How wonderful!
Another pink heart flower appeared in the jade box, and this time it was spinning around Xuan Yu. Xuan Yu held Du Heng's hand, and the deep affection in his eyes could no longer be melted.
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