16
The next morning, Du Heng heard Xiao Xiao chirping in his ear. He opened his eyes and looked at the sky. It was a little foggy outside. He rubbed Xiao Xiao's head. Xiao Xiao urged Du Heng to make breakfast. Du Heng was already used to the little bird opening its mouth and shaking its wings at him. This was the standard way of asking for food from a big bird.
Du Heng stretched and got up. He saw a black suit on the low table at the head of the bed. He didn't know when Xuan Yu came in, but Du Heng didn't notice it at all.
After getting dressed and leaving the room, Du Heng found that there was a guest at home. It was an old man with a white goatee and silver hair, like a learned scholar. He was sitting on the floor with Xuan Yu, and there were several models of houses in front of them.
Seeing Du Heng go out, the old man looked up at Du Heng. Du Heng saw that the old man's eyes were golden, and Du Heng was stunned for a moment: "Good morning..." The old man quickly got up from the ground: "Hello, Mr. Du."
Du Heng was flattered. He quickly returned the gift and looked at Xuan Yu for help. What was going on? Xuan Yu called Du Heng: "This is Mr. Xia who is responsible for building the house for us. Come and see what kind of house you want to build."
Du Heng was stunned for a moment. Is Xuan Yu's execution so strong? Yesterday he said he wanted to rebuild the house, but today he sent someone to come?
Du Heng smiled at Old Xia: "Thank you for your help, Old Xia." It was freezing outside, and he still had to make an important trip for the old man. However, Xuan Yu's price must be quite high, otherwise Old Xia would not have shown up so early.
Mr. Xia bowed repeatedly: "Mr. Du, you are too polite. Mr. Du, please come and see. Mr. Xuan said that he would let you make the decision. Take a look at the kind of house you like. Once you decide, we can start construction." Du Heng looked at the building model on the ground, and he thought of the modern sand table. These models are more exquisite than the sand tables in modern sales offices, and each one is magnificent.
The houses that Old Xia showed out included a luxurious palace like Uncle Xiaoxiao's and a small courtyard like Doctor Jingnan's. Seeing Du Heng sitting down and looking at it seriously, Old Xia took out more models from his storage bag and placed them on the ground, big and small.
Du Heng fell in love with a two-story house at first sight. The house had a courtyard and from the outside, the black tiles and blue bricks looked very much like a small courtyard by the water in the south of the Yangtze River.
Xuan Yu said, "We'll build whatever you like." Du Heng smiled and said, "It's hard to manage a big house with just the two of us." He pointed to the house with blue bricks and black tiles and said, "Xuan Yu, look at this house, what do you think?"
Old Xia smiled and said, "Mr. Du has a good eye. This house and Doctor Jing's house were both designed by Fairy Jinghong from the demon world. This house has good lighting. Although there are not many rooms, the rooms are warm in winter and cool in summer after the formations are set up. And you can see the side room next to it, which can be used to store sundries. The formation can also be set up in the courtyard, which is very suitable for Mr. Xuan's deduction."
Xuan Yu said in a deep voice: "Du Heng, you just make the decision." Du Heng smiled and said: "Then this one?"
Old Xia said happily, "Okay, I heard from Mr. Xuan that Mr. Du entered Taoism through food. Can I turn this side room on the east side into a kitchen for you? There hasn't been a cultivator who entered Taoism through cooking in the demon world for thousands of years. I will definitely arrange it for you. What do you think?"
Du Heng was almost confused. Entering Taoism through cooking? What the hell? He was just a little cook who liked to tinker with food, but he was too embarrassed to tell Old Xia about his past. He nodded vaguely: "Okay, I'll do as you say."
He looked at the model carefully. The house had five rooms on the first floor. There were only three rooms upstairs, but there was a large terrace. Why did Du Heng like this house at first sight? Because among all the classical houses, this house was the most similar to a modern Chinese villa.
As Elder Xia spoke, the layout of the room slowly changed under his eyes. Du Heng couldn't take his eyes off the methods of the cultivation world, and soon an antique little building took shape in front of Du Heng.
Du Heng asked: "Old Xia, if we start construction, how long will it take to complete?" Old Xia said: "Three hours." Du Heng: !!!
Seeing Du Heng's shocked face, Old Xia was afraid that Du Heng might misunderstand him, so he quickly explained: "Don't worry, Mr. Du, I have been building various palaces in the demon world for more than 3,000 years. Although the house you want is simple, it needs to be equipped with formation talismans. Three hours is still needed. If it is faster, it is inevitable that there will be omissions."
Du Heng: No, that’s not the case. A house that takes three hours to build with building blocks?
Du Heng didn't know the steps of building a house in the demon world. He stood up and saluted: "Then I'll trouble you, Elder Xia." Elder Xia was flattered: "Of course I will."
As they were talking, Jing Nan walked in: "Have you chosen?" Old Xia's waist was almost bent to the ground. He bowed deeply and said, "Doctor Jing!"
Du Heng smiled and greeted Jing Nan: "Good morning, Doctor Jing, what do you think of this house?" Jing Nan was delighted when he saw it. He gave Du Heng a thumbs up: "You have good taste!"
Old Xia's face was almost smiling like a chrysanthemum: "I just told Mr. Du that this house and your house were both designed by Fairy Jinghong. Both the shape and the charm are excellent." Jing Nan nodded: "Except that Jinghong's vision for men is a little poor, the house she built is quite good. Anyway, I live very comfortably, especially this big window. The view is particularly good after installing transparent glass."
Du Heng said happily: "Old Xia said it will only take three hours to finish." Jing Nan nodded: "Yes, it will take three hours. This house looks simple, but there are many formations inside. If it takes less than three hours, it will not be safe to live in. By the way, Old Xia, you should add a killing formation for them. If anyone is blind and comes here, he will never come back."
Du Heng: ...Things have gone beyond his expectations, and he doesn't know what to say except laughing.
Xuan Yu said: "If it has been decided, we can start construction now." Du Heng hesitated: "Build it here?" Xuan Yu said: "Yes, right here."
Old Xia said to Du Heng, "Don't worry, Mr. Du, your house is in our hands."
Du Heng had seen how modern people build houses. They laid bricks on the foundation, and erected beams. If they didn't spend several months on the construction, the house would never be finished. During this period, they would have to ask for help from other families. Under the watchful eyes of the whole village, the house would be built little by little.
Du Heng watched Xia Lao and Xuan Yu from afar while he was sitting on his simple stove. He stacked the dough neatly and cut it into trapezoidal pieces the size of a palm. When he saw the house he and Xuan Yu lived in turned to ashes in an instant, he couldn't help but sigh: "Wow——"
Jing Nan, who was beside him, also exclaimed, but he wasn't impressed by the house. He pointed at the stuffing in the wooden basin and asked, "What is this?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "I saw some pumpkin vines here, so I pulled some of them and made stuffing." He wanted to make wontons. Wontons in his hometown are pronounced similar to "steady" and are shaped like ingots, which is a very auspicious food. Du Heng's hometown has a tradition of eating wontons on the summer solstice.
He loved the pumpkin wontons his mother made the most. They were fresh and delicious, and he could eat two bowls every time. Unfortunately, he only had Brahma chicken meat, and after a while, there was not much chicken left.
Du Heng shaved the chicken this morning, and now only the chicken bones and the chicken head are left. The rest of the meat has become the wonton filling.
Jing Nan said with his hands in his pockets, "I know pumpkins. There are a lot of them in the fields. There will be pumpkins to eat in autumn, but I don't like pumpkins very much. I never knew that the vines can be eaten? Aren't they hairy?" Du Heng smiled and said, "Just tear off the hairy layer on the top, then rinse it with water, chop it into pieces, and remove the excess water before you can make stuffing."
It's easy to say, but it's not easy to do. Fortunately, Du Heng discovered the correct way to use spiritual energy. He found that as long as he controlled the spiritual energy properly, whether it was processing pumpkin vines or chopping meat, he would get twice the result with half the effort. He just regretted that his spiritual energy was insufficient. If his cultivation was higher, he might be able to go faster.
Du Heng's gaze drifted to Old Xia and the others who were building a house. Jing Nan became anxious: "What's so interesting about building a house? Besides, Xuan Yu is over there. You should focus on making wontons." Making wontons is more interesting than building a house. At least Jing Nan and Xiao Xiao both thought so. Du Heng had no choice but to concentrate on making wontons.
There was chicken bone soup in the pot, which would be used to cook wontons later. Du Heng moved quickly, and soon there were large white wontons with round bellies on the chopping board.
When the chicken bone soup in the pot turned white, he took out the chicken bones and placed them in a basin on the side. Jing Nan looked at the chicken head and asked, "Is this Brahma Chicken?" Du Heng smiled awkwardly, "Yeah." Yan Buhui's Brahma Chicken has supported him to where he is now. Although he feels a little sorry for it, Du Heng still has to say one thing - it smells really good.
Only fine salt was added to the chicken soup, and the delicious aroma could be smelled as soon as the lid was opened. Xiaoxiao jumped onto the stove, and Jingnan hugged Xiaoxiao: "Don't move, look how dirty your feet are, how can others eat them if they are in the pot?" Xiaoxiao's feet suddenly lit up, and he raised his yellow paws to Jingnan: "Chirp!"
Du Heng put the wontons into the pot. He prepared a lot of stuffing but not too much dough. He estimated Xuan Yu and Jing Nan's appetite and added some for Old Xia. Anyway, he knew there would be no leftovers. With Xiao Xiao here, there would be no leftovers.
The plump wontons floated up in the pot, like big-bellied goldfish. Du Heng smiled anxiously and said, "We have to wait a little longer, just three to five minutes."
Jing Nan turned to look at Du Heng: "Three minutes...how long is it?" Du Heng didn't react for a moment: "Huh?" He didn't realize that after he came to the Taixu Realm, the time units and measurement units he used had always been modern units.
Du Heng searched the original owner's mind: "One... half of a cup of tea?" Jing Nan thought for a moment: "That's interesting." Du Heng smiled and explained: "There is a place in this world that uses 24 hours instead of 12 hours to keep time. There are 60 minutes in each hour, and 60 seconds in each minute. How long is a second? One tick is a second..."
Jing Nan smiled and said, "I've never heard of that." Du Heng covered his face and said, "Forget it, don't worry about it." The wontons were cooked, so Du Heng picked up the colander and said, "Let's eat!"
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