166
Du Heng felt like he was dying of thirst. In the burning flames, he was like a bamboo trapped in bamboo shoots. He felt so uncomfortable that he just wanted to cry. Even if he was immersed in warm spring water, he still felt anxious. He hugged Xuan Yu tightly. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He could only helplessly call out Xuan Yu's name.
His mind was in a mess, and Jing Nan's voice appeared after a while: "What is your identity to stand beside Xuan Yu? Xuan Yu has no shortage of friends and relatives."
After a while, Xuan Yu's face appeared. Xuan Yu's face was vague, sometimes close as if it was next to him, and sometimes far away as if it was on the horizon.
Xuan Yu's voice was as gentle as ever. He asked himself, "Du Heng, do you like me? I'm not talking about the like I like Xiao Xiao, but the like between Taoist partners. I like you, do you like me?"
Du Heng said dazedly: "Yes. I like Xuan Yu."
After saying this, the anger in Du Heng's heart finally emerged from the ground.
Du Heng suddenly understood. It turned out that he liked Xuan Yu! He felt jealous when he saw Xuan Yu and Wen Qiong standing together before. It turned out that it was because of this reason!
It wasn't just the kind of liking someone as a friend, but the kind of liking that wanted to be with him, wanted to be close to him. It turned out that what he expected was to have a close relationship with Xuan Yu, and to have skin-to-skin contact with him!
Xuan Yu had been lurking around Du Heng from the beginning and had won his heart little by little, but Du Heng had always been confused. He had always thought that he liked girls with round faces and big eyes like Wen Qiong, but he didn't know when Xuan Yu had started to appear in his heart.
He no longer had any romantic feelings for Wen Qiong, but Xuan Yu had taken root in his heart. He became the bamboo shoot in Du Heng's heart. He gave the bamboo shoot too much love and warmth. When the conditions were right, the bamboo shoot broke out of the shell and occupied his heart at a speed that Du Heng could not imagine.
Du Heng was like a small boat and Xuan Yu was the water that carried him. He was thrown high up by Xuan Yu and then dropped heavily.
The intimacy and passion in the dream really happened, and Du Heng cried and endured it. He felt that he was torn apart by Xuan Yu and then put together again.
Xuan Yu's voice echoed in his ears, gentle and affectionate; Xuan Yu's body embraced him, hot and lingering; Xuan Yu's spiritual energy poured into Du Heng's sea of consciousness and dantian, vast and gentle.
Du Heng didn't know when he fainted. He only knew that when he woke up, he was lying in Xuan Yu's arms in an awkward position. He was a little confused and felt like he was dreaming. Seeing Du Heng wake up, Xuan Yu gently kissed his forehead: "Does it hurt?"
It hurts, it hurts like the whole body is falling apart, Du Heng feels like his body is no longer his own. But this pain is very different from the pain of being whipped by Pei Zhu, how to describe this feeling?
He blinked: "Hmm..."
Xuan Yu stood up and took out a small jade bottle from the bedside table: "Shall I give you some more medicine?"
Du Heng silently pulled the quilt to cover his head, and Xuan Yu quickly pulled back the quilt: "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Du Heng didn't know how to face Xuan Yu: "Xuan Yu...you and I..."
Xuan Yu laughed out loud: "It's really not easy to wait for you to say that you like me. Do you know how long I have been fond of you?"
Du Heng popped his head out from under the quilt like a mushroom: "How long?"
Xuan Yu opened the bottle cap, and a fresh fragrance overflowed from the bottle: "I fell in love with you at first sight." Xuan Yu dipped a little oil in the bottle between his slender fingers. He lay down beside Du Heng and gently put his arms around Du Heng's waist.
Du Heng wanted to struggle, but Xuan Yu hugged him forcefully and gently. He kept moving, but his words were extremely gentle: "I liked you very much when I saw you for the first time at the foot of Dongji Mountain. So I brought you to the village under the name of Xiaoxiao. In order to make you look at me more, I tried every means to keep you by my side."
Du Heng frowned slightly, Xuan Yu kissed his forehead: "Don't be afraid, it's just applying medicine."
Du Heng felt sweet and anxious: "Why is it me?"
Xuan Yu is such a good person. After Du Heng had feelings for Xuan Yu, he was always afraid that he would drag him down. He also thought that if he really got together with Xuan Yu, it would be very unfair to Xuan Yu.
Xuan Yu hugged Du Heng tenderly and kissed him affectionately: "Because your appearance is the result of my thousands of years of prayers to God. So no matter what you think of me, no matter if you think I am mean or shameless, I just want to stay by your side in this life and never let go."
Du Heng wanted to cry. Smelling the fragrance on Xuan Yu's body, it seemed like fireworks were blooming in his mind.
Xuan Yu kissed the corners of his eyes and eyebrows: "Don't cry, don't cry, I will be sad. I'm sorry, I was too hasty. I originally wanted to give you more time, so that you can slowly accept me..."
Du Heng rested his forehead against Xuan Yu's chest: "Xuan Yu, I'm very happy, but also very uneasy. I'm happy that you like me, but I'm uneasy because I feel like I know too little about you."
It was too sudden. Du Heng had just realized that he liked Xuan Yu, and the two of them broke through that level of relationship. Although Du Heng came from the modern era, his thinking was still very traditional. He believed that he had to take responsibility after having a relationship.
Xuan Yu hugged Du Heng and said slowly, "I will tell you whatever you want to know. From now on, I will not hide anything from you. You have to believe me."
Xuan Yu lowered his head and touched his forehead to Du Heng's. Du Heng felt a gentle spiritual energy flowing into his sea of consciousness. Xuan Yu's voice echoed in his mind: "I know you have always wanted to know my demon form. I'm sorry, I don't have feathers and fur like Feng Gui and Jing Nan."
Xuan Yu's voice was full of apology: "I... have a little bristle on my neck, and it doesn't grow very well. Do you want to see it?"
Du Heng held Xuan Yu's face with both hands, and a feeling of happiness surged uncontrollably from the bottom of his heart: "No matter what your demon form is, I will like it."
Because it was Xuan Yu, Du Heng could tolerate it even if his demon form was a caterpillar. A demon form with long mane, could it be that Xuan Yu's demon form was a horse? Wait, are there horses that live in the sea? Seahorses?
There is a formation in Xuan Yu's room. Jing Nan transformed into a monster in the room before and failed to break the house. Naturally, Xuan Yu would not be able to break the room if he transformed into a monster.
A green light flashed in the room, and a wall appeared in front of Du Heng. Green scales appeared in front of him, large pieces of scales flashed with light and slid quickly, so gorgeous that people couldn't take their eyes away. Upon closer inspection, it was not a wall, but Xuan Yu's body.
Du Heng was sitting on the bed. He looked up blankly at the scene in front of him, not knowing what to say.
Just now he thought that no matter what form Xuan Yu took, he would not be surprised. But when he saw Xuan Yu's true form, he was still stunned.
The Xuan Yu in front of him had deer horns, cow ears, shrimp whiskers, and two big round eyes. His claws were like sharp eagle claws, and his body was covered with green scales. His body was round and long, and he even had a pair of white wings on his back!
He is a dragon!! Xuan Yu is a dragon!!
Du Heng never dreamed that the legendary creature would appear in front of him like this. His mind went blank.
Xuan Yu's body was so huge that his tail lifted the bed and brought Du Heng to the same height as his eyes. Du Heng felt like he was on the top of a mountain, with Xuan Yu everywhere he looked.
Xuan Yu stared at Du Heng with gentle eyes. He lowered his head shyly to show the white-gold mane on his neck: "It's... just this little bit of hair. After knowing that you like hair, I recently asked Jing Nan for a recipe, but it only grew this little bit."
Xuan Yu is mighty and domineering when he doesn't speak, but as soon as he speaks, Du Heng knows that he is still the gentle and considerate Xuan Yu.
Hearing Xuan Yu's words, Du Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's good, especially domineering. It suits you very well!" Du Heng couldn't help but want to coax Xuan Yu. Looking at Xuan Yu's neck approaching, Du Heng struggled to stand up and touched Xuan Yu's mane.
Xuan Yu's mane was not soft and felt a little hard, but Du Heng felt that it was the smoothest hair he had ever touched: "How beautiful, so thick and gorgeous."
Xuan Yu’s body was too big, and his so-called mane seemed bigger than the bed to Du Heng.
Xuan Yu was delighted. He stretched out his wings in front of Du Heng and said, "I... have the bloodline of Yinglong, so I have a pair of wings. However, the feathers on my wings are not as thick as Fenggui's."
Xuan Yu's wings are pure white, and his feathers are arranged neatly and layered like scales, which looks particularly beautiful.
Du Heng reached out and touched Xuan Yu's wings. He was used to Xiao Xiao's down, so Xuan Yu's wings were not soft. But his wings were much more domineering than Xiao Xiao's fledged wings.
Du Heng put his face on Xuan Yu's wings and said, "It's great. My Xuan Yu is so good. He has mane, feathers and scales. You have everything that Jing Nan and Feng Gui have."
After hearing Xuan Yu say this, Du Heng finally understood why Xuan Yu had been hiding his demon form tightly. Because not long after he arrived in the village, Jing Nan asked him if he liked the Feather Tribe, and he admitted it without hesitation, and also criticized the scaly Snake Tribe. Although dragons are different from snakes, they also have scales.
His unintentional words at that time made Xuan Yu so concerned. He actually applied medicine silently to grow his mane, and might also be secretly combing his wings in order to make his wings grow like Feng Gui's.
He accidentally gave Xuan Yu such a big problem. Du Heng blamed himself but was also deeply moved.
"There actually are such silly dragons like you in the world. Don't make things difficult for yourself in the future." Du Heng put his face against the feathers. He never thought that after he traveled to the unfamiliar world of cultivation, there would be such a silly dragon that would treat him wholeheartedly.
Because of Xuan Yu, he has a home in the world of cultivation. He is no longer lonely and no longer wandering.
Xuan Yu turned into a human form, and the wings on his back became much smaller, looking like an angel on TV. But the angels on TV would not kiss Du Heng, nor would they hug him. Du Heng lay in Xuan Yu's arms and looked at his face: "That's great."
If this was a dream, he would rather never wake up.
Du Heng had a lot to say to Xuan Yu, but he was too tired and sleepy. He didn't remember when he fell asleep, he only knew that when he woke up again, Xiao Xiao was squatting beside him.
Xiaoxiao's eyes were filled with worry: "Jiujiu?"
Du Heng reached out and touched Xiaoxiao: "Good morning." Xiaoxiao rubbed Du Heng. It was already late, it was already noon, but Du Heng looked very tired and his complexion was not very good.
It rained outside today, and the sound of raindrops hitting the windowsill made Du Heng, who had just woken up, feel a little groggy again. Xiaoxiao was not noisy, and he bent down beside Du Heng to comb his hair.
Xiaoxiao's movements were very gentle, and she occasionally pulled Du Heng's hair, but Du Heng didn't feel much pain.
Du Heng stretched and said, "Are you hungry? I'll make breakfast for you." Xiaoxiao shook his head and pressed on Du Heng's chest to prevent him from getting up.
Du Heng held Xiaoxiao in confusion: "Hey? What happened today?"
Jing Nan opened the door: "Xiao Xiao said that you are sick and asked you to have a good rest."
After Jing Nan entered the room, he looked Du Heng up and down: "Oh, the battle is fierce, Xiaoyu is a real man."
Du Heng's face flushed: "Jingnan you!"
Jing Nan spread his hands and said, "It's not a big deal. It's just that we did things that fellow Taoists do. It's nothing. The first time is unfamiliar. The second time is familiar. Oh, why are you shy? But our Xiaoyu is such a jerk. She knew it was your first time but she didn't take it easy. She couldn't even get out of bed. We didn't even have lunch..."
Du Heng gnashed his teeth, feeling ashamed and angry: "Jing Nan!!"
Jing Nan, who was called out, took out a spiced braised goose egg from his sleeve and cracked the shell. "These days, once things get going, people forget about me as the matchmaker. If I hadn't given you a push, how long would you have continued your ambiguous relationship? Tsk, you're so shy. Even if you're not tired, I'm tired just looking at you."
Du Heng covered his face with the quilt: "Get out, get out!"
Jing Nan shrugged and floated away: "Poor me, a helpless little fox. No one loves me and no one makes lunch for me. Oh... I have it so hard."
The room was filled with the smell of spiced braised goose eggs. Du Heng curled up in his quilt and felt too embarrassed to face anyone, at least he was too embarrassed to see Xiaoxiao.
The cute Xiaoxiao rubbed Du Heng's face, and he chirped twice considerately. It's okay, Du Heng should rest more if he is not feeling well, and he can eat the snacks in the storage bag.
167
Du Heng still got up. He had promised Xuan Yu yesterday that he would make vinegar-braised lotus stems and stir-fried snails for Xuan Yu today.
It was not until Du Heng left the bedroom that he realized that he had slept downstairs last night.
He saw Xuan Yu feeding the goslings in the yard. A formation was added around the wooden frame, so the rain could not reach the wooden frame. The goslings' food bowl was filled with finely chopped lettuce leaves and steamed spiritual rice, and the goslings were quacking around the food bowl.
Du Heng leaned against the corridor and looked at the scene, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
This is a dragon, but he does trivial and complicated things for himself. He can fly in the sky, but he works hard without complaint. Such a good person was unexpectedly found by Du Heng. He must have saved the world in his previous life to get such a good thing.
Xuan Yu turned around and smiled, "Why are you up? Lie down for a while. I'm going to make some porridge. Do you want to eat anything? I'll make it for you."
Du Heng was very moved, his heart was filled with Xuan Yu's love. Although Xuan Yu had said such words before, it sounded different today. In the past, his words were respectful and polite, but today's words were full of consideration and care.
Before Du Heng could say anything, Jing Nan said sourly, "Come on, come on, do you think my elixir was made in vain? Look at him, he's so lively, how can he be so delicate?"
Du Heng turned around and saw Jing Nan sitting on a chair in the living room cracking a spiced braised egg. Xiao Xiao circled around Jing Nan's legs, hoping that Jing Nan would give him a bite of the goose.
All the beauty and happiness were interrupted by Jing Nan, who sat in their living room like a giant light bulb. The light bulb emitted light and heat while complaining, "If I hadn't come, you two would have been so lazy for who knows how long. Didn't you promise to make me sweet duck?"
Du Heng had a question mark hanging over his head: "Not Jingnan, when did I say I would make sweet-skinned duck for you?"
Could Jing Nan be a mind reader or had he eaten this dish somewhere else? Du Heng hadn't even thought of this dish, but Jing Nan actually named it?
Jing Nan snorted, "Didn't you say that? The braised duck has a sweet skin." Du Heng's mouth twitched, "You remembered it wrong, it was braised duck. But you know what, there really is such a dish as sweet-skinned duck."
Jing Nan's eyes lit up: "Really? Then hurry up! Are there no more ducks? I'll go to Nanshan to catch some."
Du Heng said calmly, "I'm not very good at cooking. And we already have food for lunch today. We'll have stir-fried snails and lotus stems with vinegar."
Jing Nan's face was full of accusations: "Where's the meat?" Du Heng said: "Don't we still have the Zhuyan pork elbow soup from yesterday? Just add some lettuce to it and it will be fine."
Jing Nan snorted angrily: "You will lose me. You will regret it if you treat me so perfunctorily."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jing Nan lost the egg he had just peeled because of his carelessness. Xiaoxiao took his spiced egg and ran away. Jing Nan felt hopeless.
Du Heng laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. He said cheerfully, "We'll have bacon and vegetable rice for lunch. It's delicious. How about making up for your loss?"
There were dishes that they had never eaten before! Jing Nan and Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up immediately!
Du Heng took out the bacon from the refrigerator, and he also took out two pieces of sausage. This kind of sausage was specially made for Jing Nan, a little salty and a little sweet, not spicy at all. Jing Nan didn't like the taste after eating it once, so Du Heng put it in the refrigerator and didn't take it out until today when he made bacon and vegetable rice.
Du Heng washed the bacon and sausages, cut them into finger-sized dices, and soaked them in warm water to remove excess salt. Then he walked out of the house in the drizzling spring rain and turned to his spiritual field.
Wen Qiong was practicing in the spiritual field. She was suspended in the air above the spiritual field. The spiritual energy around her enveloped her like an eggshell. The gentle spring rain hit the spiritual energy, but not even a hair on her head got wet.
Du Heng said hello and walked to the spiritual field. The crops he planted were soaked in the spring rain, and the green was particularly pleasing to the eye. Du Heng twisted five lettuces, and he also pulled out two garlic cloves, pinched a handful of green onions, and twisted a few small peppers.
His vegetables are growing well and there are many varieties. When the weather gets better he will be able to make kimchi.
Just as Du Heng stepped onto the spiritual field, Wen Qiong suddenly spoke: "Du Heng, you have advanced."
Du Heng was confused. What? When did he advance?
Wen Qiong opened her eyes and stood in front of Du Heng. Wen Qiong was dressed in purple today, like a purple cabbage. But Wen Qiong looked a little bit difficult to mess with. Du Heng shrank back, not knowing how he had offended this lady.
Wen Qiong stretched out her hand and tapped Du Heng's Dantian, then moved from Dantian to the sea of consciousness between the eyebrows. She said seriously: "Here and here, there are big changes. Didn't you notice?"
Du Heng's consciousness turned to his body, and he was shocked. His Dantian expanded dozens of times. Before, his spiritual energy just sank a little, but now his consciousness was like standing on a vast ocean. At some point, the spiritual energy in his body condensed into liquid!
When his consciousness turned to his purple palace, the shell on the bamboo that had been supporting the shell had disappeared, and what appeared in his mind was a graceful green bamboo. Although it didn't look very tall now, it had already covered most of his purple palace, looking particularly domineering.
Wen Qiong frowned slightly, "Du Heng, I don't object to you finding a Taoist partner. It is a blessing to find a like-minded person to join hands with on the road of seeking the Tao. There are many cultivators in this world who want to find a cultivator with a much higher cultivation level than themselves as a Taoist partner, so that they can further improve their cultivation after dual cultivation. Dual cultivation with unequal strength brings too many benefits to low-level cultivators, and there are too many people in the world who want to take shortcuts and gain without working."
Du Heng stood there, not daring to speak. To be honest, he had no recollection of how the pleasure he had with Xuan Yu yesterday began and ended. As for the changes in his body...if Wen Qiong hadn't reminded him, he really wouldn't have noticed.
It is really amazing for a monk to achieve what he has done.
Wen Qiong looked helpless when she saw Du Heng's expression: "I know this is not your intention. I guess you are still confused and don't know what happened."
Du Heng nodded hurriedly: "Master, please understand. I am indeed a little dizzy."
Wen Qiong was both angry and amused: "You, sometimes I think you are extremely smart, and sometimes I think you are so stupid that I worry. Du Heng, your master has always told you that there is no shortcut to practice. Only when you have figured it out and fully understood it, it will belong to you.
"You passed through the early and middle stages of foundation building and reached the final stage overnight, and you are only a step away from forming a pill. In one night, you have achieved the hard work of many foundation building cultivators for more than ten years, dozens of years, or even hundreds of years. Your efforts will not deceive people. Although you are now at the final stage of foundation building, your cultivation is given to you by others, not by your hard work. Once you fight, you will find the gap between you and others.
"I shouldn't have discouraged you at this time, but you are making progress too fast, and I am afraid that you will start to despise your practice. Practice is not easy, so don't lose the big picture because of small things."
Du Heng put down the lettuce and bowed to Wen Qiong: "Disciple will remember this, Master, please rest assured."
Wen Qiong patted Du Heng's shoulder and smiled with two dimples: "Just remember it. Master wants to congratulate you on finding a Taoist partner like Master Xuan. You must be happy in the future!"
Du Heng looked at Wen Qiong's face. Wen Qiong was smiling, but Du Heng wanted to cry. He thought that he was really lucky. After coming to the demon world, he had Xuan Yu who loved him, Jing Nan and Feng Gui who always thought about him, and he could also get guidance from a strict and gentle master like Wen Qiong.
They kept him from being lost when he was confused, helped him solve his problems when he was in pain, sheltered him from the wind and rain when he was helpless, and worried about everything for him when he hadn't considered it... Even for them, Du Heng would practice hard and not slack off.
Du Heng's eyes were slightly red: "Disciple will remember this."
Wen Qiong bent down, picked up two lettuces and walked towards Xuan Yu's yard: "What delicious food are we going to make for lunch? Oh, yes, the milk tea you made last time was delicious. Can you make a pot of it this afternoon? I really want to drink it."
Du Heng followed Wen Qiong's footsteps: "Okay, okay, Master, if you want anything else to eat, tell me and I'll make it for you."
168
Wen Qiong and Jing Nan sat under the eaves of the corridor, using their spiritual energy to cut off the tail of the snail. There is a trick to cutting snails, you have to start cutting from the second section of the spiral tail. If the cut is too big or too small, it will be difficult to suck out the meat inside. Of course, if the meat is overcooked, it will be even more difficult to suck out.
Wen Qiong held the small snail in her hand. She stared at the black cover on the mouth of the snail: "Ah... How troublesome. Can this thing really be eaten?"
Du Heng was preparing the ingredients for cooking. He picked the tenderest lettuce leaves, washed them, and was now cutting them into small pieces. When Wen Qiong asked him this, he replied, "Of course you can eat it. Master, try the most original way of eating it first. If you find it troublesome, next time I will boil the snails first, and then pick out the snail meat and stir-fry it with chives."
Jing Nan angrily dropped the snails in his hand: "That's too much, you let me do the work, but you don't make fresh dishes for me!"
Du Heng looked at Jing Nan and said, "Sweet-skinned duck... aren't you going to eat it?"
Jing Nan fished out another snail from the water and said resignedly, "Eat..."
Du Heng put the washed pure rice in the rice pot, and then added 30% less water than usual. He lit a fire in another pot, poured soybean oil into the pot and pushed in shredded ginger.
When making bacon and vegetable rice, Du Heng likes to use lettuce leaves. Lettuce leaves have a fragrance, and Du Heng thinks they taste better than green vegetables. In fact, the main reason is that the green vegetables he planted are not yet edible, and he is too lazy to accelerate the growth of the green vegetables. Just like Wen Qiong warned him, haste makes waste.
The vegetables in the vegetable garden are soulless if they are not nourished by the sun and rain, just like the spiritual energy in Du Heng's dantian that has condensed into liquid. When Du Heng uses it, he always feels that the spiritual energy is not his.
After the oil in the pot was heated, he pushed the soaked bacon and sausage into the pot. The bacon and sausage should be fried first to bring out the fat and aroma, so that the rice will be oily and delicious.
After stir-frying for a while, Du Heng poured the lettuce leaves into the pot and stir-fried them together. He sprinkled a spoonful of salt in the pot to slightly adjust the taste. When he put down the salt jar, he thought of the mushroom essence he had successfully made yesterday.
The mushrooms were roasted, crushed and seasoned, and now they were a yellowish powder in the jar. Du Heng sprinkled a spoonful of it into the pot. He wanted to try the taste of the mushroom essence and see if the dish would be more delicious with the mushroom essence.
Xiaoxiao was a little confused. He squatted on the stove and asked Du Heng. Xuan Yu translated: "Xiaoxiao asked you, isn't there already salt in the bacon? Why do you need to add salt?"
Du Heng then realized that Xiaoxiao had already started thinking about his cooking steps while squatting and watching him cook. He smiled and said, "Indeed, bacon and sausages are salty. If I hadn't soaked them just now, I might not have needed to add salt. It's just that I soaked them just now, so I need to add a little salt to season them."
Du Heng explained: "If you cook bacon without soaking it, it's hard to control the saltiness. After soaking, it will be a little saltier than fresh meat, but not too much, so just a little bit is enough."
After Du Heng finished explaining, he saw Xiaoxiao's bright eyes and touched his head happily.
After the lettuce leaves in the pot softened, Du Heng transferred the stir-fried vegetables and meat, along with the soup, onto the spiritual rice. He flipped it with a spatula and covered the pot, and then he could cook the salted meat and vegetable rice in the normal way.
When people in my hometown make salted meat and vegetable rice, they like to put the vegetables in when the rice is almost cooked. In this way, the vegetables in the rice are green and look very beautiful. However, Du Heng prefers to put the vegetables in at the beginning. Although the vegetables turn yellow when cooked, the rice is very delicious. The vegetables are well-seasoned, and the rice also fully absorbs the flavor of the vegetables and meat, making it taste particularly delicious.
There are many choices of vegetables in risotto. Some people also add green peas or use fresh lentils. The taste of bacon risotto made by each family is different, but without exception, it is the most suitable for their own taste.
While cooking, Du Heng cut the lotus stems he had taken yesterday into oblique pieces. The lotus stems were crisp and tender, and were made into hot and sour pickled lotus stems, which were especially suitable for summer, but Jing Nan didn't like spicy food. Du Heng planned to change it into a sweet and sour vinegar-fried lotus stems.
A few days later, before he makes kimchi, he can go to Nanshan to get some lotus roots to soak in the kimchi jar. When Fenggui sends someone to pick up the vegetables, he can eat sour and spicy kimchi.
After the oil in the pot was heated, Du Heng threw the shredded ginger and crushed garlic into the pot. While waiting for the ginger and garlic to fry, Du Heng picked up the plate. The lotus stems cut diagonally on the plate were white and tender and looked particularly cute. Du Heng couldn't help but pinch one and put it in his mouth to chew.
Mm! Tender! The lotus stems are more tender than the lotus slices, worthy of being the lotus roots of childhood.
Du Heng not only ate it himself, but also fed Xuan Yu who happened to be beside him. Xuan Yu was stuffed with a mouthful of cold food. After chewing it, he gave his evaluation: "It's very crispy and a little sweet."
Xiaoxiao refused, he wanted to try it too! He flapped his wings and opened his mouth to beg for food, Du Heng naturally couldn't forget him. Xiaoxiao chewed the lotus stems, he decided that next time he went to Nanshan, he would help Du Heng get the lotus stems!
The ginger and garlic were already fully sautéed, and Du Heng poured the lotus stems from the plate into the pot. With a crackling sound, Du Heng quickly stir-fried the lotus stems in the pot. The lotus stems were too tender and did not need to be stir-fried for a long time.
Du Heng had already prepared the seasoning for the sweet and sour lotus stems. There was half a bowl of seasoning in the small bowl. These seasonings were the result of the combined effect of sweet, sour, salt and soy sauce. To make sweet and sour lotus stems, the ratio of sugar to vinegar should be large. If you add one spoon of salt, you should add two spoons of sugar. If you add three spoons of soy sauce, you should add five spoons of vinegar. Only in this way can the seasoning be sour and sweet!
The seasonings had already been evenly blended together by Du Heng, and now he just had to pour them into the pot along the edge of the pot.
As soon as the seasoning was added to the pot, the white lotus stems were stained with sauce color. Jing Nan and the others immediately smelled the sweet and sour taste. Jing Nan sniffed: "Hmm! I like this taste!"
Du Heng was busy thickening the sauce. He smiled and said, "You said you liked it before I even cooked it? What if it doesn't suit your taste?"
Jing Nan said affirmatively: "I like the pickled vegetables you made. This tastes very similar to pickled vegetables. There is no doubt about it."
Du Heng sprinkled the thickened sauce into the pot, shoveled it a few times and sprinkled on chopped green onions, and a plate of sweet and sour lotus stems was ready. The whole process took less than half a cup of tea, and the lotus stems remained crisp and tender while being coated with a thin layer of thickening seasoning. Putting it on the dining table, the sweet and sour taste tempted Jing Nan to sit still.
Fortunately, Jing Nan and Wen Qiong had cleaned the snails, so they could sit at the table and taste the tender lotus stems. There were many holes in the lotus stems, which were filled with soup. A bite of it was sour and sweet and appetizing, just as good as eating meat.
Xuan Yu picked up a piece of it with chopsticks and fed it to Du Heng: "Try it. If you like it, I will go to Nanshan to pick more in a few days."
Du Heng smiled as he bit the stem of lotus root: "I was thinking the same thing, pick more to make pickled lotus root stems. By the way, do you have a pickle jar at home? A clay jar would be best."
Xuan Yu thought for a moment and said, "No, how about we go to Lingxi Town when we have time? If we can't find it, we can ask the people at Zhenbaofang to customize it."
Du Heng hadn't been to Lingxi Town for a long time. Hearing this, he nodded: "Okay."
He and Xuan Yu really have a tacit understanding. Whatever he wanted to do before, Xuan Yu would do it for him in advance. Du Heng always thought that Xuan Yu was considerate and caring. But now he thinks that this may be a tacit understanding that is born with him!
The cleaned snails have given up struggling, and they stay quietly in the colander. Their shells are cleaned, and the moss growing on them is washed away, leaving only the green shell. Such snails are the fattest and most suitable for stir-frying!
It was still the same old routine, the onion, ginger, garlic and chili rings were first put into the pan and stir-fried until fragrant. This time, when green smoke came out of the pan, Du Heng put the snails into the pan.
The snail shells were hard, and the sound of them hitting the iron pan was crisp, and there was a crackling sound when they were stir-fried. Du Heng arrogantly called two spoonfuls of white wine along the edge of the pot, and the hot iron pot immediately burst into flames when it touched the white wine.
In the flames, Du Heng calmly poured soy sauce, salt and sugar into the wine. When the alcohol in the white wine was burned out, Du Heng stir-fried the snails and seasonings until they were blended together.
The snails couldn't stand the high temperature and fell down one by one, leaving many brown snail shells on the spatula. A smell of braised sauce wafted out of the pot. Du Heng poured a small half spoonful of water and covered the pot. When the pot boiled again, he could sprinkle mushroom essence on it and serve.
Since the mushroom essence came into being, Du Heng felt that his boldness in sprinkling MSG had returned! Although it was the first time he had eaten it after making it.
It doesn't take too long to stir-fry the snails. The whole process can be completed within a cup of tea. When the water in the pot boiled, Du Heng put the snails in a large bowl. The snails were dripping with juice and the meat was exposed, which made Jing Nan and others who had never eaten snails helpless.
Du Heng demonstrated by picking up a snail with chopsticks, blowing on it, and then sucking hard at the head of the snail. With a "squeak" sound, the snail meat popped out of the lid. Du Heng is a very picky person. When he eats snails, he only eats the meat at the head of the snail, and he doesn't eat the intestines below.
With a slight clench of his teeth, Du Heng took out the most delicious snail meat. He put down the shell, and only half of the snail intestine was left in the shell.
The snail meat in his mouth was tender and fresh, and the sauce was just right, with a slight spicy taste. Jing Nan could eat snails of this level. Du Heng chewed the snail meat in his mouth. After the snail meat was stir-fried, it was tender and chewy, and not at all tough.
When he was in his hometown, Du Heng didn't like to eat snails outside, because he didn't know where the snails outside came from, and the chefs were afraid that there were parasites in them, so they would always stew them with pepper, aniseed, beer, chili, etc. The snail meat stewed in this way was already old in the mouth, and tasted like seasoning, and the original deliciousness of the snail meat was gone.
He only loves snails caught from the clear river in his hometown. Snails around Qingming Festival are the fattest in the year. He and his family can eat them for a long time after adding sauce and frying. Occasionally, when they encounter a few stubborn snails that refuse to show their meat for them to taste, Du Heng will use the ultimate weapon - sewing needle.
With just a poke and a pick at the snail meat, even the most stubborn one will fall into Du Heng's mouth.
Children who are new to eating snails each have a sewing needle in their hands, but when they become proficient, they will find that the fun of eating snails lies in this one click. The snail meat and sauce are sucked into the mouth together, that is the beauty!
Du Heng ate several in a row, and when he stopped, he could already hear various inhalation sounds on the table. Soon Jing Nan showed the result of his battle, holding up the empty snail shell: "Hey, it's sucked out! Not bad, fun~"
Wen Qiong and Xuan Yu soon
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
