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The meat soup that Du Heng wanted to make was very simple. He had tasted this kind of soup once and found it very convenient and light. All he had to do was dip the thinly sliced meat in starch and then flatten it with the back of a knife or a rolling pin.
A palm-sized piece of meat is pounded thinly, and after unfolding it will become two or three times larger than before. Then add water to the pot, add salt and a few drops of soybean oil. After the water boils, put the pounded meat slices into the boiling water one by one. As long as the soup in the pot boils again, it can be served!
Sprinkle a little white pepper and MSG before serving. It will be fresh and tender. Both the elderly and children like this taste.
Du Heng pounded the meat slices evenly and quickly on the chopping board. It didn't take much strength to pound the meat slices. He wanted to pound the meat slices into thin slices, not into meat paste. Du Heng only cut more than 20 slices of front leg meat, but when he finished pounding, the meat slices piled on the chopping board looked several times larger than the meat he had cut.
This is all thanks to the starch! Du Heng picked up a piece of meat dipped in starch and gestured. After the meat was hammered open, it was almost as big as Xiaoxiao's face.
The water in the pot boiled, and Du Heng threw the meat slices into the pot one by one, and then gently cut them apart with chopsticks. The water in the pot immediately became turbid, and the meat slices were covered with a layer of crystal starch coagulation.
When the water boiled, he threw the lily petals in the colander into the pot. The petals softened when they came into contact with the hot water, and soon the water in the pot boiled. Du Heng sprinkled a little mushroom essence and tasted it. It tasted good if you just drank the soup.
He took out a large bowl and poured the pounded meat soup into it. The dishes he made were all home-cooked, without too much decoration, but they looked authentic.
The meat soup tasted good, and everyone had a good feeling about the meat. However, the lily petals became soft and mushy after being blanched, and tasted slightly bitter and a bit greasy. This taste... no one liked it very much.
Du Heng felt that the lilies in Jingnan's yard could not be sold, so it would be better to just cut them and use them for flower arrangements. Or maybe there was something wrong with his cooking skills. If he knew how to cook with fresh flowers, perhaps the meat soup he made would taste better.
But cooking is a process of constant failure. Every chef has made mistakes before. When faced with unfamiliar ingredients, failure is the norm.
Time passed by little by little. Du Heng worked hard to practice cooking these days, and in the blink of an eye it was the beginning of summer. Wen Qiong was leaving the village to go home.
Du Heng packed food for Wen Qiong to take away from the refrigerator. He knew that Wen Qiong liked to eat sweets and leftovers. He made a lot of chicken feet and duck necks in the past few days. He filled a storage bag for Wen Qiong. When there was no more room, he made a small backpack and stuffed the food in it for her.
Wen Qiong was wearing a bright red dress today. She was wearing the same color when she came to the village, but when she came, the village was covered with snow. Now that she is gone, the spiritual plants in the village have grown taller than her.
The small butterfly hairpin on Wen Qiong's head sparkled in the sun. Her eyes were big and round, and two dimples appeared when she smiled. When she smiled at Du Heng, Du Heng's eyes turned slightly red.
I don't know when I will see Wen Qiong again. Du Heng handed the storage bag to Wen Qiong: "Master, the storage bag is filled with your favorite food. Xuan Yu helped me strengthen the formation on the storage bag. It can be stored for up to one month."
He handed the small backpack to Wen Qiong: "You can eat the food in the backpack on the way. There is no formation in it, so the storage time is a bit short. Try to finish it in the next two days."
Wen Qiong smiled and put the storage bag into her sleeve, then put on the odd little backpack. She said crisply, "Thank you, disciple. I will eat all these things. After I leave, you must practice hard. You are about to form a pill, so remember not to be careless. There is no shortcut to practice, and you can't slack off when I am not by your side."
Wen Qiong had said this to Du Heng hundreds of times, and Du Heng's ears were almost calloused from hearing it. But now that Wen Qiong was leaving, Du Heng felt sad when he heard these words again: "I'll remember this, disciple."
Wen Qiong smiled and patted Du Heng's shoulder: "Parting is for a better meeting. I hope that when we meet again next time, you will be a mature and reliable monk!"
After Wen Qiong took care of Du Heng, she formally bowed to Jing Nan and Xuan Yu. Wen Qiong said to Jing Nan, "My Lords, thank you for your care during this period."
Jing Nan smiled and said, "We are the ones who have caused trouble for Xiao Qiong. We called you here even though we knew you were busy. We will have to make you run around for our affairs after you go back."
Wen Qiong smiled and said, "It's my duty. Wen Qiong's life was given by everyone. It's my duty to do this little thing."
Xuan Yu returned the greeting to Wen Qiong: "Thank you, Xiao Qiong." Wen Qiong narrowed her eyes: "Master Xuan, you asked me to teach Du Heng. Although I have not been with him for a long time, I accept him as your disciple. If there is a chance in the future, I will introduce him to my other disciples."
Xuan Yu nodded: "Thank you Xiao Qiong for planning for Du Heng."
Wen Qiong looked at Du Heng with a smile: "If we have a chance to meet again in the future, I will bring your five brothers and sisters to see you. Don't forget to prepare a table of delicious food for them then."
Du Heng nodded: "Disciple will remember it."
Wen Qiong's eyes fell on Xiaoxiao, and she suddenly smiled cunningly: "Xiao Fengjun, can I hug you?" Xiaoxiao stretched out her wings to Wen Qiong, and Wen Qiong hugged Xiaoxiao with a cry. She kissed Xiaoxiao several times in a row: "Xiao Fengjun is so cute~~"
When Wen Qiong had kissed enough, she contentedly bowed to everyone and said, "Wen Qiong will leave now. Please take care of yourselves."
Everyone stood at the entrance of the village and watched Wen Qiong's figure slowly turn into a small dot. She left, just as silently as she came.
After Wen Qiong left, the village became even more deserted. There were only four people in the village. Du Heng couldn't imagine how the three of them lived before he arrived in the village, when there were only Xuan Yu and Jing Nan Xiaoxiao.
I am afraid that if I say something and no one responds for a long time, how lonely would that be?
As a human being, excitement is temporary, and we all need to learn to enjoy loneliness. Even if you are alone, you should live a good life.
After Wen Qiong left, time lost its meaning to Du Heng. Every day when he opened his eyes, he repeated his practice and cooking for everyone. As time passed, Du Heng's vegetable field expanded little by little, and he planted more and more vegetables.
After the beginning of summer, the temperature gradually rose. The pumpkins that had been transplanted by Du Heng slowly stretched out their vines. Some impatient pumpkins even bloomed yellow flowers.
Life in the village continued as usual. If it were someone else, they would definitely feel that life in the village was monotonous and boring, but Du Heng did not feel that way. With Xuan Yu and Jing Nan around, Du Heng felt that his life was becoming more fulfilling and comfortable. He left more and more traces in the village, and discovered more and more fun every day.
Two days ago, he went to Lingxi Town with Xuanyu and Xiaoxiao. This time, he bought a lot of jars and cans. After returning, he started to pickle vegetables in his jars. He pickled peppers and pickled bamboo shoots in the jars, and when beans were ready in two days, he could put them in the kimchi jars.
Du Heng looked at the plums in the peach forest, which were fresh and ready to be picked. He bought several wine-making jars specifically for the plums in the forest.
The plums were only slightly bigger than a thumb, green and slightly sour. Du Heng carefully picked the plums from the tree with a smile. There were a lot of plums, and he picked a full basket from one tree.
When Du Heng returned to the yard with the basket on his back, he happened to see Xuan Yu carrying Jing Nan out of Feng Gui's house. Jing Nan had been getting more and more sleepy recently. Sometimes when he was just talking to her, he would fall down with a thud.
Du Heng asked worriedly, "Falling asleep again?"
Xuan Yu nodded: "Yes, I thought about it, let Jingnan live downstairs in our house first? It will be better for everyone to be together and take care of him. His current condition is not suitable for living alone."
Du Heng put down the backpack, and went to the guest room to help Jing Nan put on new sheets. Xuan Yu carefully put Jing Nan on the bed. Jing Nan was unconscious, and Xuan Yu sent him some spiritual energy, but he had no reaction.
Jing Nan gave people a particularly fragile feeling when he was asleep, it must be because he was dressed in white. His complexion had not been very good recently, and Du Heng had given him all the special treatment but failed to restore his complexion.
Du Heng was going to steam lotus leaf chicken for Jing Nan today. In addition to lotus leaf chicken, he was also going to stew a few squabs for Jing Nan. Looking at Jing Nan's face, he had to make up for it.
After closing the door, Du Heng asked Xuan Yu in confusion: "In theory, growing a tail is a good thing, as it can make the Nine-Tailed Fox more powerful. But why was the Nine-Tailed Fox so weak before it grew a tail?"
Xuan Yu said: "Jing Nan's situation is quite special. He once had half of his tail broken off, and he almost lost his life. Now every time he grows a tail, he has to go through a tribulation. The higher the level of cultivation, the more difficult it is to go through the tribulation. Jing Nan has to gather all the spiritual energy in his body to endure the pain."
It was the molting period, and it was hard to imagine what kind of torture Jing Nan was going through. But whenever Jing Nan woke up, he was calm and composed. When he was with Du Heng, he would only criticize whether the food he cooked was delicious or not. Recently, when he saw that Du Heng cooked chicken and duck, he didn't even say anything critical.
To be honest, Du Heng felt distressed when he saw Jing Nan like this.
Xuan Yu said softly to Du Heng: "Jing Nan is very strong, stronger than we thought. When he survives this, he will stand in front of you with a brand new attitude. You don't have to worry too much. Make him more of his favorite food. He will be very happy when he wakes up."
Du Heng thought it made sense. He couldn’t help Jing Nan with spiritual practice, but he was good at making delicious food.
The pigeons that Yunyanlou packed were all cleaned up, and each of them was as plump as the size of the old pigeons. Du Heng took eight pigeons and a young chicken and soaked them in clean water to remove the blood.
Xiaoxiao stretched her neck and looked into the pool: "Chirp?"
Du Heng touched Xiao Xiao's head. As a member of the Feather Tribe, Xiao Xiao was not polite at all when eating chicken. Du Heng was not worried that Xiao Xiao would be traumatized by seeing the chicken soaked in water. Xiao Xiao must be asking him what delicious food he was going to make.
Du Heng smiled and said, "I'll make lotus leaf chicken and stewed pigeon. Does Xiaoxiao like it?" Xiaoxiao nodded and showed the afterimage. Just look and Du Heng will know.
Xuan Yu took a wooden basin and placed it on the eaves of the porch: "Do you want to wash the plums?"
Du Heng came out of the kitchen: "Yes, but we still need to pick these plums."
Due to lack of management, the plums did not grow perfectly, and some of them had insect holes and scars. Du Heng needed to remove the plums with insect holes, and separate the plums with heavier scars from the clean and intact plums. The injured plums can be used as snacks, and the intact plums can be used to make wine.
With Xuan Yu's help, the two quickly divided the plums into two baskets. The plums in one basket were green and intact, with few or no bruises. Such plums could be used to make wine. The other basket had spots on it, which didn't look very pretty. But when it was made into a snack, the scars wouldn't be visible.
The first thing to deal with is the plums that need to be soaked in wine. After the first wash, the plums need to be given a salt bath. The color of the plums rubbed with salt is much darker than the initial furry color, which looks pleasing to the eye.
Du Heng and Xuan Yu washed the plums very carefully, scrubbing them three times to make sure each plum was clean. After being washed, the plums were round and green and looked very beautiful when immersed in the water.
Xuan Yu smiled and said, "In previous years, the plums all rotted in the peach forest. I didn't know that the plums would look so beautiful after being washed."
Du Heng smiled and said, "Each ingredient has its own unique features. If you handle it well, there will definitely be people who appreciate it."
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After washing the plums, they cannot be taken out and soaked in wine immediately. They need to stay in clean water for an hour. Only after soaking can the astringency of the plums be removed.
The plums smelled very good. Xiaoxiao circled around the washed plums. He couldn't help but secretly ate one and it tasted a little sour. Du Heng and Xuan Yu felt a stomachache when they saw Xiaoxiao doing something stupid. Xiaoxiao couldn't resist the temptation and ate it once. He should have learned his lesson then. Why did he do it again?
Du Heng and his team then cleaned the bumped plums, which he prepared to make into crispy plums, salted plums and candied plums. Crisp plums and candied plums can be used as snacks, while salted plums can be used to cook pork ribs.
Just like the plums that were soaked in wine, the plums with bumps also needed a salt bath. After that, the plums that were salted and candied also needed to soak in a wooden tub for an hour to remove the astringency. The plums that were made into crisp plums were treated differently, and they needed to go through special massage techniques.
Du Heng brought out the Tianhu scale and from now on he would record the weight of the plums used to make various snacks.
For example, he weighed out two kilograms of salted plums. The amount of salted plums used is small, and four or five of them are thrown into the ribs. The ribs are full of the fragrance of plums. Two kilograms of plums can make a lot of ribs.
You can make more candied plums. The liquid that oozes out after pickling is green plum juice, which can be used to drink. Du Heng weighed 15 kilograms of green plums for candied plums. The remaining plums were the largest, and Du Heng weighed a full 23 kilograms.
He was going to use these plums to make crispy plums. Crispy plums were sour and sweet, Xiaoxiao would definitely like them. More than 20 kilograms of crispy plums would be gone in no time for Xiaoxiao to eat.
Making crispy plums requires the most steps. For other types of plums, you just need to wash the plums, add salt or sugar, and wait for them to ripen. However, crispy plums require crushing, soaking in salt water, soaking in sugar water... a total of five or six steps.
Du Heng took out the chopping board, picked up a plum and placed it on the chopping board. Just as Du Heng was about to chop the green plum, he found that the green plum stem had not been removed.
Du Heng covered his face and said, "I forgot to take out the fruit stems. It will take another step." Xuan Yu smiled slightly, "No big deal."
Xuan Yu's hand flashed with inspiration, and the stems of the plums fell to the ground, forming a patch of black dots. It's good to have inspiration. If it were in the past, Du Heng would have to use a toothpick to pick out the stems one by one, which was time-consuming and laborious.
Du Heng gave Xuan Yu a thumbs up: "Xiao Yu is really amazing." Xuan Yu said slowly: "Sooner or later, you will be able to do this."
Du Heng sighed: "Maybe it will take some time."
At least now Du Heng can't control his spiritual energy so accurately. To remove the stems of more than 20 kilograms of green plums in an instant, he needs a very powerful and accurate spiritual energy to do it. This must be done at least at the Golden Core level or above, right?
The side of the kitchen knife hit the green plum with a loud bang, and the green plum was broken into pieces by Du Heng.
Xuan Yu asked: "Do we need to smash them? Let me try."
Du Heng blushed, "No, no, it's enough to just break their skin. I accidentally used too much force."
The poor plum flesh had turned into a paste, and the core inside had been smashed by Du Heng. Du Heng looked at his hands. Had he unknowingly become so strong?
After several attempts, Du Heng finally found the right strength. He and Xuan Yu each held a kitchen knife and hit the plums from the side. After a while, Du Heng found the feeling. He took a dozen plums and put them on the chopping board. He pressed his spiritual energy downwards, and the plums cracked. The green juice splashed on the chopping board, and a sour smell wafted out.
Du Heng sighed: "It's faster to use the methods of the monks. How long will it take to shoot them one by one?"
After the two of them had smashed more than 20 kilograms of green plums, Du Heng brought out a clean wooden barrel. He poured the crushed plums into the barrel, and then poured the remaining salt from rubbing the plums into the barrel. The plums were covered with a thick layer of salt, and Du Heng used his spiritual energy to mix the salt and plums evenly, and then added clean water to the barrel to cover the green plums.
Crisp plums need to soak in salt water for the longest time, they need to soak for a whole day and night. Otherwise, how can they have a crisp and sweet taste?
Du Heng brought the wooden barrel to the yard. He placed a bamboo strip on top of it, and then a plate on the bamboo strip, so that the plums could stay quietly in the salt water.
There were two large wooden basins in the yard, with a piece of green plum soaked in the basins. Du Heng and Xuan Yu were busy in the yard in tacit understanding, and occasionally their voices could be heard.
The fragrance of plums filled the whole yard. Xuan Yu stretched out his hand and smelled it: "My hands are all stained with the smell of plums."
Du Heng was happy. He hugged Xuan Yu and said, "Then our Xiaoyu will taste like plum today~"
After the process of pressing the plums, it didn't take long for the plums in the wooden basin to be soaked. Du Heng fished out the plums in the two wooden basins. The plums could not be used directly now, they still needed to be dried, and they still had to be dried in the shade away from the sun.
Xuan Yu made two bamboo baskets, and he placed the plums in each of them, then carried them into the kitchen. Opening the back window of the kitchen, the kitchen was ventilated on both sides. This was a good place to dry the plums.
Drying plums takes time, so don't rush. The stems of the plums haven't been removed yet, so Du Heng smiled and said to Xuan Yu, "I'm going to make lunch, so please help me pick out the stems."
Xuan Yu looked at Du Heng with a smile, and he pointed at his face. Du Heng looked around, and saw Xiao Xiao running out to play, so he quickly kissed Xuan Yu on the face.
Xuan Yu returned Du Heng's kiss, his eyes full of smiles: "As you command, my lord, I will do whatever you say."
Du Heng went to the pool with a red face to deal with the pigeons. With Xuan Yu by his side, he couldn't help but become lazy.
Du Heng pinned the pigeon's head under its wings and cut two cuts at the joints of its legs, so that the legs could be easily stuffed into the pigeon's stomach. The pigeon looked much more pleasing to the eye than before, with its claws bared and its eyes wide open.
Du Heng poured cold water into the pot and put the pigeons into the pot one by one to blanch them. While they were blanching, he took out the clay pot at home and rinsed it for a while.
Du Heng didn't like to add too many ingredients when stewing pigeon. He only planned to add a few wolfberries and red dates to enhance the flavor. He didn't plan to add other mushrooms and spring bamboo shoots. Pigeon is nutritious, and he didn't want to add other ingredients to change the taste. He wanted Jing Nan to drink three bowls of soup to nourish herself.
After the pigeons were blanched, Du Heng stuffed a jujube and a few wolfberries into each pigeon's stomach, and then placed the pigeons neatly in a casserole. He added scallions, ginger slices, and cooking wine to the pot, and then added water to cover the pigeons.
Simmer the casserole on the stove for half an hour, and add a little salt before taking it out of the pot. This way the soup will retain its original flavor and will definitely be helpful to Jing Nan.
The braised pigeon only needs to be slowly boiled. In the next period of time, Du Heng will prepare to make lotus leaf chicken. The lotus leaves picked in Nanshan have been dried, and now it is perfect for making lotus leaf chicken.
Du Heng rubbed a layer of fine salt on the chicken, and he carefully massaged the chicken for a cup of tea, so that the fine salt could be more flavorful. While massaging, he also used bamboo sticks to poke dense holes on the chicken skin. Seeing Du Heng stabbing the chicken with bamboo sticks, Xiaoxiao retreated far away, fearing that Du Heng would stab him back.
After applying salt, the chicken is also coated with five-spice powder and white wine. After applying the salt, Du Heng stuffed the chicken head under the chicken wings and the chicken legs into the chicken stomach. The processed chicken is like a meat ball, so after wrapping the chicken with lotus leaves, the chicken claws will not pierce the lotus leaves.
Many people only stuff a few mushrooms or red dates into the chicken's belly when cooking lotus leaf chicken, but Du Heng likes to stuff two handfuls of soaked rice into it. The rice is mixed with diced mushrooms and lean meat. After the chicken is steamed, the rice in the belly will also absorb the soup and taste very good.
Lingmi will expand when steamed, and Du Heng used a thin bamboo stick to sew two lines on the chicken's buttocks to prevent it from running out. Then he wrapped the chicken skin with three layers of lotus leaves, which had been softened in warm water in advance. They were no longer as crisp and tender as fresh lotus leaves, but had a tougher texture.
The lotus leaf was as big as a hat brim, just big enough to wrap the chicken inside. Du Heng tied the lotus leaf and chicken together with dragon grass leaves, then put the chicken in a steamer and placed it on the terrace upstairs.
Seeing Du Heng running to the terrace again, Xuan Yu said, "I'm going to talk to the refiner at Wan Workshop and ask them to add a layer of formation inside the refrigerator, so that you don't have to go up and down for these little things."
Du Heng thought of the weapon refiner in Wan Workshop. He smiled and said, "He was scared last time. If we bother him again for such a small matter, I'm afraid he will run away when he sees us next time."
Xuan Yu smiled slightly: "No. Just add a speed-up formation, it shouldn't be a big problem. If it doesn't work, you can make a smaller refrigerator."
Du Heng thought about it and then made a request: "Then... I want a refrigerator that can keep things cold, that is... the kind that can cool down hot food without freezing it."
Xuan Yu smiled and said, "Okay, let's go to Wan Workshop again next time we go to Lingxi Town."
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When Jing Nan woke up, he was a little groggy. He remembered that he was talking to Xiaoyu before, so how come he woke up and fell asleep on the bed? And this is not the layout of Feng Gui's house, right? Isn't this the guest room of Xiaoyu's house?
At this time, the door opened gently, and Du Heng's head stuck out from the crack of the door. Seeing Jing Nan wake up, Du Heng smiled: "Wake up, it's time for lunch. I made stewed pigeon and lotus leaf chicken for you at noon today."
Jing Nan lay on the bed and looked at Du Heng with a smile: "Why are you so enthusiastic towards me all of a sudden? I'm not used to it yet."
Du Heng walked to the window, opened the curtains and let in some fresh air: "Our Nan Nan needs careful care recently."
Hearing the word Nan Nan, Jing Nan's body suddenly stiffened, and he immediately came to his senses: "Heh, Xiaoyu taught you that, right?" She actually called him Nan Nan. No one in the world except Qing Heng called him that.
Du Heng laughed and said, "What? Get up quickly. I'm telling you, today's pigeon soup is especially delicious. If you don't get up, Xiaoxiao will help you drink it."
Jing Nan opened the quilt: "Oh, I have to hurry up, that little guy is too fast. If I'm late, he will really drink it all up." The moment Jing Nan got out of bed, his knees went weak and he staggered and was about to fall forward.
Du Heng took a step forward and supported Jing Nan: "Are you okay? Xuan Yu, Xuan Yu!"
Hearing Du Heng's call, Xuan Yu quickly appeared. He poured some spiritual energy into Jing Nan's knees. Jing Nan sat on the edge of the bed helplessly, complaining: "You two are not right? I just have a tail, and you two treat me like a seriously ill patient."
Xuan Yu knelt on one knee on the ground, kneading Jing Nan's knees with both hands: "You should live here from today. Anyway, our house is big enough for you. Besides, Xiaoxiao is here too, so it's better for everyone to be together and take care of each other."
Jing Nan was even more helpless: "It's not that serious, right?"
Xuan Yu nodded: "Yes." There were some things he didn't want to tell Du Heng for fear that he would worry. The last time Jing Nan grew a sixth tail, he and Feng Gui were almost scared to death.
This time the situation will only be worse than the last time. It's not even the official molting season, nor the official tail growth season, but Jing Nan's reaction is already so big. When that day comes, no one knows what Jing Nan's situation will be.
Xuan Yu said slowly: "I am going to send a message to Feng Gui to ask him to come back. The two of us will guard you."
Jing Nan waved his hand: "It's okay, it's okay, no need to make such a fuss. The fewer people who know about this, the better. There are many people over at Feng Gui's place, and if you suddenly call him back, who knows what kind of trouble might arise."
Xuan Yu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I will repair the barrier of the village starting today, and then I will call Lao Dao over. With so many people guarding, there shouldn't be any problems."
Jing Nan turned to look at Du Heng: "You should take care of Xiaoyu. He has become more and more nagging since you came. I didn't notice him being so cautious before."
Du Heng spread his hands and said, "Don't look at me. I'm just a beginner. All I can do is make delicious food for you."
Jing Nan took a long time to stand up. He lifted his long hair and said, "Hey, why do I feel like something has happened to me? Why do I feel like I'm paralyzed from the waist down? Look at how cautious you all are."
Looking to the left, Xuan Yu held his hand, looking to the right, Du Heng supported his waist. Thinking about how Jing Nan was still walking briskly and looking down on everyone half a month ago, who could have thought that he would become a sick beauty half a month later?
Xiaoxiao was probably the only one in the village who didn't care about Jingnan's hair growth. He even wished Jingnan would lose more hair. He had already collected half a box of nine-tail hair in his treasure chest. In the future, he could take the hair to the Wan Workshop and exchange it for a lot of spirit stones, which could be used to buy a lot of delicious food!
Jing Nan sat on the chair and looked at the dishes in front of him. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Wow, this is really rich."
The fat pigeons in the casserole were round and plump. Du Heng served Jing Nan a large bowl of soup with a whole pigeon in it: "Jing Nan, drink more soup."
The pigeon soup is very clear after being stewed, with a thin layer of golden oil floating on it. Du Heng did not stew the pigeon in the same way as stewing old hen soup. The pigeon soup cooked over a low fire is the most nutritious. One sip of it soothes your mouth and heart.
In fact, the taste of pigeon soup is similar to that of hen soup, but pigeons are not as fat as hens, and the stewed soup is very light. After drinking a few sips of soup, Jing Nan turned his eyes to the pigeon in the bowl. He didn't know how long he slept, he only knew that the pigeon in the bowl had been stewed for a long time.
The pigeon's skin looked intact, but with a light touch of chopsticks, the skin, flesh and bones fell apart. Even the neck, which had the most bones, broke apart after being touched by the chopsticks. The most essential meat of the pigeon was on the belly, and Jing Nan easily picked off two pieces of meat from the belly with a pair of chopsticks.
Du Heng looked at Jing Nan expectantly: "Is it delicious?"
Jing Nan slowly ate the pigeon meat. The pigeon meat had been stewed to the point where it melted in the mouth. The baby pigeon was tender, so he could chew and swallow even the bones. Jing Nan smiled and gave a thumbs up: "It's perfect, delicious."
Hearing this answer, Du Heng felt relieved. He scooped a pigeon for Xiaoxiao and Xuanyu respectively and said, "Eat slowly, don't burn yourself."
Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled, and he drank the soup politely at first. But when he finished the soup in the bowl, he ate a whole squab in one gulp, then tilted his head and spat out a pile of bare bones on the table.
Du Heng was stunned. When would he be able to learn Xiaoxiao's bone-spitting trick? Isn't this too easy?
Just as he was thinking, Xuan Yu tore off a piece of soft meat from the pigeon's breast and handed it to Du Heng's lips: "It's delicious, you should try it too."
Du Heng didn't hesitate, he opened his mouth and ate the meat. The pigeon was tender and fresh, the meat was not dry at all, and Du Heng seasoned it properly, even with just a little salt, the taste was delicious.
Du Heng chewed the pigeon meat and opened the steamer on the table. In the steamer was a lotus leaf chicken, which was still tied with dragon grass leaves. The lotus leaves had turned yellow-brown after being steamed, no longer green as they were at the beginning. But their essence had been integrated into the chicken inside, and the fragrance that wafted into the nose was proof of that.
Xuan Yu helped Du Heng untie the straw rope on the lotus leaf. When Du Heng uncovered the top layer of lotus leaf, a shiny orange lotus leaf chicken was quietly lying between two layers of lotus leaf. When Du Heng steamed the chicken, the chicken belly was facing the sky. Now they saw two fat and tender chicken legs facing the sky. The whole chicken looked particularly round.
After uncovering the lotus leaf, the aroma of chicken mixed with the fragrance of lotus leaf and the aroma of rice came to him. Du Heng reached out and pulled out the bamboo sticks used to tie the chicken's butt, and a few grains of fragrant steamed rice rolled out from the hole in the chicken's stomach.
Jing Nan raised his eyebrows: "Hey, there's rice in the chicken's stomach?"
Du Heng nodded: "Yes, I like to put some soaked spiritual rice in the chicken's stomach, so the rice will taste especially good. I'll serve you some." Without waiting for Jing Nan to speak, he stood up, picked up Jing Nan's bowl, and scooped two spoonfuls of spiritual rice into the bowl.
In the past, Xiaoxiao was the only one who could receive such service from Du Heng, and Jingnan often envied Xiaoxiao for being able to receive such treatment. But when it was his turn to receive such treatment, Jingnan suspected that he would not live long.
Jing Nan took the bowl handed to him by Du Heng with both hands: "Actually... my hands and feet are fine." He can move on his own.
Du Heng smiled and said, "There's not much rice in the chicken's stomach. Let's share a few bites." As he said that, he put two spoonfuls of rice into Xiaoxiao's bowl, and finally picked up Xuan Yu's bowl.
The rice in the chicken's stomach was mixed with diced meat and mushrooms. The rice, which had absorbed the essence of the whole chicken, was distinct and oily, and smelled very fragrant. Xiaoxiao chirped a few words after taking a bite of the rice, and Xuanyu translated: "Xiaoxiao said that this rice tastes better than the rice you cooked before. But he still likes the salted meat and vegetable rice."
Du Heng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, how about I make you some bacon and vegetable rice tomorrow?"
Xiaoxiao nodded and giggled. He loved eating bacon and vegetable rice so much. With bone soup, he could eat five bowls of rice!
The lotus leaf chicken was steamed until soft and rotten. Du Heng originally wanted to cut the chicken into large pieces, but when he pulled the chicken leg, the bone on the chicken leg was pulled out. Xuan Yu's hand flashed with a flash, and the chicken was divided into several large pieces.
One of the two chicken legs was given to Jingnan and the other to Xiaoxiao. Du Heng and Xuan Yu each had a chicken wing in their bowls.
Jing Nan was gnawing on a chicken leg: "Hmm! Delicious! I didn't know lotus leaves could be used like this? The meat has a fresh fragrance and is not greasy at all." Not only was it not greasy, the chicken also tasted very good, not too salty or bland, and fresh and delicious.
Du Heng said: "If you like, I can make some more and put them in the refrigerator. You can just take them when you want to eat them."
Jing Nan was flattered: "Oh, I'm so touched. Xiaoyu, you're not jealous, are you?"
Xuan Yu glanced at Jing Nan: "Do you think I have the same mind as you?" Xuan Yu made a fatal move. Jing Nan didn't want to talk and just wanted to spend some time with Xuan Yu.
In addition to making pigeon soup and lotus leaf chicken today, Du Heng also fried a bowl of mushrooms and greens. The small greens in his garden were finally edible. Originally, the greens were only two inches long and were most suitable for making soup. But today there was pigeon soup, so Du Heng cut two mushrooms and fried them together.
Jingnan and Xiaoxiao were eating meat, while Xuanyu and Duheng were eating mushrooms and vegetables. Seeing how delicious they were eating, Xiaoxiao hesitantly chirped at Duheng twice, as he also wanted to try the taste of mushrooms and vegetables.
Du Heng picked up a piece of vegetable from Xiaoxiao's bowl with chopsticks. Xiaoxiao took a bite with great anticipation, but he quickly turned his head away in confusion.
Isn't this just a smell of grass? Is it really that delicious? Meat is still better!
Author has something to say: Jing Nan: Xiaoyu, you are not jealous, right? Du Heng has been taking special care of me recently.
Xuan Yu: Do you think my mind is the same as yours?
Jing Nan: Tsk, big breasts are a big deal? Who doesn’t have pectoral muscles?
Du Heng: ...Where has this topic deviated to?
Nan Nan will be sick for a while, like to suck the sick beauty to speed up, after all, the first
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