Chapter 90 Brother

"Ah Xiang, get out." Si Li took a deep breath, rushed the children out of the kitchen, closed the windows and doors, and then turned back. She pressed her forehead, watching Meng Taotao's panic when she was weak, mixed with complex surprise and fear, her back was soaked with sweat, and she organized her words several times, but she never said anything.

Her heart went cold, and she finally realized that she had completely trusted that the food produced by the system was harmless since some time ago. In the past, she would try it herself before letting others eat it. But now, what if these additives are harmful? What if someone finds out that the additives are not good? She hasn't thought about this for a long time.

Meng Taotao frowned and asked, "Can't you tell me?"

"No, no." Between the theories of gods and Buddhas and certain substances that promote thinking, Si Li chose the latter. She pretended that she had accidentally discovered a spice that was good for thinking and made it specifically for Meng Taotao to try, and with difficulty she confessed the added effect of spicy shrimps.

"So, it might have the effect of making people's thoughts flow..." Meng Taotao concluded. Si Li gritted her teeth and nodded. She had planned that if Meng Taotao asked about the types of spices, she would say they were out of use, and she would never make spicy shrimp again.

The feeling of her thoughts sweeping like the wind still lingered in her mind. It was totally different from the level she could normally achieve. It was almost like the magic of Jiang Lang's five-color pen that could improve her writing skills. Meng Taotao thought of the diners who cried when eating mashed potatoes and wolf-tooth potatoes at a Buddhist meeting a long time ago. She knew that Si Li was not completely honest. But Si Li was unwilling to say it, so she could only attribute it to some special opportunity. She thought about it and stopped asking.

"The shrimp cooked with this spice is indeed very useful. Maybe with it, I can indeed get the top spot in the imperial examination. But Ah Li, I want to pass the imperial examination on my own. I also believe that I can get the title of the top scholar on my own. Even if I can't get it, I won't regret it. Do you understand?"

As she spoke, the light in Meng Taotao's eyes sparkled, and she was confident and proud. Si Li pursed her lips and said, "I am narrow-minded."

The steam from the big pot next to it lifted the lid. The scorpions that had been stewed for more than an hour were ready to be taken out of the pot. Meng Taotao glanced at Si Li's depressed look and patted her shoulder. "Boss, so many people are counting on you for food, cheer up."

As she spoke, she reached out to lift the lid of the pot, but Si Li pressed the lid before her, with an unnatural look on her face, "I, I'll take a bite first."

Si Li pressed the lid of the large pot, and the scorpions stewing in the pot seemed to have turned into a kind of demonic existence. She asked in her heart, "Does the bonus of the dishes have any effect on people? Won't it overdraw future potential or move future good luck?"

[System: The host's former employee became weak because he did not consume some of his activated potential in time, which increased the load on his body. After testing, no damage was caused. Appropriate potential activation helps develop human qualities. Due to the limitations of time and space rules, there is no harm or damage to customers. Please stop slandering.]

"What about the Scorpio's good luck bonus?"

[System: After the emotional impulse is enhanced, there will definitely be things that can be accomplished. ]

Si Li: “…” I’m not afraid anymore. I always feel like this system is mocking me behind my back. What’s going on?

[System: A pot of tender and tasty scorpion hot pot has been completed, achievement points +8, additional reward achievement points +2. ]

With the system's guarantee in mind, Si Li scooped out the scorpion and took a bite herself out of caution.

The scorpion lamb was not cooked according to the system's time, but was still rated as soft and tasty, exactly as the system described. The briny aroma of the spices and the stimulating flavor of the pepper blended together, with only a little tangle left on the soft lamb and the spine, and the tendons were stewed until they were translucent brown-red. The previously obvious spiciness has now taken a back seat, diligently highlighting the delicious taste.

It is no exaggeration to say that a mouthful of mutton wrapped in mutton soup with the bone marrow melted into it is like a flower blooming on the tip of your tongue. No wonder the word "fresh" is pronounced with both "fish" and "mutton".

"I'm so awesome!" Si Li blurted out while eating. In the past, when she saw the beef tendon produced by the system, she had envied the culinary skills contained in it. Now, eating the mutton stewed by herself, she felt that it was no less delicious.

Meng Taotao was watching Si Li, whose behavior showed that "there's something wrong with this pot of scorpions". She laughed out loud, but before she finished laughing, Si Li turned around and hugged her, "Taotao, I'm sorry!"

A quarter of an hour passed in a flash, and Si Li regained her senses quickly. The previous memories floated in her mind, and she blushed and felt ashamed. As she was thinking, she suddenly realized that she was still holding Meng Taotao tightly like a koala, and quickly stepped back and let go, blushing, "Sorry, I..."

"Nothing." Meng Taotao carefully looked at her expression, chuckled, and handed over the osmanthus wine jar that had been placed next to her and had not been used. "It will be better to eat with this."

Si Li immediately understood Meng Taotao's idea, and used alcohol to cover up the abnormality after eating the scorpion hot pot. She was moved and guilty at the same time. She couldn't tell the secret of the system, but she didn't want to lose Meng Taotao as a friend. It seemed that it was the best way to get along with each other if she could not investigate further.

It had been a quarter of an hour since Si Li and Meng Taotao locked the door. When they went out, they were met with several concerned looks. When they saw the scorpion pot in Si Li's hand, A Sheng and Xiao Que were the first to step forward and take it.

"Where are Wang Ting, A Quan and A Zhuang? Are they still in the front?" Si Li Teng reached out, looked around, counted the number of limited edition dishes sold today, and thought that only ordinary fried food was left in the front hall. He immediately sent someone to urge them to come and eat.

The scorpion hot pot was divided into three small pots from the big pot. Two fires were propped up with wooden poles in the courtyard to hold the small pots. People sat around them. Only Xiao Que and Wang Xiao Chong were sitting next to Princess Jinhe. Everyone else sat on the other side. Si Li brought Meng Taotao to sit next to Princess Jinhe. When they saw Wang Ting coming in from the front hall, they raised their hands and greeted him, "Come on, it's time to eat. Haven't they sold out yet?"

Wang Ting stretched his neck to look into the pot, sipped his saliva, and said with a bitter face, "Hey, your stewed mutton is so delicious, I wouldn't trade it for anything even if I were given it by a god! The people in Princess Le'an's house ahead are urging us to eat the pot, and they said if there's no pot, they want you to bring out another portion of ice jelly to take away."

"Ice jelly?" Si Li almost laughed. "It takes two or three hours to make ice jelly. If the princess wants to eat it, I have nothing to give her. If she can wait, just stay here and I will sell her the first one tomorrow morning." Du Wenshan was the guest of honor for Princess Le'an. Si Li remembered the grudge between Meng Taotao and her father clearly. She immediately gave the last two bowls of ice jelly of the day to Princess Jinhe and Meng Taotao.

Speaking of the princess, there is also a princess sitting here. If you are not used to the rules of the residence, then you can just snatch it from the princess.

However, the ice jelly was made according to the measurement. The prince did not come, so his share was given to Meng Taotao, and Princess Jinhe's portion did not decrease at all. Si Li did not have any extra to give to others, so she felt particularly justified.

Wang Ting sighed, turned back to the front hall and tried to relay his master's words as tactfully as possible. In the backyard, Si Li had just taken Jin and the princess to eat cabbage in the pot when a middle-aged man dressed as a steward rushed in and shouted, "Aren't you living here relying on my young master's reputation to get to where you are today? You just want to eat a pot of ice jelly, why don't you give me any face at all?"

Si Li still remembered that Princess Jinhe was afraid of quarrels and outsiders. Although she had never had a stress reaction as long as she wore a veil these days, Si Li immediately picked up the veil that she had taken off for eating hot pot and put it in front of the princess's face, her face slightly gloomy, "So Princess Le'an's mansion is so ignorant of etiquette?!"

The steward who rushed in stared at Jiang Rufei, uttered an "ah ah" sound in his throat, and fell to his knees on the ground with a thud, "You, you, I am rude!"

Is this the sliding kneel that hits a steel plate when challenging a master? Si Li sighed and shook her head.

The guards of the Prince of Yue's mansion and Lin Ruying appeared quietly in the courtyard and stood between him and Jiang Rufei. Jiang Rufei seemed not to see him. She pulled Si Li's hand down, picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks and put it next to Si Li's mouth, "Ah."

She was not affected by the outside world at all, and did not give extra attention to the steward. Lin Ruying coldly drove the steward out, and when she was about to hide in the corner again, Si Li swallowed the mutton in her mouth and called her, "Come and have something to eat with the guards. Eating mutton in winter is very warming."

Lin Ruying subconsciously looked at Jiang Rufei, and Jiang Rufei looked back at her impartially, "Yingying, eat."

As night fell, A Zhuang and A Quan, who had sold the last few servings of French fries and popcorn, built a bonfire and hung up the lantern in the yard. They washed their hands as per the shop's rules and waited by the side. Si Li glanced at the small door on the yard wall which was motionless; Jiang Shizhi still hadn't shown up.

She suppressed the inexplicable disappointment in her heart, took out a bowl of the reserved pot of scorpions and put it away, and took the rest out to share with the guards. Because there was not enough room for people to come and go, the guards moved to the side of the dessert shop to eat. As for the empty Qiyun Tower, Si Li estimated that Jiang Shizhi's prestige was so great that no one dared to go there to make trouble.

Hoping that the shopkeeper Tang, who was still recuperating, would not be awakened by the food, Si Li looked forward to it sincerely for a moment, and then took out the osmanthus wine that the royal court had prepared last time and asked the guards to take it away.

She didn't eat much mutton, perhaps because of the surprise after the first taste, the chaotic emotions in her heart were not very obvious this time. Only a faint sense of loss and longing lingered in her heart. While doing things, her home in her previous life and Jiang Shizhi, whom she met in this life, kept appearing in her mind. After a long time, she felt that she had regained her calm.

After leaving the kitchen, Princess Jinhe was sitting in the courtyard. When she saw Si Li coming over, she happily reached out for a hug. Xiao Qi was walking crookedly in a drunken manner, and it was unknown what kind of boxing she was doing. Meng Taotao was humming a unique tune, and Wang Ting would occasionally join in, and he had to remember to pull Xiao Que, who was pinching Wang Xiaochong's face, from sitting on the ground.

Si Li supported Jiang Rufei and listened to her mumbling "A Niang". The wine only touched her lips, and her cheeks were already red. After unbuttoning her veil, Si Li suddenly realized that she didn't look like Jiang Shizhi at all, but more like the Crown Prince.

Jiang Rufei grabbed Si Li's sleeve and called her "mother" again. Si Li patted her back patiently and looked at the people who were in emotional turmoil. They drank a little from the wine in several pots. The two small pots gurgled, and the warm and rich aroma made people's bones soft. Snow fell one by one, and all the friends were around. It was a good time in the world.