Gu Lili quickly raised her hand to stop Eunuch Zhang's actions.
"Eunuch Zhang, this is how you eat snails."
As Gu Lili spoke, she picked up a spicy snail and a small bamboo skewer, inserted it into the snail's opening, and then twisted it to extract the snail meat.
Gu Lili held up the snail meat on the bamboo skewer and said to the people at the table, "This is a spicy snail from the seaside. You can eat the meat inside, but you can't eat the shell."
Following Gu Lili's example, Eunuch Zhang, Magistrate Yang, and others also picked up the bamboo skewers on the table and extracted the snail meat.
The moment it enters your mouth, the spiciness fills your mouth, making you unconsciously salivate.
Moreover, the taste was something none of the people present had ever experienced before.
The snail meat is firm and elastic, and tastes exceptionally delicious.
"This is truly amazing! This thing is actually edible!" Zhang Gonggong exclaimed in admiration.
Who would have thought that such a delicious thing was hidden under the hard shell?
Even Magistrate Yang couldn't help but praise it repeatedly after eating it.
Magistrate Yang has been serving in Donghai Town for over ten years, yet he never knew that this thing was edible.
However, this is not surprising. All food is only discovered to be edible after the first person tries it.
Gu Lili smiled a little shyly, "When I was really desperate, I found these things on the beach, and I tried them out of curiosity. That's when I found out they were edible!"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhang's brows furrowed with pity.
He had previously heard Magistrate Yang say that Gu Lili's father died for his country, while her mother starved to death.
He could imagine how difficult it must have been for Gu Lili, such a young girl, to raise her three younger siblings.
Let alone snails, they probably even ate tree bark when there were no wild vegetables available in winter.
Magistrate Yang felt very guilty upon hearing this. He had never imagined that there would be people in Donghai Town, which was under his jurisdiction, who would not have enough to eat.
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly turn somber, Gu Lili quickly tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Eunuch Zhang, Magistrate Yang, please try this braised pork. It's our restaurant's signature dish!"
After hearing Gu Lili's introduction, everyone's attention naturally turned to the braised pork again.
They had already eaten braised pork when they visited Gu Lili's house last time.
That's absolutely amazing!
So when Gu Lili said that, everyone headed towards the braised pork sandwich.
The meal was a delightful one for both the host and guests.
After the meal, Eunuch Zhang prepared to return to Beijing.
The time was really too tight. The reason why Eunuch Zhang was in such a hurry to go back was that he was afraid that his master would promote someone else to serve the emperor.
Yes, he wasn't the only one serving the emperor; his master was also there.
The master had two apprentices, but he and the other one didn't get along very well.
He also served in other places, but none of them were as lucrative as serving the emperor.
Although serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, even so, there are still people who desperately want to climb up the social ladder.
Gu Lili thought for a moment and took out the gift she had prepared in advance.
Gu Lili had already asked Gu Chenxi to give a reward to the guards who came with Eunuch Zhang to announce the imperial decree.
As for Eunuch Zhang, Gu Lili felt that he definitely looked down on these material possessions.
Since the Emperor and Empress are so good at driving sales, Gu Lili naturally doesn't want to waste this opportunity!
"Eunuch Zhang, you're busy going back to your duties, so I won't try to keep you. I've prepared some gifts, and I'd appreciate it if you could present them to the Emperor on my behalf," Gu Lili said with a smile.
When Zhang Gonggong heard that Gu Lili was going to prepare a gift, his eyes narrowed into slits with joy.
"Alright, alright, no trouble at all!" Eunuch Zhang said repeatedly.
The last gift pleased the Emperor greatly, so Eunuch Zhang is really looking forward to it.
Gu Lili clapped her hands lightly, and Gu Chenxi brought up a basin of water.
This immediately filled Eunuch Zhang and Magistrate Yang with suspicion. Could this gift be a basin of water?
Amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, Gu Chenxi placed the water in the center of the table.
Then, he took out a square, white object from his sleeve.
Yes, this is soap!
Of course, this wasn't the one Gu Lili made herself; it was one she had prepared from the online store when she made an excuse to leave earlier.
Eunuch Zhang stared at the soap in Gu Chenxi's hand and asked with a puzzled look, "Princess Yongning, forgive my poor eyesight, but I can't tell what this is."
As he spoke, Eunuch Zhang looked at Magistrate Yang and Clerk Li.
Both of them shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know what it was either.
Gu Lili stopped keeping everyone in suspense and directly gestured to Gu Chenxi to wash her hands for everyone to see.
Following the method taught by Gu Lili, Gu Chenxi first wet her hands, then picked up the soap and rubbed them back and forth.
A magical scene unfolded: Gu Chenxi rubbed her hands together, and her palms were covered in dense foam.
Moreover, there was a faint floral fragrance wafting through the air.
Gu Chenxi's hands were always used for farm work, and even though she washed them every day, there were still some old grime that she couldn't get rid of.
She scrubbed her hands carefully for a while, and the foam on her hands gradually turned black.
Following Gu Lili's instructions, she scrubbed for a while and then rinsed off the foam with clean water from the basin.
Even Gu Chenxi herself was surprised when she raised her hand.
She originally thought the black stains on her hands were impossible to clean, but to her surprise, this stuff cleaned them up.
Moreover, my hands have become slippery!
That's amazing!
In an instant, Gu Chenxi's face flushed red. It turned out that all those years of washing her hands had been for nothing.
"This is even more amazing than bath beans!" Zhang Gonggong couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Moreover, it seems to be more convenient than bath beans!
Gu Lili smiled and said, "Yes, this thing is called soap. It can be used not only to wash hands, but also to wash clothes and take a bath!"
The soaps that Gu Lili prepared were all from the mall and had skincare essential oils added. Since they were to be given to the Emperor, they couldn't be careless.
As she spoke, Gu Lili gave Gu Chenxi a wink, and Gu Chenxi quickly withdrew.
Before long, he brought out a tray with a lot of soap.
Gu Lili specially asked Gu Chenxi to re-wrap it with oil paper, which made it look antique.
Zhang Gonggong glanced at it briefly and thought, "Good heavens, it'll cost at least twenty or thirty yuan."
He gave Gu Lili a meaningful look. So many soaps, it's probably not just for the Emperor, but more than enough for the ladies of the harem.
but......
He's willing!
Such a fine item would surely delight the Emperor.
Gu Lili saw through his little scheme and awkwardly touched her nose.
"Alright! We'll accept it, and we'll definitely present this soap to the Emperor!" Eunuch Zhang said with a smile, pointing at Gu Lili.
Gu Lili didn't explain, but smiled and said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Eunuch Zhang!"
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