"Hey! I can tell from your hungry faces that you want to eat skewers again!" Zhu Yi said angrily, her cheeks covered with a light layer of sweat.
Actually, there was no sign of hunger on his face. Shu Chen was carrying half a sheep on his shoulder, a large piece of beef steak in his hand, and a basket containing pork leg bones and two cleaned hens.
Mu Yu was carrying a basket of vegetables and fruit, and a bag of seafood.
It is said that Sect Leader Han Song brought it back from his recent training trip. Cultivators in the Eastern Continent don't eat it often, so Sect Leader Han Song specially shared some with Mu Yu.
Mu Yu, that cunning fox, couldn't forget Zhu Yi's barbecue after he ate it last time. Since he can't cook, he persuaded Shu Chen to buy a lot of food and bring it over for Zhu Yi to cook, so he could freeload.
Zhu Yi bared his teeth to express his anger: "I've been cooking inside the Bodhi Mirror for seven years!"
I dreamt of the days when I was a cook in the Bodhi Mirror.
"Junior Sister Zhu Yi, thank you for your hard work!" Shu Chen pretended not to see Zhu Yi's sweat-drenched face and said with a righteous expression, "I heard you were back, so I brought a lot of things."
Shu Chen felt a little wronged. He secretly glanced at Mu Yu, thinking that it was clearly his senior brother who wanted to eat, but he had dragged him along.
Zhu Yi greeted them with a sullen expression and brewed them a pot of linden leaf tea.
The group of people began to cut meat and wash vegetables in perfect unison.
Zhao Cai leisurely strolled back, and as soon as it entered the yard, it smelled the long-lost aroma of roasted meat. It jumped to Zhu Yi's side to express its dissatisfaction: "Meow! Is there more roasted meat for me?"
"Yes! Thank you so much, Senior Sister, for helping us tend the vegetable garden. Now we'll have something to eat."
"Meow~ That's more like it, but the vegetable garden really wasn't managed by this great cat, it was Su Linyuan's..." snake.
Before he could finish saying "snake," Mu Yu stopped him with a piercing glare. Zhao Cai scratched his neck and lowered his voice, saying, "It was Senior Brother Su who reinforced the Five Elements Warmth Array, and he was the one who turned the ground upside down."
Zhao Cai disdained to steal credit from others and confessed honestly.
Zhu Yi felt a warmth in her heart and felt a little happy.
I added half a carrot to the roast meat I prepared for Zhaocai; it's good for the eyes.
Fireworks rose again, enveloping the entire courtyard, and Peach Blossom Lodge suddenly took on a touch of ordinary human charm.
The young people chattered amongst themselves and quickly became friends.
In addition to preparing a barbecue, Zhu Yi also made soup with pork bones, a chicken, and some dried seafood.
The rich, creamy bone broth didn't quite go well with the barbecue, but the addition of seafood made it a favorite among everyone.
Zhu Yi took the hen out of the bone broth, washed his hands, and tore some chicken meat into small pieces for later use. Then, he started another pot, a clay pot, and simmered white rice porridge with chicken pieces and small seafood. He simmered it over a low flame until everyone was full and satisfied, so that it could be taken back to make breakfast for the next night.
Zhao Cai used the Jade Spirit Communication device to send a message to Hua Nuansu, inviting her to come eat barbecue.
The warmth and sweetness arrived in a flash.
"Zhao Cai, when did you become so close to Hua Nuan Su?" Zhu Yi was a little curious. What kind of relationship could make Zhao Cai, this gluttonous cat, share what he had in his mouth?
"It was before you set off for the sect trial and when you were helping us prepare rations." Taking a bite of roast beef, Zhao Cai revealed a small expression of contentment.
Zhu Yi twitched her lips and silently recalled, yes, it was that day when they were distributing supplies to the junior disciples of the Hehuan Sect. Wei Weiwei brought her a lot of food when she came down the mountain. She was very busy those days, and Zhu Yi took some time to cook at Taolin Xiaozhu.
During those days, Hua Nuansu kept coming to me to learn how to cook.
Despite her mental disability, this silly girl is a true foodie. She learns to cook very quickly, has a vivid imagination, and is very good at hands-on activities.
"Little Zhu! I'm here!" Before the door was even opened, Hua Nuansu's loud voice rang out. Zhu Yi's body stiffened, and he opened the door again to let Hua Nuansu in.
Before I could even see who it was, I was surrounded by a huge bear hug.
Zhu Yi was a little out of breath. She wasn't some eunuch who had been castrated in the palace, so why was she being called that?
Hua Nuansu's round, enthusiastic face was no less than Zhao Cai's when he saw barbecue; she simply couldn't bring herself to refuse.
"Little Flower, come and have some tea to moisten your mouth." Zhu Yi gave Hua Nuansu a cup of tea, then led her to Mu Yu's side, gesturing with her eyes for her senior brother to take good care of Little Flower.
As the moonlight first appeared, the Buddhist lamps hung obediently on the peach tree branches.
Under the dazzling lights, the small courtyard was filled with an indescribable joy.
Hua Nuansu ate with great relish, and Mu Yu patiently flipped the roasted meat for her.
Zhu Yi put a lot of chili peppers on the barbecue tonight, and everyone's face was flushed from eating, yet they still wanted more.
Zhu Yi prepared three kinds of sauces: mild, medium, and extra spicy. Everyone took the opportunity to be guinea pigs and try the different flavors, giving some suggestions for adjustment.
Shu Chen ate the most attentively and offered some constructive advice: "Junior sister, you can add a little Sichuan peppercorn and more cumin to the mildly spicy seasoning, it will be more fragrant. The medium spicy seasoning is a bit salty, and the extra spicy level feels like it could need more chili, it's not spicy enough."
"I think the extra spicy level could be reduced a bit, the medium spicy level doesn't feel spicy enough!" Xue Shan also expressed her opinion.
"Could you brush some spirit fruit jam on it?" Mu Yu asked as he cut spirit fruit for Hua Nuansu, feeling that spirit fruit and barbecue would go well together.
Zhu Yi patiently took notes of everyone's opinions, deeply realizing what it means to please everyone.
Seriously, everyone has their own taste. It seems I can adjust my seasoning to suit my palate.
The spice ratio and saltiness need to be improved, and there should be more options for the sauce flavor. Would jam with barbecue taste right?
Zhu Yi ate a beef skewer in one bite, and then peeled off a clove of garlic and chewed it. Wei Weiwei watched and grimaced, "Doesn't such a big clove of garlic burn your mouth?"
"It's alright, having some garlic cloves with barbecue makes it even better!"
Wei Weiwei leaned over to chat with Zhu Yi about gossip: "Junior Sister, a fellow Daoist posted a reward on the plaza today for a weapon refiner to make a custom kitchen, but the crowd laughed at him. I read what they said, and it was really awful!"
Zhu Yi looked sorrowful, wanting to say that the person was herself, but seeing Weiwei's gossipy look, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Silently, he took out his jade spirit tablet to check for new messages again, and his eyes lit up: "There's a new message!"
An anonymous post via private message reads: "Fellow Daoist, I have some knowledge of weapon crafting, but my skills are rather limited. I'm not particularly interested in forging weapons; I prefer making small trinkets in my spare time. Although I don't know what kind of kitchenware you require, I'd still like to give it a try."
[Thank you for your honesty, fellow Daoist. I don't really enjoy forging too many weapons either.]
Zhu Yi began to speak seriously, going along with what the other person was saying. Who wouldn't like a well-forged, high-level weapon? She wasn't stupid. But it wasn't easy to find a weapon refiner who could forge kitchen utensils for her, so it was better to wait and see before easily refusing.
Just doing this made me realize how good I am at tea.
【Fellow Daoist, why don't we get together and try them out? I have many ingenious ideas here~】
Zhu Yi should be careful of her nervousness and drink some linden leaf tea.
"What's wrong, junior sister? Did you eat too much spicy food?" Wei Weiwei asked her considerately.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com