Hong Qigong examined the king oyster mushroom closely and asked, puzzled.
"Strange, strange! No matter how I look at it, it doesn't look like a mushroom..."
Li Huan smiled slightly, took out his phone, opened the photo album, and found a picture of king oyster mushrooms.
Hong Qigong stared at his phone: "What the heck?"
"A small box displaying pictures, an item from a foreign land!" Li Huan held up his phone. "Look, this is what the king oyster mushroom looks like before it's been cut open!"
Hong Qigong, Huang Rong, and Guo Jing all gathered in front of the phone screen to admire the "king oyster mushroom".
"Haha, this old beggar has never seen such a thick mushroom before. Foreign lands are indeed rich in all sorts of strange things. In my lifetime, this old beggar must go to France, tour to his heart's content, and feast to his heart's content!"
As Hong Qigong spoke, a look of longing appeared in his eyes.
Huang Rong quickly said, "If Seventh Master wants to go, I'll have Father order a large ship to be built, and Brother Jing and I will accompany you to France!"
Hong Qigong laughed and said, "Not only will we go to France, but we'll also go to North America overseas!"
North America has crayfish, bullfrogs, and tricycles, which Hong Qigong longed for.
Li Huan felt joy in his heart.
Cao Cao wanted to go to the Americas to seize the territory there and possess the beautiful women with exotic charms.
Hong Qigong also wanted to go to America, so he drove an electric tricycle to taste all kinds of delicious food.
Clearly, Cao Cao's plan failed, because there are no legends about Cao Cao in the Americas a thousand years later.
If Hong Qigong had found the Americas by ship, he would have made history more than 300 years earlier than the "explorer" Columbus.
Li Huan said with a smile, "King oyster mushrooms are not only delicious, but they also have remarkable effects such as nourishing yin and kidneys, promoting blood circulation, and anti-aging! Men who eat them can enhance their virility, and women who eat them can nourish their complexion!"
"Oh?" Hong Qigong's eyes suddenly lit up. "King oyster mushrooms are so amazing?!"
Li Huan asked, "Old beggar, do you want to improve your virility?"
Hong Qigong said, "I, an old beggar, have never married or had children, nor have I been close to women. Hehe, why would I need aphrodisiacs?"
The implication is that he is still a virgin.
"The old beggar is only interested in maintaining his youthful appearance. He's nearly fifty, so why wouldn't he want to be younger?"
Hong Qigong sat down with a smile, picked up his chopsticks, took a slice of "oyster sauce king oyster mushroom", put it in his mouth, and savored it carefully.
"Mmm! The texture is delicate and smooth, and it truly has the fragrance of almonds and the freshness of abalone. Wonderful, wonderful!"
Hong Qigong praised it highly and ate several more slices of king oyster mushroom.
"These king oyster mushrooms have a natural abalone flavor. Do we need to add any meat when cooking them?"
Li Huan said, "I added oyster sauce to enhance the flavor!"
"Oyster sauce?" Huang Rong asked hurriedly, "What kind of oil?"
Li Huan said, "Have you ever eaten oysters, also known as raw oysters?"
Huang Rong replied, "I live on Peach Blossom Island, where all kinds of seafood are available. Of course I've eaten oysters!"
Hong Qigong said, "I ate oysters several times in the Imperial Kitchen, and I still remember them vividly!"
Li Huan explained, "Oyster meat is crushed, ground, boiled, and filtered to make a thick sauce called oyster sauce! Girl, have you ever eaten oyster sauce?"
Huang Rong was taken aback and shook her head.
"I see!" Hong Qigong laughed. "Oyster meat is very small, so making oyster sauce must require a lot of oysters, right?"
Li Huan said, "That's right. It takes at least ten pounds of oyster meat to make one pound of concentrated sauce, which is why oyster sauce is extremely expensive!"
Hong Qigong ate a few more slices of king oyster mushroom, then picked up a red chili pepper with his chopsticks: "What kind of dish is this?"
"Chili peppers!" Li Huan continued, "They come from the overseas land of South America. Not only are they spicy, but there are also many varieties, and their colors are mainly red and green!"
Curious, Hong Qigong immediately tasted the "millet pepper" and frowned from the spiciness, quickly drinking a glass of ice-cold beer.
He slurped a few times, and his eyebrows relaxed.
"Although this chili is spicy, it has a hint of fragrance, which is different from the spiciness of raw garlic, pepper, and dogwood. It suits the taste of an old beggar very well!"
Li Huan said, "We also put small red chilies in the spicy crayfish and spicy bullfrog dishes."
Hong Qigong couldn't help but turn his head and stare at the food bucket.
Li Huan said, "Old beggar, you've already tasted my oyster sauce king oyster mushrooms. Between it and the stir-fried cabbage with poultry, which one is better?"
Hong Qigong looked at Huang Rong: "Rong'er's stir-fried cabbage with two kinds of poultry may seem ordinary, but it is actually ingenious and delicious. This old beggar likes it very much!"
Huang Rong smiled brightly, and Guo Jing chuckled as well.
Hong Qigong continued, "Young man's oyster sauce king oyster mushrooms are made with extremely rare ingredients and have an exceptionally delicious flavor. Even the old beggar loves them..."
Huang Rong said, "Seventh Master, you can't like them all; we must decide who is the best!"
Hong Qigong stroked his beard: "If we have to determine which is better, the oyster sauce king oyster mushroom is superior!"
In an instant, Huang Rong's smile vanished.
"Seventh Master, how does the oyster sauce king oyster mushroom stand out?"
Li Huan pretended to be serious and said, "Old beggar, you must explain this clearly, lest she be dissatisfied!"
Hong Qigong poured himself a beer and explained as he drank.
"Stir-fried cabbage with two kinds of poultry uses stewed duck feet as the meat ingredient, and king oyster mushrooms with oyster sauce uses oyster sauce as the meat ingredient."
"Compared to braised duck feet, oyster sauce requires more cooking time, but it tastes much more delicious!"
"Therefore, the old beggar believes that the oyster sauce king oyster mushroom is a cut above the rest!"
Li Huan immediately clapped his hands: "Great! Well said!"
The onlookers also discussed the matter and agreed with Hong Qigong's assessment.
Huang Rong was still unconvinced, so she quickly picked up her chopsticks, took a slice of "oyster sauce king oyster mushroom", and tasted it.
Suddenly, a glint flashed in Huang Rong's eyes.
Clearly, her taste buds were overwhelmed by the delicious flavor of the king oyster mushrooms.
Hong Qigong laughed and said, "Rong'er, this old beggar wasn't wrong, was he?"
Huang Rong composed herself and put down her chopsticks.
"I lost the first dish! Let's compete with the second dish!"
Huang Rong opened the food box, lifted the second layer, took out a plate of dishes, and placed it on the dining table.
"Seventh Master, please try my steamed tofu!"
On the plate were twenty-four white spheres.
Everyone stared wide-eyed and began to chatter amongst themselves.
"Huh! Why is the tofu round now?"
"That's not tofu, it looks like steamed dough!"
"It's definitely not dough, it must be steamed fish!"
"Perhaps it's a glutinous rice ball?"
...
Huang Rong's expression was smug and triumphant.
Guo Jing was also surprised: "Rong'er, is this... is this tofu?"
Huang Rong said with a smile, "It's the real deal!"
Guo Jing was puzzled, scratched his scalp, and dandruff fell off.
"That day at the restaurant, the braised tofu I ate was clearly square..."
Guo Jing muttered to himself, unable to understand.
Huang Rong urged, "Seventh Master, enjoy it while it's hot."
Hong Qigong stared intently at the steamed tofu, then picked up his chopsticks and carefully lifted one piece.
"This old beggar has eaten countless kinds of tofu—square, long, and diamond-shaped—but today is the first time he's seen perfectly round tofu! Hahaha..."
Although he laughed loudly, his arm was extremely steady, and the tofu on the chopsticks did not wobble at all.
Li Huan deliberately asked Huang Rong, "Girl, your tofu is so round, where did you buy it?"
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