Chapter 15 Cooking Together
Lu Liufeng's eyes flickered slightly, and he pursed his lips.
"Why think so much? Since the female master has agreed to dissolve the marriage contract, why don't you just focus on finding the Golden Soul Fruit?"
“The curse is weakest on the fifteenth of each month. If you are confident, you can go into the cursed land to take a look, or ask Hollen how he is not corrupted.”
Holen is a golden lion-type orc of the female ruler, and one of the most powerful orcs in the Holy City.
Although entering the cursed land is a near-certain death situation, it is not without its challenges.
Occasionally, powerful beastmen will venture into the Cursed Lands on the fifteenth of each month to search for treasure.
The Golden Soul Fruit is one of these treasures. It is said that there are many Golden Soul Fruits in the Cursed Land, which were once picked by orcs who accidentally wandered in and did not die.
Of course, most orcs are unable to resist the power of the curse, even on the fifteenth of each month.
Mu Ling was preoccupied with the Golden Soul Fruit and didn't notice Lu Liufeng's choice of words.
You, you search in peace, not us.
Mu Ling didn't stay long before returning to the house to help the female master deal with those strange 'ingredients'.
He returned to the courtyard and frowned when he saw that only the female master was washing up.
He walked to a room on the right and knocked on the door.
Yi Yuexi's voice came from inside the door.
"Come in."
Mu Ling opened the door and saw Yi Yuexi in her nine-tailed snow fox form, leisurely grooming herself. Her icy blue fox eyes were haughty, making him dislike her.
“Yi Yuexi, this is not the Holy City, and you are already married. Even if the female master says she is willing to dissolve the marriage contract, before that, please take responsibility for yourself as a beast husband. We have no obligation to support you.”
"The mistress is busy taking care of everything outside, while you're resting inside. Do you think that's appropriate?"
Yi Yuexi rolled her eyes. "Did I ask her to do it? What does it have to do with me?"
He was used to being fawned over, whether in the Holy City or the Cursed Land.
Lu Liufeng and Mu Ling were often beaten, but he was never beaten because of his stunningly beautiful face, which naturally made him even more arrogant.
He didn't even want to glance at Jiang Xi, so how could he possibly take the initiative to approach her and help her? What if she became so narcissistic that she thought he had fallen in love with her?
Mu Ling snorted coldly.
"If you don't want to help, go out and hunt yourself. Don't eat what we catch! We don't have any extra food for you!"
Jiang Xi was washing potatoes by the water vat, and the water made her hands red from the cold.
As she washed, she missed her rubber gloves, wishing she had an extra layer of fleece inside.
Suddenly, a loud "bang" came from the courtyard.
Jiang Xi called out in confusion, only to see Yi Yue storm out, slamming the door behind her. Before leaving, she gave her a haughty look.
Jiang Xi: "?"
Are you alright?
Her gaze shifted, and she saw Mu Ling standing by the door with his arms crossed, his face icy cold.
Jiang Xi: "?"
Did you have a fight?
This is really interesting, it's like watching a TV series.
She turned her head and continued scrubbing the potatoes.
Mu Ling walked over, about to help, when she saw that all ten of her fingers were frozen red.
He was stunned.
Is this still the female master he remembers?
"My lady, let me do it."
Jiang Xi didn't stand on ceremony and let him do the washing of the potatoes while she went to get the seasonings to wash.
After the two finished cleaning the ingredients, Lu Liufeng also finished processing the wild boar.
Jiang Xi noticed that the pig's head and feet hadn't been completely cleaned of hair, so she told him to burn them over a fire and then scrape them clean with water.
Lu Liufeng was somewhat surprised; could it be handled this way?
Seeing that the two were handling the ingredients very seriously, Mu Ling also felt a sense of participation and took the initiative to help cut the pork and other parts into the shapes the female master wanted.
There was only one hearth in the house, but to make cooking easier, two more were built, stone pots were placed on them, and fires were lit to cook!
Jiang Xi first made the brine.
Simmer water, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, chili peppers, and salt over low heat.
Then, in the second pot, blanch the pig's heart, lungs, stomach, and intestines with ginger to remove any unpleasant smell, then put them into the first pot and start simmering them over low heat.
Worried about the flavors mixing, she didn't put the pig's head meat in the braising pot with the other ingredients. She planned to start a separate pot and braise it slowly after finishing her meal.
Braised dishes require sugar, but I don't recall ever having sugar in my memory.
Jiang Xi asked, "Do you have any honey at home?"
Lu Liufeng had already scraped and washed the roasted pig's feet, and he spoke up after hearing this.
"I'll go get it."
Since he had no honey at home, he took a pig's leg and went to trade it with the bear-tribe orcs on the other side of the tribe.
By the time the honey arrived, the pot of braised pork offal was already emitting a fragrant aroma.
Mu Ling went from disbelief to surprise, and the way he looked at the female master became increasingly different.
Jiang Xi put the fatty meat into the pot, stir-fried it until the oil was rendered, then took it out and fried it in oil. After that, she added honey and stir-fried it to make sugar caramel.
Lu Liufeng and Mu Ling wanted to help her stir-fry the sugar, but she was worried that they might burn it because it was their first time and they weren't skilled enough, so she did it herself.
He taught two people at the same time, doing it himself.
"This is called caramelizing sugar. The color after caramelizing should be a reddish-brown like this."
"Now we put in the pig's trotters and coat them with caramelized sugar."
"Then add ginger, garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves, and chili peppers and stir-fry until fragrant."
Once the spices are added, the aroma fills the air.
Lu Liufeng had never tasted the food from Rehe Valley, and this was the first time he had ever learned that these plants could actually be used as seasonings in cooking.
Both he and Mu Ling looked surprised.
The two exchanged a glance, but neither spoke, interrupting the female master's instruction.
Jiang Xi quite enjoys cooking, mainly because the food in the cafeteria during the apocalypse was really terrible, so she had to cook for herself to make ends meet!
Mu Ling's saliva was already overflowing.
He swallowed hard and couldn't help but ask, "Can we eat now?"
Jiang Xi refused without hesitation, "No."
"Now add enough water to cover the pig's trotters and simmer for a while!"
Since there wasn't a suitable staple food, she would add potatoes in a little while.
Braised pork trotters and potatoes!
Both pots are boiling, and we're starting a third pot to cook some stir-fried dishes.
Garlic-flavored spare ribs, stir-fried pork with wood ear mushrooms, stir-fried pork liver, and stir-fried taro with shepherd's purse.
Because she simply couldn't keep up with the demand, Jiang Xi stopped making cold purslane salad.
While cooking, she asked Lu Liufeng to put the pork kidneys and pork intestines on the fire to roast. With just a little salt, they would taste delicious.
It was the first time Lu Liufeng and Mu Ling had tasted this flavor, and their eyes lit up.
Mu Ling couldn't resist any longer, and wolf ears and a wolf tail appeared, the tail hanging down behind her and swaying rapidly from side to side.
Jiang Xi was stunned for a while, then couldn't help but want to laugh.
Actually, Mu Ling isn't that difficult to get along with.
He looks like a cool guy, but deep down he's a little wolf, wagging his tail if you give him a treat.
Lu Liufeng was a little reserved, but his face was full of satisfaction.
He used his wind blade to slice open the roasted kidneys and fed them to the female master by hand.
"The female master eats too."
Jiang Xi was holding a makeshift spatula made from wood in one hand and a bowl of condiments in the other.
Since she had no free hands, she opened her mouth without thinking and let Lu Liufeng feed her.
The soft flesh of his lips brushed against his fingers. Lu Liufeng blinked rapidly in his amber eyes, then naturally withdrew his hand.
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