The grasslands were fraught with danger, and Kangxi's army had suffered greatly along the way. They had even hunted many ferocious wild animals, which they would normally have had to discard as soon as they caught them, as one night was simply not enough time to process them all.
"Hmm... the dried antelope is really tough." A few days ago, the flock of sheep was almost wiped out, with only a pair of dried antelope and mutton accompanying the army. Many sheepskins were given to the people below to make warm clothes.
"You should be content." In her past life, around this time, there was probably a famine. Her intervention greatly increased the army's food supplies, and even provided some vegetables.
Qingyan pouted slightly, then scurried to the mahogany shelf in the corner where she kept two plates of skewered garlic sprouts. At this point, no one had the habit of eating garlic sprouts, and if they sprouted, they would simply be thrown away.
Every day, Qingyan would loiter around the entrance of the Imperial Kitchen, turning unwanted items into food. Of course, the first test subjects were Sisi and Feiyanggu.
After eating the wasabi and wood ear fungus, Emperor Kangxi waved his hand and said that Qingyan could do whatever she wanted.
"These beans have already sprouted, how can we still eat them!" If they were soybeans, we could still eat them after they sprouted, but these are black beans.
Qingyan completely ignored it. The pea sprouts were made from these beans. Recently, they've been eating a lot of hot pot. The weather is too cold at night, so they need something warm to keep warm. Qingyan has played a crucial role in this. She uses lamb bone broth as the base, and she thinks anything can be eaten. Not only can she cook bird meat, but she even uses some dried mushrooms.
"Sisi, my reputation is out there." Every time Qingyan heard others call her a little foodie, she wasn't in a good mood. How strange, she was such a well-behaved child, yet everyone talked about her like that.
Yin hugged Qingyan tightly. Because of Qingyan, he had been provoked by many Mongol princes. During this expedition, the princes did not miss any opportunity to show off their sons, and they all brought their sons to compete for military merit, hoping to catch Kangxi's eye. Such actions made more people take notice of Qingyan, which made Yin extremely angry.
"Next time, don't give them any food." Qingyan was very skillful and transported a lot of fresh vegetables from the capital. In previous years, the best thing in the military camp was dried vegetables, and more than two-thirds of those vegetables had to be thrown away.
The army escorting the grain fodder delivered a lot of vegetables to Ali. Today is the third day. Qingyan finished his meal early and prepared to go to the imperial kitchen with Yin.
As soon as they got there, they saw the imperial chefs looking on with regret at the dry, withered vegetables in front of them.
"Greetings to the Fourth Master, greetings to the Princess." Everyone liked Qingyan very much, and the little girl never complained.
"This is the recipe. Don't throw away the vegetables. The wilted vegetables will save you the trouble of rubbing them with salt to draw out the moisture." After Yin finished speaking, Su Peisheng quickly brought out the two houses that Yin had written.
When the royal chef saw what was inside, he was completely dumbfounded. It was basically all the stuff they were prepared to dispose of. A lot of apples had been delivered, but even if they could be kept, they would only last a few days at most. The ones that couldn't be eaten would be thrown away.
"Make use of everything. Even celery leaves can be pickled. Whether they taste good or not, they're still a vegetable dish," Qingyan said, chattering away. When Kangxi heard the commotion between Fayin and Qingyan, he quickly accompanied Consort Tong over. He watched as Qingyan sealed the things that were about to be wasted into jars.
Surprisingly, the little guy's pickled vegetables were even better than the imperial chefs'. Seeing that Qingyan had been a great help, the imperial chefs quickly brought out some snacks they had made for her from the kitchen. After Su Peisheng accepted them, she left with Yin, all smiles.
Kangxi stood at a distance and noticed the joy and doting in Yin's eyes. They had never seen Yin look like that before in the palace.
"Xuan Ye, Qing Yan's little brain is quite clever; those things taste very good." Consort Tong recalled that in the past few years, Qing Yan would always have Yin send various jars and pots of dishes in the autumn, whether it was porridge or rice, they were all excellent.
Kangxi felt a sense of anticipation. Along the way, even though there was a shortage of food, he was not hungry as he had been before, and he was able to eat his fill every time.
"The little guy has a good idea. Look at what Fei Yanggu has prepared: vermicelli, dried noodles, and the potato starch Qingyan bought for our trip. They've all been used as staple foods, so not a single soldier is hungry." Kangxi sighed with great emotion. The imperial chefs were always confined to the palace and couldn't think of such food.
Qingyan was a good cook, and everyone in the army knew that she was good at cooking. There was even a small stove on her carriage, where she could often cook delicious food. This was a favor that Qingyan wanted.
Many people thought that Fei Yanggu's family was foolish. Why not ask for such a good blessing for their son? He actually said directly that what Qingyan earned herself belonged to her.
"Mmm, it smells so good..." These were wild duck heads that Qingyan had prepared. She had to admit that people outside only ate meat and never ate these tough, sinewy things. When she saw that fifty or sixty duck heads had been cut off and were about to be thrown away, she had them plucked and cut in half.
During a rest stop at the previous stop, Emperor Kangxi specially ordered someone to make three small pots for her in the village. They were very light but had a surprisingly large capacity.
"La la la, lunch is settled." Qingyan had soaked a lot of mushrooms and taken out a lot of bamboo shoots from her spatial storage. "This is a secret!"
Qingyan wagged her little tail and looked at Yin. Those dried bamboo shoots were just something Qingyan used to cover up things. Yin took two strawberries from the porcelain bowl and fed them to Qingyan. The two of them were locked in the carriage, living a much more comfortable life than outside.
The frequent appearance of dried fruit and fruit juice made the Mongolian princes envious. Emperor Kangxi, Consort Tong, Feiyanggu, Saito, and Eshuo often received fruit juice or snacks from the Qing court, and sometimes even small meals.
These roughnecks were starting to have a headache looking at the supplies they had during peacetime and wartime.
At this moment, Fuquan and the others were drinking pomelo tea prepared by Qingyan. It was cooling and detoxifying. After eating too much roasted meat, their appetites were really not very good. This pomelo tea directly cut through the greasiness. It could be served hot or cold, and it tasted much better than sour plum juice.
There were also cookies prepared by Qingyan nearby...
The exquisite pastries made by the imperial chefs were all bestowed by Emperor Kangxi upon the Mongol princes, who were deeply grateful upon receiving the gifts.
"Feiyanggu, your family doesn't waste anything. Even the pomelos that His Majesty bestowed upon you, you kept the peels after eating them." Chang Ning felt a pang of heartache thinking about the pomelos she had thrown away.
"Hmph, Qingyan only has seven jars, but we brought them all this time." Fei Yanggu started to show off, not wanting to lose face in front of these people.
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