Bobo chicken, pickled cabbage and pork dumplings, four young women...
After agreeing on the details of the collaboration with Camellia, Sangye asked her to meet with Jiang Siwei again the next day to revise the scope of the contract.
Jiang Siwei's understanding is based on the clear rules. If Sang Yemao rashly cooperates with others, even if the two companies have different customer groups, misunderstandings are inevitable.
Kuwano wanted to nip any potential rift in the bud.
Sangye and Camellia chatted for a long time. Before sending Camellia back, she gave her two pots of Eighteen Scholars as a gift for Camellia—since the items were on display, they had to be used.
By the time Sangye returned to the house, it was already late at night.
The room was lit by a warm, pale yellow light. Lin Changli was still awake, waiting for her to return.
He leaned against the headboard, propping his head up, browsing the terminal. His long hair fell to the side of his face, and his eyes and brows were gentle, lacking his usual sharpness.
Noticing Sangye enter the room, he smiled gently, still lazily lying on the headboard without moving: "You're back?"
Sang Ye, her body steaming from the hot spring, deliberately mischievously rushed forward, grabbed Lin Changli's head, and pressed it against her chest, letting him feel the sulfurous smell of the hot spring: "I'm practically pickled in it! How are you going to thank me?"
Lin Changli hugged her back, but his hands were not at peace, slowly stroking up under her nightgown: "How would the Major General like me to thank you?"
His tone was seductive, like that of a pitiful subordinate being bullied by Sangye.
*
Before falling into a deep sleep, Sangye went into the cave to take a look around.
She has been paying close attention to the changes in the cave recently.
As the cave expands, the sense of reality of "building a world" becomes stronger and stronger, which is more fulfilling than the sense of accomplishment of transforming the base and the Loda Plain.
Sangye inquired about the reason, and it was probably because the cave "completely belonged to her alone," allowing her to alter it at will. She could even command the phoenix tree to build mountains and seas, creating landscapes of different countries and regions. All of this relied on detailed records left behind from this era. In the cultivation world, Sangye might never have obtained such knowledge in his entire life.
Every time he thinks about this, Sangye sighs with emotion. Human destiny is truly wondrous; who knows what opportunities might arise in the next moment?
When she landed next to the sycamore tree this time, she noticed that the sycamore tree was mysteriously covering something with its broad branches and leaves.
Sangye walked over, picked up a branch, and discovered that the sycamore tree had somehow "gave birth" to three puppies.
They looked like they had just been weaned, slumped over, leaning against each other as they slept, one against the other's belly, the other against the other's legs, their little bellies rising and falling with their breath.
A snow-white bird with a patch of dark, cloud-like black on its forehead.
It was light black, but its four paws and belly fur were white.
There was also the largest and roundest one, which was entirely yellow and looked like the most reassuring little dog guarding you.
Kuwano was utterly shocked: "How was this born?"
No wonder Sangye was shocked. Apart from the natural landscape, all the crops, plants, flowers, and even the young cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, fish, shrimp, and crabs in the cave were "foreign things".
They all come from the storage rings of Sangye and Du Yuan, and are usually carefully maintained with chalcedony.
It was once a consensus among the people of Shifangwu that no life could be born in the cave heaven.
Even before, such a spectacle had never appeared in the cave heavens of my master and grandmaster.
Sangye was certain that she had never given Dongtian any cat or dog embryos; she didn't keep anything that wasn't on the regular menu. She was a cook, not a scientist.
The sycamore tree looked smug, its branches and leaves rustling as if it were dancing.
"That's because I've evolved again!" The sycamore tree challenged Sangye's understanding. "The more the cave heaven evolves, the closer it becomes to the human living environment; it simulates it on its own. Human society has dogs to guard homes, cats to entertain, and horses for transportation and travel..."
"Wait, there are horses too?" Kuwano interrupted.
"Yes, there is." A spiritual entity separated from the sycamore tree. "I'll take you to see it."
Below the plains of the mountains, a group of ponies are running freely.
After struggling for a while, Sangye could only manage to utter one word: "Wow."
“But if you don’t like them, I can destroy them,” the sycamore tree said, simply stating a fact, though it sounded terrifying. “You are the master of this grotto. If you don’t want them, they will disappear.”
“That’s not necessarily true.” Sangye quickly stopped him. “If we have it, we have it. Anyway, the cave can support us.”
"Right, I think so too." The sycamore tree led Sangye back to the tree beside the litter of puppies. "Do you want to take them out and raise them?"
Sangye squatted down and gently stroked the puppy's head, feeling the warm touch under his hand.
Newborn puppies feel incredibly soft to the touch, like a ball of cotton, which is so heartwarming.
"Will they survive if we take them out to raise?" Sangye was quite worried about this question.
"Just raise them normally. Raise them the same way you raised them in Shifangwu. All the creatures that leave your cave carry your spiritual mark and have very strong vitality, so don't worry." The phoenix tree practically patted its chest to assure them.
“Okay.” Sangye readily agreed. A little dog was circling around her feet and always sticking to her. Just thinking about it made her feel very happy.
"You said there were cats too, where are the cats?"
The sycamore tree froze: "The cat, the cat ran away."
She shook the branches. "They're so disobedient! If you want to take them out too, I'll catch them for you right now!"
Kuwano chuckled. As expected of a cat master, there's no way he'd listen to reason.
In the end, the sycamore tree found a little calico baby for Sangye. It kept hissing at Sangye fiercely, but its teeth were still soft, making it extremely cute even in its fierceness.
Kuwano returned to the real world carrying three dogs and a cat.
As soon as the four little ones came out, they looked around in a bit of panic, and then immediately rushed to the warmest and safest place they felt, huddling together.
Lin Changli, whose chest was now occupied by kittens and puppies: "..."
Sangye took out a blanket, rolled up the four sides to form a simple little nest, placed it at the head of the bed, and carried the four little ones inside: "Sleep like this for today, I'll make you a nest tomorrow."
After she finished speaking, she patted each of the fluffy little heads and drifted off to sleep, surrounded by the scents of kittens and puppies.
*
The next day, Sangye and Jiang Siwei signed a supplementary agreement, which stipulated the scope of their cooperation based on the original agreement. It stipulated that Jiang Siwei could only sell in retail form and could not supply to institutions with more than 200 people.
Jiang Siwei has no immediate plans to enter the centralized procurement industry. Firstly, she has the foundation of her family's chain brand and controls the interstellar route. Secondly, rather than earning money from institutions and having to deal with a group of people in bureaucratic terms to collect a centralized procurement fee, she prefers to collect a few hundred or a few thousand star coins from each person, accumulating little by little.
Therefore, Jiang Si signed the contract very readily.
Then she left the space to Sangye and Shancha and went to the kitchen to find food.
As for Camellia, Sangye handed her the drafted contract to look at, not in a hurry to sign it.
“I’ll give you 100 samples of each product first. You can take them back and try them yourself, conduct small-scale trials, or give them to people you know in the purchasing department to see their reactions. Then you can decide whether to sign a contract.” Sangye made a list and handed it to Shancha as well.
But she knew that Camellia wouldn't refuse. What Kuwano meant by saying this was to let Camellia reconsider the danger of her secret investigation. If Camellia eventually withdrew, Kuwano could find another way.
Song Yu should be most grateful that after the emperor ascended the throne, the empire ended its state of turmoil and did not give anyone the opportunity to fish in troubled waters; otherwise, how could he have lived so freely?
Camellia took the list, which detailed dozens of products, including semi-finished instant noodles, rice balls, vacuum-packed bread, frozen dumplings, wontons, rice noodles, various fried semi-finished chicken wings, fries, chicken nuggets, and various dried fruits...
Many of these products have been improved by Sangye. For example, she directly packages the sauce packet, vegetable packet, and seasoning packet with the instant noodles in the same bag, making it easier to store and more convenient to eat without having to scoop them out from a large jar of sauce. She also provides chili, vinegar, and soup base for dumplings and wontons.
As for the ingredients, Sangye didn't rush to add them to the list.
People from different planets who are first exposed to different foods go through a gradual adaptation process; buying groceries and cooking for themselves is an even bigger topic later.
Camellia understood what Sangye meant. She put away the list and contract, stood up and said goodbye: "Then I'll go back first. I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
Sangye nodded, escorted her to the entrance of the courtyard, and watched her leave.
"Are you plotting something?"
Behind Sangye came Jiang Siwei's curious voice. She gently held the little dog with a dark cloud on its forehead in her arm.
Sangye smiled and changed the subject, feeling there was no need to involve Jiang Siwei.
"It's time to feed them."
Sangye and Lin Changli had only slept for a few hours when the four little ones by the bedside started crying loudly; they were starving.
Sangye kicked Lin Changli up and made him goat milk for the kittens and puppies.
She tossed the storage ring to Lin Changli, asking him to find goat milk powder inside. She instructed him on the dosage and the requirements for the bottle, emphasizing that it's better to have too little than too much, as kittens and puppies at this age don't know when they're full and will eat as much as they can, often to the point of overeating themselves.
Then Sangye fell into a deep sleep again.
Lin Changli somehow managed to find a baby bottle about half the size of his palm, with a narrow spout so that the baby wouldn't inhale too much at once.
Several hours after being fed in the morning, the little ones started making soft cries again.
Kittens are the most aloof, perhaps because they are a little bigger than puppies. They will sit on a person's head without making a sound, and when the person wakes up, they will stare at her, as if to say: "Servant, why aren't you making me milk powder yet?"
Whenever there are kittens or puppies around, Wu Jianing stops going out to play. She holds the yellow puppy and hands Rong Cheng various materials for building a nest.
After waking up, Sangye named them. The puppy with a dark cloud on its forehead was named Sangye Wuyun; the one with snow-white paws was named Sangye Taxue; and the yellow puppy, whose color was as beautiful and bright as a peony, was named Sangye Yaohuang.
As for the kitten, because of her three-color combination, Sangye named her Sangsejin, a homophone for "sangsejin".
She has four daughters at such a young age, who wouldn't be envious?
When Du Yuan heard Sangye say that, he almost rolled his eyes.
The dog and cat kennels were made of oiled paulownia wood, the rough edges worn away so that not a single burr was visible. There was not a single uneven spot when you touched them from top to bottom. Each kennel had a name tag hanging on it, with the names of the four Sang sisters written neatly on it.
Sangye covered the nest with a thin blanket.
A row of osmanthus trees was planted under the wall of the courtyard, and there were four nests under the trees.
Osmanthus blossoms gently fell onto the nest, adorning it.
The same nest also appeared in the guest room on the second floor, which was the four sisters' private bedroom.
They play outside during the day, and when they get tired, they sleep in their nest in the courtyard. At night, they go home to sleep, where they are protected from the rain and wind.
Ever since four more adorable creatures joined the West Building and became even more endearing each day, everyone suddenly started showing up on purpose, making meowing and purring noises all over the place, though none of them were actually cats or dogs barking.
Everyone pronounces Wuyun, Taxue, and Yaohuang smoothly, but when it comes to Sangsejin, they all use her full name, otherwise it sounds very strange, like a group of people suddenly developing lisps.
Amidst the meows, the four sisters grew stronger day by day, showing much of their mother's physique.
Sangye also received the camellia that had returned to Muli Star, along with the contract, which she had already signed.
According to Camellia's information, the sample response was excellent, especially in the military and hospitals, where the demand for mental energy products was the greatest. Camellia hardly needed to put in any effort or win over any people.
While it cannot replace the guide in the face of a groundbreaking product, it is like a lifeline given the scarcity of guides.
As for the matter that Sangye wanted Yamcha to investigate, Yamcha said she would start with the major hospitals on Mutli Star, and successively check the sentinels who had mental riots in recent years, their causes, whether they had received mental counseling from guides before, and who their guides were.
However, the project was enormous, and Camellia only had one trusted confidant who could help with the search. She didn't even tell her grandmother about it.
She has already identified several "suspected victims" with the same symptoms, and she will visit them discreetly without alerting them.
Sangye could only tell her to be careful. Although he acted as if it was none of his business, there really wasn't a better way at the moment.
Lin Changli certainly has connections, but his old subordinates are also very famous in the empire, and Song Yu would definitely recognize them.
Sending people to infiltrate now would be very risky. Moreover, the interconnectedness of the internal systems of a small planet like Muli is unimaginable.
Sangye held Sang Sejin in his arms, brushing her fur while thinking about this matter.
It wasn't until Aso Ment pushed two children into the courtyard that she came across. She had recently taken the children to play with the four sisters, who also loved the twins.
Although the twins are only two months old, they have strong hands and feet, bright eyes, and are developing very quickly. They can already talk to people by making "ah ah oh oh" sounds.
Although Sang Sejin usually ignores everyone and likes to punch and kick Sang Ye and Lin Changli, she is extremely tolerant of the twins and even allows them to spit on their heads.
"Is there anything to eat? I'd like something hot." Aso Ment noticed that Sangye was staring at her, but she didn't seem to care.
Sangye realized a crucial point that they had been overlooking.
Who is the CEO of Muli Star?
In the overall atmosphere of a strong empire, those who can be promoted to general and serve as executive officers are not mediocre.
Aso Ment knew almost everything about Black Tower, but she just didn't say it.
So what about the executive officer of Muli Star?
Is it that they genuinely didn't know, or have they already become part of the perpetrator group?
Sangye sent a message to Camellia: Who is the executive officer of Muli Star? What is his name?
A short while later, Camellia replied: "Ms. Eugénie Retner, but she hasn't appeared in public for a long time; her adjutant has been handling the affairs on her behalf."
Sangye forwarded the message to Lin Changli, then stood up and asked, "Would you like some sauerkraut and pork dumplings? I'll also make some Sichuan-style boiled chicken."
Du Yuan and Wu Jianing went to Chaohai early this morning, Rong Cheng returned to Xueshan, and Lin Changli also went to Xueshan a few days ago to help deal with a difficult-to-extract mine pit.
Ms. Sophia rarely came to the West Building. If Jiang Sili didn't come either, she would have lunch with Aso Mente and the four sisters.
This was a first for Kuwano.
"What is '钵钵鸡'?" Asso Mente was indeed very curious.
Bo Bo Chicken is essentially a skewer of red oil, a mix of meat and vegetables, all skewered one by one. After being cooked, it is soaked in cold red oil for half an hour to absorb the flavor before it is ready to eat.
Since everyone else was out, Aso Ment had to make the skewers himself.
The daughters lay on the grass, the shade of the trees blocking the sunlight from hurting their eyes, while cats and dogs sat or lay beside them.
Eleanor and Callista talked to the kittens and puppies, talked to the air, and talked to the grass, making "uh-huh" sounds.
Sangye put the washed shrimp, chicken feet, beef rolls, beef balls, quail eggs, chicken slices, pork slices, chicken gizzards, duck meat and other meats together, and put the lettuce, cucumber, potatoes, lotus root slices, shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, kelp and other vegetables together, freely combining and randomly arranging them. Leave a little space between each ingredient to allow the red oil to soak in.
Aso Mente was indeed not good at these delicate tasks; she would always break the thin rods. Sangye could see with his own eyes that she was about to lose her temper if she continued.
Our savior has arrived.
Jiang Sili followed the covered walkway and found his wife and daughter.
He first teased his two daughters, then petted the kittens and puppies, before washing his hands and taking over the work from Asso Ment, thus freeing the two unfortunate parties.
Kuwano left the courtyard space to the two of them.
She never acts as a third wheel.
She went into the kitchen to make dumplings.
The pickled cabbage is from the same jar Du Yuan used to make pickled fish last time; a new batch has been prepared, and it's being chopped into sections.
Separate the leafy greens from the stalks. Use the leafy greens to make dumpling filling, and cut the stalks into small pieces. Stir-fry them with chili peppers, and they taste great when mixed with porridge in the morning.
With this in mind, Sangye had a new idea. Previously, she had only made semi-finished products, which required customers to take home and process them themselves. Could she make some finished products, such as rice seasoning sauce, side dishes, etc.?
Pickled cabbage, pickled radish, and other side dishes are very easy to preserve and can be stored for a long time because of their salt and fermentation process. Sealing them in a vacuum makes them even more convenient to transport.
Once interstellar people develop a habit of eating these dishes, the sales of this product will definitely be very good.
Sangye's mind was constantly working, and his hands were also constantly moving.
When she makes sauerkraut and pork filling, she not only uses sauerkraut and fresh pork, but also cuts the pork cracklings left over from rendering the oil into small pieces and mixes them with the filling. This makes it more fragrant, and when you unexpectedly chew on a piece of pork crackling while eating, you can remember the crunchy and chewy texture for a long time.
The dumplings are pinched to create pretty decorative edges, tightly holding the filling inside.
Then she began preparing the red broth for the Sichuan-style boiled chicken.
Chili powder, rapeseed oil, millet peppers, Sichuan peppercorn powder, white sesame seeds, and Sichuan peppercorn oil are stir-fried together with salt, sugar, chicken essence, light soy sauce, sesame oil, and Sichuan peppercorn oil in hot oil to make a rich red oil. Then, simmered broth is added, which, combined with the umami of chicken and duck, creates a fiery flavor that fills the entire kitchen.
Then it was left to cool and stand still.
Of course, nowadays you can also put ingredients into a hot pot, and this way of eating is called "maocai," which is also a way of eating.
But since we're eating piping hot dumplings, we should have some cold pot ingredients like Sichuan-style boiled chicken to balance it out.
After the two people outside had skewered all the ingredients, Sangye blanched them in boiling water according to the cooking time required, then drained them slightly before soaking them in the chili oil to infuse them with flavor.
The aroma of chili oil was so overpowering that the entire kitchen was filled with a fiery and pungent smell. Aso Ment was very tempted, but after glancing inside the door and then at his petite daughters, he still didn't dare to go in.
Sangye also ran out of the kitchen, waiting for the cooking fumes to dissipate before going back in.
Fortunately, they don't have to take responsibility for cleaning. No matter what kind of mess Sangye makes of the kitchen, the housekeeping robot will dutifully restore it to its original state.
When they detect even the slightest stain on the kitchen windows, doors, or those nooks and crannies, they immediately wield rags and mops to clean it up.
So-called "old dirt" is actually accumulated over time due to lack of time or laziness in cleaning, affecting the appearance.
After the chicken in the pot had been soaking for 20 minutes, Sangye returned to the kitchen to make dumplings.
The plump, white dumplings floated and sank in the boiling water, going up and down three times before they were scooped out of the pot.
Sangye's kitchen is a treasure trove; you can find all kinds of seasonings there.
Aso Mente expertly prepared her own seasoning for dumplings, while Sangye watched in disbelief as she added chili oil excessively, leaving even Sangye, who could handle spicy food, speechless.
Bo Bo Chicken and dumplings were served together, and a stroller was pushed to the table.
Sangye then brought out three more cups of lemon tea to relieve the spiciness, and the lunch, which was unusually small with so few people, began.
The piping hot vegetables, once immersed in the icy red broth, become as crisp as ice cubes, making a satisfying crunch when chewed. The meats, similarly, are immersed in the cold broth, causing their texture to contract and making them exceptionally chewy.
No additional seasonings are needed; the red broth alone is enough to captivate the senses.
Sangye's lips were swollen from the spiciness, covered in a bright red glow.
The two opponents were equally formidable.
Jiang Sili has a mild palate; he's a very mild-mannered person. He tried a little of every ingredient, but the spiciness was too much for him, so he turned to eat dumplings instead.
Aso Ment also made a condiment bowl with only vinegar, a little oyster sauce, chicken essence, scallions, cilantro, and sesame oil. She handed it to Jiang Sili, smiling as she looked at his bright red lips and flushed cheeks.
Kuwano sat opposite them, watching silently.
The chemistry between people is amazing; people with similar temperaments will get along and share similar interests.
However, even with complementary personalities, they can still come together and have gone this far and for so long. No matter what happens, they can never be completely separated.
For example, these two people in front of me.
Sang Ye shook his head, deciding to stop thinking about these trivial matters and focus on eating. Nothing was more important than having nothing to do in front of him.
She likes to dip her dumplings in sweet vinegar. The first bite revealed pork cracklings, and as she chewed them with the sweet vinegar, she savored the collision of various flavors. It was absolutely delicious.
The blanched ingredients weren't all put into the red broth. A little salt and MSG were added because cats and dogs can't eat too much salt. They were chopped up and put into four small bowls so they could also taste it.
The mulberry is the most special one. It will never eat if it is placed on the ground. It will occupy a corner of the dining table with an elegant posture. Sangye even moved a stool for it.
The remaining three sisters wolfed down their food. The youngest, Wuyun, ate slowly, and soon Yaohuang and Taxue came to snatch what was left in its bowl. Wuyun was so anxious that it howled and howled as it ate, taking a bite from one of the other before swallowing it, and then bumping into the other. In the end, it still couldn't stop the greedy Yaohuang and Taxue.
Sangye smiled and cut a little more for it, then caught Yaohuang and Taxue, and Wuyun was finally satisfied.
The two dogs, holding their younger sister in their arms, squirmed anxiously as they watched Wuyun finish eating. Sangye smiled as he watched her finish.
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