Chapter 12 [Sorry, she cheated]
Xu Youshan felt very proud when he saw the panic on the faces of Chen and others.
Jiang Lili and others were driven out of the dilapidated temple by the yamen runners and followed the servant to the hill where Chef Hai was looking for mushrooms.
The rain was lighter at this point, and they still had ponchos on, so the rain wasn't a problem. The problem was that they didn't even know what edible mushrooms looked like!
Chen anxiously pulled Xin Cheng and said, "What should we do? This is a life-threatening job!"
Xin Che reassured everyone: "Don't worry, I know a few types of fungi. Just follow me and find them."
The two followed Xin Che closely, but problems soon arose.
"Brother, these two kinds of mushrooms look similar. Which one is the deer flower mushroom and which one is the morel?" Xin Cheng looked at the wrinkled brown mushroom in his hand.
Xin Che was also puzzled: "I've only seen cooked morels."
Chen frowned, "This is too slow! That bastard even gave us a fixed time!"
"But we only know one or two edible mushrooms. It's too difficult to find enough for twenty people in half an hour!"
After Chen finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of Jiang Lili leisurely wandering in the woods, not coming over to join them in the search. She suddenly became angry: "Jiang Lili, why aren't you in a hurry at all?"
"If you don't get all the ingredients, you'll be the one who suffers!"
Jiang Lili waved her hand: "Give me a quarter of an hour, it will be quick."
Jiang Lili is busy posting in the group asking for help!
She remembered that Hou Xiaoxiao was from an ethnic minority and her family was in the wholesale business of wild mushrooms. She knew everything about mushrooms, after all, they made a living from them.
Once when the class was having a picnic, Hou Xiaoxiao showed off her skills. She found all kinds of wild mushrooms in the mountains, and stewed, stir-fried, pan-fried, and cooked them...she gave them a wild mushroom feast!
Jiang Lili tagged Hou Xiaoxiao in the class group and briefly explained the situation. The latter chatted with her privately and made a video call to her.
Hou Xiaoxiao: "Li Li, you've finally found the right person! Let me see what's going on over there!"
Jiang Lili clicked the flip camera on the video interface, and Hou Xiaoxiao immediately began to give orders.
Hou Xiaoxiao: "The one on the left is a morel, edible. The one on the right is a garicus, highly poisonous! Eating it can cause liver and kidney failure!"
Jiang Lili quickly knocked the deer mushroom out of Xin Cheng's hand and relayed Hou Xiaoxiao's words.
Hou Xiaoxiao: "The yellow ones are chanterelles. They smell good. Pick them!"
Hou Xiaoxiao: "Wow, this thing screams death knell, throw it away quickly!"
Hou Xiaoxiao: "This is a ripe mushroom, eat it with confidence!"
......
Xin Cheng and others saw that Jiang Lili, who originally had a confused look in her eyes, seemed to have opened up her Ren and Du meridians while taking a walk. Jiang Lili spoke in an orderly manner and explained the precautions for distinguishing various fungi clearly. Gradually, they went from being suspicious to being convinced.
With the support of Hou Xiaoxiao, Jiang Lili and others became more efficient. Xin Che and the other two also learned quickly and soon recognized various types of fungi. The baskets of mushrooms gradually piled up.
The four-member mushroom-picking team became more and more skilled and gradually divided the work. Xin Cheng, Chen and Xin Che were responsible for finding the mushrooms, while Jiang Lili was responsible for screening the mushrooms they collected to see if there were any that were picked up by mistake.
The four of them turned into mushroom harvesters and cleaned the mountain clean!
By the time the yamen runners came to drive them back, the four of them had already made a great harvest, collecting more than 20 servings of mushrooms.
When they returned to the dilapidated temple, Xu Youshan and others were stunned to see two baskets full of mushrooms.
"Ah Hai, come and sort through these mushrooms they handed in."
Xu Youshan called Chef Hai, and Chef Hai started to select immediately.
There were so many kinds of mushrooms picked by Jiang Lili and the other three that some were beyond Chef Hai's knowledge. He hesitated and picked out those mushrooms that he was not familiar with and put them in a pile.
"These fungi are not very common, and I don't know if they can survive with small ones."
Xu Youshan touched his chin and said, "That's easy. You people in Zhaoping Marquis' Mansion can just eat these mushrooms. Whether they are poisonous or not is your responsibility."
He looked at the pile of various wild mushrooms that Chef Hai had selected, and he didn't believe that there were no poisonous mushrooms among them!
Xu Youshan's men brought their own cooking utensils. He glanced at the old cooking utensils of Wang Zifu and others and said, "Captain Wang, please lend them your pots!"
Wang Zifu did as he was told.
Xu Youshan urged, "Hurry up, I want to see you eat it with my own eyes!"
Xin Cheng took the initiative to carry the pot and said to Jiang Lili, "Sister-in-law, you should know how to make this mushroom soup. We will help you and you can just give us instructions."
"Auntie, I'm hungry too. Let me help you."
Xin Yan had been hungry for a long time, so he hurried over to help Chen prepare the ingredients. His parents had told him that if he wanted to gain something, he had to pay for it himself and not just ask for things from others.
With so many people helping Jiang Lili, the blame was quickly placed on her, and Jiang Lili completely obeyed Hou Xiaoxiao's arrangements.
While they were looking for mushrooms in the mountains, they also found some wild ginger and wild onions, which were perfect for seasoning. Wang Zifu and the others gathered around Xu Zishan, drinking fine aged wine, having long since forgotten the cart of junk they had brought with them.
Jiang Lili took salt and other things without hesitation.
Various wild mushrooms were quickly put into the pot, and gradually a fresh fragrance emanated from the pot, making people salivate.
However, knowing that this pot of mushroom soup might be poisonous, the people in the dilapidated temple began to stay away after smelling the fragrance.
When Hou Xiaoxiao sent Jiang Lili a vibrating window to remind her that it was almost time to eat, Jiang Lili couldn't wait to scoop out the mushroom soup and eat with everyone in Zhaoping Marquis Mansion.
This soup is so delicious!
It is piping hot, fresh out of the pot, and tastes great.
The taste was completely different from the fast food she had eaten in a hurry and secretly on the road before. Jiang Lili didn't even care about the hot mouth!
The fresh and tender mushrooms burst with juice in your mouth when you bite into them, it’s so delicious!
Even Marquis Zhaoping, who had always been a bit reserved, didn't care about his manners and buried his head in drinking soup and eating rice, with the soup even staining his beard.
Xu Youshan hasn't eaten yet. He is waiting for his white jade plate, jade chopsticks and other luxurious tableware to be delivered to slap Jiang Lili in the face!
But looking at the way Jiang Lili's family drank the soup, and the aroma emanating from the pot, it seemed to be even more fragrant than Chef Hai's pot.
Xu Youshan covered his throat with a fan and swallowed his saliva violently. He had just eaten several delicious pastries but his cravings did not subside. Instead, he became hungrier and hungrier.
Just as Jiang Lili and others were enjoying the food, Xu Youshan's female doctor and the servant who had gone back to get something arrived one after another.
The female doctor got off the exquisite carriage, and the servant Luo Er who came to get the things rode a strong horse, which was much faster, so he came back quickly.
"Here we go! We're here!"
At this time, Jiang Lili also received news from Guan Yue, the leader of the mountain bandits.
"Li Li, we're here!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
