It’s better than nothing!
Song Jiyun laughed and said, "Let’s plant some and give it a try."
The barbecued meat sizzled, releasing an appetizing charred aroma that made one’s mouth water.
Yuan Yunzhong used scissors to cut off a small piece and brought it to Song Jiyun’s lips, "How does it taste?"
This was her first time eating wild deer meat.
She paused for a moment.
Too lean, and still gamey.
If it weren’t for the strong spices masking it, she could hardly swallow it down.
She didn’t want to force herself, nor did she want to disappoint Yuan Yunzhong—she still wanted to slowly "train" him to enjoy the "fun" of doing things with his hands!
"It doesn’t taste as good as pork," she said realistically, yet quickly gave him an out, "Maybe it’s because I’m not used to it, since it’s my first time?"
Yuan Yunzhong, being smart, suddenly handed his chopsticks to the servant by his side and took a handkerchief to wipe his hands.
Song Jiyun was secretly surprised.
Could this kid’s pride have been hurt?
Just as she was thinking about how to comfort him, he looked at her with a slight smile, cunning shining in his eyes, "I’ve invited many people to eat deer meat, and you’re the only one who said it is too lean and not tasty!"
"What?!" Song Jiyun’s eyes widened in shock as she realized this guy was teasing her.
"Alright then!" she cut a small piece of deer meat and stuffed it into his mouth, "You dare to tease me!"
Yuan Yunzhong laughed heartily and dodged, "I was genuinely inviting you for deer meat. But everyone else really likes it. I didn’t expect you wouldn’t."
He even took the opportunity to divert her attention by mentioning an embarrassing story of Magistrate Jiang, "Once someone gave my grandfather a few packets of fish maw, and we specially invited a master craftsman from Donglai Residence, who is skilled at cooking sea cucumber, to take charge of the kitchen. I ran away from the smell, but my grandfather was forced to sit at the table and down two cups of it."
Fish maw, Song Jiyun suspected it was fish maw,
which is indeed very fishy if not properly prepared.
She asked in confusion, "Why two cups?"
Yuan Yunzhong laughed, "One was for my grandfather."
Song Jiyun laughed out loud, rolled up her sleeves, and said, "Watch me. Next time, I’ll cook it for you!"
She always felt that cooking over a smoky fire would damage her skin, so if she really had to show off her culinary skills, she would make simple stews or desserts.
The two of them laughed merrily and handed the deer meat over to the cooks they had brought with them.
Yuan Yunzhong said, "It can be made into jerky. It’s a good thing in the western military camps. It’s also very useful for satisfying hunger on the road."
Song Jiyun naturally nodded in agreement.
The two of them grilled pork belly together.
Song Jiyun could tell that Yuan Yunzhong looked even more relaxed, and he said, "My maternal grandfather invented a type of barbecue using soy sauce, chili, honey, garlic paste, and sesame oil for the marinade, then eaten with pancakes wrapped around cucumber slices and the meat. Everyone who has tried it says it’s delicious. You should try it too, later."
It sounded a bit like the seasoning for Korean barbecue.
Song Jiyun smiled and agreed, "Good," then added, "Your grandfather must be a gourmet, right?"
Even though there was no term "gourmet" in this context, Yuan Yunzhong immediately understood what she meant and chuckled, "Your way of putting it is amusing and apt. My grandfather traveled to many places when he was young, and even after retiring, he still enjoys traveling around. He’s not only well-traveled and knowledgeable but also open-minded and humorous. He knows many extraordinary stories and anecdotes; you will definitely like him once you meet him."
Song Jiyun was surprised.
Yuan Yunzhong said, "Birds of a feather flock together, as people are known by the company they keep. Both of you are very similar."
"How can you tell?"
Yuan Yunzhong smiled and said, "In my life, I’ve only met two people who don’t like eating deer meat. One is my maternal grandfather, and the other is you."
He looked up at her from the grill, his gaze as warm as the spring sunshine, joy seeming to spill from his eyes, unmistakable to anyone.
Song Jiyun’s face blushed under his gaze.
As he flipped the meat, he said wistfully, "What I fear the most is when people always try to accommodate me in everything when we are together, and if I become a bit distant, they feel particularly aggrieved."
It seemed like many similar things had happened to him.
Song Jiyun was taken aback.
She couldn’t help but speculate about his interpersonal relationships.
Yet Yuan Yunzhong laughed as he wrapped a piece of meat for her and said, "Try this, see if it’s good!"
The meat was grilled so tender, with the spiciness of the chili perfectly interweaving with the sweetness of the honey. Adding the crispness of the cucumber and the hearty flatbread, this simple piece of grilled meat had a complex spectrum of flavors.
Song Jiyun gave him a thumbs up, then remembering what he had said earlier, she repeated her compliment, "This is the best grilled meat I’ve ever had, and I won’t hear any objections."
Yuan Yunzhong’s face was full of smiles as he said, "Then I will grill a few more pieces for you."
Song Jiyun nodded repeatedly and suggested that he sprinkle spices directly onto the pork belly just like he did with the deer meat, "I think it would definitely taste good."
Although Yuan Yunzhong himself didn’t eat spicy food, he grilled several pieces for Song Jiyun.
Song Jiyun hadn’t felt this satisfied in a long time.
Leaning on a large bluestone, she shared with Yuan Yunzhong the dipping sauces she knew, "You could also use pepper, add sesame oil, fragrant vinegar, and honey."
Yuan Yunzhong pondered, "Have you tried it?"
Song Jiyun hopped down from the bluestone and said, "Let me mix one for you to try, then you’ll know."
"I won’t eat it!" Yuan Yunzhong refused quite bluntly, probably suspecting Song Jiyun of playing a trick on him.
"You’ll regret it if you don’t try," Song Jiyun retorted as she looked for the seasonings.
The servant by her side couldn’t help but whisper cautiously, "Boss Song, you... you’ve picked up soy sauce."
Song Jiyun answered, "I know it’s soy sauce that I’ve picked up!"
That servant murmured to himself and dared not speak further.
Yuan Yunzhong burst into laughter, teasingly pinching Song Jiyun’s nose, "I can’t believe you tricked me. You can’t even tell soy sauce from sesame oil, and I’m glad I didn’t eat that pepper dipping sauce you made."
Song Jiyun was still confused.
Yuan Yunzhong hugged her, his voice as soft and warm as if it could drip with water, "Even after we get married, you won’t have to cook. Even if we don’t have a cook, you still have me, you don’t need to know all this. Just focus on making your beloved porcelain."
Song Jiyun was still in a daze, staring at the seasonings in the glazed porcelain bottle, when it suddenly dawned on her. Due to the different brewing processes, soy sauce at the time was made by exposing it to the summer sun to extract the bean paste liquid and was only ready in autumn, hence named ’autumn oil’. Whereas soybean paste was called soy sauce.
She... seemed to have no way of explaining it clearly.
Luckily, Shao Qing was peeking around the corner, saying, "My lord, Lord Wang is looking for you."
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