When Xiao Feng returned to the capital, the weather was already very cold, but there was still no snow.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon, but there is still no snow this winter, which makes many experienced farmers feel uneasy.
This is a sign of severe drought in the coming year.
Xiao Feng met Jiajing and simply said, "Everything is fine over there with An Dahan. Give me the back mountain of Wushiguan.", and then ran away like a burning ass.
Jiajing was stunned for a long time, Xiao Feng had disappeared, and then he hesitated to confirm with Huang Jin.
"He just said that everything was fine with An Dahan, right? Then he asked me for the back mountain of the World View. These two things are not close to each other."
Huang Jinpei smiled and said, "I think Mr. Xiao is indeed in a hurry, otherwise he would have said a few words anyway."
Jiajing was very dissatisfied: "If there is something urgent, why not just go back and see his family? It's useless! Look at me..."
Huang Jin knew that Jiajing wanted to talk to Xiao Feng about his recent experience in practicing Taoism, so he smiled and poured tea for Jiajing.
"Didn't Long Live say that my cultivation has become more and more smooth recently? The time of breathing, breathing, and guidance is longer than before. It can be seen that the rising national destiny has indeed helped Long Live's cultivation."
Jiajing nodded, this is true. When Xiao Feng was discussing Taoism with him, he told him to keep his mood comfortable, especially when he was meditating.
Jiajing had never heard of this statement before. He only knew that he should be calm when meditating. But Xiao Feng told him that comfort is more useful than tranquility.
Jiajing tried it and the effect was indeed good. Little does he know that when anyone is in a good mood, their body will feel much better than usual.
The problem is that it was difficult for Jiajing to maintain this state before. Since Jiajing came to the throne, he has been fighting with ministers. Although he has been victorious, the country has been declining step by step.
It would be fine if Jiajing was a complete fool, he could still maintain his innocence of "why not eat minced meat". As long as people are really stupid, they can stay happy.
But Jiajing is not stupid, he is very smart. He hid in Xiyuan, rarely held court meetings, and delegated power to Yan Song, all in order to keep his mood calm.
Staying calm is a necessity for spiritual practice. If he really dealt with so many bad things in the court every day, it would be difficult for even a god to stay calm.
But this kind of calmness is actually a deception. Jiajing knew clearly that Ming Dynasty was getting worse day by day.
When Japanese pirates were rampaging along the seashore and looting the county town, he could close his eyes and pretend not to see them.
The White Lotus Sect is spreading everywhere, and he can pretend not to see it when it makes trouble from time to time.
The clan members were living and drinking more and more, draining the treasury, but he could pretend not to see it.
The Jurchens are becoming more and more arrogant. The vast territory outside the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong defense line is no longer under the control of the Ming Dynasty. He can pretend not to see it.
But that was all pretending after all. His imperial heart reminded him all the time that you are the sinner of the Ming Dynasty!
Sometimes while meditating calmly, the ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang would pop out of his mind and point at him and curse him. Then Zhu Di jumped out again and cursed again.
Not to mention Zhu Gaochi, who was squeezed out of the Ancestral Temple by him, scolded him even more harshly. Jiajing himself felt guilty and gave Zhu Gaochi a high anger bonus.
Not to mention his ancestors, even his cousin who had been ridiculous all his life looked at him mockingly.
"Brother, you can't do it either. It was in vain that I picked you out from a pile of wine bags and rice bags."
In such a state, Jiajing naturally felt bad about practicing Taoism, so when he saw Xiao Feng's true ability, he regarded it as a treasure and directly recognized him as his junior brother.
And since he had his junior brother, he first defeated the Tatars in Datong, and then personally conquered the Tatar siege, so he was not at a disadvantage.
The White Lotus Sect's home base was taken away, and its branches in various places were beaten to pieces, making it useless. The arrogance of the Japanese pirates was also suppressed, and Wang Zhi surrendered, hoping to achieve peace in Jinghai.
Not to mention that Jiajing's own treasury was getting richer and richer, and the opposition of his officials to his spiritual practice was getting weaker and weaker.
Under this situation, his mood was naturally much more comfortable than before, and the effect of meditating and breathing was naturally much better.
Because of the reasons Xiao Feng repeatedly told him, he attributed all of this to the blessing of the Ming Dynasty. Others don't know this kind of emotion, but Huang Jin, who is with her day and night, naturally knows it clearly.
So what Huang Jin hit the mark, Jiajing nodded silently: "I don't know what he wants the barren mountain for. There are only some trees and weeds on the mountain. Give it to him."
Xiao Feng did not go back to his home, but went directly to the World Viewpoint. The acting second temple master, Lao Guai, led Xiao Feng to see the treasure he cared about.
The treasure was hidden in a newly dug cellar next to the blacksmith shop. The cellar was kept dry and warm by the warmth of the fire.
Bundles of vines were built in an extremely regular manner, and the huge cellar was filled to the brim, exuding a unique breath of life.
Xiao Feng picked up a piece of vine and carefully looked at the spores contained on it, with a smile on his face.
"Are they all here? Are there any more?"
Lao Guai shook his head: "Zhang Tianci said that according to your instructions, a large truck was transported to Henan, a large truck was transported to Shandong, and a large truck was transported to Sichuan.
The one from Henan was given to Lu Yi and has been put into the Luoyang World View. The shipment from Shandong was delivered to Qingzhou and handed over to Yang Jisheng. "
Xiao Feng nodded and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's hard for Zhang Tianci. There is too little time left for him this year. It is not easy to plant so many vine seedlings.
This thing takes root and is extremely lively. After next year, there will be no shortage of vine seedlings, and the people of the Ming Dynasty will not suffer from another great famine. "
Laoguai had never seen the fruit that this thing would eventually grow, and he was very suspicious.
"Master, is this the fairy vine you are talking about? Could it be that if you eat the fruit that grows, you can turn into a fairy?"
Xiao Feng smiled slightly: "Yes, it's a fairy vine. Laoguai, when a person is very hungry, if he can fill his stomach, he will be like a god."
Qiaoqiao is like a god at this moment. She was really hungry, and was wolfing down the buns like a storm.
Since the Xiao Mansion was poisoned, Qiao Niang has raised the level of safety inspections, and every meal must go through three rounds of strict inspections.
The first round of testing is food testing. The purchased food must be washed repeatedly in water, and then the water used for washing vegetables is tested to ensure that it is non-toxic.
The detection methods are silver needles and the poison test pill provided by Tao Zhongwen. It is said that most poisons will change color when they touch this pill. It is only used by the palace!
The second round of testing is for kitchen utensils. All utensils used for cooking are washed repeatedly, and then the water is tested again to ensure that it is non-toxic.
The detection methods are also silver needles and poison-testing pills.
The third round of testing is the cooked food testing. One serving of each prepared dish and soup is tested to ensure that it is non-toxic.
The detection method is prosperous wealth. Wangcai's stomach is full every time he eats, and his little eyes look at the group of people watching him with great confusion.
When did you become so polite? They don't dare to serve me until I'm full? Has my status become so high? Sure enough, it was one day...
When Xiao Feng returned home, everyone was very surprised because he came back very suddenly and did not send a letter to his family in advance.
Xiao Feng took a glance and found that Wang Yingxiang was missing from the dining table, and knew that she had not returned to Xiao Mansion until today.
Xiao Feng smiled, feeling a little relieved, but also a little bit disappointed. He shook his head gently, isn't this what you wanted? You are so disappointed, bitch!
This is the family table in the backyard. When Xiao Feng was around, Qiao Niang would often send the food to Xiao Feng's middle courtyard, where Xiaomei would serve it and eat with Liu Xueer.
As soon as Xiao Feng was not at home, Liu Xueer was the first to be unable to bear the loneliness, so she took Xiaomei and ran to the backyard to join the table.
So at this time, Liu Xueer was sitting at the top. Next to her on the left and right sides were Liu Ruyun and Zhang Yunqing. When they saw Xiao Feng coming back, they moved to the side at the same time to make room for Xiao Feng.
For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Feng's face. Liu Xueer looked at him and the two positions on her left and right.
Qiao Niang covered her mouth and smiled at his joke. Liu Ruyun lowered her head to pick up the vegetables, pretending to be nonchalant, but she secretly glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
Zhang Yunqing looked at him expectantly, almost patting the seat he had just given up with his hand.
Only Qiaoqiao had no distracting thoughts, chewing buns and gesticulating to Xiao Feng.
"Master, please sit down quickly. The buns are already cold. All we have been eating recently are the leftovers from the fortune-making dog!"
Xiao Feng walked over with a smile and sat naturally on the left side of Liu Xueer, between Liu Xueer and Liu Ruyun.
Zhang Yunqing's face fell instantly, and he picked up the soup bowl to cover his face. Liu Ruyun lowered his head and picked up the vegetables significantly faster. He didn't even know he was picking up a piece of ginger and put it into his mouth.
Xiao Feng took the bowls and chopsticks handed over by Qiao Niang and said with a smile: "Miss Liu, I just have something to ask you. How is Taibaiju doing lately?"
Zhang Yunqing immediately put down the soup bowl, tears still shining in his eyes, but the corners of his mouth turned up.
Brother Xiao sat over there because he had something to discuss with Liu Ruyun. Hahaha, let me just say, it’s a first come first served basis!
Liu Ruyun was stunned for a moment, her chopsticks slowed down, and then she realized that she was chewing a piece of ginger in her mouth, and she spat it out while covering it with her hand.
"Mr. Xiao, Taibaiju's business is already very poor. Shi Zhenxiang thought of many ways and bought a lot of expensive ingredients to develop new dishes to compete with us, but the effect was not great.
But the weather has gotten colder during this time, and even the bigger restaurants have put out hot pot. Shi Zhenxiang bought good beef and mutton from some source.
Later, Zhang Tianci found out that the cattle and sheep brought in from the imperial court's mutual trade were uniformly sold to various places by the Ministry of Household Affairs. Tan Tong has also been responsible for this matter.
Tan Tong selected the best cattle and sheep and sold them to Shi Zhenxiang first. I secretly sent people to eat them, and they were indeed fatter than ours.
Mrs. Xueer once mentioned this matter to her father, Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu gave it a try and said that the cattle and sheep were very tight and he couldn't get in. "
Hot pot originated very early and was already very popular in the Ming Dynasty. And the hot pot of the Ming Dynasty is very close to the hot pot of today, not just beef and mutton. Almost everything that can be fried can be eaten rinsed.
Liu Ruyun frowned slightly, the slight shine on her face made her face look smoother and she looked unhappy.
This is no wonder for her. Although her cooking skills are now better than Shi Zhenxiang's, and her apprentices are better than Shi Zhenxiang's apprentices, hot pot has nothing to do with cooking skills!
Hot pot is actually made up of ingredients. The most the cook has to do is use a knife and boil it in water. The taste depends entirely on the ingredients and dipping sauces. No matter how good the cooking skills are, there is no way to show off.
Therefore, Shi Zhenxiang is indeed not given in vain. Under such a disadvantage, he can still seize the opportunity and find another way to win the game.
Xiao Feng bit the bun, thoughtfully, and then smiled: "Isn't it just hot pot? Why are you worried? Qiao Qiao, is the big pot where we made MSG still there?"
Qiaoqiao nodded: "Here you are, my mother has kept it in the warehouse!"
Xiao Feng nodded: "Miss Liu, tonight, I will teach you how to stir-fry ingredients. Please prepare butter in the kitchen and let them try another kind of hot pot.
Although Shi Zhenxiang is a small character, he has enough disciples and disciples that he might actually do bad things at critical moments. Let's take this opportunity to defeat Taibaiju. "
A large iron pot was set up in the yard. Lan Niang, Qiao Qiao, and Zhang Yunqing were responsible for the firewood under the pot, and Qiao Niang helped transport the chili peppers and oil.
Xiao Feng stood by the pot with a huge shovel and watched the oil bloom. Xiao Feng picked up a large piece of butter and threw it into the pot.
The milky white and slightly yellow butter melted quickly in the vegetable oil, and a smell more fragrant than beef spread in the air.
Seeing that the heat was almost done, Xiao Feng asked Liu Ruyun and Qiao Niang to pour a large pot of red pepper into the pot.
Liu Ruyun felt very distressed: "Do you have to pour in so many chili peppers? It's such a waste..."
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "It won't be fragrant without the pepper. Don't worry, these fried peppers won't be thrown away in vain. They can still be used for cooking."
A large pot of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns were poured into the oil pan, and Xiao Feng began to stir-fry. Liu Ruyun watched the operation intently, memorizing every step and detail.
Xiao Feng learned this from here. He had practiced it once in his own pot, but this was his first time using such a big pot.
Maybe Xiao Feng's operation still has some flaws, but for people in this era who have never seen red oil hot pot, this is definitely a dimensionality reduction blow.
Minced ginger was also put into the oil pan, adding a pungent taste to the spicy stir-fry. Liu Ruyun looked at Xiao Feng with little stars in her eyes.
As the god of food in the capital, Liu Ruyun's intuition about food is absolutely expert. She can almost feel how delicious the food in this pot is.
As a senior foodie, Qiaoqiao also has expert intuition. She smelled the increasingly fragrant smell and said longingly: "I really want to eat it."
Xiao Feng fried this large pot of ingredients for half an hour before stopping. He looked at Qiaoqiao's appearance and couldn't help but smile.
"Then eat, Qiao Niang, take out the hot pot."
Qiao Niang hesitated for a moment: "We have finished eating, how about tomorrow."
Qiaoqiao lowered her head in disappointment and said nothing. Xiao Feng looked at Qiaoqiao and suddenly thought of the night he had just traveled through time.
There was only meat in his bowl. Qiaoqiao lowered her head to chew the pickle sticks in her bowl without even raising her head or even glancing at it.
"What's wrong after dinner? I'm not full. Miss Liu, go cut some beef and mutton. Just cut it according to the usual parts for hot pot.
If there is fish, also cut some fish fillets. The fillets can be slightly thicker. Qiao Niang, go and prepare some vermicelli, green vegetables, and tofu. "
At this time, people do not eat hairy tripe, louver, yellow throat, etc. when making hot pot, and naturally there is no duck intestine. Only poor people would buy these products and take them home to replenish their income.
If you want mainstream people to accept these things, it's not enough to rely on delicious food. You also need to break people's hierarchical concepts. Xiao Feng has a way to do this.
The bright red hot pot was boiling. Xiao Feng first blanched a piece of beef, picked it up and ate it, then smiled at everyone. The taste was definitely average in Sichuan.
Then everyone tried it one after another, and the chopsticks suddenly became faster, and everything on the table was reduced rapidly.
In the end, Qiao Niang was afraid that everyone would have too much food, so she refused to add more food to everyone. Everyone put down their chopsticks still unsatisfied, and then found that they could no longer walk.
The next day, the second floor of Zuixian Building continued to be used as a seating area to serve stir-fry dishes, while the first floor, which had poor thermal insulation effect, was changed to hot pot.
Shi Zhenxiang stood on the second floor of Taibai Residence and couldn't help but sneer as he watched the guys from Zuixian Building place copper hot pots on the table.
"A few days ago, Liu Ruyun also set up a few tables of hot pot, but what happened? Her beef and mutton were not as good as mine, so the taste was naturally not good!
Whoever is willing to spend money to come to Taibai Residence or Zuixian Tower doesn't have a good tongue! Before, her cooking was better than mine, but now my hotpot is better than hers!
As long as you survive this winter, nothing may happen next! I don’t believe it, I can’t think of more good dishes! "
While he was thinking about it, his eyes suddenly straightened. What's going on? Why is the soup in this hot pot so red?
Could it be chili? No, is that what chili peppers are used for? Aren’t chili peppers used for cooking?
While they were stunned, the guys from Zuixianlou shouted loudly: "Zuixianlou's latest dish, spicy hot pot, is available in limited quantities. Welcome to try it!"
People with status in the capital eat fresh food. I heard it was the latest dish from Zuixianlou. No matter if it tastes good or not, I definitely want to try it.
At that moment, everyone showed their membership status one after another, from gem cards to gold cards to silver cards, clamoring to get a taste first.
Liu Ruyun came out, smiled and said to the guests: "Everyone wants to eat, but there are only so many pots. I have an idea.
This hot pot is meant to be enjoyed by everyone eating together. You can choose friends with whom you have good relationships and share a table together. The faster you gather, the sooner you can eat! "
When people heard this, they immediately started looking for friends. People who often eat in the same restaurant and whose identities are relatively close to each other naturally have a close friendship, and they quickly gathered a table.
People at this table were seated in a lively manner. While others were still looking for friends, they had already picked up slices of meat and scalded them in red oil.
After taking out the meat slices, several people looked at the color suspiciously, and then tentatively put the meat slices into their mouths.
“It’s so fucking delicious!”
“Not only is the meat slices delicious, the tofu is also delicious!”
“It turns out to be so delicious when eaten with fans!”
"Is this fish fillet? Fish fillet shabu hot pot? I haven't eaten like this before. Try it! It's delicious!"
The sound of admiration attracted all the people waiting in line to eat hot pot at Taibai Juli and ran to Zuixianlou to queue up again.
Shi Zhenxiang's face turned pale and he was stunned for a long time. Then he gritted his teeth and called for the waiter.
"Take a handful of chili peppers and throw them into the hot pot soup to see if it's really delicious!"
