CHAPTER 144: CHAPTER 139: THE FEMALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER OF THE SPIRITUAL SPRING SPACE

When Ye Qiu first arrived in this world, he exchanged for the Level 2 Chef God’s Light skill. Although it might not sound that high level, it essentially allowed him to outperform the vast majority of chefs.

It is now the peak of summer, and even though the average temperature in Qinghe Town is only in the twenties, most people’s appetites aren’t very good. Ye Qiu is preparing to make two cold dishes first.

The first one is smashed cucumber, which is perfect when you can’t eat much during the summer. Just a few bites can stimulate your appetite. This dish is very simple to make; the key is to bring out the cucumber’s crispness and make it flavorful. The freshness of the cucumber and the seasoning of the sauce are most important.

The cucumber is picked by Ye Qiu from the Spiritual Spring Space, absolutely crisp and refreshing. For the sauce, you need several cloves of garlic, a spoonful of sesame oil, two spoonfuls of light soy sauce, a suitable amount of salt, and lastly, half a spoonful of vinegar. For those who like it spicy, you can also add some chili peppers. Don’t peel the garlic; just smash it with the flat of a knife, loosen the garlic flesh, peel the skin off lightly, then chop it up. Mix the crushed garlic and various seasonings in a small bowl to make the sauce.

Clean the cucumber without peeling it, knock it hard on the chopping board with the side of a knife, and cut it into large pieces after loosening the flesh. Put the smashed cucumbers in a bowl, pour the prepared sauce over them, and shake the bowl gently so that the cucumber pieces are evenly coated. There you have it, a delicious and appetizing smashed cucumber dish.

The second dish is spicy marinated beef tendon, which is perfect for Ye Fu, who loves to drink alcohol.

Soak a piece of beef tendon in water for twenty minutes, changing the water a few times, then put the beef tendon into a pot with half a pot of cold water. Add two spoonfuls of cooking wine and a knot of green onion, bring it to a boil over high heat, and blanch for one minute. Skim off the foam, take out the beef and rinse it in warm water until clean and drain. Prepare another pot and fill it with water enough to cover the beef, adding slices of green onion, knot of green onion, plenty of salt, and after bringing to boil over high heat, simmer on low heat for an hour and a half until a chopstick can easily pierce the beef. Once it’s done, take the beef out to cool and then slice it thinly against the grain.

Then get a small bowl, put sesame seeds at the bottom, and cover them with chili powder and minced garlic. Pour a suitable amount of oil into a pot and heat it until it smokes. Pour the hot oil into the bowl in three stages, stirring as you pour. Lastly, chop some cilantro and put it in the beef bowl, add the hot pepper oil and three spoonfuls of light soy sauce, mix well, and the marinated beef is ready - fragrant, tender, and won’t stick in your teeth. With this, the two cold dishes are completed.

For the hot dishes, Ye Qiu plans to make garlic vermicelli shrimp, minced meat eggplant pot, sour cabbage fish, braised pork belly, homestyle tofu, spicy chicken, and sautéed baby bok choy with garlic. There’s meat and vegetables, spicy and sweet, and to finish, a mixed mushroom soup to make it all complete. These should be enough for the family of four, the unmarried couple Liu Wei and Ding Zijun, as well as the painter and the writer.

Ye Qiu didn’t make any particularly difficult dishes, all pretty homestyle which you could find in any average restaurant. It’s precisely this that tests a chef’s skill, as everyone has the same recipes, but each chef’s dish tastes different, and that’s the distinction.

"It smells so good!" Liu Wei and the others didn’t go out this morning, and after taking pictures, they came out as soon as they smelled the aroma.

Madam Shen specially told the painter and the writer about it in the morning, and they didn’t go out either. Now they are sitting in the dining room, their hands busy with sketchbooks and notebooks, but their Divine Sense has long flown away.

How can it smell so good? That must be the braised pork belly; the writer feels that he could eat two bowls of rice just by the smell alone. And then there’s the spicy chicken, spicy but not overpowering, making the painter feel like he’s back in Sichuan province during his childhood, when the neighbor’s home would emit this aroma at dusk.

"Is this sauerkraut marinated by auntie? The color is so beautiful, and it smells so sour too," Liu Wei said, swallowing a mouthful of saliva, her eyes fixated on the pot.

"It’s almost ready. Today I cooked the rice in a large pot, and later there will also be crusty rice porridge."

"What is crusty rice porridge? Is it porridge made with leftover crusts?" Liu Wei asked puzzledly, as she had grown up in the city and never eaten this before, but she could guess a thing or two from the name.

"That’s right. Cooking rice in a big pot is not like using a rice cooker where you add water once and forget about it. When cooking in the big pot, you add more water, and when the rice is about seventy to eighty percent done, you take out the rice soup, leaving just enough to finish cooking the rice. Then you should lower the heat, so the bottom crust doesn’t burn. Once the rice is done and the bottom crust turns golden brown, serve the rice in a bowl, leaving a little rice and golden crust in the pot. Crush the crust, add back the rice soup, and simmer it on the remaining heat until it thickens, and you get a very delicious crusty rice porridge."

"Everything you’ve described sounds delicious, I must try it later," Liu Wei’s eyes lit up, feeling that her trip to Southern Province was absolutely worthwhile.

"Is it okay if I take some pictures and post them online?" Liu Wei eagerly wanted to share everything about today with her followers. Besides being a makeup artist, she was also a beauty blogger with some fame online, her followers having surpassed the half-million mark. Ye Qiu knew this and also understood the benefits of Liu Wei posting a Weibo, so he didn’t refuse.

"No problem, then I’ll shamelessly ask you to advertise for me," Ye Qiu said.

Besides today’s dishes, Liu Wei also posted pictures of the inn’s flower beds and signboard, the simple and clean inn, the unique and beautiful courtyard, the exquisite and delicious cuisine, and the elegant silhouette of someone cooking. As soon as Liu Wei uploaded them, it attracted her fans to gather around.

"I’ve been waiting for a beauty video for half a month, only to be met with the blogger’s travel posts. Have you treated me right, Wei Wei?"

"Here I am, miserably doing overtime at the office and eating take-out, while the blogger tortures us with delicious food pictures. Unfollow, definitely unfollowing!"

"That’s it, now I’m hungry, I want to eat Braised Pork Belly too, I want to eat sour pickle fish!"

"With my many years of experience as a foodie, this dish must be delicious! @Wei Wei, I won’t kill you if you give up the address."

"Am I the only one who thinks the person cooking must be a beauty?"

"Upstairs, you’re not the only one."

"Am I also the only one who wants to stay at this inn for a couple of days? Doesn’t it look really amazing?"

"Upstairs, you’re not the only one either."

"’Autumn Night Fishing Boat’? That sounds so familiar. Is the blogger in Southern Province? I’ve been there. The landlady of the inn is really nice, the cooking is delicious, and it’s cheap too. I’d like to go there again."

"Those upstairs, what’s crucial is the exact address!"

"Found it, D City, Qinghe Town. This inn is quite famous in the local travel guides, and the surrounding scenery is mostly natural. It’s really worth a visit." After saying this, the fan also uploaded many beautiful local landscape pictures.

"I’ve decided, I’ll go there this summer vacation."

"Sis upstairs, make a code sign, we might run into each other!"

Liu Wei was smiling as she read the netizens’ responses. At first, she even replied to a couple of them, but once the dishes were served, she completely lost the ability to pay attention.

"Hmm!"

"Delicious!"

Usually so refined, but in this moment, even manners were forgotten. There’s no help for it; eat slow, get less meat!

"Burp..." Without regard for her image, Liu Wei sprawled in her chair, belched contentedly, and said to Ye Qiu, "I’m convinced, I swear this is the most delicious meal I’ve ever had."

Ding Zijun, the artist, and the writer didn’t speak, but the satisfaction in their eyes said it all.