Chen Muxue hadn't realized that at this moment, there was an unwelcome guest above her, frantically criticizing her culinary skills. She cleaned and cut the garlic scapes into segments, then took a piece of cured meat and sliced it into thin pieces.
She consciously sliced the cured meat very thinly, so that the children would feel very satisfied when they divided and tasted it.
Cen Lizhui was unintentionally impressed by Chen Muxue's knife skills. The speed, the details—it seemed she had put a lot of effort into it.
He couldn't help but inwardly complain again, "With such skills, why not practice swordplay? Or even knife skills? Why insist on practicing with a kitchen knife? What's the use?"
After pouring out the refined lard, there was still quite a bit of leftover oil in the pot, so Chen Muxue didn't add more.
The cured meat was added to the pot and sautéed. As the cured meat was heated, the surface of its fatty parts began to become translucent and crispy, with a unique smoky and salty aroma wafting out.
Cen Lizhui, who was just about to criticize again, sniffed the air and then froze for a moment.
This seems... he shook his head vigorously, no, impossible, absolutely impossible! He recognized this thing, cured meat made with low-grade pork, the fatty part was greasy and mouth-coating, the lean part was dry and chewy, not tasty at all!
This aroma was just a façade!
He moved to a different position to look down, one where he wouldn't be directly facing the oil smoke so it wouldn't irritate his eyes as much.
Two rings of red chili peppers were tossed into the pot; with just a couple of stirs, the garlic scapes were added, "Sizzle!" The slightly greasy aroma of cured meat instantly melded with the unique aroma of garlic scapes.
A splash of cooking wine was drizzled in from the side of the pot, the sound of water and oil bursting, a culinary symphony exclusive to chefs. The last trace of raw pork odor dissipated as well, with a little bit of salt added. Not too much though; the cured meat was already salty, adding more would make the whole dish too salty.
For Chen Muxue, "moderate" was a straightforward measure. After evenly stir-frying, a salty, fresh, slightly spicy home-style dish—stir-fried garlic scapes with cured meat was ready.
When this dish was taken out of the pot and casually placed aside by Chen Muxue, Cen Lizhui finally snapped back to reality.
So...fragrant...
Cen Lizhui tried to recall the dishes he had eaten, but he had lived for a long time and had fasted for so long, he couldn't find anything in his memory that he could call a delicacy.
How could the slightly browned cured meat slices and the tender green garlic scapes go so well together?
"Gulp." Cen Lizhui swallowed, realizing he had been staring intently at the dish for a long time. He suddenly stood up, shaking his head wildly.
How could such a small, mundane temptation sway you? You bring shame to the Immortal Sect disciples!
Cen Lizhui berated himself frantically; he was an Immortal Sect disciple after all! The Immortal Sect! The only sect in the world that dared to name itself with the word "Immortal"! The only sect in history with a recorded account of someone achieving immortality!
But...what if he could taste just a bite?
Involuntarily, Cen Lizhui looked again at the dish of stir-fried garlic scapes with cured meat now placed behind Chen Muxue.
Chen Muxue was now simply stir-frying a vegetable and cooking an egg soup, and a meal was complete. She felt that living at the Qian Ding Sect was just like eating normally at home, so there was no need to make anything elaborate.
Behind Chen Muxue, a figure slowly descended upside down from the roof, reaching a guilty hand out towards the cured meat...
I flinched!
As Chen Muxue turned to grab some eggs, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye, but with a slight shrug, she paid it no mind.
Just one more bit!
Cen Lizhui reached out again. I just want a taste, just one bite, I only want to see what a dish made by a divine artifact tastes like, there are absolutely no other intentions!
"All done." Chen Muxue clapped her hands together. Her pinky finger could produce scalding hot water, saving her a considerable amount of time.
Cen Lizhui swiftly returned to the roof, stumbling as he got up there too quickly.
Hearing a noise on the roof, Chen Muxue glanced up. "Goodness, such a big hole, no wonder the original plan was to renovate, I need to make some money quickly."
Strange, there wasn't this hole yesterday...
Chen Muxue shrugged again and called Little Tiger to help carry the dishes to the dining hall.
Watching the cured meat almost within reach fly away before his eyes, Cen Lizhui on the roof couldn't help but make an Erkang hand gesture.
Eventually, he sighed, placed the tiles he had lifted back down, and followed them to the roof of the dining hall.
What if it wasn't tasty? Yes, that's right, a lot of things are like this, they smell nice but taste awful! Like some fragrant flowers that taste bitter.
Cen Lizhui thought furiously in his heart.
In the dining hall, a few little ones had long smelled the fragrance wafting from the kitchen, and their eyes were wide with anticipation.
What a delicious smell of meat!
Chen Muxue, watched by pairs of starry eyes, had slightly trembling hands as she served the food. It seemed cooking extra rice was the right move.
Cured meat is definitely a divine accompaniment for rice. Salty and tasty on its own, after stir-frying, its already thinly sliced fatty parts take on a crispy texture like fried snacks.
Xiaohua had eaten a lot of meat at home too, and she despised fatty meat, finding the soft and greasy texture combined with the porky smell made her feel nauseated just by tasting it.
However, these thin, translucent, and crispy stir-fried slices of cured meat in front of her made Xiaohua unable to resist grabbing a piece.
With a crunch at first bite, Xiaohua's eyes widened—is this the fatty meat she knows?! So crispy, and without even a trace of the porky smell, only the intertwining flavors of the meat and the unique taste of the garlic scapes. After the fragrant crispiness, the stir-fried lean meat gave a sensation reminiscent of jerky, and after swallowing the meat, a slight spiciness playfully lingered.
So delicious!
Xiaohua took a bite of white rice, and the initially bland rice actually helped mediate the cured meat's saltiness, as well as toning down the hint of spice. After swallowing the rice, the subtle sweetness in her mouth was magnified by the preceding savory flavor.
At this time, taking a bite of the refreshing stir-fried greens or a sip of the warm egg soup was even more satisfying.
The other three boys had long stopped paying attention to savoring carefully; they were gobbling down mouthfuls, afraid they'd miss a bite. Occasionally realizing they ate too ravenously, they'd sneak a glance at Chen Muxue, discovering that she was watching them with a joyful smile, making them even more absorbed in eating.
"Xiaohu, what's wrong? Did you burn yourself?" Chen Muxue suddenly noticed tears in Chen Xiaohu's eyes, and immediately asked with concern.
Xiaohu wiped his tears and shook his head, "I'm fine, I just think...Sect Leader, you're really nice."
He didn't dare say that now he felt he understood what the rich and noble had always described as the feeling of "home."
He knew well that without the Sect Leader, he might have long frozen or starved to death by the roadside, or perhaps been devoured by passing wild beasts; but in the past, the Sect Leader seemed to be merely completing a task—farming, cultivating, cooking, cultivating. He was grateful, but felt he never truly fit in here.
Qian Ding Sect, he had heard people gossip when he followed the Sect Leader to town. They said the Sect Leader was either foolish or crazy, unable to cultivate to any significant level, even bringing useless people back...
He had always felt he shouldn't be here, the Sect Leader was just acting on a moment of kindness...but now, he felt a sense of belonging.
While Chen Muxue and the four children ate happily, Cen Lizhui on the roof didn't even know how many times he had swallowed his saliva.
It's not even that good; those little rascals are skinny and unhealthy, clearly having never eaten meat, that's why they're eating so happily... slurp!