A Foodie with Principles Couldn't Settle

Fat Old Man held a wild chicken in his hands, but he was roasting it far too close to the flames, and he was turning it too slowly.

One had to understand that cooking food over a fire was completely different from grilling at a barbecue stall. Barbecue stalls used specially made charcoal that was easy to ignite and burned evenly. Most importantly, it produced no smoke.

Firewood, on the other hand, burned unevenly and produced a great deal of smoke. That smoke was incompletely burned charcoal ash, which would rise with the flames and stick to the chicken skin. Thus, before long, the wild chicken in the old man's hands had been burned black. It wasn't scorched, but covered in a layer of charcoal ash. Not only did that affect the texture, it also made the meat bitter.

Although the old man wiped oil over it from time to time, he still couldn't stop the layer of charcoal ash from growing thicker. Judging by the way he was going, it was only a matter of time before the chicken was actually burned.

Roasting meat over firewood was a highly difficult task. Even the master chefs at barbecue stalls might not be able to do it well, let alone the old man.

This was understandable. What kind of status did this old man have? His time was normally worth its weight in gold. How could he possibly cook for himself?

His culinary skills naturally left much to be desired, and roasting meat over firewood was difficult to begin with.

"This is simply squandering a heavenly treasure!"

As a foodie—er, no, as a food lover with considerable knowledge of fine cuisine—Yi Yun felt that he simply couldn't bear to watch.

When the old man finished roasting the chicken, he sprinkled on all kinds of seasonings, then presented the blackened, smoke-roasted chicken to Lin Xin Tong as if it were a treasure.

Yi Yun felt there was nowhere he could even put his mouth.

But Lin Xin Tong didn't seem to mind. She said, "Thank you, Teacher," then accepted the roasted chicken and began eating it in small bites. Her lips were red and delicate, but after eating the chicken, they were soon stained black. The sight made the corner of Yi Yun's mouth twitch.

This was truly like burning a zither for firewood and cooking a crane for meat.

The old man doted on his disciple, so the roasted chicken naturally went to her first. As for Yi Yun, he would definitely be last—there was no need to think about it. Still, Yi Yun was already very grateful. After all, if this kind of chicken were put up for sale, it would definitely be worth a fortune. Someone like Lian Chengyu absolutely, absolutely couldn't afford to eat it.

After roasting the first chicken, Fat Old Man began roasting a second.

He had taken extra care with the first one, since it was for Lin Xin Tong. The second one was for himself, so its appearance was even worse.

Yet the old man was quite satisfied with his own work. Once both chickens were roasted, Fat Old Man took a jug of wine from his ring. He ate the roasted chicken with great relish while smacking his lips and sipping the wine. After drinking, he wore a look of utter enjoyment, his white beard bobbing up and down.

Then he suddenly seemed to remember something. He glanced at Yi Yun and said lazily, "That one's yours. Roast it yourself. This old man won't serve you."

I'm doomed.

Yi Yun was speechless. Although he hadn't expected the old man to roast his chicken for him, the old man had previously said, "There aren't many people who get to taste this old man's cooking!"

Hearing that, Yi Yun had thought the old man was going to roast the chicken for him. Now that he looked at the situation, it seemed there really was no hope.

As for roasting it himself, Yi Yun actually wasn't sure what to do. Although he knew a great deal about fine cuisine, he was still a modern man. If he had a barbecue grill and smokeless charcoal, he could naturally roast a plump chicken that was crisp on the outside and tender within.

But over firewood? That truly wouldn't work. There was no way to keep the ash in the firewood from getting onto the meat. No matter how he turned it, it would definitely stick to the chicken.

"Senior, do you have a pot?"

Yi Yun asked very respectfully. As a foodie with principles, no matter how hungry or impatient he was, he absolutely could not settle! This was the first time he had seen meat in two months, and it was even such top-grade meat!

"Of course."

As the old man spoke, he really did take a pot out of his ring.

Yi Yun didn't know what material the pot was made of, but its craftsmanship was exquisite and its size just right. He was very satisfied.

Yi Yun then began to get busy. He started sorting through the seasonings the old man had brought out, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they were very complete. There was oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and all the usual things. There was even a plant seasoning somewhat similar to chopped scallions and cilantro.

"Um, could I borrow the wine?" Yi Yun asked again.

"Huh? The wine? Are you planning to have a couple of cups with this old man?" The old man froze, then chuckled as he handed it to Yi Yun. This kid was actually fond of good wine?

Although he was stingy, when it came to drinking, having a drinking companion was better. That was the only way to make it enjoyable.

He didn't particularly like this child before him, but having him was better than nothing. After all, Lin Xin Tong didn't drink, and Fat Old Man had already been drinking alone for a whole year.

"Teacher!" Lin Xin Tong was somewhat speechless. "How can you give a child alcohol?"

But neither of them had expected Yi Yun to shake the water from the chicken, pour out some wine, and spread it evenly over the chicken. He didn't even miss the inside of its abdominal cavity.

"Boy, what are you doing?"

The old man glared, blowing on his beard. This was his Thousand-Year Vintage! As a lover of fine wine, he could not tolerate seeing his wine wasted.

"I'm cooking," Yi Yun said, startled, as though it were only natural.

He had to admit, this wine was truly excellent. It was unbelievably fragrant, and he had no idea what Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures had been used to brew it. A single sip would probably even benefit one's cultivation!

"Cooking? Wine can be used for cooking?" Fat Old Man asked, his expression showing that he didn't believe it at all.

Yi Yun paused, and only then did he suddenly realize something.

The cooking methods in this world were probably very different from those on Earth.

In ancient Huaxia, despite its brilliant culinary civilization, cooking methods had actually been quite simple.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the basic methods of preparing food were steaming and boiling. Whether vegetables or meat, people added salt, covered the pot, boiled everything until cooked, and then ate it.

As for the wide variety of methods such as pan-frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, flash-frying, smoking, and wine-curing, these had only gradually developed into a complete system after material life became richer in modern times.

Every region had a different food culture. More than eighty percent of Huaxia's cooking methods were unique to Huaxia.

Even the simplest stir-frying existed only in Huaxia across the entire Earth. It sounded unbelievable, but that was simply the truth.

The most complicated culinary techniques on the entire Earth were found in Huaxia—without exception.

In this otherworld, there was no need to even mention the Great Wilderness. The working people lived extremely difficult lives; where would they find the energy or ingredients to research cooking?

As for the wealthy cities, the rich were all powerful warriors. They were absorbed in martial arts, formations, and refining Wilderness bones, leaving them no time to study how to cook.

Only the servants of the great lineages would research such things. The food they made wasn't bad, either. After all, with long years of accumulated experience, they had developed plenty of culinary wisdom. But within any given small region, cooking methods were ultimately limited. It was much like how many Americans probably didn't know that wine could be used in cooking.

Yi Yun rubbed oil and sauce over the chicken, then poured more wine into its abdominal cavity and sprinkled in some seasoning similar to scallion segments and cilantro. Yi Yun had tasted this seasoning, and judging by his foodie's innate talent, it was no worse than scallions or cilantro.

Next came the crucial step. Yi Yun wrapped the chicken in a clean, coarse cloth, then put a large amount of salt into the pot until the chicken was buried in it. After wrapping it up tightly, he sealed the pot and began steaming it.

Fat Old Man watched Yi Yun with an expression full of doubt. He had buried the chicken in so much salt? Wouldn't it be unbearably salty?

Did this poor child from a small tribe not have any salt to eat?

But even if he had no salt, he couldn't do this. It was truly baffling. Fat Old Man curled his lip in disdain. This child was strange enough.

He continued eating his roasted chicken, but Lin Xin Tong stopped and stared curiously at the pot Yi Yun had placed over the fire.

Slowly, an aroma drifted from the pot. It was very faint. If the few of them had not been martial artists with keen senses, they would not have been able to smell it at all.

With such a faint aroma, could it really taste good?

Fat Old Man had already finished his roasted chicken. He licked his thick, short fingers with lingering satisfaction. Just then, Yi Yun lifted the lid, used a spoon to push aside the boiling salt, and took out the chicken.

The fragrant salt-baked chicken was ready.

The instant the seal of salt was opened, a clear fragrance wafted out, making Yi Yun's mouth water.

Yi Yun was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had performed beyond his usual level today. Of course, the main reason was the chicken itself. This precious chicken meat, brimming with energy, was countless times better than the farm-raised chickens on Earth.

There was also the wine. This wine had been brewed from Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. As long as one added Fermentation Starter and left it alone for several hundred years, it would become a fine wine capable of intoxicating even the Drunken Immortal.

The combination of the two had brought Yi Yun's salt-baked chicken to an unprecedented height.

"Huh?" The old man blew on his beard, and his eyes instantly went round.