Making a Crude Version of Chicken Seasoning

Ministry of Justice!

Two jailers opened the cell doors one by one, banging on the bars with sticks and shouting, "Gentlemen, you may leave now."

As they called out, the jailers felt relieved that they had upheld the rules. Every profession has its own rules, and the jailers' principle was not to provoke martial artists, unless the other party was a death row inmate whose cultivation had been crippled.

These high-ranking martial artists, who haven't committed any major crimes, can turn their lives around in an instant; the scene before us is a prime example.

The first reaction of the Nightwatchers was that His Majesty's decree of punishment had been issued, and they could be released from prison because their opponents had achieved their goal and there was no need to continue imprisoning them.

But after leaving the dungeon, they were told they could go and sign and put their fingerprints on documents to retrieve their uniforms and gongs.

This process is very familiar to Nightwatchers; it means being released without charge and having one's official position restored.

"His Majesty pardoned us? That's unlikely," someone muttered under their breath.

The Nightwatchers looked at each other, their expressions filled with confusion; everyone seemed bewildered.

This imprisonment was clearly a result of factional strife. These people were all Nightwatchers, well aware of the dangers and ruthlessness of factional struggles; they would seize any opportunity to destroy their opponents and would never easily let things go.

Duke Wei sacrificed something to get us out of the Ministry of Justice. Jiang Luzhong quickly made a guess and looked at the three Golden Gongs beside him.

The men exchanged silent glances, all sharing similar guesses. A moment of heaviness settled in their hearts, followed by a surge of gratitude—the feeling of a loyal friend willing to die for their confidant—and they secretly felt immense thanks to Wei Yuan.

After receiving their uniforms, weapons, and badges, the Nightwatchers silently left the Ministry of Justice. On their way back to the yamen, they finally felt the joy of having "survived a calamity."

What began as silence turned into excited conversation, with one fellow even urging his colleagues to go to the Imperial Academy of Music for a life of pleasure.

The men sized him up a few more times; he was a guy who walked with his eyes squinted, and he looked like the slippery and cunning type.

"Song Tingfeng, you've only just been released from prison, and you're already eager to make mistakes," the gong-wielding man beside him said disapprovingly.

"What do you know? Even an honest official like my boss has been arrested. Whether you're corrupt or not is irrelevant. It only depends on whether the higher-ups want to get you." The squinty-eyed official spoke eloquently.

They were quite perceptive, the gold gong players thought to themselves.

"If Xu Ningyan goes, then we'll go too," said Tong Gong.

Jiang Luzhong's eyes lit up, and he smiled as he said to Jinluo beside him, "Xu Ningyan is the darling of the Imperial Academy of Music, the object of the courtesans' scramble for attention. A while ago, Yang Yan and I took these youngsters to the Imperial Academy of Music for drinks, and wow, besides Fuxiang, there were four other courtesans present."

Under the questioning gazes of the three judges, a relaxed Jiang Luzhong rubbed the faint crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and smiled, "The Imperial Academy of Music lives up to her reputation; she makes me feel like I've returned to my youth."

The three winners couldn't hide the envy in their eyes.

Although they had no shortage of women, the most beautiful courtesans of the Imperial Academy of Music) were not within the scope of the night watchmen's unrestrained enjoyment. This was not to say that the night watchmen did not have much power, but rather that the Imperial Academy of Music was a department under the Ministry of Rites, and the power of the Nightwatchers did not apply there.

The courtesans couldn't possibly dine with the guests, and if they directly asked the courtesan to serve them, they would be refused without a doubt. They also couldn't cause trouble, because the Ministry of Rites would love for them to cause trouble.

Upon returning to the yamen, the four Golden Roosters first went to the Haoqi Tower to listen to Wei Yuan's teachings and to pledge their loyalty.

"Perfect timing. Let's take this opportunity to clean up the Evil Qi in the government and manage your subordinates properly," Wei Yuan said.

The four gong-wielders bowed and accepted the order.

Wei Yuan nodded in satisfaction and said, "The person you should thank for getting out this time isn't me, but someone else."

"Another person? His Majesty has granted a pardon?" Jiang Luzhong and the others wondered.

"It's Xu Qi'an," Wei Yuan said gently.

Xu Qi'an? This answer surprised and disbelieved the four Golden Roosters.

Jiang Luzhong straightened his back and asked respectfully, "Duke Wei, what happened during our imprisonment?"

Wei Yuan informed the four Golden Gongs about the case of the Minister of Ministry of Works ' collusion with the Witchcraft Cult, emphasizing Xu Qi'an's importance in the case.

The four Golden Gongs left Haoqi Tower, and Jiang Luzhong looked sullen and was in a bad mood.

One of the gold gong players joked, "Are you jealous of the bronze gong player's repeated merits?"

Jiang Luzhong shook his head, closed his sharp, knife-like eyes, and sighed, "I should have fought Yang Yan to the bitter end back then and recruited Xu Qi'an into my ranks."

"Xu Tongluo is indeed a rare talent, but his abilities are somewhat lacking."

"You don't know anything, you don't even know him." Jiang Luzhong suddenly shut up.

"Hmm?" The three Golden Gongs looked at him.

"It cannot be said, it cannot be said." Jiang Luzhong shook his head.

"You, surnamed Jiang, are you imitating prostitutes, taking off your clothes and wiggling your buttocks? You're just trying to seduce people, aren't you?"

"Tell me quickly, what's the deal with that little gong? I also find it strange. Wei Yuan seems overly fond of a gong."

"If you want to know, go ask Duke Wei yourself."

No matter how much the three Golden Roosters pressed him for answers, Jiang Luzhong refused to say anything.

After briefly consulting his second uncle, Xu Qi'an went to the real estate agency the next day and bought the haunted house.

Actually, Second Uncle meant to take another look, but Aunt and Lingyue were quite satisfied with the house, except for the female ghost in the well. However, Second Uncle Xu, the head of the family, said, "Since the people from the Bureau of Astronomy have already looked at it, there shouldn't be any problems."

Aunt and Xu Lingyue were completely relieved.

The brokerage firm admired Xu Qi'an's stubbornness and was even a little embarrassed, so they specially hired people to clean the house.

During dinner, Xu Qi'an asked Xu Pingzhi, "Second Uncle, the house has been vacant for many years and needs proper repairs. I took Aunt and my sister to see it the other day. The house structure is intact, only some doors and windows are rotten."

Xu Pingzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Half a month will be enough."

Half a month? It's not like we're doing a high-end renovation, it doesn't need that much time. Xu Qi'an said, "Let's hire a group of craftsmen, find them from the outer city, and have them work around the clock. That should take about seven days."

Xu Pingzhi was taken aback. "Why the outer city? The craftsmen in the inner city are better."

"Because carpenters in the outer city are cheap, and they don't know the house is haunted. They can live there with peace of mind."

What a heartless family!

The task of hiring a carpenter was assigned to Xu Pingzhi. Xu Qi'an, on the other hand, was inexperienced in these mundane matters, being all talk and no action.

Second Uncle Xu is a native of Beijing, so my aunt and sister are at ease knowing he's in charge of these matters.

A man should have some facial hair; both men and women like it.

On this day of rest, Xu Qi'an, who hadn't been to the Imperial Academy of Music for almost a week, drove his carriage out to meet the owner of a mountain produce shop he had arranged to contact in advance at the market, and bought two baskets of shiitake mushrooms from him.

Next, he fulfilled his two promises: first, to help Chu Caiwei advance to the sixth rank of Warlock; second, to feed Chu Caiwei.

The goal was clear: to make a rudimentary version of chicken bouillon.

Xu Qi'an had once watched a video posted by a food critic—not Bear Grylls, but a genuine food critic.

He collected many ancient recipes and made dishes according to the steps in the recipes, only to find that ancient food was not as delicious as he had imagined.

In conclusion, the biggest difference between modern and ancient cuisine is not the change or addition of styles, but the reform and replacement of seasonings.

After arriving in this world, Xu Qi'an wholeheartedly agreed with this statement. The chef at Cassia Moon Tower was very skilled, but the food at ordinary households was very bland, even though the Xu Household had simmered broth.

"The advent of MSG is a major breakthrough in the human food industry," Xu Qi'an said as he poured two baskets of shiitake mushrooms into a large vat to soak.

Then he climbed over the wall to the main house, stole an old hen, killed it, and stewed it in a small earthen stove.

Next, rinse the soaked shiitake mushrooms briefly, drain them, and put them into another pot on the earthen stove.

Xu Qi'an didn't plan to make MSG because he lacked the relevant knowledge and experience. He only knew that the main component of MSG was monosodium glutamate, which could be extracted through grain fermentation and kelp.

But isn't fermented grains made into wine? Xu Qi'an muttered to himself as he recalled.

The option of extracting MSG from kelp was directly removed and not adopted, for the simple reason that the cost is too high.

The capital of the Great Feng Dynasty was located in the Central Plains, far from the coast. Although there were canals and sea routes, seafood was still a luxury that only high-ranking officials and nobles could enjoy in the capital.

"To extract a sufficient amount of MSG from kelp, an extremely large quantity is required; you could buy it until you were bankrupt and still not extract much MSG."

Xu Qi'an's plan was to use chicken essence instead of MSG. Thanks to his childhood curiosity, one day, Tai Tai Le (a brand of chicken essence) suddenly came to his house, and his mother no longer needed MSG.

He was very curious about how this yellow packet could replace MSG, so he carefully examined the ingredients.

The main component of chicken bouillon is guanylic acid, a flavor enhancer comparable to MSG. Guanylic acid is abundant in shiitake mushrooms.

Time passed slowly, and water was added several times along the way. The shiitake mushrooms and old hen gradually cooked until tender, and a unique umami flavor filled the small kitchen.

Xu Qi'an scooped the shiitake mushrooms out, leaving a thick broth in the pot. He placed the overcooked mushrooms on a strainer and squeezed them vigorously to extract the thick broth. After several attempts, the mushrooms in the strainer were dry and looked completely hollowed out.

The next step is to mix the thick old hen broth and mushroom juice together, pound the chicken meat and bones with a mortar and pestle, mix them into the broth, and stir evenly.

However, by simply waiting for the juice to dry naturally into lumps, and then grinding those lumps into powder, a rudimentary version of chicken bouillon is formed.

After finishing all this, Xu Qi'an glanced at the sky; it was dusk.

At this hour, the cook should be busy preparing dinner, which is a good time to try out the invention of a 21st-century academic underachiever.

Seek product feedback from my second uncle and aunt.

I have a feeling Xu Lingyin is going to eat ten bowls of this today. Xu Qi'an's lips curled up slightly, and he happily scooped up a bowl of thick gravy, then climbed over the wall to the main house.

P. S.: Today was particularly grueling. I spent the whole day battling wits with my superiors and looking for any opportunity to take a nap. Phew~ I finally managed to write a chapter before leaving get off work.

I'll write the next chapter when I get home. Also, please vote with monthly tickets!