More Than a Hundred Dishes?

It took Zhou Wanwan two and a half hours, nearly five hours, to pull him back from the brink of death.

Xiao Che opened his eyes, feeling the power within his body, and said:

"This... this is unbelievable! I feel completely recovered."

"That's impossible! I'm clearly dying; my internal organs are failing."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable!"

Anyway, I'm the one who saved you. Don't worry about how I saved you; your life is mine now.

Xiao Che nodded and said, "I understand. Don't worry, I will listen to you from now on."

Zhou Wanwan looked at him and said, "I'm hungry, we're going to eat now, are you hungry?"

Xiao Che sighed and said, "Of course we're hungry, but we're afraid we won't have anything to eat here."

Zhou Wanwan led him to the next room, where they saw a table Manman dishes.

The Old Scholar Tree outside was talking to Zhou Wanwan:

"The Nie Family really has a lot of dishes; they serve over a hundred dishes in one night."

I casually grabbed a dozen or so items, and surprisingly, no one noticed.

Zhou Wanwan frowned and said, "More than a hundred dishes? Can they finish them all?"

The Old Scholar Tree laughed and said:

"Of course they can't finish it all, but isn't that how rich people are?"

I brought you over a dozen things you like, plus bird's nest. Try some.

The dishes included braised bear paw with mushrooms, stewed deer tendon with old chicken, braised shark fin with orangutan lips, braised abalone with goose feet, braised shark fin, roasted camel hump, braised bamboo fungus with truffles, sea bass, winter bamboo shoots with chicken oil, and shiitake mushrooms with bok choy. The final dessert was stewed bird's nest with snow fungus.

Zhou Wanwan swallowed hard and said, "This is too extravagant! I wonder if it tastes good?"

She tasted them one by one and said, "This shark fin soup is perfectly cooked; there's not a trace of fishiness."

She picked up another piece of roasted camel hump with her chopsticks. "Even the roasted camel hump is made so well—fatty yet not greasy, crispy and juicy. The cooking time and seasoning are top-notch."

Zheng Xing'an couldn't help but sigh:

"This chef might be an imperial chef; an ordinary chef couldn't possibly produce this level of quality."

The food is really good.

Zhou Wanwan took a sip of bird's nest soup and said, "But it's still not as good as what our family chef makes. It's just barely passable!"

Xiao Che's eyes widened. These dishes were already quite good; even in the capital, he had never tasted such delicious food.

But looking at Zhou Wanwan's nonchalant manner, as if these dishes were very ordinary, one wonders just who she is.

But that wasn't his business. After he finished eating, Zhou Wanwan handed him two peaches and a melon, saying, "You can sleep in the next room! I'll call you if I need anything. But why isn't there a guard in this cell?"

Xiao Che said softly:

"There is no need for guards here, because the door to this cell is specially made and ordinary people simply cannot open it."

Even a locksmith would have a hard time opening this door.

No wonder there isn't even a gatekeeper here.

Zhou Wanwan went upstairs and looked at the specially made iron door. Sure enough, it was very difficult to open.

But with the Old Scholar Tree there, even the most difficult door to open is a piece of cake.

With a "click," the Old Scholar Tree chuckled, "Alright, that was way too easy!"

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "It's a good opportunity to go out for a walk and get some exercise."

Xiao Che's lips twitched as he said, "This door opened by itself? That's unbelievable."

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "Lord Xiao, would you like to go for a walk?"

Xiao Che quickly waved his hand and said, "There are still many guards outside. The Nie Family family has far more guards than other places."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "Then I'll go out and scout ahead first!"

She sat on the shoulder of the Old Scholar Tree, and the Old Scholar Tree took her for a walk around.

There are many guards here, but the Old Scholar Tree is very fast. As soon as the guards look over, he becomes a tree.

No one would doubt a tree.

They strolled around the yard without any apparent concern.

Zhou Wanwan couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone says the Shen Clan is rich, but the Nie Family is far richer than the Shen Clan!"

The Old Scholar Tree nodded and said, "This yard is simply too big; our mountain stronghold is almost out of space."

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said:

"Didn't we expand another hill? That hill is all empty right now, go back and tell those trees to move around."

Then clean it up again; the house is located on that hilltop.

There are quite a few hills over Black Wind Stronghold, one after another.

Zhou Wanwan bought six mountains in one go, all of which were connected together.

Since Black Wind Stronghold has grown larger and larger, no one has dared to cause trouble on Black Wind Stronghold territory, so Zhou Wanwan wants this mountain.

Without saying a word, the county officials handed it all to her.

Zhou Wanwan has too many subordinates now, and she can also farm on the mountain.

These hills all need to be cleared for farming; otherwise, how can we feed so many people?

Zhou Wanwan's land reclamation and farming methods are different from those of ordinary people; she relies entirely on these trees.

Once these trees are infused with energy, their roots become incredibly strong and powerful, perfect for cultivating the land.

Moreover, those trees plow the land very quickly, much faster than oxen, and they plow steadily and well.

Therefore, all six mountains have recently been developed.

The Nie Family is so large it's like a maze, with countless houses inside and outside the compound, stretching as far as the eye can see.

As soon as Zhou Wanwan walked in, she heard Madam Nie and Nie Shi'an arguing fiercely in their room.

Madam Nie's voice was shrill and loud. "Tell me the truth, which wild woman did you have this child with?"

Nie Shi'an looked aggrieved and was eager to defend himself:

"Don't you know that I've been devoted to you all these years?"

When have I ever done such a messy thing outside?

Madam Nie sneered, "You? You're keeping a mistress outside, do you really think I didn't know?"

Nie Shi'an suddenly looked up at her. "So... so it was you who did that affair with the mistress back then!"

He did indeed keep a woman he liked very much outside of his life back then, and he kept her there.

Later, the woman became pregnant, and not long after, she was pushed into a water vat and drowned.

Over the years, he investigated and investigated, but never found a single clue. Only today did he realize that it was Madam Nie who did it.

Madam Nie smiled sinisterly:

"So what if it's me? You forced me into this!"

What right do you have to see other women outside? What gives you the right to treat me like this?

Nie Shi'an's face turned ashen:

"After all these years, don't you feel even the slightest bit of remorse?"

Huiniang Niang... she was only sixteen when she died. How could you be so cruel as to do such a thing to a young girl?

Madam Nie threw her head back and laughed loudly:

You know she's only sixteen? She could be your daughter!

But what about you? You keep her on the side, showering her with affection, and what do you take me for?

What promises did you make to my father when you married me?

They said I was the only one in their life, and there would never be anyone else. Now it seems it was all a lie!

She snorted coldly and said, "And that little brat Zhou Wanwan, I'll definitely get rid of her as soon as possible, you believe me or not? Just you wait and see!"

Nie Shi'an trembled with rage. "You unreasonable shrew! I'm not going to waste another word on you!"

Madam Nie sneered, "Shrew? You've only just witnessed my true shrewish side! And that's just the beginning!"