Chapter 48 (continued)

Qing Mengzhu took Zhou Yan to her own field and let him pick as many as he wanted.

Zhou Yan looked around Qing Mengzhu's vegetable garden, somewhat disappointed. "The cowpeas and tomatoes are all gone, and the winter melons are almost all gone too."

Qing Mengzhu explained, "The last batch of tomatoes is out of season, and the next batch hasn't grown yet. The same goes for cowpeas and winter melons; they're almost all out of season. If you want some, I have dried tomatoes and dried cowpeas, as well as some winter melons I've stored. I'll give them to you later."

Zhou Yan: "Yes! Give me lots of dried vegetables, the more the better. Let me check on the vegetables in the field first."

A batch of vegetables at Qing Mengzhu's house were discarded, but new vegetables also started to grow.

His family now has garlic sprouts, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables that are ready to eat. The eggplants, pumpkins, loofahs, cucumbers, and other vegetables that were originally grown are still in their peak production period. In addition, there are lotus leaves, lotus pods, and lotus roots in the pond, so there is quite a lot to eat.

Zhou Yan quickly took a liking to the lotus pods, picked one, peeled off the lotus seeds inside, and ate them. "Hey, these lotus seeds are different from other people's."

Qing Mengzhu: "It tastes even better, right?"

Zhou Yan carefully chewed and tasted it. "Yes! It's even more fragrant, sweet, and tender, with a more complex aroma—a very refreshing lotus seed scent. I'll pick another lotus pod."

Qing Mengzhu: "Go ahead and pick them. Anyway, I can only give you about ten catties of lotus pods."

Zhou Yan immediately exclaimed, "You have two whole ponds full of lotus pods and you're still so stingy! Once you peel a lotus pod, how many lotus seeds can there be inside? You should at least double that, give me twenty or thirty catties!"

Qing Mengzhu: "Most of the lotus pods aren't ripe yet, you can't possibly ruin my tender lotus pods, can you?"

Zhou Yan: "Tender lotus pods have their own unique charm; several dishes are made with them."

Qing Mengzhu: "No, I'll give you the old lotus pods. Anyway, use them sparingly; that's all I can give you."

Zhou Yan clicked his tongue. "Where are the lotus root shoots? Can you scoop some up for me to see? Or should I go into the water and scoop them up myself?"

Qing Mengzhu immediately said, "I can do it myself. I'm afraid if someone else tries to fish it out, I might accidentally pick the wrong thing and ruin my growing lotus roots."

Zhou Yan didn't mind. "Then you should pick the tender ones; the tender ones taste better."

Qing Mengzhu then went down into the pond and scooped up a handful of lotus root shoots, each one a straight, white jade-like root.

Zhou Yan took it, scratched the outer skin slightly with his fingernail, and then took a bite.

Qing Mengzhu called out to him, "Be careful, there are plenty of parasites in the water."

Zhou Yan: "It's okay, I peeled it. Your lotus root shoots are also very good, sweet, crisp, and tender. Do you usually eat them yourself? How do you usually eat them?"

Qing Mengzhu climbed up from the pond. "Stir-fried beef, stir-fried beef on its own or stir-fried beef with pickled peppers, both are good."

Zhou Yan looked at him with bright eyes. "Do you have pickled peppers at home?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, but it was only pickled for two months. The taste is just average, not as good as those pickled peppers that have been pickled for over a year."

Zhou Yan reached out and pulled him. "That's enough! I'll try the dishes first."

Zhou Yan's guests won't arrive until next week, so he came to the village so early mainly to taste the dishes.

In his words, for such an important guest, the menu must be gradually adjusted according to the characteristics of the ingredients and the guest's personal circumstances.

Time is tight right now; he only has one week to adjust.

If there is enough time, it is appropriate to take one or two months to make adjustments.

Qing Mengzhu replied that they were indeed from different worlds and could not understand each other.

Zhou Yan wanted to try the dishes, so he specially invited Qing Mengzhu to eat in the courtyard. "I make about ten dishes a day, and we can't finish them all. Come and try them. Many of the dishes use ingredients from your family's farm. Do you have any suggestions?"

Qing Mengzhu, upon hearing his words, became blunt. "Call me when it's done cooking."

Zhou Yan: "No problem, I'll call you when it's done."

So on the first day, Zhou Yan set up a feast in the old courtyard, from cold dishes to desserts to main courses. After the meal, Qing Mengzhu's stomach was full.

After finishing her meal, Qing Mengzhu looked at the dishes on the table and said, "The cost of your dishes is very high. Do you taste-test the dishes every day, and is this the standard every day?"

Today's main dishes alone include stir-fried conch slices with fresh chili peppers, stir-fried beef with pickled lotus root and pickled peppers, seafood soup with dried tomatoes, honey-glazed ham, fish belly with pesto sauce, and confit duck. Qing Mengzhu estimates that the ingredients alone will cost four figures.

Zhou Yan didn't care. "Developing new dishes costs money anyway, let the boss worry about that. Tell me quickly, do you have any suggestions or thoughts?"

Qing Mengzhu looked at him. "Then I'll tell you."

Zhou Yan has been praised and criticized countless times, and doesn't mind people commenting. "Hurry up and say it, while we can still adjust, hurry up."

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment, "I think the green sauce fish belly, the fresh chili conch slices, and the pickled chili lotus root stir-fried with beef are all perfect. The tomato seafood soup seems to lack depth, the honey-glazed ham is a bit too greasy for me, and the confit duck—"

Zhou Yan: "What's wrong with the confit duck?"

Qing Mengzhu frankly said, "I've eaten much better duck before. This confit duck I'm making today doesn't have a very complex aroma for me; it's not very appealing."

Zhou Yan: "You mean, it tastes good, but its taste is rather mediocre?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "It's delicious, but I can't remember it."

Zhou Yan tasted the remaining confit duck leg and nodded in agreement. "That's definitely the feeling; even the duck's unique aroma isn't very prominent."

Qing Mengzhu: "A little."

If duck is not cooked properly, it will have a strong gamey smell, which will be very unappetizing.

If cooked properly, it will have a unique and intense aroma, even stronger than that of chicken or goose.

In short, duck meat is an ingredient that truly tests a chef's skill.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then suddenly realized. "You said you've eaten even better duck, are you referring to your family's ducks?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Yes."

Zhou Yan immediately stretched out his hand. "Come on, come on, a friendly rescue, sell me two ducks."

Qing Mengzhu: "I can only sell you male ducks."

Zhou Yan: "Sure. How about I come to your house to catch it? I don't have anything else to do after this."

Qing Mengzhu agreed, "That works too."

Zhou Yan immediately said, "Wait for me a moment, I'll go to the kitchen to get some ingredients for your two dogs. I've been making a lot of broth and meat lately."

Qing Mengzhu: "On their behalf, I thank you."

Qing Mengzhu took Zhou Yan back.

The Dharma Protector and Guard went to play at their good friend's dog's house and weren't home.

Qing Mengzhu then took Zhou Yan to the backyard. The ducks hadn't been chased out today, so they were all staying in the backyard.

Zhou Yan watched as the ducks at Qing Mengzhu's house drank from the mountain spring, ate vegetables, and rested in their clean bamboo duck pen. He couldn't help but say, "You take such good care of them here. The ducks are excellent too—well-proportioned, with bright eyes and smooth feathers. You can tell they're not ordinary ducks."

Qing Mengzhu: "We herd them out every day, and they bathe and preen their feathers outside. They are indeed quite different from ordinary ducks. Go ahead and catch them; try to pick the bigger ones, as they are usually male ducks."

Zhou Yan received permission and immediately went into the duck pen to catch ducks.

Then he discovered that he couldn't catch the duck at all.

The ducks at Qing Mengzhu's house could run and fly, and when they flapped their wings, they flew higher than people.

Not only did he fail to catch the duck, but he also got his face covered in falling duck feathers.

The more Zhou Yan failed to catch the duck, the more determined he became. He kept chasing after the duck, even when he was panting heavily, he didn't want to give up.

The commotion he made attracted the attention of the Dharma Protector and the Courtyard Guard who had just returned home.

Two dogs ran over, initially thinking someone was stealing their ducks, but when they saw Qing Mengzhu standing to the side, they tilted their heads and barked, "Woof?"

Qing Mengzhu bent down and patted the two dogs' heads. "It's okay, let him scratch."

Zhou Yan couldn't hold on, so he put his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.

The Guard couldn't stand it any longer. They looked at Zhou Yan, then at Qing Mengzhu, and barked anxiously, "Woof woof!"