After Zao Niang agreed readily, Qiu Feng, Pei Zheng and Lian Baiping of course had no objection. Qiu Feng had eaten the fish made by Ji Yuan before and knew Mr. Ji's craftsmanship. Pei Zheng, as Qiu Feng's master, had of course heard about this from his apprentice. Lian Baiping came prepared, he didn't expect that not only would Mr. Ji accept the gift, but he would also be able to taste the fish made by Mr. Ji himself.
"The three of you will wait a moment. I am going to process the fish."
Seeing that no one had any objections, Ji Yuan said this and waved his hand, calling several large, crystal clear silver fish floating in the air towards the kitchen.
"Sir, please!" "Sir, if you need help, I can help in the kitchen, but I don't need magic."
Lian Baiping seemed a little flattered when he spoke, but Ji Yuan just shook his head and said "No need", then gave some instructions and asked Zao Niang to greet the guests before going into the kitchen alone.
Even though Ji Yuan had already entered the kitchen, Lian Baiping was still stroking his beard and smiling. Anyone could see that he was in a good mood. However, he would not lose his composure once Ji Yuan left, and he remained polite to Zao Niang.
"Daoyou Zao, this honey tea has a pleasant fragrance and natural charm. It is indeed a good tea. Daoyou Zao is good at tea art!"
Lian Baiping also bowed to Zao Niang, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. Qiu Feng and Pei Zheng knew that the woman in Mr. Ji's courtyard was not simple, but since they were not as shameless as Lian Baiping, they just nodded to Zao Niang and praised "good tea" before sitting down.
"You don't need to call me Fellow Daoist Zao. Just call me Lady Zao like you do. If you like this tea, you can drink more. Usually, you will only give one cup. Today, you can have enough."
The three of them bowed and thanked Zao Niang again. The latter smiled, sat on the empty stone bench, took out a book and started reading. Even though there were three immortal monks with good cultivation beside her, she did not feel nervous or restrained at all and was truly in a peaceful state.
Lian Baiping sipped his tea as his eyes shifted from Zao Niang to the jujube tree beside him. The true identity of this woman in green was already self-evident.
Over in the kitchen, smoke was already rising from the chimney. Ji Yuan was adding firewood to the earthen stove that had not been used for a long time and lighting it. It was obvious that the tea that Zao Niang had just made was not cooked with firewood.
Sometimes cooking is a special pleasure, especially when the ingredients are really good.
Standing in front of the chopping board in the kitchen, Ji Yuan waved his hand and a silverfish fell onto the chopping board, still bouncing around. As the water was peeling away from it, it felt uncomfortable and instinctively wanted to jump to a nearby place with denser water vapor, which was the pot of water gradually boiling next to it.
Ji Yuan smiled, picked up a kitchen knife, and slapped the fish head with the back of the knife. The fish, which was unlikely to faint, was knocked unconscious immediately. Then he raised the knife and cut into the fish head.
“Crunch~”
The sound was like cutting a handful of solid vegetables. The cross-section of the fish head and body was actually covered with a layer of white frost. There was only a spine at the cut, but no internal organs could be seen.
"Good fish! It's already alive and well. If I give you another hundred years, I won't cut it."
Generally speaking, this kind of fish should be the result of the gathering of water essence. It usually only has the shape of a fish but is not a real fish. For example, it does not have internal organs. But after a long time, if it really condenses, it can be considered a real living creature.
The fish in Ji Yuan's hand is even more unusual. It is not just a water spirit, but a combination of water and wood. Even with Ji Yuan's current knowledge, he knows that this is extremely rare.
There were five fish in total, some big and some small. Ji Yuan didn't plan to cook them all, so he left two that were neither too big nor too small and cooked the remaining three one by one.
To process such a precious ingredient, certain experience and means are required, especially Taoist skills. In Ji Yuan's hands, the fish can be disassembled and cooked like a normal fish to make various flavors. But if it were someone else, the fish would probably merge into heaven and earth after death. Perhaps the easiest way is to cook soup, which will directly give you a pot of "water" that looks clean but actually retains most of the essence.
But the fun part lies here, because it is not a real living creature, so even though the fish was cut into pieces by Ji Yuan, it was still able to move and its energy was undiminished.
After Ji Yuan finished cooking the three fishes, the wok over there had already been heated up. He poured some oil into the wok and then put a whole fish in with a wave of his hand.
“Sizzle…”
With the sound of oil simmering, the aroma wafted up. The fish that was jumping around just now finally became motionless. Ji Yuan took a spatula and stir-fried it. He put the seasonings on the side in one by one based on his feeling. The ordinary sauce also contained the fragrant fresh jujube honey.
Three fishes, cooked in three different ways, but still lacking one seasoning. So while the four people in the yard were drinking tea or reading books, Ji Yuan's voice came from the kitchen.
"Mr. Qiu, you can go buy some new dried vegetables. The ones at home are several years old."
Zao Niang is practicing with her own spiritual roots, and as there is no obvious bottleneck for the time being, her cultivation is naturally improving by leaps and bounds. When Ji Yuan came back, he knew that Zao Niang is no longer limited to the yard, but it is obvious that she has never left the yard once in these years, either because she can't or doesn't want to.
So Ji Yuan thought it would be better to ask Qiu Feng to buy it, since he was quite familiar with Qiu Feng anyway.
Hearing Ji Yuan's words, Qiu Feng smiled and was about to respond, but the long-bearded old man Lian Baiping stood up first.
"Mr. Ji, why bother Fellow Daoist Qiu Feng? The best dried vegetables sold in Ning'an County today are sold by the young people at the east street corner. However, the best dried vegetables in Ning'an County are sold by a family surnamed Chen at the entrance of Miaosifang. They are just opened and dried, and are at their most delicious now."
As Lian Baiping spoke, he drank the tea in his cup, then left his seat and walked towards the courtyard gate. As long as Ji Yuan didn't stop him, he would really go to get some dried vegetables.
As it turned out, Changxu Weng's bet was right. Ji Yuan just stood in the kitchen for a moment, but did not say anything to stop him from going. Lian Baiping then opened the gate and said something to the inside.
"I will be back soon. Don't worry, I will not let that family suffer any loss!"
Lian Baiping walked out of the gate of Ju'an Pavilion with brisk steps like a teenager. There is a saying that hearing about someone is not as good as meeting him in person, which is exactly what he feels towards Ji Yuan now.
As for Ji Yuan, even though the Tianji Pavilion's closed cave has theoretically no contact with the outside world, we still know some things about him. It is not an exaggeration to describe him as unfathomable. His cultivation is so high that the Tianji Pavilion cannot even calculate it.
Even though no one in the Tianji Pavilion had ever met Ji Yuan, the more they got to know Ji Yuan, the more they respected him. They even strongly suggested contacting Ji Yuan in the beginning, but later on they became a little worried and fearful. They wanted to contact Ji Yuan but were afraid to do so. It was not until Yu Huaishan sent the message that all the cultivators of a certain seniority in the Tianji Pavilion became excited.
Lian Baiping is qualified to come directly to Yunzhou Nanchui, which means he is not only brave but also has gone through several rounds of competition. Now that he has the opportunity to spend some time with Ji Yuan, how can he not make his presence felt
Trying his best not to use any magic in Ning'an County, Lian Baiping walked quickly all the way out of Tianniufang, through the streets and alleys and headed straight for Miaosifang. His pace was so fast that even young people might not be able to keep up even if they ran, but he still looked neither hurried nor slow.
The sounds of hawking were endless along the streets in the county. Although Lian Baiping came to Ning'an County for the first time, he seemed to know the entire county like the back of his hand. He didn't need to ask anyone or even look at the road. He knew that going left or turning right were the shortest or most suitable ways.
Soon, the old man with a long beard arrived at the entrance of Miaosifang, entered an alley on the left, and stopped accurately in front of the door of the second house at the entrance of the alley. The whole process, from the time he left Ju'an Pavilion to now, took less than half a cup of tea.
The afternoon sun was blocked by some houses on the west side, casting shadows on the dried vegetables drying in the Chen family's yard.
"Okay, okay, it's almost dried, we can make it and try it tonight."
"Hey, hey, there's only this small bag left from this big jar of mustard greens. I have to send some to my sister and her family."
In the yard, an old woman and a young man were harvesting vegetables. The dried vegetables were drying on two broken bamboo mats and were gathering together little by little. A faint dry fragrance wafted out of the yard.
Lian Baiping's eyes flashed, and he could see that the two tables of dried vegetables had a special flavor in them. It was a magical feeling. Even ordinary things had their special features. Some simple things, even if the methods were similar, could be turned into magic by someone. This involved not only human factors, but also the destiny of heaven.
"Ahem, old lady and young man, could you share some of the dried vegetables in your yard with me? I will definitely reward you handsomely."
The two people in the yard looked up towards the gate and saw an old man in gray clothes with a long beard and ruddy complexion standing there, looking at them with a smile, or rather, looking at the dried vegetables on the mat.
This old man looked unusual. The old women and young people in the yard looked at each other, and the latter spoke.
"How much does the old man want?"
"Not much, not much, just enough for one dish."
That's all? The young man smiled immediately, took a handful of dried vegetables from the mat, stood up and walked to the gate.
"Does the old man have anything to pack?"
"Just put it in my sleeve. I'll hold the cuff and it won't spill."
Lian Baiping opened the sleeve of his right hand, and the young man didn't say much, but directly put a handful of dried vegetables in his hand into his sleeve.
"Thank you very much, what is the value of this dried vegetable..."
"Don't talk about money, old man. It's just a handful of dried vegetables. Even if you buy them at the market, they are not worth much. Just consider it a gift to you."
People in Ning'an County have always respected knowledgeable people. The old man in front of them doesn't look like an ordinary old man at all. He looks like an old scholar.
"Oh, how can this be..."
Lian Baiping said this with a smile on his face but did not move to take the money. Instead, he moved closer and whispered to the young man.
"I know that your brother is in the Dazhen army and has already invaded Zuyue with the army. You must remember what I am going to say next and never forget it!"
The young man was slightly stunned. How did the old man know that his brother was in the army? And attacked Zuyue? The military situation has not been reported here yet.
"In two days, your brother will have a letter. You must immediately find a literate teacher to write a letter for your family, warning your brother that within a year and a half, a prodigal son will appear in a Zhang family on the East Sea coast of Zuyue. The son will sell a treasure in the family. Your brother will follow the army to attack and may just reach the East Sea..."
"If you encounter the prodigal son of the Zhang family, you should persuade him three times not to sell the treasure. If he refuses to listen, you should ask your brother to do everything he can, whether it's borrowing money or pawning items, to get the treasure and bring it home!"
The young man was stunned by what the old man said. Could he be a fortune teller? So he asked subconsciously.
"What is it, treasure?"
Lian Baiping stroked his beard and remained silent. After two breaths he spoke.
"That is the word 'Fu' written by a master. If you can get it, then get it. If you don't get it or miss it, don't force it. Remember, remember!"
"Okay, I have finished what I want to say. Thank you for the dried vegetables. Goodbye!"
After saying that, Lian Baiping bowed to the young man and strode away the same way he came.
In the yard over there, the old woman also felt strange when she saw her son and the old man whispering to each other for a long time at the gate of the yard.
"Son, what are you talking about?"
"Oh... it was just a fortune teller, he said a lot of nonsense..."
"Then why are you still standing there? Come and harvest the vegetables. It looks like it's going to rain."
"Why!"
The young man scratched his head and went back to collect dried vegetables with his mother.