Pei Liang looked up and saw a group of men staring directly at the cakes in her hand.
Especially Qiu Sanxiang and Ying Siji, who were the closest to her, had their necks stretched out.
Pei Liang took a bite of the crispy rice cake, as if she didn't see the eagerness in their eyes, and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Qiu Sanxiang had just firmly refused her offer to be in charge of the meals. Naturally, he didn't have the nerve to ask for one now. He held his breath and reluctantly turned his head away, saying, "Nothing."
However, Ying Siji, who had a lively personality, didn't care about such things. He came over with a beaming face and said, "Miss Pei, the cook, do you have any extra cakes? I'm still hungry. Could you spare one for me?"
Normally, Pei Liang was quite receptive to the coquetry and flattery of handsome young men. So she nodded towards the pot.
Ying Siji quickly scooped up a cake and then consciously ladled a bowl of soup.
First, he took a sip of the soup to wash away the thick and insipid taste of the rice paste in his mouth, and then he carefully took a bite of the cake.
The fried rice cake, which fully incorporated the essence of shrimp heads, had a rich and mellow fragrance that was very satisfying. It made the slightly coarse rice flour give off a delicious aroma.
After being fried and slightly baked, the rice cake tasted like a crispy rice crust that was just out of the oven at the perfect time. However, its texture was much more delicate than that of a rice crust. Although the cake was originally fried in shrimp oil and should have become a bit greasy after a few bites, there was a faint hint of pepper and spiciness.
It was these two flavors that removed the greasiness that the cake should have had, making people unable to stop eating it.
In a blink of an eye, Ying Siji had finished one cake, and his eyes were still fixed on the pot.
He said with a shy smile, "Miss Pei, the cook, how did you make this cake? It doesn't seem like you put in much effort. Why is it so delicious?"
Using the same ingredients, the paste they ate was like pig food in comparison.
Pei Liang replied, "I noticed that the fried rice flour was a bit coarse. I was afraid it would be hard to swallow if I just mixed it with water, so I fried it a little. Since it was already dry, it didn't take much time. While making the soup, I took advantage of the heat along the edge of the pot to bake the dough slightly. Then the cake would be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It was just an unexpected bonus that there were shrimps to make shrimp oil, which added more flavor."
Ying Siji quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes. I originally thought that the cake made of fried rice flour in oil would be greasy after a few bites. I didn't expect I couldn't get enough of it. How did you do that?"
Pei Liang pointed to the pile of miscellaneous wild vegetables and said, "There are wild ginger and green Chinese prickly ash in the wild vegetables the soldiers dug back. These two are good for removing fishy smell and greasiness. And there's the cured meat. If you throw in some wild ginger shreds, the overly salty taste that irritates the throat will disappear, leaving only the original smoked flavor. Do you want to try it?"
When Ying Siji heard that there was such a good thing, he quickly picked up a slice of cured meat, rolled it with a few stir - fried wild scallions that smelled fragrant, and took a bite with the paste. Suddenly, even the paste became extremely delicious.
Seeing that Pei Liang didn't mention giving him another cake, he found another topic and asked, "This soup is fresh and appetizing. I just saw you pick up a handful of moss. Can moss be used as a dish?"
As soon as Pei Liang heard this, she knew that this was a young master who hadn't experienced much hardship in life. She smiled and said, "This is nostoc commune, also known as ground ear. It has a sweet and crispy taste. Farmers often make it into a cold dish."
"The wild vegetables the soldiers dug back have their own flavors, but making soup with them directly is a bit bitter. In comparison, this fresh shrimp and ground ear soup is much easier to swallow."
It was not just easier to swallow; it was like the difference between heaven and earth.
It should be said that these dishes were not very complicated. Everyone had the same ingredients, and there were only these two seasonings, but what Miss Pei, the cook, made was so delicious that people almost swallowed their tongues.
Ying Siji came from a good family. In the past, he also preferred refined and delicate food. Only the most food - connoisseur elder in his family had said that the more simple the dish, the more it showed the cook's skill if it could be made amazingly delicious.
Exotic delicacies like the livers of dragons and marrows of phoenixes, top - grade ingredients naturally had unique and irreplaceable flavors. On the contrary, it was the simplest and most ordinary home - cooked dishes, like an ordinary stir - fried Chinese cabbage that could make people remember it, that were truly rare.
Then they heard Miss Pei, the cook, sigh and say, "Indeed, as you said, even the most skillful housewife can't cook a meal without rice. There are only these ingredients. I can only show about half of my skills."
"When the soldiers were digging wild vegetables earlier, I saw many good things that could add flavor. But Young General Ying said there was not enough time, so I didn't dare to say anything. Otherwise, with the same dry rations, we could have dozens of different flavors."
Everyone around... Suddenly, they felt a sharp pain as if they had suffered a great loss.
Although they were on a military march and not on a picnic, it wasn't that bad. Besides, the lunch break was quite long. Even the horses needed time to rest and be fed.
Miss Pei, the cook, was so efficient. How could it be a waste of time?
For a moment, Qiu Sanxiang and Ying Siji, who had first spoken out to stop her from working, became the targets of public criticism. The brothers around them swallowed the paste tastelessly and stared at them.
Qiu Sanxiang was furious. At least Ying Siji had gotten a cake to eat, but he hadn't even gotten a taste.
Just as he was about to scold this woman to save face, he saw their leader appear behind the woman at some point.
He scooped up a cake on his own and started eating it. The spicy and crispy flavor in his mouth, with a lingering fragrance, soothed the fatigue of the morning's journey.
At this moment, Pei Liang's personal safety entirely depended on Shi Feiyu. Naturally, she was generous in paying the "protection fee".
She had originally made the cakes with him in mind. Seeing this, she took a bowl and filled it with soup, then handed it over and said, "General Shi, please enjoy your meal slowly."
Shi Feiyu took the bowl. Their hands touched briefly. He looked at Pei Liang and said, "From now on, you will be in charge of the meals during the march. Ten people will take turns to assist you at each meal. You can give them any orders you want."
Pei Liang smiled and said, "I will make sure that all the soldiers are energetic every day."
Ying Siji quickly supported her and said, "If you can make such delicious meals every day during the march, it won't be a problem for me to get up early and hit the road."
Then he said with a shy smile, "There are still a few left..."
"Yours has already been eaten," Pei Liang said. She scooped up the remaining cakes and handed them to Qiu Sanxiang, saying, "I didn't make many. You can try them first."
After a mental struggle, Qiu Sanxiang was finally tempted by the aroma and Ying Siji's greedy look. He chose to take the bowl and share the cakes with several other personal guards.
When they set off in the afternoon, thanks to the gap Pei Liang had broken through with her delicious food and her own talkative nature, she had seamlessly integrated into the team.
Because he was looking forward to the dinner, Ying Siji was very attentive all the way.
For example, when he saw some rare spices and ingredients along the way that wouldn't take much time to pick, as long as Pei Liang said something, he would quickly jump off his horse and pick them.
There were others who were looking forward to the dinner and wanted to show off, but they weren't as quick as him.
On the way, they met a couple who had come back from the market in the town. The husband was carrying a pole with two baskets on either end. Both of them looked sad.
When Pei Liang passed by, she casually asked, "What are you selling, folks?"
The wife sighed and said, "We're selling some pickled peppers and pickled ginger from our own home to make some extra money. Unfortunately, we're not having much luck. There's still a large part left unsold."
Of course, it was hard to sell. In these days, most common people were self - sufficient. Every family would pickle pickles. Even those who lived in towns didn't find it troublesome. Who would spend money on these?
Those from well - off families would go to the familiar pickle shops, where it was clean and reliable. How many people would be interested in these ordinary things that every family had?
However, doing business in this era was relatively honest. Since this couple dared to sell their own pickled vegetables, it was likely that they had received praise from the people around them before they came up with this idea.
So Pei Liang asked the couple to take out a little for her to taste.
Seeing the soldiers behind her, the couple didn't dare to be negligent. Anyway, even if these things were forcibly taken, they weren't worth much.
Pei Liang had a sensitive tongue in her previous life. After one taste, she knew that the pickled vegetables were pickled with pure, sweet and clear spring water.
The pickling jars were probably old ones. It was difficult for new jars to achieve such a mellow and authentic flavor while maintaining a crisp and fresh taste.
The tender ginger and pickled peppers were also carefully selected. Each one was plump and fresh, and even the pickled peppers were about the same size.
Pei Liang immediately bought all the pickled vegetables. Ying Siji also tasted some. The refreshing tender ginger was especially appetizing and made him hungry again.
He quickly asked, "Are we going to stir - fry pickled pepper and cured pork for dinner?"
Pei Liang didn't give a definite answer. In fact, she didn't like to eat the same dish for two consecutive meals. However, Ying Siji was right before. There were only these ingredients. If there were no other surprises for dinner, they could only make do with the existing ingredients.
Generally, when two armies were at war, the marching principle was to prohibit cooking and making fires before dawn and after sunset. Dinner had to be prepared before the sun set because the fire would expose their whereabouts and make it easier for the enemy scouts to determine their position.
But this trip was to suppress bandits, and the action plan was different. Moreover, this place was not far from the capital city, and no bandit den would be so bold as to occupy a mountain as a king around the imperial city.
So they stopped when it was almost dark. While the other soldiers were cutting grass to feed the horses, Pei Liang began to prepare dinner.
Although Qiu Sanxiang wasn't as sweet - tongued and thick - skinned as Ying Siji, he was quick in action. They had stopped earlier. As soon as he dismounted, he rushed into the forest.
Just as Pei Liang and the others took out the rice, noodles and cured pork they needed, Qiu Sanxiang and several other guards carried out a fairly large wild boar and several pheasants and hares.
All of them were killed with a single arrow through the eyes.
He awkwardly threw the things in front of Pei Liang and said, "Here, for you."
Shi Feiyu, who had handed his horse to his subordinate, walked over. Seeing this, he said, "Sanxiang's horse - riding and archery skills have improved again."
Pei Liang was happy when she saw the wild boar and quickly told the soldiers who were helping not to cut the cured pork.
The place where they set up the camp was upstream of a stream. The terrain was a bit special. There were many flat stones. One of them was so flat that more than a dozen people could stand on it, but it was very thin.
Pei Liang told several people, "Go and dig some yellow mud and build several roasting kilns on it."
Pei Liang only needed a simple oven and didn't care about the quality. It was something to be used only once, so it wasn't troublesome.
Those who were building the roasting kilns and those who were gathering wild vegetables each did their own jobs. Pei Liang took out her knife and quickly bled and dissected the wild boar.
Pei Liang's current skills were all inherited from Chef Pei. Although Chef Pei was young, he could make fermented bean sprouts, which were complex and time - consuming to make, in a short time. To some extent, Chef Pei's hands were as precise as a surgeon's.
Although Pei Liang was eager to become a dirty capitalist again, she was also aware that she was now a bonded laborer in a stupid game.
Her identity and situation were not static. Maybe the start of the next world would be even more difficult.
But only experience, knowledge and skills would never betray oneself. Talent was the most precious first pot of gold. Now was such a good opportunity. Pei Liang would be stupid if she didn't integrate and even break through Chef Pei's skills during this period and turn them into her own abilities.
Pei Liang took out the internal organs and offal of the wild boar and removed the bones. The whole process not only took a very short time, but the dissected things also remained in a complete form.
Shi Feiyu tried it, and the pig bones could even stand up.
Pei Liang separated the fat and lean parts of the wild pork, removed the pigskin and lymph nodes. She cut the lard into pieces, put it in the pot, blanched it twice with the clear spring water from the source, poured in some Shaojiu to remove the fishy smell, and then started to refine it.
Even with the rough stove in the wild and the firewood of different dryness that the soldiers had casually picked up, Pei Liang still controlled the fire well.
Soon the lard turned from milky white to transparent. Pei Liang timely put in ginger slices and scallion roots and evenly stir - fried them to add flavor to the lard. When the ginger and scallions gave off a fragrant smell and turned into a mouth - watering crispy golden color, she put them into a bowl with salt grains and green Chinese prickly ash at the bottom.
Just for frying the oil, before even starting to cook the dishes, the smell was so fragrant that the people around couldn't help swallowing their saliva.
After refining the oil, the simple roasting kilns were already plastered. They stuffed red - hot firewood into them. While waiting for the kiln mud to dry and the kiln to pre - heat, Pei Liang and the soldiers who were helping chopped the remaining pork with a ratio of 30% fat and 70% lean. It wasn't chopped into paste. Pei Liang told them to cut it into pieces the size of peanuts so that it would taste more fragrant and chewy.
Then they mixed and stir - fried it with the fermented black beans, brine, scallions and ginger carried with the army and a small amount of seasonings found locally, and stir - fried in the preserved mustard greens carried with them.
Cooking for hundreds of people was different from cooking for a few people. Big - pot dishes didn't taste good because when too many were cooked at once, it was difficult to heat them evenly, and the person cooking needed to have good arm strength and the ability to control the pot. Usually, people without this level would choose to add more water, which would make the stir - fried dishes soft, sticky and of poor taste.
So Pei Liang divided the pork into several pots and stir - fried them at the same time.
Then everyone saw her stir - frying several large pots of minced meat sauce at the same time in the fierce fire of several pots. If she didn't coordinate well, the minced meat sauce would burn.
Qiu Sanxiang secretly said to Shi Feiyu, "This probably takes no less effort than when going into battle to kill the enemy."
However, Chef Pei was slender and had delicate arms. No one knew where she got so much strength.
After the preserved mustard green and minced meat sauce was stir - fried, Pei Liang asked everyone to help wrap it into the dough she had prepared. With everyone's joint efforts, it was done quickly.
Pei Liang only needed them to wrap it, and she did the kneading and flattening herself.
She asked people to carry the dough and walked to the several large roasting ovens temporarily built on the two big stone platforms. She quickly and neatly kneaded and flattened the dough and put it into the roasting ovens.
Each roasting oven could bake dozens of them at a time. Although there were enough for hundreds of people, with several roasting ovens baking at the same time, it wouldn't take long to finish baking.
The air was filled with the burnt fragrance of rice and flour mixed with the soul - stirring fragrance of minced meat sauce and preserved mustard greens. The people who had been on the road all day, were hungry at this time, had been tempted at noon but hadn't gotten a bite, and whose expectations had been aroused to the extreme, were almost red - eyed.
They were like hungry wolves, staring at the freshly baked, golden and crispy preserved mustard green and minced meat cakes.
If they weren't used to discipline as soldiers, they might have rushed up like refugees.
