Chapter 62: Fire Orchid Dew Carp Soup
The guards took their silver tickets and went to the market to purchase some food in high spirits. Given that the ninth guard Guan Juxiong was protecting Hong Xiaobao and the rest, they did not worry in the slightest that anyone would dare to attack them. Even if Guan Juxiong himself were to wish to harm the ninth prince, with how dumb the bear is, there’s no way he would be able to escape the prince’s keen senses!
“Little Sis Qingqing, are you hungry?” asked Hong Xiaobao smilingly. He took a few of the fish up from the floor and put them into a wooden bucket before saying, “Come, let Brother Xiaobao make you some delicious fish soup!”
“Alright!” said Qingqing excitedly as she set out to follow Hong Xiaobao to the kitchen. Now that Guan Juxiong had taken Hong Xiaobao as his master, he also followed behind in their path.
Quickly, they arrived at the kitchen and Hong Xiaobao patted Qingqing’s head before saying, “Alright, wait outside for me as it will get a little smoky in here. It’s not good for children to inhale smoke, so leave it to me. I’ll be sure to let you try it first!”
“Oh… okay…” Qingqing gave it a little thought before nodding and said, “Then I’ll wait outside for you.”
Now that everything was settled, Hong Xiaobao entered the kitchen.
He started boiling the water and cleaning up the innards from the fish all in one go. Hong Xiaobao had been doing things like this back in his past life as well.
“Hehe, little b.a.s.t.a.r.d…” Meng Xianji’s voice rang out by his ears. “I suddenly thought of a dish that is rather great. It’s called the Fire Orchid Dew Carp Soup. Do you want to give it a try?”
Fire Orchid Dew Carp Soup? The name sounds pretty cool!
Hong Xiaobao quickly asked, “If there’s such a great thing then let’s go ahead and cook it! What do I need to cook this? What’s the effect of consuming it?” Given that Meng Xianji was a Divine Chef, no matter what he brought up, it definitely wouldn’t be inferior.
“0.5 jin of True Fire Orchids, 2 jin of Tiger-eyed Dew as well as 3 carps,” said Meng Xianji as he smiled. “Well, you already have the carp here, so you only need the True Fire Orchid and the Tiger-eyed Dew. Usually, these can be found being sold at normal magical beast material shops or medicine shops. True Fire Orchid can readjust the hidden fire in the body while Tiger-eyed Dew can help to reenergize a person, but that’s just common knowledge. What most people don’t know is that when these two ingredients are mixed together, it can cause a person to be filled with True Qi to abundance for up to half a month and accelerate one’s recovery speed, which is exceedingly helpful to martial cultivation.”
As expected of the Divine Chef, Meng Xianji! He knew almost everything there is about food!
Hong Xiaobao quickly called out to Guan Juxiong. “Big dumb bear, come here quick. I need you to buy some ingredients for me!”
“Your Majesty, did you summon me?” Guan Juxiong could be seen to be extremely obedient to all Hong Xiaobao’s words. He asked, “You need me to buy some stuff? I’ll do it right away! I promise I’ll come back quickly.”
“En. Get me half a jin of True Fire Orchid which can be found in medicine stores.” Hong Xiaobao took out a silver ticket worth 1000 silver taels and said, “Get me another 2 jin of Tiger-eyed Dew which can be bought from magical beast material stores. Make sure you don’t get them wrong. Otherwise, I won’t be able to properly cook the dish.”
“Hehe, no problem! I got it,” said Juxiong as he took the silver ticket and vanished from the kitchen like a gust of wind. As expected of a 7-star martial artist, his running speed was nothing to look down upon!
Hong Xiaobao suddenly felt like forming a delivery company. He believed that Guan Juxiong definitely had a great potential to be a first cla.s.s delivery man.
“Brother Xiaobao, what would you need the True Fire Orchid and the Tiger-eyed Dew for?” asked Qingqing as she entered the kitchen. Seeing the already prepared carp, she was surprised and asked, “You can prepare fish even though you’re a prince? Brother Xiaobao, it seems like you know how to do everything!”
Isn’t that natural? I’m a person who has experienced various things you know!
“Hehe, it’s pa.s.sable,” said Hong Xiaobao with a smile. “It’s only surface level knowledge. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always liked experimenting with things like these. It’s fortunate that I’ve been able to put the stuff I’ve learned to good use.”
“Oh…” mumbled Qingqing before she stopped talking altogether.
Quickly, Guan Juxiong returned with a bag of ingredients Hong Xiaobao had ordered. As if he was running at the speed of light, he arrived at the entrance in an instant. With a smile, he said, “Your Majesty, here are the things you’ve requested. Are they correct?”
As he placed the items on the table, he said, “Half a jin of True Fire Orchid cost 16 silver taels while Tiger-eyed Dew cost a little more at 140 taels for 2 jin. Here’s the change, hehe.”
En, good job!
Hong Xiaobao expressed his satisfaction and said, “Great, keep the rest of the money and get yourself some nice wine to drink. I’m going to start cooking now, so stay outside and protect Little Sis Qingqing. Remember, don’t frighten her.” After that, he shut himself back in the kitchen.
Within the kitchen, the fire was burning rather fiercely with the fish’s innards already removed. “Alright, everything’s ready. How should I make the soup?” asked Hong Xiaobao to Meng Xianji.
“It’s simple,” he replied, “simply get the prepared fish and cut it into pieces before marinating them in salt, soy sauce, ginger and onion for 15 minutes. Heat up the wok and add some oil into it and wait for it to heat up to around 80%. After that, put the pieces of fish inside and grill them until the color turns slightly yellow and add some vinegar, garlic and more soy sauce with some water to let the fish simmer within it, but not too much.”
Hong Xiaobao followed each instruction to the bone. After that was done, Meng Xianji said, “Make the fire smaller and let it cook for about half an hour before adding the Tiger-eyed Dew, after which you will continue to heat it up for a bit with a stronger fire. Give it a couple of minutes and it’s done!”
With Hong Xiaobao’s dextrous skills and Meng Xianji’s profoundly deep knowledge on cooking and ingredients, they were truly a perfect pair! After the dish was finally done, the whole kitchen filled with a strong fragrance of the fish soup.
“Wow, it smells so good!” Qingqing was the first to pick up the smell of the completed dish and said outside the kitchen, “Brother Xiaobao, is that coming from the fish soup you cooked? It smells great! What is this soup called?”
“Hehe, come!” said Hong Xiaobao as he scooped the soup from the wok and poured it into a large bowl before adding some True Fire Orchid into it and bringing the bowl out of the kitchen. “This is called the Fire Orchid Dew Carp Soup. Little Sis Qingqing, come give it a try!”
As he placed the bowl on the dining table, a voice sounded nearby. “Eh? What a fragrant-smelling fish soup dish! Xiaobao, was this cooked by you?”
Hong Xiaobao turned his head to find Fang Xinghan and ten other craftsmen rushing over. Fang Xinghan’s eyes were glued to the dish as drool seemed to almost ooze out of his mouth. However, he still tried hard to keep his composure. However, based on his incessant swallowing, it could be seen that he was really trying hard to hold himself back.
It seems that he doesn’t only like good poems but good food too!
“Ah, this is indeed cooked by me, Uncle Fang. Please, sit down and have a taste!” Hong Xiaobao quickly invited Fang Xinghan to the table and said, “This dish is called the Fire Orchid Dew Carp Soup. It’s fresh out of the wok so try it while it’s still hot!”
“Wow, it sure is steamy!” praised Fang Xinghan. As he was about to grab a bite, he saw Qingqing glaring at him from the other side of the table and his face reddened. “Hahahaha, Your Majesty hasn’t had any yet, right? Come on, let’s eat it together!”
“Ah, I’m not in a rush. I had my guards go buy some food so they should be back soon…” After Hong Xiaobao said that, the guards returned chatting happily. Quickly, they arrived in front of Xiaobao and Zhao Four said, “Your Majesty, we’re back! Oh, and there was a situation when we were on our way to buy food, haha!”