Chapter 75: The Tycoon Finally Gets to Eat

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: The Tycoon Finally Gets to Eat

Little Cloud didn’t quite understand, but Feng Si picked him up and placed him in the pocket on her chest. Lying in the familiar pocket, Yun Chi turned in a circle, curled into a comfortable position, and started to get sleepy.

His golden eyes blinked slowly. Before falling asleep, he fought against the drowsiness to let out a soft hiss in response to his mother.

...

After running two massive promotional campaigns in Pantian City, the food listed on Xiao Si’s livestream channel saw the most purchases from the city’s Beastmen.

Yang Wen immediately packed the orders placed that night and waited for the courier to pick them up. The military controlled the direct official roads between cities, making the delivery several times faster. A normal trip from Nantong City to Pantian City took twenty-five to thirty-five days, but the express delivery would arrive in about eight.

While waiting for their deliveries, they had yet to receive and taste the pickled cabbage. Still, they continued to tune in to ’Si Shi Xiao Si’s’ livestream right on time every day, even inviting their friends to watch along.

And the reason was obvious.

Every day, Feng Si’s livestream began with her cooking with pickled cabbage: Pickled Cabbage and Bone Stew, Sour Soup with Fatty Armored Meat, Braised Ribs with Pickled Cabbage, Stir-fried Pork Intestines with Pickled Cabbage, Flash-fried Pork Stomach with Pickled Cabbage...

For the Beastmen of Pantian City, who had tried most of the world’s delicacies, seeing a brand-new dish every day was a stunning revelation. They spent their days drooling as they watched Feng Si cook, all while waiting for their pickled cabbage to arrive.

The daily wait was torture. After eight agonizing days, Mang Changbai, chief of the Imperial Palace’s Forbidden Army, used his authority to contact the head of Pantian City’s Southern Wilderness courier service.

"Ostrich Steward, the package from Si Shi hasn’t arrived yet? It’s already the eighth day. Your operation here is incredibly inefficient."

"Yes, yes, of course. I was wrong. The packages from Nantong City arrived before dawn. I’ll deliver it to you personally right now," Ostrich Chief replied with an apologetic, fawning smile. Sitting on his bed, the corner of his eye caught the still-gray sky.

’It’s not even light out!’

Ostrich Chief ended the communication with Chief Python, looking exhausted as he climbed out of bed.

He was baffled. As the chief of the Imperial Palace guards, responsible for patrolling and securing the entire Empire, Chief Python was known for being composed and calm. He was even considered one of the Beast King’s most trusted men.

’But there was a clear note of impatience in his voice just now, wasn’t there?’

Filled with doubt, Ostrich Chief went to the courier facility and ordered a subordinate to find Chief Mang Changbai’s package. Clutching the small box, he hurried to deliver it.

It was Mang Changbai’s rest period; he was only on duty at the Imperial Palace at night. But upon receiving the package from Ostrich Chief, sleep was the last thing on his mind.

’Pickled cabbage!’

He tore the package open with his bare hands. The small, white porcelain jar in his palm seemed to glitter.

A hint of joy broke through Mang Changbai’s usually gloomy expression. "I’ve finally got you, my pickled cabbage!"

As the big spender who had first tipped a Million Coins on Si Shi Xiao Si’s stream that day, his fondness for pickled cabbage was clear.

Mang Changbai dismissed Ostrich Chief and hurried toward the kitchen. Truth be told, despite having just eaten half a leg of roasted Horned-wrist Beast, he was hungry again.

He lived in a forest of giant trees in Pantian City’s East District. The trees soared into the clouds, each one a small world unto itself. Given Mang Changbai’s power, he had claimed an entire giant tree for himself.

The dwellings were built upon the massive, towering tree. Shrouded by layers of leaves, the rooms on each level of the trunk were secluded and private. The kitchen was on the lowest level, an incredibly spacious area where the sub-female cooks and other servants lived.

The sub-female cooks panicked at the sight of Mang Changbai. In the half-lifetimes they had spent in the tree-castle, they could count the number of times they had seen their master on one hand, let alone be this close to him.

"Take this." Mang Changbai placed the pickled cabbage into the hands of a sub-female cook.

The sub-female cook took it with both hands, her expression a mixture of panic and confusion.

Standing in the kitchen, Mang Changbai fiddled with the communicator on his wrist. He pulled up a saved video of ’Si Shi Xiao Si’s’ livestream and moved the light-screen in front of the cook. "She teaches," he said, "you cook."

The sub-female stared blankly at the palm-sized image of the sub-female with dark spots. The miniature jar of pickled cabbage on the screen in front of her looked exactly like the one in her own hands.

’The master must be unhappy with my cooking, so he found another sub-female to teach me personally...’ A wave of anxiety washed over her. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"For today’s braised ribs with pickled cabbage, it’s best to use the ribs from a swine-beast. The meat is more tender, making it easier for both the young and the elderly to eat..." A voice, as soft and clear as a mountain spring, echoed through the kitchen.

Flustered, the cook clutched the pickled cabbage and went to the preparation table in the center of the kitchen. Then she rushed to the storeroom and hauled out half a swine-beast carcass.

Mang Changbai watched from his spot in the kitchen, then his voice cut in coldly, "Wash your hands before you touch the pickled cabbage. She always washes her hands after handling raw meat." ’Cooking here is so simple and crude,’ he thought. It was only now, watching his own cook, that Mang Changbai realized just how meticulous Xiao Si was, how aesthetically pleasing her cooking was to watch.

At her master’s sharp command, the sub-female cook went to wash her trembling hands. She timidly picked up the jar of pickled cabbage, stealing a glance at Mang Changbai’s expression as she opened it, terrified of making another mistake.

Following the instructions from the sub-female on the screen, the two cooks and the other servants quickly divided the tasks and set to work. One began trimming the meat, separating the ribs just as the woman in the video had described. The ribs were then chopped into finger-width pieces and soaked in fresh water.

Mang Changbai remained in the kitchen, not moving an inch, and all the cooks worked with intense concentration.

The sub-female cook froze when the video showed sliced ginger. Then, with a flash of insight, she remembered the medicine prescribed by the Sacrificial Hall for cubs with fevers. She quickly reported to her master and went to fetch it.

They were even more terrified now, never having expected this sub-female to cook with ingredients they’d never heard of. Their fear only subsided when they heard the woman on the screen say, "If you don’t have any, it’s fine to leave it out."

It was music to their ears. Seeing that Mang Changbai didn’t order them to follow the recipe to the letter, the women in the kitchen began to relax.

The chopped pickled cabbage was stir-fried until dry and set aside. Thinly sliced pork fat was rendered down. After removing the resulting cracklings, the ribs and ginger slices were added to the pan to fry.

As they watched the ribs turn from bloody red to golden brown, SIZZLING in the hot oil, a deeply rich, meaty aroma filled the kitchen. The cooks, who had been trembling in fear just moments before, fell silent as one.

’We inherited our skills from our mothers, but we’ve never smelled meat this fragrant in our entire lives! It’s so much more aromatic than simple roasted meat. Honestly, it’s an honor that the master brought in this sub-female with dark spots to teach us how to make these delicious braised ribs with pickled cabbage!’

Their panic turned to excitement. The sub-female cook added salt and water to the pot, letting it simmer for an hour. Then, she added the chopped pickled cabbage, simmering for another two minutes before giving it a final stir-fry.

When the lid was lifted, steam billowed out, revealing ribs that were caramelized brown and falling off the bone. They glistened with oil, with little specks of pickled cabbage clinging to the meat.

GULP—

A synchronized gulping sound echoed through the kitchen.