Chapter 2, Make Delicious Food Yourself

Gao Bao held the writings of Li Yi, initially finding the characters somewhat peculiar, but the more he looked, the more he found them appealing. However, when did His Highness the Ninth Prince practice calligraphy? He had always been rather foolish, never even attending the school within the palace. While the other princes and princesses were studying the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and poetry, His Highness the Ninth Prince had not even recognized all the characters.

Looking at the items written on the paper: "two whole chickens, mushrooms, scallions, water plantain, lotus leaves, soybean oil, pepper powder, spices..." Gao Bao decided not to think too much; as long as His Highness is happy, that is enough

Whoever it is, you come and pluck the chicken feathers, and clean out the entrails thoroughly

Friction ~ Friction ~ Friction ~ Rubbing on this smooth ground ~ Under the moonlight, I see my own shadow ... ...

Under the peculiar gaze of the chefs, Li Yi departed with a group of his subordinates

Li Yi curled his lips, thinking that these two beggar's chickens were certainly inferior in taste to what he had made in the twenty-first century. There was no way around it; he had no soy sauce or cooking wine, and he also lacked the time to marinate a whole chicken. However, he was certain that they would be much better than those produced by the imperial kitchen.

Princess Gaoyang was determined; someone must have come here to eat chicken! No, I must find out who it is!

Seeing that Li Yi had no intention of putting down the chicken, Gao Bao bravely stepped forward and extended both hands to take the whole chicken from Li Yi's grasp

Princess Gaoyang had just finished her meal and was taking a walk to aid digestion. Not having walked far, she caught a whiff of a fragrant aroma. Following the scent, she arrived at the edge of a small pond, where she saw a dug pit, extinguished fire, several lotus leaves still on the ground, and a scattering of chicken bones.

Li Yi watched Gao Bao leave, then found a patch of grass to sit down on, disregarding the palace maids and eunuchs standing in front of him, allowing them to remain standing there.

Li Yi let out a burp and took out the second chicken

Gudong ... ...

Unique skills? They can no longer be displayed

You, dig a small pit here, just enough to fit two chickens.

Gao Bao could not help but feel deeply concerned

Is it possible to taste it even if I am not hungry? This dish was not easy for me to prepare

Gao Bao was contemplating how to report a certain matter to Empress Zhao Yuan upon returning, disregarding the strange humming of His Highness the Ninth Prince, which went "One step, two steps, one step, two steps ~ One step, one step, like the steps of minions ~ Like the steps of a devil ... ..." Although he had been foolish in the past, he had not been foolish enough to play with fire and mud in broad daylight with a large group of people, while babbling nonsensically.

Listening to the lyrics hummed by His Highness the Prince, the palace maids and eunuchs exchanged glances, indicating that the illness is quite serious

Princess Gaoyang furrowed her brows, wondering how chicken could be so fragrant. How had she not known this before!

Gao Bao is very worried

Gao Bao swallowed along with others.

You, go gather some firewood and start a fire in the small hole, as I will need it later

Once everything is ready, wrap it in lotus leaves, tie it securely with bulrush, cover it with a layer of well-prepared mud, and then throw the two prepared mud chickens into the small pit with burning firewood

With one bite, I felt as if I had come back to life. Wiping the grease from the corners of my mouth, I listened to the symphony of gurgling stomachs from the eunuchs and palace maids in front of me, their eyes sparkling with excitement, as Li Yi swiftly finished off a chicken in no time at all

You, come and play with the mud, don't just stand there, it's with the mud, hurry up.

The method is also extremely simple; after watching it once, everyone basically knows how to do it.

"Um, are you all hungry?" Li Yi sat on the grass, raised the chicken in his hand high, and asked knowingly, looking at the crowd in front of him.

Do you want to eat?" Li Yi stood up and said with a playful smile, "Hehe, this is something I made on a whim, would everyone like to give it a try?

Will Li Yi give up? Of course not! If there are no conditions, then create the conditions!

Everything has arrived. Li Yi rolled up his sleeves, intending to pluck the feathers from the chicken, but he hesitated for a moment, realizing that there were still a group of younger brothers behind him. Such dirty and laborious work should not fall to him.

At first, writing felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but after writing a few characters, I became accustomed to it. Li Yi writes in a beautiful slender gold script, which was created by Zhao Ji, the Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. This style is quite different from traditional scripts such as Jin Kai and Tang Kai, exhibiting a strong individuality. Although Zhao Ji was a deposed ruler, his accomplishments in calligraphy are beyond reproach.

Alright! Bring the paper!

Li Yi looked at the sharp carbon tip he had polished. Although his hands were covered in black soot, he had managed to create a pencil that could barely be used. The brush was truly inconvenient and he was not accustomed to it at all

However, the attendant Gao Bao looked at Li Yi with some concern. He originally wanted to ask a question, but seeing that Li Yi was focused and did not appear to be acting foolishly, he thought it might also be possible that after the head injury, Li Yi had become even more foolish, now exhibiting an invisible kind of foolishness. Yes, that is quite possible!

It is estimated that it should be done!

The more I smell it, the more I find myself craving it; suddenly, the food I had for lunch seems utterly inferior compared to this aroma.

The little girl, with her full lips and white teeth, is His Highness Princess Gaoyang, the beloved daughter of Li Shimin

Lost in thought, I plucked a blade of grass and tasted the bitter flavor of the green shoots in my mouth, gazing at the completely unpolluted blue sky, and began to hum a tune

After quickly filling an entire sheet of paper with writing, it was handed over to Gao Bao for him to prepare promptly

Everyone received their tasks and divided the work among themselves, quickly organizing the matters assigned by Li Yi

The other palace maids and eunuchs, covered in dust and mud, stared wide-eyed at the ten-year-old Ninth Prince playing with fire and mud here. The key is that you cannot speak or laugh; although he is a fool, he is still a prince! Who would dare to laugh? If the Empress Dowager or His Majesty the Emperor found out, would you still want your life?

Greeting everyone to get active, Li Yi was born into a prominent family and had no resistance to directing others in their work

Smelling the aroma of Beggar's Chicken, although it is not perfect, at least it is edible! This is what food is! The dishes prepared by the imperial chefs are fit only to be fed to pigs!

The Food Bureau, Li Yi has caused a commotion

Little, little people are not hungry

A group of eunuchs and palace maids said this

The little girl was very happy. Although she was a royal princess, she was only eight years old, still at the age of innocence and playfulness, and she skipped away.

Li Yi took the two well-prepared chickens, brushed oil on them inside and out, then stuffed the chickens' cavities with scallions and mushrooms. As for the salt block, he decided that he would not eat that kind of salt until he made his own fine salt, so he sprinkled some spices instead, making do with what he had.

Li Yi took two wooden sticks and used them to extract a piece of clay from the fire. He then used a stone to break apart the hardened clay, revealing the lotus leaves inside. Even before he opened the lotus leaves, the fragrant aroma of the beggar's chicken had already wafted through the air. Among the standing palace maids and eunuchs, some had already begun to make slurping sounds.

A group of eunuchs and palace maids swiftly dealt with a chicken, of course, it was impossible to be full, but while eating the chicken, it was surprisingly delicious! They wished they could have an entire chicken to themselves, completely unaware that although His Highness the Ninth Prince was not academically inclined, his spontaneous cooking of chicken turned out to be so tasty!

No!

The reason is simple: there is no cast iron pot, no spatula, and as for the seasonings, salt is not even called salt; it is referred to as salt blocks. The flavor is not pure at all, and I have no idea how people manage to consume it. Cooking wine and soy sauce, when mentioned, no one really knows what they are.

Homemade cooking wine and soy sauce will definitely take too long; soy sauce requires at least 4 months, and cooking wine requires at least 1 week. Otherwise, the flavor will not be pure, and the effort will be in vain.

Bending down, I sniffed and confirmed that the fragrance was indeed coming from this lotus leaf

Taking out the charcoal strip he had stealthily taken from the kitchen, Li Yi began to grind it vigorously on the ground. The other palace maids and eunuchs stood by, indifferent and unconcerned. Everyone knew that His Highness, the Ninth Prince, was a fool; as long as he was happy with whatever he did, that was all that mattered. This was the instruction given by the Empress.

Eat, you have been hungry until now, and I am not an unreasonable person

However, this concern transformed into the sound of growling stomachs two hours later, not only for Gao Bao but also for most of the other palace maids and eunuchs.

You all, go check who just came here! By the way, who else has eaten chicken!

Li Yi opened his mouth, and what he said surprised Gao Bao a bit. Did His Highness the Ninth Prince just refer to himself as "this king"?! Previously, due to his foolishness, he had never known to refer to himself with those two words!

The crowd before me exchanged glances with one another

You, go wash the mare's tail grass, mushrooms, scallions, and lotus leaves thoroughly

Soon, Gao Bao handed over a piece of paper, and Li Yi, without looking for a place, lay down on the ground and began to write.

Li Yi clapped his hands; these palace maids and eunuchs were clearly carefully selected by his mother. At the very least, they did not underestimate him because of his previous foolishness. They were able to execute his orders one hundred percent without any discount. Although they might not be the most clever, they should be relatively loyal. Li Yi was about to improve the diet, and naturally, he would need people to assist him. Taking on everything personally was something only laborers would do

Gao Bao was very efficient, not making Li Yi wait too long, which made Li Yi feel quite satisfied

The subsequent matters will depend on Li Yi himself, after all, it is his own lunch, and he cannot let these inexperienced novices handle it. Not even the imperial chef can be trusted, how can the palace maids and eunuchs be relied upon?

As soon as Li Yi left, a little girl accompanied by a group of subordinates arrived.

... ...

Li Yi no longer blames the imperial chefs, as it is indeed difficult for a skilled cook to prepare a meal without rice; the limitations are truly due to the hardware constraints

Li Yi disregarded everyone else, washed his hands, and blew air through his mouth. He first tore off a chicken leg, and said, "Hmm! The taste is truly wonderful"

Gao Bao crouched down and said this

Li Yi said with a smile, covered in mud, holding a fragrant whole chicken in his greasy hands, and with everyone having been hungry for several hours, they all swallowed their saliva while looking at Li Yi

Li Yi, having had his fill, left in a flurry with a group of still-hungry servants