Chapter 122: Delicious 1/2

In modern time calculation, in the current Chongcheng County, it’s already light by around five o’clock every morning.

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye arrived at Miaoqian Village around six in the morning. By seven o’clock, they had already cooked the braised ingredients.

It only takes about half an hour for the braised pork to be ready to eat. After Li Qingzhi unlocked the brains of Li Damao and Li Ermao with his ability, he went outside to scoop the pork from the big pot.

He cut the scooped-out large pieces of pork into smaller ones and put them together with a certain amount of braised water in a small pot in the house to simmer. This pork was considered well braised.

Seeing that the villagers were all eagerly watching, Li Qingzhi simply distributed some meat to them.

And when the villagers put the meat into their mouths…

“This meat is so delicious!”

“This is the most delicious meat I’ve ever eaten!”

“I can’t even bear to swallow it!”

…

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi smiled and spoke to several families nearby: “We are short of some tables, chairs, and a few more pots for our family banquet. We also need some more stoves to be set up, and then we’ll cook some rice. Let’s not borrow bowls and chopsticks this time. Everyone bring their own from home to eat here.”

These people responded one after another upon hearing this, and soon someone brought pots, tables, and chairs over. Li Qingzhi asked them to help set up a few more stoves and then started cooking rice.

Of course, the braised meat was still being made. He also bought some chickens and ducks from the villagers, asked them to slaughter them on the spot, cleaned them, and then put them in the pot to make braised chicken and duck.

Li Qingzhi was from the southern part of the country in his previous life. There was an old brand of braised food store that had been passed down for two hundred years locally. The braised food they made was very delicious, and the braised food made by the Chang family was no less than that of the old brand.

The only regret was that this braised food wasn’t spicy at all.

Li Qingzhi hadn’t seen chili peppers on the market, but he had learned about the situation in Daqi from Zhu Qian. He knew that Daqi’s maritime trade was quite prosperous… Chili peppers might already exist, but they are not widespread.

Even sweet potatoes, who knows, might already exist; they could be promoted.

Sweet potatoes have a high yield, and their leaves are also edible. If there were more crops like this, the lives of the common people would be much better.

But it’s unrealistic to let everyone be full on sweet potatoes alone.

In modern society, some countries have fertile land, but their people still starve because that land is not in the hands of the poor at all.

To prevent people from starving, they need to own land themselves.

Well, just giving them land is not enough; they also need fertilizer. When their country’s industry has not yet developed and there is not enough fertilizer, many people still starve.

Crops like sweet potatoes, without enough fertilizer, the yield per acres won’t go up, and they won’t be easy to preserve. He remembered from the books he had read… Southerners would make sweet potato porridge and sweet potato rice in difficult times to fill their hunger, but their main staple food was still rice.

It would be great if there were fertilizers. By then, even if there were no sweet potatoes, everyone could still enjoy eating white rice freely.

Apologies for the oversight. Let’s correct that:

—

This era really lacks fertilizer. In rural areas, some people even go to others’ homes to steal manure.

Moreover, the population of Daqi is much smaller than in later generations, so there are still many wastelands. Some of the reasons why those lands are uncultivated are due to a lack of fertility, making it impossible to grow crops.

Additionally, Daqi’s water facilities are not good. In some northern areas, when encountering drought, the common people may end up with no harvest at all.

The people of this time are really struggling.

While Li Qingzhi watched the pot cook the braised meat, he thought about these matters. Meanwhile, the people of Miaoqian Village were chatting: “Have you been to Li Qingzhi’s place for ‘opening light’?”

“I’ve been there. How about you?”

“I’ve been there too. I even had my children ‘open the light’ several times.”

“I didn’t expect Li Qingzhi to have ranked first in the prefectural examination and still be willing to help with cooking!”

“Yeah, today I’m really lucky. I got to eat braised meat cooked by the magistrate himself!”

“Compared to Li Qingzhi, Yao Zhenfu is really nothing. He can’t even pass the county examination, and he doesn’t want to work.”

“Jin Moli is also acting strangely. She cried for no reason and blamed Jin Xiaoye… Why did she blame Jin Xiaoye?”

“She used to outshine Jin Xiaoye in everything, but now she can’t compare to Jin Xiaoye. She must feel uncomfortable about it.”

“Let’s not talk about her. Li Qingzhi’s braised meat is really delicious!”

“And the ‘opening light’ thing… My daughter married to the neighboring village. I’m going to ask her to bring my grandchildren over to have them ‘opened light’.”

…

So, the matters in Miaoqian Village were also spread to other villages.

For this banquet, Li Qingzhi only intended to host one meal and then distribute some braised meat to the villagers. Therefore, the banquet was scheduled for noon.

The sun was a bit hot at this time, but the villagers didn’t mind.

One pot of braised meat after another was cooked, and the rich aroma filled Miaoqian Village… Those who received invitations were already sitting at the tables waiting to eat, while those who didn’t receive invitations were standing nearby with their bowls.

Li Qingzhi had said he would share some braised meat with them!

“Dinner is served!” Li Qingzhi had already prepared all the dishes and asked the helpers to bring them to the tables.

Each table had braised pork, braised duck, braised chicken, braised tofu, braised vegetarian chicken, and a big bowl of pickled soybeans with pickled vegetables.

There were only six dishes in total, but no one felt the meal was not plentiful. Everyone happily ate with their bowls in hand.

If it weren’t for the fact that most of the people sitting at each table were acquaintances, and some families had many members, so they directly occupied a table together, there might have been a bit of competition!

The guests filled their bowls with rice and then ate heartily with the braised dishes. 

Grandma Jin and Auntie Jin didn’t even lift their heads while eating, especially Grandma Jin, who specifically picked out the fattiest pieces of meat.

Although their relationship with Jin Xiaoye was average, they were still relatives. Jin Xiaoye had invited them, and since their family was large, they occupied more than one table.

“This braised meat is really delicious.”

“I’ve never eaten anything this delicious before.”

“Give me some broth; I could eat two bowls of rice with it!”

…

Aunt Jin’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren kept praising.

Aunt Jin felt extremely uncomfortable, especially when she thought that Jin Liushu and Jin Moli couldn’t come because they had to sell rice, she felt even more aggrieved.

Fortunately, Jin Sangshu came! At least it’s not a complete loss!

On the other side, Mr. Yao’s couple sat at a table with their grandchildren and Li Laogen. At their table, Zhao Laosan’s couple and Zhao Xiaodou also sat.

Zhao Laosan was originally supposed to work at the new dock, but he decided to come and help, so he didn’t go. Among those who took leave like him, there was also Jin Dajiang. At this moment, he was eating with Jin Xiaoshu and the others.

Although Zhao Laosan’s couple came, Zhao Laosan’s stepson and stepdaughter did not. They had never come when the Li family invited them before, so they felt embarrassed to come this time.

At this moment, Li Laogen was bragging, “Is this braised meat delicious? We eat it often at home!”

“My son, Ah Qing, said that since I like it, he will make it for me more often in the future.”

“My son, Ah Qing, is the most filial to me!”

…

Zhao Laosan listened with a smile and occasionally picked up food for Zhao Xiaodou.

Since Li Laogen could enjoy delicious food, it meant that Zhao Xiaodou could eat it too… This was really great!

Mr. Yao’s couple also found the braised meat very delicious. Seeing their grandchildren eating without lifting their heads, they felt that their son was too silly.

How could their son not come to eat such delicious food!

Yao Zhenfu, who hadn’t gone to Li’s house for dinner, was actually starting to regret it a bit.

In the morning, Jin Moli cooked a pot of rice porridge. They didn’t want to waste it, so naturally they had to finish it. So, what he had for lunch today was the rice porridge and the little bit of leftovers from Jin Moli’s dishes.

While everyone else was eating braised meat, meat, chicken, and duck, what about him? He was eating burnt rice and leftovers!

His situation was really pitiful!

But he couldn’t bring himself to go to Li’s house… Would his parents bring back some braised meat for him?

While everyone else was eating, Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye didn’t take their seats.

They had already eaten a bit earlier and were now distributing meat to those villagers who didn’t receive invitations.

They didn’t distribute a lot to the villagers, just two pieces of tofu, two pieces of vegetarian chicken, and a small piece of meat for each household.