As a lord, I was forced to farm

Chapter 839 Banquet
Looking at these black-clawed insects, Jiang Ran's throat bobbed slightly.

"Your Highness?" Li Mei looked at Jiang Ran, who seemed lost in thought, with a puzzled expression. "I am ashamed to say that I have not been able to think of a way to deal with this black-clawed worm."

"have eaten."

Li Mei was stunned. "What?"

Jiang Ran stretched out her hand, and a black worm the size of a palm was wrapped by a small water snake and then flew to the front of everyone.

"Your Highness, please be careful! These demonic insect pincers are very hard and sharp; they can kill someone if they pinch you!"

"No problem."

Jiang Ran looked at these insects and found them particularly endearing.

The black-clawed worms that everyone talks about are actually a variant of crayfish that has been nurtured by spiritual energy.

To be precise, the black clawed worm should be called the black clawed shrimp. The black clawed shrimp looks so much like a worm that many people call it a worm.

But in Jiang Ran's eyes, this was not some unforgivable demonic insect at all, but clearly a delicious and juicy crayfish that could sweep the entire Cangmiao Continent.

Of course, Jiang Ran was also worried that eating the mutated crayfish would have adverse effects on her health, so she searched for recipes related to black worms on the system.

This is how she searched: Black slug recipes

The system page instantly displayed over a hundred recipes:
Spicy Stir-fried Lobster

'Braised Lobster in Sake'

'Iced Drunken Shrimp'

'Lobster Noodles'

'...'

The system has few functions; besides viewing the territory or spirit panel, there is only a system shop.

Items in the system shop require reputation points to purchase, but searching for items does not require reputation points.

Jiang Ran frequently uses the system's search function to check certain things.

For example, the ancient characters on the stone walls of Cangwu Island.

Jiang Ran once had a sudden inspiration and typed unfamiliar ancient characters into the search bar, and sometimes the system store would pop up some products.

Jiang Ran connected the dots and, with the help of the ancient script dictionary she obtained from Qi Yu, managed to restore most of the ancient body-refining medicinal formula on the stone wall.

Therefore, the fact that so many recipes for black-clawed worms have appeared in the system's store proves to some extent that black-clawed worms are edible.

……

Back to the present.

Li Mei thought she must have misheard Jiang Ran's words. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Your Highness, did you just say to eat these insects?"

Jiang Ran tilted her head. "Haven't you tried cooking these insects and eating them?"

Li Mei was somewhat incredulous. "This insect is so ugly, what if it's poisonous?"

Jiang Ran lazily glanced at Li Mei, speechless; "..."

Seemingly sensing the silence in Jiang Ran's eyes, Li Mei looked sullen. After a while, she realized, "These black-clawed worms are actually edible."

But then a problem arose: "There are so many black worms in this river, and they reproduce so quickly. Even if we can eat them, it probably won't solve the problem of the Weng River!"

Jiang Ran just smiled.

There were just a few black crickets.

Li Mei had never eaten crayfish, nor had she had any otherworldly experience like Jiang Ran, so she was unaware of the crayfish's dominance.

Who knows, in the future, Dasu might even start breeding these ugly "bugs" specifically so they can eat lobsters.

Jiang Ran didn't explain much, but said to Li Mei, "Call all the chefs in Zeyan County over. Tomorrow, I will treat the people of Dasu to a delicious crayfish feast."

"...His Highness the Prince is going to treat us to something to eat!!!"

As soon as Jiang Ran's words were spoken, the news spread like wildfire, and countless people in the county learned that their prince was going to hold a banquet in Shijin Town, Zeyan County, inviting all the people of the county to come and eat.

"Since Your Highness has invited me, I will certainly attend the banquet!"

"Are you crazy? Zeyan County is so far from our Huaguan County, do you think you can make it in time?"

“There’s still time. Old Li from the village is going to Zhuoli County on business tomorrow. I’ll take his oxcart to Zhuoli Zhuocheng first, then take a boat down the Zhuo River. It will take about a day to reach the Xisong Plain. Then I’ll take a half-day horse-drawn carriage to reach Shijin Town.”

“Why bother when you’re exhausted from the journey?” someone said, but envy flashed in their eyes. If they had the money and time, they would also like to go to Yajin Town and maybe they could meet His Highness the Prince.

Even if you don't get to see the Prince, it would be good to see the local customs and culture of Zeyan County.

Moreover, he heard that Nangang Town is now very prosperous, with a wide variety of goods, and he wanted to go and broaden his horizons.

"..."

"Is His Highness going to invite us to eat black crickets?"

"Is that edible?"

The thought of the countless black insects in the river sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"His Highness said those aren't insects; we should call them lobsters."

"Since Your Highness says it's edible, then it's definitely edible!!"

……

The summer wind carried many people from various parts of the county seat to Zeyan County.

According to statistics from the Zeyan County checkpoint, more than 80,000 people flocked into Zeyan County in one day.

This was only a short time after His Highness sent out the message, and some people hadn't reacted yet.

The women's militia responsible for maintaining order in the county were deeply shocked.

Luo Qingmin could hardly believe it, exclaiming, "One person calls, ten thousand respond! His Highness the Prince's ability to mobilize resources is terrifying!"

"These past few days have been a great challenge for our Women's Army. We must safeguard the order of Zeyan County and protect the safety of the people in the city!!"

The town of Yajin was bustling with people, its streets teeming with energy.

In the largest square of Yajin Town, some temporary pavilions were set up. At the deepest and highest point, the gold-lacquered and carved pillars shone in the sunlight. Under the pavilion, a rosewood throne was placed, with the wooden carvings on the chair depicting a soaring cloud. Inside the pavilion, officials in their official robes surrounded one person in a manner reverent and subservient manner.

Everyone immediately recognized him as their own Prince.

"It really is His Highness the Prince! I had the honor of seeing Your Highness's face before, and I will never forget it!!"

The crowd only dared to watch from a distance, but soon they were drawn in by the commotion.

"Hey, does this mean we're going to cook it right here?"

As everyone looked over, they saw more than a hundred stoves set up in the square. Basins of prepared black prawns were brought over, flames were lit, and the chefs rolled up their sleeves, poured a spoonful of hot oil into the pot, and ginger, garlic and chili sizzled and released their fragrant aroma. They then poured the "insects" that they found so terrifying into the pot.

Although they had prepared themselves mentally before coming, everyone was still somewhat horrified when they saw the black insects.

"...Since Your Highness says it's edible, then eating it shouldn't have any negative effects on your health, but...is it really that delicious?"

But soon, as the black prawns were cooked, the strange aroma in the air grew stronger, reaching everyone's noses and making their mouths water. For some reason, their stomachs, which hadn't been very hungry before, suddenly became extremely hungry and began to rumble.

"Cuckoo-"

"Cuckoo cuckoo..."

The stomachs of ten thousand people growled simultaneously, their voices ringing out like thunder.

This scene is absolutely as absurd and hilarious as a storybook.

But this is precisely the reality.

Everyone looked at each other, feeling embarrassed.