Abandoned the Immortal Cultivator, returned to his hometown to farm and sing

Chapter 1225, 1214. In this life, all one desires is to eat.

"Delicious, wonderful, and unparalleled! What an exquisite feast! Today's meal has made the trip worthwhile."

Old Hou took a sip of tea and started a conversation.

“Three delicious dishes in a row! It seems Old Master Hou really enjoyed himself today. I’m afraid another magnificent article will be published next month,” said an elderly man surnamed Sun, who had been introduced before and claimed to be a small business owner.

"How can we wait until next month? Three days, three days to be published in the newspaper." Old Hou proudly held up three fingers.

His main job is as a food journalist and freelance writer, contributing articles to the food sections of various newspapers and magazines.

After saying that, he pointed at Old Sun and said, "I asked you to come over, but you kept making excuses. Did I not trick you?"

Old Sun quickly retorted, "Where are you making excuses? You, Reporter Hou, immediately sent the message to the group. I grabbed the spot, okay? All I asked you was if I could be half an hour later, but you didn't agree. As a result, Little Zhou didn't even dare to go to the toilet halfway and had to hold it in for four hours."

"Then you'll have to give Xiao Zhou a bonus."

"Just giving out bonuses isn't enough. This is Tianhan. Buy two catties of Eucommia bark for Xiao Zhou to nourish him properly. He's a young man who's not even married yet."

What is Eucommia ulmoides?

"It's good for the kidneys."

"Is that for tonifying the kidneys? That's for tonifying the liver and kidneys. It's for old men like you who have lower back and knee pain and weak muscles and bones."

"Yes, then I need to get some..."

The group of old men got more and more carried away with their conversation, changing topics at lightning speed.

From eating to driving to medicinal herbs, and then back to where you can still taste delicious food.

They also called out that anyone with time could form a group to go.

Liang Yue and her friends watched the old men chatting across from them, seemingly enjoying the spectacle.

"The grandfathers have such a good relationship. I also want to eat and drink everywhere. It must be so wonderful," Liang Yue murmured.

Old Sun had sharp ears and overheard it.

He chimed in from across the table, "Girl, have you ever heard the old saying, 'eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling'? Putting eating and drinking together with whoring and gambling, what kind of good words can that be? The desire for food and drink is still a desire, and it harms people."

"Huh??" Liang Yue's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open, completely not understanding.

Eating and drinking are so enjoyable, how could they possibly harm anyone?

Old Hou also had a different opinion, pointing at Old Sun and laughing, "That's ancient history, from when we couldn't even get enough to eat. To eat something better, we'd throw away a month's salary while our wives and kids were crying from hunger."

Old Sun quickly waved his hand, "I didn't. Back when I ate two months' salary in one meal, I wasn't even married yet."

...It's just that I don't have a wife.

For a bachelor to spend two months' salary on one meal is pretty outrageous, isn't it?

"I remember it was right after the reform and opening up in 82. There was an old man in the provincial capital's enamel factory who had inherited the imperial chef's skills and could make imperial jars. He secretly sold them at home without daring to put up a sign. He didn't even sell them to the factory's own people or the locals; he only dared to sell them to people from other places."

"Back then, I was working as a salesperson at a plastics factory in a county. My mentor and I signed a big deal together and received a lot of bonuses."

“My master is related to that old man. He said he wanted to celebrate my success, so he took me there. We rode bicycles for six hours, and I almost threw up from exhaustion.”

"It was already dark when we arrived at our destination."

"I sneaked into the tenement building and saw a small earthenware pot sitting on the stove. The old man was guarding it."

"When they saw us come in, they quickly closed all the doors and windows, sealing all the gaps between the doors and windows tightly, as if they were underground party members meeting."

"Then I opened the lid, and wow, the aroma was so wonderful, I almost fainted from the smell."

"It's yellowish and thick, like millet porridge, but without millet. When you scoop it up with a spoon, there's a lot of stuff at the bottom." "I can hardly remember the taste anymore, it's been over forty years. I just remember that it had fish lips, bird tendons, deer tendons, bamboo fungus, and I think there was an old hen too, all good stuff."

"I took a bite, and oh my god, I realized that what I had been eating for the past twenty years or so wasn't even food. It was just... it was just... nothing at all."

"From that moment on, I became convinced that all we need in life is food..."

Old Sun slowly recounted his story from back then, how he became a gourmand and never returned.

The audience was drooling with delight.

"What is a royal altar?" Liang Yue asked curiously.

"Huangtanzi is a Qing Dynasty imperial dish," Old Hou casually explained. "According to Manchu custom, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the emperor would bestow delicacies from various regions upon the Eight Banners soldiers. These soldiers would then carefully simmer these ingredients in jars. When the jars were opened, the aroma would fill the air. Because it was a gift from the emperor, it was called Huangtanzi. In the beginning, it was actually just a simple stew. Later, generation after generation improved it, making it more and more refined, and it became a royal dish, similar to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."

“They’re different.” Old Liang waved his hand. “Huangtanzi uses more mountain delicacies and things that can produce collagen, such as deer tendon and bamboo fungus. It’s all about slow simmering in one pot, with everything added together. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall uses seafood and mountain delicacies, and is simmered in layers. The process is complicated. They’re not the same thing at all.”

"Yes, yes, you know Buddha Jumps Over the Wall best." Old Hou quickly apologized.

The way they said it sounded a bit sarcastic.

Mr. Liang also admitted, "Of course, I've been chasing after Master Lin's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall for so many years."

"You still have the nerve to say that? I've been chasing you for so many years, begging you for so many days, and you didn't even share half a jar with me." Old Hou was indeed being sarcastic.

Old Liang wasn't embarrassed at all. "Master Lin's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is so hard to get. I only got to eat it a few times over the years. Didn't I take you there later?"

"Then you eat more than me."

The two old men are acting like children; why are they arguing?

The young man they brought, who had just introduced himself as Huang Zhuoqun, quickly advised, "Mr. Liang, Mr. Hou, from what you're saying, it's been so many years. Let bygones be bygones. At worst, when we get back, I'll treat you both to a meal at Antai Restaurant and order three servings of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."

Upon hearing this, Old Hou laughed heartily, “It’s different. We’re not talking about An Tai Lou’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Ever since Master Ji retired, An Tai Lou’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall hasn’t tasted the same.”

"We were talking about Master Lin Changxian's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," Old Liang added, then sighed, "Alas, Master Lin has also retired."

Suddenly hearing a familiar name, Xiang Boming asked in surprise, "Master Lin who makes braised goose at Xunweili?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Old Liang answered with great certainty, “There are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames. The artist of the food capital, Master Lin’s braised goose and poached chicken are just side dishes he makes casually. His Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is his real specialty. True art is what he makes.”

Slurp~~
The braised goose in the restaurant looks so good, and it looks so delicious.

On the day the show premiered, Xiang Boming and his friend had to visit several shops before they could finally buy a roast goose.

It is said that the roasted geese in Shenzhen were sold out in those few days.

This is just the tip of the iceberg?

So what does his signature Buddha Jumps Over the Wall dish taste like...?
-
"What does Master Lin's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall taste like?" The young Huang Zhuoqun was also eager to find out.

Old Hou chuckled, "You've caught a lucky break. If you get the chance, I'll ask Old Liang to pull some strings and get some good stuff for Master Lin to make."

"Really?" Huang Zhuoqun was overjoyed and quickly agreed, "I'll pay for it, and I'll definitely make Chef Lin satisfied. I'll also pay for the ingredients."

He must have opened the door to a new world; he hasn't even finished today's gourmet feast, and he's already thinking about the next meal.

Old Hou laughed even harder, pointing at Huang Zhuoqun, "You rich kids, you don't start businesses, you don't gamble, you don't smoke drugs, you just squander money on your cravings, that's really the best way to waste your money."

Huang Zhuoqun was completely bewildered. How did the conversation suddenly turn to him?
Why?

His father asked Old Hou to bring him out to broaden his horizons, probably because he was afraid he would go astray...

(End of this chapter)