Da Zaojun

Chapter 43 Chrysanthemum Tofu
It seems that carving and plating complement each other and achieve each other. Although Song Wuji's previous way of arranging offerings for sacrifices also belongs to plating, it is not part of the orthodox culinary art.

Now I am seriously learning these basic skills from the chef, and in just one day, I have completed the second stage of awakening.

Awakening Stage 2: Master the art of plating and carving. Awakening Materials: Ten platings with special effects. (Completed)
Awakening Obtained: Basic Sword Skills, Unlock Stage 3.

Awakening Stage 5: Master Basic Sword Techniques

Awakening Materials: Knife Skill Dishes*5
Awakening Obtain: Basic Seasoning, unlock the eighth-grade Heavenly Kitchen Master Awakening Ritual.

In just a moment, Song Wuji's mind was filled with many basic knife skills, such as cutting meat, cutting vegetables, cutting into strips, cutting into slices, cutting into sections, and cutting into cubes...

These are all hand skills, and even have a more precise familiarity with the kitchen knife in the hand. It seems that you can tell at a glance whether the knife is sharp, how much the blade weighs, and what the condition of the knife is.

It’s just that you have to master five knife techniques and make five qualified knife-cutting dishes, which is quite a challenge.

After all, many times, knife skills rely on "practice makes perfect". Insight is only one of the factors. To be able to do it skillfully, a lot of practice is also needed.

Although carving various ingredients has made Song Wuji somewhat "dextrous", he still needs to learn humbly to make good knife-cutting dishes.

Therefore, Song Wuji directly asked the most authoritative of the four restaurant chefs in the kitchen, Chef Bao, the former chef of Taichang County Shixian Restaurant.

"Five knife techniques? Five corresponding knife-cutting dishes?"

After listening to this, Chef Bao looked Song Wuji up and down and said, "It's not impossible for me to teach you, but it's a dish that tests your knife skills. It's hard to learn quickly. When I was learning the art, I cut the chopping board for five years, learning one knife technique a year. For example, the simplest knife technique is to cut tofu into shreds that can be threaded through a needle, and they must be continuous and unbroken. There is a dish called Chrysanthemum Tofu, which is a typical knife skill dish. To make this dish, you can be considered a master of knife skills."

Song Wuji said: "Let me learn this, Master Bao, please teach me!"

Master Bao wanted to say, this is the skill passed down in my family for running a restaurant and making a living. How can an ordinary apprentice be taught the real skills without testing his character for ten or eight years?
But thinking that Song Wuji was now his leader and very likely a relative of the county magistrate, he nodded and agreed, saying, "I'm very strict. If you can't stand it, just tell me directly. You are not allowed to complain."

Then he said, "Since we need to learn quickly, it would be a waste of time to cut other things. Let's start directly with cutting tofu. These days, have them grind more tofu, from old to tender, so you can practice in order."

Tofu is a good thing, it can supplement protein. Song Wuji can eat whatever dish in the cafeteria he practices knife skills with, so it is not a waste.

However, the tofu vendors in the city made money. They pulled donkeys and ground beans and made tofu all day long.

After all, Song Wuji was actually quite fast at practicing knife skills. Except for the fact that he easily crushed the tofu at the beginning, after he became familiar with the texture of the tofu, he was able to basically keep the tofu intact. However, it was difficult to cut the tofu into slices or strips evenly.

While Song Wuji was setting up the big canteen, the county magistrate announced the first three levels of the Five Rats Moving Method, posted notices, and offered a reward of one stone of grain to the first 100 people who could master it, and conscripted county soldiers to teach them martial arts.

For a time, the people in the city were in an uproar, especially the disaster victims who entered the city later. Most of them were still living together in shacks, going to work during the day and coming back to rest at night. They had no fixed place to live. If they could enter the Wei's office and become county soldiers, it would be better than their current situation.

The Five Rats Moving Qi technique is to first sense the Qi. After successfully sensing the Qi, the true Qi will circulate in the meridians like a little mouse, refining the Qi and blood in the body and transforming it into true Qi. The Five Rats Moving Qi technique is to eventually condense five little Qi mice, which have the ability to move five times the Qi and blood and refine them into true Qi.

Those who practice this technique will get hungry faster. If they do not consume enough food, they will become increasingly haggard and emaciated, and eventually kill themselves.

The public notice clearly stated the pros and cons of this practice, and stated that after being conscripted into the county, the food needed for daily practice would be provided.

Cultivating true qi can enhance the power of various external martial arts. For example, sword techniques can release a knife's energy, and sword techniques can pierce with a sword's light. The main consumption of this technique is essence, and the easiest way to replenish essence is to eat.

This is why it is said that practicing martial arts is three parts practice and seven parts diet.

The Five Rats Moving Movement is not difficult to practice. Song Wuji read the original and learned it after only reading it once. However, when he had time to practice it at night, he found it was surprisingly easy.

It only took Song Wuji five hours to learn the method and reach the fifth level of the Five Rats Moving. It took him about one hour to break through one level.

As for replenishing the refined essence, Song Wuji has the magical power of taking food. He can eat soil or gnaw wood. In short, everything can be converted into "essence" for cultivation.

Moreover, this technique is very compatible with Song Wuji's Three Talents at Peace.

Refining essence into Qi, consuming the essence of the Three Treasures and strengthening the Qi of the Three Treasures, Song Wuji would refine the essence of the Three Treasures from 1.2 to 0.8 points each time, and transform it into 0.4 of Qi attribute through the Five Rats.

Then, by taking magical powers, you can replenish your essence to the upper limit of 1.2 points.

Compared to breaking through the upper limit, making up for the deficit is relatively easy.

When the value of the Three Treasures' Qi became higher and could not be raised any further, Song Wuji adjusted the Qi attribute to the God of the Three Treasures.

So when others practice this technique, they can only refine essence into qi, but Song Wuji can refine qi into spirit.

Once the spirits are replenished, balance the three treasures, increase the upper limit of the essence attributes, and continue refining the essence.

In this way, in just one night, Song Wuji used this method to move things silently. By eating soil and gnawing on wood, he accumulated his energy and spirit to 3 o'clock.

After 3 o'clock, no matter how much Song Wuji moved his qi and blood, refined his essence, or even consumed ordinary demonic energy, it was difficult for him to increase his qi and spirit.

It can be seen that the Five Rats Moving Skill is only a ninth-grade skill, and this is its limit.

This growth rate is astonishing and cannot be understood by ordinary people. It can be called a monster.

However, it is still a little short of the ninth-grade demon strength recognized by Song Wuji, where all attributes reach above 10. This is to break the limit and break the shackles.

With such powerful attributes, it would be easier for Song Wuji to practice swordsmanship.

The powerful aura made Song Wuji's hands more stable, and the amplitude of each knife movement would not differ too much. The strengthening of his soul made Song Wuji's perception more acute, allowing him to detect subtle differences each time he cut and make adjustments.

So when Song Wuji showed Master Bao the results of his night's practice the next day, Master Bao almost dropped his jaw to the ground.

There was nothing special about it. In the basin of water, there were several pieces of cut chrysanthemum tofu. The tofu was cut into shreds so thin that you could thread a needle through it. The bottom was connected and the tofu shreds swayed with the waves of the water, like a living anemone.

(End of this chapter)