Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 36 35. Gifted
This is really not the metallurgist's fault!

Qin Shi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: the status of the craftsmen was too low, and if they didn't make anything well, they would incur the wrath of their superiors.

Seeing the other person's genuine panic, she quickly said, "I don't blame you. This iron pot wasn't originally meant for stewing soup or roasting meat."

Then he asked, "Is the shovel we made together finished?"

The metalworker's shoulders slumped in slack, and he quickly presented another piece beside him: "Sir, it's done!"

Qin Shi looked at it carefully. Although the bottom of the iron pot was a little round and blunt, the handles only needed to be wrapped with a cloth to prevent heat and then placed on the stove.

The iron shovel is slightly different from the common modern style and is not as light and thin, but it looks like the heavy old-fashioned spatula from childhood.

She thought to herself: No wonder everyone craves power and aspires to higher positions. With just one command, millions of people devoted their hearts and souls to obeying the Lord's command...

Who can not love this?
She asked the blacksmith to stand by and called the cook.

After a subtle struggle and jostling, another tall and strong cook finally stood before Qin Shi, bowing.
"Please give your orders, Your Excellency."

"Bring me a piece of fat pork skin. I'll teach you how to boil the pot first, so that this iron pot can be used smoothly for a long time."

It is not easy to make ironware nowadays. It is really heartbreaking if more and more rust appears due to improper use.

The cooks often cook delicate food. Now, following her instructions, they wash the iron pot and dry it over low heat, then take the pig skin and carefully wipe it with grease... Their movements are neither fast nor slow, and very smooth.

When the grease covered the entire pot and hot smoke instantly appeared, she ordered someone to bring hot water and slowly scrub it. After doing this two or three times, Qin Shi was finally satisfied:

"That's fine. No need to wash this time. Just wipe it with a clean cloth."

"This is a method for maintaining kitchen utensils and ironware. You can use it frequently in the future, and you can also study other methods. If you come up with a new method, there will be a reward."

The kitchen staff nodded in agreement.

The blacksmith watched from the side, and was both apprehensive and proud to see the noble man taking such good care of the iron tools he had made.

He craned his neck, and remembering that he had carved his name under the handle, his anger grew.

However, this does not violate the ban. Instead, the king has issued an order that when craftsmen make things, they must "engrave their names on the objects" - that is, engrave their names on the objects.

In this way, if you have time, you can trace it back quickly.

Now, if the noble man uses it well, wouldn’t many people be able to see their names when they use iron tools?

At this moment, Qin Shi had already instructed the kitchen to prepare lard, wild onions, and eggs.

Heat lard in a pan, crack and stir the chicken, chop the wild onions into chopped green onions - there are thousands of ways to stir-fry, but among all the ingredients, the aroma of fried eggs with green onions is particularly overbearing and strong.

By now, the king must have had his breakfast, neither too early nor too late. If you want to offer something special, it needs to be unique.

The selected palace chef used lard to lubricate the wok and used the handles of the iron wok to heat it quickly and evenly.

The stirred yellow egg liquid is quickly poured into the hot pan, and then you can hear a "sizzle" sound. The yellow egg liquid in the hot oil quickly expands, and then emits a rich aroma that is far better than fried eggs!
The aroma was so overbearing and strong that almost everyone couldn't help but sniff it.

Qin Shi couldn't help but feel a little greedy.

This is especially true for red girl and black seed - these days, no one can resist the temptation of high oil, high fat and high protein.

The egg liquid quickly expanded to fill the entire egg. The chef holding the spatula was drooling, and his movements lost control. He was even reluctant to break it into pieces with the spatula.

Qin Shi smiled again and said, "You can use a spatula to flip it into small pieces. If you don't want it to be scrambled, that's fine too. Just sprinkle some chopped green onions on the whole egg and flip it again."

Anyway, the egg liquid also contains coarse salt, so the taste is not much different whether it is whole or crushed.

Then she looked at the blacksmith beside her: "The iron pot is well made - it is not meant for stewing, I call it stir-frying. Later, I will use hot oil to fry the chopped scallion, and then stir-fry the sunflower greens and hops, which will have a unique flavor." The blacksmith looked at her blankly, and couldn't help showing excitement on his face.

Qin Shi also looked at Wu Zi and said, "Reward him."

Wu Zi lowered her head and responded. Her master was so extraordinary that she felt proud of him!
……

After eating and drinking, Qin Shi returned to Lan Chi with satisfaction and sat back in her chair. She felt comfortable all over.

Meanwhile, in Zhangtai Palace, Ji Heng, who hadn't slept all night and was always full of energy, didn't seem tired at all. His shoulders and back ached, though. The Imperial Physician was applying herbs while watching the king holding the bamboo slips, sighing inwardly—

Even if Bian Que were alive again, he would not be able to repair his body which was being damaged day by day!

Zhou Ju, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but remark, "Your Majesty, the daily load of 120 kilograms of bamboo slips is truly heavy. Why not summon Qin Qing and ask her in detail how she obtained the paper and writing brush?"

"This paper is light and simple. If all memorials were written with it, Your Majesty would not have to endure the pain every day."

Ji Heng put down the memorial in his hand and couldn't help laughing at this moment: "I forgot about this matter."

Then he asked, "How is Qin Qing today?"

Zhou Ju looked strange.

Compared with the king, Qin Qing is really too comfortable today.

He reported in detail, "Qin Qing got up after half past the hour of Mao and had duck noodle soup and a bowl of brown sugar egg soup for breakfast."

"Then the king summoned him and presented him with ten beautiful women for his careful inspection. From what I understand, he was quite satisfied. Qin Qing frankly admitted that she did not care for matters of sex, but she still accepted one of the beautiful women with extraordinary talent..."

Ji Heng's hand holding the brush paused.

Ink spilled onto the bamboo slips, and a eunuch hurriedly wiped them away. His expression was complicated: "Qin Qing... you're a little too shy. This isn't like a child of our Qin State. Regarding matters of food and sex, just be honest."

He pondered the word "gifted" in his mind, and for some reason, he was speechless.

Zhou Ju also smiled slightly and replied, "The Minister of the Imperial Household has come to report that Qin Qing has indeed paid attention to everyone's comments, but he only took a quick look."

He didn't dare to say some offensive words, but smiled silently at this moment, thinking that Qin Qing might look down on everyone else after seeing the king's heroic and handsome appearance.

This is quite understandable.

The king indeed has handsome eyebrows and eyes, a natural appearance, is as strong as a mountain, and has the demeanor of a dragon and a phoenix.

Ji Heng finally laughed and scolded her softly, "She is just a child, Yun Si Zhen Ling, why bother saying more?"

Zhou Ju hurriedly apologized quietly, knowing that Ji Heng was not angry, and continued to report: "Qin Qing ordered the Shaofu to forge tables, chairs, and iron pots yesterday, and now they are complete. The tables and chairs are not like the mats we have today, and the iron pots can also be used in the palace kitchen."

"Given Qin Qing's deep devotion to the king, I'm afraid he will soon be summoned. I can't say much now."

Ji Heng's eyes were full of energy as he glanced at him lightly, without saying a word about the rare laxity and overstepping of the boundaries of this close minister.

Zhou Ju had served for a long time and now knew that if the king was happy, he would naturally be more tolerant towards his subordinates.

And if this Qin Qing does not do anything that is offensive, I am afraid he will make the king happy for a long time.

[Brushes and ink were already available during the Qin Dynasty, and brush technology was already quite mature.]

[Yun Si Zhen Ling paraphrases the Book of Songs to describe a woman's yearning. Here, the king is mocking his childhood obsession with beauty.]

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