Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

While Shen Liang was cooking the soup, he casually lifted the lid of the pot that was steaming... fish. The whole, white crucian carp seemed to have been deboned and steamed until it was snow-white and fragrant. Shen Liang took it out and put it into the hot oil and fried it until it turned slightly golden brown on both sides. Then, while it was still hot, he poured boiling hot sweet and sour sauce on it. The sweet and sour sauce was thickened with cornstarch and was incredibly viscous. He sprinkled some Sichuan peppercorns, green beans, and scallions on top and simmered it again. The fragrant sweet and sour crispy fish was ready.

There were three dishes in total, and Shen Liang was extremely fast, so he only took about half an hour to prepare them.

He himself didn't understand why, as a rather lazy young master, he was more skilled in the kitchen than the average chef. He seemed to be naturally adept at multitasking and feeding multiple people in a short time; he wasn't used to having fewer than three pots on the stove at the same time.

Then three steaming hot new dishes were served on the coffee table in front of the fireplace.

They were supposed to be eating at the table, but the girls all seemed to be curled up lazily in front of the fireplace, unwilling to leave and go to the dining room. So that's the downside of fireplaces; in winter, they trap people in front of them, preventing them from going anywhere.

"Chestnut chicken soup, sweet and sour crispy fish, honey (crab) ham."

With a soup and two hot dishes, along with the takeout from the restaurant, Shen Liang poured a few more cups of pear soup for the four girls.

The taste was excellent, of course. Shen Liang was quite confident in his skills. In fact, he could say that he had hardly seen any outstanding ideas about "culinary arts" in this world. Even though Liyue cuisine was great, it lacked a lot of flavor compared to the seasoning recipes that Mistelin had introduced to him.

For example, the flavor of his hot pot broth is so complex and layered that it surpasses the culinary pursuits of many Liyue chefs who have dedicated their lives to it. At first, he thought it was just that the Inazuma chef wasn't very good at cooking, but now he vaguely feels that the cooking knowledge that Mistelin taught him is somewhat ahead of its time.

The two little girls and Rosalin didn't even have the heart to praise Shen Liang. They picked up their chopsticks—Rosalin wasn't quite good at using chopsticks yet, so she used her own fork—and immediately began to devour Shen Liang's three dishes. As for the takeout food from the restaurant, its color, aroma, and taste were all far inferior to Shen Liang's cooking, and it was even neglected for a while.

Only Gan Yu, with her small hands wrapped in delicate dark blue gloves, hesitated as she held the chopsticks, her face showing reluctance.

Shen Liang glanced at her, frowned, and asked, "Don't you like it?"

Seeing his somewhat displeased expression, Gan Yu quickly waved her hand and then said apologetically in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Liang Jun, I... I've gotten used to eating mountain grass and dew over the years. Even when I have occasional social engagements, I can only eat some vegetarian food. I haven't had meat for too long... so I might not be able to accept it."

Gan Yu still felt a little wronged.

She had actually told Shen Liang from the beginning that she was a Qilin who always ate good food, and although she didn't have any demands, but... if this child had put in even a little effort, it wouldn't have been completely uninteresting...

But perhaps there's nothing you can do; this child is used to doing things his own way and can't be treated like a social guest. Maybe if you don't directly tell him that you must be a vegetarian, he simply won't pay any attention to you.

"Just bored."

Shen Liang picked up a piece of firewood and handed it directly to Gan Yu without saying a word, "Eat it."

"Fire cubes" is a dish name; simply put, it's ham cut into cubes, using the best cut with the best lean-to-fat ratio—only one piece can be taken from each leg. Gan Yu couldn't understand why Jigong would provide this relatively high-end and expensive cut to its students for free…

The honey (crab) ham looks incredibly tempting. Unlike many restaurants in Liyue where the meat is mostly fat, this cool ham is steamed and smoked until thoroughly cooked, the fat shrinking and revealing an almost translucent golden-red color. It's covered in a rich, sweet honey (crab) sauce, so you can imagine how flavorful it is.

However, Gan Yu was almost scared to tears. Such a fragrant piece of meat was almost touching her lips. When had she ever experienced such an impolite occasion? Her previous appreciation and even cuteness for Shen Liang's childishness vanished in an instant. She suddenly felt that this child truly lived up to everyone's reputation for being willful!

“A vegetarian diet is actually unhealthy. Don’t even mention that you’re a Qilin. Even true herbivores like goats, cows, and horses will eat meat if they have the chance.” Shen Liang pushed the chopsticks forward, her slightly fierce gaze unchanged. “Try it, Sister Gan Yu.”

"To maintain your figure, you can't eat meat."

“You women just love doing these kinds of self-inflicted troubles, but everyone has their own way of life, and I can’t really judge. But this is definitely a vegetarian dish.” Shen Liang was a little annoyed, and commanded, “It just looks like meat. Eat it! Or else…”

"What are you going to do if you don't eat?" Gan Yu felt his tone was a bit harsh and asked tentatively.

"I'll just use my fingernail to stab a hole in your pantyhose."

Gan Yu's frightened face recoiled.

"Looks like meat?" Rosalyn looked up in surprise as she ate half of her meal.

Seeing the bewildered expressions on the other three people's faces, Gan Yu became even more certain of her impression and was so angry that she wanted to cry. She absolutely refused to open her mouth.

She thought to herself, "You're kidding me! You just want me to break my vows, right? You just want to see others forced to do things they don't want to do because of you, right? I really misjudged you with this terrible personality! Where did that adorable little guy who used to wobble around my feet, calling for me to hug him and opening his arms go? How come after all these years, I've ended up with this fierce and menacing young master!"

But just as Gan Yu was about to retort, Shen Liang deftly flicked her chopsticks, parting the girl's pink lips, and then with another flick, knocked a piece of ham into the girl's mouth.

The sweet and delicious taste immediately assaulted her tongue. Gan Yu subconsciously took a bite, and the rich and fragrant meat juice splashed out from the ham. The Qilin girl, who had never experienced such a wonderful taste, suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, and her whole delicate body trembled slightly for a moment.

“What’s the point of eating if you don’t eat meat?” Shen Liang put some fish into Gan Yu’s bowl. “I accept your ideas, so you have to accept mine too.”

Gan Yu subconsciously licked the meat juice from the corner of her mouth. The rich aroma of meat had absolutely no gamey smell, which showed how skillfully Shen Liang had prepared it. Even under the tutelage of the Kitchen God, Gan Yu had never experienced such a rich variety of flavors. She barely noticed that she had her beautiful legs together and was sweating profusely from the stimulation.

Has the flavor of humanity... become so powerful?

Although she couldn't bring herself to say the dish was bad, Gan Yu, having regained her senses, was still quite indignant at Shen Liang's forceful behavior. She gritted her teeth and whispered, "Liang-jun is going too far. You said you would accept my ideas, but how can you force me... force me to swallow something I can't accept, and then call it a vegetarian dish?"

"It's not vegetarian? Would you like to try it again?"

Gan Yu dared not taste it again. One bite had already left her with an unforgettable flavor; any more and Shen Liang would mercilessly destroy her vegetarianism, a practice she had upheld for over a thousand years. This wicked boy, using such crude methods to corrupt her Dao heart!

Shen Liang was charmed by her adorable expression of wanting to eat but being extremely wary and not daring to touch it, and burst out laughing.

"The reason why Sister Gan Yu reacted so strongly is because she hasn't tasted flavorful dishes for so long, so the impact on your taste buds is much greater than on others. Actually, this is not ham. It looks like a huge piece of braised pork belly, but the fat on top is made from mashed winter melon, and the lean meat underneath is made from minced monkey head mushroom. It is then thickened with soy sauce, salt, MSG, white pepper, sugar, cooking wine, and other seasonings to achieve a realistic texture and taste."

The four girls were all shocked.

"This really isn't meat?" Even Yae no Miko took several bites, looking at her brother hesitantly. "I eat meat all the time. Foxes are carnivores, and I can't even tell the difference... It's vegetarian, how could it be?"

"If you can taste the difference, how can I be a chef?" Shen Liang said arrogantly.

"But you weren't a cook to begin with."

At this moment, someone pulled the ham apart from the middle. Gan Yu took a closer look and found that the ham that had been pulled apart was indeed easier to see as not being meat. The bits of monkey head mushroom were ultimately not quite the same as the lean meat with its clear texture, although after being stewed until tender, they were both equally mouthwatering.

Gan Yu refused to believe it and began to taste the remaining two dishes.

Sure enough, the sweet and sour crispy fish was the same. The sauce was sweet and sour and refreshing. The fish meat was actually fried with some kind of mushroom, and the fish head and tail were flavored with seaweed. Since the crucian carp meat is not very fresh and mainly relies on seasonings, a little seaweed really brought out a lot of the fish's freshness.

The chestnut chicken soup was even more amazing. Shen Liang discarded the water chestnuts used for flavoring from the soup base, and instead used chestnuts, ginkgo nuts, and lotus root, along with stir-fried oyster mushrooms and button mushrooms with ginger, to simmer together for half an hour to achieve a chicken flavor. As for the chicken, since it's a "chicken soup," it doesn't matter if there's no meat; you can just eat the chestnuts and lotus root.

Gan Yu even thought that the "chicken" used to make chicken soup was still left in the kitchen. But after thinking about it carefully, it was impossible. The ingredients that Jigong provided to the students for free would not be so extravagant.

Sipping the chicken soup slowly, Gan Yu didn't fight over the food like the other girls. She simply savored the unprecedented warmth and suddenly felt a little... happy.

"I'm sorry, Liang Jun," Gan Yu said softly.

"What am I sorry about?"

"I'm sorry for all the trouble Liang-jun went to for me."

"It's not for you, I just wanted to show off my skills."

Gan Yu laughed out loud.

"How dare you laugh? You don't trust me at all. I'm very angry."

Gan Yu's cheeks flushed slightly, and she awkwardly brushed the strands of hair that were tied to her cheeks. The girl's slender legs, encased in long stockings, unconsciously leaned against Shen Liang, as if she were being coquettish, innocent yet full of charm.

"Liang Jun is a bit petty. It was just a small misunderstanding. Don't hold it against me, okay?" Gan Yu said with a light laugh.

Shen Liang placed another piece of winter melon on her plate. That's just how girls are, even a gentle and aloof fairy like Gan Yu. Anyway, men shouldn't hold grudges against them; they should be magnanimous. Holding grudges is petty.

But they would never forget the mistakes men made. They kept a clear record in their hearts, and every time they had a conflict, they would take it out and flip through it to prove that their anger was justified. For example, he only made Yae no Miko choke once, but the little fox was still complaining about it over and over.

As Rosalina shoveled rice into her mouth, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the Qilin girl and Shen Liang were sitting side by side, chatting and laughing. She narrowed her eyes.

After dinner, the messy coffee table was cleaned up, and the group of people, full of food and drink, chatted around the fireplace.

Rosalyn sat opposite Shen Liang, pulled up the hem of her long skirt, and looked at Shen Liang with a grin: "Liang'er, I'd like to take off my shoes and warm my feet, you don't mind, do you?"

"You don't have smelly feet, do you?"

Rosalyn felt a pang in her heart. How could she possibly have smelly feet? And would you even care? Your sisters jump around on your bed barefoot every day and you don't seem to mind. Sometimes they even dare to step on you to jump around!

But then Rosalyn thought about it again and suddenly realized that it wouldn't matter if she were the one with mysophobia. The little fox and the little doll were both adorable little loli sisters. One was wearing a white silk (crab) tabi socks in a shrine maiden outfit, and the other was wearing light purple over-the-knee socks in a Lolita uniform. She could even accept having soft, fragrant feet stepping on her face. Who could dislike such cute little girls being affectionate and adorable?

It's more accurate to say that Shen Liang, who gets furious every morning after being woken up by Yae no Miko jumping up and stepping on her, actually has a lower tolerance for such things. At least Shen Liang would spank the little fox's bottom for such an incident.

Shen Liang was joking, of course. Rosalina revealed her fair, jade-like feet, painted with fiery red toenail polish, and lifted them up to the campfire, which happened to be placed in front of Shen Liang, who was closest to the fireplace.

Rosalyn was a stunning beauty, and Gan Yu was certain that she was somewhat uncomfortable with this scene. She knew very well that Shen Liang was actually a proper boy, and for a girl to raise her bare feet in front of a boy... was more or less inappropriate. Although Liang-jun was still so considerate and adorable, wasn't this taking advantage of him?

"Move it away, don't let the smell bother me," Shen Liang said calmly.

Rosalind kicked him angrily.

Gan Yu laughed again.

Chapter Sixty-Five: How dare you! I have no desire to become the white-haired beauty's wife!

Shen Liang was just saying it casually. Anyway, this dorm room belonged to Rosalin, and even though there were many of them, he still had to respect his roommates. Rosalin clearly deliberately put her clean white feet in front of him, but she was one of the few girls among them who didn't wear socks. Her boots were also sandals, clean and without any odor.

"Want some wine?" Shen Liang poured some Shaoxing wine.

In this era, the technology for making baijiu (white liquor) had not yet become widespread, but Shen Liang actually felt that huangjiu (yellow wine) was not necessarily inferior to baijiu. On the contrary, this ancient, undistilled liquor had a rich aroma, a sweet and mellow taste, and was more worthy of careful appreciation than the strong and spicy baijiu. Most importantly, huangjiu must be drunk warm in winter.

Everyone was simply drinking sweet pear soup, except for Shen Liang, who was warming an iron sake pot by the fireplace. To outsiders, the fact that this white-haired beauty, barely 1.5 meters tall, had such a fondness for various kinds of fine wine seemed out of place with his appearance, creating a strong contrast. However, Shen Liang was actually surprisingly good at drinking; he even dared to drink heavily with Reizenbo, drinking the very low-alcohol sake from Inazuma.

Even without using his body's healing abilities, Shen Liang always ends up being drugged and rendered unconscious by the monsters.

“I won’t drink anymore. No matter how much, alcohol is never good for your health… Liang Jun, you shouldn’t develop a drinking habit either. You’re still young. If you like, can I make you some sugar water? Many of my colleagues have developed various illnesses in their later years because of their drinking habits, such as Yi Xiao Dao Tian Zhen Jun…” Gan Yu refused, “And I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time, so I can’t be bothered by alcohol.”

"But the wine is made from pure grains, without any meat or fish at all," Shen Liang said, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

Ganyu shook her head.

Shen Liang didn't say anything more about other people's preferences. He simply swirled his porcelain cup and admired the beautiful amber-colored wine.

Yellow wine is best enjoyed warm, and the Liyue people's habit of warming their wine is actually an ancient wisdom passed down through generations. This is because the brewing process, due to outdated technology, inevitably produces methanol, ethanol, and various esters.

Methanol has a boiling point of 64.7 degrees Celsius, while ethanol has a boiling point of 78 degrees Celsius. Ethanol is the alcohol we drink, but methanol is toxic. So what did they do? Ancient people didn't understand these trace elements, but they could detect toxins. So they discovered, without any formal instruction, that heating alcohol would cause methanol to precipitate out, and the alcohol would actually become stronger.

"She's not even fully grown yet, but she's already trying to drink like an adult." Rosalyn sipped her hot pear soup.

"The reason people like to drink is because we like the feeling that alcohol produces. This feeling is so hard to describe and inexplicable, but it makes people incredibly clear-headed even in a confused state." Shen Liang took a small sip and tasted the alcohol, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. "Actually, unless I'm deliberately competing with Aunt Chiyo and Aunt Ling Shanfang, I don't drink excessively. I just occasionally want to speed up the dopamine level in my brain so that I can think about many things clearly in this hazy state."

"More than what? What do you mean by eight points?"

"How old is Liang Jun? What do you need to drink to think about?" Gan Yu revealed a slightly sly smile. "Your life hasn't even begun yet."

“I have a lot to think about. For example, there’s a beautiful young woman in my mind. She might be my hysteria, because maybe I have a mental illness, but she knows a lot of things that even I don’t know.” Shen Liang said calmly. “Logically speaking, this doesn’t make sense.”