Tang Dynasty: The pot is tied to the duck nest, the little rhinoceros is here!

Seeing this, Jiang Fan knew that Cheng Yaojin was determined to have his fill of meat today.

Unable to stop him, he could only say, "Uncle Cheng, how about this, this beef leg... we roast it and eat it?"

Luckily, Xiao Sizi still had some leftover cold noodle seasoning in his cart, which he could use on the beef.

Upon hearing Jiang Fan's suggestion, Xiao Sizi was the first to voice her opinion:

"I'll listen to my brother. If he says to bake it on the 7th, then we'll bake it on the 7th!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin smiled and said, "Since the young master has spoken,

"Then let's do as the young master says. Momo, hurry up and prepare the stove, we'll roast the beef leg now..."

As Cheng Chumo went to prepare the stove, Jiang Fan asked Cheng Yaojin:

"Uncle Cheng, this is such a big cow, what are you going to do with all this beef?"

"You definitely can't finish this; there are hundreds of pounds of beef here, aren't there?"

"Young master, you have a good eye. This ox weighs a full eight hundred pounds. After skinning and deboning it..."

There are still three or four hundred pounds of beef left, which is definitely more than we can eat. I plan to use salt to cook the leftover beef…”

"Uncle Cheng, are you talking about dried beef?"

Cheng Yaojin was stunned after hearing Jiang Fan's words, staring at Jiang Fan with wide eyes: "Dried beef? How do you make it?"

Jiang Fan: "!@#￥%……&*" Am I overthinking this?

It seems that Cheng Yaojin planned to use salt to marinate the remaining beef and save it for later consumption.

After all, in the Tang Dynasty, where there were no cold storage facilities, this was the only simple and crude method for storing beef.

Jiang Fan said to Cheng Yaojin, "Uncle Cheng, if you marinate the beef with salt, will it still taste good?"

Cheng Yaojin shook his head repeatedly: "It's not exactly delicious, it's just for the taste of meat. But young master, what you called dried beef..."

"It's simply making air-dried beef jerky, which is suitable for long-term storage and tastes absolutely delicious..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin was overjoyed: "Oh my, if that's the case..."

Then I'd like to ask you, young sir, to teach me, Old Cheng, how to make this air-dried beef jerky.

If he learns this, I will definitely discipline my eldest son, Cheng Chumo, more strictly in the future.

Tell him to stop bragging, lest he die a gruesome death...

Just then, Cheng Chumo, who was carrying the oven, walked over. Upon hearing this, he stumbled and almost fell over.

This father of mine is such a jerk, he's unbelievable.

But as a son, he could only silently endure this deep fatherly love.

At this moment, Jiang Fan took out paper and pen, wrote down the method for making dried beef jerky that he had seen on Douyin, and then handed it to Cheng Yaojin:

"Uncle Cheng, this is the method for making dried beef. Take a look when you have some free time and you'll understand."

Leftover beef can be made into dried beef, enough to last you until the end of the year!

"Is it really that amazing? Then I'll have to take a closer look..."

After speaking, Cheng Yaojin dropped the butcher's knife in his hand and carefully wiped his hands on his apron several times.

After confirming that there was no blood on his hands, he excitedly took the recipe for dried beef from Jiang Fan.

Upon seeing the words above, Cheng Yaojin was dumbfounded and asked Jiang Fan:

"Young master, these characters... your Uncle Cheng can't recognize them all, this... is a bit difficult for me!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan was immediately embarrassed, having forgotten that he had written in simplified Chinese characters. He then began pointing to the characters and reading them aloud, sentence by sentence:

"Cut the beef into strips. For ten pounds of beef, use one ounce of salt, one and a half ounces of white sugar, two ounces of light soy sauce, cooking wine..."

After Jiang Fan finished reading out the ingredients, Cheng Yaojin was dumbfounded again and weakly said:

"Young master, Uncle Cheng does have some salt, but the white sugar you mentioned... that's a bit difficult. How about brown sugar? And what about soy sauce?"

"These are just some cooking seasonings. I'll bring them to you next time you come."

"Thank you very much, young man!"

Soon, Jiang Fan directed Cheng Chumo to set up the oven and prepare to roast the beef leg.

Then he brought over the seasonings. When Jiang Fan returned with the seasonings, Cheng Yaojin's eyes narrowed into slits. He was overjoyed, so very happy.

Young master, the things you brought must be extraordinary.

"Young master, what is this seasoning? It smells so good. May I have a taste?" Cheng Yaojin leaned closer, and a fragrant aroma immediately filled the air.

"Uh... okay, this seasoning is a mixture of salt, MSG, spices... just brush it directly onto the beef leg while grilling!"

Filled with anticipation and excitement, Cheng Yaojin stretched out his fingers and gently pinched a small handful.

Then, she gently put it in her mouth, her expression instantly lighting up: "Even this seasoning is so delicious!"

Amidst the anticipation of Cheng Yaojin and his son, the beef leg began to be roasted. Since it was seasoned with cold noodles, the seasoning was only brushed on after the meat was cooked through, and Jiang Fan brushed it on again and again.

Little Sizi was practically drooling with envy, and Cheng Yaojin and his son were also whetted by the aroma of roasted meat wafting over.

Cheng Yaojin, in particular, almost drooled: "It smells so good..."

After a while, once it was cooked, Xiao Sizi hugged a piece of roasted beef leg and ate it with gusto, her mouth dripping with oil.

Cheng Yaojin thought that this beef not only had a wonderfully fragrant aroma, but also a golden-yellow color.

It looks so much better than the beef I stew myself; it's on a completely different level. And it tastes so much fresher and more delicious.

Cheng Chumo also felt that the beef roasted by the young master wasn't just delicious, it was so delicious it made him question his existence.

Compared to the beef cooked by my grandfather, it was worlds apart, the difference was obvious.

But if I were to actually say it out loud, I'm afraid my own father would be devastated.

Without comparison, there is no harm; this is the best way to save face and maintain confidence for one's own father.

Jiang Fan didn't eat much; he ate cold noodles and wasn't very hungry.

After finishing their meal, Cheng Chumo acted as Jiang Fan's guide, leading Jiang Fan and Xiao Sizi out of the house and heading straight for Zhuque Street.

Before the curfew, Suzaku Street was bustling with people, especially the street vendors hawking their wares.

Aside from the Lantern Festival and when I passed through during the drought, this was the first time I'd properly strolled along Suzaku Avenue.

When they reached the candied hawthorn vendor, Xiao Si pointed at the candied hawthorns and shouted, "Brother, I want seven candied hawthorns!"

Before Jiang Fan could speak, Cheng Chumo had already stepped forward to buy it.

I bought three skewers for six yuan. I have to say, the candied hawthorns at Datang are really inexpensive.

However, the sugar coating on top is a bit lacking; after all, it's limited by the craftsmanship, so this is all that can be done.

However, Little Sizi didn't mind; what Little Sizi liked...

The main attraction is the hawthorn on the candied hawthorn skewers; it's sweet and sour, and very delicious.

~