The Legend of Fangren

Chapter 179 Taste is Unique

Fang Shi simply said calmly, "I was born into poverty and know how difficult life is for the people outside the city. Now that wild animals are rampant and refugees are scattered and fleeing, I just want to do my part."

His request was that simple; he just wanted to know how to build a village.

With the abilities of the blocky people, building tall buildings on flat ground in the mountains is an easy task. However, even though the village is small, it still has a place of belonging. Even if the management is not strict, a proper village should be registered with the official family of the city to which it belongs. Otherwise, if the village suffers a disaster, it will not be able to report to the authorities for help.

Secondly, regular villages must have paths connecting them to official roads.

In this way, inheriting the old village is fine, but building a new village is not so easy, especially in recent years, the manpower and resources of major cities have been strained due to the beasts, so where would they have the energy to expand new villages?

"It's good that you have this intention, but even a large city like Emerald City doesn't have enough manpower to develop new villages. The last time a new village was registered was more than a decade ago. Besides, villages aren't built randomly. The villages around the city play a very important role in gathering resources. Otherwise, why would village roads be connected to the city? It's so that villagers can bring their hunting and gathering harvests to the city to sell, thus promoting the flow of materials and the economy."

Each village is like a tentacle extending from the city. When things are peaceful, the area naturally expands to gather resources, but when disaster strikes, the area must be reduced to minimize damage. In some cases, villagers in the outer villages even have to move closer to the city so that troops can come to their aid when things are in trouble.

So how could there be a situation like Fang Shi's, where the beasts' troubles were spreading outwards even in the present moment?

"Then thank you very much for your advice, Senior Brother Fei. I will definitely keep it in mind."

He seemed to have heeded the advice, but in reality, his mind was incredibly active.

Well, he thought building a village would require some kind of procedure, but it turns out it's just a matter of registration? Even registration is just to facilitate troop deployment and rescue; there's none of the complicated management relationships like in my previous life. Isn't that just doing whatever you want?

Returning to the alchemy shop in a good mood, he packed his things, putting away all the alchemy books his master had taught him. Just as he was leaving, he ran into Zhu Zhu.

Seeing his smug expression, Zhu Zhu was furious.

"You heartless apprentice! Sister Zhu is already troubled, why are you so happy?"

"Hey, little aunt, that's not how it works. Does looking gloomy solve anything? I'm happy because I've come up with a solution."

"What method?"

"You'll see when you come with me."

Before going to the mountains to start his business, Fang Shi still had to leave a little hope for his mentors.

He pulled Zhu Zhu into the alchemy room. His master wasn't there, so he quietly moved the alchemy furnace over and skillfully set up a hot pot, asking Zhu Zhu to light the fire for him.

"You're hungry again after just having lunch? Why don't you call Piggy?"

So Zhu Zhu knows the flaws in her name.

During this time, Zhu Zhu had also tried Fang Shi's hot pot set meal and was no longer surprised by it. Thinking of the solution Fang Shi had proposed earlier, she suddenly looked at her strangely and said, "Your so-called other tricks are not this hot pot, are they? You are still a child and think too simply."

Tch—you're always acting all cute and clingy with my master, and you still have the nerve to call me a kid? Besides, I'm just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old kid, so what?

The simplest hot pot is certainly unpretentious, but in the fiercely competitive restaurant industry of my past life, even the most primitive hot pot developed many variations, such as the "Yuan Yang Tai Chi" (half hot pot, half mild) and "All Seasons Spring" (a traditional Chinese cooking method).

Admittedly, many things in the catering industry can be imitated, even things that are called secret recipes can always be analyzed and replicated.

However, that was a problem based on the laws of matter in the previous life. As chemistry, biology, and other fields have thoroughly understood the principles of taste, the unique nature of food and drink has naturally disappeared.

But the Xuan Realm is different. The matter here is generated by the manifestation of the Five Elements, and so are the tastes of all regions.

Over the years, Fang Shi has been certain that in terms of fundamental laws, the Xuan Realm is fundamentally different from the previous world. Although many things appear very similar, the underlying principles are explained by completely different systems.

Therefore, the taste of food in this world is highly tied to its ingredients and cooking methods, and cannot be replaced by simple material synthesis. It is possible to make it unique and unreplicable.

The proportions of ingredients that correspond to the five elements in a dish, the cooking methods, and even the individual's skill level can all affect its flavor. Even ingredients of the same element can vary depending on their variety and grade.

This is completely different from the food in my previous life, where the upper limit was locked by the number of taste buds. If the many delicacies in my previous life were made by combining and cooking ingredients with a taste level of one to ten, then the taste level of the ingredients in the Xuan Realm ranges from one to dozens or even hundreds. Even with the simplest permutation and combination, the flavors that can be created in the Xuan Realm are far more numerous than in my previous life.

Just as no two snowflakes were exactly alike in the past life, no two flavors were exactly alike in the mystical realm.

The art of alchemy is precisely the closest thing to the concept of taste regulation in the mystical world. Just like when Master commented on hot pot, he said that alchemy is about regulating qi, while hot pot is about seasoning. However, taste is also a reflection of qi. As long as you can draw inferences from one instance to another, you can quickly get started.

The alchemy family has accumulated years of experience and can acquire a large number of spiritual objects and medicines of the five elements. They certainly have no shortage of seasonings and ingredients. Moreover, the catering industry seeks the lower-tier market and requires a large number of low-level ingredients. They cleverly avoid the upstream material competition among alchemy masters and can be described as opening up a new path.

Just as Fang Shi said before, for the servants in that sect, does it make a difference whether what they are making is elixir or hot pot? For them, it's nothing more than handling various spiritual objects and herbs; there's no real change.

Often, the difference in thinking can outweigh years of experience limited by background. Fang Shi is certain that this method will work; the only problem is whether the elders in his master's family can make up their minds to go against their ancestors' wishes.

However, this is something that Master has to work on himself. Fang Shi is currently weak and powerless, and he has no say in those high society circles. He can only provide guidance, plant a seed, and then wait for it to sprout, just like he did with Miss Huang.

"Hey, try this flavor."

After fussing around for a while, Fang Shi, under Zhu Zhu's watchful gaze, scooped up a spoonful of the prepared fragrant soup and fed it to her.

"Hmm—I can scoop it myself, you don't need to feed me." Zhu Zhu wanted to avoid the spoon that was being held to her mouth, but the aroma this time was completely different from usual, very special, and had a charming attraction that she couldn't resist.

Okay~ I'll let you have a bite for now.

With a soft "ooh," Zhu Zhu swallowed the fragrant soup. The moment it entered her mouth, her eyes widened in disbelief at how delicious it was.

"This is so delicious! It's just a sip of soup."

With this kind of broth as a base, anything you make will taste incredibly delicious.

"Hehe, do you still think I'm just talking without understanding the situation?"