Chapter 12 Cooking

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  As someone who has also read a few alternate history books, Li An would not be foolish enough to directly go find those famous historical figures, such as Cheng Yaojin or Qin Qiong.

  In Li Anran's view, those historical celebrities who are not as intelligent as the protagonist and can only be played by the protagonist will only appear in it. In reality, they are all sophisticated people.

  It's not surprising to think about it, being able to follow Li Shimin to this point today, even among those generals, how many would be as foolish as they seem on the surface? The truly foolish ones are already dead.

  The most crucial thing is that in Li Anran's view, he himself has no background and no ability, so what makes him worthy of entering the eyes of those historical celebrities?

  And even if one relies on modern knowledge and abilities to gain recognition, can they still escape the fate of being manipulated by others when that time comes?

  Li Anran remembered a book that was also about the Tang Dynasty, where the protagonist was very miserable. Despite doing many things for the Tang Dynasty, he was constantly being framed by others.

  As the Emperor of the Great Tang, Li Shimin was betrayed by those civil and military officials who seemed to have a good relationship with him on ordinary days, and he was betrayed so miserably.

  If it weren't for the protagonist having an immortal halo, plus being the creation god author gave him many arrangements, he would have been killed and reborn N times ago.

  As for whether thinking so much is excessive and paranoid, even to the point of having delusions of persecution, Li Anran dare not be optimistic.

  Compared with those high-profile appearances in front of historical celebrities who might have even counted money for you, Li An thought it was safer to keep a low profile.

  Otherwise, just now when picking herbs outside, I wouldn't have pretended to be unaware after realizing that someone was peeping at me from a distance.

  Li Anran recalled and wrote down the prescription for Ren Dan, and also thought about the production and sales of the medicine, and remembered it. By then, the slaughter outside had already been completed.

  Under Zhao Qing-shan's arrangement, every household in the village was allocated three catties of wild boar meat. The injured Zhao Er-bao got an extra three catties, and the rest were left for the Zhao brothers.

  Listening to the deliberately amplified noise outside, Li Anran, who was sorting herbs in the room, couldn't help but smile, knowing that most of these words were meant for his own ears.

  Actually, Li Anran was not surprised by the arrangement of dividing the meat. To say that someone from the village also went to help lift the wild boar out of the mountain, and dividing the meat wasn't a big deal.

  But the problem is that if they are divided too much, the contributions of the two Zhao brothers will be inadvertently erased. After all, this pig was indeed killed by a fall and not beaten to death.

  It's precisely because of this that I intentionally said that sentence earlier. Otherwise, with the momentum just now, the meat that was divided would absolutely not have been limited to just 50 kilograms.

  "Zhao Er, there's still quite a bit of meat left." Li Anran, who had just finished picking herbs, took advantage of the quiet outside and walked out with a smile, saying.

  "It's just that there's too much meat, and it will go bad if we can't finish eating it." Unexpectedly, Zhao Er was both delighted and troubled to have been able to keep so much wild boar meat this time.

  Fortunately, having more meat means we can eat it ourselves and also sell some. The problem is that it's summer now, so the meat will spoil easily if not consumed quickly.

  In the past, wild game was hunted in the mountains and some could be sold in the village. But just now after dividing up the meat, under Zhaojia Village's living conditions, no one will buy it at this time.

  "No big deal, if you can't finish it, you can cure it into salted meat or make smoked meat like the smoked fish yesterday. If all the seasonings are added, the flavor will be much better than raw meat."

  "It can also be made into cured meat, and when the time comes, it can sell for a higher price. Don't waste these giblets either. As long as they are cooked well, they're not inferior to meat dishes, with their own unique flavor."

  Li Anran took a look at the remaining half of the wild boar and, with his appetite suddenly increasing, didn't have the nerve to continue eating for free. Instead, he intentionally mentioned a few ways to deal with the meat.

  "Way... true person, but we won't be able to get it, can we..."

  Zhao Er originally thought about whether to turn back and borrow a cow cart, to take the unsold meat to sell in the county town. After hearing this, his face suddenly filled with hopeful expression.

  Zhao Da, who had not yet had time to leave, happened to be coming out from the backyard after feeding the cattle and heard this conversation. He was also filled with joy in his heart, after all, yesterday's smoked fish was indeed delicious.

  If the undigested wild boar meat can be processed, it will not only last for a long time but also sell well in the county town at a higher price than selling wild boar meat.

  "Don't worry, I'll still be staying at your place for a while, and with such a big appetite, I couldn't just eat without doing any work. Naturally, I'd have to put in some effort to avoid accumulating karma."

  After taking off that Taoist robe, Li Anran actually didn't mind his identity as a Qi cultivator that much, but he also didn't forget to find a reasonable excuse for his actions.

  "It can't be! Serving the true person is our family's blessing, I'm delighted and haven't had enough yet. How could we let the true person do chores?" Zhao Er said, shaking his head and waving his hands repeatedly.

  Seeing that the Zhao brothers all had this attitude, he knew that his pure Yang True Person identity had taken effect, and Li Anran did not mention working again at the moment.

  Instead, he took over the command and began to order Zhao Er, Zhao Er's wife, and Zhao Da, who had just finished dividing the meat and hadn't had time to leave, to get busy.

  To say that the rural conditions of this Tang Dynasty period were indeed very poor, but relying on mountains and water, some basic ingredients and spices were not lacking, the only problem was that they were not complete.

  Things like octagonal and cinnamon, which are used as spices in later generations, are now simply placed in pharmacies as medicinal materials, and no one knows how to use them.

  Li Anran actually wanted Zhao Er to bring some back, but considering that he hadn't made any money until now, it was already a pity to eat for free, and it was really not good to open his mouth.

  Moreover, Zhaojiacun is not close to the county town. Those who went to invite a doctor before have not returned yet, even if they are willing to buy it now, it's still not useful at present.

  Fortunately, although the types of spices are not complete, there are also incomplete methods. Moreover, when I went into the mountains to collect medicine earlier, I happened to find a few wild pepper trees.

  Although it's not yet the time to pick Sichuan pepper, it's a good season to eat Sichuan pepper leaves. Whether used for seasoning or directly cooked as a dish, they are quite good.

  Under Li Anran's request, in a short while, Zhao Er quickly and neatly removed all the bones from the remaining half of the wild boar.

  According to Li Anran's original idea, even if it was stewing soup, it had to be done with meat bones. However, in this era, meat bones are far less popular than meat itself.

  Li Anran did not cut these bones, especially the leg bones, also known as tube bones, in half, but instead put them whole into the pot.

  Although it takes more time to stew like this than to chop the bones, the advantage is that the bone marrow can be completely preserved. After stewing the soup and cracking open the bones, take a sip, it's so delicious.

  Compared with the big bone soup, Li Anran, who was more eager for this natural pure breed wild boar meat, pointed to Zhao Da and cut those wild boar meats into suitable sizes.

  The fattiest pork is cut into the size of mahjong blocks. After washing away the blood, it is soaked in water with Sichuan peppercorn leaves to remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma.

  The meat on the front and hind legs is cut into two types, one with more fat and less lean meat with skin, and the other with only a little fat on the surface of the lean meat.

  The two types of meat, the first is intended to be used for making cured meat, bacon and smoked meat. The second type is prepared by marinating it first, then roasting it on the second day.

  For this, Zhao Da built a simple oven with yellow mud and stones after the two bonfires were lit, as required by Li Anran.

  The reason why I spent so much effort on this oven is mainly because the production time of salted meat and cured meat is relatively long, while the smoked meat has some shortcomings in terms of flavor.

  Moreover, once the oven is built, it's not just for roasting Li Anran's signature char siu pork. The first pot of gold after crossing over will be earned from this thing.

  After the meat was cut well, Zhao Er also joined in the work of building the oven. As for Zhao Dabao's wife who came with the little ones, she was busy with her sister-in-law.

  As for the little ones, they were all busy too. Except for Zhao's youngest son, some picked vegetables while others watched the fire, doing whatever they could to help.

  Feeling the harmonious and warm atmosphere between the two families, Li Anran, who had only lived with Grandpa Li Gui Zhen since childhood, had never experienced such a feeling before, was both happy and envious.

  Just then, Li Anran suddenly discovered that Zhao Qingshan was bringing a middle-aged man who should be dressed as a doctor, rushing over from the direction of Zhao Erbao's house.