Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 24: Chef 23

The Wei Yuan Marquis was nearly forty years old, but thanks to his superior martial arts and well-maintained appearance, he looked to be just over thirty. He was slender, with a refined air, and possessed the elegant charm of a scholar, completely lacking the vulgarity of a military general.

However, when he raised his eyebrows and his eyes turned cold, an aura that no one dared to defy would involuntarily pour out, making people’s scalps tingle. Qin Erniang trembled with fear and hurriedly tugged at Lin Dan’s sleeve, whispering, “Little boss, you must not confront him, he is the Wei Yuan Marquis, who kills as if it’s nothing!”

Lin Dan naturally knew this person was the Wei Yuan Marquis, but she only slightly raised her chin to meet his gaze, the shallow smile on the corner of her mouth unchanged.

Tang Jiu stepped forward, standing between the two, and clasped his hands to the Wei Yuan Marquis, saying, “Marquis, there is indeed no Thousand Day Wine in the shop.”

“Young Master Tang, you have returned from the north?” The Wei Yuan Marquis glanced at him casually, with a hint of sternness hidden in his gentle voice. “Hu Feng told me that the wine was brewed by her, and if there isn’t any, I can wait. But if there is some, and she refuses to sell it, what’s the meaning of this?”

“Young Master Tang?” Lin Dan didn’t pay any attention to the Wei Yuan Marquis’s question, but walked forward to carefully examine Tang Jiu, her face full of realization: “You are the Young Marquis?”

His surname was Tang, he was the ninth in line, she should have realized that this person was the Young Master Tang of the Yongding Marquis’s Mansion. She didn’t know what he had experienced all these years, but he had grown from a beautiful young man with the radiance of spring flowers to the current sturdy appearance, with handsome features still present. However, he now had an extremely strong masculine air, a scar on his brow adding a touch of ferocity. The close-fitting outfit could not conceal his knotted and powerful muscles, and he was completely different from the elegant young man of the past.

Not to mention Lin Dan, whose emotions were indifferent, even the original owner, who loved the Young Marquis deeply, would probably not recognize him.

Tang Jiu’s body stiffened and he hurriedly explained, “Lin Dan, listen to me, I had already planned to tell you…”

Before he could finish his words, Lin Dan laughed first, not a fake laugh of magnanimity, nor a bitter laugh of being deceived, but a genuine joy of seeing an old acquaintance: “Young Marquis, it’s been many years since we’ve met, have you been well? How is the Old Marquis’s health?”

Tang Jiu suddenly fell silent, and muttered, “We’re all well.” Lin Dan wasn’t annoyed, he should have been relieved, but why was his heart full of disappointment?

“I’m not here to listen to your reminiscing. Manager Lin, are you selling this Thousand Day Wine or not?” The Wei Yuan Marquis’s gentle voice was completely replaced by a cold, heavy tone. His several guards all pressed their hands on their sword hilts, as if they would erupt in the next moment.

A group of people blocked the entrance, the diners in the shop dared not run, and dared not stay, each one of them was scared pale.

Lin Dan, however, still maintained that indifferent expression, cupping her hands and saying, “Marquis, don’t be angry, have you heard of the Peng Ya?”

“《Shizi》 says: The Red Prefecture is the Ruins of Kunlun, its saline and floating form is Peng Ya, on which grows red grass, eating its one fruit, one becomes drunk for three years.” The Wei Yuan Marquis’s expression was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought this was just a legend.

“The Thousand Day Wine can make people drink it once and be drunk for three years. What kind of thing is used to brew wine that has such a strong aftertaste? Following this clue, I investigated and finally found the Peng Ya, and also restored the wine recipe from hundreds of years ago. But does the Marquis know that the Peng Ya floats once a year, bears a hundred fruits at a time, and a thousand fruits can only brew one jar of wine? It took me three years to get one jar, but it has already been ruined by bandits, and where can I brew another jar for you. What I said just now is only the first, and there is also a second. Marquis, you have returned to the capital this time to recuperate, but do you know what illness you have? I see that the Marquis’s face is red and lips are pale, his eyes are red, he is prone to anger, it should be an indication of damage to the liver, and wine is a poison that pierces the intestines, with a heat that is unique among all things, which is especially damaging to the liver. If I sell you a jar of such strong wine again, whose fault is it if your condition worsens?”

Lin Dan said slowly, “For the sake of the Marquis’s health, I can’t sell this jar of wine, I hope you’ll understand.”

Hey! Saying all that, it turned out to be my fault? The Wei Yuan Marquis turned the ring on his hand, and the stern expression softened a bit. The leader of the guards who came with him hurriedly ran forward and whispered, “Marquis, the Imperial Physician said a thousand times, and urged you to not drink alcohol, please listen to his words. This Thousand Day Wine is too damaging to the body, can we not buy it?”

The guards, who had been aggressive before, as if they would smash the shop at the slightest disagreement, now all softened their expressions. It was right that the wine wasn’t being sold, they still wanted to wait for the Marquis to recover, and go with him to the southeast garrison as soon as possible.

“Not buying the wine is fine,” The Wei Yuan Marquis knew his subordinates were doing it for his own good, but coming in high spirits and leaving in disappointment was not very satisfying. He couldn’t help but sneer, “I’ll just have a meal here. I heard your shop assistant say just now that you can make any dish, and you can satisfy the customers? That’s good, I’ll order a table of dishes made with wine, can you do it? If you don’t make it well, and don’t satisfy me, I’ll smash this shop.”

Speaking of this, the seemingly elegant Wei Yuan Marquis finally revealed some of the roughness and overbearing nature unique to military generals.

Isn’t satisfying just by your word? Tang Jiu frowned and was about to step forward to argue. He wasn’t afraid of the Wei Yuan Marquis.

Lin Dan pulled him, nodded and said, “Naturally.”

“That little girl is inexperienced, yet she is very arrogant, and she agreed so easily, and you don’t even listen to my requirements.” The Wei Yuan Marquis continued, “Don’t think that you can add a cup or two of cooking wine, let the ingredients take on a bit of a wine flavor, and that counts as a dish made with wine. My meaning is, to use the wine itself to make a dish, eat a bite and it’s full of wine, but it won’t harm the liver, can you do it?”

As soon as this request was put forward, the diners in the hall all murmured. Wine could only play the role of flavoring in cooking, it had never been heard of that it could also be used to make a dish. That was wine, equivalent to a handful of water, at most, it would only be warmed in the pot and then poured back into the jug, and there was no chef who could make it into a dish. Not to mention, how would you blend in the tastes of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty into the wine, making it both palatable, filling, and satisfying to the appetite, this was the biggest problem.

The Wei Yuan Marquis was clearly here to smash the place!

Tang Jiu stared angrily, and said, word by word, “Marquis, you are making things difficult. If you are idle, it’s better to go home and take a few more doses of traditional Chinese medicine to take care of yourself.”

“You little brat, when is it your turn to manage my affairs.” The Wei Yuan Marquis sneered repeatedly.

Lin Dan, however, slowly tied up her headscarf, and said slowly, “Make a dish with wine? Yes, Marquis, please wait a moment.” After speaking, she let the anxious Xiao Zhu bring out a jar that she cherished.

Seeing the jar with the well‑sealed mud, the Wei Yuan Marquis smiled triumphantly: “You said you didn’t have any wine, but didn’t you bring it out? Let me tell you, if the wine you give to me isn’t as good as the Thousand Day Wine, I’ll still smash your shop, and begging for mercy won’t work.” He was convinced that Lin Dan couldn’t make a dish with wine, so he conceded first.

However, Lin Dan only smiled faintly, and after opening the seal of the jar, she carefully scooped out something with a slotted spoon. Everyone stared intently and was surprised. They saw that this thing was half an arm’s length, long and strip‑shaped, completely crystal clear and emerald green, like jade, but it bounced on the cutting board, very soft and delicate, and also like a certain ingredient, not only did it look good, but the fragrance was also very strong, and as soon as it was revealed, it covered the taste of the fragrant braised sauce, very overbearing.

Even the Wei Yuan Marquis, who had seen countless wines, couldn’t say the origin of this thing for a moment, and couldn’t help asking, “What is this?” He secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and sniffed again. Fragrant, this thing was really fragrant, not much worse than the Thousand Day Wine.

“The method of brewing this wine I learned in Yanglin County, fermented with dozens of medicinal materials such as Codonopsis, Jujube, Citrus peel, and Clove, the wine is rich and fragrant, and also has the effect of nourishing the body, even if it is dry vinegar without water, drinking a hundred jars will not be drunk, which is completely opposite to the nature of the Thousand Day Wine. This wine is called Yanglin Fat, why add the word ‘Fat’? It is because there is also an ingredient in the wine, that is, fat meat.”

To brew wine with fat meat, this was really never heard of! The crowd present couldn’t help but murmur, but seeing the emerald green object placed on the cutting board, they had to believe it.

The Wei Yuan Marquis’s eyes widened, and his full dissatisfaction had been completely replaced by curiosity. He loved wine, and naturally he loved to hear the story of brewing wine, especially Lin Dan seemed to know everything about various strange wines, which made him even more interested. He suddenly realized that he had misjudged this little girl, she wasn’t inexperienced and arrogant, she had seen too much, and she knew what she was doing.

Lin Dan cut the crystal clear, emerald green, and lovely meat strips into thin slices, and said slowly, “This jar of wine has only been sealed for three months and has not yet been brewed well, but this meat has already absorbed the wine, becoming crystal clear, and resembles ice jade. You don’t have to think it’s strange, in fact, there is a similar method of brewing wine in the Baiyue region called Yubing Shao (Jade Ice Burn), and it’s named after this.”

She put the cut meat into a basin, poured two spoons of the fragrant braised sauce, and gently mixed it by hand, then took out the lees that had not been fermented but had already been soaked for a day, beat it into glutinous rice granules, mixed it with light soy sauce, pepper powder, five spice powder and other seasonings, and set it aside.

After everything was ready, she poured the pickled ice jade meat slices into the glutinous rice granules, stirred it evenly, then put it in a steamer and steamed it for three quarters of an hour, then plated it, and finally sprinkled a little ginger and green onions at ease, and it was done, and then she let Xiao Zhu take out her pickle jar and took out some bean sprouts from it, and scattered them one by one on a small plate, adding a drop of fragrant oil as a garnish.

“Marquis, please.” Lin Dan gently put the dish on the table. Two dull thuds came, and the Wei Yuan Marquis came back to his senses, staring at her intently, his eyes filled with surprise.

Lin Dan explained softly, “This dish is called Wine-Brewed Steamed Pork; although it’s made with wine ingredients, it doesn’t harm the liver, but instead strengthens the spleen and lungs, and enhances the heart muscle, which is very nourishing. This dish is called Liao’s Pickled Mung Bean Sprouts, which nourishes the liver and calms the nerves, and clears the gallbladder and unblocks the meridians, which can relieve the toxicity of alcohol. You can try it first. If it doesn’t meet your requirements, you can smash this shop. I have no other words.”

The Wei Yuan Marquis, who hadn’t had an appetite in a long time due to his damaged liver, unconsciously picked up his chopsticks.