Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 35 34. Rosewood Iron Pot
The beauties were taken away and settled.

Qin Shi originally wanted to go and thank the king again. After all, it was difficult for her to ignore that "special skill", and the king's thoughtfulness was truly rare in the world.

If it were not for his generous reward, the Shaofuqing would not dare to act on his own initiative.

But before that, Chi Nu reported back, "Lord Qin, the carpenter was waiting outside the hall yesterday with tables and chairs."

"So fast?" She was a little surprised.

If you use modern tools, you can get it in half a day.

But now the material used for grinding is horsetail grass, and it can still achieve high speed. Qin Shi was really surprised.

Wu Zi, who was brewing tea for her, said naturally, "Lord Qin has a reward, and the craftsmen must work hard. Since there's no need for carving or painting, they were waiting outside the hall last night."

Qin Shi: ...

You see, slaves are not people, nor are craftsmen, nor are anyone under the king.

She didn't say anything more considerate, but only ordered someone to tell them, "Next time, if there is a report from Xingye, arrange for the other party not to wait, and go and rest first."

Akame couldn't help but laugh.

She was obviously younger than Qin Shi, but now she had a sense of tolerance: "Mr. Qin is magnanimous. I remember that you didn't make the craftsmen kneel outside last night."

As they were talking, yesterday's craftsmen had already arrived at the hall.

They carefully carried two tables and two chairs, and now, following instructions, they slowly placed them on the carpet in front of the hall, and then bowed again:

"Sir, the tables and chairs are ready."

Qin Shi descended the steps and took a closer look. He could smell the faint yet mellow aroma of wood. The table was covered in delicate floral patterns, like musk dew, like jade. It was a plain table, but it was made of fine, aged red sandalwood.

Looking closer, it is smooth as a mirror. Touching it, it is delicate, cool, and soft like jade.

Although there are no carvings, it has a quiet and distant charm.

Looking at the two armrest chairs, although it was her first time trying them, the backrest curvature had been tested several times, and it fit perfectly. Sitting on them again, her back finally felt supported, and she no longer had to struggle to maintain a kneeling posture.

Qin Shi was very satisfied. He touched it with his ten fingers and was reluctant to take it away.

However, the craftsmen looked nervous and continued to explain the excessive simplicity of the tables and chairs.

If there is enough time, they will carve and paint the tables and chairs layer by layer, so that they will not rot for thousands of years, and they will be worthy of their noble status.

But now, all I see before me is this plain and simple appearance.

Qin Shi shook his head to reject their fear, his joy visible to the naked eye: "Well done - Wu Zi, another reward."

Now that the tables and chairs are made, what about the iron pot?

When she asked about this, Chi Nu replied, "The forging was completed this morning. I heard that Lord Qin wanted to use it for cooking, but the iron tools are not suitable for use, so the blacksmith is thinking carefully in the kitchen."

Qin Shi laughed: "Since this is the tool I want, whether it is convenient to use or not is my own concern, why should I embarrass them?"

Nowadays, there is no stir-frying, and everyday food is soup. No matter how thick the iron pot is, it cannot cook soup as evenly as pottery.

The troubles of metallurgists also lie here.

After all, if he is really useless and the noble blames him, he will be the one who loses his head.

……

When Qin Shi came to the palace kitchen again, the Imperial Secretary Zhu Kui was smiling and leading everyone to bow from a distance.

How could this be a noble lady from Lanchi Palace? She was clearly Zhu Kui's noble lady!

Because the king praised the duck soup and sugar cakes served yesterday for the first time ever, everyone is proud of it now!

Before the metalworker could step forward to apologize, everyone had already squeezed him behind them and asked enthusiastically, "What would you like to use today, Mr. Qin?"

The palace chefs enthusiastically introduced: "We sent a pork today. It's tender and delicious. I wonder if Lord Qin would like to try some roasted pork?"

"I'm good at making liver and pig fat. I skewer the fatty organs with wooden sticks, sprinkle them with salt and roast them over charcoal..." Qin Shi became interested: "Pig..."

The so-called "豚" is a pig.

The Qin State loved pigs because they were smart, strong, and carried many children and were blessed with good fortune... According to Wu Zi, even nobles were buried with pigs.

It can be seen that everyone likes it very much.

Moreover, the Qin State now has considerable experience in pig farming. Not only can they castrate pigs, but they can also raise pigs to 100 to 200 kilograms. Considering the current restrictions on pig breeds, this is already quite excellent.

Qin Shi felt a little regretful: "If only there was cumin..."

Otherwise, make some charcoal-grilled pork belly, how delicious!

She was curious: "If I don't come, what are you going to do with this pig?"

The palace chefs replied, "It should be making roasted pig."

Paozhu is roasted suckling pig. The pig's internal organs are hollowed out, marinated with simple sauces, stuffed with red dates, wrapped in lotus leaves, and finally covered with yellow mud...

According to Qin Shi's understanding, this cannon pig should be made in the same way as beggar's chicken.

But the palace chefs were reluctant to start because Chi Nu had given instructions that King Qin did not like to waste greasy food, and that meals like this needed to be prepared after asking first.

So we haven’t started yet.

Qin Shi thought about it and indeed rejected Paozhu.

She described it carefully and asked for a piece of pork belly.

Charcoal-grilled pork belly always lacks flavor if it lacks ingredients. Now that you have brown sugar, try making a brown sugar version of braised pork.

The palace chefs were very excited, and it was obvious that they were going to learn a new secret recipe!

But from Qin Shi's point of view, this is what they deserve.

After all, it was just a piece of brown sugar, so they stayed up all night and tried their best to cook it.

After a cart of sugarcane has been consumed continuously, only the last jar of freshly crushed sugarcane juice is left. It has not been filtered yet and is a dirty gray-yellow color, not clear.

Pity.

Qin Shi felt a deep regret - white sugar, the most widely used food, was separated from modern industry and there was no centrifuge, so she still didn't know what to do.

Although the method of decolorizing by soaking yellow mud in water was recorded in "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", it seems that no one has succeeded so far.

But it doesn’t matter. If you can’t make white sugar, you can try making yellow rock sugar with the sugarcane juice in front of you - even without fish or shrimp!
When everything was ready, she saw the pitiful metalworker kneeling beside her with a pot in his hand.

The other party made a double-handled iron pot, the size of which was based on today's stoves. Because a large tripod is often placed on top, the diameter of the pot is about 60cm.

The smelter had come to the palace kitchen early to test it. He knelt on the ground, raised the pot high above his head, and apologized in frustration:

"I really don't know what to do. I have failed your high expectations."

This iron pan is used to roast meat, but it often burns. Roasting meat and liver is difficult to evenly flavor.

"Even if used to make soup, it's not as fragrant as the pottery or bronze tripod..."

After all, it is an iron pan, which conducts heat quickly and is lighter and thinner than pottery or copper tripods. They have no concept of stir-frying, so it is normal that they find it difficult to master it for a while.

But the blacksmith thought: Since the noble man specially asked him to make it, it must be useful.

Unfortunately, he just couldn't make a good iron pot no matter what he did. Even the simplest stew lost its flavor. It was a complete failure in his career.

If Qin Shi didn't speak at this moment, he would probably be too ashamed to face anyone.

[Cumin was introduced to the Tang Dynasty through the Silk Road - Persia attacked India, then spread to Xinjiang, and was introduced as a medicinal material]

Ancient white sugar wasn't the granulated sugar we have today, but rather a lighter-colored frosting that had been filtered through numerous filters. From what I've read, white sugar can't be made without a centrifuge. I've tried the yellow mud decolorization method with water spraying, but I've tried many replica videos but all my attempts have failed.

【Liver brisket: grilled meat and offal on skewers.】