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The freshly slaughtered chicken was still steaming. Luo Yao quickly mashed the ginger and scallion stalks into a paste and cut some ginger slices and scallion segments for later use.

He used green onion leaves to give the chicken a "SPA", allowing the flavor of the green onion to fully penetrate the chicken skin.

Since Dacheng didn't have garlic, Luo Yao added mustard powder, pepper, and a little sesame oil to the scallion and ginger paste, mixing it into a sticky mixture. He then applied a small amount directly to the inside of the chicken's belly, spreading it evenly. He then mixed the remaining mixture with a little egg white to increase the viscosity and spread it evenly over the skin with a small piece of wood.

The spices mixed with sesame oil not only infuses the chicken with a spicy flavor, but also prevents moisture loss, preserving the chicken's freshness. Once everything was ready, Luo Yao stuffed the chicken with sliced ginger and scallions, then added soul-fragrant fruit, star anise, bay leaves, and a pinch of unground peppercorns.

This series of actions left the maids and servants at the door stunned, and they all showed indescribable expressions.

A little maidservant couldn't help but said, "What is the young master doing? I really don't understand. Aren't the seasonings put directly into the pot when cooking? The young master actually mixed them all together and even beat an egg into it. It looks sticky and yellow like that... I have no desire to eat it at all..." Another servant said helplessly, "Hey, I said the young master can't cook." However, although they were full of doubts, no one dared to speak out to stop him. They could only watch Luo Yao continue his "wasteful" behavior.

Luo Yao enjoyed cooking. In his previous life, cooking brought him peace of mind. In this life, so many people were looking forward to his feast. The thought of so many people waiting to taste his cooking brightened Luo Yao's mood. He was completely immersed in the joy of cooking, temporarily forgetting that Bei Zhenting had not let him eat in the morning.

Qing'er kept the fire going brightly and stood by to watch the young master cook. Her expression twisted over and over again, as she couldn't understand why the young master didn't use a wok to cook.

This chicken is so pitiful. It's almost dead, but it still has to be tortured like this...

"It's done, all that's missing is the yellow mud!" Luo Yao wiped the sweat from his forehead. The kitchen was really hot.

After he declared the mission accomplished, Qing'er noticed that there were bruises and scratches and freshly scabbed nail marks on Luo Yao's arms!

Qing'er widened her eyes, grabbed Luo Yao's arm, and asked angrily, "Master, who did this!" Luo Yao took away Qing'er's hand and washed his hands in the wooden basin.

Seeing that the young master ignored her, Qing'er thought that the young master must have been bullied but did not dare to speak out. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and tears fell down her face.

Luo Yao looked up and saw the little girl's face covered in tears. He was shocked and at a loss. He was most afraid of women crying, even if they were crying for him! It was really hard to comfort them!

Luo Yao touched the little girl's head helplessly and said gently: "It's okay, this is a secret, don't tell anyone else." He didn't want to make his grandfather worry.

At this time, Ah Shi squeezed into the kitchen carrying two flying fish that had been killed and cleaned, and saw the little girl Qing'er with red eyes.

He asked with concern: "Qing'er, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?"

Qing'er looked at Luo Yao, then at Ah Shi, and thinking of the secret that the young master had told her, she could only shake her head and say, "I'm fine, it's the smoke."

Luo Yao began preparing another dish. He pointed at two fish and said, "This sea bass will be steamed; this grass carp will be fish balls." Everyone was stunned. "What are fish balls?" They had never heard of such a dish.

Luo Yao explained, "Fish balls are fish meatballs." Everyone was even more confused. "There are so many fish bones. Wouldn't fish balls pierce your throat?" They really couldn't imagine how to eat this fish ball.

Luo Yao ignored their doubts and prepared to start making steamed sea bass. He simply cut the fish into pieces to remove the fishy smell, then smeared lard on the fish body to prevent moisture loss and steamed it directly.

While the fish was steaming, Luo Yao skillfully cut the colorful strips: ginger, scallion whites, scallion leaves, cilantro stems, and chili peppers. However, chili peppers hadn't yet been introduced to Dacheng, so he had to use mustard instead. He soaked the strips in water and set them aside.

The sea bass was cooked after being steamed for half an hour. Qing'er saw that the young master had just put the fish into the steamer and took it out within a quarter of an hour, so she hurriedly stopped him and said, "Young master, the fish is not cooked yet!"

Luo Yao stubbornly opened the steamer and said, "If I say it's cooked, it's cooked."

When the lid of the pot was opened, a burst of fragrance instantly filled the entire kitchen. "What a nice smell! The fish is cooked so quickly?!" Everyone showed surprised expressions.

Luo Yao placed the five-colored shredded fish on the steamed sea bass and sprinkled it with mustard. Qing'er's eyes lit up—the five-colored shredded fish was so appetizing. He then heated oil in a wok and added a piece of lard. Once the oil was smoking, he poured a handful of hot oil over the fish. The skin sizzled, and the aroma of the five-colored shredded fish and the spiciness of the mustard were unleashed, instantly elevating the kitchen's aroma to a new level.

Under the glittering gazes of the crowd, Luo Yao removed the sauce from the wok, added a little lard, and then poured in the soy sauce. At this point, there was no soy sauce, but the salty soy sauce itself was the precursor. He added a little water to dissolve the overly salty flavor, then filtered the soy sauce through a fine mesh, leaving only the liquid. This served as a simple soy sauce. After heating, he poured it along the side of the sea bass dish. The simple soy sauce, mixed with the remaining broth from the steamed fish, intensified the aroma.

At this time, Ah Shi also appeared, carrying the yellow mud he had dug and three large lotus leaves. "What a nice smell! What did the young master make?" He nudged the fair-skinned servant Xiao Chen and asked. Xiao Chen shook Ah Shi's dirty hand away with a look of disgust and said unhappily, "Steamed sea bass."

"I thought it was just like steamed fish, but I didn't expect the young master's steamed fish to be so fragrant!" Ah Shi exclaimed. Then he handed the yellow mud and lotus leaves to Luo Yao, "Young master! Here are the yellow mud and the lotus leaves you asked for!"

Luo Yao then wrapped the marinated chicken in layers of lotus leaves and had Ah Shi cover the lotus leaves with the mixed yellow mud. Everyone looked at him in confusion—this dish was beggar's chicken, something they had never seen before.

After applying a thick layer of yellow mud, Luo Yao dug a hole directly under the fire pit and asked Ah Shi to throw the chicken into the fire pit. Ah Shi never asked any questions. He would do whatever the young master asked him to do. The young master must have his reasons.

Next, Luo Yao was going to make fish balls. Ah Shi buried the chicken and wanted to take over the responsibility of lighting the fire, but Luo Yao didn't want anyone to see the wound on his hand again, so he assigned him another task: chopping the fish.

Ah Shi was still confident in his strength, so he took the knife and started chopping furiously. He had never expected chopping fish to be so tiring, and after a quarter of an hour, his hands were sore. While he was chopping the fish, Luo Yao prepared a snack for dinner—millet cakes.