Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

When the work timeline is extended, I feel very relaxed at first, but after relaxing, I suddenly feel a little annoyed - I have to finish the calculation quickly.

Jiang Shangxian is in this state. In the final analysis, he is just bored and has too much free time.

"Master, why do you want to do something without knowing the reason? If so, why bother doing it?" Zhou Ying was also confused. He thought his master might have become crazy because of lovesickness.

Jiang Shangxian turned to look at the other two apprentices. Three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. She has four of them now, so they should be able to come up with some constructive suggestions, right?

"But now that such a thing has happened, what will you do?"

Wang Wan wiped the sweat from his face with the cotton cloth draped over the back of his neck. He was fat and sweated more than the average person. If he didn't wipe it off from time to time, the sweat would definitely fall into the pot. "Master, if you can't figure it out, forget it. My father-in-law said, things will work out in the end. Everything will become clear in the end."

"That being said, what if the final outcome of this matter is extremely important to you?" Jiang Shangxian refused to give up: "It's more important than your life and property."

"This..." Wang Wan was speechless. He couldn't imagine what was more important than his life and property?

"Master, every time you teach me a new dish, I'm clueless. I just follow the steps you tell me to do it. If I don't get it right once, I'll try again. If I don't get it right twice, I'll try again three times. After doing it many times, I'll get the hang of it."

Wang Wan felt that the most difficult thing he faced was that the chef served new dishes too frequently and he could hardly keep up.

Oh, anxious.

Jiang Shangxian turned his attention to the sect’s last hope - Li Meng.

Li Meng paused, sensing the intense gaze, then quickly flipped the wok and spoon, braving the bullet and finishing the stir-fry. He placed the dish on the tray and was about to leave, but Zhou Ying got there first: "Junior brother, let me do it! Let me do it! The master is waiting for you!"

"Thank... so much... Senior Brother..." Li Meng looked at Zhou Ying with resentment as he carried a tray full of dishes. He quickly jumped out, resigned himself to his fate, and sat down next to Jiang Shangxian.

He didn't answer the question first, but instead asked, "Master, according to what you just said, is what you are going to do similar to the Nine Rings Link?"

(There is no clear historical record of the inventor of the Nine-Linked Rings. There is a legend that Zhuge Liang invented it, but there is no historical evidence. Some say it originated in the Warring States Period, the Western Han Dynasty, and the Three Kingdoms Period, but the earliest record is in Yang Shen's "Danqian Zonglu" in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I boldly speculate that it should have existed in the Tang Dynasty.)

Although Li Meng is a man of few words, he is a man of introverted temperament. Jiang Shangxian only said a few words, but he analyzed that this matter was a chain of events.

"Yes, before I finish something, I don't know what the consequences will be, nor do I know what the next thing will be."

This was exactly what she was worried about. She couldn't figure out what the ultimate purpose of this inexplicable mission was.

From entering the palace to befriending the Empress, it's easy to see that this mission revolves around important historical figures and politics. If you complete all the previous tasks, but find yourself unable to complete them at the end, wouldn't that be a waste of time?

"Master, if it were me, I would try to find out the ultimate purpose of this matter."

Although Zhou Ying looks strong, he is delicate inside. He is a determined person who does things towards his goals, just like he was hesitant about becoming a disciple at the beginning.

Once a teacher, always a father. Even if Jiang Shangxian is a woman, once he becomes his disciple, he has to treat Jiang Shangxian as his biological father or mother.

"Until you figure it out, you can put it off. If you're forced to, you can take your time, but you must be clear about your purpose. Otherwise, you're just gambling."

Li Meng said seriously: "When it comes to gambling, gamblers can never outsmart the dealer."

His father was addicted to gambling, and he lost all the family money and eventually his life. It was ridiculous that before he died, he was still thinking about where to get some money to make up for his losses.

Jiang Shangxian took a deep breath and said, "You are right."

The person who issues the task is the dealer, and she is the gambler with nothing.

Only when you have nothing will you complete the task seriously.

She had to think about how to make things clear. She could do small things, but when it came to politics, she felt unsure.

If she really had that talent, she, Jiang Shangxian, would be the president of their school's student union!

Jiang Shangxian, who had a little plan in mind, cheered up and drank two bowls of white rice. She could only eat white rice in Lexianlou. The Jiang family liked to eat pasta, and they ate either Hu pancakes or noodles every day.

In the afternoon, I started to cook new dishes. Friends who often hunt know that unless it is a large-scale hunt, ordinary hunters hunt in late autumn and winter.

Therefore, in July, a season of lush vegetation, the most easily obtained wild animal is deer.

As a long-term purchaser of wild game for hunters, Lexianlou naturally has fresh deer delivered every now and then.

"Master, let me do it. I'll cut your hand later." Wang Wan saw Jiang Shangxian holding a boning knife and gesturing at the deer that had been bled, skinned, and gutted, and hurried over to help.

"Which piece do you want? I promise my hands won't tremble."

Jiang Shangxian wasn't the type to be stubborn and insist on doing it herself. She'd killed chickens, ducks, geese, fish, shrimps, crabs, and even mutton and pork before, but this was her first time killing a deer. "Cut off all the tendons."

Deer tendons can be used fresh or dried in the shade. The extensor tendon, flexor tendon and fascia of the longissimus dorsi muscle can be removed from a deer. Eating them can nourish the liver and blood and strengthen the muscles and bones.

The current method of cooking deer tendons is to stew them with some dried tangerine peel, Ophiopogon japonicus, Chinese yam, etc. Jiang Shangxian doesn't think it tastes very good.

Wang Wan's movements were very quick. In just a quarter of an hour, he had retrieved all the deer tendons. "Master, what are you going to do today?"

"Have you ever heard of braised deer tendons? Wash them first, make sure they're clean, then use a small hammer wrapped in fine cotton cloth to pound them a few times."

As Jiang Shangxian spoke, she was already wrapping the small hammer with cotton cloth. Zhou Ying saw that she was about to do it herself and hurried over: "Master, let your disciple handle this matter. You can take action later when I take charge of the cooking."

"Okay, Li Meng, go get the pot of broth. When Zhou Ying finishes pounding it, rinse it with water first, then simmer it in the broth for two hours."

This kind of dish is actually a Kung Fu dish, similar to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. It takes time but is not difficult to make.

Jiang Shangxian went outside and brought in half a chicken to make chicken soup. "Who's on duty tonight? Remember to make the meat soup, then use the chicken soup to make it."

It just so happened that she packed up the old hen for the soup and took it home. She heated it up with some vegetables and it tasted pretty good.

"Master, how long should the chicken soup be simmered?" Li Meng was on duty at night, so he had to ask for the time.

Jiang Shangxian tilted his head and thought for a while, then threw a few wolfberries into the jar. "Three hours, maybe. This thing needs to be soft and mushy before it's easy to eat."

(Braised deer tendons is a Manchu dish. It's said that Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, when he was young, was fond of deer tendons. He believed that martial artists needed to constantly strengthen their bodies and replenish their bones and muscles, so he created this dish. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, the imperial kitchen refined this dish and included it in the palace menu. It is now a dish for state banquets.)