Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

After dinner, Li Xingzhi ordered his servants to carry a large water vat, less than half a zhang tall and nearly half a zhang in diameter, from the side of the kitchen and place it in the center of his small courtyard.

Then the servants poured in the fine sand that had been washed clean, placed a few stones of various sizes on top, and planted a small lotus.

Finally, Li Xingzhi filled it with spatial water and put in two fire carp.

Watching the two red carp go from being flustered at the beginning to swimming calmly and freely, Li Xingzhi could imagine that in the summer, the lotus leaves in the tank would be lush and green, and the two big red carp would be playing under the lotus leaves, with ripples spreading on the water. It would be a beautiful sight!

When Li Xingzhi placed the large vat and the fire carp in the courtyard, it immediately created a different atmosphere, and the courtyard, which was originally somewhat lonely and desolate, suddenly became lively.

If someone knowledgeable in feng shui had examined the place, they would know that the location of that large vat was suppressing the spiritual energy of this small courtyard. The small vat, crafted with lotus representing wood, red carp representing metal, and the large vat itself representing fire and earth, along with the spring water within, perfectly embodies all five elements! It is capable of gathering spiritual energy!

Li Xingzhi looked at it, nodded in satisfaction, and returned to his room. He paused for a moment, and then his figure disappeared from the room.

When he entered the space, he saw a thriving scene. Even the little snow lotus that he hadn't had much hope for had grown, which made Li Xingzhi quite excited. The peach pit that had been buried by the spring had sprouted and grown into a seedling.

The seedlings he bought from the city had grown quite a bit, which surprised Li Xingzhi. Even with some time difference, they shouldn't have grown so quickly. He could only attribute the reason to the magic of this space.

Li Xingzhi watered the flowers, plants, and trees, ignoring the little golden snake swimming happily in the spring, and sat cross-legged on the large blue stone he had brought in by the spring, and began to meditate.

When he awoke from his meditation, he felt his internal energy had become much purer. He discovered that cultivating in this cave was far more effective, and most importantly, he wouldn't be disturbed by anyone. No wonder "earth" is one of the five essential elements of cultivation!

Li Xingzhi felt that as he spent more and more time in this space, his compatibility with it increased, and it helped his cultivation more and more. This feeling was especially noticeable when he entered meditation, even though it was far from the level of perfect compatibility he felt when he first entered the space to meditate.

He did another set of "radio gymnastics" to stretch his muscles and improve his blood circulation. Thinking that it was still early, he washed his face with spring water and began to tend to the flowers and trees in the space.

He also wanted to plant some bamboo in the space, firstly because he had a particular fondness for bamboo, and secondly because bamboo could be used to make many things. He also planned to build a fence around the space where he planted herbs. However, thinking that the space was still too small to plant many things, he wasn't in a hurry.

Li Xingzhi returned to his room. It was past midnight; the moon had disappeared, and only a faint light lingered in the sky. He straightened his clothes and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook something for himself.

By this time, the kitchen had become bright and warm, with flames dancing under the stove and a large pot on top, steam rising from the boiling water, and servants carrying basins of various sizes coming and going.

He had just entered the kitchen when the chubby boy also came in. After straightening his clothes, he went to the cutting board next to him, took the dough that had already risen, kneaded it, and prepared to make steamed buns.

At this moment, Li Xingzhi walked over from behind and patted the chubby boy on the shoulder.

The fat man turned around and said, "Why is Dalang up so early?"

"I was just thinking of making some steamed buns, but I didn't expect you, the master chef, to show up like this." Li Xingzhi said with a smile. He admired the fat man's dedication. With his own lazy nature, without the system's help, he would be lucky to even get started in this line of work.

When the fat man saw Li Xingzhi arrive, having heard so much about how amazing Li Xingzhi's cooking skills were at the Li residence, he wanted to see for himself, so he stepped aside.

But then Li Xingzhi said, "Let's do it together!"

The chubby boy was overjoyed, thinking that Li Xingzhi was going to give him pointers on his cooking skills.

Little did he know that Li Xingzhi was only planning to make a few for his own people to eat, and as for the others—why not use free labor when it's available?

Li Xingzhi kneaded the risen dough vigorously, shaking it up and down repeatedly, then slapping it against the work surface with rhythmic "slap slap" sounds, occasionally stretching and swinging it.

The servants around didn't come over to watch the spectacle; they were already used to it. As for the little fat boy, his small eyes were wide open, as if afraid of missing a single detail.

Li Xingzhi continued to pound the dough vigorously for nearly 15 minutes before finally breaking up any remaining lumps or obstructions.

Originally, if we lived in later generations, we could buy some special refined flour, which would save us from all this trouble, but the taste would definitely not be as good as what he makes now.

He looked at the chubby boy next to him, who looked surprised, and shouted, "Watch closely." As he spoke, he took a small lump of dough, flattened it into an arc shape, covered his mouth, and blew hard. The dough puffed up, and the small lump was blown by Li Xingzhi to the size of a human head, leaving only a translucent, extremely thin layer, without breaking.

"Only when the dough is kneaded to this extent can it be considered acceptable!" Looking at the chubby boy next to her, whose eyes were about to pop out in surprise.

As for how to do it, there are some tricks, but Li Xingzhi didn't say anything because he hoped that Fatty would study it himself, which would be better for his development. Fatty, however, wisely didn't ask, only saying that it was a unique skill that couldn't be passed on to outsiders. Being able to watch him do it was already a great favor, and it also gave him a direction to ponder.

Once the dough was kneaded, Li Xingzhi pinched off a small piece, placed it on the work surface, and gradually pressed it down to create a small sheet of dough that was thicker in the middle and very thin at the edges.

He had prepared the meat filling yesterday and wrapped it inside the flat dough.

This filling contains not only pork but also aspic, which makes the buns thick and flavorful with broth. If there's any secret to making these steamed buns, it's in the meat filling.

As for the rest of the skills, they all lie in the dough. After all, no matter how well you mix the filling, it's all for nothing if you can't wrap it in!

Skin jelly isn't anything mysterious; it mainly consists of the gelatinous substance in the skin. It's usually made from the skin of the legs—which is plentiful and of high quality—especially pork legs and chicken feet. It's cooked with good wine and ginger, then mixed with the filling and left to cool overnight, perfect for making soup dumplings.

"Show me how you do it." Li Xingzhi was curious about how people in the Tang Dynasty would make these things.

However, the chubby boy didn't bring Li Xingzhi any great surprises. His methods were all quite standard, just a bit more delicate than Li Xingzhi's rough techniques, but there wasn't much difference.

Li Xingzhi did learn something from it. The chubby guy had worked as a head chef in a restaurant for several years, and his experience and handling of details were far superior to Li Xingzhi's. However, this required time to accumulate experience and couldn't be rushed.

Li Xingzhi didn't make too many small soup dumplings; he just wanted everyone to taste them. Otherwise, with such tiny dumplings, who knows how many of the big-bellied men in the Li family would have to eat to be full!

In less than a quarter of an hour, steam rose up, carrying the fragrance of pastries, making the fat man's big belly bulge! Just as the pastries were about to be taken out of the steamer, the little fat man was about to reach out and take a steamer when Li Xingzhi stopped him.

The fat man didn't understand what he meant, and Li Xingzhi didn't explain either, only saying, "You'll know when the time comes."

He covered the fire under the stove and waited for a quarter of an hour before taking the steamer down. The little things on it were quite exquisite and cute, each one fresh and plump. Upon closer inspection, he found that the outer skin was light yellow and translucent, and he could vaguely see the small ball of filling in the middle through the overflowing soup inside.

The chubby boy couldn't wait any longer. He carefully picked up a delicate little soup dumpling with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and took a bite.

This bite is incredible! The soup dumpling may not look hot, but during the simmering process, all the heat and aroma are compressed into the soup inside, bursting out in your mouth with just one bite.

Although it tasted delicious, it wasn't something everyone could eat. The chubby boy could only cover his mouth and whimper, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to spit something out, but also looking somewhat reluctant to do so.

After the chubby boy swallowed his food with difficulty, his face flushed red, he looked at Li Xingzhi with a resentful expression, knowing that Li Xingzhi was deliberately making fun of him!

"You can't blame me for this. I never expected you to be so impatient." Li Xingzhi said with a mischievous grin, while the servants coming and going around him watched the chubby boy with great interest.

The chubby boy had only been there a short time, but he was already quite popular in the Li family. His honest and kind appearance often brought unexpected laughter to everyone.

Li Xingzhi only tasted the food before taking some steamed buns, soy milk, and soft tofu to the main hall, where he assumed that Scholar Wang and Erlang were waiting.

Li Xingzhi was still not used to asking others to do things that he could do himself, because doing so always made him associate himself with some fat, white insects; he asked Erlang to do the same.

Li Xingzhi carried two trays of various dishes into the hall, but was taken aback when he discovered that there were four people sitting in the hall. In addition to Wang Xiucai and Erlang, Master Shi and Ouyang Xun were also among them. The atmosphere was quite lively, and he didn't know what they were talking about.

When everyone saw Li Xingzhi carrying two large platters of food, looking somewhat like the old scholar in the restaurant, Wang Xiucai didn't think anything of it, as he was already very familiar with Li Xingzhi's strange habits; and Wang Erlang, under Li Xingzhi's influence, didn't think anything of it either; only the other two were stunned, wondering what this eldest son of the Li family was doing again. After all, even in ordinary families with some wealth, they wouldn't do such things as carrying bowls and plates.

Seeing that neither Wang Xiucai nor his wife seemed surprised, they kept their questions to themselves. Little did they know that Wang Xiucai was also somewhat helpless; he had mentioned it to his husband several times, but in the end, it was all dropped and he had become used to it.

Regardless of their thoughts, they all rose to greet them, and without waiting for the servants to come over, they took the items one by one and placed them on the table.

The four of them started chatting. It turned out to be about the library. Everything was ready, and they were just waiting for an auspicious day to break ground. They had originally come to ask Li Xingzhi for his opinion, but Li Xingzhi had no good advice on choosing a date. He simply said, "The sooner the better!"

These days, everyone has been extremely busy, but as soon as they finish, they rush back to the Li residence to copy books. From now on, all the copied copies will be placed in the library. As for the originals, even if Li Xingzhi is willing to part with them, the others would be absolutely unwilling. Leaving aside their intrinsic value, the commentaries and annotations left by predecessors are the most precious!

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As I mentioned yesterday, there will be three updates today, which should be finished around 9 PM.

I've never written three chapters in a single day before, so I'll challenge myself!

thanks for your support!

I will try harder to update from now on!