Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

"Zhang the Blacksmith! Where are you, you little rascal! You tricked me all this way here, what is it all about? And you said that Mo Wen's kid made 'Snow Crystal Salt', who are you trying to fool! I think you're just daydreaming about the Dragon Chef's Feast, and you called me here to help you come to your senses!"

The next morning, as Mo Yuming was lazily lying in bed, half-asleep and unable to get up, the distinctive, rough, thunderous roar of old man Shi Potian, who lived in Ruimu Valley, came from outside.

"Grandpa Shi is here! Grandpa Zhang just brought some things over and went back to get more. He'll be here soon. Please rest for a bit and wait a moment."

Xinlan, who got up early, hurriedly greeted them.

"Oh, good, good, good, the little girl is becoming more and more well-behaved and sensible! Grandpa didn't bring anything good, these are a few ice jade fruits that were just picked not long ago. Although they are not rare, take them and have them with that boy who is still lying in bed sleeping in.

This stuff needs to be eaten soon; it can't be left out for long, otherwise the ice core will melt and it won't taste good.

Old Man Shi took out a handful of fruits that resembled green dates from his low-level interdimensional storage bag and piled them on the table. The fruits, round and translucent like white jade, continuously emitted a cool fragrance that instantly refreshed the senses.

"That blacksmith Zhang really is moving! It seems this is true. I'll go over and see if there's anything I can do to help."

"Girl, cook some extra millet later, I haven't had it in ages, and I'm really craving it."

When Old Man Shi saw that Zhang the blacksmith was not there, he didn't stop and went to find Zhang the blacksmith directly.

After Shi Potian left, Xinlan immediately called Mo Yuming to get up and eat the Ice Jade Fruit.

The icy jade fruit is refreshingly cool and crisp, making it an excellent summer treat. In particular, it contains an incredibly rich concentration of icy elements, providing an immediate and invigorating sensation upon tasting.

If Mo Yuming hadn't already learned the technique of neutralizing and absorbing elements, and had gained a certain foundation in profound skills after Old Man Li regulated and cleared his meridians, allowing him to easily control and refine the elemental energy he ingested, he would have suffered the same torment as last time from the extreme fire element.

Mo Yuming has a strong affinity for the earth element, followed by the fire element, while his affinity for the ice element, which belongs to the water element family, is only average.

Therefore, most of the extreme ice element that Mo Yuming ingested was wasted, with only a very small amount of ice element spiritual energy entering his dantian.

The amount of ice element absorbed was less than one-tenth of what Xinlan absorbed. However, even Xinlan, who has a strong affinity for water elements, could not absorb even one-tenth of the ultimate ice element.

The reason is simple: their cultivation level in profound arts is too low; they haven't even stepped into the threshold of profound arts cultivation. To eat such rare and precious fruits as mere fruit is a complete waste.

However, they didn't think that much about it. Wasting it was no big deal, it didn't matter anyway.

In their eyes, these fruits containing extreme elements were no different from ordinary fruits; as long as they tasted good, that was enough. Because they lived in this grand canyon where fruits containing extreme elements were abundant, they had no idea how precious an Ice Jade Fruit containing extreme ice elements was.

They were even less aware that this rare Ice Jade Fruit, seldom seen on the mainland, was one of the ten most prized fruits for healing and detoxification, revered by all cultivators of profound arts. Besides rapidly healing bodily wounds, it could also neutralize most toxins except those of the ice-based type, making it a priceless treasure.

If it were refined into a pill by an alchemist, its value would be immeasurable.

Just as Mo Yuming and Xinlan finished eating the ice jade fruit and were preparing to cook rice for breakfast, someone else came from outside.

However, this time it wasn't Old Man Shi and Zhang the blacksmith who came, but rather several old ladies who were called by Grandma Hu San Niang of the Zhang family.

As soon as they entered the house, they saw two children gathering firewood to start a fire and cook, so they quickly went over to them.

Those in front rushed to take the firewood, while those behind hugged and embraced Mo Yuming and Xinlan, gently caressing them, showering them with concern, and chattering incessantly.

Xinlan thoroughly enjoyed this pampering, her face beaming with joy, and she kept calling out "Grandma Li, Grandma Huang" to everyone.

Mo Yuming was extremely embarrassed. Although he currently appeared to be just a seven or eight-year-old boy, his subconscious mind had always been that of a forty-year-old adult.

Being hugged and touched by several old women, who called him their "darlings," made him feel incredibly awkward. Yet, he couldn't explain it. He was so embarrassed that his face turned bright red, and he almost fainted.

Even according to Mo Yuming's actual age, these old ladies could definitely be his grandmothers. He had originally wanted to call them "Grandma" a few times, but now he found himself unable to say it.

After all, this is only the second time we've met you all, and for two of you it's our first time meeting. Even Grandma Zhang, whom we see often, has never been this affectionate. I'm so embarrassed!

"Oh! My little darling is still shy! Haha! How come she's even more shy than a little girl! It's so funny! Haha..."

"Those rosy cheeks are so cute! They really do look like a little girl! Haha..."

"Hmm! Like a jade doll, he and our little girl are truly a match made in heaven!"

"If he went out, I don't know how many girls he would charm... haha..."

……

Mo Yuming was extremely embarrassed.

……

"Sister Huang, Sister Li...you're all here! That's great! Come and lend a hand. Let's set up a temporary stove in this open space. I've picked some fresh vegetables and fruits, and there are also two brown-necked chickens that Old Man Shi hunted."

"Sister Huang, your cooking is excellent. You can cook a few simple dishes for everyone to enjoy. Once those old men have finished repairing the kitchen, we'll prepare a proper meal."

Just as Mo Yuming was at a loss, Hu Sanniang rushed over, carrying a large pile of ingredients, intending to make breakfast for the dozen or so people who had come to help early that morning. She called over several old ladies, which conveniently helped Mo Yuming out of his predicament.

Mo Yuming plopped down on the wooden stool, looking like a defeated fighter who had just stepped out of the arena, his face full of embarrassment. Luckily, little Xinlan had gone out with the old ladies and didn't see him, otherwise, if she had seen his awkwardness, she would have laughed her head off.

"This is really too painful. I, Young Master Mo, lived forty years in my previous life and had never been hugged or touched by a woman. I never expected that I would be touched by several women today."

If they were younger, it wouldn't be so bad, but the youngest of these is probably not far from three digits old...

Sigh! Perhaps it's to make up for the maternal love that was missing in my childhood, yet came a little too late! Or maybe it's the love of my great-grandmother? I wonder what my great-grandmother in my past life and this life looked like…

But this once is enough! We should get out of here quickly, far away from them, and go to the old men's side. This must never happen again!

Mo Yuming quickly stood up, rushed out of the house like a whirlwind, and ran to Zhang the blacksmith across the street, who was building a house with Shi Potian and several other old men, to take refuge.

……

"It tastes really good! I never expected that Sister Huang could make such delicious dishes without any seasonings! It's a real treat!"

As everyone sat around a large table temporarily made of wooden planks to eat breakfast, the naturally rough and straightforward Shi Potian couldn't help but shout "Delicious!" as he ate his food heartily.

"Without seasonings, even the best cooking skills are useless, and the most important seasoning is salt. With such good salt, even without spices, the taste won't be too bad. This is all thanks to Ming!"

"I am deeply moved," said Huang Rongrong, an elderly woman who is respectfully called Sister Huang by everyone.

"Yes! Salt is the key ingredient in cooking. Without it, even the best dishes will be tasteless. Not to mention, salt is indispensable for the preparation of soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings!"

The old lady whom Xinlan called Grandma Li added.

"Yu Ming has done a great job, so this big chicken leg is for you! Oh! And Xin Lan, who contributed a lot to the salt-making process, should also be rewarded!"

Grandma Huang took two large chicken legs out of the pot and placed them in front of Yu Ming and Xin Lan respectively. When the old men and women saw this, they all burst into laughter.

Mo Yuming stared at the enormous chicken leg in front of him, breaking out in a cold sweat. This thing was even bigger than the giant pig's leg in his previous life; with Mo Yuming's current appetite, he couldn't finish it even if he stuffed his stomach until it burst.

It's worth noting that the brown-necked chickens slaughtered earlier were enormous creatures, even larger than ostriches on Earth.

Forget it, with such delicious food before me, I can put aside my gentlemanly image for now and worry about that after I finish eating. So, Mo Yuming reached out and grabbed the chicken leg, then stretched his head over and took a bite…

"Haha, not bad, that's manly spirit, haha..."

"..."

……

“Shi Potian, could you help me dig out a dozen or so stone jars sometime? When we sisters have nothing to do, we can pick some fresh melons and vegetables and make some pickles so that everyone can have a change of taste.”

When everyone had almost finished eating, Old Lady Huang tapped the table with her hand and said to Shi Potian.

"Dozens are no problem, I, Shi Potian, am born to do that!"

Shi Potian waved his hand and answered generously.

"Then the extraction of 'Snow Crystal Salt'—no! It should be renamed! It shouldn't be called that lousy 'Snow Crystal Salt,' it should be called..."

Huang Rongrong continued. Everyone knew that this older sister wasn't a fan of 'Snow Crystal Salt,' so they had no objections and all expressed their agreement.

"Snowflake salt?" Hu San Niang said.

"not good!"

"Jade Crystal Salt!"

"no!"

"Snow-white salt!"

……

Everyone took turns sharing their thoughts.

"No way! Why do you have to include characters like 'snow' or 'crystal' in your names? Can't you think of something else?!"

Grandma Huang immediately rejected all names containing the characters 'snow' or 'crystal'.

"I think we should call it 'pure salt'! After all, it's naturally formed, we just purify it."

Mo Yuming, who was munching on a chicken leg, raised his greasy head and expressed his opinion.

"Great! Let's call it 'Pure Salt.' It's naturally formed, much better than any of those 'snow' or 'crystal' salts. There's nothing better!"

Grandma Huang immediately made the decision. After a pause, she earnestly asked Mo Yuming:

"Is this 'pure salt' difficult to make? How much can you make each day?"

This is a very practical problem. If it's something like the Eight-Crown Dragon Chef, who went through a lot of trouble to produce even a few, then even if it's the best, it would still be unattainable. The daily consumption of dozens of people would also be difficult to bear.

"It's not difficult, it's just a matter of yield. If we just use sun-drying, such a large area can only produce one or two cans a day, and that's only on a sunny day. Of course, if we expand the sun-drying area, we can produce more."

However, if we want a higher yield, we'll need to use large iron pots for cooking. If we have enough pots, producing a thousand catties a day shouldn't be a problem. But that would require a lot of labor and large iron pots!

Mo Yuming scratched his head, pretended to think for a moment, and then said.

"Why would we need a thousand catties a day! Even if everyone ate salt all day long, we couldn't possibly consume that much! Do you think this is a saltworks? There are dozens of of us here, and one small jar a day is enough! We don't need that much!"

Hu Sanniang laughed.

"Kid, you're my lucky star! With your salt, which requires no secret techniques and can be produced in unlimited quantities, I can really unleash my full potential. That so-called Eight-Crown Dragon Chef, hmph, if I ever have the chance to run into him again, I'll make sure he's completely lost!"

Grandma Huang reached out and patted Mo Yuming on the shoulder, speaking in a domineering manner.

Plans can never keep up with changes. What happened next was something Mo Yuming hadn't anticipated.

He initially thought he could control the situation, but in reality, he and Xinlan had been completely marginalized. All of this was because of the seventy elderly people's passion for refined salt.

Faced with such a stark disparity in numbers, Mo Yuming and Xinlan were powerless to resist. The elderly had, in a democratic manner, stripped them of their "administrative power." From that moment on, they no longer possessed the right to "act freely."

Five elderly men followed them around every day, and they were required to pay their respects to Elder Dugu daily. Worse still, they had no chance to appeal.

This situation left Mo Yuming feeling utterly helpless and frustrated. He had never imagined encountering such a predicament, and that he was powerless to change the status quo. He could only silently accept reality.

The reason why things turned out this way can be traced back to a few days ago.

After the people Zhang the blacksmith had called to help tasted the dishes cooked by Sister Huang on the first day, they all unanimously chose to move their homes here.

Shi Potian acted the fastest. After helping Zhang the blacksmith build the house, he immediately set about choosing a site to build his own house and got to work with great enthusiasm. Even though it was late, he didn't go back but instead went to sleep in the "workshop" that Mo Yuming had built.

Before dawn the next day, he was already busy again. The others, though not as recklessly hardworking as him, were not slow either. A domed thatched house could be built in a day or two.

This was mainly because collecting thick cattail leaves in Ruimu Valley took up most of the time; otherwise, the process would have been much faster. Compared to the nearly one month that Mo Yuming and his companion spent building that "studio," it was many times faster.

Later, as more and more people moved in, someone suggested that everyone divide the work: some people would be responsible for collecting cattail leaves, and others would be responsible for selecting sites and building thatched huts. In this way, the construction of huts was accelerated.