Chapter 66

"Wow, Brother Murong has really outdone himself." Narasha was the happiest of all.

Just like a beggar's chicken, the aroma can't be smelled until the mud seal is broken. She knew the culinary skills of Brother Murong's race.

The simpler it is, the harder it is to make; the more delicious it is, the less it smells; the more complex it is, the simpler it looks. They have already mastered the art of cooking to perfection.

For example, the 'boiled cabbage' she ate one evening in the capital city. It was a vegetable that looked like a cabbage, and it was boiled with water.

She watched her Brother Murong make it. What kind of water was that? It was a broth made from countless ingredients, then various methods were used to 'clarify' it, removing all the turbidity and color, turning it into a clear liquid.

Only then could it be poured over the cabbage, continuously pouring and discarding until the cabbage was fully cooked, forming a dish.

It looked so simple, but the taste was complex, with freshness, fragrance, saltiness, and blandness all present.

Even without eating, just by looking or hearing the entire process, one would think it tasted good.

Brother Murong's family's culinary skills could be said to be unparalleled in the realm of food culture.

So, this fish would obviously not have the usual taste.

Sure enough, a half-meter-long, plump fish was eaten by eleven people, and everyone was still hungry when the fish was gone.

The fish weighed over thirty pounds.

"I'm hungry," one of the guards said.

The others nodded.

"Then let's catch another one. I'll make you some wild vegetable fish balls," said Gongsun Murong, who was in a good mood now that he had hope of returning home.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Lucia nodded vigorously. Since living in the manor, she had never eaten the same dish twice, and her taste buds had become very picky.

She used to think that different dishes meant different fillings in the noodles or different seasonings for the roasted meat.

Mostly, it was just adjustments to the same ingredients.

But during her time living in the manor, she realized that the difference in dishes was not just about the ingredients; the methods of preparation were so intricate that they left her amazed.

She even suspected that Brother Murong was a professional chef, as he could distinguish between oil-cooking, braising, sauce-cooking, and water-cooking.

Wasn't a quick dip in water also considered cooking?

But after the fish slices were dipped, they were indeed delicious, with various flavors when dipped in sesame sauce, shrimp sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, sweet sauce, and garlic sauce, making them both crispy and fragrant.

There were also various methods of frying, such as pan-frying, concave pan-frying, full frying, half frying, raw frying, batter frying, and iron plate frying. She thought she might never learn them all in her lifetime.

She felt it was almost a system.

Actually, she was right. It was indeed a system, both complete and incomplete. Complete in terms of scale and branches, but incomplete because Gongsun Murong's race always believed in the principle of "a dragon soaring too high will regret."

Even if someone reached the pinnacle, they would leave a gap for others to fill and incorporate new methods.

Now, Lucia began to look forward to tasting the wild vegetable fish balls. It sounded like a simple dish, but she knew that anything Brother Murong made, no matter how simple it sounded, was never simple.

For example, making a bowl of noodles sounded simple, but after eating it a few times, one would understand that a bowl of noodles was a system. According to Narasha, one could eat it every day for a year without repeating a dish.

Gongsun Murong himself picked several wild vegetables, picked them, and blanched them.

He didn't need to worry about the fish; anyone could handle it.

He didn't fuss about what kind of fish it was, just removed the scales and the head, and started kneading it with his hands, occasionally adding some seasonings.

Normally, one shouldn't use hands to knead; using a knife or a mallet would be better, but the conditions didn't allow it.

Soon, the wild vegetable fish balls were ready, and each person got a large bowl.

Everyone slurped and ate, using wooden spoons instead of knives and forks.

After everyone finished eating, Gongsun Murong used a spatial move, and the group returned to the ground, finding a nearby inn to stay in.

Without caring if the others were asleep, Gongsun Murong and Narasha left.

They had found that out of 1,620 items, 19 were the most useful to them.

So they went to look for them.

When the sun was high, the two returned, having already collected 19 good items.

The other items weren't useless, but their effects were minimal.

They might be good auxiliary items for Moses and the others.

But after discussing, the two decided it would be better to exchange them with Emperor Rexlar.

Thus, the next day, everyone woke up and truly began their tour.

They enjoyed many local specialties and saw various people and animals.

That evening, they started their return journey, different from their original plan.

In the middle of the night, they called a meeting with the leader James and the manager of the capital office, Yves.

The meeting was about how to arrange the 1,601 treasures and how to maximize the benefits.

The attendees were no longer surprised by how Gongsun Murong and Narasha obtained the detailed information.

What they needed to consider was whether to take everything out at once, leave them there, or take some and leave some.

"Why not take everything out? They are all good things, very valuable, and even promoting them could benefit the principality," James said.

He was inclined to keep the good things for himself.

Lucia thought simply, "If we tell others, will they come to rob us?"

Everyone nodded; it was indeed a problem.

A principality that owned treasures and publicized it would gain fame but also danger. Did the principality have the strength to defend against others' covetousness?

"They should be taken out and given to others for exchange, like to the Emperor," Yves suggested.

His proposal was met with agreement from many.

Some were thinking about what benefits the principality could gain from giving to the Emperor.

Everyone argued back and forth, but in the end, no one came up with a solution that everyone agreed on.

"Alright, we'll take them to the palace tomorrow," Narasha said after listening to everyone and consulting with Gongsun Murong.

This time, no one objected.

The items weren't discovered by them, so as long as they could benefit, it was fine.

******

The next day, Gongsun Murong, Narasha, and Lucia went to the palace.

They told Emperor Rexlar about the 1,601 treasures in the mountain of extreme heat and cold.

Emperor Rexlar was surprised. He didn't expect the three children to return with such detailed information.

He didn't think they were lying; there was no point, and the locations were already marked. Sending someone to check would confirm everything.

Knowing there were so many good things, Emperor Rexlar wasn't troubled. He immediately called a team dedicated to planning for the empire.

After explaining the situation, he started eating the hot pot Gongsun Murong brought.

Narasha was envious, thinking her family lacked such a team. The butler was already overworked.

Emperor Rexlar, enjoying the hot pot, asked Gongsun Murong, "Would you be willing to sell the recipe for the hot pot?"

Gongsun Murong nodded and then shook his head. "I'm willing to sell, but there is no recipe. Each person has a different taste, and the pursuit is different, so the recipe is different.

The benefit of hot pot is its convenience and simplicity, with low requirements for the chef. Weak people will unconsciously eat more.

There are no restrictions on the ingredients; anything can be cooked, even for guests, it doesn't look cheap.

Eating it in summer makes you feel cool after sweating, and in winter, it keeps you warm. This is something that can be popularized among the common people, so I won't sell it for money.

Of course, I will adjust my recipe to make it taste better."

Gongsun Murong didn't think about owning the rights, as it would be easy for others to imitate.

Moreover, he didn't want to be a professional merchant; he had more pursuits and ideals.

Emperor Rexlar understood. Hot pot was easy to popularize and imitate, so it couldn't be kept secret.

But the special recipe was the attractive part.

This meant that Gongsun Murong might face competition in the future, but he wouldn't use other means to suppress it.

He nodded, deciding to promote the hot pot, encouraging people to cook meat and vegetables together, drink the broth, and not waste anything, making it easy to absorb.

While they were eating hot pot, the professional team had already reached a consensus on the treasure distribution.

Someone came to report.

The team decided to use an auction method.

Every half month or month, they would auction one item, revealing its approximate location.

However, during the auction, they wouldn't just auction one location but include several or more locations without treasures to create competition.

Since there was always a real location in each auction, it wouldn't be considered deceitful.

If the treasure was worth the effort, even if only one in twenty locations was real, someone would be willing to pay a high price to bid.

This would also attract more tourists from other empires.

Gongsun Murong and Narasha nodded, thinking it was a good plan. Professionals were indeed professionals, all talented.

Then they looked at Emperor Rexlar.

Since there were benefits, shouldn't they be distributed?

"What do you want?" Emperor Rexlar asked.

"We want a share, to be converted into magical materials and sent to the Gels Principality to strengthen its power," Gongsun Murong said.

Lucia sighed in relief, feeling happy.

Emperor Rexlar was also pleased. "Alright, from now on, half the profit will be converted into magical materials at normal prices and sent to your principality."

His thinking was simple: a person who loves their principality will also love the empire. Gongsun Murong and Narasha having a home in the Gels Principality meant they wouldn't easily betray, unless the principality and the empire did something too extreme.

"Alright, then we'll go back. We have a competition tomorrow," Gongsun Murong said, getting up to leave.