Chapter 48

The fat old man held a wild chicken, but the roasting position was too close to the flame, and the flipping speed was too slow.

One must understand that roasting food with fire is completely different from a barbecue stand. Barbecue stands use specially made charcoal that ignites easily, has uniform heat, and most importantly, produces no smoke.

However, with firewood, the heat is uneven, and the smoke is heavy. This smoke is unburned ash that rises in the flames and sticks to the chicken skin. So, before long, the wild chicken in the old man's hand was charred black. This wasn't burnt, but rather covered with a layer of ash, which not only affected the texture but also made it bitter.

Although the old man occasionally added some oil, it didn't change the fact that the ash kept getting thicker. From the way he was handling it, it was only a matter of time before the chicken was burnt.

Roasting meat with firewood is a highly challenging task. Even the masters at barbecue stands might not be able to do it well, let alone the old man.

This was understandable. What kind of person was this old man? His time was incredibly precious, and he wouldn't cook for himself.

His cooking skills were naturally nothing to boast about, especially when it came to roasting meat with firewood, which was even more difficult.

"This is a waste of good food!"

As a foodie, no, as a connoisseur of fine cuisine, Yi Yun found it unbearable.

Watching the old man finish roasting the chicken, he sprinkled various seasonings and then proudly handed the smoke-blackened roasted chicken to Lin Xintong.

Yi Yun thought there was no place to start eating! However, Lin Xintong didn't seem to mind. She said, "Thank you, teacher," and took the roasted chicken, eating it in small bites. Her lips were small and red, but soon they were stained black from the chicken. This scene made Yi Yun's mouth twitch.

It was truly a waste of good food.

The old man, who loved his disciple, naturally gave the roasted chicken to her first. As for Yi Yun, he would definitely be the last to get it. However, Yi Yun was grateful. After all, if this chicken were sold, it would be very valuable. Someone like Lian Chengyu would never be able to afford it.

After roasting the first chicken, the old man started on the second one. He was particularly careful with the first one for Lin Xintong, but the second one, which was for himself, looked even worse.

However, the old man was very satisfied with his work. After roasting both chickens, he took out a flask of wine from his ring, savoring the roasted chicken and drinking the wine with relish. His white beard twitched as he enjoyed it.

Then he suddenly thought of something, glanced at Yi Yun, and said lazily, "That one is yours. Roast it yourself; I won't do it for you."

I'm speechless.

Yi Yun was speechless. Although he didn't expect the old man to roast a chicken for him, the old man had said, "Not many people get to taste my cooking!"

When the old man said that, Yi Yun thought he would roast a chicken for him. Now, it was clear that wasn't going to happen!

If Yi Yun had to roast it himself, he wasn't very confident. Although he was well-versed in fine cuisine, he was from the modern era. With a barbecue grill and smokeless charcoal, he could certainly roast a crispy and tender chicken.

But using firewood, that was a different story. The ash from the firewood was unavoidable, and no matter how he flipped it, it would stick to the chicken.

"Sir, do you have a pot?"

Yi Yun asked respectfully. As a principled foodie, even if he was hungry and eager, he would never compromise! This was the first time in two months he had seen meat, and it was of such high quality!

"Sure."

The old man said and indeed took out a pot from his ring.

The pot was made of unknown material, exquisitely crafted, and of the right size. Yi Yun was very satisfied.

Then Yi Yun started to work. He began to identify the seasonings the old man had brought. To his surprise, the seasonings were quite complete, including oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and even a plant seasoning similar to scallions or cilantro.

"Can I borrow some wine?" Yi Yun asked again.

"Huh? Wine? Do you plan to drink with the old man?" The old man was taken aback but then chuckled and handed the wine to Yi Yun. Was this kid a wine lover too?

Although he was stingy, he enjoyed drinking with company. It made the experience more enjoyable. The child in front of him, though not particularly likable, was better than nothing, especially since Lin Xintong didn't drink. The old man had been drinking alone for a year.

"Teacher!" Lin Xintong was speechless. "How can you give a child wine!"

But they didn't expect Yi Yun to shake the moisture out of the chicken and pour some wine over it, evenly coating the chicken, including the inside of the cavity.

"Kid, what are you doing!"

The old man's eyes widened, and his beard bristled. This was a thousand-year-old vintage, and as a wine lover, he couldn't tolerate his wine being wasted.

"Cooking," Yi Yun said matter-of-factly.

It had to be said, the wine was truly excellent, incredibly fragrant. He didn't know what rare ingredients were used to brew it, but he suspected that even a sip would benefit one's cultivation!

"Cooking? Can wine be used for cooking?" The old man asked, clearly not believing it.

Yi Yun was taken aback, then suddenly realized something.

The cooking techniques in this world were likely very different from Earth.

In fact, in ancient China, where culinary culture was incredibly rich, the cooking methods were quite simple. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the basic methods were steaming and boiling. Whether it was vegetables or meat, they were seasoned with salt, covered, and cooked.

The various cooking techniques like frying, stir-frying, braising, smoking, and marinating in wine only developed into a system in modern times, as material life became more abundant.

Each region had its unique culinary culture, and most of the cooking methods in China were unique.

Even the simplest stir-frying was only found in China, which might sound unbelievable, but it was true.

China had the most complex cooking techniques in the world, and no other place could compare.

In this different world, in the Great Wasteland, life was extremely hard, and people had neither the time nor the materials to study cooking.

In the wealthy cities, the rich were all powerful individuals who were devoted to martial arts, formations, and the refinement of Wasteland Bones. They had no time to study cooking.

Only the servants of the great families studied cooking, and their dishes were quite good, thanks to the long accumulation of culinary knowledge. However, in a small area, the cooking techniques were limited, just like how many Americans might not know that wine could be used in cooking.

Yi Yun used oil and sauce to coat the chicken, poured some wine into the cavity, and added some scallion-like seasonings. He had tasted these seasonings and, through his foodie's intuition, determined they were as good as scallions and cilantro.

Next was the key step. Yi Yun wrapped the chicken in a clean coarse cloth and filled the pot with a large amount of salt, burying the chicken completely. He sealed the pot and started steaming.

The fat old man watched Yi Yun with suspicion. Using so much salt to wrap the chicken? Wouldn't it be too salty?

These poor children from the small tribe probably didn't have much salt to eat.

But even if they didn't have salt, they shouldn't do this. The old man was speechless and sneered, thinking the kid was quite peculiar.

He continued to eat his roasted chicken, but Lin Xintong stopped and watched Yi Yun's pot on the fire with curiosity.

Slowly, a faint aroma began to emanate from the pot. If not for their heightened senses as martial artists, they wouldn't have been able to smell it.

Such a faint aroma, could it be good?

The old man had finished his roasted chicken and was licking his thick, short fingers, still craving more. Just then, Yi Yun lifted the lid of the pot, used a spoon to scoop out the hot salt, and took out the chicken.

A fragrant salt-baked chicken was ready.

The moment the salt seal was opened, a fresh aroma wafted out, making Yi Yun's mouth water.

Yi Yun was pleasantly surprised to find that he had performed beyond his usual level. Of course, the main reason was the quality of the chicken. This energy-rich, precious chicken was far superior to the feed chickens on Earth.

And the wine, brewed from rare ingredients, was excellent. Just adding the yeast and letting it age for a few hundred years would make it a divine wine.

The combination of the two elevated Yi Yun's salt-baked chicken to an unprecedented level.

"Huh?" The old man's beard bristled, and his eyes widened.