Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 121 "State Banquet" is a Revolving Hot Pot

"Brother Dog, is it appropriate for us to arrange a 'revolving hot pot' for such a serious occasion?"

The Jade Emperor, carrying a large bucket of chopped scallions, carefully placed them into small dishes as he spoke with concern.

It wasn't that he had a problem with the revolving hot pot; the 30-yuan self-service revolving hot pot near the school gate was his must-try weekend treat. But this was the sect's grand ceremony, and having this kind of thing at the sect's grand ceremony felt a bit impolite no matter how you looked at it!

"Your Majesty, you see, you still need to study more,"

Wang Ergou, feigning an air of profound mystery, said, "Do you know what the wealthy families of ancient times meant by 'the sound of bells and the feasting of tripods'? What does 'tripod food' mean? It's just individual hot pots! Wouldn't it be more advanced and more impressive for them if we set up a rotating buffet?"

The Jade Emperor looked doubtful: "Although it sounds somewhat reasonable, but... is Zun Du fake?"

Zhao Qing, who was plating the ingredients, couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Don't listen to his nonsense. The 'dingshi' in 'zhongming dingshi' refers to eating with cauldrons, which means emphasizing a luxurious and lavish atmosphere. It has nothing to do with hot pot! Besides, it seems that the prototype of hot pot only appeared in the Han Dynasty and only became popular in the market in the Ming and Qing Dynasties."

"You can't calculate it like that. Look, in the pre-Qin period, didn't people use ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) to cook things for ostentatious displays? Isn't a ding a pot? Isn't hot pot also made by cooking things in a pot? If we round it up, cooking things in a ding is the same as cooking things in a pot, so that's hot pot!"

As Wang Ergou spoke, he even clapped his hands confidently, "And this stuff is simple and tastes amazing! We've even developed sesame paste! Shouldn't we promote it to pave the way for future food exports?"

Not far away, a player who was still diligently pounding chili peppers posed a thought-provoking question: "But isn't this a bit too low-class?"

"The so-called high-class image is all about packaging! You could pick up a stone on the street, put it in a gold box, and it could pass off as a rare treasure! So, as long as we make sure the plates are nice and create the right atmosphere, even a rotating hot pot restaurant can be a state banquet!"

At this point, Wang Ergou became even more confident. He tapped the glass plate in his hand, which shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight, with his finger. With a crisp sound, he proudly boasted, "See this? This is the glass we just developed using our improved high-temperature furnace. We originally wanted to use it to completely dominate the market, but we don't know how to purify it. The technical team said they didn't have time to help us with this and it would have to be postponed, so we can only make some handicrafts!"

The glass plate wasn't very transparent, but it shone brightly with colorful light. Even though it didn't have many exquisite patterns or decorations, it still looked quite luxurious.

"This thing is the result of trying several kinds of ores to come up with the formula. The previous ones had too many impurities and looked terrible, but after adding a ore called Five-Colored Water Stone, it looks much better. Moreover, we specially asked the weapon refiners of Guangcheng Sect to improve the high-temperature furnace. The fire we use is now a low-grade yellow-rank earth vein fire. The impurities are burned away during the high-temperature melting of the quartz ore. It's amazing!" The Jade Emperor also touched the glass plate and clicked his tongue, "No wonder the cultivation world can't develop the kind of technology we have. When they're in a dilemma, they rely on metaphysics. Who would be willing to study other methods!"

"You can't say that," Wang Ergou said, stroking his chin. "The 'rotating platform' of our 'rotating hot pot' was actually developed by a master alchemist at the research institute. She went to a neighboring school to audit a few classes and suddenly had an epiphany. I just mentioned that it would be great if the food plates could move automatically, and she actually made it happen! Amazing!"

The Jade Emperor, who was temporarily brought in to help, was unaware of Wang Ergou's specific plan for the "rotating hot pot." Upon hearing that the so-called "rotation" could not only actually be achieved, but was also done by a native, he immediately asked in surprise, "Holy crap? How did she do that?"

Zhao Qing was quite knowledgeable about these things: "I've seen it. The principle is actually very simple. It involves carving directional tracking talismans and various talismans for lightness, flight, etc., onto the food plate. By controlling the tracking speed of the food plate and making it track the food plate in front at a constant speed, a loop can be formed... However, this method also has significant drawbacks. For example, if one of the plates is removed, the entire loop will be disrupted, rendering it useless. Furthermore, this method is extremely expensive. Making a single food plate takes at least half a day. In short, it's not very practical and can only serve as a temporary facade..."

Wang Ergou continued, "In any case, at least a major problem has been solved. And the problem of the tracking being disrupted is not without solutions. For example, we later specially made several very long, curved food trays. They are large and heavy. Unless someone is out of their mind, no one will have the time to carry the trays away. In this way, although the continuity of the food tray movement is a little worse, at least it ensures that there will be fewer accidents!"

Wang Ergou, who was tasked with preparing the banquet for the sect's grand ceremony, racked his brains trying to figure out how to entertain the cultivators from various sects and forces.

The idea of ​​a "rotating hot pot" wasn't really just for show; it was because of a shortage of manpower.

The cultivators of the Guixu Realm do not need to eat to sustain their lives. Under such circumstances, the food at banquets becomes a point of curiosity and competition. Whether they are full or not is not important. What matters is that it must be new, strange, unheard of, and unseen, and it must be exquisite and luxurious to show the cultivators' "superior" status.

So, with insufficient manpower, limited ingredients, and even tableware and chairs that cannot compare to the exquisite Guangchengzong Palace next door, which is known for its understated simplicity, it would be like trying to show off one's skills in front of Guan Yu if one were to stubbornly try to hold a traditional "palace banquet".

Hot pot is a different way of eating. First of all, it is convenient. A large amount of ingredients only need to be simply processed and plated, which greatly reduces the preparation work and the manpower required for cooking.

Secondly, there's palatability. This hot pot, which has conquered every country and region in the world, has never encountered any setbacks. There may be a few individuals with unique tastes who don't like it, but they will never find it "unpalatable." The former refers to personal taste, while the latter refers to the universality of its flavor.

Finally, its novelty was also one of the factors that made Wang Ergou decide. While extravagance and refinement couldn't be compared in the short term, novelty was incredibly easy to achieve. The so-called "high-class" style often simply involves complicating simple things. Take hot pot, for example; just the ingredients alone, even using readily available materials, could yield dozens or even hundreds of unique combinations. And the dipping sauces alone could be prepared in sets of a dozen or more plates and bowls!

If someone who has never eaten hot pot before, or even heard of it, sits down and finds a dozen or so dishes and bowls filled with different condiments in front of them, they will feel inferior – they've never seen such a complicated and "profound" way of eating before!
(End of this chapter)