A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 122 Bean Sprouts and Ducks

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan walked out of Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Ximen Kankan's servant Shi Liang was already sitting in front of the carriage, waiting for them!
After the two men got on the carriage, Shi Liang drove away.

"Where are we going to eat?" Duan Rong asked as he sat in the carriage. Ximen Kankan only said he was going to have dinner with him, but he didn't mention where to go.

Ximen Kankan blinked his eyes and said, "The snow covers the house!"

"Isn't that your home?"

"Yes!" Ximen Kankan said, "My Lao Xu is the best chef in Xiangu County, no doubt about it!"

Duan Rong grinned, thinking to himself: He's showing off again!
It was still dusk when the two of them left Yuanshun Escort Agency. When the carriage drove into Ximen Mansion, it was already dusk. In the dark sky, many bats were flying around catching insects...

The two of them walked to Xueyanju, and someone at the west gate lit the lights, and the two of them sat down in front of the table in the hall!
"Tell Old Xu to start preparing the dishes!" Ximen Kankan, with his hands behind his back and acting like a little adult, gave orders as he looked at Shi Kang who had blown out the fire.

Upon hearing this, Shi Kang hurried away!

Ximen Kankan turned around, looked at Duan Rong with a smile, and said, "Master Duan Rong, please take a seat first!"

Duan Rong was standing by the wall, looking at several calligraphy and paintings in the hall. Out of curiosity, he reached out to read the spirit of one of the paintings. Unexpectedly, the spirit was of level five, which showed that it was an extraordinary treasure!

Duan Rong turned around and asked with a smile, "Did you collect these calligraphy and paintings as well?"

Ximen Kankan's face suddenly turned a little sad when he heard this, and he said, "These calligraphy and paintings were collected by my mother when she was alive! But she passed away when I was three years old! My father and I don't understand these things very well. After she passed away, the paintings in this room must have been very lonely. Master Duan's coming here has comforted the calligraphy and paintings in Xueyanju. At least there is someone who can appreciate them!"

Duan Rong smiled silently. Although Ximen Kankan's words were a little silly, they revealed his deep longing for his mother.

"This guy is actually a filial son." Duan Rong thought to himself.

Duan Rong looked at the landscape painting behind Ximen Kankan, his eyes moved, and suddenly he understood a little bit, this snow-covered house is so elegant, it seems that Mrs. Ximen was a person with noble aspirations when she was alive, it's a pity that she died too early, and it seems that she didn't have time to pass on this influence to Ximen Kankan!
Just then, Shi Kang brought up two plates of cut fruits!

"Master Duan Rong, please eat some fruit first to clean your mouth. The main course will be here soon!" Ximen Kankan said with a smile.

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Master Ximen, please call me Brother Duan. If you call me Master, Master, people who don't know me will think I am a sorcerer! If your father knew about this, he might send someone to take me to the government office!"

Duan Rong’s words were so interesting that both of them burst out laughing!
The two had just chatted for a while when the first dish came up!

"Brother Duan, please!" Ximen Kankan said politely.

Duan Rong took a quick look and immediately felt it was a bit funny. Ximen Kankan had set such a high bar, but the first dish they served was a plate of fried bean sprouts, and there was not even any side dish. It was just bean sprouts. The quality was not even as good as those in ordinary street shops!
Ximen Kankan also boasted that his chef was the best chef in Xiangu County!

Although Duan Rong thought it was funny, he was not picky about food. He picked up the ivory chopsticks that were already placed on the table, picked up a piece of food and put it into his mouth!

When the bean sprouts entered his mouth, Duan Rong's face suddenly changed. He couldn't describe the taste, it was crispy, fragrant and tender. It was not bean sprouts at all!
"Is this...bean sprouts?" Duan Rong was indeed a little surprised.

Ximen Kankan smiled and said, "Of course these are bean sprouts! But they are not ordinary bean sprouts! They have been processed by Lao Xu!" "Processed?" Duan Rong really couldn't understand how bean sprouts could be so delicious, and when he ate them, he could taste all kinds of delicious flavors in layers, it was simply amazing!

“Use a needle to hollow out each bean sprout, then stuff various fillings into the hollowed-out bean sprouts, stir-fry in hot oil, and serve quickly! This will not only retain the crispness of the bean sprouts, but also the freshness of the fillings!”

Duan Rong was stunned. He picked up a bean sprout with chopsticks, bit it off, and looked at it carefully under the light of the candle. Sure enough, he saw the stuffing flowing out of the bean sprout.

"The bean sprouts are hollowed out..." Duan Rong was shocked.

If he were asked to hollow out one bean sprout with a needle, he could do it, but how long would it take him to finish such a large plate of bean sprouts?

Ximen Kankan saw Duan Rong's shock and said, "Achieving the top in any industry is an art! Lao Xu usually doesn't make this dish. I spent a lot of time and effort to get him to make this dish of stir-fried bean sprouts for you!"

Duan Rong's heart moved. This kid was hinting at him again. It seemed that what he was going to ask me to do later was not simple. If someone showed kindness without any reason, he was either a traitor or a thief!
Just then, the second dish arrived!

After the second dish came up, Shi Kang actually took away the first dish!

Duan Rong felt a pang of pain when he saw that half of the bean sprouts were left on the plate. But Shi Kang had already taken it away, so he couldn't say anything!
Duan Rong looked at the second dish on the table and saw a duck head on the plate, but the body behind the duck head was gourd-shaped. Duan Rong was surprised and thought: What kind of weird dish is this?
"Brother Duan, this second dish is called Eight Treasure Gourd Duck!"

"This is also a Kung Fu dish. First, the whole duck is deboned, the duck skin is intact, and the claws and small wings are cut off! Eight kinds of fillings such as shrimp, mushrooms, ham, and glutinous rice are stuffed into the duck's belly, which is then stitched together and tied into a gourd shape. It is first fried and then steamed!"

“Once it comes out of the steamer, it’s salty, fragrant and delicious!”

"Brother Duan, please!"

Ximen Kankan's description had already made Duan Rong's appetite growl. Duan Rong took the ivory chopsticks and poked at the gourd-shaped duck!
The duck meat was already soft and rotten, and with a chopstick pick, a large piece of duck meat and the stuffing inside was picked up!

Duan Rong put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. He felt his taste buds and soul trembling...

"Brother Duan, this dish takes a lot of effort to make! Even I can't eat it often! If I hadn't pestered Old Xu for a long time, he wouldn't have easily used his signature skill!"

Not only Duan Rong was mesmerized by the fragrance, but even Ximen Kankan was enjoying the food so much that his mouth was drooling and he kept nodding his head!
Before the third dish was served, the two of them had already eaten up the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck!

At this time, Shi Kang suddenly came in with a jar of wine from outside!

It was a small jar of wine, about the size of a human head!

But it is sealed tightly, and the seal is coated with a layer of beeswax!

Moreover, the jar was quite old, and seemed to be quite old. Although the surface of the jar had been cleaned, there were still many signs of corrosion...

Ximen Kankan took the jar of wine from Shi Kang, looked at Duan Rong, and said with a smile: "Brother Duan, let's have a drink to relieve the greasy feeling!"

As Ximen Kankan said this, he pecked open the wine seal, took out a wine grape carved from a green bamboo, inserted it into the jar, and scooped out a grape of wine!
Ximen Kankan poured the grape wine into two silver embossed cups!
One cup was placed in front of himself, and the other was placed in front of Duan Rong!
(End of this chapter)