Da Zaojun

Chapter 42: Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes

After eating the Rat Demon Tail Soup, Song Wuji's bones and muscles grew from 0.6 to 0.7.

Something is better than nothing. Cat Catcher was enjoying the meal, purring as he ate.

In another place, the county magistrate had already discussed with Chen Xiu how to deal with this secret place.

"That's a stable grain-producing area, but both rats and hamsters are suspected of spreading the plague."

"Why don't we recruit some farmers to go to the secret realm to plant blood rice? Blood rice needs blood from corpses to irrigate, so we can use the corpses of rats. We have to wait until we are able to station troops there before we do it."

"The Five Rats' grain transport bags can continuously deliver grain. Although it's not much, it's enough to intimidate the wealthy families in the city."

"The secret realm token is related to agricultural taxes, which seems to be consistent with the authority of the county magistrate. I need to carefully study it."

"How about giving the Heart-Confusing Song and the Jade Flute to Lu Han?"

"As for this copy of The Five Rats' Transport, it was originally stored in the Feihou Temple. The handwritten copy can be used to popularize martial arts and foster a culture where everyone values ​​martial arts."

"Are you sure you want to make it public?" Chen Xiu hesitated, "What if..."

"Publicly!" Tian Chengbi said, "This is a method of internal cultivation. Progress is slow, but it can identify aptitude. The method of killing is your archery, the mountain-splitting knife technique, and the art of application. Publicly disclose the method so that the common people know. In addition to entering the six departments of the City God, you can also choose to practice martial arts to strengthen your body. Don't think that knights using martial arts will violate taboos. Things are different now."

"First, the first three levels of the Five Rats' Transporting Technique will be made public to the people. To practice the last two levels, one must join the county government office."

"Also, give the Essence Pill formula to the Medical Bureau and have it refined as soon as possible. This is the basis for us to continue to confront the City God and the demons, and we must hold it firmly in our hands."

"As for that young cook, since you've commended him for his achievements, you should also reward him. You can give him the original text of the Five Rats' Transporting Movement to study. Also, if you see anything else he needs, just let him ask for it himself. I'll do my best to satisfy him."

Tian Chengbi smiled. "Finally, there's some good news. This Demonic Secret Realm has a lot of output, which has greatly increased our resources. We will be more confident in fighting against the Tiger Demon."

"Next, issue orders to repair the city walls, build houses, and focus on manufacturing weapons and bows and arrows... This difficult time isn't over yet!"

……

When Song Wuji got the original copy of "The Five Rats Moving Things", he was surprised.

Chen Xiu said, "This technique is not difficult to learn. If you concentrate and read it from beginning to end, you will learn it. However, a handwritten copy does not have this kind of charm. If you can't learn it in one go, you can read it a few more times, or copy it yourself for yourself."

"There's no suitable position for you in the county right now, but I think your abilities are limited to being a cook in the medical office, which is a bit of a waste. Why don't you come to my commanding officer's office? Whether it's martial arts training or military training, it all comes down to 30% training and 70% diet. My family has been practicing martial arts for generations, and I have many cooking recipes that I can pass on to you."

"How about you just cook for the soldiers?"

Song Wuji thought about it and said, "If every household has to cook, how much time will be wasted every day? Why doesn't the county magistrate open a canteen? Let me run this canteen and gather the chefs together."

"Food is supplied on time and in appropriate quantities every day. Soldiers can come to eat, government officials can come to eat... and common people who have accepted jobs assigned by the government can also come to eat." The kitchen is the Kitchen God's temple, but how big a place can a small kitchen be? A large canteen would be great.

If Song Wuji wants to quickly unlock the miscellaneous industrial positions in the Jiupin Tianchuyuan, he also needs a lot of kitchen experience.

"I have inherited the Kitchen God's legacy, and the food I cook is guaranteed to be fragrant and delicious."

Song Wuji said, "Every business has its place. Only by integrating all forces can we accomplish great things. Since the demonic chaos, there have been very few restaurants in the city. Those chefs are idle at home. It would be better to recruit them all. When everyone is busy and doing things, they will stop thinking about random things and feel at ease. And eating is the most important thing. People will listen to whoever can eat well."

Chen Xiu's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Boy, I underestimated you."

Song Wuji smiled and said, "As the ancients said, governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. I can't govern a large country, but I'm quite capable of cooking a small fish."

Chen Xiu immediately explained Song Wuji's idea to Tian Chengbi, who nodded repeatedly. "Although it's difficult to cook a large pot of rice, since he's willing, let him do it. I'll ask the mayor to cooperate and set up a large canteen. It will indeed be beneficial to us, but it also has risks. What if there's something wrong with the food, like someone poisoning it? That would be a problem, too. However, the benefits outweigh the risks, so don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

"First, we'll build a shed and put up the shelves. Everyone can get their own bowls and take their meals home to eat. After the corvée labor is collected, we'll build the dining hall and set up some seats."

The county magistrate's words were very effective. A simple shed was built outside the training ground that day. Five large stoves were piled up, and five large iron pots were steaming. In addition, there were eight cooks and sixteen women, all under Song Wuji's command.

Song Wuji's main job is still doing odd jobs, but in name he is the "executive chef" of the cafeteria.

There were eight cooks, one was the cook of the military officer's office, one was the cook of the county government office, four were cooks of restaurants and inns, and two were vendors selling buns, sesame cakes, wontons and noodles.

Song Wuji directed, "Just treat it like the original buffet, but with fewer dishes. We can ensure three dishes and one soup every day. The staple food will be steamed buns, multi-grain porridge, noodles, etc., and we will rotate them. The goal is to ensure that everyone can eat well and have enough."

After setting rules such as washing hands frequently and wearing masks to pay attention to kitchen hygiene, Taicang County Canteen opened.

Of course, Song Wuji's only role in it was to light the fire. Apart from stirring the spoon, he also arranged the dishes. Although there was basically no need to arrange the dishes when making a big pot of rice, apart from arranging the dishes, he just took radishes, sweet potatoes, and carved various small animals and flowers.

The four restaurant chefs looked at Song Wuji's young face, discussed for a while, and came to a conclusion: "This is the county magistrate's relative, we have to treat him with respect."

However, Song Wuji did not have this idea. With these four legitimate restaurant chefs around, Song Wuji humbly learned from them about cooking.

After all, the delicious food cooked by Song Wuji is purely due to the efforts of the Kitchen God. His real level may be just "a fool's sudden inspiration" that makes him make food that is both unpalatable and ugly.

After all, the chefs had to support Song Wuji, and what Song Wuji asked now were some basic skills, so he had no intention of hiding anything.

Now Song Wuji's comprehension is as high as 1.7. He can basically learn anything after watching it once. In just one afternoon, Song Wuji has mastered the basic skills of food carving from several masters and can "carve dragons and paint phoenixes" independently.

After the carved ingredients are placed on a plate and mixed with cold dishes, they become cold dishes. Don’t ask whether they taste good or not, just ask whether they look good or not.

If you carve a peony, the dish will have the effect of "flowers blooming and wealth coming". If you carve a dragon and a phoenix, the dish will have the effect of "dragon and phoenix bringing good luck".

(End of this chapter)