The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 521 The Seventh Badge of Mingjing Prefecture

"Mr. Jia Long, you flatter me."

Faced with Jia Long's lavish praise, Qin Lang smiled modestly.

“I’m not flattering you,” Jia Long shook his head slightly. “This dish deserves my praise and commendation.”

He said nothing more, immersing himself in the delicious snake soup in the bowl before him, humming softly as he savored it, his face full of admiration.

How long?
How long has it been since he tasted such amazing snake dishes?
Because of the uncommon nature of the ingredients, there are already few spirit chefs who come to him for assessment. Among these spirit chefs, those who can bring out the characteristics of snake ingredients and cook dishes that impress him are even fewer.

Jia Long was certain that, in at least the past ten years of his life, he had never tasted a snake dish that amazed him more than the chrysanthemum water snake soup before him.

Therefore, he savored the snake soup in front of him with exceptional care and appreciation.

Seeing Jia Long's expression, Cao Dongdong and his two companions, who were already craving food, immediately started eating without saying a word.

The next moment, exclamations of praise rang out one after another.

"So this is what snake meat tastes like." Zhao Qian exclaimed with admiration. "It's firmer than chicken, and it has a unique umami flavor."

"I don't know why, but after tasting snake meat, my fear of snakes seems to have lessened a lot." As she said this, Zhao Qian bravely took the initiative to look around at the beautiful purple sea snakes in the surrounding tanks.

She was initially horrified by the sight of snakes, but after hearing Jia Long's story and tasting the delicious snake soup, her impression of snake ingredients seemed to have changed considerably.

Of course, this is also because the finished chrysanthemum snake soup contains almost no trace of snake. If Zhao Qian hadn't been told beforehand, she wouldn't have guessed that the dish was made with snake, so she would have felt much less guilty.

"This is also my first time eating snake meat." Cao Dongdong, who was standing next to him, picked up a piece of snake soup with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. After chewing, he nodded with satisfaction. "But what amazed me more than the snake meat was the snake skin."

"The crisp and chewy texture is a bit like jellyfish. It is full of the delicious flavor of soup. When eaten with meat, it brings a very special taste experience."

“Snake meat is delicious, but Qin Lang’s cooking skills are also very important.” Tang Yu took a sip of the milky white snake soup and said softly, “The reason why snake ingredients are not popular is partly due to people’s impression of snakes, and partly because snake ingredients are difficult to prepare.”

"This young girl has hit the nail on the head," Jia Long chuckled. "A snake can be considered a treasure from head to toe, but it's not easy to handle it properly."

"The purple sea snake is one of the easier sea snakes to handle, but its numbers are relatively small and it is difficult to raise, so it cannot be widely promoted. Not only are most snake foods poisonous, but they are also quite troublesome to process."

"Putting aside the public's impression of snakes, this is one of the reasons why snake dishes are not popular." At this point, Jia Long looked at Qin Lang, "Do you still have the gallbladder of this beautiful purple sea snake?"

Qin Lang paused for a moment, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "No."

Since snake soup doesn't use snake's internal organs, he discarded them directly.

"Sigh, what a pity." Jia Long sighed softly, then stood up with a smile. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll show you my collection."

As he spoke, Jia Long carried out a large wine bottle from the deepest part of the wine rack not far away.

The bottle is completely transparent, and the contents are clearly visible.

In the clear yellow liquid, there were clumps of peculiar things, each about half the size of a fist.

Qin Lang couldn't help but gasp.

He had just dealt with the beautiful purple sea snake, so he could naturally recognize it.

This bottle contains the gallbladders of the beautiful purple sea snake. It's a whole bottle of snake gall wine, and judging by its color, it has probably been soaking for several years, or even more than ten years.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but swallow.

He had heard in his previous life that some places used snake gall to make wine, and even snake blood could be mixed with alcohol to make a special snake blood wine, but he had never tried it.

Surprisingly, I saw something similar here.

"This is snake gall wine made by soaking snake gallbladders in my own brewed grain liquor for over ten years," Jia Long chuckled. "Would you like to try some?"

"Of course, this liquor is a bit strong, so you can only try a little."

"Let me try a little!" Qin Lang quickly said.

"Me too!" Tang Yu's eyes lit up as well. Apart from Jia Long, she was the only one who was over eighteen years old and could drink freely.

“Then I’ll give it a try.” Cao Dongdong picked up another glass, his eyes shining as he stared at the bottle. “Just a little bit, I’ll taste it.”

"Then I'll..." Zhao Qian, who was initially a little scared when she saw the snake gall soaking in the wine bottle, gritted her teeth after seeing that her three other friends had also expressed their opinions.

"I'll have some to try!"

"Hehe, okay." Jia Long smiled and brought wine glasses for the group, pouring some wine for them.

The three of them, including Qin Lang, who were not yet adults, only had a thin layer at the bottom of their cups, which was only enough for a sip. Tang Yu poured a little less than half a cup, while Jia Long poured a full cup, showing that he also liked to drink a little wine on weekdays.

"Cheers to this delicious chrysanthemum and water snake soup!"

"Ping—"

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together. Qin Lang brought the glass to his mouth and nose, and a mellow aroma of wine immediately wafted over him. It was the pure fragrance unique to grain liquor, but it also carried a special herbal flavor and other complex aromas.

After taking a sniff, Qin Lang drank it down without hesitation.

The first sensation upon tasting the snake gall wine is spiciness, as if a fire has been ignited in the entire mouth. After the spiciness subsides, the lingering aftertaste is mellow and fragrant.

After taking a bite, Qin Lang felt his whole body heat up. He quickly picked up a piece of snake soup with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth to calm himself down. As soon as he did so, he discovered something special.

After tasting the wine, the snake soup was even more delicious, with an enhanced and sublime feeling.

Thus, with the help of snake gall wine, the chrysanthemum snake soup was elevated to an even higher level, leaving Qin Lang in awe.

"Looks like you've already figured it out." Jia Long took a sip of half a cup, then laughed after seeing the change in Qin Lang's expression. "Snake gallbladders are a good thing."

Amidst the hissing and slurping sounds of Cao Dongdong, Zhao Qian, and Tang Yu, Jia Long quickly finished a whole cup of snake gall wine with the snake soup, his face flushed with a slight intoxication.

"This is my token." He slowly took out a badge from his pocket, then, fueled by alcohol, stuffed it into Qin Lang's hand. "Keep it safe."

"Your culinary skills deserve it."

Qin Lang looked down at the badge in his hand. Beneath the majestic serpentine eyes that came into view was a line of elegant and flowing characters: "Xianyu Market - Dragon and Serpent".

Dragon and Serpent Badge, obtained!
(End of this chapter)