The worse you are, the stronger you become: My summoned beast is a photographer.

"Okay, then I'll go prepare lunch. I'll let you uncles and aunts try my cooking today." Ming Luochen readily agreed and turned to walk towards the kitchen. Fried rice with mushroom hot pot is simple and easy to make—fried rice is a basic skill to test cooking skills, while mushroom hot pot best showcases the mastery of broth.

Ares watched Ming Luochen's chubby figure disappear through the kitchen doorway, then turned to his older brother, still unable to contain his curiosity: "Big brother, does he really know everything?"

"Yeah, you make him sound like a sage, all-knowing." Charlie couldn't help but agree, pushing up his glasses and revealing a curious look in his eyes behind the lenses.

Valerius glanced at his brother-in-law and younger brother, then nodded seriously, his expression serious: "Indeed, very intelligent. I've also been learning his marksmanship recently; it's strong and practical, especially his tactics."

He seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, cleared his throat, and looked at his younger brothers and brother-in-law with a profound expression, resembling a great Confucian scholar about to give a lecture.

"I've recently learned a brilliant military strategy, and I'll use it to test you all today."

My brother-in-law has even started studying military strategy? Unipar became interested, sat down on the carpet, stretched out his four legs, and assumed a comfortable position: "Then tell me about it."

"Listen carefully," Valerius said slowly, mimicking Ming Luochen's tone from before, pausing deliberately to whet the appetite—

"We only have three thousand men, while our neighboring country is surrounded by thirty thousand enemy troops and is in imminent danger."

"If it were you, how would you save them?"

Ares immediately declared, thumping his chest loudly, "A mere 30,000 men? How could they possibly be a match for the Raven Crest family? Let's just charge in and fight them head-on!" One of his hands was already on the short sword at his waist, as if he were ready to go to the battlefield at any moment.

Kerton nodded, his dark brown hair gleaming in the candlelight: "Yes, the advantage is on my side, we'll definitely win." His tone carried the confidence unique to a military general.

Melia chimed in, her voice clear and crisp: "Yes, a head-on confrontation is the only way to win."

After they finished speaking, Valerius simply shook his head, with an expression that said, "You're far inferior," and a faint hint of smugness on his lips.

Unipar raised an eyebrow, keenly catching his brother-in-law's smug expression: "You have a better way?"

Valerius then smiled smugly and unleashed the exact same set of techniques Ming Luochen had taught him, his voice rising and falling in a rhythmic cadence, as if reciting a textbook—

"They're all a bunch of brutes. A head-on confrontation is the worst strategy. If we're going to rescue them, we shouldn't rescue the city, but attack their home base. The enemy's main force is all abroad, so their home base must be vulnerable. We, with three thousand men, can strike straight at their capital, and they will surely return to defend it. When they return exhausted, we can ambush them on the way, waiting in ambush, and defeat them in one battle."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Unipar's eyes lit up, his pupils seemingly dancing with light: "This method is brilliant...it can reduce our casualties a lot!" He had been fighting for decades and had never thought that this could be done. How many of those brothers who sacrificed their lives died on the battlefield in a head-on confrontation?

Valerius laughed heartily, his tail practically wagging in smugness, his laughter shaking the dust off the roof.

"Impressive, isn't it! This isn't my idea; it's a test my son-in-law, Ming Luochen, gave me! It's called 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao.' You've been fighting battles for half your lives, yet you're not as quick-witted as my gentle son-in-law! You still have to learn."

He slapped his thigh, his face beaming with pride, as if saying, "My son-in-law is the best in the world."

Aura, a smile playing on her lips, sat quietly sipping her tea, the rim of the cup obscuring half her face, inwardly grumbling:

[His father's act of learning on the spot actually worked.]

"My son-in-law is exceptionally clever," Valerius boasted, waving his hand with an air of worldly wisdom, as if he were a strategist himself. "This is just one tactic. And the larger the enemy's numbers, the more ruthless this tactic becomes. If the enemy has hundreds of thousands, then this isn't a 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' strategy, but a 'trading the enemy' foes' tactic—lure the enemy into the city, place flammable materials inside, set them on fire as soon as they enter, flood the area along the way, set traps, poison their supplies, and then the rest of us, along with the civilians, disperse and move directly into their city, fully utilizing our tribe's advantages."

Everyone was stunned, staring blankly—you can do that?

Ares' mouth gaped open in an "O" shape, Keldon's eyebrows almost reached his hairline, and Melia nearly dropped her teacup.

Unipar was stunned, his mind buzzing. He realized how terrifying it was to have a sharp mind. To handle an enemy dozens of times his size with such ease—if it were him, his entire army would have been wiped out long ago, not even a bone fragment remaining. He took a deep breath, his gaze turning serious: "Then what's the point of his training? Shouldn't he be protected properly? He must be the legendary sage reincarnated."

"Brother, does he have any ideas on how to develop the territory?" Charlie looked intently at his brother-in-law, his eyes behind his glasses filled with curiosity. After marrying Melia, he worked for the Earl Raven Crest family, managing financial statistics and dealing with numbers all day long, so he knew all too well how tight the territory's economy was.

"I didn't ask," Valerius said bluntly, scratching the back of his head with an innocent look. He was only interested in military matters, and his territory consisted entirely of herbivorous peoples with abundant water and grass, making them perfectly self-sufficient. He never thought the economy was a problem.

Aura also searched Ming Luochen's memory, and the plots of those novels flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. It seemed that there were indeed some novels about developing territories: "It seems that revitalizing the economy can drive the development of the territory."

Charlie didn't understand, and looked at Aura, his brows furrowed deeply: "How?"

"It's just...spending money?" Aura struggled, twisting the hem of her skirt with her fingers. She was really bad at things that required thinking, and she had hated accounting more than anything else since she was a child.

"Spend money?"

Not only Charlie was bewildered, but everyone else was too—if they spent the money, wouldn't they be even poorer? And economic development? What a load of rubbish! Melia's brow furrowed even deeper than Charlie's, while Ares wore a "what nonsense are you talking about?" expression.

"I don't really understand it either. It's basically about taking money from rich people, letting poor people produce things, and then making money back from other places..." Aura could only say this much, her face turning red. She only read it for fun and couldn't remember anything else, so she simply explained the novels in Luo Chen's mind to them—things like time-traveling farming, business empires, and lord battles. The elders listened, completely bewildered.

A wonderful aroma wafted from the kitchen—the savory scent of mushrooms simmering in broth, mingled with the fragrance of minced garlic and sesame oil, like an invisible hand tugging at everyone's stomach.

Valerius immediately smelled the aroma, swallowed hard, and made a gulping sound in his throat: "Looks like we're having hot pot for lunch today."

"What is hot pot?" Ares had never heard of it before. He tilted his head, wondering if it was some new delicacy from Herma City. He had been patrolling the border for many years and knew nothing about the new things in the city.

"You'll find out soon enough." Valerius kept everyone in suspense, then got up and headed towards the kitchen, his four hooves quickening their pace unconsciously. Lately, his son-in-law had spoiled him, feeding him all sorts of unprecedented delicacies every day, and his quality of life was skyrocketing. He was even afraid of becoming a fat man like Ming Luochen—but then he thought, so what if I'm fat? As long as I enjoy the food.

As everyone gathered around the table, a large iron pot in the center simmered with a milky white broth. Mushrooms floated and sank in the boiling soup, their rich aroma incredibly enticing, filling the entire restaurant with the sweet freshness of the mountains and fields.

Melia looked at the table laden with food—several bowls of clean, washed vegetables, a basket of sliced ​​mushrooms, and a few dishes of condiments—it was plentiful, yet also quite ordinary. "Just a few bowls of vegetables and a pot of mushroom soup," she thought to herself, "nothing special."

"This hot pot is meant to be eaten piping hot, and you also need to prepare the dipping sauce." Valerius began demonstrating how to eat hot pot, his movements as practiced as if he had done it hundreds of times. He poured a little of Ming Luochen's homemade seafood soy sauce into a bowl, added minced garlic and sesame oil, and stirred it with chopsticks. The aroma almost made his mouth water, and he quickly slurped it up.

Unipar thought this way of eating was a bit cumbersome—why not just throw all the vegetables in and cook them? That would be so much easier. But as a guest, he patiently followed along and started cooking the mushroom slices. He picked up a thin slice of mushroom with his chopsticks, dipped it in the boiling broth for a few seconds until it softened and curled up, then took it out, dipped it in a little dark sauce, and put it in his mouth.

His eyes widened instantly, his pupils dilating. The smooth mushroom slices broke apart between his teeth, and an unprecedented umami flavor exploded on his tongue. The salty-sweet taste flowed into his throat like the warm spring sun, and various aromas exploded on his taste buds: the richness of mushrooms, the saltiness of soy sauce, the fragrance of sesame oil, and the spiciness of minced garlic, layer upon layer. He breathed out to cool the scalding hot mushroom slices in his esophagus, his voice trembling: "Delicious!"

"Eating it this way is definitely different, and the soup and seasonings taste amazing. How did you make it?" Melia can also cook, and she considers her culinary skills to be among the best in her family. But none of the mushroom soups she's eaten have been as delicious as this one. The broth is clear yet rich, and once you take a sip, you can't stop eating it.

"The broth was made with kelp and cabbage first, and the seasoning is soy sauce. It's quite complicated and requires fermentation," Ming Luochen explained to his aunt, adding broth to the pot as he spoke. They didn't know what MSG was. If the centaurs liked meat, it would be even more delicious—using chicken and ham to make the broth would be so flavorful it would make your jaw drop. Unfortunately, they couldn't eat spicy food. Hot pot had to be spicy to be truly enjoyable, and sweating profusely was the only way to truly savor it.

After teaching everyone how to eat hotpot, Valerius was eager to drink. He took a bottle of plum wine, the amber liquid swirling in the bottle, poured himself a large bowl, and poured a small cup for Unipar and Ares, his movements as swift as if he had rehearsed it beforehand.

"You all come and try this wine. It's strong, so remember to sip it slowly." Valerius picked up his bowl, took a delicious sip, narrowed his eyes into slits, and sighed contentedly, feeling that life was just so wonderful.

He actually used a bowl? Unipar didn't say much, picked up the small wine glass and took a sip—a sweet and sour taste with a mellow wine flavor, sliding from the tip of the tongue to the stomach, warm and comforting, not spicy or harsh, a smooth throat.

"This wine tastes good too, it's so rich and flavorful, completely different from rye wine. It's not harsh or bitter, it's delicious." Charlie savored it carefully, the taste lingering on his tongue. He found the wine increasingly fragrant and rich, with a fruity sweetness, as if the whole summer was sealed in a bottle. "If this wine were sold, it would definitely make a lot of money."

Unipar finally understood why Valerius had used a bowl—he'd come for the wine from the start! The bowl was filled to the brim, almost overflowing. But there was only a small jar on the table, not enough to share; each person finished off a small cup. He stared wide-eyed: "Is there any more wine?"

"Brother, there's not much wine here, and it's quite a hassle to make. It's all for the wedding. Please drink more at the wedding, otherwise it will be impolite to have too little wine," Marina explained apologetically, her tone tinged with helplessness. The key is that the fruit wine needs to be stored for a while, and with the wedding approaching, there simply wasn't time to make more. This bottle was squeezed out from the wine intended for the wedding banquet.

"You shameless bastard, Valerius! As the host, how dare you drink from your own bowl!" Unipar angrily berated his brother-in-law, his voice booming so loudly that the bowls and plates on the table trembled slightly. He also enjoyed drinking, and having finally encountered such fine wine, he only kept a small cup for himself, while Valerius snatched the rest away—that one bowl was enough for him to drink a dozen cups!

The crucial thing is that the wine is gone, and we have to wait until the wedding banquet two days later. Unipar is completely drunk. He has such a shameless brother-in-law who doesn't treat him like an outsider at all.

Valerius shrank back, hiding the bowl behind his back, looking guilty: "I was just... letting you guys try it... in case you don't like it, it would be a waste."

"You poured out a whole bowl just because you tasted it?" Unipar was so angry that his beard stood on end.

The whole room burst into laughter.