Swords, magic, and martial arts

After Rhodes finished practicing his swordplay, he ran into the kitchen to teach Webber how to make dumplings.

He used the rolling pin that the carpenter had polished for him to roll out a small lump of dough into a dumpling wrapper, put the meat filling in the center of the wrapper, moistened the edges of the wrapper with a little water, pinched the dumpling closed, and a dumpling was made.

Weber learned it after watching it once. Rod originally wanted to use the steamer made by the carpenter to make steamed buns, but he discovered a problem: steamed buns are much more difficult to make than dumplings.

Unlike dumplings, which can be made by simply rolling out a small dough ball into a wrapper with a rolling pin, steamed bun wrappers require the addition of baking soda or yeast to leaven the dough. He didn't know how much baking soda to add or how long to leaven the dough; these were things he needed to spend time researching.

The most crucial thing is that he doesn't know how to shape the buns into bun shapes...

In contrast, dumplings are much simpler. He plans to divide the dumplings into two parts, one to be boiled and the other to be fried.

Boiling dumplings is much simpler than steaming buns; just add water and boil. He also knows how to pan-fry dumplings. He pours a layer of oil into a frying pan, then puts the dumplings in, adds water until it just covers the dumplings, covers the pan, and starts heating. When the water boils away, the dumplings are cooked.

He could tolerate eating dumplings without vinegar, but Rod thought for a moment and realized there was vinegar here. He ran to the wine cellar and found a bottle of apple cider vinegar. After tasting a little, he decided that eating dumplings alone was quite delicious.

There was one more person at dinner this time; Rakar had left his room and was eating with them in the hall.

Rhodes sized up Rakar and figured he must be someone who didn't care about aristocratic etiquette, otherwise he wouldn't be so slovenly.

Rakar sat at the long table without saying a word, which also silenced the usually carefree Baron.

The servants brought the portioned dumplings to everyone, and everyone stared at Rakar until he started eating them before daring to touch their own forks.

Racal used a fork to transfer a dumpling to a separate plate and then cut it into small pieces with a knife to eat it.

The crowd, who had remained silent until now, began to imitate the knowledgeable Rakar as he ate this food they had never seen before.

Rod was initially a little embarrassed to correct them, but he couldn't help himself in the end. He told them that this wasn't how it was eaten, then used the chopsticks the carpenter had sharpened for him to pick up a dumpling, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

The dumplings were a bit too big, and it made Rod feel uncomfortable to swallow them in one bite.

Seeing Rod's demonstration, everyone began clumsily using forks to pick up the dumplings. Boiled dumplings easily fell apart with forks, while pan-fried dumplings fared much better.

Baron finished all the dumplings on his plate like autumn leaves in the wind, then stared at the ones on Rod's plate.

Rhodes shared some of his with Baron. After Rhodes demonstrated, Rakar stopped eating and kept watching Rhodes eat dumplings with chopsticks, making Rhodes feel embarrassed. However, he was too embarrassed to ask Rakar why.

"Young man, can you explain to me how to use those two wooden sticks in your hands?" Rakar asked.

It turned out he wanted to learn how to use chopsticks. Rod breathed a sigh of relief and began to slowly use chopsticks in front of him, explaining the movements to him step by step.

After Rakar finished reading, Rhodes gave him a pair of unused chopsticks. Rakar stared at the square-topped, round-bottomed chopsticks for a long time before trying to use them. He tried several times but couldn't pick anything up. "I'm getting old, my hands aren't as nimble as they used to be."

He loosened his grip on his right hand, and the chopsticks moved on their own, precisely picking up a boiled dumpling and bringing it to his mouth. He took a bite and commented, "It's tender and juicy, the noodles are very thin, so you hardly need to chew. It has meat but isn't greasy, which is perfect for an old man like me."

Why didn't he just use his mental power to pick up the dumplings instead of using chopsticks? Rhodes wondered to himself.

Although Lakar was old, he ate very quickly, not as fast as Baron, but faster than Rod. Soon he finished all the boiled dumplings in front of him, and only ate one or two fried dumplings. He then started staring at the plate in front of Rod, who was eating the slowest.

Rhodes reluctantly gave him all the boiled dumplings. It seemed that Rakar didn't like the fried dumplings, but he loved the boiled ones.

Rakar nodded and quickly resumed eating. "If I ate this every day, I could live another ten years."

"I'll have the kitchen make this for you every day," Jon said.

"I'd get tired of eating this every day," Lakar said as he ate.

"You can ask the kitchen to make different fillings. This one is pork, but we can also make beef, egg, cabbage, pork and cabbage..." Rod said.

"Is it that interesting? Teach me how to make this tomorrow, I want to try it myself. Oh, I forgot to ask, what's this called?" Lakar said.

"This is called dumplings. I'll teach you how to make them tomorrow," Rod replied.

After finishing his meal, Rakar burped, left the long table, and headed for the stairs.

Everyone at the long table breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, we're back," Jon muttered.

"You're the lord, why are you so afraid of him?" Baron asked.

"He's my grandfather's uncle, and I'm just a kid he's been beating up since I was a child. Even if I'm a lord now, what am I to him?" Jon said helplessly.

"Well……"

"But having such an elder in the family gives me peace of mind. As long as he doesn't cause any problems, my territory will be fine," Jon said.

"By the way, what did that person do to get locked up in the dungeon?" Hammer asked.

"Human trafficking, and trafficking nobles at that." Jon took a sip of his drink. "A teenage girl from a lord's family in the far north stole a carriage from his family to go out and play, and he robbed her and the carriage. He was a traveling merchant, and a luxurious carriage with its insignia torn off wouldn't have attracted much attention in his caravan. Then he headed south, intending to sell her to the Roman Empire for a high price."

"Then why was he attacked by the Dragon Cult? Was it really because the Dragon Cult was starving?" Hammer asked again.

"Of course not. That little girl's necklace was made of dragon glass, which is why the Dragon Cult robbed him. After losing everything, he came to me," Jon explained.

"Where did that little girl go?" Weber asked.

"They've been captured by the Cult of Dragons," Jon replied.

"Then isn't he courting death by asking you for help? If that little girl told you she was a noblewoman who had been kidnapped by him, he'd be doomed," Rod asked.

"To avoid attracting attention, he dressed the little girl in rags. Who would believe the words of a homeless little beggar girl taken in by a caravan who daydreams every day?" Jon said.

Rhodes recalled that the luxurious carriage had been taken away by a group of free riders. He had let them go without chasing after them, and the riders had never reappeared.

He couldn't understand it at all before, but now he understands a little bit, though he still has many questions.

Rhodes thought for a moment. He had never seen the girl in the caravan before, and he didn't know where Daniel had hidden her.

"Tomorrow I will send men to wipe out the followers of the Dragon Cult. I originally wanted to go myself, but Master Racar stopped me, saying that the family has no heir and I will not be allowed to leave this castle unless I can give birth to a son," Jon said with a wry smile. "But I am not married yet, and when will my son be born?"

Baron and Hammer, who were standing nearby, laughed. "Then we'll wait for you to invite us to your wedding." Baron patted Jon on the shoulder with a smile.

Jon asked the cook to prepare some more food, as their craving for alcohol was kicking in and they wanted to have a few more bottles.

After finishing his meal, Rod returned to his room and began practicing the Divine Illumination Technique. He experienced a new sensation today…