Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"No," Wen Yuan replied, "I said I was going out for a walk with my classmates after dinner, so my grandfather agreed to let me eat only half a bowl of rice."

"That shouldn't be a problem. But we're here for a barbecue. What's the point of everyone bringing a big cake? We won't even be able to finish our own cakes."

"Tsk." Wen Yuan thought for a moment, "If it really doesn't work out, I can only open a second stall."

"What do you mean?"

"It's only four minutes a day in there anyway. At worst, we can just eat for a few more days and we'll definitely finish it. Come on, come on, this ice cream cake is about to melt. Let's get it in first. There should be an ice machine in there. Put the ice cream cake in there and freeze it first."

The door of the Thunder Department now opened directly to the top of the Tower of Babel. The door was right at the entrance of the South Gate of Heaven. Following the star-shaped hole punched on the top of the can, the heavenly soldiers sent several people to the submarine.

"Ah~~" Gao Shiyu took off his sunglasses, "I can see this beautiful world again."

Just like before, he didn't need the help of phlogiston vision to see the outlines here. Because this entire world was in the spiritual world, he had the same perspective as ordinary people.

Gao Qingyu beside her also took off her headphones. Here, she could choose to listen or not, without having to wear heavy earmuffs.

However, a few people stopped and looked beyond the venue decorated with colorful flags and the big ice cream in the middle - what shocked them most in the whole venue was Phaethon.

Phaethon stood before an iron rack, a whole lamb hung upside down. She gripped a sharp knife, the tip of the blade moving effortlessly along the ribs. With one stroke, she shaved the fascia, then slashed the spine. With a gentle push, the entire rib was yanked straight from the rack, leaving no flesh attached.

"Ah" everyone was stunned.

"Hey, you guys are here?" Phaethon looked back. "Eat the cake first. I'll divide the mutton and then we can roast it."

"You can actually do this!" Lu Liang was the most surprised. "Your skills are almost as good as my dad's! No, my dad's ribs aren't as clean as yours. Wait, I'll call my dad to come and see."

Chapter 449: Sizzling BBQ

"It's mainly because of the quality of the knife." She held up the hunting knife and shook it. "You still recognize it, right? This is what you and Shangluo brought back together. It's a waste to use this knife to cut fruit. It's really good for butchering beef and mutton. Just one cut can completely separate the fascia on the ribs. It's as clean as if it had just been stewed in a pot."

"Where did you learn that?"

"I'd like to ask, where did your father learn this? Do Jinyiwei also need to learn this skill?" She asked while shepherding the sheep without stopping her hands.

"Because when offering sacrifices to the heavens, beef and mutton must be cut up before offering. Because it is so important, this job is usually done by the Jinyiwei."

"That's exactly the same," Phaethon replied. "We also have this skill for cutting beef and mutton during sacrifices to the heavens. But it seems the cuts are different? You don't seem to remove all the ribs?"

"That's home cooking. Dishes for sacrifices to heaven and state banquets can't have bones on them, so the Jinyiwei's method of butchering sheep is similar to yours. Wow, your cooking skills are amazing. It's a pity that my dad can't come." After she finished speaking, she paused and said, "Wait, I'll ask my dad to come and see."

"It's truly quite professional." Lu Huaiyang, who had come down from upstairs, also stood nearby, bending over to watch. He retreated to a distance where he couldn't interrupt Phaethon's work, his eyes fixed on the scene. "The skill of this goat-slaughtering is on par with the masters of the Guanglu Temple."

"It's mainly because the knife is good. You can't find such good knives anywhere else."

"Your craftsmanship is very skilled. And you chose a good sheep." Lu Huaiyang saw the sheep's tail.

This isn't the small-tailed lamb you often see in Beijing. Small-tailed lamb has a delicate, dense texture, perfect for hot pot. But this lamb's tail is thick with fat, and a significant amount of fat can be extracted from just this one tail. The texture of the cut lamb also reveals that both cavities are rich in fat, distributed subcutaneously, within the internal organs, and in specific areas between the muscles.

Phaethon was also very particular about dividing the mutton. There were five or six types of lamb legs alone, such as the tendon meat on the thigh that was wrapped with tendons, the calf meat with shorter fibers, the needle-stirred meat on the hind leg and buttocks, and the lamb shank with fine fibers that connected the leg and the body. All were clearly stacked next to each other according to their original relative parts and placed on ice.

"Hey, Miss Phaethon," Lu Huaiyang asked, "you're not leaving for the New Year this year, are you?"

"No, what's wrong?"

"It's hard to find young people who can butcher a sheep so neatly these days. Next time during the New Year's Day offerings to heaven and earth, could you come to Guanglu Temple and help? Demonstrate how to butcher it most neatly. I'm not praising you, I'm telling you the truth. Your technique is neat and precise, and you can tell you've learned it. Many young people these days even cut off the tenderloin whole and throw it all in a pot. That's such a waste. Meat should be butchered meticulously to avoid wasting ingredients. What do you think? Are you free?"

"Sure, no problem. If Shangluo's okay, I can go over there." Phaethon didn't even turn her head. The knife worked well, and she didn't even break a sweat. Several people watched in amazement as she held a sharp knife in front of her, the tip of the knife flying up and down the sheep, sending pieces of mutton flying out one by one according to the parts.

"Is it done? Is it done?" Apollonia trotted over from the other end of the deck.

"I'm picking it out! I'm picking it out."

"Where's the best barbecue? Did you leave any for me?"

"This piece is for you." She pointed to the upper right corner of the plate. "The reddish one is the topside. It's the most tender part and can be eaten after grilling it. The one next to it is the shoulder. The fat seeps into the flesh of the shoulder, and when grilling it, the aroma of mutton fat permeates the entire piece of meat. You like it, right? There's also mutton fat, which I've prepared for you. If you think it's not greasy enough, just grill it and eat it. Are you satisfied? Eat as much mutton fat as you like, no one will compete with you for it."

"Thank you! Thank you! Then you continue to pick!" After saying that, she picked up her skirt and slipped away.

"Ah." After taking two steps, she suddenly remembered that there were guests. She turned around, bowed and thanked everyone, then continued running.

"Who was that just now?" Wen Yuan asked, "the one who has been following Shangluo."

"Yes, that's her, my little aunt. Please be patient with her, she's just like that, irritable. Oh, by the way, sit down, why are you always looking at me?"

"Um, don't worry about us." said Han Xingzhi who was standing next to them.

"Where did you come from?" Wen Yuan took a step aside. He was so engrossed in looking at the mutton that he didn't notice another person coming.

"There's a traffic jam. My home is far away and the road is jammed. Ah."

He lowered his voice: "Actually, at first glance, I was going to tease her, like, big brother and big sister-in-law or something. But after the second look, I didn't dare to say anything - this is the craftsmanship of a master chef! I was completely shocked! I didn't dare to breathe. I was afraid that she would pick me up and pick me too."

"Of course. If you saw her do it, you'd be even more shocked." Wen Yuan also lowered her voice, "I guess her skills aren't just from carving beef and mutton."

"Are you picking people off?"

"What are you thinking? I'm talking about deer, bear, tiger, leopard, and other game. Look at her wide-open movements. She could probably carve off rhino, not to mention lamb or beef."

"Are you afraid?"

"Tsk, why are you so talkative? All right, what gift did you give?"

"It's a cake." He lifted the small paper box in his hand. "I bought it from the pastry shop next to our house. It's a chocolate cake! I knew some of you must have bought cakes, so I specially bought a smaller one with more filling."

"Ahahahahahahaha"

"Why, I guessed it right, didn't I? Someone must have bought it."

"Look back for yourself." Wen Yuan pointed behind her, "Which one are you in? Including that big popsicle, there are five. Oh, right, I almost forgot."

He asked Phaethon: "Where is the refrigerator on this ship? We brought ice cream cakes and we need to put them in the refrigerator first."

"Go down one level and walk to the end. Shangluo is also in the kitchen. He's trying to figure out how to use the ice machine. You'll see him when you go down."

"Can we get off this boat by ourselves?"

"It's okay." Phaethon paused for a moment. "This is an Athenian Navy submarine, but the sensitive equipment inside has been removed. Feel free to go in and don't be afraid of bumping into anything. It's not a big deal."

"Then let's deliver the cake first." He asked Lu Liang beside him, "Want to go together?"

"No, I want to watch the lamb being picked. Wow, I feel like if I learn how to do it, maybe I can teach my dad. Help me freeze the cake."

Chapter 450 Kitchen

"Tsk, alright." Carrying the ice cream cake, Wen Yuan walked to the hatch leading to the lower deck. But two people followed behind.

"Why are you two following us?"

He looked at Han Xingzhi and Gao Shiyu.

"You're going down there on your own initiative. Do you think I can't see what you're thinking?" Han Xingzhi tilted his head. "You just want to see what the inside of a submarine looks like."

"You actually saw through me."

"Even a blind man like me can see that," Gao Shiyu muttered. "Have you ever visited the place? I remember you, Wen Yuan, are an apprentice Jinyiwei?"

"Indeed, but there's no submarine for us to visit, let alone touch. That being said."

He turned around and said, "As a cadet, I want to remind you two of the seriousness of military equipment. When Phaethon said 'feel free to touch anything,' she didn't mean you should just go and click on every button you see. She meant that this ship is dormant and has no sensitive equipment installed, so there won't be any uncontrollable accidents. If you open the sea valves or something and sink the ship and the cake, don't blame me for not telling you."

"Yes, sir!" The two men raised their hands and saluted him.

"Well, very good. Then follow me and don't touch anything. We are on official business."

He was the first to walk into the cabin, holding the cake.

"It's so narrow in here!"

Gao Shiyu, walking in the middle, found himself facing an upward staircase. The door opened at the bottom of the stairwell, and if he didn't bend down, he would hit his head. Turning around the stairs and into the hallway, the path narrowed even further. It was extremely narrow at first, but then just wide enough for one person to fit. He took a few more steps to cross the threshold, and his head hit the watertight door with a loud bang.

"Hey, Wen Yuan, have we come to the wrong place? Is this a maintenance passage?"

"That's right." Wen Yuan didn't look back. "The submarine is this narrow, I'm sure of it. This is still considered big. I'm afraid you can only crawl into the torpedo compartment."

"Okay." He followed behind, walking sideways inside.

"Eh?" This time it was Wen Yuan who stopped. He was walking in front and suddenly stopped.

"What?" Gao Shiyu asked.

"There's a painting here, look." He pointed to one hanging in the hallway. Though it was so close, in a corridor barely wide enough for one person, there was a strangely adorned painting hanging there. It was embedded in the wall, with the surrounding plumbing deliberately routed around it, as if the painting were some kind of important piece of equipment.

With the help of the lights in the corridor, one could only see the red curtain covering the outside of the painting, which blocked the content of the painting.

"Strange, why is there a painting here?" Gao Shiyu asked.

"Don't ask. Just don't touch it. Let's keep walking. Hey, that's weird. Didn't they say the kitchen is at the end? Why haven't we seen it yet? The cake is melting."

"Maybe it's downstairs?" Han Xingzhi, who was at the end of the team, said, "This ship should have other floors, right?"

"There must be one. Let's keep going. If you can't find it on this floor, go down and check."

Wen Yuan carried the cake and passed through another watertight door—

"Ah!" a startled cry came from behind him. He turned sharply. It was Gao Shiyu. His sleeve button had caught on the drawstring of the red curtain, and the slight movement had pulled it open. A painting was revealed below: a seated figure of a young girl wearing a purple toga and a golden laurel branch. Only half of the girl was visible; the other half was behind the desk. She looked about a year older than them.

"What's your name? It's just a portrait."

"You told me not to move, and I bumped into it."

"It's okay, it's okay? Ahhhhhh!!!" Wen Yuan suddenly shouted!

"what's your name!"

"Painting! That painting!" Wen Yuan pointed at the painting. "That painting is moving!"

"Huh?" Gao Shiyu turned sideways to look—and his eyes met those of the person in the painting.

The three people were stunned.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The three screamed and ran, running at an astonishing speed in the narrow passage, all the way to the end of the corridor - at the end was an empty wall and no stairs leading down. There was already a painting hanging on the wall, but this time the frame was blank.

"Ahhh!" Han Xingzhi, who was at the end of the team, now became the enemy. "You lied to me! Didn't you say there was a lower level?"

"How should I know? How should I know this submarine only has one floor? Something's wrong. Did we miss some fork in the road? Why are there only corridors here? Where's the command module? Where's the living quarters? Where's the kitchen?"

"Hey," he pointed behind Wen Yuan, "there's a picture frame behind you."

"It's okay, this one is blank." Wen Yuan turned around and pointed at the picture frame - and made eye contact with the person in the painting.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" The three people screamed against the wall, and Gao Shiyu had already squatted down with his head in his hands.

"What the hell are you three yelling about!"

"Eh?" Han Xingzhi looked up suddenly—the person in the painting was Shangluo. Shangluo was speaking to them from within the frame.

"Brother! Why did you get into the painting?"

"Stand back!" Wen Yuan put down the cake and put the two non-combatants behind him. "This might be a fake!"

"You fake ancestors! All of you come in quickly."

"Wait a minute!" Wen Yuan pointed at him, "What's wrong with the fox?"

"It would be ok if the Great Chu established King Chen Sheng!" Shangluo answered immediately.

"Is it true?" Wen Yuan asked in surprise, "Why are you in there?"

"I was wondering what you guys were doing in the maintenance tunnel. Didn't I put the picture frame on the deck? Didn't Phaethon tell you?"

"A picture frame? We didn't see it. It might be on the other side. Ah, she said to go to the end, to the end of the deck. I thought she meant to open the hatch and go to the end. What's this picture frame for?"

"This is a phlogiston submarine of the Athenian Navy. Most of the equipment on board is automatically operated by the Vulcan core. The personnel are not outside, but inside this folded painting. This frame is the crew living quarters. Okay, okay, come on in! Isn't it uncomfortable for you guys to squeeze in here?"

Holding the cake, Wen Yuan was the first to step across the frame. Suddenly, a bright, stainless steel kitchen opened up inside. It didn't feel like a submarine at all, but more like a hotel kitchen found on a battleship displacing at least 6 tons. The kitchen led from one end to the cold storage and the other to the dining room, which was covered in Persian carpets and featured a corner of a large, long table.

"Oh, ice cream cake, right?" Shangluo noticed the box in Wenyuan's hand. "The refrigerator is over there, the one with the double doors. Open it yourself. Oh, by the way, what were you guys yelling about just now?"

"Because I saw you." Gao Shiyu, who was in second place, just stepped across the picture frame.

"No, I'm talking about the previous time. Didn't you scream twice? What was the first time?"

"It's nothing." Wen Yuan waved her hand. "It's just like this. I just saw a moving painting with a woman in it."

"Click." Shangluo dropped the wrench on the table. "These paintings, what you see is what you get, they are all real. When you see a person, there really is a person. And there is no one else in this cabin except me."

"Ah???" Han Xingzhi, the last one in line, was about to enter. "Could that be a female ghost???"

He turned around suddenly—a face exactly like the girl in the painting appeared behind him.