Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"I said, I'll leave it all to you. Destruction or appeasement, it's all up to you to arrange. But they are very violent. Not only did we fight under the Atlantic Ocean, we also launched an attack directly from the spirit world, and the troops we sent over have not returned yet. Including this time, a submarine that was carrying my luggage disappeared while it was submerged."

"what's the situation?"

Victoria pointed to the top of her head and said, "Aurora. This aurora can also be seen in the spirit world, and it fills the sky with brilliance. The Taoist equipment we used before was greatly interfered with. It seems that a huge interference source has appeared in Columbia, a huge light like the sun. We want to break in by any means necessary, and we have to find a way to turn off the light bulb, otherwise even the lighthouse system will be affected - so, as long as you can turn off the light bulb, or at least adjust it to a frequency that does not affect us, everything else will be easy."

"So that's it?"

"Otherwise, we are not pelicans that taste everything they see. If the light bulb was not too bright and I couldn't sleep, I wouldn't run so fast."

【Ah, it’s exposed.】

"." Phaethon pressed his forehead, "I knew it. You can even let a toothache turn into cavities and refuse to go out. Why are you in such a hurry to come to Shangluo for treatment when your condition has just stabilized?"

"I really can't help it." Victoria spread her hands. "You all know that I'm much more sensitive than them. If Apollonia goes to the other side of the earth now, you will be disturbed by the light."

[You are disturbed by the light, right? I can understand this metaphor. So no wonder the first thing you did when you arrived at Shangluo's house was to make the bed.]

"So here, I can finally get a good night's sleep. This is also part of the treatment. If I don't sleep well, my condition will definitely get worse day by day."

"So, leave it to me." Shangluo took a sip of water, "Don't worry, I'm here. Although you don't blame me for this, I did use too much force. I will be gentler next time."

"Wow~~" Yanqiu covered her chest, "So handsome~~"

"What's so handsome about him?" Zhu Ling couldn't hold it in any longer. "From my angle, I can only see that he is obsessed with Victoria."

"Huh?" Phaethon beside him asked in surprise, "Is this what his expression means?"

"Yes." Zhu Ling nodded, "It's a sign of healthy development. He's growing well. I didn't expect that after seeing him again not long ago, Shangluo has become an outstanding child."

"Ah," Phaethon covered his forehead, "I shouldn't have asked, everyone in your Zhu family is not normal. The same goes for this star chaser over here."

She looked at Shangluo, then at the door: "Hey, Shangluo, go and get the food ready."

"why me?"

"Aren't you sitting in the corner? Shouldn't you be in that position to urge the food to be served?"

"I am obviously the most respected." He looked to the side and saw Victoria looking at him from the "most humble" position.

"Okay, I'll go take a look."

Normally, in this situation, there was no need for the guests to rush out. However, according to Yanqiu's previous request, no one was required to serve the table before the meal, so everyone who was supposed to be waiting inside stood outside.

Shangluo walked to the door and was about to reach out to open it when the door suddenly opened by itself.

He bumped into the chef who was about to come in.

"Eh? This isn't the..." The white-haired old man looked very familiar, and I seemed to have seen him before.

"Ah, Mr. Shangluo." The old chef nodded at him and said, "I am the executive chef of this restaurant."

"Master Liu, is that you?" Zhu Ling shouted from inside.

"Yes, it's me." Master Liu responded and explained to Shangluo, "I used to cook at Changchun Palace. Later, I got too old to work anymore, so the emperor thought highly of me and recommended me to be the head chef at Jinling Hotel."

"Ah, nice to meet you." Shangluo bowed to him and said, "What did you say you were going to make before? Fujian Mapo Tofu, isn't that too much? There is no such dish, right?"

"No, no." Master Liu was also very polite. "We do whatever the guests ask for. When I cooked for those people in Changchun Palace before, it was much more troublesome than here. Do you understand?"

Shangluo nodded vigorously. These old Zhus are not easy to deal with. Although there is nothing wrong with eating meat every day, you can't eat the same pork elbow every day. At least you have to change it every week.

"So I just have a question. Because I thought of something." He blinked, "What kind of meat is used in the 'Mapo Tofu' that everyone ordered?"

"Isn't Mapo Tofu made with beef?" Shangluo asked, "Even I know that."

Master Liu shook his head: "There's so much noise down there, I always feel like something is wrong. Excuse me. These troublesome people all have the same problem, which is that they can't speak clearly, so we have to guess. You'll know if you ask."

"Wait a moment."

Shangluo walked back and asked Victoria.

"????" Shangluo got the answer, "Fish? The Mapo Tofu you eat doesn't use minced beef, but fish?"

"Really?" Victoria asked in surprise, "Shouldn't it be fish? Fish sauce goes well with fish."

"What does that taste like? How do you eat it?"

"It's sweet, right? Eat it with rice. There's coconut milk in the rice. It's delicious. It seems there are a lot of green spices, too?"

"Sweet??"

Outside the door, Shangluo truthfully relayed Victoria's inexplicable request: "Sweet, fish, with green spices, with rice."

“Is there any coconut milk?”

"Oh yes, there is indeed coconut milk. How did you know that, Master Liu?"

"Okay, I know what she wants to eat. Everyone, please wait a moment." He turned around and ordered, "Hurry up and call Lan Fang Club to order takeout. Order now. When the call goes through, tell me and I'll order it. This is the most authentic thing they make there. It's dinner time there now, so it's still in time. Tell the people down there not to argue about whether to add ginger or not, just make some ordinary mapo tofu."

Chapter 1010 Takeaway

"Order takeout?" Shangluo wondered if he had heard it wrong. They didn't even make this dish themselves, they wanted to order takeout.

"Ahem." Master Liu covered the microphone and stepped aside. "Customers, please go in and wait for your meal. We will take care of everything else. Don't worry, don't worry."

He had no choice but to nod and was pushed back into the dining room.

"What do you mean?" Zhu Ling asked, "Have you reached the point?"

"Um, I don't know what to say. But the chef just said that they want to order takeout."

"Ah~~ Congratulations! You have seen the Jinling Hotel's hidden gem."

"So your best trick is ordering takeout, right?!"

"I tell you, this is amazing. This is the ability of an executive chef." Zhu Ling replied, "Master Liu used to be the chef in Changchun Palace. He was in charge of the banquets in Xiyuan and many major festivals. Xiyuan didn't have so many chefs on weekdays, so sometimes he had to cook by himself. For example, he made our stewed lion's head. When there was a large banquet to be organized, he was responsible for gathering people from all the restaurants in the capital and then setting up a temporary kitchen. He has built kitchens for thousands of people."

“That takeaway is”

"All the restaurants in Beijing are in touch with each other. Even though they may say things in a hostile way, everyone wants customers to eat the best dishes, and no one messes around. Sometimes, if they can't handle a dish well, like Chef Liu, they will recommend it to other restaurants. Or, like now, they will order a takeaway and ask them to send a portion to support them. This is not just someone delivering the food. They receive a call from Chef Zheng, and if the dish can be delivered directly, the chef will deliver it himself. If it can't be delivered directly, they will bring semi-finished products to cook it on the spot, and guarantee that it tastes the same as what you eat in our restaurant - this is the unique skill of Jinling Hotel. If they encounter a dish that is difficult to make, they can call people from all over Beijing to come."

"That's why no one has ever been able to take down the sign here, right?"

"That's right. No one said we can't recruit people. Organization is also part of the hotel's strength. Even if you want deep-fried icicles or spicy pebbles, they can get them for you."

"So there is such a service?" Yanqiu asked in surprise, "I have lived here for such a long time and I have never heard of it."

"Because you're not the kind of troublesome customer, it's normal that you don't know. Of course the restaurant still likes people like you. But some customers just like to make things happen for Jinling Hotel. There are many such people. For example, without a reservation or anything, they suddenly want to eat the Huaiyang cuisine three-head banquet - braised pig face, braised silver carp head and stewed crab meat lion head."

"Does the banquet also need to be prepared at all times?" Yan Qiu asked, "The Lan Fang Sands Hotel in Singapore doesn't always have this prepared."

"If we really want to have a three-course banquet, then we must talk about it out of courtesy. But in addition to cooked dishes, there are also cold dishes, hot dishes, and four seasonings. If someone comes and doesn't ask for a three-course banquet, but orders these three dishes alone, we can't chase him away, right? You can always run into one or two such people in ten years."

"Eh? How did you know that?"

"I was sitting next to them eating, so I definitely knew. Of course, it wasn't me who ordered it, it was my uncle. I have a distant uncle whose family had spent most of the salary coupons three generations ago, and he didn't make much money all year round, but he insisted on treating me to a meal, and he insisted on a big dish. Braised pig's face is something that even my family only eats during the New Year - at that time, we were already here, so he couldn't let us leave. Then Master Liu braised a portion for us himself, and we had to wait for three hours before it was served."

"Is it delicious? Is it expensive?" Victoria asked.

"It's delicious, of course it's delicious. It's a representative dish of Huaiyang cuisine and the signature dish of Jinling Hotel. As for the price, it's not really expensive, but it's troublesome. My family doesn't want to trouble the chef at home too much, so we only have one portion during the New Year. And it can be eaten cold or hot, so everyone can have a bite." She paused and looked at Victoria's expression:

"You want to eat too?"

"Yeah, yeah." Victoria nodded repeatedly.

"Ah, wait a minute." Even Zhu Ling, the eldest princess, felt embarrassed to add such a big dish halfway through.

"Shangluo, come out with me."

The two of them walked out the door and went straight to the kitchen. Zhu Ling was very familiar with this place, just like going to her own kitchen.

"Who is this, guest? You are not allowed to hang around in the kitchen. Who is this, who let her in?"

"I'm Zhu Ling." Zhu Ling said directly, without waiting for anyone to pass on the message, nor did he intend to hide it.

"Who are you?"

"I am the eldest princess. I am the emperor's sister."

"Ah, it seems so." He looked at Shangluo, "Is this the prince consort?"

"If you say so, then so be it." Shang Luo said helplessly, "Can we go in?"

"No. Food safety is paramount. Outsiders are not allowed to enter the kitchen, let alone you. Even if the emperor comes, he cannot enter."

Shangluo looked at the other person - this person seemed to be an apprentice in the kitchen, not much older than Shangluo. Although he was probably just washing vegetables or chopping in the kitchen, he didn't care about the emperor and the princess at all, and had the momentum of "you are the emperor, and I will steam my steamed buns".

This is quite normal. Zhu Ling also thought it was normal, and since she was told not to go in, she had no intention of going in.

"Then can you ask Master Liu to come out for a while? And don't be so arrogant, what is my dad doing in the kitchen?"

"No. Your father..." He thought for a moment and changed his words, "The Emperor is indeed here. I wasn't kidding just now. When the Emperor came just now, I really didn't let him in."

"???" Shangluo was stunned for a moment, and Zhu Ling beside him had already shouted:

"Dad, are you there?"

"Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough!" At the end of the corridor, Master Liu walked out of the stairwell.

"Master Liu, did you see my dad just now?"

"Yes, I saw it." Master Liu nodded, "But the emperor just left."

"Does he have anything to say to me?"

"You know, Princess. The two dragons cannot see each other. The emperor is in seclusion, so he cannot see you, his closest relatives."

"Retreat, retreat. The old one went to retreat, the young one went to retreat too, and they took my sister-in-law away with them. Only my mother and I are at home. Tsk, I will also go to retreat in a few days, and let the air stay to watch over the house."

"Oh, by the way." Master Liu suddenly asked, "Do you two want to eat braised pig's face?"

“???” Now Zhu Ling was also stunned.

"How do you know?" Shangluo asked.

"It's strange. Today, the Emperor came to me to reminisce about the past. At about 4 or 5 in the afternoon, before dinner, he asked me to make a braised pig's face. I thought he wanted to eat some meat after being in seclusion for so long, but before he left, he asked, 'Do you want to eat it?'"

Chapter 1011 Mapo Tofu

Shangluo glanced at Zhu Ling, she was already stuck, so he nodded and replied: "Yes, we just came down to ask if you have time to make a pig face."

"Then bring it up quickly. It has just been unpacked in the kitchen and is still hot. It tastes good even when it is cold, but the flavor right out of the pot can only be tasted for a short while. If you heat it up again, it will taste bad. I remember that when you were a child, you loved to eat it with lotus leaf pancakes, and you would always eat it on your hands. Come on, go back and wait, and have someone bring it over right away."

"Wuwu~ Wuwuwu~~" Zhu Ling ate the lotus leaf pancake with braised pig face in between, tears streaming down her face with each bite.

"Wow, this looks really delicious." Victoria took a bite, looked at Zhu Ling, and asked Shangluo:

"I know this is delicious. But do I have to cry to express that it's delicious?"

"She felt it was spicy." Shangluo replied.

"Yes. Wuwu~~" Zhu Ling sobbed, "My lotus leaf pancake has onions in it. Do you want some?"

"Thank you, but forget it. I want to eat some vegetables."

[Hello.] Apollonia asked, [Is she okay? She looks very sad.]

"She's not sad. She should be relieved to know that her father still cares about her. He's not dead. He just thought he was on a business trip. She's not that fragile. She was just a little sentimental when she ate the dishes she often ate when she was a child. Let her be alone for a while. You see, she doesn't want others to see why she's crying. Let's cover for her."

[You obviously don't like to respond to other people's attention to you, but you are very considerate of other people's feelings. If it were central air conditioning, you would really be full of energy, and your kindness would be evenly distributed in any number of portions. ]

"Who says I'm a good person?" As he said this, he handed Victoria a plate of shredded green onions and cucumber strips for the lotus leaf pancakes.

"Thank you." Victoria took a piece of braised pig face from each of them with chopsticks and wrapped it herself. "This dish is really amazing. The whole pig's head is taken apart cleanly and clearly. Each piece is full of rich collagen, which melts in a sip. It's not just the cooking that requires a lot of thought. It has to be taken apart while it's hot, right? This is really a labor-intensive dish. No wonder even the emperor of Zhendan can't eat it every day."

"That's right. Even though the chef's hands are made of iron, they can't stand being so hot every day."

"But I have a chef with iron hands."

[That's true. Her chefs are all skilled, you've seen them.]

After eating the piece in her hand, Victoria signaled to others to bring water for washing hands. She just wanted to taste it and eat it again when she wanted to go back. But for "Fujian Mapo Tofu", she still wanted to eat the authentic one in the authentic place - because she was not sure whether what she ate was right.

"Ah." After washing her hands, she drank the grape juice she had been drinking. "On the eve of the world war, it is really satisfying to be able to have a meal with you all happily. If I can eat authentic Fujian Mapo Tofu again this time, I will have no complaints even if I disintegrate now."

[I don't even know where to start complaining about this.]

"Are you talking about a world war?" Victoria asked. "That's obvious. Unless Shangluo shows off his ability to dance on six eggs. Oh no, four eggs. He's already crushed two, and he might crush a few more next."

[I think the main responsibility lies with you, the Senate. If you had cooperated more with the Oracle or the Palace of Muse, you wouldn't have made such a huge strategic mistake that destroyed two regions at once.]