Chapter 1621 – Conquering Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (Thirty-Three)
Yan Lin expressed his heartfelt thanks and politely declined the spicy soup made with dried chili peppers and chili powder.
Even though many aromatic ingredients are edible, the flavor of chili was too overwhelming for the refined Yan Lin, who chose to pass.
“You dare to eat what Liu Xi sent you.”
Seeing Yang Tao eager to try, Yan Lin felt a hint of fatigue creeping in.
“Why should I be afraid? Shaoyang thinks Liu Lanting would go through all this trouble just to harm me? Using all this chili powder to send the entire army to their doom over me? Shaoyang is overestimating my worth.”
Although Yang Tao appeared pure-hearted, he was quite aware of certain matters that didn’t need to be made public. “I’ve heard that Lanting also enjoys eating the spicy hot pot. It must be her hobby to enjoy it a few times…”
Holding a small jar of finely ground chili powder, Yang Tao dipped a finger in and licked it, feeling an indescribable spiciness flood his mouth, saliva quickening its pace. Despite it being his first taste of chili powder, he found it to be not too bad and dipped his finger again.
Smacking his lips, he felt himself falling in love with the spicy powder after just one taste, and by the second taste, he was completely smitten.
Yan Lin couldn’t hold back, seeing Yang Tao’s unsanitary behavior. “Don’t put that jar in the pot to cook.”
While savoring the chili powder and feeling the spiciness spread in his mouth, Yang Tao asked Yan Lin, baffled.
“Why not?”
Yan Lin shot a glance at his finger, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Unhygienic.”
He definitely didn’t want to consume Yang Tao’s saliva; just the thought made him feel sick.
Yan Lin wasn’t just a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder; he also had a certain level of cleanliness. However, in the military, he seldom showed it.
Yang Tao understood, swallowed saltily, and grinned. “No worries, Liu Lanting provided enough. I’ll get you a fresh jar.”
Yan Lin: “…”
He hadn’t even mentioned wanting to eat it!
Jiang Pengji detailed various methods for making spicy hot pot and the role of chili powder in barbecue, and Yang Tao didn’t get it wrong.
Suddenly, the previously disinterested Yang Tao began to love this style of culinary delight.
Nan Sheng was humid, and winter was bitterly cold, but after consuming a hot spicy meal, he not only felt no chill but actually broke into a sweat. Eating spicy hot pot in such weather was simply exhilarating, especially for Yang Tao, who naturally preferred bold flavors. When it came to chili peppers, it felt like meeting true love, and he could hardly wait to have spicy hot pot with every meal, resulting in frequent trips to the restroom due to his stomach’s limits.
“How old are you, and you still can’t control your mouth?”
Seeing Yang Tao developing the reddish acne of youth on his face, Yan Lin was speechless. Clearly, he had overindulged in spicy food, causing inner fire to build up in his body without a timely release. It wasn’t severe, but Yang Tao’s childishness left him without words.
Forced to drink a bitter herbal concoction to cool down the heat, Yang Tao’s face turned pale from the bitterness.
“Sigh, life is short, just a few decades; what’s the point if you can’t indulge in what you want?”
Yang Tao insisted on having chili as a side ingredient with every meal, feeling as if the blank years before had finally been filled.
Depriving him of chili and forcing him back to bland dishes would be like taking his life.
Yan Lin couldn’t help but sneer in response, ordering the kitchen to prepare a bland soup and pickled bitter melon slices as a side for Yang Tao.
Regardless of Yang Tao’s wailing and pleas for mercy, Yan Lin remained unmoved.
He had been too indulgent towards Yang Tao in the past; now, it was time for him to face a little hardship and awaken his senses.
“I truly don’t know how Liu Xi discovered the magic of this ingredient…”
Although Qian Su didn’t have Yang Tao’s constant need for spice, he still indulged in it once or twice every other day. The flavor really could become addictive.
Not only was the taste good, but combined with some hot soup, it made one feel as if they’d just taken a warm bath, leaving them completely refreshed and comfortable.
Qian Su believed this ingredient could be widely promoted in damp, cold climates and was indeed an essential spice for winter.
Of course, what puzzled him most was still how Jiang Pengji discovered its effectiveness.
This ingredient mostly grew in the wild, with only a small amount trickling into the Central Plains for collection as aromatic material by noble families.
Qian Su couldn’t imagine how Jiang Pengji thought to use it as a seasoning in food.
Yan Lin suggested, “Perhaps she’s imitating Shen Nong.”
Qian Su chuckled, incredulous.
Shen Nong tasted hundreds of herbs to benefit the people; what was Liu Xi tasting spices for?
Could it be for the benefit of foodies?
Qian Su felt he had stumbled upon a monumental revelation.
The rumored bloodthirsty Lan Ting’s Liu Xi… was actually someone with a serious obsession with food?
Qian Su couldn’t help but laugh at his own imagination.
This winter, chili not only swept through the military camp, attracting countless admirers but also extended its popularity to the common people.
Normally, it would be difficult for the populace to swiftly accept new things, but during this tumultuous time of war, the promotion of chili was progressing smoothly.
In addition to chili, Jiang Pengji also grit her teeth and dispatched a batch of winter clothing to the commoners.
These winter clothes included not only the usual woolen products but also cotton clothes filled with leftover bits of wood mixed with cotton.
It wasn’t that Jiang Pengji didn’t want to use pure cotton materials, but the cotton yield was low at the beginning. With much leftover wood from Chongzhou’s papermaking, she had to compromise to create sufficient warm clothing. Even so, these garments were better than those made previously. Resourceful women had started crafting since last year, working tirelessly all year round to provide enough supplies for frontline soldiers.
Of course, not all winter clothing was the same.
The batch supplied to Jiang Pengji was undoubtedly the softest and warmest cotton, guaranteed in both thickness and craftsmanship.
For the soldiers, the cotton was slightly less thick; they had their past clothing, which kept them warm enough in combination.
The winter clothing distributed to the commoners was thinner than the soldiers’, but it still offered warmth. This approach allowed for more garments to be made with the limited resources available to support a larger number of commoners. With such a high demand, it was natural to reduce the amount of raw materials.
Alongside the clothing, there were dozens of porridge stalls set up in every city serving hot congee.
Though the porridge wasn’t thick enough to stand a chopstick in it, it still filled the stomach enough to prevent starvation.
This was already the maximum consideration Jiang Pengji could offer to the surrounding commoners while ensuring supplies for the soldiers.
Could she have provided these commoners with ample food?
Certainly not.
The Old Commander was still in contact with her, having recently taken off somewhere unknown, and substantial supplies of grain were not an issue.
To put it another way, even without the Old Commander, there was the System’s shop.
Without the System causing mischief, the price of white rice in the shop was remarkably low, enough to supply the entire army. But that route was a last resort; Jiang Pengji wouldn’t touch it unless faced with a disaster that was impossible to withstand, like the day of the upheaval in Dongqing!
Jiang Pengji did not wish to leave an impression of being an unprincipled saint in people’s minds.
If she encountered lords in the future who took advantage of her grain supplies like An Huan, how would she survive?
