Hearing Bai Yiling's sigh, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Although this beautiful woman was a formidable figure in the business world, she was still prone to feminine sentiments.
He led Bai Yiling on a tour of the ancestral stone house and then to admire the exquisite natural sculptures of Feng Hua Mountain.
Everywhere they went, Bai Yiling enthusiastically raised her camera, capturing photos from various angles.
"Every step here offers a new vista, endlessly captivating!" Bai Yiling exclaimed sincerely once more.
She then asked Cheng Xiaofan, "Will there be fireflies again tonight?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and replied, "Of course!"
Like a curious and adorable baby, Bai Yiling asked, "Xiaofan, I want to stay tonight to watch the fireflies. Can I return to Zhuxi Village a bit later?"
Hearing her sweet and charming voice, Cheng Xiaofan was truly captivated. This was hardly the demeanor of a powerful woman dominating the business scene!
"Certainly!"
At such a moment, any man would find it difficult to refuse.
Bai Yiling was instantly delighted and immediately took out her phone to call Han Jie. "Brother Han, I'll be watching fireflies by Bai Mang Lake tonight and will be back late. Don't wait for me for dinner."
After hanging up, she suddenly paused. "Strange, how is there a signal in the heart of this primeval forest?"
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled and explained, "A few years ago, a certain official came to Zhuxi Village to inspect. Seeing how poor the villagers were, he had a sudden impulse and dispatched several helicopters to circle above the primeval forest, installing a few signal towers.
"The idea was to facilitate Zhuxi Village in receiving external information and finding ways to escape poverty and prosper.
"Ironically, no one in the village even owned a mobile phone, and those who were slightly better off still used ancient black and white televisions at home.
"Let's not dwell on that!"
He smiled at Bai Yiling and said, "Tonight, I'll treat you to wild chicken stewed with reed roots!"
In his childhood, Cheng Xiaofan often dug for reed roots by the river with Luo Yang and Feng Xigua. The tender white reed roots burst with sweet juice when bitten.
Sometimes, they would catch a wild chicken in the mountains, fetch a small pot from home, dig a pit in the ground, start a fire, and stew the prepared wild chicken with the reed roots.
The resulting soup was not only delicious, but the chicken and reed roots were exceptionally tasty.
"Xiaofan, where can we get wild chicken?" Bai Yiling asked curiously.
Cheng Xiaofan smiled, "If you want wild chicken, you naturally have to catch it in the mountains."
"At night, wild chickens usually perch on tree branches. In my childhood, my village friends and I often ventured into the mountains to catch wild chickens as dusk settled!"
"Catching wild chickens is very simple. Bring a flashlight and tie a net bag to a long bamboo pole, and you're ready to go into the mountains.
"After dark, wild chickens typically roost in trees. As long as you shine a flashlight on them, they'll stay motionless on the branches, and you can easily cover them with the net bag.
"If the wild chickens are roosting in a flock, you can catch three or four at once!"
Bai Yiling smiled, "It seems being a child of the mountains has its own unique charms."
"Do you have any tools for catching wild chickens on your boat?"
Cheng Xiaofan shook his head and chuckled, "Not here. However, with Po Tian Ying around, I don't need to go into the mountains to catch them."
He raised his hand and beckoned to Po Tian Ying, which was perched on the roof of the boat shed. "Po Tian Ying, please do me a favor and catch a wild chicken from the mountain!"
"Jee—"
Po Tian Ying responded with a cry, spread its wings, and prepared to fly.
"Woof woof!"
Seeing this, Tao Qi Bao leaped up and landed on Po Tian Ying's back.
You vile eagle, how can you go catch a wild chicken without taking me along?
This is my specialty!
In a blink of an eye, Po Tian Ying, carrying Tao Qi Bao, disappeared from sight.
Bai Yiling was utterly dumbfounded.
She had no idea how Cheng Xiaofan had acquired this eagle and dog.
This eagle and dog were practically possessed!
Despite her intense curiosity, she restrained herself from asking Cheng Xiaofan.
Everyone has their secrets, and some things are best not to pry into.
Just like how Cheng Xiaofan cultivated the "Happy Fruit" that could cure cancer, or how he could play the zither so beautifully.
Bai Yiling was a very intelligent woman!
She understood that not everything could be inquired about.
While Po Tian Ying was out catching the wild chicken, Cheng Xiaofan dug out over a dozen reed roots from the reeds along the lake shore.
He washed one and took a bite.
After chewing a couple of times.
The sweet and fragrant juice quickly flooded his mouth!
When did these reed roots become so delicious?
Recalling the spiritual rain that had descended here the previous day, Cheng Xiaofan immediately understood.
It was all thanks to that spiritual rain that the reed roots had evolved into a delicacy.
Cheng Xiaofan washed another reed root and handed it to Bai Yiling, saying, "Yiling, try the reed roots from Bai Mang Lake!"
Bai Yiling took the reed root and took a bite, her beautiful eyes widening immediately.
"Hiss!"
She couldn't help but exclaim, "Xiaofan, I never imagined the reed roots of Bai Mang Lake would be so delicious too!"
"Jee—"
With a clear, piercing cry, Po Tian Ying returned with Tao Qi Bao.
Po Tian Ying's talons clutched one wild chicken.
Tao Qi Bao's mouth held another wild chicken.
Clearly, the gluttonous Tao Qi Bao, fearing one chicken wouldn't be enough, had brought an extra.
The two wild chickens were still barely alive. Cheng Xiaofan took a knife to bleed them, boiled a kettle of water, poured it into a basin, submerged the chickens in the water, turning them back and forth to loosen the feathers.
Next, he gutted them and cleaned the internal organs.
In performing these tasks, Cheng Xiaofan's movements were as fluid and natural as flowing water, exceptionally deft.
Bai Yiling watched, mesmerized, and couldn't help but praise, "Xiaofan, watching you work, you're like a born master chef!"
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled, "In Zhuxi Village, although the villagers' lives are not affluent, there isn't a single man or woman who doesn't know how to cook.
"Everyone takes the creation of delicious food seriously!
"In the future, I want to take the distinctive cuisine of Zhuxi Village, combine it with the ancestral culinary secrets left behind, refine them, and promote them one by one."
Bai Yiling smiled and said, "Xiaofan, aren't you worried that the culinary secrets carved by your ancestors in the 'Food Hall' might be stolen someday?"
Cheng Xiaofan shook his head and chuckled, "Even if others steal them, they'll be useless."
"The ingredients grown in different places produce different cuisines.
"Just like the reed roots you ate just now, they wouldn't taste this delicious if they were from another location."
Hearing this, Bai Yiling nodded and said, "You're right. Even if someone steals the recipes, they can never create the brand cuisine of Zhuxi Village!"
As he chatted with Bai Yiling, Cheng Xiaofan started a fire, put the chopped wild chicken into the pot, and blanched it in boiling water.
Subsequently, he added a bit of lard to the pot, along with ginger slices and chopped scallions, stir-frying them until fragrant, then removed the ginger and scallions.
He returned the wild chicken pieces to the pot, stir-fried them a few times, then added an appropriate amount of salt and water, covered the pot, and began to stew.
The wild chicken stew needed to be cooked over high heat initially. Fifteen minutes later, he added the sliced reed roots and reduced the heat.
In the area around Bai Mang Lake, there were many wild cilantro plants, more fragrant than cultivated ones. Cheng Xiaofan suspected these wild cilantro plants might have been left behind by his ancestors.
Cilantro, originating from the Mediterranean region of Europe, is said to have been brought back from the Western Regions by Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty.
Cheng Xiaofan plucked a handful of cilantro and brought it back. As soon as he washed and chopped it, a rich, intoxicating aroma wafted from the gap in the pot lid.
Lifting the lid, he sprinkled a handful of cilantro on top of the chicken soup, and the fragrance intensified, becoming even more captivating.
A pot of wild chicken stewed with reed roots, a characteristic dish of Zhuxi Village, was ready!