CHEF (16)

Halfway through the beef stew cooking process, a strong aroma wafted from the pot, making the two bandits itch with anticipation.

They eagerly asked, "Can we eat it now? It's been fifteen minutes."

Lin Dan wiped her hands with a cloth and replied, "It's still too early. The meat needs to simmer for at least half an hour to become tender."

She then requested the two bandits, "Could you please take me to my carriage? I need to get a missing seasoning."

The two bandits immediately became wary and pointed to the bottles and jars, scolding, "Don't be nosy. We have all the seasonings you need here. Isn't it enough for you?"

Lin Dan remained calm and explained, "Here's the thing. I'm missing one type of seasoning for this beef stew to be fully flavored. If you two escort me there and back, how can a weak woman like me escape from you? With this seasoning, this pot of beef stew will be several times more delicious than it is now."

Upon smelling the rich aroma in the air, the two bandits started to wonder how it could possibly be even more delicious than before. They marveled at the chef's exceptional cooking skills and became cautious about Lin Dan's ability to slaughter a cow.

Lin Dan then took out a piece of rope and tied it around her wrist. The two bandits reluctantly nodded, and before they left, they locked the kitchen door to prevent Shaoyao and Dujuan from escaping. The three of them made their way to the deepest part of the hideout, wandering around until they found a cave that was covered in vines. The outside of the cave was easily overlooked if no one pointed it out.

The two bandits pulled apart the vines and sternly ordered, "Go in and find it yourself, move quickly!"

Using the light from the two men's torches, Lin Dan looked inside and saw her five carriages parked in the cave, along with dozens of locked boxes filled with stolen goods. She only took a quick glance before quickly climbing onto one of the carriages.

She quickly removed the seal from a large jar of wine, scooped out a few spoonfuls, and poured them into a small empty jar. Next, she covered the jar with a piece of cowhide paper and tightly tied it with a rope. Although she acted swiftly, the two bandits still caught a whiff of the indescribable scent of the wine, causing them to feel slightly dizzy.

"What kind of wine is this? How can it be so fragrant?" The two bandits asked, drooling slightly.

"It's just ordinary wine; something I made for fun and not worth much," Lin Dan replied with a stiff expression, avoiding eye contact.

After giving Lin Dan a deep look, the two bandits took her away. Once in the kitchen, Lin Dan poured the wine from the jar into the stewed beef and slowly stirred it with a spatula. The already rich soup became thicker and more mellow under her careful stirring. Every piece of stewed beef was now wrapped in a layer of crystal-clear and sticky juice, emanating a strange fragrance that filled the air. The aroma was so potent it seemed to penetrate through the doors and windows of the kitchen and permeate the mountain hideout, causing people's souls to tremble.

"Give us some of the beef," the bandit in charge of watching Lin Dan and the others urged, tapping an empty bowl.

"The meat isn't tender yet, brothers. We have to wait a little longer," Lin Dan kindly explained.

"Who cares if it's tender or not? As long as it's cooked, we'll eat it! Why waste words?" The two bandits were so impatient that their eyes turned red. The fragrance had stimulated their senses, and they wanted to dive into the pot and eat to their heart's content. Fortunately, the bandit leader managed to control them; otherwise, the kitchen would have been looted.

"What kind of wine did that woman put in the pot to make it smell so good?" The bandit leader interrogated one of his subordinates after leaving the kitchen. He occasionally twitched his nose, trying to catch the lingering aroma in the air.

"Boss, let me show you." Two bandits offered their services eagerly, "The food won't be ready for a while. Why don't we have a drink first, brothers?"

"Alright, go fetch the wine." The group carried the large pot to the main hall and opened the cowhide paper to take a whiff. They were immediately overcome with dizziness. It was not surprising; the wine was too fragrant. If one opened it to smell, it was even stronger than the usual baijiu, yet more mellow than the five-grain aged wine. Before even tasting it, saliva had already dripped onto the floor.

"Fill it up quickly!" The bandit leader took out a big bowl and shouted urgently. After gulping it down, he was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, praising the good wine. The rest of them couldn't hold back either, each scooping a bowl to drink. The strong scent of wine diffused in the air and attracted more people to come over...

Xiaozhu and the others had previously huddled together, trying to come up with a plan to escape and rescue the shopkeeper. Suddenly, they smelled an indescribably strong meat fragrance and fell silent, immediately recognizing that the shopkeeper was making wine-braised beef.

"The shopkeeper is making a wine stewed beef!"

"I'm so hungry!" A servant licked his lips and murmured.

The others looked at each other, their stomachs groaning in unison. As long as the shopkeeper cooked, even those who weren't hungry would immediately feel hungry. Even the man who had been meditating opened his eyes and looked towards the kitchen, his throat involuntarily moving up and down.

After a moment of silence, the group began to discuss again, but they were suddenly hit by a strong and overpowering scent of alcohol from all directions, making their eyes red. Xiaozhu, who had never lost control of his emotions despite being caught, beaten, and imprisoned, spat out angrily, "Damn it, these bunch of beasts dare to steal our alcohol!"

The handsome man who had remained silent suddenly asked, "What kind of alcohol is this?"

Xiaozhu gritted his teeth and said, "There is a legend in Zongshan County that you may or may not have heard of- back then, Liu Xuanshi bought alcohol from the Zongshan Brewery..."

The knowledgeable man immediately interjected, "Are you talking about the Thousand-Day Wine?"

Xiaozhu nodded, confirming that it was indeed the legendary Thousand-Day Wine. "Boss Lin had traveled around Zhongshan County for three years to recreate the recipe, and after successfully brewing it, buried it underground for seven years before selling it in the capital for a good price. When the wine jar was opened, a wine worm had grown inside, resulting in an extremely pure and thick wine. Although it may not truly make someone drunk for a thousand days, it can still cause three days and three nights of drunkenness."

The story of "Xuanshi drunk on wine" has been passed down for hundreds of years, recounting a man named Di Xi in Zhongshan County who was a master at brewing wine.

A wine enthusiast named Liu Xuanshi visited him and bought a cask of wine. However, Di Xi forgot to mention that the wine was highly potent and should be consumed in moderation, as excessive drinking could cause a coma lasting thousands of days.

Liu Xuanshi drank the wine and then headed home, soon falling into a deep slumber. His family assumed he had died and buried him. After a thousand days, Di Xi suddenly remembered what he had done and rushed to find Liu Xuanshi's family. They dug him up just as he was waking up, and a strong aroma of wine still lingered around him. The people present were intoxicated for three months before finally sobering up. The wine became known as 'Thousand Day Wine' and was acclaimed as the purest of wines.

As the scent of wine wafted into his nose and the rowdy noise of the mountain bandits playing drinking games filled his ears, the handsome man licked his dry lips and gritted his teeth.

"They really are a bunch of beasts!" he exclaimed.

Breaking free from his ropes, he stood up with a dark expression on his face. He had planned to wait until late at night to make his move, but he could no longer bear it.

"How did you break free from the ropes?" Xiaozhu and the others stared at the man in shock and disbelief.

"You all stay here, I'll go save Boss Lin. When you hear the signal, come out and meet me." The handsome man untied and instructed them to stay put until he signaled them to come out. He then broke the iron chain on the door latch with his bare hands and carefully repositioned it before heading towards the direction with the strongest smell of meat.

As Lin Dan was stir-frying beef tendons, she saw the man enter the room. She, along with Shaoyao and Dujuan, were kneading pounded beef into meatballs and putting them in milk broth boiled with cow bone. Though the three of them were slightly stunned, Lin Dan reacted quickly. She pulled the man inside and closed the door behind him.

"Why are you here? What happened to Xiaozhu and the others?" she asked in a low voice.

"I'm here to save you all," the man said calmly, selecting kitchen knives from the pile. "I'll take you out of this place first. When we get to the mountains, don't run around. Follow the stream downwards and wait for me in the open area at the foot of the mountain. Xiao Zhu and I will join you later."

The scene may get bloody, so it's not suitable for women to watch. Xiao Zhu and the others can stay to help clear the corpses later.

The man tried to pull Lin Dan's wrist, but she gently pushed him away. "There are over thirty bandits in the village, and you're just one person. How can you handle them? Sit down and eat something. We can go down the mountain later," she said, offering him a plate of stir-fried beef with scallions along with a bowl and chopsticks.

The man instinctively took the bowl and chopsticks, wolfing down a few bites. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction and enjoyment. But then he stiffened and spoke up awkwardly, "Now is not the time to eat, we need to go now!"

"What's the rush? Sit down and eat!" Lin Dan gently pushed away the man's outstretched hand, her voice laced with a light chuckle.

The man glanced at his itchy hand, then at Lin Dan's beaming countenance. Before he could utter a word, he fell silent with his eyes lowered.

Shaoyao and Dujuan gazed at the pot of stewed beef, which was almost empty, and lamented, "We warned them that the meat wasn't fully cooked yet, but they still ladled it out to eat. What a waste!"

"It's better to waste food than to waste people's lives. We should count ourselves lucky," Lin Dan listened intently, and her smile grew wider. "It's quiet now, let's go take a look."

The man immediately put down his chopsticks and stood up, but Lin Dan pressed him back down on his shoulder.

"You sit, we'll go," she said. The two little maids then carried a hot dish each and walked out without haste. Even if they encountered bandits, they could use the excuse of serving food to disguise themselves, without any fear.

The man touched his shoulder with a strange expression before following closely behind.

The group arrived at the hall smoothly, only to find the ground littered with bandits. Several of them had their heads on the table, snoring loudly. A strong, unyielding smell of alcohol filled the air, and the door was so heavy it was impossible to open. Snoring could also be heard from several other buildings, indicating that these bandits were ultimately unable to resist the temptation of the thousand-day wine and had passed out drunk.

Shaoyao and Dujuan tiptoed to look at the wine jar placed in the center of the hall, gritting their teeth and saying, "They ruined a whole cask of wine!"

Lin Dan patted the heads of the two little maids and said, "As long as they haven't harmed anyone, let's pack up and leave."

The man looked at the drunken men all over the ground in amazement. He never expected that Lin, the shopkeeper, could solve the problem without anyone else's help. Lin calmly passed by the man and said, "There is nothing here that cannot be solved by a meal."

Just as she uttered those words, the sound of horses' hooves from outside the mountain village accompanied by a group of torches could be heard. It was unclear what had happened.

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