Free Web NovelChapter 318: Chapter 225: Fried Meatballs (Part 2)
But a whale’s liver is no small thing. The liver of any adult whale weighs several hundred kilograms, with some reaching one or even two tons.
The whale’s private organ was even more absurdly large. For example, the Saint Tier Blue Whale he had hunted was a male. Even though it was only an Extraordinary-potential creature and hadn’t mutated yet, its private organ was already five meters long—bigger, thicker, and more staggering than the White Jade Golden Hook Rod he had obtained.
Its tongue was also incredibly heavy, weighing at least three tons. If Li Xiang’s family were to eat just the tongue and liver by themselves, it would take them a year and a half to finish it all.
Of course, you couldn’t call it a "tongue." It should be called a "profit head." In Chinese, the word for "tongue" sounds similar to words for "loss," "debt," and "deficit," which was very inauspicious. Calling it a "profit head" was a way to court good fortune and avoid bad luck.
The wishes of the common people were just that simple.
In Sichuan Province, "profit head" mainly referred to pig’s tongue, as it was the most common. Beef tongue, however, had other names.
In restaurants in Guangdong Province, for instance, beef tongue was called "beef benefit." The original word simply meant "benefit" or "profit," but a "meat" radical was added to the character to show it was a food.
Some places just called it a "profit-maker."
In other regions, beef tongue was called the "green-scooper," also to avoid saying the word "tongue." This name was actually more descriptive, but it was neutral and didn’t carry the same auspicious meaning. Since cows use their tongues to scoop green grass into their mouths, "green-scooper" sounded particularly cultured.
Li Xiang hadn’t killed the whale just to satisfy his appetite. His main goals were to obtain Achievement Points, Spiritual Medicine, and Extraordinary Items; the whale meat was just a byproduct. Since he had already killed it, wouldn’t it be a waste to throw it away?
The meat wasn’t particularly tender, having a very chewy texture. His grandmother’s teeth weren’t good, so making it into meatballs would be easier for her to digest.
To mince all this meat, Li Xiang made two new large cutting boards—one from rosewood and the other from golden teak. Both were stunningly beautiful boards, exceptionally pleasing to the eye.
He had plundered so much of this precious timber from places like Southeast Asia and India that using it to make a few cutting boards was a drop in the bucket.
Precious ingredients deserved cutting boards of this quality.
As Li Xiang fried the meatballs, he couldn’t help but recall that it had been just over a year since he returned home to farm. ’Hm, it’s also the anniversary of my rebirth.’
’I should celebrate.’
But since Jiang Cai’Er and Luo Feifei weren’t around, he called Zhao Xueqing, Yao Yao, Lei Xiaohui, and Lei Jiaming over for a few drinks.
Everyone pitched in to help with the cooking. They had all grown up in the countryside, and it wasn’t just the three girls—Lei Jiaming himself was an excellent cook.
Lei Xiaohui mentioned that her brother had once trained as a chef and had even worked in a large restaurant. However, after getting married and having children, he had to stay home to care for his kids and parents, so he never went back to work. Her brother was the one who cooked the family’s New Year’s Eve dinner every year.
With four people helping, Li Xiang found himself with nothing to do.
His grandmother finished eating quickly and went out for a stroll, leaving the five of them to drink in the courtyard.
In the past, only Yao Yao could keep up with Li Xiang for a few glasses, as Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui were lightweights. This time, with Lei Jiaming joining them, his high tolerance for alcohol meant Li Xiang could finally drink to his heart’s content.
Everyone was very happy with the meal. Although the dishes were simple, each one was incredibly special.
"Brother, what kind of meat are these meatballs made of? They’re delicious," Yao Yao praised.
Zhao Xueqing added, "These fish balls are great too. I’ve never had fish balls that were so chewy and tasty."
Lei Xiaohui and Lei Jiaming nodded in agreement.
Faced with their curiosity, Li Xiang told them the truth. If any of them had reported him to the police, he would have crippled their Cultivation and kicked them out of the team. But it was clear these four were his trusted confidants. They were just incredibly excited and didn’t ask any more questions.
’Just eat it!’
They had never tasted such exotic delicacies before.
’No wonder Brother made it into meatballs, so others wouldn’t recognize it. Then again, even if he put the raw meat right in front of them, most people wouldn’t be able to identify it anyway.’
Li Xiang was quite satisfied with their reactions. After the meal, he checked their cultivation progress, which was very good. Lei Jiaming, in particular, had even condensed his first Spiritual Power Vortex and awakened his first Superpower: "Frenzy."
He could transform into a Furious Warrior, quintupling his combat power in an instant for about an hour.
Li Xiang offered a few words of encouragement, telling them not to get arrogant and to keep up the good work. He promised them even better things in the future.
He had a good number of Extraordinary Weapons now but didn’t plan on distributing them yet. In this era of peace, they weren’t needed.
Later, when they had distinguished themselves, he would reward them with Extraordinary Spiritual Soldiers based on their merits.
Li Xiang spent three days at home frying meatballs and fish balls. He stored a large quantity in his big freezer and refrigerator, put some in his system inventory, and then delivered portions to Jiang Jianguo and his wife, his maternal grandparents, Li Jinyu, Li Yucheng, and others, telling them he had learned to make them and wanted everyone to have a taste.
Of course, he sent larger portions to the Jiang Family and his maternal grandparents. He naturally prioritized close family and friends.
Naturally, the little pets also enjoyed an unlimited supply of meatballs and fish balls for a few days.
"Frying meatballs so early in the year?" some neighbors asked while dropping by.
Li Xiang replied, "The snow might come a bit early this year, and it’ll probably last longer than last year. It’s better to stock up on some food to make things more convenient during the bad weather."
Everyone deeply agreed.
And so, the news spread, and the entire Li Family Village began stocking up to hole up for the winter. After all, Li Xiang’s prediction last year had been spot on. Listening to him this year was definitely the right move!
Zhao Xueqing’s, Yao Yao’s, and Lei Xiaohui’s families also started preparing food to get through the winter.
Everyone joked, "We’re in Sichuan Province, which is supposed to be in the south, right? We’re starting to act like northerners."
It was said that northerners, especially people from the Northeast, only worked for half the year. They would start holing up for the winter in October and wouldn’t emerge until spring came in April of the following year.
From now on, it seemed southerners would get to experience this lifestyle too.
Besides making all sorts of fish balls and meatballs, Li Xiang also went to town to buy some small hot pots and little red clay stoves. He had some at home, but not enough.
To eat a proper meal in the dead of winter, you needed at least seven or eight hot pots to create the right atmosphere and ensure every dish stayed warm.
Additionally, Li Xiang bought a large amount of bamboo charcoal. He had someone deliver fifty boxes of the machine-pressed smokeless kind, each a sixty-jin case, and stacked them neatly in the shed in his backyard. ƒrēewebnovel.com
The small gourd plant next to the kitchen was growing well. Li Xiang built a sunroom next to it with a steel frame and tempered glass, making it very sturdy. It served two purposes: first, as a greenhouse for the gourd, and second, as a place for his grandmother to sunbathe on clear days.
Although the backyard was filled with sheds, greenhouses, and piles of supplies, under Li Xiang’s organization, it didn’t look messy. Instead, it was orderly and enhanced the rustic farmhouse feel.
He then insulated all the exposed water pipes. The mountain spring water he had piped in previously flowed through channels made from split bamboo. Now that he had money, he replaced them with PPR pipes, which were non-toxic, odorless, heat- and pressure-resistant, and environmentally friendly.
The pipes also had an insulation layer. For aesthetic purposes, he encased the insulation with bamboo shafts by fitting two split halves together and fastening them. He also reinforced the support racks.
The flow from the mountain spring was quite strong and continuous, making it perfect for washing rice, vegetables, and watering the garden.
In any case, at the Overlapping Waterfall, he had three large vats plus a Stone water pool. The water in each was separate, and all of it was fresh, flowing water.
When he live-streamed himself working on these projects, his fans loved it even more.
After all, big cities had plenty of tourist spots and gardens. An authentic farmhouse courtyard was far more captivating.
The marketing campaign for *The Return of the Condor Heroes Movie Version*, starring Luo Feifei, had begun. Ads were being pushed everywhere because the release date was just around the corner.
As a result, the filming location for the Ancient Tomb Sect—which was Li Xiang’s scenic area, the first Shelter—experienced another surge in popularity.
The tourist spot was hit with another peak season, with the number of daily visitors surpassing thirty thousand for the past few days.
For such a small mountain village, this was an incredible number.
Putting other things aside, just the coffee, which sold for twenty to thirty yuan a cup, was now selling around five to six thousand cups a day. Using the lowest estimate of 20 yuan per cup and five thousand cups, the daily revenue was 100,000 yuan.
In reality, it was even more.
And that wasn’t even counting the National Style Tavern, the National Tea House, or the boba shop.
The villagers also sold local specialties like dried bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, and wild mushrooms they had gathered from the mountains.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to opening day, but the numbers were still very impressive.
However, as the weather grew colder, this was likely to be the last wave of visitors before the heavy snows began.
