There was a ghost market tonight, but before it got dark, Jin Dasco made a rare call to me in advance.

He asked me straight to the point: "Do you want to learn how to roast suckling pig?" ”

I was stunned for a moment, only to realize that the roast suckling pig mentioned by Jin Dasco definitely did not refer to the ordinary roast suckling pig, but one of the signature dishes of Yuanbaolou: the ghost meal roast suckling pig!

So, I quickly replied, "Yes!" ”

Jin Dasco said: "Then you will come to my master's house at seven o'clock in a while, and we will go to the ghost market together in the evening!" ”

The master of the golden spoon is naturally Zhao Laodao. I had seen him twice before, once at Donald Guo's birthday banquet and once at Master Qian's wedding banquet. Especially the second time, Zhao Laodao showed superb ghost meal skills, and fried a plate of braised wild yellow croaker that was praised by all the bigwigs in the ghost world in Xiling Cemetery.

I was thrilled to see the legend again, and to visit him directly at his home, and I couldn't help but wonder why Golden Spoon had let me go. But Jin Dasco didn't say it explicitly on the phone, so I didn't want to ask. Is it really just to teach me how to roast a suckling pig?

Zhao Laodao's home is actually not too far from Xiling Cemetery, in the courtyard of a farmhouse in the nearby suburbs. I drove my own car around the place, and finally found where Zhao Laodao lived.

As soon as I saw the farmhouse yard, I couldn't help but mutter, "My master also rents such a remote farmhouse yard, does it mean that all hermits like to live in this kind of place?" ”

I arrived at seven o'clock in the evening, parked the car and went up and knocked on the door. It was Jin Dasco who came out to open the door for me, and it turned out that he had already arrived. And Zhao Laodao was really sitting in front of a large grill roasting suckling pigs, taking care of three at a time. But he simply turned the roast, and the stove was also plain charcoal. It seemed to be a very normal kind of charcoal roasting, and he hadn't used any yin power and secret techniques yet.

When Zhao Laodao saw me coming, he put aside the half-roasted suckling pig and took a cloth to wipe his hands. He lay down on a chaise longue and picked up a small purple clay pot to drink tea. Hey, he even likes to sleep on a recliner in the same way as my master!

Seeing that I was hesitant, Jin Dasco asked me to go over and said, "My master has something to ask you."

I walked over, and Zhao Laodao pointed to a chair next to him and said, "Don't be too restrained, sit down first!" ”

I sat down as I was told. Zhao Laodao asked again: "You are Feng Daozhang's apprentice?" ”

"Yes!"

"Old Feng is living in seclusion in Nanting now?"

"Yes!"

"He's not cooking ghost meals now?"

"No more frying!"

"I don't want to teach you?"

"Don't teach!"

After Zhao Laodao asked these questions, he suddenly smiled. He said: "It seems that Feng Lao really plans to wash his hands!" ”

When I heard him say this, I had the courage to ask him, "Do you know my master too?" ”

"Why don't you know? I'm going to see him, I'm afraid I'll have to call him a senior! ”

Ooh! It turns out that my master is really so powerful, even the legendary Zhao Laodao in my mind has to consider himself a junior! But why did he wash his hands in a golden basin?

Zhao Laodao still looked puzzled when he saw me, and said with a smile: "It seems that Feng Lao has kept you very tight!" ”

"That's it!" I couldn't help but complain, "He never told me he could cook ghost food!" Sometimes even I wonder if I'm his only apprentice. ”

"Don't think so." Zhao Laodao shook his head and objected: "He doesn't teach you this, so naturally he still has his considerations." I think he's still doing it for your good! ”

Even Zhao Laodao helped my master speak? However, I was not able to refute it, so I shrugged my shoulders and flattened my mouth, indicating that I still did not understand this.

Seeing my helpless expression, Zhao Laodao smiled again, and stopped asking about my master. He changed the subject and asked, "How heavy are you practicing Yin Gong now?" ”

"The middle of the third section!"

"Hmm!" Zhao Laodao nodded and said approvingly: "With your age, it is not easy to have such a cultivation!" ”

"Thank you Senior Zhao for the compliment!"

"Your master doesn't want to do this anymore, but it seems that you think the opposite, right?" Zhao Laodao seems to know my plan very well, maybe it was Jin Dasco who told him.

"Yes!" I replied truthfully, "I think this line of work is a good fit for me, so why not keep doing it?" ”

"Is it because you like what you do?"

I scratched my head and admitted, somewhat embarrassed, "Not exactly, but being able to make money is one of the main reasons......"

"Hahaha!" Zhao Laodao laughed, pointed at me and said, "I like your straightforwardness!" If you want to make money, it's not necessarily a bad thing! ”

I was embarrassed by his laughter, so I had to laugh a few times with him.

Zhao Laodao finished laughing, pointed at Jin Dasco and said, "My apprentice, before worshipping me as a teacher, was almost the same situation as you. However, his qualifications were very average, and I didn't want to accept him at the time. It was he who stalked me and begged me to take him, and I reluctantly accepted it! ”

Jin Dasco didn't get angry when he heard his master ridicule him like this, but smiled and said: "I have had two shameless times in my life, one was to apprentice, and the other was to propose!" ”

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Laodao laughed again. I was also amused by Jin Dasco's self-deprecation and Zhao Laodao's heartiness, so I snickered together.

Different from the other disciples in the Yuanbao Gate, Zhao Laodao, the master and apprentice, indeed seem to be very sincere and cheerful people. They are not as philistine and snobbish as Tang Laoguo and Hou Da Pen, they seem to have a deep city, and they don't look like the kind of hypocrites who like to engage in deceit. It's a lot easier to get along with them.

After laughing, Zhao Laodao said to me again: "Big spoon told me, your talent is very good, much better than himself." He is also a person who loves talents, although he can't recruit his favorite apprentices himself, but with you to take over his class, I am not very opposed! ”

Since Zhao Laodao took the initiative to talk about this topic, I want to take this opportunity to ask what is going on. I said, "Senior Zhao, please forgive me for asking recklessly, why are you willing to cultivate me as an outsider of the Yuanbao Sect?" ”

Zhao Laodao stretched out a finger and shook it at me, and said, "You think so, it's the same as my nephew Hou Dapen, it's a little narrow-minded!" Let me ask you, do you know why my senior brother didn't object to you being the second chef of Yuanbao Building last time? ”

This is also a question hidden in my heart, so I honestly shook my head and said, "I don't understand it either!" ”

"This question, my senior brother in charge can see it more thoroughly than his big apprentice!" Zhao Laodao said, "Because the status of Yuanbaolou in the Xiling Ghost Market represents the status of Yuanbaomen in the Yin cultivation realm of the provincial capital, it is not too much to say that Yuanbaolou is the façade and foundation of Yuanbaomen!" ”

"But if you want to keep the status of Yuanbaolou, you can't just rely on playing tricks and playing with power, you have to rely on real skills to convince the public!"

"So, my senior brother can't do this, and his senior apprentice can't do it either! Only his apprentice grandson Qin Xiaotable is not satisfactory, but if it is really handed over to Qin Xiaotable to take over, this Yuanbao Building will not be able to hold up! ”

"So you'd rather train me to take over?" As soon as Zhao Laodao explained this, I seemed to have begun to figure out the joints.

"That's right!" Zhao Laodao continued to explain, "You are Feng Daozhang's apprentice. Although you haven't inherited his ghost food skills, Feng Lao's vision can't be wrong. In terms of talent, you have no problem, but in terms of background, in addition to having the support of a famous master like Feng Lao, you are only alone in Yuanbaomen, including in the entire Xiling Ghost Market, without any foundation and power to rely on! ”

"So, I think it's up to you to take over Yuanbaolou, until you find a better candidate, at least my senior brother in charge won't object, and the other Yin Cultivation sects won't find an excuse to make a fuss. Your background is both your weakness and your strength! Are you satisfied with my explanation? ”

"Very satisfied!" I quickly replied.

It turned out that I thought that the position of second chef was simply won by my own hard work, but there was such an inside story and so many intrigues behind it!

However, I immediately had another question: Is there any other purpose for Yuanbaomen to bet on me like this?

"So what should I do now? What kind of return do I need to make in the future? I boldly asked directly.

Zhao Laodao was not annoyed by my questions. He smiled, "You don't need to worry too much about it just yet. Let's continue to learn your ghost meal well, and Big Spoon will try its best to teach you! As long as you agree to continue to work in Yuanbaolou after completing your studies, you can contribute to Yuanbaomen! ”

"I see!"

If it's just such a request, I don't have a problem at all. I didn't have much pursuit, and being able to become a ghost chef was already half the battle, not to mention that they were willing to hand over the Yuanbao Building to me to take care of. This is completely beyond my expected vision, and a fool would not agree!

"Alright, I'm done with what I'm going to say. Next, let the big spoon teach you to roast suckling pig! Zhao Laodao waved his hand, picked up his purple clay pot and went back to the house.

Jin Dasco sat down in front of the grill, took his master's half-roasted suckling pig, and continued to roast it. He said to me while operating: "As I told you before, the key to the success or failure of a fried ghost meal is to master a balance between yin and yang!" ”

"Actually, fire is neutral. The fire that is born of yang is yang fire, and the fire that is born of yin is yin fire, or ghost fire. The suckling pig roasted with a yang fire is roasted for the living, but the suckling pig roasted for ghosts cannot be roasted blindly over a yin fire. In that case, the roasted suckling pig will be rancid and smelly! ”

"Although ghosts are spirits in the underworld, their memories, words and deeds, including the taste of food and drink, still retain the habits of being a human being in the yang world. Therefore, ghost meals should not blindly focus on whether the yin qi is strong, but also take into account the problem of taste. Take this roast suckling pig for example, it must first be roasted on a sunny flame until it is half-cooked, and then it must be roasted over a dark fire. ”

As he spoke, the golden spoon used the yin power in his hand, and the originally red flames in the oven turned green with a "bang", which was the ghost fire I had long been accustomed to.

The golden spoon continued to roast the suckling pig on the ghost fire, and the surface of the pigskin, which had been roasted a little red, began to change again, slowly turning cyan. After the golden spoon roasted it with a ghost fire for ten minutes, seeing that the heat was almost over, it removed the yin power and returned to the normal yang fire to continue roasting, and the color of the roasted suckling pig gradually changed back to golden yellow.

This has been repeated several times, and although the color of the roasted suckling pig is still the common sauce red, it is cold and cold when you touch it with your hands!

Jin Dasco said: "Such a roast suckling pig can be taken to Yuanbaolou to sell!" ”

I asked, "Usually, these suckling pigs are roasted here by the two of you first, and then brought to Yuanbaolou?" ”

"Yes!" Jin Dasco nodded and said, "Although my master is no longer in charge of the kitchen himself, many of the ingredients for the ghost meal are still processed by him before being sent to the Yuanbao Building. In particular, the three signature dishes of white-cut chicken, roast suckling pig and royal official swallow are actually from his hands. In the end, I just simply re-processed it before serving, and re-injected some Yin energy into it. ”

Jin Dasco's words finally answered many of my questions: Why can such a small kitchen in the Yuanbao Building make so many ghost dishes? And the yin power of the golden spoon seems to be inexhaustible, so that's what happened!

After the golden spoon finished roasting, he gave up the position, replaced it and operated it myself, and stood aside to explain and remind.

The practice of roasting suckling pig is actually similar to my barbecue before, and I am the best at this. So even if you are just getting started, the technique and heat are not unfamiliar at all. Jin Dasco and Zhao Laodao couldn't help but nod again and again when they saw it, saying that they really didn't see the wrong person!

However, my biggest problem right now is the limited power of yin. After barely roasting a suckling pig, I felt exhausted and very tired. Zhao Laodao asked me to take a rest first, and also threw a yin yuan to replenish my yin power. I took the Yin Yuan, and I felt embarrassed, so I refused to use it.

But Zhao Laodao didn't care, waved his hand and said: "Don't be polite to me, even if it's my meeting gift to the juniors!" ”

Afterwards, I stood aside in Zhao Laodao's courtyard and watched the two of them busy. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but sigh. This kind of scene is so similar to the ingredients I used to sell when I was in Nanting and followed my master to the mass grave to sell! It's like the old days again!

By ten o'clock in the evening, all the ingredients were ready. The three of us cleaned up together, loaded all the sorted ingredients into a pickup truck, and drove them to Xiling Cemetery by Jin Dascoop. I also drove my own car to follow behind, and still went to work in the Yuanbao Building as usual in the evening.