Xiao Feng made no move, and all his flags and drums ceased, leaving everyone in a state of confusion.
King Jing and King Yu, who were imprisoned at home, were anxiously waiting for the progress of the case. Jiajing was in a mixed mood, not knowing whether it would be better to solve the case or not.
Yan Shifan was also confused because the news brought back by Yan Zhihu was very dull.
Xiao Feng went to Shuntian Mansion every day. He neither interrogated nor held meetings. It was just like going to the Shuntian Mansion as a routine matter. He even stopped going to the imperial prison and spent the rest of the time in the mansion without going out.
At the same time, Yan Zhihu also discovered a strange phenomenon. Xiao Feng's house was almost fully decorated, and the bathroom had begun to steam.
But there is a bathroom where the heat is rising from morning to night. Is it possible that Xiao Feng loves bathing so much, from morning to night? He is not afraid of burning his bare skin?
Suspicious is suspicious. With Xiao Feng's current status and financial resources, no one can say anything even if he spends all day in a brothel, let alone in the bathroom.
But Xiao Feng didn't actually take a bath. He was wearing a white robe with a serious expression, staring at a big pot in the bathroom like a scientist. Heat kept coming out of the big pot, churning and escaping out of the window.
Qiaoqiao beside him was holding a stick used for martial arts training, and he used the stick to stir the contents of the pot from time to time.
She originally wanted to stand on the edge of the pot, but Xiao Feng refused. He was afraid that Qiao Qiao would fall into the pot while having fun.
The big pot smelled of sea, and a lot of chopped sea vegetables were rolling and boiling in the pot, and finally softened completely and turned into a thick juice.
Then continue to add water and continue to cook. Cook until the juice is separated into clear soup and residue again. Xiao Feng and Qiaoqiao take a large net bag made of white cloth, take out the residue and throw it away, and continue to cook.
The water boiled less and less, making a sizzling sound. Qiaoqiao looked at the pot worriedly.
"Master, there is too little water. Do you need to add more water? The pot will burn out."
"Don't worry, when the water gets less, put out the firewood and let the remaining heat of the pot evaporate the water."
Qiao Qiao looked admiring and felt that Xiao Feng was profound in Taoism and worthy of being a real person.
"Master, are we making elixirs?"
Xiao Feng was stunned, thought for a moment, and nodded enigmatically.
"Yes, since I am a real person, this must be called alchemy."
Zhang Yunqing and Wang Yingxiang were not convinced when they were refused entry into the "laboratory". They smelled the white mist coming out of the bathroom and found it strange.
"What does this smell like? Is it so weird?"
"I don't know, I can't tell. It's not a bad smell, but it's not fragrant either. It's a bit fishy. Is it gone now?"
Inside the house, Qiaoqiao was lying on the pot table, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spoon. There was a very small layer of white crystals on it, and it was also stained with a little light green. It was probably because the two of them failed to completely remove the residue.
Xiao Feng took a small porcelain bottle, carefully put these crystals into the bottle, and cooked a large pot of sea vegetables. The final harvest was less than half a bottle. This efficiency was really horrifyingly low.
Xiao Feng learned the method of producing MSG through grain fermentation in chemistry class, but there were too many steps and too many equipment and chemical preparations were required.
Xiao Feng thought to himself that he didn't have the ability to make those things from scratch step by step.
But to make a simple version of MSG, Xiao Feng knows at least two ways - sea vegetables and shiitake mushrooms. The disadvantages of these two methods are that the efficiency is too low and the cost is too high, making it impossible to produce them commercially.
But Xiao Feng didn't want to open a MSG factory, he just wanted to make some MSG for Zui Xian Lou, so the seaweed distillation method was enough.
That night, Qiao Niang was still the chef, but before the dishes were brought to the table, Xiao Feng tasted them one by one before letting her bring them to the table.
When Qiaoqiao picked up the first dish with chopsticks, her eyes widened. Zhang Yunqing, who was beside her, thought she had choked and slapped her on the back so hard that she rolled her eyes.
Just when Wang Yingxiang was about to join the back-slapping army, Qiaoqiao finally coughed and said: "It's so embarrassing!"
People who were in false alarm raised their chopsticks suspiciously, and then couldn't put them down.
Human taste buds have an extraordinary impact on a umami that they have never experienced before, and perhaps it will gradually become dull after repeated times.
Just like the emotions and passion between men and women, the first experience is always unforgettable.
Perhaps it wasn't obvious enough in the dishes, but when Xiao Feng finally asked them to drink the big bowl of soup again, Qiao Qiao shed tears.
"Master, I have never tasted such delicious soup! I want another bowl!"
After all, Zhang Yunqing was the daughter of a businessman and she reacted very quickly. She slapped the table and stood up with a very serious expression, which shocked everyone.
"Brother Xiao, this is the elixir that you and Qiaoqiao worked on for a day in the house, right?"
Everyone had long been accustomed to ignore Zhang Yunqing's generational confusion. Xiao Feng nodded, he had no intention of hiding it from his family.
"Brother Xiao, this elixir is extremely precious. Don't let others know how to make it! We can make a fortune!"
Xiao Feng looked at her helplessly. Her genetic genes were too powerful. She looked like a profiteer at such a young age.
"Don't worry, even if others knew it was made from sea vegetables, they wouldn't be able to receive so much sea vegetables. This time your father took back almost all the sea vegetables stored in the homes of people in several coastal counties.
Sea vegetables grow naturally and only come out in summer, and the wild ones are concentrated on the islands. Picking them is very inconvenient and is more difficult than fishing. No one wanted them before, so they were cheap.
If you really want to use a lot of sea vegetables to make elixirs, you have to be able to grow sea vegetables. But what you said makes sense, we just keep it a secret."
Zhang Yunqing was stunned: "Can sea vegetables be grown? Isn't it something from the sea? It doesn't grow on the ground."
Xiao Feng nodded, remembering the dense thick ropes on the seaside in later generations, covered with dense seaweeds, that scene...
A group of women at the table felt warm in their hearts when Xiao Feng told them to keep it secret.
The next day, Xiao Feng finished the breakfast made at home and strolled to Zuixian Tower.
Since Zhang Tianci became a shareholder of Zuixianlou, due to Zhang Tianci's reputation as president, the good popularity he has accumulated in the grain business circle, and some people's curiosity about Xiao Feng, the business of Zuixianlou has been better than before.
Although it can't be compared with Taibaiju opposite, at least it has improved a bit compared to the original bleak scene where there were only a few people. During the serious meal time, it looks like a normal restaurant.
When Xiao Feng arrived here today, although there were no customers on the second floor, there were only three empty tables on the first floor. It was a good day!
Of course, at Taibaiju opposite, there was a long queue waiting for the waiter to call the number with a wooden sign.
Business is better than before, so Chen Zhonghou and his daughter are naturally very busy. Although they still can't hire a chef, they at least hired a waiter to help run the restaurant.
Seeing Xiao Feng walking in, Chen Zhonghou hurriedly greeted him, wiped a chair again and again with the rag in his hand, and asked Xiao Feng to sit down.
"Mr. Xiao, last time Boss Zhang came to re-sign the contract, I really didn't know what to say.
Your investment has brought popularity and reputation, and the restaurant business is better than before. You should have taken more share capital, but you..."
Xiao Feng smiled and waved his hands, listening to the clanking sound of cooking coming from the kitchen, and asked Chen Zhonghou in a low voice.
“Or five dishes?”
Chen Zhonghou rubbed his hands in embarrassment and nodded with a wry smile.
"Xiaoyun also worked very hard. She would think about cooking when she had nothing to do, and tried one dish after another. But except for those five dishes, which got better and better, she couldn't cook the other dishes well."
"It doesn't matter. It's not expensive. Five dishes are enough. As long as these five dishes become world-famous dishes, just find two cooks to cook the remaining vegetables."
Xiao Feng is very clear about the concept of restaurants in later generations. In a big restaurant, you don't actually need to have too many signature dishes to serve as the main attraction, but you must make it famous all over the world, so that even if you only have one dish, you will be very popular.
"I have a few words to say to Miss Liu, but I can't let others hear me."
Chen Zhonghou hesitated slightly. Recently, Xiao Feng's reputation in certain aspects has become worse and worse, and celebrities in the capital are spreading tidbits about him.
Legend has it that Xiao Feng rushed into Chunyan Tower, ignored the obstruction of Shuntian Mansion's headman An Qingyue, and forcibly dragged Chunyan Tower's mother Yan Niang into the guest room, where he performed more than ten tricks one by one.
It is said that Yan Niang climbed out of the guest room and could no longer stand on her legs.
According to another legend, someone was bored at night and climbed up a tree to look far away. He "happened" to see Xiao Feng having a banquet at home, with a group of women at the table drinking with him.
The scary thing is that there are two pairs of mother and daughter among those women, one pair was bought as a slave by his father back then; the other pair was bought as a slave by him just now.
What's even more terrifying is that the husband of the mother and daughter Xiao Feng just bought was an official of the Shuntian Prefecture, and they were arrested and sent to prison by the Jin Yiwei who were sent by Xiao Feng!
What's even more terrifying is that the girl who was forced to pour him wine was the daughter of his sworn brother Zhang Tianci!
What was even more terrifying was that his sworn brother Zhang Tianci was forced to sit on the table and watched his daughter pouring wine in tears without even daring to express his anger!
Fortunately, Xiao Feng didn't hear these legends, otherwise he would have suspected that Yan Shifan was as pure and kind as Liu Xiahui compared to him.
Of course, Chen Zhonghou didn't believe any of these legends. He knew very well that Mr. Xiao was a good man!
But the only thing I'm not sure about is that it's groundless. Could it be that Mr. Xiao is indeed a little casual in the relationship between men and women, so others are using it to exploit him?
So Chen Zhonghou hesitated for a moment, but immediately felt that he should not do it, and immediately smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Yun'er, Master Xiao is here. I have something to ask you!"