Succubus' Manor

Chapter 207

No matter how heavy the snow falls, it has nothing to do with nobles and rich men. They will never be short of food and drink. The hotel where Chi Yan is currently staying only accepts Chi Yan and his group. Life, plus Chi Yan's generosity, so this hotel was directly taken over by Chi Yan. During this time, Chi Yan has been entertaining nobles and big businessmen in the city, and even some officials and stewards.

Although officials are not aristocrats, and they have been almost useless in the past 100 years, they are in the center of power after all, and their status is there.

The nobles can't return to their own territory this winter, the roads are blocked by heavy snow, and no matter how many people you bring, you can't guarantee that you won't be in danger. The nobles who have nothing to do usually either watch wrestling or party.

There are also more civilians who sell their sons and daughters. Beautiful boys and girls can be bought with a bag of wheat.

But selling more and buying less, civilians can only think of another way.

Chi Yan didn't bring the cook over this time, so he began to guide the cook in the hotel.

In this day and age, it is accepted that only women can cook delicious meals, which is also good, at least giving women a job.

Only those who cannot afford to hire a cook can have a man cook.

At this time, Chi Yan was not in a hurry. It is useless for him to be anxious now. There is still some time before the deep winter. Apart from dealing with the nobles, making clichés and understanding the specific operations of the Holy City and Kentis, he studies how to eat.

He always has to find something to do for himself, so as not to be anxious.

"Yes, that's it." Chi Yan stared at the cook's steaming bread in the kitchen. He didn't ask the cook to make old sour noodles this time, but made the yeast directly.

Yeast is also easy to make. Put the rye flour into a sealed jar, add water, stir well, and let it ferment at room temperature. Because the weather is too cold now, Chi Yan asked the cook to put the jar in a room with a fireplace.

Add water and rye flour every day. After seven or eight days, the wheat flour paste will naturally expand to twice its size, and there will be air bubbles on the surface, and the yeast will be ready.

One can can be used for a lifetime, as long as you continue to add water and wheat flour after each use.

It was only this time that Chi Yan thought of this method - he also remembered how to make old yeast noodles before.

But the disadvantage of old yeast noodles is more obvious, that is, it has a sour taste. If you add too much when kneading the noodles, the steamed buns will have a little sour taste. Although it is not unpalatable, it will definitely be better without sour taste.

This time, he also asked people to grind the sugar cubes he brought into powdered sugar, add them to the egg whites, beat them with an egg beater made of iron sheets, mix in some flour, then pour them into the flour, and put them in the oven.

What is baked is no longer bread, but a cake. Although there is no cream, it has a soft taste. It would be even better if you put a handful of dried fruit in it before baking, and pour a little honey after cutting it.

The wine and sesame candy brought by Chi Yan were very popular. After selling them to Arthur, Stettin asked the caravan to bring a few more cars. When sugar can be used as hard currency and replace the function of money, sugar is money .

There are natural unprocessed sweeteners, but fruits are always more sour than sweet, so without adding sugar, they can only be boiled into sweet and sour jam.

But even jam can sell for a lot of money.

Now Chi Yan's banquet must have cake. Besides cake, there is also rice wine.

Other foods have also been improved. Pan-fried chicken is very popular, and there are "shrimp crackers", which are said to be shrimp crackers, but there are no shrimps in them.

The chicken is chopped into puree, then added with starch, kneaded into long strips, dried overnight in a ventilated place, cut into slices, dried slowly in the oven, and then swelled as soon as it was fried in an oil pan.

It is fragrant and crispy, but it has no meaty taste. With salt and other condiments, it can be regarded as a special snack. No matter how much you eat, you will not feel too full.

Starch is extracted from katuo. After katuo is ground into a paste, it is kneaded with water, and the water is filtered out with gauze. After precipitation, the bottom is katuo starch.

Katuo starch Chi Yan not only asked the cook to make "shrimp chips", but also let the cook make Katuo powder, which is just like sweet potato powder, but the cooked powder has a white, transparent texture and is very tough. The taste is very good.

Now every time Chi Yan released news that he was going to have another banquet, the nobles and officials tried their best to get an invitation letter.

An invitation letter can bring two people. In addition to the invited nobleman, the nobleman can also bring a female relative, whether it is a wife or a lover.

It doesn't matter if the lover is a man, Chi Yan's lover is also a man anyway.

There are too many people and too many conversations, and not everyone is wary, and even if they are wary, there are times when they slip up.

Not to mention that there are no recreational activities in winter, the only entertainment activities for the nobles here are pornography and gambling throughout the year, but this happens every year, nothing new.

In addition, after the slave owner froze to death a few gladiators who made money, the arena was opened every day, but now it is just like the market, and it only opens once every seven days.

On the contrary, the brothel was open every day. At the beginning, the nobles stayed in the brothel every day. The brothel had food, drink, and beauties.

But after a long time, I also feel that Xian's head hurts.

The invitations for Chi Yan's first banquet were sent to the houses where the nobles lived temporarily.

Arthur still remembers the first time he received the invitation. At that time, he was chatting with other nobles. In fact, the two of them sat together in a daze. They talked about everything they could. Every three days, they have to go to the palace. The day before going to the palace, they can't drink alcohol, so as not to smell the alcohol on their bodies or mouths when they meet the queen.

"Is it an invitation from the lord of Stettin?" Arthur's friend obviously didn't think highly of the lord from the small place, "What good things can he have there?"

Arthur said mysteriously: "Guess how the wine and sugar here come from?"

The friend was surprised: "He sent it?"

Arthur: "Otherwise, why do you think Stettin became so rich?"

The friend glanced at the invitation in Arthur's hand, and Arthur said proudly: "I have dealt with him before, but you don't know him well."

The friend was not very happy: "I am also a nobleman, does he not even look down on nobles?"

Arthur: "He is the lord appointed by the Holy Court."

The friend's expression eased a little.

"It seems that I can take a family member there." The friend coughed lightly.

Arthur never expected his friend to be so shameless, but since the other party opened his mouth, he could only reluctantly take the other party along.

For the first banquet prepared by Chi Yan, only a few people were invited, one was Augsig, the other was Arthur, and a few businessmen from Stettin.

So there is not much for the cook to do.

The hotel was not small. Arthur and his friends went there in a carriage, and the servants stood guard outside the hotel door. When they arrived, it was almost dark, and the hotel was lit with candles, and the warm yellow light came through the windows. There are homeless people squatting under the eaves. If something is thrown inside, they will rush to find something to eat inside.

Arthur glanced at the homeless people: "No one chased them away?"

My friend didn't even want to look at it, as if the tramp wasn't a human being but another creature.

Arthur knocked on the door of the hotel in the snowstorm - they don't have to go back to sleep tonight, this is a hotel after all, it's too easy to spare two rooms for them to rest.

When the door of the hotel was opened, a gust of hot air came over the face, and the charcoal in the fireplace in the hall on the first floor was burning, emitting heat.

Followed by it, there is a sweet smell, which seems to be the aroma of food.

"Why is it so fragrant?" Arthur and his friends entered the room, and they took off their cloaks, and a maid took them and hung them up, and ironed them with a hot iron. After all, they came in the wind and snow, and most of the cloaks were already wet.

After taking off the cloak, Arthur and his friends relaxed, and a maid brought two pieces of hot cotton cloth, which were still hot to the touch.

"Men, wipe your face and hands. The cotton cloth is boiled and warm." The maid said with her head down.

Arthur laughed and said, "It's really particular."

Although they are nobles, compared with Chi Yan, their lives are rough.

They wiped their faces and hands with hot cotton cloths, and they felt much warmer. They sat by the fireplace. Shrimp crackers and cakes were placed on the table by the fireplace, as well as a drink—this drink was plant juice mixed with water, and it tasted delicious. It's very strange, but people who are used to drinking it will find it delicious. It is usually specially provided by the royal family and nobles, because this kind of plant only grows on cliffs and cannot be planted artificially.

Arthur and the others picked up the cake, picked up the small fork next to it, and asked the maid, "What is this?"

The maid replied, "This is a cake."

Arthur hadn't heard the word before, and he didn't want to appear ignorant, so he ate a small piece pretending to be clear.

When Chi Yan arrived, Arthur and the others had almost eaten the cake and shrimp crackers. The merchants were full of praise for both, and wished they could steal the cook away tonight—and maybe they could really do it .

"Take some back if you like." Chi Yan asked the maid to take the cook to their room tonight.

"People" are also goods in this era. Chi Yan doesn't like it, but he can change Stettin, but now he can't change the holy city.

After leaving Stettin and not under Stettin's control, the merchants' minds became more active.

Chi Yan sat by the fireplace and chatted with them.

At the first meeting, Chi Yan had no problem. At most, he just talked about what they were doing recently, whether the food at home was enough, and when they planned to return to their territory.

After chatting for a while, the snacks were almost digested, and the maids began to serve the dishes.

The thick soup is served first. This is an improved thick soup. The milk used is filtered many times. After boiling, the milk with fruit juice is added. It's as bad as the thick soup that Chi Yan drank in the manor. The thick soup from the manor tastes like a mouthful of spices and smells.

There are also "pearls" made of Cato starch. "Pearls" have no added sugar and have no taste in themselves.

Arthur scooped up the "pearl" with a small spoon and ate it.

After the thick soup is served, there is an appetizer. The appetizer is fish balls. The portion is not much, but the pink and white fish balls are also added with a little Cato starch. The center of the circle is filled with fish scale jelly, and when you bite it, the delicious juice will flow out, and the mouth is full of umami taste. The fish is minced with spices to remove fishy smell for two hours, so it has no fishy smell.

People nowadays don't like to eat fish, because fish has a lingering fishy smell anyway, and it also has thorns.

Only the poor can eat it, and the rich still prefer chicken.

Chicken has a natural advantage. Although it is a little fuel, there are not many oily animals in this era, and the fat content is not very good.

And it tastes better than pork and duck, not showy.

It is also quick to raise and sell for sale.

Arthur almost ate his own tongue. The great desire in life is the desire for appetite. Arthur was instantly conquered by fishballs. After finishing his own portion, he looked at his friend's plate eagerly.

The presentation of these dishes is also very particular. Chi Yan asked the cook to serve a smaller portion, and to garnish some green leaves on the side. Put a little soup in it, not to fill the stomach, but it looks good, and it is expensive if it looks good. ,

The dinner is pan-fried chicken breast. The chicken breast is marinated with ingredients, and then fried in a pan with chicken oil. Then put the chicken breast on it and fry it slowly until both sides are slightly panicked.

Sprinkle a little more sesame seeds on top and serve with a little green leaf on the side.

Distilled wine was also served to the table.

The only thing that makes Chi Yan a little regretful is that he hasn't got the glass out yet, otherwise the glass will hold red wine, not only for taste, but also for visual enjoyment.

The first banquet hosted by Chi Yan was a complete success, and Arthur and the others were full of praise like bumpkins.

After dinner, there is dessert.

The dessert is creme brulee, which is more convenient to sit on. It only needs eggs, milk, and sugar. Now that the weather is cold, there is no need to make ice for freezing. Just put it on the windowsill for a while.

No one would dislike pudding. It is tender and sweet, like egg custard, but it is sweet. The milk has been filtered many times with five layers of gauze. If Chi Yan didn't know how to make white vinegar, otherwise the white vinegar would be [-]:[-] If the ratio is poured into milk, the fishy smell will be less, but this level is enough for now.

"I've prepared some pudding for you too, take them with you when you leave." Chi Yan himself ate pudding with a small spoon.

The caramel made from sesame sugar is not as good as the caramel made from white sugar. It is not as viscous and the color is not burnt enough. But if there is creme brulee to eat, what bicycle do you need?

Arthur was very blunt: "Bring me more of that cake. My wife has a toothache recently and needs this kind of food without chewing hard."

Chi Yan is very generous: "Let them bring you a basket, what else do you want?"

Arthur's friend also felt that he was now Chi Yan's friend. He wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "I like this pudding very much."

Chi Yan asked the maid to pack a basket of pudding for Arthur and leave.

The businessmen didn't dare to mention this - they still had to give Chi Yan a gift.

They came to the holy city just for business, they didn't plan to take root in the holy city, and they still wanted to return to Stettin in the future.

Arthur was very impressed with this banquet, it was a normal party, no whores, no endless drinking, no complaints, it was like a family gathering, and there was always good food on hand, whether it was cake or The shrimp crackers were all given to Arthur to talk about. When he attended other people's banquets, he would always look disgusted and say that it was not as good as Chi Yan's banquet.

The host was very dissatisfied, but the guests were always full of curiosity. They would ask Arthur what Chi Yan's banquet had.

Arthur would be the first to say: "There is no beauty, and there is no endless wine."

People will be even more curious, since there are neither of these, why does Arthur say that Chi Yan's banquet is better than this one?

Then Arthur would say, "When I come in, the maid will take my cloak aside to be ironed, and it will be warm when I go."

"Then the maid will give me a boiled cotton cloth and let me wipe my hands and face, so my exposed skin is much more comfortable."

"I'll go by the fire, and I'll have a drink at hand, and cake and prawn crackers, and if I like, I'll have crisp biscuits and soft bread, sweet and delicious with jam. .”

"We were chatting while eating and drinking. There was a fireplace in front of us. The charcoal burned without any smoke or bad smell."

Then he bragged about the dinner party: "The thick soup was served first. I can assure you that you have never had such a delicious thick soup. There are crystal clear round things in it. Chi Yan said they were starch pearls. It’s very elastic to chew, and it’s obviously tasteless, but it’s hard to stop.”

"And then there's the fish balls, oh my god, you guys can't even imagine what that tastes like! I bet you guys..."

Everyone: "We have never eaten such delicious fish balls!"

Arthur nodded and said complacently: "And it's not a hard or soft fish ball, it's tough, and there is thick soup inside after biting into it, that's incredible! The middle of the fish ball is empty! "

Everyone swallowed while listening, and imagined it in their minds by the way.

"It doesn't have any fishy smell, it's fresh and fragrant, especially the main meal, the pan-fried chicken breast..."

Arthur smacked his mouth in aftertaste: "The chicken is very tender, not bad at all."

His friend couldn't see him showing off by himself, so he quickly said: "The creme brulee at the end is the most amazing food. It's the kind... It's like water, but it's solid. It doesn't need to be chewed, it just melts in your mouth." slipped into the throat, can you understand that feeling?"

The friend said regretfully to Arthur: "They can't imagine it, they can't understand it, I really can't wait to go to Chi Yan's banquet again, he should send me an invitation next time, after all, we are already friends .”

And he said categorically: "Stedding must be able to become rich because they have good food. I don't want to eat the dry chicken and the bread that can't be swallowed with the bad soup. gone."

After Arthur and his friends boasted regardless of the occasion, it suddenly became a very honorable thing to be able to attend the banquet hosted by Chi Yan.

At the very beginning, after Arthur and his friends got the invitations, they had no choice but to take their lovers with them, so they had to take the nobles with them.

The nobles were full of praise after being there once, and next time they will also receive Chi Yan's invitation.

It's just that after the number of people reached 20, the invitation sent by Chi Yan clearly stipulated that only family members could be brought along, and no other people could be brought. Even if they brought other people, these people would not have any more invitations.

The reason Chi Yan gave was that he only had one cook, and the hotel was not big enough.

Receiving 40 people is already the limit, no more.

The nobles expressed their understanding—at least the invited nobles understood, and they also had a sense of superiority.

It’s nothing unusual for everyone to have something. This kind of sense of superiority that others don’t have makes these twenty fixed nobles feel like a small group. They feel that they are just a group.

Even if they left Chi Yan's hotel, they would spontaneously get together on various occasions, and even when they organized their own banquets, they only invited people from the group.

After a long time, Chi Yan could get a lot of news from them.

For example, the nobleman who is valued by the queen is Grand Duke Anderson, and Grand Duke Anderson is valued not because of his ability, but because of his surname—Chi Yan knows that the paladin still in Stettin is the son of Grand Duke Anderson, but He didn't expect that the original Duke has now become the Grand Duke.

Although he has his own territory, the Grand Duke spends most of his time in the palace.

"He still has to send people to communicate with Dorsey and several other countries." An earl said to Chi Yan, "You can always get a lot of benefits, but Kentis is better than Frando , nothing special, even if you want to exchange gold, you can’t exchange much, but Ma Neng can exchange some from Kasha.”

The count said with a smile: "The land in Kasha is good, and the seeds can be harvested without any care. Chickens and ducks, sheep and horses can be raised very well. After all, their grass is also good."

Earl: "My family's grain is Kasha's grain. The wheat is bigger than ours, and it tastes better and more fragrant. The bread it makes is much better."

Another viscount also told Chi Yan that the combined land area of ​​Dorsey and Kasha was not as large as that of Flando, so they hugged each other very tightly. Although they were two countries, they were as good as one country.

Moreover, Kasha not only has a lot of food, but their soldiers are also very strong. The main reason is that they eat well. Not to mention that there is meat every day, but they can always eat meat every seven days. Kasha’s meat and grain are sold to Dorsey, and Dorsey Give them gold and silver. After all, Doshi is rich in gold, there are countless gold mines and silver mines, and rich in minerals. Even if Doshi's land is not conducive to farming, as long as there is Kasha, the people of Doshi will not go hungry.

But just because they are rich and the country is small, in order not to be attacked and occupied by Kentis or Frando, they have always been very united. The common people of the two countries trade and marry, and there are no "pure" Doshis or Kashas. .

The more Chi Yan heard, the more he felt that Doshi and the king of Kasha were very wise. The two countries formed an alliance. A verbal alliance was useless, and neither was a royal marriage.

Only by mobilizing common people and marrying common people can the alliance be stable.

Chi Yan recorded all the recent news in Chinese characters and made it into a booklet. These things will be useful one day.

All he has to do now is to wait, and he can only wait.

Soon, it will enter deep winter.