Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1039: Chapter 995: Eternal Through the Ages, Only Eating Remains

”What else do the two of you have to say?” At this moment, Zhong Yan, who was listening to the three little old men chatting, rolled his eyes and said, the Zhong Family doesn’t have the same confidence as the Xun Family and the Chen Family. Among those present, only the Chen Family and the Xun Family would harvest well regardless of drought or flood.

”Isn’t Yuanchang also doing well?” Chen Shang joked casually.

The aristocratic families present all despised Chen Shang. It would be a blessing if an aristocratic family could ensure that the family produced a person every generation capable of maintaining the family’s prosperity. The continuous emergence of geniuses like those in the Chen Family and the Xun Family seemed like cheating.

The aristocratic families of Yingchuan were actually very interested in the education methods of the Chen and Xun families. But what family would tell others that they have a unique way of cultivating talent? What a joke, nothing is more important than talent.

If the current situation couldn’t make the aristocratic families realize this fact, then they might as well slit their throats. A change brought by a sage exceeding the limit is enough to make all the millennia-old families bow down. This is the fact.

”Don’t worry, let me level with you, Zichuan doesn’t want to make a move against the aristocratic families, but they absolutely cannot cause trouble for him.” Seeing the group glaring, Chen Shang smiled and spoke, knowing very well what these people had come for.

As for the Chen Family of Chen Qun and the Xun Family of Xun Yu, although they moved out of Yingchuan, it remains the ancestral land of both families and cannot be easily abandoned as there are still clansmen residing there.

”Cause trouble, huh?” Xun Shuang frowned and said, ”It’s just not clear what degree would be considered causing trouble.”

”The privileges of the aristocratic families can be retained, but they must fulfill the obligations that were written in the scrolls back in the day.” Chen Shang said slowly, causing all the aristocratic families, who hadn’t had time to rejoice, to frown and think.

”It actually suits his personality.” Xun Shuang said noncommittally, clearly perceiving some truths through Mount Tai’s repeated actions and the currently solid foundations.

This was also a blunder by Chen Xi and others, as they had no defenses against the elderly. Said Li Youu also got used to the Han laws concerning elders over sixty. Unless there was rebellion, leniency was always preferred, turning a blind eye when possible.

Under such circumstances, naturally, no one would deliberately check Xun Shuang, who was in his sixties. After all, in an era where the average age was less than thirty, no one would suspect such an old person capable of becoming a spy, so Xun Shuang was left to wander freely.

The situation was almost like having a ”wild Xun Yu” wandering around Mount Tai unchecked; it would be surprising not to discover something.

However, Xun Shuang didn’t think of telling Xun Yu about this. Conflicts among the younger generation should be resolved by them. Saying something now would only make Xun Yu more cautious, leading to even more trouble in the future. If they put in enough effort, maybe they could even sway Cao Cao.

After all, when Xun Shuang was near death, he had already handed over family affairs to the younger generation. Now, without Xun Shuang, the Xun Family remains orderly, so he was not worried at all.

Frankly speaking, Xun Shuang was ready to defect to his nephew Xun Yue’s family. The Xun Family had an abundance of talent, almost to the point of excess. Although there was a difference in length among the five fingers, they were all fingers, so the difference wasn’t significant. Moreover, staying long-term with Xun Yu was quite boring, so Xun Shuang was prepared to defect without hesitation.

Anyway, the Xun Family remained unaffected by his presence or absence. This generation, in addition to Xun Yu, Xun Youi, Xun Yue, Xun Shen, Xun Yan, still had a group of youngsters fully capable of serving as prefectural governors, thus the Patriarch of the Xun Family was hard to stabilize.

But that was none of Xun Shuang’s concern. He was no longer the family head; whether Xun Yu performed well or not was Xun Yu’s issue. The Xun Family did not decline under Xun Shuang’s watch, which was his explanation to the ancestors.

With this mindset, Xun Shuang decisively planned to move to Xun Yue’s faction, ready to enjoy life, especially since the food and accommodations at Mount Tai were excellent, with specialists dedicated to researching better eating methods.

On this matter, Chen Xi had faced a lot of criticism. A group dedicated to researching better food—wasn’t this more luxurious than what an emperor would indulge in!

Those who criticized were not few, but it was at a time when Chen Xi was at the peak of promoting chambers of commerce and commercial taxes, so he swept all opposition aside and continued doing his own thing. His affairs did not allow others to interfere.

As for Liu Bei, who at the time didn’t know whether Chen Xi had ulterior thoughts or was simply tolerating him, in any case, Liu Bei did not intervene at all in that matter.

At Mount Tai, as long as Liu Bei did not intervene, Chen Xi was not accountable to anyone. To be exact, he only needed to be accountable to himself.

Consequently, Chen Xi’s food research group emerged. To be honest, food is an advancement in life, and eating well marks one of the most obvious points of human evolution. Through the ages, food remains eternal.

Chen Xi didn’t feel he was amassing chefs for his own desires, researching food and popularizing it, just to let the people know that eating well means more happiness.

For example, minced meat is one way to eat, and dumplings are another. The same ingredient with different preparations, which is more appetizing, is self-explanatory!

Since ordinary ingredients could obviously be made delicious, even identical vegetables could be made into different dishes with varied flavors and superb aromas, why not allow the people to live better?

Hundreds of dishes were thus developed, and hundreds of snacks were likewise created: frying, steaming, boiling, braising, stewing, simmering, roasting, stir-frying, saucing, smoking, grilling, and charring. The overall cooking methods of Chinese cuisine are roughly these, but the variations are countless, known only to heaven.

No matter how, dishes that were previously scarcely edible became more delicious with these methods. Each dish had a suitable preparation method, and even a simple stir-fry was far tastier than the previous mishmash stews.

Especially in an era with widespread soybean cultivation, once soybean oil was developed, followed by refined salt, the timeless instinct of eating began to ascend, though still short of an artistic pinnacle. Yet, it gradually approached that high.

At this point, no one criticized Chen Xi’s efforts to form a food research team anymore, and no one lacked tact.

As of now, besides a few individuals, most people wouldn’t interfere with Chen Xi handling matters unrelated to military affairs. They would caution themselves not to judge Chen Xi with their limited understanding; something appearing wrong in their view may hide truths they cannot see behind the veil. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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