Mi Guo knew there would be no share for him, and his family would certainly not agree to him going down the mountain. So, to see his father and sister off, he said he would make a delicious Six Flavor Shrimp Noodles for everyone.
The Six Flavor Shrimp Noodles, hailed as the supreme among noodles, boasted a ridiculously elaborate preparation process. Gu Qingcheng, witnessing Mi Guo's entire procedure, only then realized that such a simple bowl of noodles involved so many top-tier cooking steps that even Michelin chefs would call Mi Guo "Dad."
The so-called Six Flavor Shrimp Noodles required the gathering of six types of shrimp-related ingredients.
First Shrimp: Shrimp Roe. This involved extracting the roe from female shrimp, placing it in a plate, rinsing it clean with clear water, and then stir-frying it in a pot without oil over low heat for an hour until it became sandy.
Second Shrimp: Shrimp Meat. First, the shrimp were beheaded and peeled. After extracting the shrimp meat, it was placed in a basin and mixed with salt, egg white, and ginger. A pot was heated with oil to about thirty percent hot, then the mixed shrimp meat was added. After three minutes, it could be scooped out.
Third Shrimp: Shrimp Brain. The shrimp brain, located in the shrimp's head and equivalent to its ovaries, is only present in adult female shrimp. The shrimp shells that were just peeled were boiled in a pot, then taken out, and the shrimp brain was extracted.
Fourth Shrimp: Shrimp Oil. The shrimp shells were placed in a pot and cooking oil was poured in. The shrimp's flavor would be fried out into the oil. At this point, careful observation of the oil's color was necessary. When the oil turned golden yellow and clear, the shrimp oil could be poured out.
Fifth Shrimp: Shrimp Broth. Water and salt were added to the pot with the shrimp shells, and it was simmered over low heat for an hour to obtain the shrimp broth.
Sixth Shrimp: Shrimp Powder. This was the most unexpected ingredient. The shrimp shells from the shrimp broth were filtered out, dried, and then ground into powder in a soy milk maker or a high-speed blender to obtain shrimp powder.
Once the six shrimp ingredients were gathered, the shrimp noodles could be prepared.
Flour and shrimp powder were added to a basin, along with water, and kneaded into a dough. The dough was then rolled out into noodles to make the shrimp noodles.
Next, the shrimp noodles were cooked in a pot. After draining, the noodles were placed in a bowl. The shrimp broth was poured into the bowl, followed by the shrimp brain, shrimp meat, and shrimp roe. Finally, the shrimp oil was drizzled over everything, and a delicious bowl of shrimp noodles was completed.
A bowl of shrimp noodles contained six different ingredients made from shrimp, offering distinct shrimp flavors and textures, making it a unique delicacy.
If it weren't for the "divine chef" with culinary talent like Mi Guo making it, an ordinary person would take a whole day to prepare a single bowl of shrimp noodles.
Mi Guo took less than an hour.
The exquisite shrimp noodles made everyone's appetite soar, including Mi Guo himself, who ate a large bowl.
After the meal, Gu Qingcheng brought out dragon fruit for everyone to eat.
The red-fleshed dragon fruit from the supermarket was sweet and juicy. They shared two, feeling a bit full.
Mi Guo blinked his eyes. After a long hesitation, he finally said to Gu Chaobei:
"Dad, I want to go down the mountain with you."
"Mi Guo, you stay on the mountain to take care of your mother, Kele, and Wangcai. We'll take you down the mountain when it's suitable. Your mother and I will go down first to assess the situation."
Gu Chaobei patiently persuaded him.
Mi Guo's main concern was being stuck on the mountain and not growing. Seeing his parents and sister go down the mountain and accomplish many important things, he felt useless.
With a look of longing, he said, "I want to go down the mountain to train and gain skills."
Gu Chaobei understood and comforted him:
"Do you know why we've been frantically searching for ironware recently?"
"No," Mi Guo shook his head.
This matter concerned their origins, so the Gu family hadn't explained much to Mi Guo at first.
"Because the future ice and snow disaster will end, and then high temperatures will arrive. Not only will the ice and snow melt, but there will also be prolonged heavy rainfall, causing water levels nationwide to rise and drown many people. Therefore, we need sturdy ships, which require a large amount of iron."
Gu Chaobei tried to simplify the process and only told him the outcome.
Mi Guo was shocked. So all the recent efforts were for future survival?
After the extreme cold disaster, Mi Guo already knew that without timely and adequate preparation, survival would be impossible.
Without proper preparation, just like the ordinary people in the city, they would have frozen to death.
Similarly, in the future, if the water level rose and the entire Jinsha City was submerged, without a good ship, they would only drown.
As for why Gu Chaobei knew about future events, it wasn't something Mi Guo considered. They were immortals, and immortals could naturally know future events.
Mi Guo shivered and immediately declared, "Dad, Mom, Sister, I'll be sensible. You go down the mountain. I'll study swimming and train hard on the mountain, and I'll be able to protect you in the future."
Hu Lanfang chuckled at this, patted his head, and said with a smile:
"Alright, your mother and I will be on the mountain. Since my cooking isn't good, and yours is delicious, we can also exercise together, learn archery, and swim. You learn faster than I do, and you'll have to teach me too."
Of course, swimming was impossible in such cold weather, but it should be fine as the weather gradually warmed up. Mi Guo felt a sense of value and nodded with great comfort.
Gu Chaobei said approvingly, "As a family, it's important to talk things through. If you have any questions, you can ask us immediately, and we'll answer whatever we can."
The next morning, Steward Zheng and his party arrived as scheduled.
This time, Steward Zheng brought more rice, flour, oil, as well as frozen fish, frozen meat, some dried seafood, and several hundred jin of coal. It was impressive that they managed to carry these up the difficult icy slopes; they were truly attentive.
Steward Zheng, exhaling in the cold, said to Gu Chaobei:
"After returning yesterday, I spoke with Prince Xia about your family having survived the harsh winter. His Highness was very pleased and personally wrote an invitation letter, requesting Divine Doctor Gu to come down the mountain to help and treat the disaster victims."
Gu Chaobei accepted the large red invitation letter handed by Steward Zheng and felt respected. Prince Xia was indeed a prince, attentive and thorough in his actions.
After reading it carefully, he said to Steward Zheng with a moved expression:
"I have felt His Highness's sincerity. He loves his people like his own children, and I am ashamed to be less capable. Since I am going down the mountain today, I will do my utmost.
By the way, my daughter Qingcheng also wishes to accompany me down the mountain. I want to show her the world. Is that convenient?"
"That is certainly convenient. Does Miss Gu wish to learn medicine from you? She will be a divine doctor in the future too!"
Steward Zheng had no reason to refuse.
Although Gu Qingcheng was a girl, female physicians were common in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Medical clinics would have one or two female physicians, primarily to treat female patients, and they were highly respected by their patients.
Steward Zheng assumed Gu Chaobei intended to teach his daughter medicine.
Gu Chaobei vaguely agreed a few times.
In reality, Gu Qingcheng had no desire to study medicine. If she did, she would have chosen to study medicine in modern society and wouldn't have become a sports student.
However, in this situation, there was no need for too much explanation. The more she said, the more mistakes she might make. For now, she would let Steward Zheng think as he wished.