Fang Er casually picked up a small yellow croaker and bit off its head with a crunch.
It was fried very crispy, even the fish bones were brittle.
After the meal, Fang Er walked to the large kitchen on the boat.
Li Baoju was preparing ingredients for the next morning. He heard footsteps and turned to take a look.
"Marquis!"
Fang Er nodded at him.
"Are there still shark fins?"
Li Baoju pointed to a wooden barrel in the corner, "There are plenty, Marquis. However you want them, I'll prepare them for you."
Fang Er casually said, "Make a bowl of shark fin soup."
"Yes!"
Li Baoju flicked the water droplets from his hands, walked over, took out a piece of shark fin, and began to prepare it.
As he worked, he asked a soldier assisting him to start a fire.
To prevent fire, the entire kitchen on the boat was lined with steel plates as a fireproof layer.
The processed dried shark fins were soaked in water and set aside.
Simultaneously, dried mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots also needed to be soaked.
The wok was heated with oil, and chopped scallions and ginger slices were thrown in to stir-fry until fragrant, then shrimp were added and stir-fried quickly.
The dried mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots soaked quickly.
When the shrimp changed color, Li Baoju swiftly scooped out the dried mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots, placed them on a cutting board, and quickly diced them before tossing them into the wok.
"Boom!"
Flames erupted in the wok. He continued to stir-fry rapidly without changing his expression.
After a moment, he poured in a bowl of clear water and covered the lid.
When the water in the pot boiled, he added the shark fins and half a bowl of water, and continued to simmer.
Fang Er watched the flowing, masterful movements with admiration.
"Kid, with such excellent skills, why don't you work as a chef in a restaurant?"
Li Baoju's face darkened slightly, "I was a cook before, working at Yi Pin Ju in the East Market. I was kicked out by the owner."
Fang Er looked puzzled, "Oh? With your skills, was your owner blind?"
Li Baoju shook his head and said with a wry smile, "The purchasing agent at Yi Pin Ju was the owner's brother-in-law. He bought meat from somewhere that made people sick.
As a result, the owner blamed me, saying my skills were poor and I'd put the wrong ingredients in the cooking."
Fang Er: "....."
"Heh heh, let's not talk about that. I still have to thank him. If he hadn't kicked me out, how could I have joined the Tianhuo Army?"
Li Baoju had a good mindset and quickly put the unpleasant things aside. He grinned at Fang Er and said,
"I'm living well in the Tianhuo Army now. My brothers all look after me, and I can cook for the Marquis. It's all worth it, heh heh."
Fang Er gave him a look.
"You only have this much ambition, kid!"
"Wait until later, I'll find an opportunity to give you a grand moment, how about that?"
He didn't specify what it was, but Li Baoju was an insightful person. In the Tianhuo Army, his most notable skill was his excellent cooking.
Therefore, the Marquis's matter must be related to cooking, right?
"I thank the Marquis for the opportunity!"
After speaking, he bowed to Fang Er.
Charcoal was burning in the stove, and the fire was strong.
While they were talking, the shark fin soup had already begun to emit a tempting aroma.
Li Baoju lifted the pot lid and added a little flour paste.
As he stirred the spoon in the pot, and as he lifted his spoon, the clear soup turned slightly viscous.
He carefully scooped some into a small bowl, tasted it, and then looked at Fang Er.
"Marquis, it's ready."
Then, he took another clean bowl, scooped the soup from the pot, placed it on a tray, and handed it to Fang Er.
Taking the tray, Fang Er said, "Alright, you've worked hard. Get some rest early."
With that, he turned and returned to the cabin.
He knocked on Chai Yue's door.
Creak!
Chai Yue opened the door, her face a little pale. She looked at Fang Er from inside and said, "Young Master."
Her voice was a little weak.
Seeing her, Fang Er felt a pang of heartache.
"I asked the kitchen to cook you a bowl of shark fin soup. Drink it while it's hot to warm your stomach."
Chai Yue looked at the bowl of soup Fang Er handed her, a little surprised and deeply moved.
"Yue'er thanks the Young Master for his concern!"
After Chai Yue finished drinking, Fang Er gave the empty bowl to Xing'er to return it, and stayed in Chai Yue's room to chat and keep her company.
He had heard that women often felt low during that time of the month.
The next morning.
Fang Er stretched and walked out of his room.
When he reached the deck, he saw Yan Shuangying and the others already starting to build a large kite.
The entire kite frame was triangular, three meters high and five meters wide.
More than ten craftsmen worked together, and Fang Er watched from the side.
It only took them an hour to finish everything.
He called Liu Meng and Zhang Tian over and pointed to the large kite on the deck.
"This Marquis needs someone to fly into the sky to sketch the terrain. See if anyone is willing to do this.
I'll tell you in advance, it's risky. If you come back alive, you'll be rewarded ten guan. If anything happens, the old rule applies: this Marquis will take care of your family's livelihood!"
Liu Meng touched his freshly cut short hair, "Marquis, no need for others, I'll do it!"
Zhang Tian was a little displeased.
"Third Battalion Commander, you're bullying us a bit. You were the one who went ashore yesterday, so it's my turn today."
Fang Er: "....."
Didn't I make it clear that people could die?
"Alright, since that's the case, let's play rock-paper-scissors! Whoever wins goes!"
He explained the game rules to them.
Zhang Tian's eyes lit up. Heh heh, compared to that brute Liu Meng, I might not be good at fighting, but I'm the best at games!
"Rock-paper-scissors!"
"Rock-paper-scissors!"
Both of them threw out a rock simultaneously. They looked at each other: "Again!"
"Rock-paper-scissors!"
"Rock-paper-scissors!"
Liu Meng looked at Zhang Tian throwing out another rock, feeling a bit dejected.
"Shouldn't you have thrown paper?"
Zhang Tian raised his eyebrows at him and said smugly, "You thought I was going to throw paper, so you threw scissors.
But you didn't expect that what you thought I was thinking was what I thought you thought I was thinking! Heh heh!"
Fang Er's forehead was covered in black lines!
"Damn it, what kind of nonsensical 'you think I think' is this?"
Liu Meng was even more bewildered.
"I thought you thought I thought, what the hell are you thinking!
Damn, how did you say that sentence without your tongue getting tied?"
Zhang Tian, on the other hand, scurried over to Fang Er, "Marquis, how can this thing fly into the sky?"
Fang Er pointed to the Zhiyuanhao on the side.
"Later, I'll tie you to the kite with a rope, and the kite string will be tied to the Zhiyuanhao.
We'll use the speed of the Wuya large ship to launch you into the sky."
Zhang Tian looked a little stunned, "Fly a kite??"
Liu Meng, who had just recovered, looked at his somewhat fearful expression with disdain, "What's wrong, can't you do it? If not, let me!"
Can a man say he can't do it?
Zhang Tian immediately exploded, "Third Battalion Commander, who are you looking down on! Who said I can't do it? I can, and I have to! I said it!
After shouting a few words at Liu Meng, he turned to Fang Er, "Marquis, just tell me what to do, I'll listen to you!"
Fang Er was happy to see the competition between Zhang Tian and Liu Meng.
Competition leads to progress!
Without competition in the army, it's like stagnant water. How can there be combat effectiveness?