Calamity Feast

  When the four girls sat around the dinner table, looking at the exquisite dishes in front of them, they were all drooling and had a look of intoxication on their faces: "So beautiful, so fragrant..." Although the four girls were all salivating, except for Ye Meng, none of them dared to pick up their chopsticks before Zhang Jin spoke up, which showed that these girls' family education was still quite good.

  Only when both sides are familiar with Ye Meng, do they not need to pay attention to their image. As soon as they stretch out their chopsticks, they curiously ask: "Brother-in-law, is there any special meaning behind these dishes?"

  After slapping away the chopsticks that were eagerly stretching out, Zhang Jin laughed and said: "These dishes of mine are called 'Disaster Water Banquet', which means 'Femme Fatale'. Each dish is related to a famous beauty in history. Coincidentally, you few are all 'femme fatale' beauties, so I'll set a rule: my dishes are riddles, and you have to guess the answers. On the 15th of the first month, there's an activity where people guess lantern riddles, so today we'll guess 'dish riddles'!"

  Women, from 80 to 8 years old, have no exception to being praised by the opposite sex for their beauty. These four little girls are naturally no exception, but although they were praised as "disaster-level" beauties, Mei Mei was secretly delighted and even changed her previous score of 80 points to 85 points for Zhang Jin. However, she still had some feminist dissatisfaction with Zhang Jin, saying: "You men are always like this, calling them 'disasters' and 'calamities'. In fact, those beauties in history who were called 'disasters' were all pitiful people. Take Diao Chan for example, she was considered a disaster that ruined Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, two men, but did she do anything wrong? She was just a necessary tool in the "Beauty Plan", how could she decide her own fate? And Yang Guifei... and..."

  When he saw Mei Mei's attitude of talking incessantly and overthrowing all men, Zhang Jin hurriedly stopped her: "Why do you think this 'troublemaker' is a derogatory term? In fact, I think that 'troublemaker' and 'hero' are neutral terms of the same kind. Just like how a hero not only needs to be fierce and wild, but also needs breadth of vision and wisdom. Similarly, becoming a troublemaker isn't just about having good looks; one must also have intelligence and means, otherwise it's just being a vase, what's the point of stirring up clouds and rain? If a hero becomes the ultimate winner, then they're on the same level as Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu, Tang Taizong, and Song Taizu; but if a troublemaker succeeds, why can't they be too? Aren't Wu Zetian and Empress Dowager Cixi successful examples?"

  Seeing Mei Mei still wanting to continue the debate, Zhang Jin hastily said: "Alright, let's not discuss this anymore. Let's start guessing the riddles instead! Otherwise, if we wait a bit longer, it won't be good to eat. I'll give you a heads up, these dish names may not necessarily all be the names of beautiful women, but they are absolutely related to those famous beauties." Zhang Jin redirected the conversation back to the puzzle's surface and solution.

  Silence, stillness.

  After a while, seeing the four girls still looking puzzled and unable to figure it out, Zhang Jin had no choice but to reveal the first mystery in an enlightening way.

  "This is a mandarin fish!" Zhang Jin said, pointing to the dish on the table. Then, he used his chopsticks to gently lift up the delicate yellow petals that were placed under the fish. "These are the petals of the osmanthus flower. By using osmanthus flower petals as a steaming bed for the mandarin fish, not only can the fragrance of the osmanthus be released, but it also brings out the original light flavor of the mandarin fish, making the texture of the fish meat even more tender, smoother and more palatable."

  As he spoke, Zhang Jin gently opened the fish belly, and inside the fish abdomen was a longan that had been soaked in fresh fish sauce, making it even more plump. "Longan is also called guiyuan. It's already an excellent sweet and fragrant ingredient on its own. After absorbing the fish sauce, it has a unique flavor and a lasting aftertaste." He then picked one longan for each person's bowl, exactly five in total, one per person. Only then did he reveal the final answer, "The combination of guiyu (mandarin fish), gui hua (osmanthus flower), and gui yuan (longan) is what this dish is called 'Three Gui'. You shouldn't be unfamiliar with this name that's closely related to a beauty in history?"

  "Wu Sangui, Chen Yuanyuan!" Chū Qíng answered quickly.

  "Bingo! The answer is correct!"

  "Wu Sangui is a big man, what does this have to do with beauties?" Mei Mei said discontentedly while chewing on the longan fruit.

  It turned out that Chu Qing was righteous and outspoken, this time standing unhesitatingly on Zhang Jin's side: "Of course it counts! Wu Sangui must have had a relationship with Chen Yuanyuan! Wasn't the fall of the Ming Dynasty due to their relationship?"

  Jian Mei's eyebrows were still raised in discontent, wanting to continue arguing, but Zhang Jin hastily said: "We can start eating now, if we wait a bit longer it won't taste good."

  After the first bite, several girls suddenly forgot their reserve, just like Lan Fei and Mu Xinran a few days ago, and one by one, they revealed an ugly eating appearance with chopsticks flying around. The steamed fish was extremely tender, and the mouthfeel after entering the mouth was like biting into a piece of soft tofu, both slippery and soft. The fragrance mixed with longan, osmanthus, and mandarin fish was even more unforgettable, absolutely the best fish I've ever had! Moreover, it's not just the fish meat, even the longan and osmanthus petals used as ingredients were equally fragrant and unforgettable to eat.

  Two minutes later, a not small mandarin fish was left with only bones, and the Osmanthus fragrans petals under the plate were also gone. The four girls simultaneously stretched their chopsticks towards other plates. This dish 'Three Mandarins' turned out like this, indicating that Ye Meng's ex-husband's culinary skills are indeed top-notch and first-rate. It can be inferred that the other dishes will not be bad either.

  However, Zhang Jin disappointingly blocked the four chopsticks that were about to be stretched out again, with a wicked smile on his face, and said to the four girls: "Don't cheat! Guessing riddles!"

  Four girls glared at Zhang Jin with a fierce stare after sucking their mouths, and then pondered again.

  "Sister-in-law, what's this? I see these seem to be raw meat. Are you planning on having us eat it raw?" Ye Meng pointed at a plate and said coquettishly to Zhang Jin.

  This is a Qinghua plate with a shallow layer of transparent white liquid, emitting a strong aroma of liquor, indicating that it's not water but high-proof white wine. In the wine, dozens of pairs of toothpicks are inserted, each with a small piece of thin, bright red meat, about the size of a fingernail, stuck on top. The color of the meat suggests that they are indeed raw. The toothpicks resemble trees, the meat resembles leaves, and the Qinghua plate resembles a pond. At first glance, the dish looks like an autumnal landscape of maple trees by a lake, with a hint of wildness.

  Mei Mei also smelled the wine in the dish and could determine that its degree was not low. Before Zhang Jin could answer, she jumped out with a pretended fearful expression and said: "I say brother-in-law, you're not thinking of being a weird uncle, are you? Bringing us four young beauties to your home and using high-proof liquor for cooking. Are you planning to get us all drunk and do something bad?"

  Zhang Jin smiled suddenly, completely ignoring Mei Mei's provocation. He pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit it, then poured the white wine in the plate into the flame, creating a beautiful blue fire that rose up with a popping sound. The jumping flames carried a faintly pleasant aroma of wine and roasted meat. As he explained, he revealed the answer: "This dish uses high-proof white wine as fuel for roasting meat. These small pieces of meat were fed with seasonings beforehand and are thin as cicada wings, so they will be cooked quickly after ignition. The meat is not only tender and smooth, but also has a faint wine aroma without the pungency of alcohol, and won't get you drunk. Now that the wine is like a pond and the meat is like a forest, can you guess which dish this is related to?"

  "A sea of wine and a forest of meat! Su Daji!" Chuchun reacted the fastest once again.

  As they spoke, the wine fire in the dish had gone out, and the bright red meat slices had also turned white. Zhang Jin laughed and said: "It's right again, this dish is called 'Wine Pool Meat Forest'! Come on, let's all try some!"

  The culinary skills of a master chef are naturally unparalleled, and the wine pool and meat forest quickly became an empty wine pool and a table of bare chopsticks under the joint efforts of the four maids.

  Other people's barbecue makes the meat slightly hard and chewy, but I don't know if it's due to Zhang Jing's seasoning or skill, these barbecues are fragrant and tender, seemingly melting in your mouth, leaving only a rich meat juice flowing down your throat, warm fragrance spreading from your mouth all the way to your stomach.

  The four girls, who had thoroughly indulged in the delicious food, completely refused to continue guessing and instead used various tactics such as pouting, begging, and batting their eyelashes to coerce Zhang Jin into revealing the answers to each dish's riddle, allowing them to enjoy the meal without having to wait.

  Of course, the users of these four methods naturally know that the coquettish one is Ye Meng, the little aunt; the saucy one can only be Mei Mei, the little chili pepper; the gentle and affectionate one with a strong gaze must be Chuchun, the loli girl; and the last one who uses soft and pitiful language to beg for something is naturally Guo Jinqiu, the big sister.

  "The mat at the bottom is made of cassia bark and cinnamon leaves, representing firewood. On top is a pig's gallbladder filled with stuffing. The dish name naturally became 'Wo Xin Chang Dan'. The beauty related to it is naturally Miss Xi Shi, one of the four great beauties in classical Chinese literature."

  "This dish is called 'Fenghuo Xi Zhuhou', and it's related to King You of Zhou's concubine Bao Si!"

  "This dish is called 'Hens at Dawn', and historically, only one empress, Wu Zetian, has received such an evaluation."

  …………

  After the meal, the four sisters were extremely satisfied. The six dishes of considerable quantity were eaten clean, and a large bowl of soup was also drunk dry, but they still felt unsatisfied. Mei Mei, who had already ruined her elegant demeanor by eating hastily earlier, leaned back in her chair, rubbing her bloated stomach without any elegance, and said to Zhang Jin: "Sister-in-law, is that all the dishes? I'm not full yet! Is there anything else to eat?"

  The other three girls heard Mei Mei say that, and simultaneously gave up the "close your eyes, savor the previous deliciousness, and try to calm down the bloated stomach" work. They opened their eyes at the same time, and their gazes flew towards Zhang Jin in unison. In their hearts, they secretly vowed: "If there's still more, even if it's forced, we'll stuff it in. Don't worry about getting fat, at worst, just exercise a bit more for two days after going back."

  Zhang Jin looked at the four girls, who were clearly young and innocent, yet emitted a lustful and wolf-like gaze. He couldn't help but laugh awkwardly: "The dishes are gone, but there's still one dessert left. Are you sure you can handle it?"

  Four women nodded in unison, the temptation of delicious desserts to women is not under sparkling jewelry, let alone desserts made by Zhang Jin himself? 'Brother-in-law's products must be fine products', this is the unanimous evaluation of the four women after dinner.

  Then, Zhang Jin smiled and took out four fist-sized white ceramic soup bowls from the refrigerator in the kitchen and placed them one by one in front of the four girls who were already having difficulty standing up.

  Several girls did not take action immediately, but carefully looked at the soup in the porcelain bowl first. The soup in the porcelain bowl didn't seem to have anything special, thick and milky white, with no floating objects on the surface. After sniffing it cautiously, they smelled a faint coconut fragrance.

  "What is this? Can't be just a cup of coconut milk?" Ye Meng felt somewhat disappointed, in her mind, her brother-in-law's desserts should be like the dishes he made, good-looking, fragrant, delicious and with stories. But it absolutely shouldn't be a cup of ordinary coconut milk that anyone can take out.

  Zhang Jin smiled and took the spoon from Ye Meng's hand, gently inserting it into the ceramic cup and stirring. A purple-red color emerged from the position where the spoon was inserted, and as the spoon stirred, that purple-red color danced and spread out like smoke or a ribbon, very beautiful. Then, under Zhang Jin's stirring, the red and white mixed and merged together, finally turning the entire cup into a gorgeous wine red color, also somewhat translucent, from above, vaguely visible, there was something the size of a walnut at the bottom of the cup. Zhang Jin scooped up the spoon and brought it to the surface. It turned out to be a peeled and tender white lychee!

  "This dessert is actually part of my 'Calamity Banquet', called 'One Ride Red Dust Concubine Smile'. You should also know the beauty associated with it, one of the Four Classical Beauties, 'Shu Hua' Imperial Concubine, Yang Yuhuan!" Zhang Jin explained.