Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 566: Chapter 566: ’Taking the Bait

Elder Li poured out the used oil and switched to a clean wok.

He poured a little fresh oil from the same oil jug, heated it, and stir-fried the drained peas a few times.

Then, he poured in half a bowl of clear broth, sprinkled in a few grains of fine well salt, drizzled in a bit of aged rice wine, and finally whisked in a cornstarch slurry.

Once the sauce became creamy white and thick, Elder Li immediately tossed in the drained river prawns and stir-fried them.

SIZZLE—

With one hand, he expertly tossed the wok, ensuring every prawn was coated in the sauce. With the other, he picked up a small bottle and evenly drizzled a little clear finishing oil to enhance the dish’s luster.

The stir-frying was incredibly brief, lasting only about ten seconds.

Elder Li turned off the heat and began to plate the dish.

Plating is an art form in itself.

Elder Li’s hands were incredibly steady. He not only divided the sixteen prawns evenly between two white, round plates but also meticulously arranged them with their tails all facing the same direction, forming a perfect circle.

The center was left empty.

Elder Li took a brown, finger-thick ingredient that looked like a tree trunk and stood it straight up in the center of the plate.

It was fried gluten, shaped like a tree trunk.

Next, he picked up a light purple radish, and the small knife in his hand danced.

Shavings of radish flew rhythmically into the sink below as exquisite parasol tree flowers blossomed at his fingertips.

In the blink of an eye, Elder Li had adorned the "trunk" with the carved parasol tree flowers, adding a few emerald-green vegetable leaves for contrast.

Instantly, a flowering parasol tree appeared on the plate.

The ring of white prawn bodies and red tail shells encircled it, resembling a flock of phoenixes at rest.

Steam gently rose from the dish. Looking at it, one could almost picture the stunning image of a phoenix rising from the ashes to rest on a parasol tree.

"The Phoenix Tail Prawns are ready."

Elder Li smiled with satisfaction, clapped his hands, and gestured for the nanny to carry the plates to the dining room.

The atmosphere in the dining room was warm and inviting.

"The presentation of these prawns you made is absolutely incredible, Elder Li."

Li Xu stared at the two plates of Phoenix Tail Prawns, clicking his tongue in amazement. "This isn’t a dish; it’s a work of art."

"I want to taste it, but... I feel like I’ll ruin the beautiful picture if I take one."

Song Sisi held her chopsticks, hesitating, unsure where to begin.

"That’s fine. If you don’t eat it, I’ll help you."

Li Xu joked with a smile, pretending to reach out with his chopsticks.

"No, you won’t."

Afraid he would beat her to it, Song Sisi quickly picked up a prawn and placed it in her bowl.

Li Xu and Ding Kaifang couldn’t wait either and each took one.

Li Xu didn’t eat his right away. Instead, he held it with his chopsticks and examined it closely.

The front part of the prawn was as white as jade and translucent. The closer it got to the tail shell, the more vivid red the color became, as if it were a flickering flame.

He popped it into his mouth and took a gentle bite.

The prawn meat was springy to the bite, yet incredibly tender and smooth.

The most wonderful part was that amid the exceptional umami flavor, there was an extremely faint fragrance, like that of some flower—barely there, yet leaving a long, lingering aftertaste.

Chewing slowly, he could taste how the prawn meat had absorbed the fresh sweetness of the peas, the mellow richness of the rice wine, and the savory depth of the broth.

These flavors didn’t overpower the natural sweetness of the river prawns; instead, they accentuated it to perfection.

The only thing missing was even the slightest hint of fishiness.

"Incredible. Truly incredible."

Ding Kaifang swallowed a prawn, closed his eyes to savor the aftertaste for a long moment, and sighed with endless emotion. "Not only does it look like a phoenix tail, but even the taste is as fresh, clean, and sweet as a phoenix, untainted by the mortal world."

The next second, however, he couldn’t afford to get sentimental.

Because in the few seconds he had his eyes closed in bliss, several more Phoenix Tail Prawns had vanished from the plate.

Those two, Li Xu and Song Sisi, were just too fast.

If he kept waxing poetic, there probably wouldn’t even be any shells left.

Ding Kaifang hurriedly joined the fray.

The three of them ate with gusto, their chopsticks flying.

Of course, despite the fierce competition, they all had the tacit understanding to leave four prawns for Elder Li—the minimum respect due to the chef.

After they finished the Phoenix Tail Prawns, Elder Li brought out a few bowls of steaming hot noodle soup.

Although it was called "clear soup noodles," the broth was anything but simple.

The broth was crystal clear, yet its savory aroma was overwhelming.

It was a consommé made by simmering old hen, ham, spare ribs, and other ingredients over low heat, then filtering it multiple times to remove all grease and impurities, leaving only the purest umami flavor.

The noodles were hand-pulled by Elder Li himself, as fine as strands of hair, yet perfectly chewy.

It was garnished with a sprinkle of bright green scallions and a perfectly blanched baby bok choy.

It looked simple, but it was prepared with the utmost care.

Li Xu took a sip of the broth and felt a warm current slide down his throat and into his stomach, making him feel completely comfortable.

Soon, the meal was over.

Elder Li had the nanny brew some tea.

As the fragrant steam of tea wafted through the air, they chatted idly.

Holding his teacup, Li Xu brought up the issue of counterfeit and substandard medicinal herbs at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Then he said, "Elder Li, President Ding and I have had an idea recently. We want to establish a legitimate traditional Chinese medicine company that specializes in authentic, high-quality herbs to compete with the fakes and shoddy products on the market."

"That’s a wonderful idea." Elder Li nodded in approval. "For traditional Chinese medicine to flourish, the quality of the herbs must be guaranteed. The herbs on the market right now are truly outrageous."

Li Xu sighed. "But while the idea is good, finding the right talent is difficult. We want to find a true expert who can oversee quality control for the herbs, but we’ve looked all over and haven’t found anyone suitable. There’s a Professor Zhang in the provincial capital, but unfortunately..."

Hearing this, Elder Li frowned slightly.

After a moment, he seemed to recall something and said slowly, "Speaking of which, I did know someone once. His skill was truly on another level, especially when it came to identifying medicinal herbs and studying their properties. He was practically a virtuoso."

"Oh?"

Li Xu was secretly delighted. ’Elder Li took the bait,’ he thought. ’This must be the hidden master mentioned in the system’s intelligence.’

He quickly put down his teacup and asked eagerly, "Elder Li, who is this person? Where is he now?"

Elder Li thought for a long while before giving a wry smile. "His surname is Gao... I’ve forgotten his full name, it’s been too long... I think it was... Gao... something?"

"You forgot?"

Ding Kaifang and Song Sisi looked at each other, a bit stunned.

How could one forget such a remarkable person?

Elder Li reminisced, "It must have been almost thirty years ago. Back in the early nineties, when cadres were sent to the countryside for poverty alleviation, I applied to lead a team to a remote village deep in the Qinling Mountains."

"Sigh, there were no proper roads back then, just winding mountain paths with eighteen bends. You couldn’t even drive in. We had to rely on our own two feet, and it took us ages to get to the village. At the time, we heard the locals say there were some strange people living as recluses in the mountains. We didn’t pay it much mind at first, figuring they were just dodging the family planning policy or were some kind of drifters."

"Later, the rumors from the villagers got more and more outlandish. They said a ’wild man’ had been discovered in the mountains."

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