Chapter Seventy-Four: The Third Wave of the Culinary Plan

After Kong Yingda led the Guozijian crowd away, the atmosphere in the Zhuangyuan Tower immediately became strange. According to the usual practice in ordinary families, parents would generally support their children in front of the teacher, but once the teacher left and only parents and students remained, it was time for the troublemakers to suffer. If they were lucky, perhaps the father would beat while the mother pulled them away; more tragically, sometimes the parents would join forces for a combined assault.

Mo Dun, Qin Huaiyu, and the others instinctively shrank back, bracing themselves for a storm. At this moment, they envied Zu Mingjun, who had shamelessly slipped away with the Guozijian crowd.

“So the catfish effect is a lie, then?” Li Shimin said quietly, his tone unfriendly; he realized he had uncovered too many deceptions today.

“Uh…” Mo Dun was immediately at a loss for words, realizing he had once again trapped himself. He had revealed the secret of keeping fish alive, inadvertently leading to the topic of the catfish effect.

“Superficially, it’s indeed the catfish that stimulates the sardines, causing them to survive. It’s not entirely wrong!” Mo Dun explained cautiously.

“And in essence?” Li Shimin regarded Mo Dun with a half-smile.

Mo Dun was instantly dumbfounded. He had brought this on himself—if he hadn’t always stressed the importance of seeing the essence behind appearances, he wouldn’t have been cornered so easily.

“Your Majesty, I believe that while the catfish effect may not suit fish, it is quite apt for people. Isn’t there a living example before us?” Qin Qiong quickly stepped in to defuse the situation.

Li Shimin drew a deep breath and shot Mo Dun a resentful glare, but let him off this time. Though he had discovered he might have governed with a mistaken principle, the gains were tremendous: the curved plow, the seed drill, artificial incubation techniques, and the soon-to-be-discovered oxygen would all prove useful. All of this had come from the efforts of this ‘little catfish’ before him—so perhaps the catfish effect was not a lie after all.

“Seeing as you’ve made some contributions, I’ll let you off this time,” Li Shimin said.

Mo Dun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s magnanimity. I will serve the country with all my loyalty and dedicate more practical Mo techniques to Great Tang.”

“More Mo techniques? Are these all inspired by the Secret Writings of Mozi again?” Li Shimin looked at Mo Dun with a mysterious smile.

Mo Dun felt a headache coming on—these people were all renowned for their intelligence in history and must have seen through his act.

“But speaking of it, I, who have little love for reading, am quite curious about this fascinating Secret Writings of Mozi. Would you let me broaden my horizons?” Cheng Yaojin, flashing his large front teeth, went straight for Mo Dun’s weak point.

“Uh… It’s not that I’m stingy, but the Secret Writings of Mozi have always been passed down orally in the Mo family village. When my father passed them to me, I was still young and didn’t remember them clearly. Much of it is hazy, and I can only recall things from time to time.” Mo Dun replied stiffly.

“Oh…” Everyone looked at Mo Dun with meaningful expressions.

Mo Dun felt immense pressure and quickly said, “Uncle Yu, serve the dishes quickly. His Majesty and the gentlemen must be hungry by now!”

“Let’s eat first. After the meal, I’ll take everyone to see the Mo family’s experimental fields,” Mo Dun invited everyone to sit.

“Experimental fields? The ones you say will double the yield per mu to six dan?” Qin Qiong asked. The current average yield was about three dan per mu; six would be a doubling.

“This boy is uncanny! If he says he can reach six dan per mu, I believe he can do it,” Cheng Yaojin said confidently.

“Thank you, Uncle Cheng, for your trust. The exact situation will be clear this afternoon. I can’t guarantee six dan per mu, but a significant increase in yield is certain.” Mo Dun replied.

“You see! I said this kid is slippery—he never leaves a loophole in his words. With this, I’m sure the Mo family has made great progress,” Cheng Yaojin said with a laugh.

“If we can reach six dan, that’s wonderful, but we must guard against the phenomenon of grain being cheap and harming farmers,” Qin Qiong reminded.

Li Shimin nodded silently. He remembered that two years ago was also a bumper harvest, yet during his inspection tour, he saw farmers still suffering.

“Grain being cheap and harming farmers?” Mo Dun shook his head. “Your Majesty worries too much. Before, maybe, but now with artificial incubation technology, farmers will have more grain, perfect for feeding chickens, ducks, and geese in large quantities.”

“And if there’s a glut of poultry that can’t be sold, won’t the farmers still lose money?” Li Shimin asked.

Can’t sell? Mo Dun smiled slightly. In later generations, even with countless poultry farms, chicken never failed to sell, let alone in Great Tang, where meat was scarce.

At this moment, Master Yu was serving the food, and a plate of golden fare gave off a mouthwatering aroma as soon as it arrived.

Mo Dun’s eyes lit up. “Rest assured, Your Majesty. With these, there will be no more cases of grain being cheap and harming farmers in five years.”

“Is this a chicken drumstick?” Li Shimin asked with curiosity.

“To be precise, it’s fried chicken drumstick, and this is fried chicken cutlet!” Mo Dun added.

He thought of the fried chicken cutlets and famous fast food stalls everywhere in later generations, and how much chicken they consumed daily. With Great Tang’s current agricultural level, supply might even fall short.

Li Shimin picked one up and took a bite—the flavor filled his mouth, the chicken tender and juicy.

“Delicious!” Cheng Yaojin could not resist any longer, grabbed one, and praised it as he ate.

Everyone took a piece, and soon the large plate of chicken drumsticks and cutlets was gone.

Li Chengqian, mindful of his status, had only one piece before discovering it was all gone.

“This is the third batch of the Mo family’s gourmet plan. Soon, fried chicken shops like these will open across the country, becoming a celebrated delicacy,” Mo Dun announced.

Qin Huaiyu and his companions’ eyes sparkled. Each had a share in the gourmet plan, and if they could join further, it would mean endless wealth!

“Well done!” Li Shimin was all praise. The Mo family boy might be slippery, but he was full of clever ideas and never failed to surprise. With such delicacies, no amount of chicken would remain unsold.

After everyone took a sip of tea to refresh themselves, Mo Dun pointed to another dish. “Your Majesty, look—this is roast duck! Master Yu has deboned it, sliced the meat, dipped it in special sweet sauce, added scallion and shredded radish, and wrapped it in a thin Luo flatbread.”

As Mo Dun demonstrated, he rolled one and savored it, prompting everyone to join the feast with eager anticipation.

Before anyone finished, Mo Dun introduced another dish.

“This is braised pork…”

“This is pickled fish…”

And so on.

The four great representative dishes of poultry, fish, and meat were all presented, and soon the table was a scene of utter contentment.

After this meal, everyone’s worries melted away. With these delicacies spreading, there would never be a shortage of meat in Great Tang; it would certainly encourage more breeding and drive grain prices.

“Braised pork is delicious—what kind of meat is it?” Cheng Yaojin asked belatedly.

“Pork!” Mo Dun answered quickly.

“Pork?” Cheng Chumo cried out in surprise. In Great Tang, pork was considered food for the lower classes; they had never eaten it before, nor imagined such a delicacy could be made from it.

Not only Cheng Chumo, but Qin Huaiyu, Yuchi Baolin, and Li Chengqian all turned pale.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin and Cheng Yaojin remained calm. In their days fighting for the country, they had eaten all kinds of meat; pork was a luxury in the army.

“Mo Dun, don’t you know pork is for the lower classes? How could you…?” Qin Huaiyu protested angrily.

“Isn’t it tasty?” Mo Dun asked in surprise.

“Tasty, yes!” Qin Huaiyu wanted to object but couldn’t find the words.

“I think it’s delicious!” Yuchi Baolin quietly supported Mo Dun.

“But…” Qin Huaiyu’s words were cut short by a heavy slap on the head from Qin Qiong. “Back in the army, we went days without food. That time, it was Zhijie who hunted a wild boar, and everyone survived those hard days because of that pig. And now you’re being picky?”

Li Shimin was even more composed; he was a hardened man—when locusts plagued Guanzhong, he had eaten live locusts himself. A well-cooked braised pork dish was nothing.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian straightened up and, recalling the taste, found it indeed delicious—not disgusting at all.

“Good job, Mo boy, I support you. I remember that wild boar was very gamey, but your braised pork has no unpleasant flavor at all—it’s really excellent,” Cheng Yaojin said. He was a true foodie, having tasted everything that flew or ran during his campaigns. Though the fried chicken and roast duck were good, he wasn’t used to them; but the braised pork suited him perfectly.

“This is a breed currently being cultivated in Mo family village, and initial results are promising. Once the pork loses its odor, it’s bound to replace mutton as the most beloved meat among the people of Great Tang,” Mo Dun said. He loved meat, but mutton was not to his taste.

In his previous life, Mo Dun had once eaten authentic hand-pulled lamb rice, and the taste of lamb fat lingered all day; later, only lamb skewers were acceptable—anything else was unpalatable.

The leftovers were soon cleared, and only then did Qin Huaiyu and the others recover.

After a short rest, with the sun already leaning westward, everyone prepared to head to the southern city gate to see the Mo family’s experimental fields with their own eyes and witness the true effectiveness of the curved plow.