Liang He was skeptical, but seeing Chang Wu drenched in sweat, he said, "Then give it a try."
Zhu Mingqing broke into a radiant smile. "Thank you, Lieutenant Liang."
She waved at Fen Tao, who began processing the ingredients they had just dug up. Chang Wu also brought over some dried vegetables and had a few of the officers help out.
The pot contained half-finished braised pork. Zhu Mingqing scooped it out directly, then cleaned the cookware.
There were over twenty officers, plus their group—about thirty people to feed in total.
She would make a pot of soup and stir-fry a few simple dishes. They could eat them with the flatbreads.
Fen Tao worried her mistress would exhaust herself, so after washing the ingredients, she came over. "Madam, why don't I take over?"
"No need. I'll be done in a moment."
With that, Zhu Mingqing directed Chang Wu to tend the fire—the intensity of the flame directly affected the flavor of the dishes.
Once the water boiled, she slowly added the ingredients and began simmering the soup.
At the same time, she didn't forget to heat oil in another pot. When it was hot, she added garlic cloves and scallions.
Sizzle—
The aroma filled the air.
Honestly speaking, this dynasty had very few cooking methods—basically just simple steaming and boiling. Even stir-frying existed, but it wasn't widely used.
The reasons? First, it consumed too much oil. Second, the recipes were held in the hands of only a few.
"Captain, that smells amazing."
Chang Wu couldn't help but exclaim, and the other officers nodded in agreement.
Liang He had smelled it too, of course. His face showed no expression, but his eyes were fixed on the cooking.
Zhu Mingqing quickly added the sliced meat, waiting a moment before adding the accompanying vegetables.
The seasonings these officers carried were simple—just coarse salt that had a slight bitterness to it.
Taking advantage of no one watching, she retrieved other seasonings from her Spatial Storage and added them to the dish.
She covered the pot and turned to deal with the earlier half-finished dish.
The most crucial part of braised pork was also the seasoning. She opened the oilcloth and found only a bottle of sorghum liquor—no sugar.
As she turned, she caught a strange smell.
Zhu Mingqing frowned and was about to sniff more carefully when the drifting aroma of the cooking food covered it.
Forget it. It was probably just something else.
She covered the oilcloth, thought for a moment, then took out a lump of sugar from her Spatial Storage. If anyone asked, she'd say Fen Tao had brought it.
After all, sugar was truly a scarce commodity. From the original owner's memories, even at the level of the Luo Prince's household, the only candy available was a type of malt syrup—what people called maltose.
Maltose production was very low. The common people of this dynasty barely got to taste it a few times a year.
Let alone sweet delicacies and pastries.
She finished preparing the earlier meat, placed it back in the pot, poured in her specially mixed sauce, covered the lid, and began braising.
If the circumstances weren't so inappropriate, she would have loved to use the clay pot from her Spatial Storage to make the braised pork.
Sweet, soft, and tender—melting in the mouth.
The flavor would definitely be even better than what an iron pot could produce.
Time passed, and the aroma of the food grew richer and richer.
Fen Tao couldn't stop swallowing. Her mistress's cooking skills were incredible.
With a final reduction of the sauce, Zhu Mingqing called out, "Time to eat!"
Chang Wu shot up from his seat, bowl in hand, and lined up first. The other officers crowded forward, even arguing over the queue.
Liang He snorted. "If you don't shut up, nobody eats!"
Everyone quieted down and began lining up properly—though they still jostled each other a bit.
There wasn't a lot of food—just one bowl of soup per person, a piece of meat, and a few scoops of vegetables. But the flatbreads were unlimited.
After serving them all, there was still enough left in the pot for three or four people.
When the first bite of braised pork entered his mouth, Chang Wu—whether from emotion or excitement—actually shed tears.
"Wah, so good."
"I never knew pork could be cooked like this."
"It's just a pity my old mother can't taste this."
Some sighed, while others wolfed down their food with an intensity rivaling a competitive eating contest.
"Burp~"
So satisfying!
Liang He licked the grease from his lips. In his entire life, he'd never eaten braised pork this delicious. He was full, but he still wanted more.
He glanced at the remaining food in the pot, then resolutely turned his head away.
He might need this lady's help again in the future.
He put on a stern face and said, "You all can have the rest."
Having achieved her goal, Zhu Mingqing was naturally delighted. "Thank you, Lieutenant Liang."
She took four bowls and divided the remaining food equally among them.
Not far away, Luo Fu said happily, "Third Brother, we can eat our fill now."
Luo Xiao's stomach growled with hunger. After thinking it over, he said, "Those officers all ate it, so it can't be poisoned. Come on, let's go over."
But Luo Huai didn't move at all.
Zhu Mingqing waved at him. Still, he didn't move.
Tsk. This kid was a tough one.
So she simply handed the food to Fen Tao. "One bowl for you, one for Xiao Huai."
Fen Tao hadn't expected to get any for herself, and a delighted smile spread across her face. "Thank you, Madam."
Luo Xiao and Luo Fu paused mid-step. There were only two bowls left—wasn't she going to eat?
But thinking about how she'd behaved along the journey, it seemed unlikely.
Still, the two of them sharing one bowl wouldn't be enough to fill their stomachs.
Luo Feng also appeared quickly, looking at her with hopeful eyes. "Mother, I carried Grandmother on my back all afternoon. I'm really hungry. Could I…"
Zhu Mingqing walked right past them with her dinner in hand, letting out a light laugh. "No!"
Luo Feng froze, and the smiles on Luo Xiao and Luo Fu's faces vanished as well.
They watched as she walked up to Wu Yunyun and handed her a bowl of rice. "Eat."
Wu Yunyun was flattered and surprised. "For me?"
Zhu Mingqing gave a slight nod, her expression calm. If not for the bowl of rice in her hand, one might have thought she had come to scold someone.
"You're still carrying a child. You need to nourish yourself."
Otherwise, she might not even make it to Guancheng.
Thinking of the hardships of these past days, Wu Yunyun's eyes reddened instantly.
She never expected that the one who cared most about her would be her mother-in-law, who had always ignored her.
She took the bowl carefully, trying hard to ignore her husband's eager gaze.
After delivering the evening meal into her hands, Zhu Mingqing paid her no more attention.
If she couldn't even hold onto food handed right to her mouth, then she was truly incompetent.
And the thing Zhu Mingqing disliked most was incompetent people.
In this world, whether one shines brightly in the heavens or fades into obscurity on earth, everyone has their own purpose and their own path.
Wu Yunyun's ending in the book was dying of starvation, two lives lost in one body.
It remained to be seen whether she could seize control of her own fate this time.
Finally, seeing Wu Yunyun start to wolf down her food, Zhu Mingqing smiled with satisfaction.
Luo Xiao and Luo Fu were seething with anger, their resentment toward Zhu Mingqing growing even stronger.
Even a maidservant could eat something they couldn't. Sure enough, this woman was heartless toward them.
Meanwhile, Madam Song had long been enticed by the aroma. She rolled her eyes and asked, "Mother, are you hungry?"
The Old Princess Consort swallowed her saliva and said indignantly, "With cooking skills this good, she must have been fooling me all along. Second daughter-in-law, go get it!"
Madam Song rose happily. "Wait right here."
She strode over with an imposing air, but before she could even speak, she was frightened by the icy glare in Zhu Mingqing's eyes.
She stammered, unable to get her words out: "You… I… Mother wants to eat…"
"Wants to eat, is that it?"
Madam Song couldn't help but nod.