The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 2009: Potato Imprint, Red-Handed Arrest, and Wealth Found, Shocking Guests

Chapter 2009: Potato Imprint, Red-Handed Arrest, and Wealth Found, Shocking Guests

It's not that Wang Sanxi was a coward; the key issue was that Niu Xiaoshan was beaten too badly. First, Li Tongyun kicked him repeatedly, and then Wang Qiang slapped him mercilessly, leaving his entire face covered in welts.

Wang Sanxi, being so old, was unwilling to suffer like that again.

Upon hearing Wang Sanxi's words, Niu Xiaoshan glared at him with eyes blazing with anger.

Wang Meilan glanced at Wang Sanxi indifferently, then looked at Zhou Jianjun, raised her hand to gesture at him, and finally pointed at Niu Xiaoshan and said, "Jianjun, attack!"

Wang Sanxi is quite old, and if he were to seriously injure them, even if they were in the right, they might not be able to escape unscathed.

"Hey!" Although Zhou Jianjun didn't know why he had to hit Niu Xiaoshan, his mother-in-law told him to, so Zhou Jianjun stepped forward to take Wang Qiang's place and slapped Niu Xiaoshan again.

Niu Xiaoshan had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and tears streaming from his eyes, but Wang Meilan didn't even look at him. She was just flipping through the house deeds and land deeds in her hands.

"Auntie, look what this is?" Just then, Li Tongyun noticed something dark in the tattered satchel that was hanging on Wang Meilan's wrist.

"Hmm?" As Wang Meilan looked down, Li Tongyun had already taken the thing out of her pocket.

"What is this thing?" It was dark, but not painted. It was irregularly shaped, with only one end flat.

Li Tongyun flipped her hand, revealing the flat end to her eyes, and her expression changed instantly.

"Aunt, look." Li Tongyun presented it to Wang Meilan. Wang Meilan glanced at it, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

Wang Meilan took the certificate that was placed under the stack of land deeds and house deeds and brought it up. In the place where the village head signed, there was also the so-called seal of Yong'an Village.

Wang Meilan glanced at what Li Tongyun was holding, then looked at Wang Sanxi with a mocking expression.

At this moment, Wang Sanxi burst into tears without anyone hitting him.

"Oh my Uncle Sanxi, when did you learn to carve seals? With that skill, you'll never starve anywhere!" Even now, Wang Meilan maintained the Wang family's way of speaking, saying sarcastically to Wang Sanxi, "But let me tell you, after you finish carving it, you're going to throw it away, but you brought it here. What? Is this seal a potato, and you want to eat it?"

The more Wang Meilan spoke, the more tears Wang Sanxi shed.

That's right, what Li Tongyun was holding was a seal carved from a potato seed.

And the seal of Yong'an Village, stamped on the village head's signature on the certificate, was made from those potato seeds.

When Wang Meilan saw the stamp, she knew it was fake. She was thinking of using it to manipulate Wang Sanxi and Niu Xiaoshan later, but unexpectedly, Li Tongyun found the potato stamp.

Caught red-handed, no matter how much Wang Sanxi pleads, it's useless. The two charges of forging official seals and certificates are enough to keep him in jail for the rest of his life.

"Alright, Jianjun." Wang Meilan called out to Zhou Jianjun, who was still being executed, and said, "Tie their mouths shut too, then throw them in the warehouse. We'll deal with them after the meeting."

At Wang Meilan's command, Zhou Jianjun and Zhang Yuanmin picked up the tattered shirts they had previously used to strangle Wang Sanxi and Niu Xiaoshan.

Seeing this, Wang Sanxi quickly called out to Wang Meilan, "Lanzi!"

His voice was trembling with sobs, and his words were inevitably somewhat unclear.

"Who the hell are you cursing?" Upon hearing this, Li Tongyun rushed over and kicked Wang Sanxi.

"You shut up!" Li Dazhi pulled Li Tongyun away and smacked her with a stick.

"I..." Li Tongyun was somewhat indignant, but seeing Li Dazhi winking at her, Li Tongyun looked at Wang Meilan and realized that she had misunderstood.

Li Tongyun quickly stepped back to Jin Xiaomei's side. Jin Xiaomei grabbed her arm and gave her a slight shove, blaming Li Tongyun for acting impulsively.

Wang Meilan didn't blame Li Tongyun. This girl was wholeheartedly protecting her, so some minor mistakes could be forgiven.

After Zhou Jianjun and Zhang Yuanmin gagged Wang Sanxi and Niu Xiaoshan, they worked with Li Dazhi and Wang Qiang to carry the two men out.

Wang Meilan followed and used a key to unlock the door in front of the warehouse.

As the door opened, a ray of light shone into the room, illuminating Shen Qiushan's bruised and swollen face.

Shen Qiushan's mouth was also gagged. When he saw someone come in, he tried to speak but couldn't even make a muffled sound.

……

"What? Shen Qiushan is here?"

In a corner on the first floor of the Ruyi Grand Restaurant, Zhao Jun listened to Li Ruhai's report and couldn't help but frown.

Wang Meilan didn't mention this earlier.

But then Zhao Jun thought to himself, since his mother hadn't said anything, it probably wasn't a big deal.

Sure enough, Li Ruhai smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry, the old and young men of Xishantun will put out the fire in one fell swoop."

Zhao Jun: "..."

Hearing this, Zhao Jun secretly admired Shen Qiushan. Shen Qiushan was too bold to dare to go forward in such a situation.

Moreover, he went to the meeting alone.

However, Zhao Jun was very fortunate at this moment, thankful that he had made the last-minute decision to lead the people of Xishantun down the mountain. If he had led the people of Xiangyangtun or Qiaotoucun, they might not have been so obedient.

Thinking of this, Zhao Jun looked at the eight noisy tables of people in the lobby on the first floor.

These are all people from Xishantun, and they are chatting enthusiastically together.

Zhao Jun touched the satchel that Wang Meilan had asked Xie Chen to give him. Remembering what Xie Chen had relayed about Wang Meilan, Zhao Jun did not hesitate to pull out a wad of ten-yuan notes from the pocket.

As Zhao Jun untied the paper strips binding the money, he walked toward the people from Xishan Village.

"Young Master." Upon seeing Zhao Jun approach, some people from Xishan Village greeted him.

Zhao Jun smiled, walked to the nearest table, pulled out two ten-yuan bills, and handed them to someone, saying, "You've worked hard today!"

"Young Master..." This person took the train down the mountain today and didn't participate in yesterday's money distribution. Today, he only received a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.

When Zhao Jun handed out the money, the man was somewhat bewildered.

"The food is good today, eat and drink more later." After saying that, Zhao Jun smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then took out two more ten-yuan bills and handed them to the next person.

This man had been to Lingnan with Zhao Jun yesterday, so he was quite familiar with the area. He took the money and exclaimed, "Thank you, young master!"

His shout was heard not only by the people at the other tables, but also by Qu Xiaohong, the manager standing at the front desk.

"Young Master...?" Qu Xiaohong was stunned. She looked up and saw Zhao Jun handing out money to each table and each person, and he was handing out twenty at a time!

Those who received the money all shouted, "Thank you, young master!"

Zhao Jun didn't just hand out money; after delivering it to the people, he would chat with them warmly. Although the conversation was mostly mundane, the financial assistance warmed the hearts of the Xishantun residents.

Distributing money like this takes a lot of time. He had just finished distributing money to four tables when the hotel kitchen started sending out dishes.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly asked the waiter to wait a couple of minutes.

According to the customs of Yong'an, you can start eating after all four cold dishes are served. But the host isn't there; how are the guests supposed to eat?

There wasn't enough time to hand out money one by one, so Zhao Jun quickly found twenty ten-yuan bills, placed them on the table, and said, "Let's all eat and drink well. My mother couldn't come, but on her behalf and on behalf of my whole family, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone in Xishan Village!"

"Young Master, you're being too unconventional!"

"That's right, your family matters are our matters."

Zhao Jun clasped his hands in a fist salute to everyone, then checked the money as he walked to the next table.

They all laid out twenty large banknotes, exchanged a few polite words, and Zhao Jun finished distributing the money in two minutes before quickly going upstairs.

The guests were on the second floor, and instead of going into the small private rooms, they all sat in the main hall.

"I'm late, I'm late." As Zhao Jun went upstairs, he clasped his hands in a gesture of apology to everyone and said, "Our hometown is a small county town, and the food and lodging are not as good as in Kunming. If there is anything that has not been done well in terms of hospitality, please forgive us."

As he spoke, Zhao Jun clasped his hands in a fist salute to everyone again, and then continued, "But we are absolutely safe right here in our own backyard, so you can all rest assured."

Hearing Zhao Jun's words, everyone said it was alright. Indeed, everyone likes to eat well and stay in comfortable accommodations, but when traveling, safety is the most important thing.

Moreover, after yesterday's hospitality, these guests all knew that Zhao Jun was not short of money or tasks.

After Zhao Jun finished speaking, he sat down in the empty seat at the table where the guests from Jiangxi and Guangxi provinces were. They had met before at Shen Qiushan's Ginseng King Conference in Fusong, so they were acquaintances. Zhao Jun chatted with Tang Fuquan, Li Mingjun, and the others.

But after only a couple of sentences, the waiter started serving the food.

A waiter brought over a large tray with five large plates on it.

The five large plates all contained the same dish, and the waiter served the dishes to each table one by one.

"Peacock of the Forest!" the waiter announced as he served the dish. The moment the plate was placed on the table, it elicited gasps of amazement.

On the plate, a peacock is depicted with remarkable realism.

Zhao Jun looked closely and saw that the peacock was made of white shredded meat, so he felt that chicken must have been used.

The peacock tail feathers are carved from wild vegetables and decorated with small mountain cherries.

The peacock's wings are made of rock sugar radish, wood ear fungus, and egg floss. The peacock's head is made of carrot sauce, with peppercorns used to make the eyes.

"Hey Zhao, foreman!" At this moment, Zhang Yuejin from next door called out to Zhao Jun, "You still say your food can't compare to that of Chuncheng?"

Zhang Yuejin and Zhao Jun got along well at the first Ginseng King Conference.

At this moment, Zhang Yuejin took the initiative to speak up for Zhao Jun, loudly proclaiming to everyone, "I've never eaten this dish before, but I've heard of it, since Commander Zhao arranged it for us. This is the first course of the Northeast Mountain Delicacies Feast: Flower Platter with Peacocks from the Forest!"

At this point, Zhang Yuejin paused slightly, then raised his voice a few decibels and said, "Whether it's a bear paw banquet or any other banquet, this dish must be served first; it's reserved for the most distinguished guests!"

As Zhang Yuejin finished speaking, Zhao Jun laughed and said, "Mr. Zhang is absolutely right. All of us here are the most distinguished guests among the most distinguished guests, haha..."

Just as Zhang Yuejin and Zhao Jun were talking, the waiters brought out the dishes one after another: dried shrimp and cucumber, pepper oil elm mushrooms, and braised beef.

"How many cold dishes do we want?" Zhao Jun asked the waiter. The waiter actually knew and replied, "Sir, we want four cold dishes, six hot dishes, and two soups."

"Okay." Zhao Jun nodded, then stood up and invited everyone to start eating.

"This dish is so beautiful, I almost don't want to eat it," Zhao Runchuan said, but he still picked up a piece of peacock tail feather.

"Hmm?" Zhao Runchuan's eyes lit up instantly as he tasted the tail feather. That small piece of tail feather was actually made of daylily and bracken, with distinct layers of flavor, fresh and refreshing, truly delicious.

As everyone picked up their chopsticks, they all praised the dish of "Peacock of the Forest".

When they first saw this dish, they only thought it looked good, but they never expected it to taste so good.

Zhao Jun picked up a piece of peacock wing, which was made of rock sugar shredded radish, wood ear fungus, and egg floss. Zhao Jun tasted it and found it to be refreshing and delicious.

"Shanhe's chef is amazing!" Zhao Jun thought to himself. "The food is even better than in Chuncheng!"

With that thought in mind, Zhao Jun picked up some dried shrimp and cucumber with his chopsticks.

He had eaten the cucumber salad in Chuncheng yesterday. But the moment he tasted the cucumber salad, Zhao Jun's expression changed instantly.

"This is what my dad made!" Zhao Jun recognized it immediately. There are many cold dishes in the world, but Zhao Youcai's cold dishes are different from everyone else's.

Even his apprentices' cold dishes were different from Zhao Youcai's.

It wasn't that Zhao Youcai held back a trick when teaching his apprentice; it was simply that Wang Meilan had a particular fondness for it.

Northeastern home-style dishes are rarely sweet; most are savory.

Wang Meilan is the same way, but only with cold dishes does she like them to have a hint of sweetness, but the sweetness should not overpower the other flavors.

Looking at the plate of cucumbers in front of him, Zhao Jun felt a mix of emotions.

When he left Yong'an yesterday, Zhao Youcai told Zhao Jun that he could rest assured about the food.

At the time, Zhao Jun thought his father was just watching from the sidelines, offering some guidance on the dishes. He never expected his father to actually cook them himself.

At this point, waiters came upstairs and started serving the dishes.

Crispy fried pork strips, fried meatballs, steamed spare ribs, braised venison strips, braised monkey head mushrooms, wild mushrooms and mountain rabbit.

The moment these six hot dishes were served, their enticing aromas filled the air, making one's mouth water.

Next came two soups: ginseng broth stewed with soft-shelled turtle and snow frog, and grouse stewed with monkey head mushroom.

Finally, there were desserts and main courses. The dessert was snow-white red bean paste, and the main courses were four-happiness shumai and rice.

The so-called Four Happiness Shumai is a shumai filled with wild boar meat, left unsealed, and filled with chopped wood ear mushrooms, diced carrots, chopped eggs, and celery. It should be black, red, yellow, and green, small and exquisite, with bright colors. It symbolizes four kinds of happiness, good fortune and celebration.

But what the guests from the south liked the most was the dessert, Snow-Clad Red Bean Paste.

Thirty or forty years later, this dish became popular with tourism in Harbin.

To be honest, this dish is indeed a Northeastern dish, and it was invented by Northeasterners, but Northeasterners don't really like to eat it.

However, this dish looks absolutely amazing, but it's incredibly troublesome to make.

While the first and second floors of Ruyi Restaurant were bustling with activity, Zhao Youcai sat on the steps at the back door of the kitchen, constantly wiping away sweat with a towel.

It was so hot today. After frying and cooking for more than two hours in the kitchen, he kept wiping himself with a towel, sweat pouring down his face.

"Master Zhao, have some water." Chef Lin Dongxu brought over a teacup and respectfully handed it to Zhao Youcai.

Last time Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan came over, the amount of food they ordered made Lin Dongxu very unhappy.

But today, Lin Dongxu was truly convinced.

As the saying goes, a true expert's skill is immediately apparent. This morning alone, Lin Dongxu learned a great deal from Zhao Youcai, including how to be a peacock in the forest.

"Master Zhao." As Zhao Youcai drank water, Lin Dongxu gave him a thumbs up and said, "Your skills are truly amazing!"

As he spoke, Lin Dongxu squatted down in front of Zhao Youcai and said, "I saw how you killed that bastard just now, your knife skills... tsk!"

At this point, Lin Dongxu smacked his lips and shook his head, saying, "Even the legendary butcher Ding's skill in dissecting an ox is no better than this!"

"What the hell?" Zhao Youcai had no idea what "Butcher Ding's dissection of an ox" meant, and he felt uncomfortable as soon as he heard the idiom.

But Lin Dongxu didn't notice at all; instead, he got more and more excited as he talked: "Master Zhao, to be honest, I'm quite embarrassed. They always say I cook well, and then they even gave me a nickname, Lin Yishao (Lin the One-Spoon).

I used to think I was pretty good, but after meeting you, Master Zhao, I've learned what true capability is.

At this point, Lin Dongxu seemed to have thought of something. After a slight pause, he looked at Zhao Youcai and asked, "Master Zhao, do you have any nicknames?"

Just now, after discussing the butcher's skill in dissecting an ox, he was asked about nicknames again. Zhao Youcai's face grew increasingly gloomy. He said, "In 65, our forestry farm sent me to the provincial guesthouse to learn a trade. Back then, all the master craftsmen were really skilled. But the one I remember most is a master craftsman surnamed Sun. He taught me a phrase."

"What are you talking about?" Lin Dongxu asked. Zhao Youcai glanced at him and said, "If you're in this line of work, just focus on your job. Don't babble about things that don't concern you."

Lin Dongxu: "..."

I guarantee there will be a big meeting tomorrow, so I'll head to the meeting as soon as I finish this meal.