193: Chapter 0193 Grand Vision

Liaoyuan seemed to know he couldn't hide it any longer, so he smiled and said, "Amitabha, the foreign monk did indeed leave some things behind. This humble monk will go retrieve them right now."

Lin Xiao chuckled inwardly, thinking, 'I bet you're just going to grab them from your own room!'

After a while, Liaoyuan returned with a small package. When he opened it, it was filled with jewelry from the Western Regions!

"Gold, silver, giant clam, red coral, red pearls, glazed glass, agate... Did that foreign monk really collect all seven treasures of Buddhism?" Xiao Qingxuan was, after all, an imperial princess, and she recognized the origin of these treasures at a glance.

"Amitabha, the General's wife has a discerning eye!" Liaoyuan felt a secret sense of relief. He had been planning to hide a few pieces, but thank goodness he didn't; he had run into someone who knew their value!

Lin Xiao, however, was not satisfied. While these trinkets were certainly precious to Buddhist disciples, they were of no use to him.

"Is there anything else besides this?" Liaoyuan shook his head. "There really is nothing else."

The monk Yongxin, who was standing nearby, spoke up, "Master, how could you forget? There is still Junior Uncle; he took some spices from the Western Regions."

Liaoyuan's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, my junior brother, Liaojie! He insisted on taking them, and I couldn't stop him."

"Spices?" Lin Xiao's eyes brightened. "Call him over."

Before long, a fat-headed, big-eared, and burly monk walked into the room. When Lin Xiao saw him, he thought, 'Good heavens, he nearly got stuck in the doorframe!'

[Liaojie, 43 years old, manager of the Xishan Temple kitchen, aptitude: yellow grade] [Cultivation Technique: Arhat Fist (21 years of cultivation), grade: yellow grade] [Traits: Cooking Dragon and Phoenix (Special), Wine and Meat Monk, Warrior Monk]

"Cooking Dragon and Phoenix—a top-tier talent trait for chefs, second only to 'God of Cooking'." Lin Xiao checked and was greatly surprised. With so many monks in Xishan Temple, the most outstanding one was actually a cook?

"Lin Xiao, the Abbot said you wanted me to bring out the spices." Liaojie said nonchalantly, pulling out two small cloth bags.

"It's been over half a year. I've been messing around with my cooking, and this is all that's left." Lin Xiao didn't mind; after all, it had been a long time, and it was good enough that anything remained.

He took a look and immediately understood why only these two bags were left. Chili seeds and cumin! One was spicy, and the other had a unique fragrance; neither could be used in ordinary dishes.

"Junior brother, it was one thing to take the foreign monk's belongings for safekeeping, but how could you squander them? Isn't this stealing?" Liaoyuan looked heartbroken.

"He's dead anyway. Besides, these aren't exactly treasures, are they? Didn't you take all the expensive stuff, Senior Brother?" Liaojie said with an indifferent expression.

"You... what nonsense are you spouting!? This humble monk was merely keeping them safe!!" Liaoyuan's face flushed red with anxiety.

Lin Xiao sensed something; it seemed that Liaojie was the type of person who was ostracized at Xishan Temple. A wine and meat monk with a very high seniority—just thinking about it gave him a headache.

"Liaojie, why did you become a monk at Xishan Temple?" Lin Xiao asked.

"I was adopted by my master; I've been a monk since I was a child," Liaojie replied as if it were a matter of course.

"Then have you never thought about returning to secular life and doing something else?" "I only know how to cook. What could I do if I went down the mountain?" Liaojie scratched his bald head.

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Our Zhenbei Army happens to be short on cooks. Would you like to come and give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Liaoyuan, Yongxin, and the others all wore expressions of anticipation, wishing that Liaojie would agree immediately!

"I'm not going!" Liaojie shook his head and said, "I have a big appetite. Xishan Temple is wealthy and lets me eat whatever I want. Why would I go down the mountain and suffer? I'm not going!"

The monks like Liaoyuan standing nearby turned green in the face. 'So you're just going to mooch off us forever?!'

Lin Xiao and Xiao Qingxuan couldn't help but chuckle; this monk was truly interesting.

"This General can promise you that you will be full at every meal. Furthermore, don't you want to know how this bag of 'cumin' is used?"

Only then did Liaojie become interested. "This thing is called cumin? How do you use it? No matter how I cook it, it's inedible!"

"When you've figured it out, come find me, and I will tell you." Lin Xiao didn't say anything more and left the meditation room with Xiao Qingxuan.

He valued talent, but that didn't mean he would lower himself to beg someone to join him.

Liaojie looked depressed, his eyes hesitant, clearly struggling with his decision.

On the way down the mountain, Xiao Qingxuan asked curiously, "Husband, even if the monk Liaojie is good at cooking, he is just a cook. Is he really worth you recruiting him like this?"

"My lady, the common people view food as their heaven. They might only need to be full, but the wealthy want to eat well!"

Lin Xiao smiled. "Sooner or later, you will see just how crazy those wealthy people can get for the sake of good food!"

Xiao Qingxuan pondered this. She herself didn't have high demands for food; whether it was exotic delicacies or simple fare, she was fine with both.

However, back in the Western Shu imperial palace, there were indeed some imperial concubines who were so picky about their food that even the royal chefs couldn't satisfy them. Thinking about it that way, Lin Xiao's words made sense.

That evening, in the back garden of the Generals Mansion, Lin Xiao gathered some charcoal and started making lamb skewers. After sprinkling on the salt and cumin, the women were all intoxicated by the aroma!

"Husband, is this the cumin you were talking about?" Mu Wanying, the one among the women who loved meat the most, couldn't stop swallowing her saliva.

"Yes. If we took this to sell at Baiyu Pavilion, Su Wansha, how much do you think we should sell it for?" Lin Xiao asked with a smile, looking at Su Wansha beside him.

"Usually, this small amount of roasted lamb would only cost ten wen, but with this method, we could sell it for one hundred wen without any problem!" Su Wansha said.

"Boss Su, isn't that a bit too unscrupulous? Increasing the price tenfold?" Leng Bingyan said in surprise.

"Unscrupulous? Things are valuable because they are rare. We aren't forcing anyone to buy; the wealthy don't care about such small amounts!"

Su Wansha's bright eyes seemed to shimmer with the light of silver. "Husband, let's plant cumin next year, shall we?"

Lin Xiao said regretfully, "I'd like to, but these cumin embryos are ruined and can't be planted. We'll have to wait until we meet some merchants from the Western Regions and try to buy some."

Fortunately, the chili seeds looked fine, and Lin Xiao planned to plant them in the spring! Next year, he would make red oil hot pot—wouldn't that be absolutely delightful?

Su Wansha looked heartbroken; her grand money-making plan had collapsed halfway through!

"Eh? Husband, aren't these potatoes?" Xiao Qingxuan noticed that Lin Xiao had also placed a few small potatoes on the charcoal to roast.

"Yes. These small ones aren't needed for seeds, so I intended to let you all have a taste."

"Could it be that this thing is non-toxic once cooked?" Xiao Qingxuan had been puzzled all along. Lin Xiao said it was a food crop, so why did the monk get poisoned after eating it?

Lin Xiao smiled and then explained the issue of how sprouted potatoes shouldn't be eaten.

"There's such a thing? Husband, you are truly knowledgeable; you even know about plants from the Western Regions." Xiao Qingxuan and the other women listened very attentively.

No matter how long they had been with Lin Xiao, they could always learn new things, which was one of the man's greatest charms.

The potatoes were cooked, and Lin Xiao distributed them to the women to taste.

"It's so fragrant! It feels even more fragrant than rice or flour!" Mu Wanying said in surprise.

"It's a pity there aren't enough potatoes yet. If we want to plant them on a large scale, it will take at least two or three years," Lin Xiao sighed.

"It doesn't matter. Husband will definitely be able to let the common people of the world eat potatoes!" Xiao Qingxuan said with a serious and confident expression.

The other three women also looked at him with affection and nodded firmly in agreement.

Hearing this grand vision, Lin Xiao felt moved, but also found it a bit amusing... Everyone eating potatoes? Hmm, that works too.

The night was cold, but the courtyard was warm. Lin Xiao and the four women ate lamb skewers and chatted about the interesting events at Xishan Temple today, enjoying the harmony.

When they talked about how Xie Juner had been rejected by Lin Xiao, Mu Wanying and Leng Bingyan were visibly happy, while only Su Wansha felt a slight sense of regret.

Early the next morning, as Lin Xiao's family was having breakfast, they saw Chief Clerk Xu Zheng rushing over to request an audience.

Chang Youkui was reorganizing the administration. Although Chief Clerk Xu Zheng had some issues, they were not major crimes. After fining him a year's salary and giving him ten strokes, he had let him off.

At a critical time when personnel were needed, Chief Clerk Xu Zheng was capable of being a local official and was also a master shipbuilder. No matter how impartial Chang Youkui was, he had to be flexible when appropriate.

"Lin Xiao! Ladies, good news! Good news!"

"What is it?" Lin Xiao held his bowl, and the women beside him looked at Chief Clerk Xu Zheng in confusion.

Chief Clerk Xu Zheng cupped his hands with a joyful expression. "The governors of Fushan and Yicheng have both sent letters saying that as long as you agree to a few of their requests, they are willing to bring the people of both commanderies and submit to the Zhenbei Army!!"

As he spoke, Chief Clerk Xu Zheng handed over a letter with both hands. Leng Bingyan took it and immediately handed it to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao read it, frowned slightly, and then handed it to Xiao Qingxuan. "My lady, do you think we should agree to their requests?"