HPDBC Chapter 72 Five Basic Culinary Skills
Chapter 72 Five Basic Culinary Skills
In the video, a travel blogger is gesturing to a local man with dark skin and face paint, speaking in heavily accented Mandarin.
"Hey guys, the shaman brother said that when they treat trees, they sometimes use the soil from under the tree roots, mix it with some herbs, and apply it to the wounds, saying that it can return the earth's power to the tree. Ouch, I got it all over my face."
Soil, using soil to treat trees?
Yup!
A flash of inspiration struck Song You; how come he hadn't thought of that before?
He suddenly sat up in the recliner, his eyes fixed on the dark, muddy mass in the video.
Isn't the original habitat of the Rella Bodhi seed located nearby?
The soil composition in the Amazon rainforest is definitely different from the yellow soil on the hill behind me.
All things are born from the soil.
The Druid's power comes from nature, and the soil is the most basic and important link in the natural cycle.
He immediately opened the blogger's homepage with the ID "Dazhuang Ventures to Latin America" and sent a private message to him.
"Hi content creator, I saw your videos on Amazon, and I have a favor to ask. Could you please help me dig up some soil from my local area and bring it back? Just a small bag will do. The price is negotiable, and I'll cover all the expenses."
After sending it, there was no response.
Song You refreshed the page several times, but the other person's avatar was still gray, probably exploring some deep rainforest with no signal.
He couldn't wait.
Song You opened the orange software and searched for "Latin American purchasing agent," and a row of shops popped up. He clicked on each one and contacted customer service.
The first one has a customer service avatar that's an adorable sloth.
"Honey, how can I help you?"
"Hello, I'd like to ask if it's possible to buy some soil from the Amazon rainforest through a proxy?"
The other side remained silent.
A full minute passed before customer service sent a sweating emoji.
"Honey, you mean...soil, like mud? Let me make it clear, we don't bring contraband here."
"Yes, it's earthy."
"Hi, this... we usually handle the purchase of coffee beans, handicrafts, and things like that. We've never shipped earth before. What do you need it for?"
"Plant flowers," Song You replied confidently.
The other side fell silent again.
This time the silence lasted even longer.
"Dear customer, this might be a bit difficult. It might be confiscated at customs as an unidentified organic substance. How about you take a look at our sloth plush toys? They're 100% handmade and incredibly cute."
Song You closed the chat window and switched to a second one.
The customer service representative's profile picture is of a South American woman wearing a straw hat.
"Hello, what would you like to order?"
"Hello, I would like to purchase soil from the Amazon rainforest through a proxy service."
"...?"
A question mark perfectly captures the customer service representative's feelings.
"Soil, earth, dirt." Song You thoughtfully sent her a few English words in case she didn't understand.
"I know what it is, my friend. But why? Is there anything special about the soil there? How can it grow gold?"
"The flowers I grow are quite picky; they require specific pH levels and microbial environments," Song You began to spout nonsense with a straight face.
"Okay, I'll ask my colleagues there for you. But let me make this clear first, it's not cheap, and there's no guarantee it can be shipped back."
"no problem."
Song You asked five or six places in a row, and the replies he received were all similar.
They either refuse outright, or they think he's mentally unstable; the only two options are to say they're willing to ask him.
It seems that bringing back some local products from abroad is more troublesome than I imagined.
Song You put the matter aside for the time being and opened his Douyin account.
After a period of intensive updates, coupled with the popularity of Wild Boar Tribe, the number of followers of the "Come and Enjoy a Farmhouse" account has successfully exceeded 10,000.
He switched to Beep Beep again.
The "Immersive Tree Rescue" video series has been very well received. The latest video, which focuses on restoring a plum tree, has already garnered over 300,000 views, with the comments section filled with messages about how relaxing and educational it was.
However, Bilibili only has over 8,000 followers, and its follower growth rate is significantly slower than Douyin.
More importantly, very few customers were converted from Bilibili.
Most of the customers come through Douyin (TikTok) and word-of-mouth recommendations from local diners.
Douyin's user base is more diverse and extends to lower-tier cities, yet its conversion rate is higher.
Song You stroked his chin, and an idea popped into his head.
Posting short videos is too slow, how about starting a live stream?
Setting up a phone by a reservoir to livestream fishing, or setting it up on the back of a mountain to livestream feeding wild boars—this kind of slow-paced livestreaming might attract some bored viewers.
However, when it comes to live streaming, Deng Shen is the real expert.
Come to think of it, this guy seems to have been quiet for a long time.
Song You opened WeChat, found the black fishing guy profile picture, and sent him a message.
"Deng Shen, which pond are you serving in the army at lately?"
The message was sent out and received a reply almost instantly.
A meme of a crying cat with a caption below.
"Don't even mention it, bro, I feel like my fishing career has hit a Waterloo."
Song You was somewhat surprised that this guy had replied so quickly.
"What happened? Did your sister-in-law confiscate your fishing rod again?"
"No, not at all. I've been in Yunmengze these past few days participating in the annual Fish King Championship."
"Wow, that's high-end? Did you win an award?"
"Get your ass!" Deng Shen sent a long voice message, his tone filled with indignation. "Let me tell you, the saying 'the real masters are among the common people' is no exaggeration! I brought the best equipment and used the most expensive bait, and I still couldn't even make it into the top ten! The champion was taken by an old man who used a bamboo pole to hang earthworms! Can you believe it?!"
Listening to his powerful roar, Song You could imagine him pounding his chest and stamping his feet.
"Alright, stop being so cocky. Is the match over?"
"Just finished today, and I'm about to head home. Damn it, what a wasted trip, I didn't get anything."
"Don't say you got nothing," Song You typed slowly. "I've gotten some good stuff lately. If you come back at the right time, you might even get a taste of it while it's still hot."
"What good stuff? Fish from your place? To be honest, bro, I feel like throwing up just looking at fish now."
"It's not fish." Song You sent a mysterious smiley face. "It's wild boar meat, completely wild, a big guy weighing over 600 pounds."
The other side remained silent.
This silence is completely different from the silence of those purchasing agent customer service representatives; it is the calm before the storm.
Ten seconds later.
"Holy crap, I just saw it!"
"I'll go over there after I get home, leave me a spare leg! No, leave me some pig's head too!"
A barrage of messages bombarded me, and I could feel Deng Shen's excitement even through the screen.
"Alright, I've saved it for you," Song You replied. "We'll talk about it when I get back. I happen to have something I'd like to ask you."
"No problem! Don't even mention asking for advice; as long as there's meat to eat, I'll do anything you ask!"
Having settled things with Deng Shen, Song You felt much more at ease. He still needed to find a professional to manage the account.
He stretched and looked at Su Yunxi, who was directing customers to park in the yard. The girl was wearing that ridiculous work uniform, but she was doing her job quite well, with the air of a boss lady.
Song You patted his head, wondering what he was thinking.
With most of the miscellaneous tasks taken care of, it's time to get down to business.
Song You turned around and went back into the room. From a wooden box under the bed, he carefully took out several thread-bound books with covers wrapped in kraft paper.
This was precisely the culinary fundamentals notebook that Wang Tong had entrusted Zhao Qian to give him, the one he had kept hidden away.
These days his main focus has been on the [Terra World Tree], and he hasn't started learning it yet. There's still a lot of progress left in the [Jungle Druid] skill bar, and he estimates that he can learn a few more [Gourmet Druid] skills.
The progress bar for [Gourmet Druid] increases quickly. Once [Jungle Druid] is full, its progress bar will be around 100.
He sat down at his desk, carefully untied the string from the parchment, and laid out the books one by one.
Under the dim light, the antique booklet exudes a faint scent of ink and the aroma of time.
The first book, "On the Harmony of the Five Flavors," features four powerful characters on its cover, the strokes sharp as if carved with a knife. The second book is "An Examination of the Origins of Ingredients," which explains the characteristics, origins, and optimal processing methods for different parts of various common ingredients.
The third book, "An Introduction to the Power of Flipping a Wok," explains everything from the most basic techniques of holding and moving the wok to various advanced flipping techniques. It is richly illustrated and explained in great detail.
The fourth book, "Distinguishing Between Live Fires," discusses in detail the transformation and application of fires of different sizes and types, as well as fires that are bright and dark.
The thinnest book is "Essentials of Soup and Stew".
These five notebooks cover almost all the basic theories of Chinese cooking.
Song You took a deep breath and opened the first book, "On the Harmony of the Five Flavors".
The moment his fingers touched the page, the thick Druid's Diary silently turned a page in his mind.
Familiar lines of text appeared on the log.
[Knowledge inheritance containing skills has been detected...]
[In-depth analysis of the lineage...]
Analysis successful! You can choose to learn from the following skills.
[List of skills to learn:]
【Five Flavors Harmony (Beginner): Originating from the wisdom of master chefs, this course allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the balance and combination of the five basic flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. Learning this requires 15% of your Gourmet Druid beginner progress.】
[Ingredient Texture Analysis (Beginner): You will gain extraordinary insight into ingredients, enabling you to quickly determine their freshness, quality, and the most suitable cooking method. Learning this requires 15% of your Gourmet Druid beginner progress.]
[Wok Flipping Power (Beginner): Your hand coordination and stability will improve, allowing for more precise control of kitchen utensils. Learning this skill requires 15% of your Gourmet Druid beginner progress.]
[Heat Flame Identification (Beginner): Your perception of flames will become more acute, allowing you to roughly judge temperature changes inside a pot. Learning this requires 15% of your Gourmet Druid beginner progress.]
[Breakfast Concentration Method (Beginner): You will learn the techniques for making basic stock and understand the role of different ingredients in soups. Learning this requires 15% of your Gourmet Druid beginner progress.]