Ch117 – The Feast Begins

The cooking smoke rose in spirals on this verdant meadow. Accompanied by the gurgling sound of the boiling soup and the rich aroma of the meat wafted far and wide. Animals of all sizes are gradually surrounded by them. Ruan Tang and the others weren’t polite and they were all captured as reserve ingredients.

As time passed, noon quickly arrived. The mysterious guests mentioned by the program team, blocked the sun and cast a huge shadow. When the tall and lofty Rutes emerged from the starship, the audience in the live broadcast room cheered. As the empire’s most loyal partners, the people of the empire welcomed the arrival of the Rutes.

Gilbert led their team and smiled and waved at the flying cameras that surrounded him, “Hi! My dear imperial friends! I’ve come again! Did you miss me?”

[Aluminum child who loves learning: I don’t know why but whenever Gilbert opens his mouth, he seems so adorably stupid.]

[Silent defeat: True that! Gilbert would be so handsome if only he didn’t speak …]

[I can’t hold my arms: Sigh, forget it. You’re no longer welcome. ╭ (╯ ^ ╰) ╮]

“Oh! My dear Tang Tang!” Gilbert’s nose twitched. Even from a distance, he could already smell the aroma of cooking meat. His eys immediately lit up and he ran towards the direction of the scent. He Yun Chen immediately barred his way. He could not help but shake his head “dote”-dly. “Oh, He, I didn’t think you’d miss me so much, but it’s not good to be so jealous ~”

“But, who made us brothers?” He resignedly shurgged his shoulders and then opened his arms enthusiastically, wanting to give the other a hug. “Come, let me feel if your solid arms have wilted! ”

He Yun Chen pushed him away mercilessly.

Gilbert: Oh.

“The meal is ready, please come with me, Your Highness.”

In addition to his adjutant, Gilbert also brought along two of his trusted subordinates. All of them had gone through many challenges on the battlefield and they have visited many planets, but have never seen a planet as beautiful as the Aquamarine Planet. Blue skies and white clouds, green grass filled with flowers. It was peaceful and even the air was fresher than anywhere else.

“Oh! This planet is truly beautiful! Is this what you call Paradise?”

[Single, Double, Triple, Quadruple: Hahaha, Your Highness, you really know how to talk! 】

[Fine Fish: Isn’t it really a paradise though? Such a beautiful place, I will defintely take my girlfriend there when it opens to the public in the future! 】

[Zhang Ge hai Cai Wei: You’ve got that right! But first you have to have a girlfriend :)]

[Sier seems like: To the commenter above, you really know how to hurt a guy, ha ha ha ha ha]

“Your Highness, I haven’t seen you for a long time.” Ruan Tang and the others were waiting to the side. After seeing Gilbert, he took the initiative to greet him.

“Oh! My dear Tang Tang! One day apart feels like three years. After so many years apart, I wonder if you’ve changed your mind? In my heart, my queen will always be you …” Upon seeing Ruan Tang, Gilbert immediately began his sappy confession, making everyone unable to look at them directly. He Yun Chen’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

“I’m sorry, I already have someone I like.” Ruan Tang stepped back to avoid his enthusiastic bear hug. He decisively and resolutely cut off his confession.

As soon as he said this, not only were the people around him dumbstruck, Gilbert even cried out in amazement. “By the gods, which hateful person snatched you away from my arms?”

[Ye Liushang: What?!! My Tang likes someone?!! Who could be so lucky?]

[Lurisha: No, no, no, I don’t believe it. This must be a kind-hearted lie that Tang Tang said in order to reject Gilbert!]

[Hei Yuan: No! Tang Tang, if you have someone you like then what will happen to Marshal He? Don’t break up my cp!]

Ruan Tang didn’t know how much of a sensation he had caused with a single sentence, but his words obviously made He Yun Chen very satisfied. Marshal He’s face returned to its usual state at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He Yun Chen raised his chin slightly with barely perceptible smugness and said with a host’s manner, “Your Highness, the meals are ready, please come to the table.”

“Oh! Goodness–” Gilbert sat down, heartbroken. “My sorrow has made my heart growl in my stomach …”

Everyone: “…”

[Utopia in the mirror: Hehe, love doesn’t really exist for him. The leader just wants to find an excuse to eat two more bowls of rice :)]

Ruan Tang and the others couldn’t cook in front of the guests as it would be too oily and smoky. So all the dishes for today’s banquet were prepared early and kept in the fresh-keeping cabinet. At this time, the smart robots set down the dishes on the table, immediately attracting the interest of the Rutes.

Smart robots were also kindly provided by the program team to help them serve and put away the dishes.

Upon seeing these delicacies, the Rutes could no longer focus on exchanging pleasantries with the Imperial people. As soon as Ruan Tang greeted them, they immediately took their seats and picked up their chopsticks to get started.

They gave the seats of honor to their guests from afar, and Ruan Tang, He Yun Chen and the others sat after they did.

According to custom, the cold dishes were served first. Four dishes are placed in the center of the table, exuding a sweet scent.

Fruit salad was made by cutting apples, strawberries, bananas, and other fruits into small pieces and mixing them with salad dressing. It was fresh, juicy, delicious, sweet and tangy; very appetizing. After the fruit salad appetizer, everyone went on to taste the Crystalized meat and white-cut chicken, both of which were meat dishes. The skin and meat of the Crystalized meat was clear and distinct, the meat was a beautiful red, and the skin appeared like a transparent crystal, and thus its name. The meat was tender and though it was fatty it was not at all greasy, absolutely delicious. The white-cut chicken was fresh and tender. When it was dipped in sauce, it was savory and delicious. The perfect dish to neutralize the sweetness of the honeyed sweet potatoes.

[Qi Luo A Luo A Luo: Hu hu hu, You Rutes! Please eat a tab bit slower! I haven’t even tasted the chicken and you already swept it all away!]

[Miao Miao Loves to Eat all the Dishes of the Anchor: Whooaaahh, they’ve eaten it all up, the Rutes are amazing. They gobbled those up so fast! QWQ]

Although these dishes were prepared in advance, in order to ensure freshness, they were put in the fresh-keeping cabinet as soon as they were done. The audience could only look at it but couldn’t eat. They had long been tormented past the point of endurance. Who knew that the “combat power” of the Rutes would be so amazing that they finished off the dishes like a strong wind scattering the last of the clouds. Those who were fast enough were still able to get in a couple of bites. The slow-moving were out of luck. Almost as soon as they laid eyes on the dishes, while they were still looking forward to the taste, it was already finished off.

In this way, they all experienced how it was like to have all these delicacies just flash by them. It was like purgatory on Earth.

With the cold dishes settled, it was time to serve the main dishes.

The first dish was beef stew with potatoes. The soup base boiled from ox bones was delicious. The beef was especially selected, it was a medium piece of meat that had ample fat and lean. It was stewed until it was soft and tender, simply melting away as soon as it entered their mouths. After being boiled for so long, it was no longer greasy in the slightest. The potatoes had absorbed the juices of the beef and were extremely flavorful, not any less delicious than the beef.

[Fresh Summer Seven Leaves: Damn! How could it be so delicious?!!!!!!]

[Cooked fish: Oh great Cao Jun, are you looking for a girlfriend? Looks so sweet, can clean, can’t cook, but can warm your bed. Won’t you consider? ]

The second dish was mutton roasted with radish. Mutton and beef weren’t alike. The texture was more delicate and the taste was distinctive. The mutton soup was also made from mutton bones boiled for an entire day. After getting rid of the gamey-ness, only the unique flavor of mutton remained. After adding the radishes, not only did it absorb the fattiness from the mutton, it also added a touch of sweetness to the dish. Topping it off with a bit of chili oil, made this dish taste all the more special. People simply couldn’t stop eating it.

Even when Cao Jun, the chef who made these, tasted these two dishes, he couldn’t help showing a hint of surprise. When preparing these two dishes, he listened to Ruan Tang’s suggestion and used bone broth soup instead of directly boiling the meat. As expected, this method produced a more flavorful dish. Not only did it taste better but the aroma was stronger. His admiration for Ruan Tang rose to a whole new level.

The third was spicy twice cooked pork, which used the most luxurious part from the wild boar — the belly. He sautéed the pork in the hot pan until the fatty oil oozed out. Afterwards, he sautéed the green peppers and minced garlic until it turned fragrant before adding back in the pork belly. It smelled delicious, tasted fresh and spicy. Simply delicious.

Seven dishes were quickly finished off. Ruan Tang and the others were starting to feel a little full, but the Rutes were just getting started. A hungry moan escaped from Gilbert’s throat and the quietly turned his attention to the fresh-keeping cabinet.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just bring everything out together?”