Chapter 2083

That influx of people literally turned this place into a city that never sleeps. After reaping the dividends of commerce, even during wartime, Panlongcheng never imposed a curfew.

"There are more customers, but their tastes have become picky too. Running a restaurant in Panlongcheng now is under tremendous pressure—nothing like before!" The white-faced fatty's expression said it all: "Look, back then, the roasted buns at Jufu Lou tasted the same for ten years, never changing. As soon as they came out of the oven, people would queue to grab them. Now? Hehe, you gotta come up with a new flavor every three months, or customers won't bother coming."

He Lingchuan couldn't be bothered to reply. This fatty had always complained to him—back then, and still now. Those who didn't know better might think he'd been losing money year after year and was about to go bankrupt.

Merchants, after all, always complain but never boast, vent grievances but never joy—He Lingchuan understood this all too well.

Hardly had he entered the private dining room and taken his seat when the first dish arrived. He Lingchuan hadn't even noticed when the fatty had placed the order.

Slices of tender white fish meat were neatly arranged, topped with an extremely fine mince of green herbs—it looked exquisite.

Sun Fuling picked up a slice for a light taste and couldn't stop praising it:

"Fresh, glutinous, and the flavor is quite unique!"

It left a deep impression.

People living by lakes and seas had grown tired of eating raw food; they needed to think of new variations. No wonder the white fatty's business was booming. This flavor truly stood out—it was currently one of a kind.

"Is this also Yu Sheng?"

Yu Sheng is just sliced raw fish. He Lingchuan had tried many ways of eating it—marinated, tossed, dipped. But this looked……

…nothing like it.

"This is herb-infused raw fish salad, our shop's exclusive signature dish—every table must order it." The white fatty enthusiastically introduced: "Panlongcheng specially introduced a new fish species from the several snow lakes on the Chipa Plateau, called golden-scaled fish. Its flesh is sweet, tender, and fatty—especially suited for making raw fish salad."

He Lingchuan grunted in acknowledgment.

After opening up to the outside world, Panlongcheng had always been cautious in introducing good things from abroad. Besides allowing ordinary goods to circulate freely, the most important livestock reform was introducing new breeds.

Chickens, cattle, pigs, ducks—including some crops, fish, and insects—Panlongcheng had introduced and improved new varieties to enhance quality and yield.

People were no longer satisfied with merely eating their fill; they wanted to eat well.

He Lingchuan sincerely hoped that the quality of life on the Flash Gold Plains could soon reach this level.

"But we are the Fresh Flavor Pavilion, and our method of preparing fresh raw salad is unique." The white fatty spoke solemnly: "You need to coat large chunks of fish meat with a powder blended from nine kinds of spices and herbs, then let it rest for twelve hours. After that, you can take it out and slice it. No need for dipping sauce—eating it like this is already excellent. Of course, if you want to dip, you can—"

He produced a small dish of milk sauce: "Dip a bit of this."

He Lingchuan also picked up a slice of raw fish salad to taste, and indeed, the fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth, the flavor unique: "Your spice powder is not bad."

"Naturally—this is our exclusive secret formula, researched for years."

The white fatty wore a mysterious expression: "Let me add a small detail I never tell anyone: the fish meat must be aged, not touching the container. Otherwise, the juices that seep out will flow back and re-cure it, making it taste bad."

He Lingchuan suddenly realized: this isn't just aging?

The appetizers kept coming—two more in quick succession—then came the steaming hot lamb pot, its fragrance filling the room even before it hit the table.

Small fat lamb with skin, sixteen months old.

Sun Fuling laughed: "No wonder you call this place the Fresh Flavor Pavilion."

There's fish, and there's lamb.

The white fatty also knew his place—after announcing the dish names, he hurried out.

Today, the Tiger Wing General came to dine at his shop, and everyone in the restaurant knew it. Going out like this, he wouldn't fail to make a splash?

Sun Fuling then asked He Lingchuan: "Was this border patrol smooth?"

"We caught over a hundred horse thieves, and even had a skirmish with Jia Guo's people." He Lingchuan scooped up a piece of skin-on lamb meat and blew on the rising steam: "Huff, still, the city's food is the best. On the grasslands leading troops, every day is boiled lamb."

Boiled lamb means exactly that—plain water brought to a boil. Even if it's genuine ingredients, eating it once or twice feels fine, seven or eight times feels full, but after twenty or thirty times, it starts to get boring. "Even your burps taste like boiled lamb."

"Has Jia Guo come again to steal horses?" This was a new worry that had emerged in Panlongcheng over the past year.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth had revived. What was once the Panlong Wasteland had become the Panlong Grassland. The original low shrubs had been replaced by grass, with lakes, rivers, and trees. Although the soil still couldn't match the fertility of the Mao River Plains, many places had already developed into vast meadows where alfalfa, wild wheat, sheep grass, white thatch, pine-scented grass, and whip grass grew wildly—fodder that livestock adored.

This was excellent pasture, suitable for raising horses.

Panlongcheng's horse supply had always been a major problem: the wasteland produced too few on its own, and the outside was blocked, so they could only buy from the nomadic tribes to the west and south, such as Jia Guo. Now, however, Panlongcheng also had its own ranch, and the quality was excellent—this cavalry worry was finally resolved.

As a result, it's now the Jia Guo nomads who come over to steal horses.

Zhong Shengguang had negotiated with Jia Guo several times; their attitude was decent, claiming these were private deeds by herdsmen, and they would certainly impose strict restrictions.

But the good horses in the southern pastures kept being stolen one after another. Two or three times could be overlooked, but five or six times was intolerable! So, taking advantage of the recent peace within the borders, Zhong Shengguang simply sent He Lingchuan south under the pretense of drilling troops, actually for border patrol.

He Lingchuan had been demoted to the southern ranch years ago, where he raised horses and trained troops, so he knew the south very well. As soon as he went, he quickly grasped the horse thieves' movement patterns, mapped out their entry and exit routes, then had people set traps—lying in wait.

The result? What came wasn't a rabbit, but a wild boar.

The horse thieves' gang wasn't large, but their backing was high-ranking, because they confessed that their patron was Jia Guo nobility. However, those nobles hid within their own country and would never show themselves in person. Even if this gang of horse thieves were wiped out in one sweep, they could still send others across the border to steal.

Sun Fuling listened, then pondered: "If we take the upper-level route, having Commander Zhong pressure Jia Guo forcefully, this matter could certainly be resolved. But Panlongcheng is actively expanding its second overseas trade route, which must pass through Jia Guo territory. Commander Zhong probably wouldn't want such a tiny condition raised during trade negotiations."

He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow: "Looking for another place to go to sea? When did this happen? I had no idea."

He had just gone south for a month—how could it feel like he'd been cut off from the world for a year?

"You've been busy fighting lately, so non-war-related news wouldn't be sent to the front lines. Then you went south." Sun Fuling nodded: "The negotiations for the new trade route have already progressed for about half a year."

The countries and regions this trade route would pass through—Panlongcheng had to negotiate with them one by one. Most regions considered this mutually beneficial, but some, relying on their special geography, wanted to take the opportunity to extort a bit.

"Getting back to the horse thieves." Sun Fuling was eager to hear the rest.