Ministry of Justice!

Two prison guards opened the cell door one by one, tapping the fence with sticks and shouting, "Your excellencies, you can leave now."

While shouting, the guards felt fortunate for abiding by the rules. Each profession had its own set of rules, and the guards' rule was to not provoke martial artists unless they were death row inmates whose cultivation had been abolished.

These high-ranking martial artists who had not committed any major crimes were released without any trouble, which was an example of this.

The first reaction of the Nightwatchers was that the emperor's edict of amnesty had been issued, and they were released because their opponents' goals had been achieved, and there was no need to continue detaining them.

But after being released from the dungeon, they were told to sign and seal, and collect their uniforms, copper gongs, and other items.

The Nightwatchers were familiar with this process, which meant they were released without charge and their official status was restored.

"The emperor has pardoned us? That's unlikely...." someone muttered quietly.

The Nightwatchers looked at each other with puzzled expressions, and each person was confused.

The disaster in the prison was clearly the result of factional struggles. They were all experienced Nightwatchers, and even the dangers and ruthlessness of factional struggles would take the opportunity to crush their opponents to death. They would never easily settle the matter.

"Wei Gong has given up something and got us out of the Ministry of Justice...." Jiang Lvzhong quickly made a guess and looked at the three Jinluo beside him.

The Jinluo exchanged silent glances and had similar guesses. For a moment, their hearts were heavy, but then they felt grateful to Wei Yuan in their hearts.

After collecting their uniforms, weapons, waist badges, and other items, the Nightwatchers left the Ministry of Justice in silence. On the way back to the yamen, they finally felt the joy of "surviving a disaster."

From the beginning of silence to excited conversation, one guy even picked up his colleagues and said he was going to the Official Brothel Sector to have fun.

The Jinluo looked at him a few more times. He was a guy who walked with his eyes squinted and looked like a slick and cunning type.

"Song Tingfeng, you just got out of prison and can't wait to make mistakes." The bronze gong next to him said dissatisfiedly.

"What do you know? My boss, the silver gong, who is so honest and upright, went in. Whether you are greedy or not is not important at all. It depends on whether the big people above want to mess with you or not." The squinting bronze gong spoke confidently.

The Jinluo thought he had some insight....

"If Xu Ningyan goes, we'll go too." A bronze gong said.

Jiang Lvzhong's eyes lit up, and he smiled at the Jinluo beside him, "Xu Ningyan is the darling of the Official Brothel Sector, the object of competition and pursuit by the flower courtesans. A while ago, Yang Yan and I took these little guys to the Official Brothel Sector for a drink. Oh my... besides Fu Xiang, there were four other flower courtesans present."In the gaze of the three Nightwatchers, Jiang Lvzhong relaxed and rubbed the shallow crow's feet at the corner of his eyes. He smiled and said, "The reputation of the courtesans in the Official Brothel Sector is well-deserved. It makes me feel like I'm young again."

The envy in the eyes of the three Nightwatchers was hard to conceal.

Although they didn't lack women, the courtesans in the Official Brothel Sector were not within the range that the Nightwatchers could enjoy at will. This was not because the Nightwatchers didn't have enough power, but because the Official Brothel Sector was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, and the power of the Nightwatchers didn't work here.

The Nightwatchers couldn't simply request the courtesans to serve them, as they would be rejected one hundred percent. It was not good to cause trouble, because the Ministry of Rites would be happy if they did.

Back at the yamen, the four Nightwatchers went to Haohui Tower to listen to Wei Yuan's teachings and show their loyalty.

"Good. Take this opportunity to clean up the bad practices in the yamen and manage your subordinates well." Wei Yuan said.

The four Nightwatchers nodded in agreement.

Wei Yuan nodded in satisfaction and said, "You should not thank me for your release this time, but someone else."

Someone else? Did the Emperor grant a special pardon? Jiang Lvzhong and the others speculated in their hearts.

"It's Xu Qi'an." Wei Yuan said gently.

Xu Qi'an? This answer surprised and incredulous the four Nightwatchers.

Jiang Lvzhong straightened his back and said respectfully, "Lord Wei, what happened while we were in prison?"

Wei Yuan informed the four Nightwatchers about the case of the Minister of Works colluding with the God of Witchcraft, emphasizing Xu Qi'an's importance in the case.

After leaving Haohui Tower, Jiang Lvzhong's face was gloomy and his mood was bad.

One of the Nightwatchers joked, "Jealous that the copper gong has made great contributions?"

Jiang Lvzhong shook his head, closed his sharp eyes, and sighed, "I should have fought to the death with Yang Yan to recruit Xu Qi'an under my command."

"Xu Copper Gong is indeed a rare talent, but his strength is a bit low."

"You don't know anything. You don't know who he is..." Jiang Lvzhong suddenly shut up.

"Hmm?" The three Nightwatchers looked at him.

"I can't say, I can't say." Jiang Lvzhong shook his head.

"Jiang, are you trying to be like a woman in the Official Brothel Sector, taking off your clothes and twisting your butt to seduce people?"

"Come on, tell us what's up with that little copper gong. I also think he's strange. Wei Yuan is too fond of a copper gong."

"If you want to know, ask Lord Wei yourself."

No matter how the three Nightwatchers asked, Jiang Lvzhong refused to say anything.

...

After consulting with his uncle, Xu Qi'an went to buy the haunted house the next day.

Actually, his uncle's opinion was to take another look, but his aunt and Lingyue were both satisfied with the house, except for the female ghost in the well. However, the head of the family, Xu Ershu, said that since the people from the Bureau of Astrology had looked at it, there would be no problem.Aunt and Xu Lingyue were completely relieved.

Yahang admired Xu Qian's stubbornness and even felt a little embarrassed about it. He hired people to clean the house.

During dinner, Xu Qian asked Xu Pingzhi: "Uncle, the house has been idle for many years and needs to be repaired. I took Aunt and Lingyue to see it the other day. The structure of the house is still intact, but some doors and windows are rotten."

Xu Pingzhi pondered and said, "Half a month is enough."

Half a month? It's not like doing a complete renovation. Xu Qian said, "Let's hire a group of craftsmen from the outer city and let them work continuously for 12 hours a day. This way, it will take about seven days."

Xu Pingzhi was puzzled, "Why the outer city? The craftsmen in the inner city have better skills."

"Because the carpenters in the outer city are cheaper, and they don't know that the house is haunted. They can stay inside peacefully."

The family thought he was really cunning.

Xu Pingzhi was an old Beijing resident and was responsible for these matters. Aunt and Lingyue were reassured.

A man should have some eloquence, which both men and women like.

...

On a day off, Xu Qian, who had not been to the Official Brothel Sector for almost a week, drove a carriage and met with the mountain goods shop owner who had contacted him in advance at the market. He bought two baskets of mushrooms from him.

Next, he fulfilled his two promises: first, to help Chu Caiwei advance to the sixth rank of the Artisan level, and second, to give her some to eat.

The goal was clear: to make a simple version of chicken essence.

Xu Qian had watched a video before. The video was made by a gourmet, not Chef B, a serious gourmet. He collected many ancient recipes and made them according to the steps of the recipes. He found that ancient cuisine was not as delicious as he had imagined.

After summing up, he found that the biggest difference between modern and ancient cuisine was not the change or addition of style but the reform and upgrade of seasoning.

After coming to this world, Xu Qian agreed with this statement. The chef at Guiyue Tower was very good, but the food in ordinary households was very bland, even though Xu's family had boiled broth.

"The emergence of MSG was a major breakthrough in the human food industry..." Xu Qian poured the two baskets of mushrooms into a large tank to soak.

Then he went to the main house and stole an old hen, killed it, and put it in a small earthen stove to stew.

Then he simply washed the soaked mushrooms, drained them, and put them into another pot on the earthen stove.

Xu Qian didn't plan to make MSG because he lacked relevant knowledge and production experience. He only knew that the main component of MSG was sodium glutamate, which could be extracted from grains and kelp....But isn't alcohol made from fermented grains? Xu Qi'an muttered to himself as he reminisced.

The option to extract MSG from kelp was directly deleted and not adopted, for the simple reason that the cost was too high.

The Great Feng's capital city was located in the Central Plains, far from the coast. Although there was water transportation and sea transportation, sea products were still a luxury enjoyed only by the wealthy and powerful in the capital city.

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"To extract enough MSG from kelp, an extremely large quantity is needed. Even if you spend all your money, you won't be able to extract much MSG."

Xu Qi'an's plan was to use chicken essence instead of MSG. Thanks to his childhood curiosity, one day, the family suddenly received a package of chicken essence, and his mother no longer needed MSG.

He was curious about how this yellow package replaced MSG, so he carefully examined the ingredients.

The main ingredient of chicken essence is inosine monophosphate, which is a flavor enhancer that can rival MSG. And inosine monophosphate is abundant in shiitake mushrooms.

As time passed, water was added several times along the way, and the shiitake mushrooms and old hen gradually boiled into a peculiar flavor that permeated the small kitchen.

Xu Qi'an scooped out the shiitake mushrooms, leaving behind a thick broth. The boiled shiitake mushrooms were placed on a filter cloth and squeezed hard to extract the thick broth. After a few times, the shiitake mushrooms in the filter cloth were dried up, as if their bodies had been emptied.

The next step was to mix the thick broth of the old hen soup and shiitake mushroom broth, pound the chicken meat and bones in a mortar, and mix them into the broth, stirring evenly.

Then, wait for the broth to naturally dry into a block, and grind the block into powder. The crude version of chicken essence was formed.

After completing all of this, Xu Qi'an looked at the sky and realized it was dusk.

At this time, the chef should be busy with dinner, so he could try out the invention of a 21st-century student.

He sought product feedback from his second uncle and aunt.

I have a feeling that Xu Lingyin is going to eat ten bowls today... Xu Qi'an's lips curled up slightly, feeling pleased, and he went to the main house with the thick broth.

PS: Today was particularly satisfying. I spent the whole day fighting wits with my superiors and looking for every opportunity to take a nap. Phew~ I finally managed to write a chapter before getting off work.

I'll write the next chapter after I get home. Also, please vote for me~