Chapter 644: Spring Chicken Made with Monkey Wine

"Boss, give me a hug! I missed you so much!" The moment he walked in the door, Xia Shixuan greeted him with a big hug. Her eyes were red, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"I’ve only been gone a few days, right? Not even a week," Shen Yibin said, taken aback by the warm welcome. ’Look at me, what a great boss I am. Other employees wish their boss would stay away, but mine are so sad I’ve been gone for just a few days they’re about to cry. I’m so touched.’

However, before he could finish feeling touched, Xia Shixuan spoke the second half of her thought. "We were just trying to figure out what takeout to order. We’ve been at it for half an hour and still haven’t found anything good. But now that you’re here, Boss, we can just relax and wait for dinner! Boss, can we have Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices tonight?"

Well then. ’So they didn’t miss the boss, they missed the chef, huh?’ The touched feeling that had just swelled up in Shen Yibin instantly vanished, leaving only a dull ache in his chest. ’I got all worked up for nothing.’

"Boss, let me help you with your things! Hah’Er, did you miss us these past few days?" Li Shiqing was much more thoughtful. She quickly came forward to take the bag from Shen Yibin’s hands, offering a string of greetings. Xie Nannan poured tea while Gao Shu brought him a chair, which made Shen Yibin feel much better.

"Here, the bag is full of gifts for you all. Some tea and pastries from Wuyi Mountain and Hangzhou. You can split them amongst yourselves." He handed the gifts to Li Shiqing and, instead of sitting down to rest, headed straight for the second floor. "I’m not making you Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices today. I just learned some Hu Jian dishes and West Lake specialties. Tonight I’ll make you West Lake Vinegar Fish, Song Sao’s Fish Soup, roasted spring chicken, Longjing Shrimp, and Dongpo Pork. Oh, right, Shi Qing, give Sun Qian a call and ask her to come over too!"

"Okay, okay! I’ll call her right now! You must be tired, Boss!" Hearing there would be so much delicious food, the girls got excited at once. "Boss, are the ingredients in the trunk? We’ll bring them up for you right away."

Sigh. ’I’m raising a bunch of foodies! Other people’s employees are loyal because of good company culture or high salaries. Mine, on the other hand, stick around because they love to eat. Should I change the store’s name to Gaolao Village Pet Store?’ Shen Yibin shook his head helplessly and began to wash his hands to prepare the food.

"Sun said she’s still working overtime and will probably be a little late," Li Shiqing reported as she and Gao Shu struggled to carry in a basket of ingredients. Xia Shixuan and Xie Nannan followed, a chicken in one hand and a duck in the other. To be able to eat delicious food, they were willing to endure any hardship.

"No problem. It’ll take me a while to cook anyway. Tell her to take her time and not to worry!" Shen Yibin assigned them simple tasks like washing and chopping vegetables, gutting fish, and dressing chickens.

"Boss, when did you learn to make all these dishes? It feels like you learn a bunch of new recipes every time you come back from a trip. Why don’t you visit Paris next time? I want to eat a fancy French meal!" Li Shiqing asked while plucking a spring chicken, staring at Shen Yibin with eyes full of anticipation.

"French cuisine is really nothing special. If you want to go, you can just go yourself during a holiday. With your salary, it’s not a problem at all," said Xia Shixuan, who had been to Paris and eaten French food many times, so the novelty had long worn off. "I don’t think it’s nearly as good as the food Bin makes. But Bin, tonight’s menu seems a little heavy on the meat, doesn’t it? With the roasted spring chicken and Dongpo Pork... Will I get fat if I eat all this?"

"It’s fine. If you’re afraid of getting fat, you can give me your portion, right? I’m not scared at all," Xie Nannan teased. However, judging from Xia Shixuan’s expression, her worries were just for show. Once the food was on the table, there was no way she’d give her portion to anyone.

"I still have to save up for a house. I want to settle down in Yunzhong City." Li Shiqing was a bit conflicted. Traveling the world was something almost every girl dreamed of, and of course, she wanted to see it too.

"Oh? That’s a great idea. Have you found any houses you like? If you find a suitable one and the down payment is too much, I can lend you the money. You can pay me back slowly over time." Shen Yibin never bothered with lectures about company culture; he preferred more direct methods. ’Li Shiqing wants to buy a house, doesn’t she? I’ll definitely support her. If she doesn’t have enough money, I’ll lend it to her. She’d probably be too embarrassed to quit before paying me back, right? A method like this is way more effective at retaining employees than any ’chicken soup for the soul’ pep talks.’

"Really? Then I’ll go look around in the next couple of days. Boss, you have to help me weigh the options then!" Li Shiqing couldn’t help but feel her heart stir. With her income, affording the monthly mortgage payments was no problem at all; she just couldn’t scrape together the down payment. Shen Yibin’s offer was a huge help.

"Sure. Just let me know when you’re going," Shen Yibin agreed. He took the prepared spring chicken from Li Shiqing, placed it in a bowl, and mixed it with seasonings to marinate. Then, he took out a lump of yellow clay, put it in another basin, broke it up, added a little water and coarse salt, and began to knead it repeatedly to ensure the clay was pliable.

"Shi Qing, can you hand me that bottle of Monkey Wine over there?" Since he had helpers, Shen Yibin was happy to put them to work.

"Here, Boss!" Li Shiqing quickly handed over the bottle. But when she saw what Shen Yibin did next, she immediately shrieked, "Boss, you’re mixing the Monkey Wine into the clay? That’s such a waste!"

"This is a necessary step to make a good roasted spring chicken," Shen Yibin said nonchalantly. "For authentic roasted spring chicken, the clay on the outside should be taken from the mud seals of aged yellow rice wine jars. The older the wine jar’s seal, the tastier the chicken. We don’t have a tradition of drinking yellow rice wine here in Yunzhong City, so aged wine-jar clay is hard to find. This is the only way."

"Even so, you could just use regular liquor, right?" Watching Shen Yibin use half a bottle of Monkey Wine to mix the clay, Li Shiqing felt as if her heart was bleeding.

’Good thing it’s her and not Director Kong. If Director Kong saw this, he might actually try to kill me. He’d probably have someone send a few lumps of aged wine-jar clay all the way from West Lake just to trade for this half-bottle of wine. Hmm, that guy is supposed to be coming to Yunzhong City for vacation soon... Should I pull something like this on him then?’ Shen Yibin mused.

The clay was mixed evenly, achieving the desired pliability. The Monkey Wine and coarse salt were uniformly distributed. The spring chicken was also done marinating. He stuffed the seasonings into the chicken’s cavity, wrapped it in caul fat and lotus leaves, and finally coated it evenly with the Monkey Wine-infused clay. He wrapped the outside with a layer of newspaper to prevent the clay from falling off, and finally, put the mud ball into the oven.