Huayu Chef

024 Praise of Kyoryu

Hahaha~~

Zhuangzhuang burst into laughter.

Huang Mengying laughed at her own stupidity, squatted down and buried her head in her knees, her shoulders shaking violently, too embarrassed to face anyone.

Zhang Jinxuan blinked, then said with a wry smile, "Mengying, you've really stumped me. Goodness, you even mentioned streetlights."

"I even thought about it in my head: what kind of dish can you make with streetlights? Those iron poles can't be chopped, sliced ​​thin, steamed, boiled, pounded, or fried. They make a rattling sound, and you'd break a mouthful of teeth if you tried to gnaw on them. It's really a challenge for me to use them as a dish."

"Mengying, I'm so impressed by you, you're really good at creating drama."

Zhuangzhuang burst into laughter, laughing until his stomach hurt.

Huang Mengying covered her mouth with her hand, raised her head, glared at Zhang Jinxuan with her big, watery eyes, and then suddenly stood up and ran away.

"Hey, why are you leaving? Aren't you going to film anymore?"

"To touch up my makeup."

Zhang Jinxuan gestured for Zhuangzhuang to pause, and Kuku laughed, "What's the tallest plant by the river? A street lamp."

"Haha." Zhuangzhuang burst into laughter again.

"Once this episode airs, the streetlight joke will definitely become the funniest scene of the two episodes."

"Definitely! I was laughing so hard just filming it, the audience would be laughing their heads off. The lines you added later were absolutely brilliant."

After laughing enough, Zhuangzhuang winked and said, "I think you and Huang Mengying are a good match. Why don't we make her a permanent employee?"

Zhang Jinxuan shook his head and said, "It's not that simple to get her to be a regular cast member. She's a signed artist with Yang Mi's studio and has played important supporting roles in TV dramas. It's fine for her to come for a one-night stand, but we can't expect her to be a regular cast member without paying her a penny, can we? How much would we pay? Do you think a small company like ours can afford to hire a celebrity as a regular guest?"

"That's true."

"Watch your words, don't bring up relationships between men and women, her family is not ordinary."

Zhuangzhuang quickly said, "I'm sorry, Brother Xuan, I promise I won't mention it again."

Zhang Jinxuan nodded, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Stop rambling when we're filming later, let's get straight to the main part, otherwise we'll drag it out and it'll be very late."

"really."

The two chatted for about ten minutes before Huang Mengying returned, her pretty face tense, unsmiling, and extremely aloof.

Seeing that Zhang Jinxuan and Zhuangzhuang's smiles were widening, her face flushed slightly, and she threatened them fiercely, "Don't laugh."

"I'm not laughing."

Zhang Jinxuan pinched his cheeks with his hands, turned his back to Huang Mengying, and his shoulders twitched.

"I won't laugh either."

Zhuangzhuang lowered his head and fiddled with the camera, making strange "kuku" noises.

Huang Mengying: "..."

You might as well laugh openly than laugh secretly.

"Are we still going to film?" Huang Mengying asked, barely suppressing a laugh.

"Ahem, filming has started, filming has started."

Zhuangzhuang even added a touch of ceremony, shouting loudly, "Camera on! Recording on! Action!"

Zhang Jinxuan quickly got into the zone, saying with a half-smile, "Mengying, I'll allow you to rephrase your question now. Answer me, what is the tallest plant by the river?"

"willow."

"Bingo, correct answer, Chengdu native gets 10 points."

Zhang Jinxuan snapped his fingers, quickly shifting the filming pace to prevent Huang Mengying from laughing again, and steered the conversation: "The main ingredient in our dish today is related to willow trees, specifically the willow catkins that grow on willow branches. Mengying, have you ever eaten willow catkins?"

Never.

"Then you're in luck today. I plan to make a willow catkin feast. A dish like cold willow catkin salad is a common spring dish in the capital."

"The clever little devil may have already spotted the key point: in the last episode, we filmed Peking duck, because Peking duck is a famous dish of Beijing and a representative dish of the Beijing cuisine. Willow trees, on the other hand, are too common; they can be found in many places across the country. What does making a willow catkin banquet have to do with Beijing?"

"Let Mengying answer this question for everyone," Zhang Jinxuan said, handing the camera to Huang Mengying. "Mengying, you studied at university in Beijing for four years. Do you know any streets, alleys, or place names named after willow trees?"

Huang Mengying thought for a moment and replied, "I know Willow Shade Street, Willow Alley, Green Willow Lane, and Weeping Willow."

Zhang Jinxuan added, "There are also Shuangliushu Hutong, Liulin Village, Dongliushu, Daliushu, Daliushu, Wanliutang, Liugou, etc. There are many place names in Beijing named after willow trees. From these names, you can see that Beijing has a deep and inseparable relationship with willow trees."

"I've checked the records. Willows have a very long history of cultivation in Beijing. According to the 'Collection of History of Forests in Beijing,' more than 10,000 years ago, willows were already growing together with pine, oak, birch, and persimmon trees in the Beijing area. It is also one of the earliest and most widely distributed plants in the Beijing area that has been recorded as being artificially cultivated, with a cultivation history of more than 2,000 years."

According to the "Flora of Beijing", the willows in Beijing include drought-resistant willow, weeping willow, red-barked willow, yellow-flowered willow, mountain willow, sand willow, and wormwood willow, with drought-resistant willow and weeping willow being the most common. Since the Liao Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, willows have been regarded as the main tree species for greening the environment of Beijing and have been planted in many dynasties.

Huang Mengying listened with great interest, learning something new.

"Mengying, do you know how many willow trees there are in the capital now?"

"Hundreds of thousands of trees?"

"More than that, probably one or two million. Those of you who were willow trees in your past lives should know that when willow fruits ripen, they split open and release light, fluffy catkins. When the wind blows, the catkins cover the sky, and if you go out without a mask, you'll get a mouthful of catkins as soon as you open your mouth."

Huang Mengying and Zhuangzhuang couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Is that alright?"

"Many people outside Beijing don't know that every year during the period when poplar and willow catkins fly in Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Parks and Forestry and the Beijing Meteorological Bureau jointly issue a forecast of the beginning of the period when poplar and willow catkins fly in Beijing, and guide the city to carry out comprehensive prevention and control."

"So here's the question: if willow catkins are so annoying, why does the capital still plant so many willow trees? Mengying, do you know?"

Huang Mengying was taken aback for a moment, then replied with a smile, "I don't know, does senior brother know?"

"I know, the answer is actually quite simple. Willows are like resilient little guys, growing quickly, adaptable, inexpensive, and suitable for large-scale planting. In the past, willows have made important contributions to the greening of Beijing."

"The willows in Beijing are majestic and magnificent. Such a magnificent tree species should be more tolerant of their crazy 'showing off' behavior of releasing willow catkins to the outside world. So my suggestion for these 'naughty children' wandering around is to pick them off during their gestation period and eat them raw."

Huang Mengying nodded slightly. The first half of the sentence made a lot of sense, but she was suddenly taken aback by the unexpected twist in the last sentence.

"Greatness is nothing to be taken lightly?"

"Steaming them is also good." Zhang Jinxuan smacked his lips and explained with a smile, "Currently, there are three methods to control willow catkins. The first is to inject birth control pills, which only works for a year and is quite expensive. The second is to graft and transplant heads, which is even more expensive than the first. The third is to have Lin Daiyu uproot the weeping willows one by one."

Huang Mengying was completely lost, looking utterly bewildered, and said, "Lin Daiyu uprooting the willow tree? Isn't that Lu Zhishen?"

"Lin Daiyu is a fairy reincarnated, so she has a longer lifespan."

Huang Mengying: "..."

"Compared to the three ways of punishing naughty children, picking the willow catkins and making a cold salad is the most economical method."

As he spoke, Zhang Jinxuan kindly reminded everyone: "I would like to remind everyone that you cannot break off trees in the city at will, nor can you pick the fruit if they have ripened. You must obtain the consent and guidance of the relevant department managers before picking them. Please remember this."

"Alright, let's leave the story of the willow tree's entanglements with the capital city here. Mengying, let's start picking the willow catkins."

"Okay, senior brother, teach me how to pick them."

OK.