After dealing with the eight large chickens, he carried them up to the kitchen. He would handle the geese one by one; doing them all at once would be too chaotic.
The water was hot now. To his surprise, Xie Baolian had also sharpened the knife for slaughtering chickens. The two women were peeling garlic cloves, chatting and laughing.
"Why so many chickens?"
Seeing Li Haochen come in with eight large chickens, both women asked curiously.
"Five are for the banquet, one for worship, one for stewing, and one for chicken broth for you to drink."
As soon as chicken broth was mentioned, the eyes of both women lit up. This was real free-range chicken stewed broth, and after tasting it last time, they couldn't stop thinking about it, constantly urging Li Haochen to buy chicks to raise. Unfortunately, he had been too busy and forgotten.
"You two go out first. I need to slaughter the chickens. Don't get any blood on you."
"Uh, it's okay. We haven't seen how it's done before."
"Alright, but don't blame me if you can't sleep tonight."
"Don't underestimate us. If you let us watch, you won't have to do anything..."
However, as soon as Li Haochen brought the knife over to slit the throat of the first chicken, the two women dared not make a sound and quickly ran out covering their eyes.
"I told you not to watch, but you insisted. Heh!"
Slitting the throat was quick, but there wasn't enough cold water to scald the chickens. He had to do them two at a time.
The two women dared not watch the slaughtering, but plucking the feathers was no problem. Now, each of them had a chicken, and they were having a great time.
The chickens were easy to handle. Although the two women were inexperienced, it didn't take them ten minutes. Li Haochen was even faster, finishing one in two or three minutes. However, cleaning the entrails did take some time, especially the chicken gizzards used for the broth, the skin and fat had to be removed, and the chicken feet and necks also needed thorough cleaning.
By the time all the chickens were processed, it was almost ten o'clock. They had no time for breakfast and had to start braising the lamb ribs.
He kept one pot of hot water and used another to braise. Murong Yanran had already washed the lamb ribs and drained the blood. Li Haochen started a big fire, and the temperature quickly rose. He stir-fried ginger and garlic until fragrant, then added the lamb ribs and stir-fried them until they were dry. He added goji berries, red dates, herbs, and astragalus, then added an appropriate amount of water to braise. To make the lamb ribs tender and soft, it would take at least 3 hours.
As soon as the lamb ribs were done, the chicken soup also needed to be prepared. However, it didn't require the large pot; the back stove's pot would suffice. The residual heat from the front large pot was enough to stew the back pot, killing two birds with one stone.
At this point, Li Haochen ran down to the chicken coop to deal with the three large fellows. They were difficult to handle, and he had to tackle them one by one. After dealing with these three geese, Li Haochen was covered in goose footprints, and two blobs of yellow droppings landed on his feet, warm and slippery, which was quite disgusting.
"Damn it, I'll deal with you guys later."
After washing his feet, Li Haochen picked up the knife, looking like a cold-blooded killer. He grabbed a goose with one hand, "Weren't you jumping around happily just now? You even dared to peck me. I'll send you back to reincarnation."
A cold glint flashed!
"Gulp~"
A stream of warm blood spurted out. The goose struggled even more fiercely. Li Haochen quickly twisted its neck backward and threw it into the bucket. Even with its head severed, the creature thrashed for quite a while. He really didn't know how it was constructed.
He used the same method to deal with the other two. However, plucking goose feathers was different from plucking chicken feathers; there were too many downy feathers, and it required great care. This task would be left to Murong Yanran and the other woman. Li Haochen had important matters to attend to; he had to go get the seafood.
The seafood was actually in his spatial dimension, but he wanted to put on a show and go out for a trip. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but if such an unbelievable matter were leaked, it wouldn't be Li Haochen who was in trouble, but them. Li Haochen wasn't afraid of anything. Even if the whole world were to hunt him, he wouldn't flinch. At worst, he could hide in his space.
Down at Butterfly Bay, Li Haochen ran into his space and took out the large croaker, the large yellow croaker, the lobster, and the crab. When he returned home, the two women had already processed one goose. Their speed was quite impressive.
When they saw the seafood Li Haochen brought back, both women's eyes widened, and they exclaimed in unison, "Large yellow croaker!"
"How about that? Is this fish enough to impress tonight? Heh!"
The two women rolled their eyes. Was this not enough to impress? With this caliber, it was probably unique in the world. It wasn't that the rich didn't have money, but having money didn't necessarily mean they could buy so many large yellow croakers. If those tycoons knew that these five large yellow croakers, each weighing three pounds, would fetch at least several times their price, it wouldn't be a problem.
This showed how much Li Haochen valued his home. Hundreds of thousands of yuan, and he didn't even blink.
Murong Yanran and the others continued plucking goose feathers, while Li Haochen began to process the large croaker. He intended to extract the swim bladder and liver, as for the fish meat, he would give it to the village chief and the others later.
Li Haochen picked up the knife and sharpened it on the whetstone a couple of times, wiped it with a cloth, and made a cut into the fish's belly. The belly immediately split open. He reached inside and very carefully took out the swim bladder and liver.
Not bad, the swim bladder was about a pound, and the liver was also not small. Li Haochen was looking forward to stewing this for soup tonight.
There were many guests tonight, and the soup had to be stewed in a large clay pot, which would require a large pot. This was not possible yet, so he had to wait a while longer.
Li Haochen also went over to help with plucking the goose feathers. With his assistance, the speed increased considerably.
By twelve o'clock, they had finally processed all the geese. After marinating them in separate basins, they began steaming the chickens. They had to be quick, or they wouldn't be ready for the banquet.
Fortunately, the iron pot was large enough to steam three chickens at once. Otherwise, if they did them one by one, the feast would probably not start until ten in the evening.
While the chickens were steaming, the back stove could not be idle; it was perfect for braising pig trotters.
Since Murong Yanran and the others couldn't lend a hand in the kitchen, they went out to prepare peanuts, melon seeds, and fruits.
Li Haochen had been busy all morning without a moment to spare, and he had been woken up by the heavy rain in the early morning, so he hadn't rested much. By the time the chickens were cooked, his head was bobbing like a chick pecking for grain.
Murong Yanran, who had just walked over to wash the fruits, saw how tired Li Haochen was. With great concern, she caressed his face and said, "Why don't you go back to your room and rest for a bit? We'll watch the fire."
"It's fine. You don't know the right heat. The meat will be overcooked if it's not done correctly. You and Mom go rest. They're expected to arrive around three or four in the afternoon, and you'll be busy then."
"Then... alright!"
After Murong Yanran left, Li Haochen went to wash his face with cold water, feeling slightly more awake. He checked the time; the first batch of chickens was almost ready. He inserted a chopstick into the chicken leg and pulled it out. There was no blood, so they were ready.
At this time, the lamb ribs stewing in the large pot on the other side were also done. Li Haochen tested them; they were tender and soft, with a very good flavor. He scooped them into a stainless steel pot and set them aside. The large pot would be used to braise the geese.
The geese were very large, and the pot could only hold one at a time. Li Haochen looked at the time; it was a bit tight. The remaining three chickens would be finished using the gas stove. The two large wood-fired stoves had to be used simultaneously.