Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

Chapter 140 Taibo Chicken

Helgi happily took a purse from the landlady, dumped the Septim coins on the table, and counted them carefully. She sold the tiger carcass for 200 Septim, and asked Edis to waive our board and lodging expenses. Agis and Hayu plucked the feathers of the two pheasants and gutted them. I chopped the onions and garlic, rubbed them in the wine, and then cleaned the two pheasants inside and out. The white and tender pheasants were soaked in the wine, and I ran to peel the cabbage leaves.

Since there were no other customers, the proprietress looked at the busy crowd and the pile of dirt on the ground with curiosity.

"Old man, what are they doing? Are they going to make a grave for the chicken bones after eating?"

Sebastian was also confused. The old man came from Gaoyan Province, which is known as the hometown of gourmet food, but he couldn't figure out my tricks.

I was going to make beggar's chicken. Unfortunately, the ingredients in the other world were incomplete. There were no lotus leaves, and there was no honey in this remote place. I still hadn't found ginger. I had to make do with what I had. I had to eat it. Two apples were stuffed into each chicken's stomach, and then carefully wrapped with vegetable leaves and covered with mud. I threw a pair of mud balls into the fire pit in the middle of the hotel lobby, then washed my hands and waited for the chicken to be roasted.

"How do you eat this, sir?"

Edith handed over a bottle of wine and put on a smile.

"The landlady is in charge of the inn where Tiber Septim stayed, but she has never heard of Tiber Chicken?"

After saying this, even old Lotte was attracted and moved his chair towards me. I cleared my throat and started talking nonsense seriously.

"It is said that when Tiber Septim was fighting in many battles, his army ran out of food and grass. He ordered his soldiers to catch pheasants and cook them in this way. After the soldiers tasted such delicious food, they became brave and invincible. Tiber chicken became popular in the world. However, people later became accustomed to eating delicacies from land and sea, and disdained common dishes like chicken, so the dish gradually lost its popularity."

"I've never heard of Taber Chicken. Where did you learn this recipe, boy?"

Sebastian asked suspiciously.

"It was by chance that I learned from a hermit master. After he found out, he didn't blame me, but just asked me not to reveal his identity."

The old man seemed to be thinking about something.

"Could it be, that person..."

I quickly raised my index finger to my lips. Sebastian nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood. I didn't care who he thought "that person" was. Even if he could find that person to confront him in the future, there were so many capable people in Skyrim Province. I could just say that he guessed wrong.

"You must try it, you must try it!"

I smiled faintly and acted very stylishly.

"Sir, please be patient."

The chicken would take about two hours to roast, so we chatted while waiting. Edith asked his son, who worked as a handyman in the store, to serve us two more bottles of wine, and then he said he had something to do and went to the kitchen. Hayu was naturally curious about how Agis, who went out to catch chickens, could kill a tiger. We promised Karan to keep it a secret, so we just said we would know the clues tomorrow. After counting the coins, Helgi swept them into a small pocket and stuffed them into the little cat girl. In her words, since Agis is good at stealing, he must be able to prevent his things from being stolen by others.

After Sebastian urged me countless times, I used a shovel to take out a mud ball. People gathered around me, as if I was not about to cut a chicken, but a piece of uncut jade. The leaves had turned dark brown under the high temperature and did not look very attractive, but the moment they were opened, a mixture of wine, fruit, meat and fragrance filled the hall. Everyone's throat moved, including Edith and her son.

I wiped the dagger clean, cut off two chicken legs, and handed them to Helgi and Agis respectively. Then I took out the chicken breast and gave it to the proprietress and her son. They hurriedly stuffed the chicken into their mouths, and then they remembered that they should thank them first, but their mouths were blocked, so they had to bow. Hayou didn't wait for me to say more, took out the other chicken, cut off the chicken legs and handed them to Sebastian and me. Old Lotte waved his hand, but didn't take it.

"I am old and cannot eat so much meat. Just cut off a wing for me."

I pushed the other chicken leg to Aigis. The little cat girl was very surprised. Her eyes widened. She wanted to explain that she had eaten the chicken leg, but she couldn't speak. She could only hum and point to the half chicken bone beside her mouth.

“Aigis has worked hard today, and he deserves two chicken legs. As for me…”

I raised my bottle of ale.

"The best things to go with wine are chicken heads, chicken necks and chicken wings. As for the chicken ribs - it's a pity to throw them away, and there's no meat in them. Hey! Hayou, wait!"

I was reminiscing about the old story about married women lovers when I saw Hayou cutting off the butt of a chicken and preparing to throw it away.

"This is a good thing! I would rather give up a mountain of gold than a chicken tip."

I picked off the two small pimples on the chicken's butt, and in front of everyone's stunned gazes, I put the triangular piece of meat into my mouth, enjoying the wonderful feeling of the fat slowly melting.

Old Lotte said he couldn't eat any more, but he ate all four chicken wings, smiling and praising them. The old man was still proud of his status and was a little bit arrogant, but the others were not polite. After all the scramble, I couldn't help but feel that two chickens were too few. Fortunately, Edith brought bread and a few bowls of stew in time, which filled everyone's stomach. The proprietress smiled and handed over another bottle of wine, then sat opposite me.

"Can you please teach me how to make Tabernacle Chicken?"

I knew that she was so attentive because of this matter, but I pretended to be embarrassed.

"Didn't the boss lady see everything just now?"

"Well... I was busy with some chores just now, so I didn't look carefully at some places..."

"Alas... the ingredients for this dish are easy to get, and the preparation is not complicated. He once said that high-end delicacies often only require simple ingredients and simple cooking. So it's not a matter of whether I can teach you or not. I just ask you not to say that you learned this dish from me. You know, I was just stealing my skills. If people know that I'm showing off everywhere, they will definitely blame me."

"That sounds like something he would say. Are you still in touch with him?"

Sebastian pricked up his ears and came over to talk.

"He is so elusive that he has no time to contact me. If he hears any rumors, I won't even have a chance to defend myself."

Edith patted his chest and promised that he would never betray me.

"This is not something you can guarantee. This dish must have a reason. If someone asks you where you learned it from, how would you answer?"

Old Lotte seemed to be worried that I had offended the master for no reason, and his words were quite impolite. Edith could not answer and fell silent.

"I have a story here that you can tell others later. Just say that this inn is haunted."

Edith was almost suffocated by me.

"How can you say your store is haunted? My business is already struggling, so I might as well just close it down!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? Just listen to me. You can say that one night, you met a ghost in this store. It was... uh... yes! It was the one my master mentioned, the one who first attacked Old Haldane and was supposed to become sworn brothers with Tiber Septim, but was killed by the defenders. Because he failed to become sworn brothers with Tiber, his soul could not rest in peace. You can say that he taught you this method and asked you to cook this dish for him as a consolation. You can add the details of the story as you like, but I am definitely not in it, how about it?"

Sebastian shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"It's really hard for you to make up such a detailed story. Well, I'll help you polish it up."

The old man asked for a pen and paper and wrote a story on the table beside him. I went through the production process of beggar's chicken and taught it to Edith. Helgi blinked his eyes and sat over with a sweet smile.

"Madam Boss, the price of this recipe..."

The next day in the carriage, Sebastian asked me a question.

"Do you really think that story could fool that guy?"

"Of course it's impossible."

"Then are you willing to teach this dish to the boss lady?"

I smiled, waved the whip, and urged the car to move forward slowly.

"To me, it's just a dish, not a secret skill that can save my life. But to this restaurant, it's a good name to attract customers. This dish is not complicated, and the proprietress has seen it all, so it's not easy for me to hide it. Moreover, in troubled times, it's not easy for everyone to survive. I can help as much as I can, it's just a small favor. Even if that person really knows about it, if I have a chance to explain, it would be great. If not, then it's just like what Governor Rikki said. I have a clear conscience, so why should I be afraid of rumors?"

"Your Excellency is Baron Locke, right?"

"Exactly. I never thought that the name of a nobody like me would have spread to the Rime Rock Cave."

"Although the place where I live is a little remote, it is not completely unknown. It is true that hearing about it is worse than meeting it in person. I now know why Lord Balgruuf would lose face and compete with Lord Falkreath for someone."

Sebastian must have gotten the information about me through Tullius or Rikke. It seems that my previous cautious behavior was correct.

We saw the couple we rescued last night on the roadside, so Aigis's heroic deeds were once again preached, and Hayou was also very pleased with the progress of his cousin. According to Kalan herself, her father was the village chief sent to Old Haldan by Igmund, the lord of Markarth. Although the lord did not want to find a way out for these unemployed miners, there was always someone to collect taxes from them. It is conceivable how popular her family is in the village. However, the dark elf Talver was an outlier. He was very friendly to Kalan, and the girl fell in love with him. Kalan knew very well that her father, as a noble, would not allow his daughter to marry a commoner, so the two chose to elope. Their original plan was to sneak back to Markarth and hire a carriage to go to Riften.

This plan, which was obviously not well thought out, was almost eaten by the tiger before it could even start.

"Girls really can't be kept at home when they grow up. Don't you think about how you will make a living after running to Riften? Do you really think that this brat can protect you like your father and let you live a life without worries? You are too willful! You kids are too willful!"

Old Lot sneered at the young couple's behavior. Karan and Talver did not refute, but just sat in the corner of the car, holding hands.

"I think you should go to Falkreath first. There's a new mine there, and since Talver is a miner, he'll always have a job. If you don't like it, you can go to Riften. I'll have Hayou take you there after we pass Hofdilsted."

Hayou waved his hands quickly.

"I can't. Lydia asked me to protect your safety. If I leave you behind and go back first, that fat girl will definitely beat me to death."

"Then let Aigis take them back."

The little cat girl instinctively wanted to refuse, but I stopped her.

"Aigis, you are a person that the family has high hopes for. You will have to be able to stand on your own in the future. If you hide behind your cousin, you will never grow up. What do you think, Hayu?"

Hayou thought about it for a while and reluctantly accepted my suggestion.

After half a day of driving, the carriage entered a steep mountain road. Except for Sebastian, who was not very agile, everyone else got off and walked. Several of us men had to help push the carriage from behind. As the altitude got higher and higher, Helgi's mood became more and more depressed. This was the battlefield where the Snake Cliff Tribe resisted the army of Markarth City half a year ago. Traces of the past battle can be seen everywhere. When the army of Markarth City cleaned up the battlefield, they did not bury the dead Reachmen, but gathered their bodies and burned them. There were several such crematoriums, which showed how stalemate the battle was at that time.

I carefully observed the terrain along the way and reviewed it secretly. The Snake Cliff Tribe should have been on high ground, using bows and magic to stop the advance of the Markarth army. However, perhaps because of their numerical disadvantage, they retreated step by step. After gaining a foothold, the attackers built simple earth and stone fortresses and used them as bases to strive for greater results. Today, these fortresses have become sentry towers on the western mountain, with soldiers on duty. After checking the pass and the letter of introduction from Governor Rikki, they pointed us to a smoother road.

This road was built by Lord Igmund's army for communication and supply after they captured the serpentine defense position. It can accommodate a carriage. The road goes around to the south of the army station, where there is a flat terrace used to store baggage. The leader of the garrison heard that Sebastian was Governor Rikki's teacher, so he came here to receive us in person and provided us with some vegetables and meat. He politely said that the barracks were full of rough people who didn't know how to entertain guests, so it was not suitable for someone of Mr. Lotte's status to live there, so he asked us to stay in the warehouse for one night, at least it was quieter here. Of course, this also stopped my idea of ​​spying on the garrison.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, I was about to go to bed, but I was disturbed by a sudden worry. I got up and went outside the tent, just in time to see Helgi sitting on the ground with his knees hugged. His thin shoulders kept shaking, as if he was crying silently.

"Helgi, why aren't you sleeping yet?"

The little girl raised her head, her face full of tears. I knew that this visit to the old place must have brought out the painful memories buried deep in her heart. Half a year ago, it was her and Zoltan's betrayal that led to the desperate death of the Xinanmeng chieftain and the loss of his homeland. I patted her on the back and sat beside her.

"Thinking about the mistakes you made in the past?"

Helgi buried his face in his hands.

"Brother... this is all my fault..."