Chapter 4
Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: First Medicinal Cuisine
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I wasn't someone with a lot of desires, neither in my past life nor in this one.
I had no greed for clothes, so even in my previous life, I'd buy multiple copies of the same outfit and wear them day after day.
Just like that guy who founded Apple, and honestly, things weren't much different now.
The same went for housing.
Even after saving up a decent amount as a Chinese chef in my past life, I never felt the need for a big place and ended up sticking with a one-room apartment.
It was so empty that even minimalists would stick out their tongues in shock.
My current wooden hut was a bit rundown, but it was more than enough as long as I could spend the winter with Maban.
Like this, I had little interest in the typical desires most people chased.
Except for one thing: food.
The desire I had was to make dishes that would satisfy my customers.
To earn recognition for it and, as a reward, have a shop of my own.
Not one where I handed over most of my earnings every month to a landlord, but a real shop in my name.
'A genuine shop of my own that I couldn't achieve in my past life, and becoming a one-of-a-kind Chinese chef. I'll make it happen in this life.'
This was the Central Plains, the world of martial arts.
A place where people folded space with lightness skills and skimmed across water like stone skipping.
I needed to shake off modern ways of thinking.
'Turning the food I make from mere tonics into medicinal cuisine that heals others... I'm curious to see how that turns out.'
My appetite for food was steadily expanding.
Like a renowned chef who's mastered their field starting to get interested in foreign cuisines.
'Yeah, once I hit 3,000 points, I can enhance way more ingredients. And it's perfect timing since I've been so busy...'
I looked down at Somi, who was still stamping her feet, and casually broached the subject.
"I'll make you some medicinal cuisine good for wind-cold."
The girl's eyes sparkled at my words. But I quickly added,
"In exchange, 10 wen isn't enough to cover the cost... How about helping me prep ingredients for this afternoon's business for half a shichen—in other words, about an hour?"
I proposed that she help with peeling garlic instead of paying the difference in cash, pointing to the basket piled high with garlic off to the side.
Somi's prim little mouth fell open as if she'd been waiting for this, letting out a hopeful squeak.
"How could I refuse?"
Relief and hope bloomed like flowers across her snow-white face.
As Somi stepped into the simple kitchen and rolled up her sleeves, her delicate, fern-like hands got right to work peeling the garlic for the fish-fragrant eggplant.
"You've got some real steady hands there."
"Thank you, hero."
Truth be told, she looked so young that I'd worried she might not even be able to peel the skins properly, let alone chop them.
But Somi peeled them off smoothly with practiced motions and neatly trimmed away the unnecessary stems.
The basket slowly filled with her prepped garlic, one bulb at a time.
"Hero... Is there nothing else you're curious about?"
Somi kept stealing glances at me before finally asking with a puzzled expression.
I figured most adults reacted to her in one of two ways.
First, pitying her like she was on the verge of death from starvation.
Second, looking down on her or scorning her for being poor.
But my reaction—neither of those—seemed novel to her.
To her question about whether I had any curiosities, I replied flatly,
"You've got to peel every last bulb in that basket within half a shichen. Think you can handle it?"
"Heh, don't worry about me."
Somi let out a little chuckle and winked playfully, crinkling the corners of her eyes.
Seeing that, I thought to myself,
'Now she looks her age.'
She'd probably endured countless pitying stares her whole life.
I'd been an orphan in my past life too, so I knew the feeling all too well.
I didn't want to add to that with my own gaze.
She was poor, sure, but brighter and sharper than anyone.
The girl seemed comfortable around someone like me, because before I knew it, she'd plopped down on the floor with a thud.
As she peeled away, she started sharing bits of her story unprompted.
Her father, who'd passed before she was even born, and her mother who'd raised her alone through all the hardship.
And her age, too.
I quietly prepped the eggplant with my cleaver while listening to her tale.
I was a bit surprised when she said she was ten.
But I didn't make a fuss or offer pity, and I kept any unnecessary emotions out of it.
"I see."
It might've come off as aloof, but judging by how her cute little lips kept flapping away nonstop, she didn't mind.
"Hero, all done!"
Somi proudly held out the basket of neatly prepped garlic. Her moon-round face lit up, practically begging for praise.
In response, I added more charcoal to the brazier and quirked up one corner of my mouth.
"Alright then, time for me to hold up my end. I'll make that medicinal cuisine for wind-cold."
Somi's eyes began to sparkle with anticipation.
I examined the ingredients on the cart and muttered to myself.
"What should I make for her?"
Somi's mother had wind-cold.
Wind-cold was the kind of cold you got from prolonged exposure to chilly winds or low temperatures.
'My first real shot at medicinal cuisine since awakening.'
I was curious myself just how effective my abilities could make it.
'For a cold, something warming sounds right. Hot and Sour Soup it is.'
I nodded as I transferred the ingredients to baskets.
Hot and Sour Soup was basically Chinese egg drop soup, in simple terms.
The difference from Korean egg drop soup was its sour tang and mild spiciness.
That flavor was reminiscent of the fermented sourness in well-cooked kimchi jjigae. It also got its thick, viscous texture from added starch.
"Two mushrooms, bamboo shoots, one egg, and some green onions."
Hot and Sour Soup combined sour and spicy notes to raise body temperature.
Wind-cold often came from chilled bodies and blocked qi and blood flow, but the soup's warm broth and spice promoted circulation and drove out the invading cold.
Vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger in the mix also stimulated the stomach, boosting digestion and restoring vitality.
That's why folks in Chinese regions loved it as a breakfast substitute when the weather turned chilly.
But Hot and Sour Soup was still just food, at the end of the day.
For Somi's mother, whose condition had already worsened, plain nourishment wouldn't cut it.
In other words, I had to elevate this Hot and Sour Soup into true 'medicinal cuisine.'
I snatched up a fresh green onion, and its status window trailed after it, listing its effects.
'Green onions are packed with allicin for antibacterial and antiviral properties. Enhancing it should wipe out the viruses and bacteria causing the cold.'
My plan was to maximize the green onion's power in an already healthy soup, transforming it into genuine medicinal cuisine that could cure wind-cold.
I checked my current Food Virtue Points and commanded the status window.
'Use all my points to enhance this green onion.'
A blue aura rose from the green onion in my hand like smoke.
I was shocked but played it cool since there were eyes everywhere.
Looking at the enhanced green onion felt almost reverent, like King Arthur drawing Excalibur from the stone.
'Alright, time to cook.'
I laid out the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, and enhanced green onion on the cutting board.
Grabbing my cleaver, I started julienning them into bite-sized pieces.
The cleaver drummed a lively rhythm against the board.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-!
My precise, ruler-straight cuts flew by so fast that Somi, watching from the side, went wide-eyed.
"Hero, that nimble knife work... It's like a sword immortal has descended!"
"You think so?"
I answered nonchalantly, like it was nothing, but a faint smile tugged at my lips, and my hands sped up even more.
Compliments really do make the whale dance, as they say.
I handed a hungry Somi a dumpling I'd brought from home.
She nibbled away at the one nearly as big as her face, grinning ear to ear.
I finished julienning the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and tofu in order.
Now just to diagonally slice the enhanced green onion, and prep was done.
As I brought the cleaver down, my head tilted slightly.
Wriggle~
The root of the enhanced green onion in my left hand seemed to squirm like a stepped-on earthworm—a trick of the eye.
'What was that? Did I imagine it?'
Despite my unease, the green onion lay still.
Shaking off the doubt, I sliced it diagonally in quick strokes.
I poured plenty of oil into the wok, then tossed in the prepped enhanced green onion once it was hot.
To infuse the oil with its flavor.
A sharp sizzle rang out, spreading pungent onion aroma mixed with a faint grassy scent.
As it cooked longer in the oil, a sweet, lingering undertone emerged.
Somi, munching her dumpling, twitched her tiny squirrel nostrils and went bug-eyed.
She crammed the rest into her mouth and sidled up close, asking,
"Hero, why are you stir-frying the green onion skin like that? May I ask the reason?"
Her cheeks puffed out like a greedy squirrel's as she looked up at me.
"Well, using scallion oil lets you make Hot and Sour Soup with a rich flavor even without broth."
"Such profound culinary wisdom! If there were a Zhuge Martial Marquis in the Central Plains, it'd be you, hero."
"Eh, nothing that grand."
Somi clapped her hands in delight at the cooking secret, her face full of wonder.
I replied coolly again, but that subtle smile had crept back onto my lips.
Soon, I poured in some precious baijiu and put on a quick, fierce wok hei flame show.
Whoosh-!
Flames shot up in an instant, leaving a subtle liquor fragrance and intense smoky char.
"Whoa, what a spectacle! Hero, your fire-handling skills are truly marvelous."
I gripped the wok handle tight and shook it vigorously, ignoring Somi bouncing in place behind me.
Ingredients leaped into the air and dropped back in—like the bouncy inflatables from childhood playtime.
At last, the fragrant scallion oil was ready.
Next, I added the prepped mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and tofu, stir-frying them hard and fast before seasoning with soy sauce and vinegar.
I poured in a good amount of water, added salt to taste, and brought it to a rolling boil.
Bubbles rose and popped with sharp cracks, the tangy, pungent aroma assaulting my nose.
'Starting to smell pretty damn good.'
As the broth boiled up, I slowly stirred in the pre-mixed starch slurry.
I whisked briskly with the ladle to keep it from clumping.
'Broth's got that perfect thick texture now.'
I swirled the egg mixture into the wok in slow circles—its main star ingredient.
'No chilies this season, so skipping chili oil, unfortunately.'
Finally, a sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorns to finish.
'All done.'
That's when it hit.
"Wh-what's this aroma? I can tell just from the smell it's a delicacy fit for the world, hero."
Somi's sparrow-like chirp pierced my cooking focus.
The line of customers gulped audibly, shouting in excitement and anticipation.
"Hey, boss! You serving this Hot and Sour Soup? Can't just walk past a scent this intense."
"Boss, give us a bowl too. Teasing us with this heavenly smell is downright cruel."
"Hurry and bring out that Hot and Sour Soup. If I don't taste it, I won't sleep a wink tonight."
The soup was made solely for Somi.
I spent a good while politely apologizing to the disappointed customers.
Somi gazed contentedly at the finished Hot and Sour Soup.
"Ah..."
Suddenly, something seemed to bother her, and the corners of her small mouth drooped down.