Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Effects of Hot and Sour Soup
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Somi muttered softly.
"Hot and Sour Soup tastes best when it's hot..."
It would take at least two hours from the market to their home.
Which meant the Hot and Sour Soup she was taking to her mother was bound to cool off.
Splash, splash.
"It'll stay warm until you get home. Take it straight to your mother."
I transferred the Hot and Sour Soup into a porcelain jar.
Then, I carefully added several clean, red-hot stones inside.
"Pardon? It won't cool off even by then?"
"That's right."
Perhaps having never heard of such a thing in her ten years of life, Somi's eyes widened in surprise.
I skipped the explanation to avoid wasting time.
I simply wrapped the jar tightly in straw and cloth to enhance the insulation.
All because I was curious about the effects of my first medicinal dish.
In truth, using red-hot stones like this for cooking or insulation was common in Mongolia or Tibet.
In my previous life, while traveling in Mongolia, I'd experienced khorhok, a unique nomadic method of cooking meat with hot stones.
The stones retained heat for a long time, making the meat tender.
"Hurry and give it to your mother."
"Thank you, hero. I swear to repay this kindness."
Somi clutched the cloth-wrapped jar like a sacred relic and bowed repeatedly.
"Alright, that's enough. Head out."
Recalling her mission to deliver the Hot and Sour Soup, the girl nodded vigorously, her pale face shining like white jade.
With that, she set off toward her mother's thatched hut at a brisk pace, her headscarf flapping behind her.
Thus began the delivery of my first medicinal dish.
Slam—
As she neared the house, Somi called out joyfully before even opening the door.
"Mother, Somi is here."
"Cough, cough. Is that my Somi?"
Yeon Hye-yoon struggled to raise her frail, trembling body. Even small movements left her breathless due to her weakened state.
"Mother, try some of this."
Somi carefully unwrapped the cloth from the jar.
Whoosh, as the cloth fell away, the jar of Hot and Sour Soup came into view.
She gently opened the straw-wrapped mouth, and warm steam rose in white curls.
"Amazing. Just as the hero said, it's still warm."
Somi peered into the jar with round eyes.
But remembering her purpose, she hurried to her mother's side.
Hye-yoon, lying weakly on the bed, mustered a smile for her daughter who had traveled so far.
"You've suffered so much because of me. Cough, cough..."
"Suffer? No, Mother. It's just a daughter's duty. This body of mine isn't weary in the least."
Somi pulled a chair to the bedside.
The rough wooden floor and chair legs scraped with a harsh creak.
Somi offered the jar and spoon with a bright smile.
"Mother, this is Hot and Sour Soup to cure your wind-cold."
But Hye-yoon covered her mouth with a slender hand and frowned slightly.
She was swallowing back the emerging cough.
"Cough, cough. Hot and Sour Soup..."
Hye-yoon was puzzled that her daughter had brought food instead of medicine.
But she didn't press further, lest the child feel hurt.
'My Somi wouldn't mistake medicine for food.'
Somi was a clever girl.
There must be good reason for bringing Hot and Sour Soup.
Hye-yoon simply stroked her daughter's full-moon-round face gently.
"Mother, just one spoonful. Your wind-cold will vanish clean away."
Somi's dark eyes sparkled as she urged a spoonful, but her mother showed no appetite.
Her long-neglected wind-cold had dulled her sense of smell and taste. Nausea even rose in her throat.
"Somi, Mother will eat later. You go ahead."
Hye-yoon waved her hand weakly.
Then her daughter's bright full-moon face puffed up, her eyes glaring like an angry squirrel.
"..."
Somi fell silent.
Her cute lips pouted more and more, until they stuck out like a duck's beak.
A surer sign of sulking than a hundred words.
Seeing this, Hye-yoon looked apologetic and hastily tucked the sweat-damp hair clinging to her cheeks behind her ear.
"I'm sorry. Your sincerity overflows, yet Mother failed to appreciate it. Retract that pouty lip."
Hye-yoon playfully pinched and shook her swallow-like daughter's protruding lip.
Then she took the Hot and Sour Soup and spoon in both hands.
Only then did the puffed cheeks and duck beak return to normal.
'I must eat, even if by force, and regain my strength. For my Somi.'
Yeon Hye-yoon, devoid of appetite.
But she couldn't reject her daughter's devotion.
She carefully scooped up broth and chunks.
The thick viscosity lifted scallions, egg, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots at once.
That was when it happened.
"Oh my, what a divine aroma."
Hye-yoon's sense of smell had been numbed by wind-cold.
Yet the sharp tang of vinegar and numbing pepper pierced her blocked nose like waves.
The mild scallion scent cleared her stuffed sinuses like a plunger on a drain.
Gulp, saliva flowed involuntarily.
"How wondrous. Just one whiff lightens my breathing."
Hye-yoon brought the Hot and Sour Soup to her lips cautiously.
Slurp, the thick broth enveloped her tongue softly and slid down her throat without chewing.
Warmth seeped into every corner of her body, rich umami filling her mouth.
A strangely addictive flavor lingered.
"Heavens... this is the most delicious Hot and Sour Soup of my life."
Woonsik Oh, Michelin one-star Chinese chef in his previous life.
He prioritized taste above all in medicinal cuisine.
No matter how beneficial, if the patient barely ate it, it was useless.
Woonsik knew this best and crafted flavors that whetted the appetite.
As a result, Hye-yoon was captivated by the first spoonful.
"Warmth is gradually spreading through my chilled body."
Her huddled legs naturally emerged from the blanket.
Feeling hotter, she neatly swept her jet-black hair over one shoulder.
After that, Hye-yoon said no more.
Only the slurping sounds filled the room.
Her dusky lips regained a pink hue.
Her pallid, bluish face bloomed with life like spring cherry blossoms.
The woman who could barely manage one spoonful was gone.
She simply enjoyed the dish, wiping forehead sweat with her sleeve.
'Mother seems to gain strength with every bite.'
Somi clasped her fern-like hands in a bud and beamed at her mother.
"Mother, have you finished?"
Returning from the outhouse, Somi glanced at the bed and asked.
"..."
Hye-yoon lay asleep beside the empty bowl, breathing evenly and deeply.
No more waking with dry coughs.
"Mother's asleep."
Somi quietly cleared the bowl and tucked the blanket up to her mother's neck.
The next day, at Yeon Somi's thatched hut.
She had walked nonstop for four hours to and from the market.
Plus, she'd argued with the spiteful apothecary owner and yanked out his radish-like beard.
In that crisis, she'd met benefactor Woonsik Oh and obtained medicinal cuisine to cure her mother's wind-cold.
A long, arduous day for Somi, yet one filled with joy.
The sun was high, but exhausted Somi snored away in a nap.
Startle. Blinded by sunlight pouring through the window, she finally woke.
Oh no—she whipped her head toward her mother's bed.
"...Mother?"
Mother was gone.
Only neatly folded blankets remained on the empty bed.
Worry and hope surging, Somi jumped up.
She flung open the door.
"My Somi, you're awake?"
There was her mother, hanging laundry on the line.
"Mother, let me do that. You're not fully recovered—please rest more."
Somi rushed over and snatched the laundry basket.
Hye-yoon gently stroked her daughter's round cheeks.
"After eating the Hot and Sour Soup you fetched with such care, not only did the wind-cold vanish, but energy surges through my whole body."
"...Truly?"
"Yes. Its effects surpass medicines—it's no ordinary food. We must repay the benefactor who bestowed such a treasure."
Somi peered closely at her mother's face.
Vitality brimmed there, proving her words true.
Even the warmth from her fingertips conveyed strength.
"What fortune, Mother."
Relieved at last, tiny waves welled in Somi's dark eyes.
But she pressed her cute lips with bunny teeth, holding back tears.
Typical Somi.
"Thank you, my daughter."
Yeon Hye-yoon silently embraced her sole treasure, Somi.
Somi buried her tiny nostrils in her mother's bosom, inhaling the long-missed warm body scent.
Rumble, rumble.
I arrived at the market at the start of mao hour, dawn around 5 to 7 a.m.
Half an hour earlier than usual to handle the growing crowds.
I stopped the cart.
Maban, following at my feet, yawned hugely, his mouth splitting wide. Glaring with goby eyes, as if blaming me for disrupting his routine.
'What did I do? That weary face.'
Amused, I pinched and stretched his dumpling-like cheeks.
And then.
Bang, bang.
A status window appeared against the dark blue sky. I looked up at it.
Seeing the overflowing Food Virtue Points, I smirked faintly.
I rubbed my eyes with my hand while rereading the mother-daughter reactions.
'Mid-air flips and dog-leg dance? Must be seeing things.'
It was a first.
My cooking saving someone as medicine.
A tickle stirred in my chest. Not knowing the feeling, I scratched my nape idly.
My lips twitched upward.
"Ahem, morning's coming. Better hurry."
"Meeoow—"
I rolled up my sleeves, opened the stall, and began preparations.
Early as it was, word had spread—customers lined up long.
'Missed the Waiting People's Restaurant dishes yesterday due to sold-out ingredients, but today I'll taste them no matter what.'
Some customers dozed standing like statues.
White drool crusted their mouths—they'd come to Yanyun Market since dawn.
Others squabbled: 'I got here first,' 'No, you were late.'
Seeing this, two emotions hit me.
Infinite gratitude to customers seeking my food, and...
'Handling this many alone will kill me again today.'
Then.
"Hero, did you rest well through the night?"
A familiar sparrow-like chirp came from behind.
Turning, I saw Somi, who had taken the medicinal dish.
"Hee, hee, hee."
So delighted, she wobbled like a top, grinning ear to ear.
She began introducing me to the woman beside her.
"Mother, this is the hero who gave us the Hot and Sour Soup."