Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Unexpected Thing (1)
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‘Oh no, I wasn’t paying attention.’
With a pang of regret, I smacked my forehead with my palm.
Somi was clearly desperate to use the outhouse.
She was young, and being a girl, it must have been hard for her to tell me, a man. That made sense.
I quickly put on an apologetic expression and pointed out the location of the outhouse.
“Somi, if you go around the silk shop over there, there’s an outhouse. Go ahead.”
Even if they were just daily hires, they were still proper employees.
The fact that I hadn’t even taken care of basic welfare made me feel ashamed.
I scolded myself inwardly.
I vowed to be more attentive from now on.
Fortunately, Yanyun Market on the outskirts of Chinese Gate was one of the larger markets during the daytime rush.
That was why there was a public outhouse installed by the authorities.
It wasn’t up to modern standards, and the sharp ammonia stench hit your nose just from getting close.
But in smaller markets, there often weren’t even outhouses.
In those cases, people had to sneak off behind walls or trees to do their business, away from prying eyes.
Given the circumstances, having an outhouse was something to be grateful for.
With a ‘thank goodness there’s an outhouse’ look on my face, I proudly gave Somi a thumbs-up.
“Tch, Great Hero, that’s not it.”
I had apparently misread the situation.
Somi puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel that had overeaten acorns, then marched straight over to the basket piled with garlic.
‘Hmm, not that, then. But why is she mad?’
I couldn’t figure it out.
I only found out the reason much later.
Somi, who was just a child at the time, had wanted to help me.
Not only had I made her medicinal cuisine to cure her wind-cold, but I had also hired her and her mother. She was grateful for that.
But a child had nothing to give.
So after much deliberation, with the hope of bringing me good fortune, she had gathered some old watermelon seeds and stuck them onto the food for her mother.
Hye-yoon had seen it, stroked Somi’s head, and quietly praised her.
In contrast, all I had done was tell her where the outhouse was. No wonder she was upset.
Somi said that more than anything, she had wanted praise from me.
‘Then she should have just asked for praise...’
People were harder for me to understand than cooking, after all.
The unusually round sun poured warm rays into Waiting People's Restaurant.
I bent at the waist and announced the start of business.
“Thank you all for waiting so long. We’re open now.”
Customers gathered one by one at the three tables.
Each table had three chairs, so the setup could accommodate nine customers at a time.
It was a huge improvement over before.
Until recently, we had only been able to fit one table.
“Benefactor, three orders of Chicken Tofu Soup.”
“Three Chicken Tofu Soups.”
Yeon Hye-yoon was quick on her feet.
She seated customers as spots opened up and relayed their orders to me.
“Here’s your Chicken Tofu Soup. The steam is still rising, so please eat slowly.”
Hye-yoon neatly placed the steaming bowls of Chicken Tofu Soup on the tables one by one.
At that moment, the customers sharing tables all flared their nostrils in unison.
Their eyes narrowed like that rabbit character from the old commercials who carried a plunger.
Then, as if being chased, they began devouring the Chicken Tofu Soup with gusto.
Some ate their rice and soup separately, while others dumped it all into the soup to make it like a rice porridge.
Everyone enjoyed the Chicken Tofu Soup in their own way.
“Kuh, ahh—”
A sip of the hot broth drew rough groans from the customers’ mouths, like sounds from a sauna.
“The moment you put the Chicken Tofu Soup in your mouth, the tofu dances, and the chicken melts like a whisper.”
“That’s not all. Before, my wife would sigh and turn her back every night... but lately, the way she looks at me has changed. Yesterday, she even put on rouge and powder. It’s all thanks to the food at Waiting People's Restaurant.”
“I used to get indigestion no matter what I ate, but after eating the soup here, my digestion is so good that my farts are loud enough to set the dog at my in-laws’ barking. It’s like a lion’s roar.”
These were the regulars who had come every single day without fail since I awakened.
They spouted their tall tales, whether true or exaggerated.
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief, as if stroking my chest.
Because there was a story behind today’s menu.
Truth be told, I had wanted to make Beef Tofu Soup.
The aesthetics of tender tofu in a rich meat broth so intense you might think I snuck in some MSG.
Just imagining it made my mouth water.
But the problem was that this was mid-Ming Dynasty.
Beef in this era was basically a crime.
Beef was the ‘taste of power’ reserved for the imperial court, high officials, and a tiny elite.
For commoners, it was forbidden fruit, a sin that stirred guilt just by tasting it.
One bite, and your head would part from your body.
The reason beef was banned for ordinary folk was simple.
Oxen were the state-sanctioned labor force for farming, living plows.
Throw one into a meat soup, and...
Not only the butcher, but the owner, distributors, and buyers would all face collective punishment.
The penalties were brutal.
From beatings that left your buttocks in tatters like a rag, to even execution.
People even got flogged just for ‘smelling beef’.
Of course, there were always the bold ones who lived for the moment.
Some commoners secretly ate sick or dead oxen.
But as I’ve said before, I aimed for a natural death.
That’s why I steered clear of beef entirely.
I didn’t want any sparks flying my way and ending my precious second life with a death sentence.
I gave up on beef without regret and chose chicken, which paired perfectly with broth dishes.
I used some Food Virtue Points to boost the ingredients’ efficacy to the level of ‘tonics’.
‘Chicken, you’re up today.’
Chicken was a high-protein, low-fat food excellent for muscle recovery and stamina replenishment.
Even the Compendium of Materia Medica noted: ‘Chicken meat tonifies the middle and boosts qi.’
In other words, it nourishes the body and invigorates energy.
No wonder so many chickens met a noble end every summer under the pretext of yang supplementation.
Thanks to my tonic dish, Chicken Tofu Soup, the eating customers began loosening their collars and fanning themselves.
“Urp, boss, that was great. I’ll be back tomorrow, the day after, forever.”
One customer, eyes glazed and lips curled up, patted his bulging belly as he left.
“Haaak—”
His burp was so thunderous that Maban, dozing on the cart, jolted awake and bared his teeth.
The sun had passed overhead, reaching the end of midday. That meant break time was near.
I had been shaking the wok non-stop since morning, to the point where ‘save me’ was on the tip of my tongue.
And I wasn’t the only one.
Hye-yoon was drained from handling the rush, and little Somi had cried rivers peeling garlic and perilla leaves.
“Everyone, sorry, but we’ll reopen after a short break.”
I steadied my wobbling body and announced to the customers.
They let out deep sighs of disappointment in unison.
And then.
“Don’t talk nonsense, boss. How much longer do we have to wait?”
A booming male voice echoed through the shop like a shout.
This man had far more presence than the twiggy complainer from before.
I and the mother-daughter duo whipped our heads toward the loud customer.
He was somewhere in the middle of the waiting line.
He looked about thirty, and thanks to his seven-chi height—around 210 cm—he towered two heads above the other men.
Even three grown men standing side by side wouldn’t hide his massive frame. He was like a mountain.
The surrounding customers glanced nervously at the giant and began murmuring.
“I came from far away with a cold symptom, but wind-cold this, whatever. Maybe I should leave.”
“I agree. He looks like a bandit at first glance.”
“Hey, came for some nourishment and might lose my head instead.”
Anyone could see he exuded intimidation.
Still, until moments ago, the giant had been waiting quietly.
Because there was no sword at his waist, the other customers had endured minor discomforts and stayed.
But now that he was venting loudly enough to shake the shop, fearing the fire might spread to them...
The crowd parted like the Red Sea around the giant, and one by one, they began slinking away.
The reason the other customers feared the giant wasn’t just his seven-chi stature and huge build.
He wore ragged, mud-caked coarse cloth clothes, yellowed and torn in places.
And beneath them, abnormally long arms were exposed.
Those arms were like anatomy models from a science lab, veins bulging and writhing under rough skin.
Countless scratches and cuts crisscrossed chaotically, and dark red stains soaked spots on his clothes.
He looked every bit the savage criminal.
Murmurs rose.
Seeing the frightened customers about to leave, I stepped in to defuse the situation.
“Aigoo, sir. For waiting so long...”
Just as I moved toward the giant.
Pat pat, Hye-yoon beat me to it again, hurrying to his side.
“Sir, thank you for coming all this way, and sorry for the long wait. Please hold on just a bit longer. We’ll repay you with a feast soon.”
Hye-yoon clasped her hands and bowed ninety degrees.
Believing the same approach that worked on the twiggy guy would work here, she flashed a catalog-model smile.
“......”
But it didn’t go as Hye-yoon expected.
The giant just stared down at the slender woman with an even stiffer expression.
Hye-yoon belatedly grew scared and trembled slightly, but her practiced smile didn’t waver.
“Aigoo, sir. Just a moment.”
I stepped in front of the frozen Hye-yoon.
Then, in a cautious voice, I asked the giant to lean down.
I had something important to tell him.
“......?”
The giant looked puzzled for a moment, then bent his head.
I whispered quietly into his ear, something that would pique his interest.
Whisper whisper.
Whisper whisper.
“Heh heh, is that so? Heh, really. And I didn’t know... B-boss, no, brother, you’ve had it rough.”
A smile mixed with apology spread across the giant’s formerly icy face.
‘Quick thinking worked.’
The way he addressed me had shifted from ‘boss’ to ‘brother’.
My words had clearly touched him.
Perhaps embarrassed by his earlier behavior as a customer, the giant scratched the back of his head.
And then.
“Heh—”
He went to each customer trying to flee in fear and flashed harmless smiles.
“Heh heh, where are you all going? Your turn’s coming soon. Don’t leave. My brother here prepared an amazing spread today.”
“......?”
A bewildered air hung over the departing customers.
But upon seeing the giant calling me ‘brother’ and laughing heartily.
“Ahem, so you two are brothers. No problem then.”
“Hem hem, guess he was just joking with his brother earlier.”
“Heh heh, let’s get back in line.”
One by one, the customers returned to their spots.
Fortunately, the situation resolved without issue again.
I nodded in satisfaction with arms crossed and headed to the kitchen.
“Let’s reopen. Hye-yoon, and Somi.”
The mother and daughter hurried to my side with wide-eyed surprise.
“Benefactor, how did you resolve it?”
“Great Hero, I’m dying to know too.”
I met their curious gazes and opened my mouth meaningfully.