Liang Hongjin, smelling the irresistible aroma wafting from the spoon, sighed and hurriedly took the suān cài niú ròu bāo away. She sat down at the nearest table, picked up her chopsticks, and briefly “admired” the stew’s color, aroma, and flavor: a golden broth topped with a thick layer of pinkish-brown beef slices, garnished with green and red chili rings, brown peppercorns, and snow-white minced garlic, all glistening with an enticing sheen after being drizzled with hot oil! And on top of all that, a sprig of cilantro!

Cilantro was a bit of a devil; some loved it intensely, while others avoided it like the plague. Liang Hongjin belonged to the former, so she had Wen Mingtang add extra cilantro.

The unique aroma of cilantro blended into the various dishes and soups, creating a special allure for her.

She ate the dishes and drank the soup first! Picking up a spoon, Liang Hongjin scooped up a spoonful of the broth garnished with cilantro and took a sip: the tangy, spicy, and savory broth immediately whetted her appetite.

She put down the spoon, picked up a slice of pinkish-brown beef, and put it in her mouth. The quickly cooked beef slice was incredibly tender, yet not mushy; on the contrary, it possessed a unique firmness characteristic of beef! This tender yet firm texture had a strange chewiness, accompanied by the distinctive aroma and juices of beef, making Liang Hongjin exclaim, “Delicious!” Her chopsticks moved with lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, three or four slices of beef were gone!

“The beef is so delicious!” Liang Hongjin exclaimed as she chewed on her beef. “There’s a reason it’s expensive. No wonder the stewards in our kitchen get so much beef that they could carry it all in one hand all year round!”

“It’s not just about the price,” said a few servants chewing beef at a table not far away. “It’s not just about the meat; it’s about the chef’s skill too! There are a few beef shops on the north side of the city that serve large chunks of beef, but they’re really tough to chew, almost breaking your teeth. They’re salty, unpalatable, and expensive. When you go out for a treat, remember to avoid those shops!”

Upon hearing that her teeth may break, Liang Hongjin immediately nodded in agreement, echoing, “I wasn’t finished yet. The chef in front of our kitchen isn’t very skilled either; he makes meat that’s tough to chew. Xiao Mingtang’s cooking is much better!”

“Master Wen’s cooking is always excellent!” said the constable over there. After finishing his beef, he used his chopsticks to scoop out the yellowish-brown pickled cabbage from the soup. The pickled cabbage had a refreshing texture, and its sour and spicy flavor was truly irresistible.

The aroma alone made their mouths water. They had suggested to Ji Caimai, sitting behind the takeout stall and working on his abacus, several times that the takeout stall shouldn’t just sell things like roasted chestnuts, millet rice crackers, and milk tea; they could also sell these jars of pickled cabbage! It looked perfect with porridge or rice!

Ji Caimai wasn’t oblivious to the resentful looks from the crowd. He glanced at the constables and scoffed, “Making sauerkraut jars doesn’t take time? Do you think the sauerkraut in your bowls was made today and will be ready tomorrow? Pickling has always been the most time-consuming process!”

Besides, Master Wen’s sauerkraut jars required special firing; how could they be ready so quickly?

Ji Caimai glanced at the constables and slurped up a mouthful of rice noodles.

Because there weren’t many people in the kitchen at this time, everyone was focused on eating, and no one spoke, making it a rare “quiet” mealtime.

Ji Caimai’s unique slurping sound made a constable who was eating rice mixed with sour soup exclaim, “Eh!” and turn around. He saw that Ji Caimai, who was currently idle, was also eating lunch, the same as everyone else—a bowl of suān cài niú ròu bāo. The difference was that while everyone else was eating rice, he was eating those slippery rice vermicelli.

Seeing the thin rice vermicelli soaked in the broth of the suān cài niú ròu bāo, Ji Caimai picked up some with his chopsticks and brought them to his lips. With a slurp, he swallowed the bowl of noodles and broth together.

Chewing the vermicelli, which broke easily with a bite, he savored its unique texture. After finishing a mouthful, he scooped up a spoonful of the tangy and spicy broth and drank it.

Enjoying his unique bowl of suān cài niú ròu bāo with sips of vermicelli and broth, Ji Caimai was suddenly struck by the sudden dimming of the light. Reluctant to put down the vermicelli he was still chewing, he raised his eyes and saw several heads crowding around the takeout stall, watching him as he ate alone.

Seeing Ji Caimai enjoying his meal so much, Liang Hongjin, Wei Fu, and several constables finally looked up. They swallowed hard and asked, “Where did you get these rice vermicelli, Ji Caimai?”

Wen Mingtang and the others, who were eating lunch behind the table, also had rice in their bowls. So, even the cook ate the same thing. Only Ji Caimai had rice noodles!

Startled, Ji Caimai blushed slightly, but his back remained straight. He proudly replied, “I brought them myself; I didn’t use anything from the public kitchen.”

“Noodles and these rice vermicelli both sit very well with my old stomach. Since rice noodles aren’t commonly found, I made a point of taking some back,” Ji Caimai said, then quickly added, “Paid for them, of course!”

He had previously enjoyed the texture of rice noodles when he ate small-pot rice noodles, so he bought some specifically to take home.

Just like Lin Fei, who had eaten duck blood vermicelli soup and thought the sweet potato noodles tasted good, he specially bought some to take home!

“The broth of this suancai niurou bao is sour, spicy, and richly fragrant. I think it’s not just good with rice—paired with noodles or rice vermicelli, it’s excellent too, so I cooked some myself,” Ji Caimai said, slurping up a mouthful of rice vermicelli. Savoring the strands soaked in the broth, he nodded repeatedly. “Both the suancai niurou rice vermicelli and the suancai niurou noodles taste absolutely wonderful!”

Watching Ji Caimai, who seemed to have “mastered” the art of eating, Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile. “The public kitchen didn’t get much beef, but there’s still some left. I’ll make suancai niurou rice vermicelli or noodles for breakfast another day!”

Hearing this… just thinking about the sour, spicy, and uniquely flavorful broth coating the noodles and rice vermicelli made one’s mouth water!

Swallowing hard, Liang Hongjin glanced at Ji Caimai and said, “Next time, you should have said so earlier! I just passed a noodle stall when I came here for lunch today. I should have bought some noodles and poured them into the soup!”

Ji Caimai rolled her eyes in response.

After everyone had finished their lunch, the Dali Temple officials, who should have arrived earlier, finally appeared in the public kitchen.

Although the case hadn’t progressed smoothly at first, it ended quite well! When they went in to arrest the people, the group of wealthy idlers was “absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth” at the altar. The “woman of extreme yin” lying in the coffin didn’t “manifest her power” to protect them, and there was no resistance, allowing them to easily capture the people.

Finally, the busy, hungry group could eat the lunch they had been looking forward to all morning!

(End of Chapter)

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