Of course, before going to find Zhang Wulin, they needed to…

Everyone looked up at the sky: It was noon, time for lunch again!

I wonder what Master Wen is making for lunch today.

Wen Mingtang, who was being missed, walked to the side, took out a handkerchief from her waist, covered her nose, and sneezed. She paused, but before she could sneeze a second time, she turned around and went to wash her hands. When she returned to the counter after washing her hands, she saw Tangyuan and Ah Bing laughing.

Wen Mingtang looked over, puzzled, but then heard Tangyuan say with a smile, “Master Wen almost always sneezes before mealtime. The old folks say that when you sneeze, someone’s talking about you. Master Wen’s sneezes are so precise; it’s true, she’s always being talked about at mealtimes.”

This made Ji Caimai, who was tidying up food boxes behind the takeout stall, laugh too. “It’s quite a coincidence; maybe those people really are talking about our lunch today!” As she spoke, she looked at the small steamers on the counter, patted her full stomach, and couldn’t help but say, “Today’s lunch is quite to my liking!”

Because the number of custom-made pots and utensils was quite large, many still hadn’t arrived.

Just as dawn was breaking, the palm-sized steamers that Master Wen had ordered arrived. Seeing those small and cute steamers, the little girl Tangyuan immediately became interested and played with them for a while.

The steamer was small, exquisite, and cute, no different from other trinkets. Ji Caimai initially thought it was ordered by Wen Mingtang for making pastries; a small steamer with a portion of pastries certainly looked appealing. However, he never expected that the steamer would be used to make a meat dish on its first day in the kitchen.

The most important ingredient was a type of fermented black bean paste that Chef Wen had bought from a stranger at the market.

Looking at the black beans and brown sauce, Ji Caimai was initially curious about what kind of snack it would be used for. He thought it might be a cold dish, mixed with tofu or other vegetarian dishes, but Chef Wen had simply steamed the pork ribs he had bought from the farm that day with the fermented black beans.

As for the taste of the dish… Steward Ji rubbed his stomach and let out a satisfied belch: “Absolutely marvelous!”

…..…

After enjoying yesterday’s irresistibly spicy chicken, Liu Yuan, fearing Wen Mingtang would again prepare such a fiery yet irresistible dish for lunch, deliberately carried a bamboo tube of tea with him to the public kitchen.

Although the Dali Temple’s public kitchen provided soup, a bowl wasn’t enough for dishes like spicy chicken; it was better to prepare it in advance.

Refusing a spicy dish cooked by Master Wen was simply out of the question. Surely a dignified Sìchéng of Dali Temple should have learned by now to see it coming. 

Liu Yuan felt his foresight was quite brilliant! Upon entering the public kitchen, he bumped into several colleagues also carrying bamboo tubes of tea, realizing he wasn’t the only one who had anticipated this.

Bai Zhu, standing beside him, twitched his lips, looking at his “remarkably clever” colleagues, and quickly followed Lin Fei, who had calmly walked past them, into the public kitchen.

Although they hadn’t wasted much time coming from the prison, everyone’s enthusiasm for meals had been consistently high ever since Master Wen arrived at the Dali Temple. Many even rushed to the kitchen just as the noon bell rang.

Therefore, even without delay, when they entered the kitchen, many colleagues were already sitting down at the food counters with their lunches.

A quick glance immediately drew their attention to the small steamers on the plates.

Watching everyone take their lunch, one steamer each, and noticing the steaming white rice in their bowls, Liu Yuan was puzzled: “Are there steamed buns in the steamer? If there are steamed buns, why is there rice too?”

Just as he was wondering what was going on, the servant at the nearest food table lifted the lid of the steamer.

The steam that had gathered inside spread outwards as the lid was opened, revealing a new dish that almost filled the entire steamer.

In a white porcelain bowl, tenderly steamed pork ribs were arranged, mixed with black fermented black beans, and a brown broth of meat juices and sauces soaked into the bottom of the bowl. Topped with slices of green and red peppers, it looked remarkably “refreshing.”

Especially compared to yesterday’s “richly flavored” spicy chicken, it appeared incredibly light and refreshing.

However, despite its “refreshing” appearance, along with this “refreshing” exterior came an indescribable aroma of garlic, pork ribs, and some unknown condiments—a “refreshing” aroma with an inexplicable allure.

The servant’s satisfied expression after taking a bite of the ribs revealed this. Liu Yuan swallowed hard, not daring to look any longer. He quickly walked to the table to collect his lunch and sat down at the table where Lin Fei and Bai Zhu were.

Although today’s dish was not a spicy one, the growing pile of bones in Lin Shaoqing’s discard plate spoke volumes. In the span of a few moments, he had already polished off two ribs and was swiftly reaching for a third. Clearly, while this dish, known as Dòuchǐ Zhēng Páigǔ, was not spicy, it was every bit as delicious.

Liu Yuan swallowed hard, hurriedly put down his plate, and eagerly picked up his chopsticks to grab the Dòuchǐ Zhēng Páigǔ. But just as his chopsticks were about to pick up the ribs, he heard a voice outside.

“Liu Sicheng!”

They actually came to call him at this time? Liu Yuan’s smile froze. Looking at the ribs he was about to grab, before he could hesitate, the voice of the servant who had come to call him rang out again.

“Liu Sicheng!”

Lin Fei, who was eating the Dòuchǐ Zhēng Páigǔ that Liu Yuan had been craving, glanced at him upon hearing this, spat out the bones, and reminded him, “Someone is looking for you.”

Having received orders from his superior, Liu Yuan could no longer continue eating. He had no choice but to put down his chopsticks, get up, and quickly walk outside.

Who was it? Why now, of all times? When he finally emerged from the public kitchen courtyard, still resentful about not getting his steamed pork ribs, and saw the two teenagers, Liu Yuan’s resentment immediately subsided. He jogged a few steps, quickly knelt down in front of the two children, and said, “Why are you two here? Where is Old Wei?”

These two children were none other than Wei Fu’s son and daughter.

Although he was nervous and worried when he saw the two children suddenly running to find him, seeing that they didn’t seem worried, Liu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief: Old Wei seemed to be alright, but he wondered what had happened to make the two children run this errand.

Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than the two children said, “Uncle Liu, Daddy said he found something and wants you to come over when you have time!”

Before Liu Yuan could reply, a series of gurgling ventriloquism sounds rang out. Liu Yuan looked towards the source of the sounds—the two children’s stomachs—and immediately rubbed his forehead: Old Ji… Surely he wouldn’t let two children go hungry!

(End of Chapter)

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