Although Lin Dan had deliberately prepared extra food, everyone still didn’t quite get enough to eat. The main reason was that the three men had enormous appetites and devoured the wraps too quickly. Just as someone finished their first wrap, those three had already stuffed down three each, which was quite frustrating to witness.

Lin Dan still ate very little. Once night fell, her cough worsened. After taking her medicine, she crawled into the carriage to sleep. Everyone was careful to move quietly, afraid of disturbing her.

The three men found an open spot to sit down and keep watch over the convoy for the night. They seemed accustomed to such a lifestyle of eating and sleeping outdoors. While everyone else in the convoy was too exhausted to stay awake, they remained alert.

“No wonder Old Man Shen was so reluctant to part with Shopkeeper Lin. He even said he had no appetite for anything else since Shopkeeper Lin had gotten sick. Now I understand why.” Luo Tietou said as he was lying flat on the ground, absentmindedly patting his stomach. “That wrap was damn delicious, but there wasn’t enough. I didn’t get full.”

“Are you hungry again?” Zhao Liu asked, poking the campfire with a stick.

“Yeah.” Luo Tietou muttered, rolling over and smacking his lips. “I wonder what we’ll have for breakfast tomorrow. I still want more wraps.”

Thinking about the taste of those wraps, Zhao Liu secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He also wanted more. Such delicious wraps, he could eat them every day for three months and never get tired of them.

“Stop talking. You guys sleep. I’ll keep watch.” The handsome man said in a deep voice.

The leader’s word was law, so Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou didn’t argue and soon fell asleep. Not long after, a low rumbling sound of a stomach grumbling echoed in the dark night, but fortunately, everyone was already asleep and no one noticed.

———pr

Please only read this translation at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m to support the translator

The next day, Lin Dan’s health had improved significantly from the day before. She got up before dawn to make breakfast for everyone. And since she was up, the others naturally couldn’t be lazy. One by one, they got up to fetch water and rekindled fire.

“You stayed up all night?” Lin Dan asked, slightly surprised when she saw the handsome man sitting by the campfire.

The other party nodded but said nothing.

Noticing his hesitation, Lin Dan took the initiative to ask, “Is there something on your mind?”

“Nothing.” The man hesitated for a moment but in the end, couldn’t resist asking, “What are we having for breakfast?”

Lin Dan smiled. “I’ll cook a pot of rice porridge, some noodles, and a few side dishes. You can have porridge if you like, or noodles if that’s what you prefer.”

The man nodded and fell silent. The two other men lying beside him woke up and grumbled, “Why aren’t we having wraps, Shopkeeper Lin? Porridge and noodles aren’t as good as wraps.”

Lin Dan shook her head with a smile. “No matter how good something tastes, you can’t eat it every day. You need to change things up once in a while.”

Shaoyao walked over with a grin and said, “Sister Lin, the dough is ready and the porridge is on the stove. You should go fry the dishes now.” She then turned to Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou, teasingly adding, “These two Big Brothers are truly blessed and don’t even know it. Our Shopkeeper Lin can cook hundreds of different dishes without repeating a single one and we can hardly keep up with eating them. Yet, you two are still complaining.”

“We’re not complaining, not at all. We’ll eat whatever Shopkeeper Lin makes.” The two men quickly said, casting a glance at their leader who was frowning at them. Despite their words, they couldn’t help but miss last night’s wrap. After all, porridge and noodles couldn’t compare to that fresh wrap.

But soon, Shopkeeper Lin showed them that with enough skill, even something as simple as porridge and noodles could become a gourmet meal. She took out some cracklings from a jar, chopped it finely, and stir-fried it in a pan. Then she chopped some blanched toon leaves and added them to the pan as well. The juices from the toon leaves mixed with the grease from the cracklings, forming a thick gravy. As each bubble burst in the boiling sauce, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air. Once the cracklings became tender and the toon leaves’ fragrance was fully released, Lin Dan quickly added soy sauce, salt, and pepper, stirred it a few times, and then removed it from the pot.

“It smells so good!” Shaoyao and Dujuan both said as they carried the bowl of topping away, inhaling deeply as they went.

Originally, Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou hadn’t been in the mood for noodles, but now they could barely contain their drool.

Lin Dan wasn’t done yet. After finishing the topping, she steamed a large bowl of salted fish, prepared a cold dish with Indian aster, and took out some pickled vegetables from a jar to plate them. Only then did she start making the noodles. By the time the noodles were cooked, the porridge was also ready, and everyone eagerly took out their bowls and chopsticks, ready for breakfast.

“Alright, eat quickly so we can get on the road.” Lin Dan said, washing her hands and slowly lowering her sleeves.

The three men, being well-trained fighters, quickly grabbed three bowls of hot noodles, mixed them with the topping, and began to slurp them down. Both the toon leaves and cracklings are highly aromatic ingredients, and when combined, they become even more fragrant. The tender leaves balanced the crispy fat, creating a flavor that was truly exceptional. The noodles were perfectly chewy, each strand absorbing the rich topping, and every bite was both soft and elastic, with a savory taste that instantly conquered their taste buds.

Delicious, absolutely delicious! The three men’s eyes simultaneously lit up and they started eating even faster. As they sped up, everyone else naturally hurried too, and soon the camp was filled with the sound of people eating.

Lin Dan, still recovering from her illness, had little appetite. She only drank a bowl of porridge before stopping.

The handsome man looked up at her, concerned. “Shopkeeper Lin, are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m feeling much better, just a bit tired. I think I’ll lie down in the carriage for a while. You all go ahead and eat, don’t worry about me.”

The man studied her carefully. Seeing her rosy complexion and bright eyes, which didn’t seem to show signs of worsening illness, he finally felt reassured. Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou, sitting nearby, only slowed down after their third bowl of noodles. Though they were already quite full, they still ladled themselves a bowl of porridge to clear their stomachs.

The plain porridge was just that— plain porridge. It had no particular taste, and as it entered their mouths, it felt bland. The two of them added some pickled vegetables to the porridge, took a small sip, and were instantly astonished by how delicious it became. The pickled vegetables were made from chopped water celery mixed with bitter wine, sesame, and fennel. The taste was crisp, sour, and salty, with a slightly rich flavor. But when paired with the mildly sweet porridge, the taste immediately became balanced and harmonious, with a fragrant aroma that filled the air. As they slowly sipped the porridge, it felt as if every pore in their body opened up and their stomachs became incredibly comfortable.

Another dish served with the porridge was steamed salted fish with fermented black beans. No one knew what secret method Shopkeeper Lin used to prepare it, but the originally tough salted fish had been steamed until it was soft and tender. Rich juices slowly seeped from the meat, mixing with the fragrance of the fermented black beans, making their mouths water. Not only was the fish meat tender, but even the fish bones were soft. Picking it up and chewing on it, they found that the more they chewed, the more flavorful it became.

The salted fish had a strong flavor, while the porridge was mild. Taking a bite of the salted fish and then sipping the porridge, they could taste both the sweetness of the rice and the savory saltiness of the fish, a perfect combination.

Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou couldn’t stop eating, downing two large bowls of porridge before finally wiping their mouths with satisfaction. Seeing them devour the food so eagerly, the handsome man naturally didn’t want to miss out on the feast. Though he appeared graceful, he quickly scooped a bowl of porridge, added a large portion of various pickled vegetables, and finished off the remaining salted fish. Even after eating all that, he felt it wasn’t enough, so he poured the sauce from the salted fish and black beans over a bowl of noodles and slurped it all down.

Xiao Zhu was already stunned, never expecting that these three could eat so much. Luckily, they hadn’t agreed to stay on as escorts, or they would have eaten their convoy into poverty.

“Damn, these days are too comfortable!” After breakfast, Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou lay on a large rock, rubbing their stomachs with a satisfied expression.

“Let’s rest for a while and then head out. We should try to reach the capital by the day after tomorrow.” The handsome man said, still standing tall, his slender waist and flat stomach giving no indication that he had eaten at all.

“Alright.” The other two men were just about to agree when they saw one of Shopkeeper Lin’s servants running out of the forest, carrying two wild rabbits and a hazel grouse, and excitedly shouting, “Shopkeeper, the traps and nets we set last night caught some wild game. We’ve got lunch covered.”

“What did we catch?” Lin Dan lifted the curtain and glanced over, then lightly laughed. “Good, let’s have braised rabbit and stir-fried hazel grouse for lunch. Hazel grouse meat is tender, known as ‘heavenly dragon meat’, and is delicious no matter how it’s cooked. Chop the grouse meat, young ginger, pickled peppers, and pickled cabbage into small pieces, then stir-fry them together before adding half a bowl of water to simmer for a bit. The dish will be done in no time. The hazel grouse prepared this way is tender and flavorful, with the chopped bones releasing thick marrow that blends perfectly with the spicy and sour sauce. It will be bursting with flavor, perfect with rice.”

As Lin Dan described the meal, the group, who had just finished eating, began swallowing their saliva again, wishing time would pass quickly so it could be lunchtime already.

“Lock up the rabbits and the hazel grouse. Let’s get going.” Lin Dan looked at the three men and said softly, “Big Brothers, we must part ways here. Thank you for looking after us along the way.”

“Shopkeeper Lin is too polite.” Zhao Liu quickly swallowed the saliva in his mouth and smiled sheepishly.

“Farewell.” The handsome man mounted his horse and slightly cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

Luo Tietou took off his boots to check if there were any small stones inside, but his eyes were sneakily fixed on the wild rabbits and hazel grouse as if plotting something.

Lin Dan bowed and then her group slowly left.

Luo Tietou unhurriedly put his boots back on, mounted his horse, and with a worried tone, said, “Leader, how about we escort Shopkeeper Lin a bit further? The road ahead is full of dense forests and dangerous terrain so there might be bandits. Her servants are all from the south, small and weak. How could they possibly protect the five carts of goods?”

“Tietou is right. Shopkeeper Lin is a good person and a weak woman at that. We’ve already completed our task, so it wouldn’t hurt to escort her a bit further.” Zhao Liu quickly agreed.

The handsome man turned his horse around to look at the convoy. After a moment, he made a decision. “Then let’s follow them.”

The three of them spurred their horses, quickly catching up, and through the curtain, explained their intentions to Lin Dan. Naturally, Lin Dan was very grateful, but Xiao Zhu’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Seeing the wild rabbits and hazel grouse, were these three gluttons trying to mooch another meal?