Lin Dan was a quiet and reserved person but she approached her work with utmost diligence. No matter how dirty or exhausting the tasks assigned to her by the old woman’s daughter-in-law were, she completed them without a word and without cutting any corners. Over time, the daughter-in-law became more at ease and no longer felt the need to watch Lin Dan’s every move. The old woman took advantage of the moments when her daughter-in-law ran out to slack off, teaching Lin Dan how to prepare the most tender and delicious tofu and how to make the freshest and most flavorful tofu balls.

After three months, Lin Dan mastered the dish. She bid farewell to the reluctant old woman and left the small town with Madam Qi. From then on, she traveled across the country, seeking out masters to learn various culinary skills. If others were unwilling to teach her, she would work in their shops or homes, using her sincerity to win them over. If they remained unwilling, she did not complain but quietly left instead.

She tasted the delicacies from all over the Great Chu Dynasty, met people of all kinds, and experienced different walks of life. This journey lasted ten years.

In the early spring, a convoy moved along a mountain path, guarded by strong escorts both in the front and the rear, as if some wealthy family was relocating. When the convoy reached a fork in the road, it slowly came to a stop. A plump middle-aged man jumped out of the most luxurious carriage and hurried over to the last carriage, where he asked in a low voice, “Shopkeeper Lin, how is your health?”

“Cough, cough……” A hoarse voice came from inside, “Much better, thank you for your care along the way, Boss Shen. I hope we can meet again in the future.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I have some more medicine to help with your recovery, please take it.” Boss Shen quickly ordered a servant to present a gift he had prepared long ago, then added with a fawning expression, “We will definitely meet again. If you open a shop in the capital, I will come from miles away to visit. Since you’ve been ill, nothing I’ve eaten has tasted good.”

Judging by the voice, Shopkeeper Lin in the carriage was likely a woman, and Boss Shen’s last comment had a hint of teasing. Yet, neither the person inside nor outside the carriage seemed to notice anything inappropriate and even burst out laughing in unison.

Witnessing this, a burly man standing beside the convoy sneered and elbowed his companion, silently mouthing, ‘Look at that, even hitching a ride halfway can lead to something. Women shouldn’t be out and about.’

His companion nodded in agreement, smirking as he glanced at their leader, only to find him still sitting on his horse, his narrow, phoenix eyes vigilantly watching every fork in the road, not relaxing in the slightest. The two men felt a chill and quickly fell silent.

Shopkeeper Lin, seemingly worried about passing on her illness to others, only lifted the curtain slightly and extended her hands to receive the box. She then instructed, “Xiao Zhu^[1]Little Bamboo, give the gift I prepared for Boss Shen. We wouldn’t have made it to the capital without his care these past few days.”

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy immediately jumped down from the front of the carriage, carrying a wine jar in his arms. When Boss Shen saw the jar, his already rosy face seemed to glow. Though he kept insisting it was unnecessary, his hands eagerly reached out for the jar, his small, narrow eyes nearly disappearing with his smile. “Aiya, Shopkeeper Lin, you’re too polite! It was just a small favor on my part!” He spoke while taking a deep sniff at the mouth of the jar, revealing an expression of intoxication.

“To you, it was a small favor, but to us, it was a great kindness. It’s getting late, Boss Shen, you’d better get going. We bid you farewell here. If we meet again in the capital, I will surely treat you to a meal.” Shopkeeper Lin sincerely said.

Boss Shen smiled so broadly that his eyes were almost invisible and he repeatedly assured her, “Shopkeeper Lin, to prevent you from forgetting, I’ll note this meal down in my ledger and come to collect the debt when I visit the capital.”

“I won’t forget. Until we meet again.” Shopkeeper Lin chuckled softly.

After their farewell, the long convoy split into two. The ten carriages at the front took the fork toward Jiaozhou, while the remaining five continued straight toward the capital. The escorts also divided into two groups, with some following Boss Shen, while three strong men trailed behind Shopkeeper Lin’s convoy, riding slowly.

It seemed Shopkeeper Lin noticed the three men through the curtain, so she sent a servant to greet them.

The servant looked a bit nervous but gathered his courage and asked, “Big Brothers, are you headed to the capital?”

One of the men gave a half smile. “And what if we are?”

“If so, our shopkeeper would like to hire you as escorts. If you can safely get us to the capital, the shopkeeper will pay each of you ten taels of silver and cover your meals and drinks along the way. How does that sound?”

“Not good.” The burly man was smiling, but his words were sharp enough to make one choke. His companion snorted, clearly unimpressed by the offer of ten taels of silver.

The servant’s face turned red with anger but still kept his composure and emphasized, “Please reconsider, Big Brothers. We offer very good food and drink. You won’t lose out.”

“Ten taels of silver wouldn’t even catch my eye, let alone your food. Get lost, don’t waste our time on the road!” The man grew impatient, his hand seeming to reach for the whip at his waist.

The person leading the group was the tallest and most imposing of the three. His skin was dark, his features strikingly handsome, and a knife scar traced dangerously close to his temple, disappearing into his hairline, adding an even more menacing aura to him. Perhaps he found his subordinate too brash, for he shot him a cold glance. The other two men immediately composed themselves and solemnly explained, “We’re in a hurry and will take a shortcut back to the capital. We can’t travel with you.”

Taking the shortcut meant going over the mountain, where the path was rugged, narrow, and only accessible on horseback— carts couldn’t pass through. Upon hearing that, the servant quickly cupped his hands in farewell, stealing a quick glance at the group’s leader as he did. His heart skipped a beat. The man sat astride a tall horse, his long, narrow phoenix eyes cold and sharp, and his strong frame wrapped in black attire revealed that he was clearly a trained martial artist.

This man had such a heavy murderous aura. Could he be a bandit? With that thought, the servant hastened his pace.

Shopkeeper Lin’s carriage was close enough to the group to hear their conversation clearly, so he didn’t press further. They continued on their journey quietly, and by noon, they stopped to rest in a spacious area by the water. Two young maids carried earthenware pots to the river to fetch water, while three servants gathered stones to build a stove, preparing to cook a meal.

Wild roses bloomed on both sides of the mountain path, their fragrance enriched by the light rain, making the surroundings quite pleasant. Shopkeeper Lin lifted the carriage curtain to admire the view and drank a bowl of dried tangerine peel and ginger water before slowly getting off the carriage. “I’ve been cooped up in the carriage for too long, my bones are weary. I need to stretch a bit. I’ll cook lunch today. Go and bring down my cooking utensils.”

“Ah, that’s great! Sister Lin is cooking today!” The two young girls cheered joyfully and the other servants also looked overjoyed.

The three men had been following the convoy for a while but this was the first time they saw the supposedly ill Shopkeeper Lin, making them crane their necks to get a better look. The person in question was in her early twenties, with her hair styled in a married woman’s bun. She was tall and elegant, with delicate features. Her skin wasn’t fair but rather a light wheat color which didn’t conform to the current aesthetics. However, her demeanor exuded a certain heroic spirit that made her quite pleasing to the eye.

So, this was the Shopkeeper Lin whom Boss Shen was always fawning over. She was completely different from the stunning beauty they had imagined. The two men were somewhat disappointed, but their leader continued to stare at Shopkeeper Lin for a long time.

Shopkeeper Lin, also known as Lin Dan, quickly noticed the man’s unusual gaze and turned to meet his eyes. When their gazes locked, one looked suddenly enlightened, while the other appeared puzzled.

“May I ask, Big Brother, have we met before?” Lin Dan asked politely with a graceful air.

The man hesitated for a moment before responding in a deep voice, “No, we have not.”

Lin Dan studied him carefully, certain that she had never seen him before, and thus paid him no further attention. With his striking appearance and imposing aura, she would not have forgotten him if they had met before.

After Lin Dan walked away, one of the three men lowered his voice and asked, “Leader, do you know that Shopkeeper Lin?”

The leader did not answer, silently taking out some dry rations and a water bag, and began to eat with difficulty. The other man tore off a piece of hardened flatbread and shoved it into his companion’s mouth, scolding, “Eat your food and stop asking questions.”

The more carefree man spat out the hard flatbread and cursed, “Damn, how many days has this flatbread been out? It’s harder than a rock! Eating this every day has made my mouth so dry and my taste buds dull!”

“Just bear with it a little longer. We’ll take the small path at the next crossroads, hurry back to the capital, have a feast with meat and wine, and then get a good night’s sleep at home.” His companion said, eyes filled with longing.

“How far is the next crossroads?”

“Not far, we should reach it by tomorrow morning.”

“Damn it, you call tomorrow morning ‘not far’? I wish I could grow wings and fly back!”

The two continued munching on their flatbread as they chatted, but the leader remained silent, occasionally glancing at Shopkeeper Lin as if she had caught his interest.

Lin Dan was busy preparing lunch and was completely oblivious to the man’s attention. She took out several pieces of cured meat, evenly balanced between fat and lean, and roasted them over the fire. When the skin began to sizzle with oil and the leftover bristles were singed off by the flames, she rinsed the meat in river water, scraping off the blackened residue with a knife.

Following her instructions, the two young girls ran into the forest and dug up some wild onions and bamboo shoots to use later, while the other servants started a fire to cook rice.

Lin Dan sliced the cleaned cured meat and tossed it into the pot to stir-fry. Once enough oil had rendered out, she threw in several pale red balls made from an unknown ingredient, gently breaking them apart with a spatula. An indescribable sour scent mingled with the rich aroma of the cured meat, filling the air and making the three men crane their necks even more eagerly.

“Damn, what’s that smell? It’s a bit sour and stinky.” The carefree man complained, though his mouth was already watering.

“No idea. I’ve also never seen it before.” His companion replied, standing on tiptoe to get a better look at the large pot Lin Dan was constantly stirring.

The pale red balls had been thoroughly broken down by Lin Dan, turning into a fine powder that mixed with the pork slices. The dish didn’t look particularly appetizing, but the aroma was incredibly potent. Sharp, yet inexplicably mouthwatering. The term ‘stinky yet fragrant’ seemed to perfectly describe it.

Finally, the handsome and imposing man spoke up, “That’s fermented tofu dregs, a specialty of the Anqing Prefecture. When the weather is clear, tofu dregs are crushed, placed in jars, and mixed with salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and other ingredients for storage. If you want a stronger flavor, you can boil pork bones into a rich broth and pour it over the bean dregs, seal the jar with lotus leaves, and let it ferment slowly. Once fully fermented, the mixture is shaped into balls and dried, making it easy to carry. The taste is sour, spicy, salty, and numbing, with a strong aroma that’s both meaty and beany. It has a very distinctive flavor.”