Chapter 18

Song Standard

When I first bought the pepper and Sichuan pepper, it was from a street vendor.

It was a street vendor in the market that specialized in selling spices like pepper and Sichuan pepper.

"Is this the best Sichuan pepper?"

I asked the vendor while looking at the stall.

The stall looked the same as when I first came.

‘It doesn’t seem like this guy cheated me...’

"Of course, Sir. It’s the best quality."

The vendor, with a goatee, rubbed his hands together like a fly and said.

‘But seeing him again, I feel like I was cheated...’

Looking at the vendor, I get the feeling that he looks like someone who cheats and runs away.

And from the look of him, I think he’s not cut out for business.

Apart from his servile appearance, he didn’t even recognize me just because I changed my clothes! Recognizing customers is the basic of business.

The vendor, who didn’t recognize me even though I asked the same question a few days ago, looked pitiful.

I looked at the vendor with a goatee, who couldn’t even recognize a customer, with a disappointed gaze.

He seemed to notice my discomfort and, seeing my silk clothes, swallowed hard and stammered out some information.

Indeed, silk clothes are half thug.

"U, um. If you’re going to use it as medicine, then, um, the pharmacy...?"

"Pharmacy?"

"Yes, if you’re going to use it as a medicinal ingredient, our stuff is, um, a little, a little better than the one in the pharmacy."

Indeed, in China, almost everything can be used as medicine, so Sichuan pepper could be found in the pharmacy.

Medicinal ingredients and food ingredients are often used interchangeably.

It’s like using medicinal ingredients to improve health?

"Is that so? Where’s the nearest pharmacy?"

"Yes, if you go that way... "

After thanking the vendor, I ran to the pharmacy.

The pharmacy wasn’t far away.

I found the owner at the entrance of the pharmacy.

"Owner? Is the owner here?"

After calling out a few times, there was a stir from inside, and an old man slowly walked out, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

His face was disheveled, as if he had just woken up from a nap, and he was wiping his chest, as if he had seen something scary in his sleep.

"Yes, I’m here. Please wait a moment. Oh, I’m dying."

His face looked as if he had met King Yama in his sleep.

‘Well, at his age, that’s probably the scariest thing.’

He wiped the sweat from his face, shuffled out, and only when he was right in front of me did he realize I was wearing silk clothes. He was startled awake and hurriedly greeted me.

"Oh, Sir, welcome. What kind of medicinal ingredient are you looking for?"

In response to his question, I asked if he had Sichuan pepper.

"Do you have Sichuan pepper?"

"Yes, of course we do."

The old man quickly disappeared inside and soon came out with a bag.

The old man, who seemed to have some kind of nervous tic, was trembling as he untied the bag.

When he opened the bag and showed me the contents, I saw Sichuan pepper that shone a rich red color.

‘Goatee, you bastard!’

The Sichuan pepper I bought from Goatee was a reddish-brown color, but this one was a deep, glossy red.

A red so vivid that it could be mistaken for a chili pepper.

I angrily put a piece of Sichuan pepper in my mouth.

A strong, numbing taste that stung my tongue.

My tongue burned with anger.

‘But, it’s even more numbing, so this doesn’t explain it...’

However, the soft, numbing taste I was looking for was not present in this high-quality Sichuan pepper.

Feeling disappointed at not finding the secret and thinking I might need to spend more time searching, I heard another voice calling for the owner from behind.

The voice of a middle-aged woman.

"Owner, can I have some Sichuan pepper?"

"But, Sir, you were here first, weren’t you?"

"Oh! I didn’t realize you had a customer. I’m sorry, Sir."

The woman apologized, saying she hadn’t seen me in front of her, but I understood.

No matter the world, when women have a purpose, they tend to ignore their surroundings, like a deer.

To protect wild animals, or rather, wild women, and out of interest in the Sichuan pepper she mentioned, I told the old man to serve her first.

From what I remember, Sichuan pepper refers to pepper.

If there’s pepper native to Sichuan, it might be cheaper, and if I can buy it, it would make cooking more convenient.

My main goal is to find the soft, numbing taste, but I couldn’t let the chance to get pepper pass by.

"Serve her first."

"Is that okay?"

"Of course, it’s only right to yield to ladies, or rather, women."

As I said this with a raised eyebrow, the woman’s face turned red.

She seemed to have misunderstood my gentlemanly behavior.

From her reaction, I understood why husbands are most afraid of their wives.

Every action of a man is interpreted in a strange way.

"Oh, thank you, Sir."

She blushed and thanked me, but I quickly turned my head to look at the distant mountains.

I didn’t want any more misunderstandings.

Noticing my discomfort, the old man offered to help.

He broke the awkward silence by asking the woman what she was buying.

"So, what would you like?"

The old man, who had forgotten that she had asked for Sichuan pepper, asked her again.

"I’d like some Sichuan pepper."

My ears perked up at their conversation. ‘What is it? What does it look like?’ I started to get excited.

As I watched the two of them talk, my heart raced.

"What kind would you like?"

"Red pepper, please."

‘What, red pepper?’

At the request for red pepper, my ears perked up like a rabbit’s, and my eyes followed the owner.

However, instead of going inside to get the item, the old man came over to me, revealing a missing front tooth, and smiled.

He then showed the Sichuan pepper he had shown me to the woman.

"Here’s the red pepper. How much would you like?"

"Half a catty, please."

My excitement turned to disappointment.

‘Why do they have so many different names for it?’

It seems that Sichuan pepper was another name for the Sichuan pepper I didn’t know.

Just like how dumplings are called shui dianxin, fen jiao, bian shi, shui jiao, and jiao er, Sichuan pepper had similar variations.

‘I got my hopes up for nothing!’

As I clicked my tongue in disappointment, the woman seemed to have forgotten something and asked the old man for another item.

"Oh, look at me, I forgot. I’d like some green pepper too!"

My disappointment turned to excitement again at the mention of green pepper.

‘Green pepper? If Sichuan pepper is pepper, then green pepper must be unripe pepper?’

The old man disappeared inside and came out with another bag.

He opened the bag and showed the contents to the woman.

I couldn’t help but peek over the woman’s shoulder to see what was inside. The bag was filled with small, shiny, light green Sichuan pepper seeds.

They looked like shiny buckwheat husks.

‘Oh!’

Sichuan pepper I had never seen before.

As the woman bought half a catty and paid the owner, I took a seed to taste.

The shock of a needle pricking my tongue and a strong aroma.

The strong taste I had tasted at the restaurant was hidden in this.

And in that strong taste, an idea came to me.

‘Could this be it? The one he asked which kind to give?’

After the owner saw the woman off, I urgently asked him.

"Owner, are there only two types of Sichuan pepper?"

"Ah, Sir, you’re here to buy all three types of Sichuan pepper, aren’t you? Would you like to see them?"

"Yes, yes, bring them over quickly."

Sure enough! There was one more type of Sichuan pepper!

The old man, who had disappeared inside again, brought out a bag containing a deep beige Sichuan pepper.

It had a smooth shell, different from the ones I had seen before.

When I brought one to my mouth, a faint citrus aroma wafted out.

And when I put it in my mouth, a slightly bitter and soft, numbing taste spread.

‘This is it!’

I urgently asked the owner what they were called.

"Owner, what are these called?"

The old man, with the knowledge of an encyclopedia, began to recite.

"Usually, they are called Sichuan pepper or Sichuan pepper. They have specific names, but the red ones are called Sichuan pepper (花椒) or Sichuan pepper. They have a less strong numbing taste and a slightly weaker aroma. As you can see, the red color is their characteristic."

"The light green Sichuan pepper is called ma jiao (痲椒) or green pepper. It has a strong taste and a strong aroma."

"Finally, there’s teng jiao (藤椒), also known as vine pepper, because it grows on vines. It has a citrus aroma, a slightly bitter taste, and a soft, numbing taste."

Sichuan pepper (花椒), teng jiao (藤椒), ma jiao (痲椒)!

The spicy taste of Sichuan is based on the harmony of these three types of Sichuan pepper.

In my previous life, with chili peppers available, I never used teng jiao or ma jiao, so I had never seen them. They must be a subspecies of Sichuan pepper.

However, the joy was short-lived.

Sichuan pepper, pepper, Sichuan pepper, Sichuan Sichuan pepper, teng jiao, ma jiao, vine pepper, green pepper.

What a mess. Or rather, a name abundance.

When I asked for Sichuan pepper, I expected to see all three and be asked which one to give. Was that too much to ask?

‘Great. You have so many names and types! Damn! I had to eat spicy pork with Sichuan pepper and pepper several times this morning because of such a trivial reason!’

Anger and the spicy taste of the Sichuan pepper and pepper in the spicy pork with Sichuan pepper and pepper made my stomach boil.

I really needed the Song Standard.

***

I bought the three types of Sichuan pepper from the old man at a good price.

Perhaps because I’m not the age to be greedy, the old man, without cheating, provided the best quality.

I couldn’t just let such a person go.

I learned a lot from him and was moved by his thorough service.

He even saved me from the woman’s awkward gaze earlier...

In the martial world, it’s important to have clear relationships of gratitude and enmity.

One shouldn’t forget either.

Especially considering the old man’s state, as if he had seen King Yama in his nap, I couldn’t just let him go.

"Old man, can I borrow some paper, brush, ink, and inkstone for a moment?"

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

The old man brought the paper, brush, ink, and inkstone a moment later. I picked up the brush and started to write a talisman for him.

When the talisman was complete, I gave it to the old man and said,

"I couldn’t just let you go after seeing you break out in a cold sweat during your nap. Since I’ve written a talisman, put it