Chapter 53

A pair

The reckless challenge of Tang Yingying to bear a handsome son continued, but neither her delicate hand movements for sprinkling the powder nor her skills for secretly sprinkling poison seemed to help in making food.

After all, ‘whispering’ something and creating something are entirely different domains. Destruction and creation are completely different things.

Perhaps because she had only learned how to eliminate things since birth, Tang Yingying seemed to have no talent for this.

After watching her futile attempts a few times with a frustrated expression, I remembered giving her a piece of dough, just as I would give some to children to play with while making dumplings at home.

“What’s this?”

Leaving Tang Yingying alone in her surprise, I called the servants and started rolling out the dough and shaping the soup dumplings.

“Everyone, watch and follow. You need to create a small pocket, and when viewed from above, it should look like water swirling in a bowl.”

The servants, who often prepared dumplings for breakfast in the morning, managed to make a decent shape after a few tries, unlike Tang Yingying.

Using the rolling pin to flatten the dough and rolling the filling, we continued making dumplings until dawn. The chief steward, who had approached unnoticed, asked:

“Breakfast is almost ready; shall we start boiling the water?”

We had been making dumplings by the light of the lanterns, and when I looked up at the sky, it was already getting light. It was time to claim the reward from the arrogant Sima Si.

With a solemn expression, I nodded at the steward’s question.

‘Brother Zhuge, I will avenge you!’

Soon, the water in the pots placed on the stoves began to boil, and the bamboo steamers filled with soup dumplings were placed on top.

After a short wait, the rich aroma of the dumplings and the fresh scent of the scallions began to fill the air.

When the dumplings were sufficiently cooked, I took out the first steamer and brought it forward.

As I opened the lid, the fragrance burst out.

The soup dumplings maintain a taut appearance when the steamer is opened, but as they cool, the space inside, which was filled with gelatinized broth, empties, causing them to slightly shrink. The key is how well they maintain their shape, which indicates the excellent ratio of broth to filling.

When the steam dissipated, the soup dumplings slightly shrank and the edges spread out like a skirt, but the shape was still good.

This was good enough.

I placed a soup dumpling in a small bowl and, along with a pair of chopsticks, handed it to Zhuge Qing, who had come out early to help make the dumplings.

The soup dumpling I gave her was one I made myself.

“Would you like to try it? The broth inside is very hot, so it’s best to tear a small hole on the side and drink the broth first.”

“Me, first?”

I nodded, and Zhuge Qing, with a very happy expression, took the soup dumpling with slightly trembling hands.

She picked up the chopsticks and, as I had instructed, gently tore a small hole on the side of the soup dumpling.

The soup dumpling then released a rich, fragrant golden broth, as if it were a living creature.

The broth, heavier and hotter than when the steamer was opened, slowly rose from the dumpling.

Zhuge Qing brought the soup dumpling close to her nose, seemingly to enjoy the aroma first.

After savoring the aroma, a bright smile, like the sun rising behind her, appeared on her face.

‘Ah, this is why King You of Zhou fell in love with Bao Si, one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China, and led his country to ruin.’

Bao Si was the empress of King You of Zhou, and in Chinese legends, she is described as an incredibly charming woman.

A woman who rarely smiled.

King You made many efforts to make her smile, and it is said that when a palace maid fell and tore her clothes, Bao Si laughed. To make her laugh again, King You had silk torn, which led to the saying “a thousand pieces of gold for a smile.”

The tearing of expensive silk drained the national treasury and led to the fall of the country. In the past, I thought this story was about a very foolish man, but now I realized there was another such man, and I decided to respect him as my second elder brother.

‘Brother, I’m following you...’

While I was captivated by Zhuge Qing’s smile, she lowered the bowl she had been savoring and tilted it to bring the warm broth to her slightly parted lips.

After tasting the broth, she looked at me with a moved expression and shared her thoughts.

“The broth is really rich and coats the mouth with oil, it’s amazing.”

Then she cut the dumpling and put it in her mouth, looking very happy.

“Is it that good? Really?”

When Tang Yingying asked, unable to contain herself, I put a soup dumpling in another bowl and handed it to her.

‘Even if she’s annoying, she’s still my adopted sister, so I have to take care of her.’

After all, Tang Yingying is one of the pillars of my network, the left Tang family.

Despite her impatient nature, Tang Yingying had heard me explain to Zhuge Qing how to eat the soup dumplings, and surprisingly, she showed a skilled manner as if she had eaten them several times before.

She bit the soup dumpling like she was biting the bottom of a yogurt container to suck out the liquid, then quickly put the soup dumpling in her mouth.

With a “huh” sound, she blew out the hot steam and quickly finished the soup dumpling.

“Ah, it’s really delicious. The rich broth fills the mouth. But...”

Tang Yingying seemed to want to say something.

I asked, worried that there might be a problem with the food.

“Why? Is there something wrong?”

I chose the soup dumplings not only because of the problem posed by Sima Jue, where the hot broth spurts out, but also because the broth is very oily and flavorful.

In this era, people prefer fat over meat, and since fat is considered better, I thought the oily soup dumplings would naturally be appreciated. However, there was a possibility that they might not suit the taste of people in this era.

Tang Yingying carefully answered my question.

“It’s very delicious, but it might be a bit greasy for breakfast. The rich oil lingers in the mouth.”

‘Oh no!’

I suddenly realized something.

In my focus on making the soup dumplings, I had forgotten one important thing.

I started to worry about Tang Yingying, who had been quite helpful lately.

They say that when you do something you’ve never done before, something will hurt.

“Tang Yingying, you’ve said it well. I had forgotten something.”

Just as Liu Qingyun has Zhuge Qing,

soup dumplings have a soulmate, and I had forgotten it!

While soup dumplings are delicious on their own, the lingering gelatin in the mouth, as Tang Yingying pointed out, can be an issue.

Therefore, they must be eaten with this, but I had forgotten it in my focus on the soup dumplings.

I quickly asked the chief steward to prepare ginger and black bean vinegar.

“Please prepare some ginger, black bean vinegar, and vinegar.”

‘How could I forget the ginger vinegar sauce!’

After peeling the ginger and soaking it in water to remove the starch, I mixed it with soy sauce and vinegar in a 1:3 ratio and served it with the soup dumplings.

Eating soup dumplings without ginger vinegar sauce is like eating a pepperoni pizza for breakfast without pickles.

I quickly made the ginger vinegar sauce and had it ready.

I placed a bit of ginger, which had been soaked in the sauce, on top of the soup dumplings and had them taste it again.

The praise that followed was immediate.

“The ginger cleans the mouth, I could eat several of these!”

“Lord Gong, it was delicious even without, but now it’s even better. What is this ginger called?”

I answered Zhuge Qing’s question with a deep smile.

“Ginger soy sauce, the perfect companion to soup dumplings. Just like you are to me.”

Zhuge Qing’s face turned as red as the morning sunset.

***

I instructed the servants to make more ginger vinegar sauce and waited. Soon, a servant ran from the dining area to inform me that people were gathering.

I immediately had the servants carry the soup dumplings and ginger vinegar sauce to the dining area.

Was Brother Zhuge from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms this solemn when leading his troops?

As I entered the dining area with the servants following in a line, the insidious Sima Si, with his smooth face and lack of substance, was waiting with a smirk.

After confirming my presence, he addressed the crowd.

“Finally, we can witness the true skills of the legendary Food Dragon.”

I quickly walked towards him, receiving the bamboo steamer, which was wrapped in a hot cloth to keep it warm, from a servant.

Every moment was precious.

The faster I acted, the hotter the soup dumplings would remain, and the more damage they would inflict on his palate.

I placed the bamboo steamer in front of Sima Jue, put my left hand behind my back, and extended my right hand, saying:

“Please, try it. These are dumplings that can be eaten with broth, not boiled in broth. Since you posed the challenge, it’s best for you to try them first, so I brought them myself.”

The servant who followed me removed the hot cloth and lifted the lid of the steamer, and steam burst out. Sima Jue’s nostrils flared as the aroma of the soup dumplings hit him.

When he saw the soup dumplings inside, he smirked and replied.

“Food Dragon, but they don’t seem to match the theme I gave you.”

I didn’t back down and responded with a smile.

“Try them and you’ll see. Food’s true value can only be known by eating it. Just like a person’s true nature, food can be deceiving.”

I slightly bowed and extended my hand again, urging him to try.

‘Stop talking and come on, the soup dumplings are getting cold.’

Sima Jue, provoked by my words, twitched an eyebrow and immediately picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table, grabbed a soup dumpling, and put it in his mouth.

The moment he closed his mouth, a sound was heard.

-Sizzle

The hot broth from the soup dumpling shot out of his mouth towards me.

But I had anticipated this and quickly turned to avoid the broth.

Then, a voice of frustration burst from his mouth.

“Huh, huh. Ah, ah...”

His tongue moved rapidly in his half-open mouth, like a twerking dance in a fighting game.

Sima Jue’s tongue, moving like a series of kicks in a fighting game, was a futile effort to avoid the damage.

The liquefied gelatin would stick to his palate the moment it touched it.

Despite his efforts to avoid the damage in front of everyone, his palate seemed to have already said goodbye to his body.

“Ah, hot, huh...”

The guests, who had picked up the soup dumplings, burst into exclamations of amazement.

“There’s broth inside the dumplings! Hot broth inside the dumplings!”

“Ah, such rich and hot broth, huh...”

“How can there be... Indeed, it’s the Food Dragon!”

Before the conclusion with Sima Jue, some people couldn’t wait and started tasting the soup dumplings, causing a series of sizzles and sprays.

Curious people couldn’t resist and started tasting the soup dumplings one after another, and the hot broth from the soup dumplings sprayed like dew in the early morning.

“What do you think?”

When I asked Sima Jue, he, with his peeled palate, gasped and finally answered with a reluctant expression.

“I, I am amazed by the Food Dragon’s incredible skills.”

Seeing his distorted face and admission of defeat, the master, who had been watching everything from the side, smiled at me.

‘Now, let’s start the first night deal.’

Sima Jue was never my real opponent, and it was time to face the master in a true competition.