Chapter 5

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Cheng Zijian carried the food box as he walked along the road.

The food box was heavy, containing a dozen or so mutton steamed buns, two lotus leaf wrapped glutinous rice portions, and two bamboo tubes of Chenpi Mung Bean Soup Drink.

As he walked, his mind kept recalling the fragrance he had smelled just now, and that young lady's introduction.

Seeing a few stone stools at the corner ahead, he couldn't help but quicken his pace to claim one and sit down, opened the food box lid, and took out a packet of glutinous rice.

The dried lotus leaf originally carried a faint fragrance of its own; the moment it was opened, that fresh scent and the aroma of cooked glutinous rice went straight into his nose.

The young lady had also provided two pairs of bamboo skewers, but Cheng Zijian couldn't be bothered to use them; turning his back to the road, facing the wall, he cupped the lotus leaf wrap in his hands and took a huge bite, chomping down from top to bottom.

The moment the glutinous rice entered his mouth, Cheng Zijian couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

This bite of his was truly large; he bit into every layer, chewing carefully — besides the glutinous rice's distinctive fragrance, stickiness, and softness, he also tasted diced shiitake mushrooms, dried radish, diced white radish, diced sour cowpea, salted egg yolk mixed in, and that thing the young lady called "Crispy Fried Noodles".

The shiitake flavor goes without saying; the dried radish was crisp and chewy, the sour cowpea salty-sour, inside there seemed to be diced cured sausage cut into extremely tiny granules — not the purely salty taste of ordinary days; beyond the pine-smoked aroma, there was an obvious sweetness; the Crispy Fried Noodles were like the finishing touch — one bite down, crisp and crunchy, carrying the distinctive heaviness of lard fat; eaten alone it would surely be cloying, yet mixed within was the mung bean paste the young lady mentioned.

The mung beans had their skins removed, presumably steamed, boiled, and sieved very finely to become this current layer of pale yellow paste — delicate, fragrant and smooth, carrying only a faint mung bean aroma, not a trace of beaniness; wrapped on the Crispy Fried Noodles, mixed in the glutinous rice, they complemented the other ingredients perfectly.

Most surprising of all were the diced white radish, pickled into a sweet-sour taste, more sour than sweet, crisp and refreshing in every bite, incredibly cutting through the richness.

These were already outstanding, yet there was one more thing most special — that sauce coating everything so evenly.

Truly didn't know how that young lady mixed the sauce; it carried a hint of spiciness yet not pungent, salty, savory, fragrant, a thread of sweetness — indescribable — but relying on this one spoonful of sauce, it simply elevated this portion of glutinous rice to another level.

With no one around, Cheng Zijian having gone hungry all night, he paid no mind to appearances at this moment, practically wolfing it down.

He was anxious to eat yet also wanted to chew a few more times to savor the flavor carefully; though it was merely a bowl of glutinous rice, as he ate, even while constantly admonishing himself in his heart to observe dining etiquette, not to eat too fast, not to look like a starvation ghost, in barely a blink he had already finished the entire packet of glutinous rice; his right hand couldn't help reaching toward the food box again, probing toward the other lotus leaf wrap.

But the moment he touched that warm lotus leaf wrap, Cheng Zijian felt something was off.

No!

If I eat it all now, what will I eat at noon?

Looking at the mutton buns in the food box, still steaming, fragrant too — he had been quite looking forward to them when he got up this morning — but compared to the glutinous rice just eaten, that fragrance instantly lost its color, seemed dull.

Really hard to compare.

He'd eaten mutton steamed buns many times, not fresh at all anymore.

But the glutinous rice toppings were truly rich, every pairing just right, fragrant, sticky, delicious, and moreover he was a southerner — southerners love rice dishes more than wheat dishes, isn't that only natural?

Only the hour was already late; wanting to go back and buy two more portions was too late now, and the mutton steamed buns were already bought — if he didn't eat them it would be a real waste.

With misgivings in his heart, Cheng Zijian couldn't bear to eat that glutinous rice either.

Glutinous food fills the belly; one bowl down, his stomach was already six or seven parts full — exactly the degree where he could eat more but not eating was already enough — so he simply took the bamboo tube, opened the lid, brought it to his mouth and drank a sip to moisten his throat.

That young lady said this thing was called Chenpi Mung Bean Drink, but drinking it the Chenpi flavor wasn't too strong; instead he first tasted the faint sweetness of mung bean soup, then slowly the Chenpi aroma returned from the root of his tongue.

Cheng Zijian originally didn't much like that Chenpi flavor, but tasting this drink he also found it not bad; the mouthfeel was overall very clear yet not bland; eating to the end, he discovered a layer of mung bean paste settled at the very bottom of the bamboo tube.

He hurriedly shook the bamboo tube, eating up all the bottom sediment.

Soup and rice satisfied, Cheng Zijian involuntarily let out a satisfied burp, feeling truly refreshed in spirits, thinking that the books he had to carry next didn't seem so painful anymore.

Only originally time was a bit rushed; eating halfway delayed him, so he couldn't put the food box back in the dormitory.

He carried the food box straight to the study hall; just as he entered, before he could even sit down, two familiar classmates surrounded him.

"Zijian, heard you went to Food Alley to buy food!"

"Brother Zijian, good brother! It's too cold today, Little Brother didn't get up this morning, spare some food for me!"

Though Cheng Zijian's purse wasn't abundant, he had never been stingy with friends; he agreed at once, just about to crack a few jokes, when he heard someone calling him from behind; turning his head, it was actually the Master.

He hurriedly turned and bowed.

The Master nodded, didn't enter, only stood at the door and said: "You come out for a moment."

Cheng Zijian dared not delay; he hurriedly handed the food box to his classmate and hastily followed.

The two entered a side room.

Reaching the partitioned room, the Master took out Cheng Zijian's essay from yesterday, gave serious guidance on a few points, then told him to face the annotations, go back and revise seriously before handing it in again.

Cheng Zijian acknowledged, just stepped out of the partitioned room, when he felt something seemed off.

By the time he hurried back to the study hall, before he could even enter, he heard a clamor of voices inside; stepping in, he indeed saw several people surrounding his desk.

He also saw his desk neighbor peering toward his desk, reaching out toward the food box he had just brought back and shouting: "What thing, so fragrant, let me eat a bite too!"

A bunch of people gathered together making a racket.

"How come I never saw this sold in Food Alley before, where did Zijian get it? So delicious!"

"Any more? Give me some too!"

"Gone gone! Only one portion, not even enough for the two of us to pick our teeth with; there's still mutton steamed buns in the food box, if you're hungry, take them yourself!"

"Eating mutton steamed buns every day, won't miss this one meal! Give me another bite of this, it's glutinous rice right? How come eating it doesn't seem like the usual method."

"Exactly! Such a large portion, how much can the two of you eat, hurry, I want some too!"

Cheng Zijian's heart instantly sank halfway; he knew his beloved rice was lost; for a moment he only regretted — only two portions, not like he ate them down! If only he'd known, he should've finished the glutinous rice in one go just now!

At this moment a sharp-eyed person saw him enter and shouted loudly: "Zijian's back!"

So a crowd chased after him asking.

"Zijian, where'd this stuff come from?"

"How much money?"

"So delicious, can it still be bought now?"