Chapter 15: Braised Pork with Potatoes over Rice
Isaac’s laughter was hearty, and Ye Mu, originally lost in her thoughts, couldn’t help but join in. After laughing, Isaac began to detail the “rumors among adventurers.”
It was only then that Ye Mu realized just how outrageous her reputation had become in everyone’s minds.
The label of “culinary god” was the most fitting description for her, while the other descriptions were strange yet widely circulated rumors.
According to Isaac, everyone generally agreed that she must come from nobility, possibly as a noble’s illegitimate daughter—someone wealthy but without a title. If neither of those were true, then she must be the daughter of a top chef serving nobles, while her bloodline might not be noble, she would still belong to the upper class.
Regardless of which category she fell into, her decision to run a restaurant in Dragon Town was seen as a way to experience life and, by extension, to do charity!
After hearing this, Ye Mu was stiff for a moment: “Uh, excuse me… according to this reasoning, I understand the life experience part, but the charity part still doesn’t make sense?”
She thought her dishes were quite pricey.
Isaac shook his head, unable to contain his amusement: “It’s not like that.” He looked at her with a smile, “Nobles are high above, so the price doesn’t matter. As long as someone is willing to let ordinary people enjoy noble cuisine, that’s kind-hearted in itself.”
Ye Mu was speechless.
“Besides,” Isaac’s gaze swept across her face, “do you really think your dishes are expensive?”
“Isn’t it?” Ye Mu propped her chin in her hand.
If she roughly calculated, the average income for ordinary people here was likely a few thousand copper coins a month, similar to the real world. However, in the real world, people earning a few thousand wouldn’t buy dishes priced at two or three hundred each every day.
Indeed, there was a significant difference in mechanisms: adventurers needed to level up and improve attributes, and her quality dishes were a shortcut, making that expenditure worthwhile for them.
But proportionately, the price was still not cheap.
Isaac found her rebuttal amusing. He couldn’t imagine what kind of environment she had grown up in, being so oblivious to all this.
After pondering for a moment, he finally decided not to probe into her past and sighed, “How should I put it? Actually, I’ve always known that what you sell isn’t noble cuisine.”
“But in my opinion, the price your dishes are worth still far exceeds your current pricing.”
“Is that so…” Ye Mu shrugged. “But I think it’s already quite expensive.”
It could even be considered extortionate.
If it weren’t for that huge tax, it really would be a huge profit.
For a moment, she was tempted by the prospect of a higher price, but as the lively events of the past month flashed through her mind, she smiled: “This is quite good as it is.”
As she clicked her tongue, savoring the rumors she had just heard from Isaac, her mood was complicated. She asked him, “Well, now that you know those rumors are false… I haven’t done any charity work. Are we still going to discuss establishing a territory?”
Isaac spread his hands: “If you don’t plan to impose heavy taxes, I’m willing to make this investment.”
“Why do you trust me so much?” Ye Mu asked, staring at him, her tone very objective. “Have you considered that I might deceive you? Even though my combat skills are poor, what if I run away with the money?”
Isaac was taken aback by the question, as if he only realized how unreasonable his trust was upon hearing it.
He fell into a sort of confusion about himself. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly replied, “Maybe I think someone who loves food shouldn’t be too bad.”
“That…” Ye Mu opened her mouth and finally chuckled, “It seems to make sense.” She then gave him her assurance: “I won’t impose heavy taxes, that kind of taxation makes no sense. To develop long-term, ¹you can’t bleed the residents dry.”
“Alright, then I will withdraw the money over three days, and then we can go choose a location,” Isaac said.
Ye Mu asked him, “Why not transfer the money directly from the bank?”
There was a withdrawal limit, but no limit for bank transfers. So if they transferred the money, they wouldn’t need to stretch it over three days.
Isaac’s smile suddenly became a bit forced: “My account is under surveillance, and transferring money to you could get you into trouble. It’s better if I withdraw it and hand it to you, and then you can deposit it.”
“…” Ye Mu didn’t know how to respond for a moment. She looked at Isaac and wanted to ask: Buddy, what illegal activities have you been involved in?
Was it something like gambling, drugs, or telecommunications fraud? Or maybe illegal fundraising? Otherwise, why would it be like this?
But judging by his series of charitable ideas, he didn’t seem like that kind of person.
She even felt he was somewhat of an idealist, who’s detached from reality. He clearly knew that the poor state of the environment couldn’t be changed by one person alone, yet he still wanted to try, willing to spend a lot of money to do so.
This was the first time she had seen someone like that, and she couldn’t quite describe her feelings, but it was certainly novel.
Therefore, she didn’t pry into his past and nodded calmly: “Alright, I’ll wait for your news.”
For the next three days, Isaac really brought money every day. The daily withdrawal limit at the bank in this world was 3 million copper coins, and he delivered 3 million each day for three consecutive days. They agreed to head out on the fourth day, and he had prepared an additional 1 million copper coins for that day, totaling 10 million.
Ye Mu knew that this journey would not be short, so she hung a “Closed for Today” sign on the door and gave her employees the day off.
As she looked at the astronomical sum in her backpack, she teasingly asked, “Are you this rich? Do others know?”
She thought he looked more like a noble’s illegitimate child—someone who couldn’t inherit a title but was incredibly wealthy!
The two walked south from the Nightfall Restaurant and exited the town through the southern gate. Ye Mu had prepared to trek all day, but as soon as they stepped outside, Isaac took her to a secluded corner and raised his right arm. “Hold onto my arm.”
“Uh?” Ye Mu looked at him, confused, and reached out, doing as he said.
Isaac added, “Hold on tight.”
Ye Mu used a little force, feeling his solid muscles through the thin fabric of his mage robe.
Then she saw Isaac softly chant a spell, and a white paper page appeared in his hand, with golden runes shimmering faintly on it.
He casually tossed the runes into the air, and Ye Mu felt a sudden darkness engulf her, a rush of wind roaring in her ears. Just three seconds later, light returned and the sound vanished, but the scenery before her had completely changed.
She found herself in a place she had never been before, the ground was flat, but looking into the distance, she could see mountains surrounding this open space on three sides, with only the north side unobstructed.
Ye Mu was shocked and asked her first question: “Where is this?”
“At the foot of the Qiana Mountains,” Isaac pointed to the mountains surrounding them, “And that is the Qiana Mountain Range.”
“Oh…” Ye Mu replied.
It seems this introduction would help her know exactly where she was!
Then she asked her second question: “What was that just now? Why did we get here in the blink of an eye? Was it some kind of auxiliary magic?”
“It’s a teleportation rune,” Isaac answered while squinting his eyes and looking at her seriously for a moment, then added, “I now believe you’re completely unrelated to the nobility…”
Ye Mu stared at him, “So you didn’t believe me that day?!”
“That’s not my fault,” Isaac replied nonchalantly. “It’s hard to believe that an ordinary person could have maxed-out culinary skills.”
Ye Mu rolled her eyes silently in response and casually opened her map to determine her location.
This game clearly had a map exploration mechanic, only places she had visited were displayed, while others remained completely dark.
Now, she had lit up the large area of the “Qiana Mountains,” with everything around it still black. However, when she zoomed out, she quickly saw the illuminated areas again, realizing that the Night Dragon Town and the Qiana Mountain Range weren’t too far apart. If she walked from the northern side without mountains, she could probably return in half a day.
Isaac couldn’t see her panel but guessed she was looking at the map. He pointed north, “Well, that way is Dragon Town.”
He then slightly adjusted his hand to point northwest and northeast: “There are a few villages on those sides, and they’re pretty close too… Can you see them on the map?”
“I can’t see them,” Ye Mu shook her head. “I’ve only been to Dragon Town.”
“That’s okay,” Isaac shrugged. “What do you think of this place?”
Ye Mu looked around, “Are there any criteria?”
“Well… considering the initial resources, there’s a forest, stone and coal mines, and the land is fairly fertile. There are rivers too, you should see the markers on the map. Plus, there are quite a few nearby villages, making it easy to attract residents.”
“Don’t be too hasty!” Ye Mu laughed.
In front of her was a vast wilderness, and while she was thinking about how to start the initial construction, he was already eager to dig in!
She continued to look around, “Can you be more direct? In your opinion, is this place suitable for establishing a territory?”
Isaac replied, “If I didn’t think it was suitable, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
“Oh…” Ye Mu chuckled dryly, “That makes sense!”
“So, if you think it’s suitable as well,” Isaac said without wasting any time, “The initial territory is 10 million, and the money is already in your backpack. Open your personal information panel, and you should see a ‘Claim Vacant Land’ option next to your avatar. Click it, and after confirmation, the area will be designated for you.”
Ye Mu asked, “Then I’ll be the lord?”
“From a permissions standpoint, yes. But to truly gain the lord title, you need to develop to a certain scale before you can request a title from the palace.”
The contrast between the straightforward system application and the formal request to the palace gave Ye Mu a strong sense of absurdity.
However, Isaac didn’t seem to find it odd and continued calmly, “Once the territory is established, you’ll have periodic tasks. The first task should be to attract 10 residents.”
Ye Mu was taken aback: “…”
Her friend list only had about ten people at most.
But then she heard Isaac say, “I’ve already found the people, they’ve been waiting. Good luck, my lord.”
Ye Mu was confused: “???”
It was clear he was quite eager.
He was indeed an idealist, willing to spend lavishly and exert effort for something he wanted.
“I’ll do my best,” Ye Mu sighed, following his instructions to complete the operation.
Perhaps because a territory without a lord was insignificant in this world, her application was approved quickly. Within half a minute, she saw a pop-up saying “Application Approved,” and then a button for “Enter Territory Construction” appeared in the upper left corner of her view.
She pressed the button, and the colors around her changed. The vacant land beneath her feet was covered by a light green filter, extending several hundred meters outward from her as the center.
At the same time, a naming interface appeared. Ye Mu initially thought to name it “Nightfall” as a silly pun. But considering the recent malicious encounters, she worried that such an obvious name might attract more hostility, so she asked Isaac, “Is it possible for me to keep my status as the lord a secret from others?”
Isaac shook his head, “Once you submit the lord application, the palace will know.”
“I don’t mean the palace,” Ye Mu paused, “I’m talking about others, like the residents moving in or other townspeople.”
“Oh, that’s possible. You can set the information to be hidden. Others will think it’s another lord expanding their territory nearby, usually, no one will dig deeper,” Isaac confirmed.
“That’s great,” Ye Mu said, relieved, and typed the name in the naming interface: Qiana Town.
She lazily named the place after the nearby mountain range.
After completing the naming, several building icons appeared at the bottom of her panel.
The public facilities included a service hall, tax office, and bank, all provided for free by the system, ready for immediate construction. In addition, three residential buildings were offered, she could either build them with one click or sell them once constructed.
For any other buildings, whether public facilities or residences, she would need to plan and construct them herself.
Ye Mu then looked for suitable spots to place the three public facilities, moved a few dozen meters away, and set up the three small houses as well.
Returning to Isaac, she cleared her throat and asked, “Um… can I hire you… to build the houses?”
It felt quite shameless to hire an investor to do the work.
But what could she do? She had a construction level of zero and only knew him as a construction player!
Isaac laughed, “Sure.”
Ye Mu hesitated, “About the payment… um…”
She couldn’t bring herself to suggest paying with meals.
She didn’t want to be too shameless about this!
Isaac hesitated for three seconds between “taking advantage and extorting a year’s worth of high-end meals” and “being a good person,” and finally said, “Look at the ‘Territory Resources’ button in the lower right corner of the panel.”
“Hmm?” Ye Mu clicked the button as he said, discovering that there was an initial fund of 1 million copper coins. In addition, this panel would record the territory’s existing stock of food, minerals, and more, but all those had an initial amount of zero.
“Can I pay you 100,000 copper coins as your fee? Consider it a month’s worth?” Ye Mu offered a generous price. She knew this amount was likely well above the average income for this era, but since building all day would be tiring, giving a bit more seemed reasonable.
Moreover, the 10 million needed to establish the territory had come from Isaac, so this 1 million also counted as his contribution. Why should she be stingy?
Isaac bargained, “That includes three meals. I’ll eat whatever’s sold for dinner, and for breakfast and lunch, I’ll have what you eat.”
“Deal!” Ye Mu agreed eagerly. After paying Isaac, she granted him construction permissions on the panel, allowing him to build freely, while the costs would be automatically settled by the system, eliminating the hassle of accounting later.
Closing the panel, she asked him, “Could you start by building some houses for me? Is there anything else that needs to be done first?”
Isaac glanced at the sky, “No rush. You should get back to managing your restaurant now.”
“Ah…” Ye Mu thought about how she had planned to close for the day and had even put up the “Closed” sign. However, since it seemed there wasn’t anything urgent on the territory side, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep the restaurant open after all, so she nodded in agreement.
Isaac then activated the teleportation rune again, and the two of them instantly transported back to the outskirts of Dragon Town, before walking back to the restaurant. Before leaving, Isaac gave Ye Mu a few teleportation runes, telling her that these were directional ones, set to the coordinates of her territory, she just needed to tear them to use them.
Ye Mu thanked him, and he left. About an hour after he walked away, while she was frying the dinner dishes, Ye Mu realized… she could teleport there, but how would she get back?
…Forget it, she could just walk back.
That was her final conclusion.
The next morning, Isaac arrived for breakfast at 8:30. Ye Mu’s breakfasts had always been simple, she usually bought ready-made items from the market and then processed them.
Today, she bought some bread, cut it into small squares measuring two centimeters each, dipped them in an egg mixture made with milk and sugar, and then fried them in a small pan.
It was a low-budget version of French toast.
After frying the toast, she sliced some sausages, chopped tomatoes, and made a simple yet rich sauce by adding sugar, salt, mashed potatoes, and minced meat.
Isaac ate as devoutly as ever, while Ye Mu sat opposite him, boldly spearing the bread cubes with her fork to dip into the sauce. Looking up, she saw him delicately scooping a spoonful of sauce with a small spoon, carefully selecting a piece of bread, and meticulously coating it on every side before putting it into his mouth.
“…” By the time she finished her third piece, she was chewing noisily and watching him.
Isaac noticed her gaze, looked up, and met her teasing eyes: “What’s wrong…”
Ye Mu took a sip of milk, “Although the food here is slightly better than outside, you don’t have to be so…” She paused, searching for the right word, “ceremonious.”
Isaac disagreed: “You call this ‘slightly better’?”
Ye Mu shrugged, “I just think it looks exhausting to eat like that.”
Isaac stubbornly replied, “It’s not exhausting.” He lowered his head again, starting to “coat” his second piece of bread, continuing to say, “This way, I can appreciate the food.”
“…But sometimes, eating heartily is tastier.” Ye Mu recalled how cautious he had been last time. He seemed to want to apply “artisan spirit” to his eating, measuring precisely how many strands of vegetables, how many pieces of meat, and how much sauce he had with each bite of rice.
As a chef, Ye Mu could sense his respect for the dishes from this approach, but it just didn’t seem appetizing to her.
Isaac clearly disagreed with her. He shot her an amused glance: “Chewing slowly makes it taste better.”
—Oh, so you’re being stubborn, huh!
Ye Mu tightened her grip on the fork, feeling that annoying competitive spirit rise within her!
She didn’t continue the topic, finishing breakfast nonchalantly before Isaac left. After he was gone, Ye Mu ground her teeth and cut a large piece of pork belly, carefully blanching it with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine. She then chopped some large pieces of potato and took out the expensive [Advanced Magic Potion] and [Advanced Life Potion].
Which were actually just light soy sauce and rock sugar.
She heated the pot with oil, adding the rock sugar!
Ye Mu skillfully melted the sugar over low heat, and when it turned light brown, she seized the moment to toss the pork belly into the pot.
“Sizzle—” The pot crackled with excitement as she flipped the meat, evenly coating it with an appetizing brown, then added the potatoes to stir-fry, followed by light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and salt, pouring in a bowl of clear water to submerge the ingredients.
If she were cooking braised pork in the real world, she would typically need oyster sauce, star anise, and bay leaves, for a southern flavor, fermented bean curd would also be required.
In Ye Mu’s eyes, the star anise and bay leaves were the soul of the braised meat.
But even without these, the flavor was already quite good. She hadn’t made such rich, hearty dishes for over a month, and the aroma of the meat made her quite hungry.
Then came the long wait. She simmered it slowly on low heat, then raised the heat to reduce the sauce. The process wasn’t difficult, but it required enough patience.
As she waited, Ye Mu gradually became accustomed to the scent, her sense of smell numbing so that it no longer felt enticing. However, Ivy and the others, arriving on time for work, were completely unprepared for such a delightful surprise, almost everyone’s first comment upon entering was, “What smells so good!”
“Hehe, I’m adding a dish for everyone today!” Ye Mu said with a smile, sending a message to Xibel to let her know that she had created a new dish, which was limited in quantity and not for sale to the public, inviting them to come and eat at noon.
Of course, she also messaged Isaac.
In the Dragon Mountains, Xibel’s team, upon hearing about the “limited edition new dish,” didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately decided to head back to town.
—Hesitating even for a second would be disrespectful to the culinary god!
About half an hour later, they arrived at the Nightfall Restaurant. They timed their arrival perfectly, Ye Mu’s braised pork was at the “high heat to reduce the sauce” stage, the aroma peaking. As Xibel pushed the door open, she was instantly enveloped by the scent.
“Whoa!!!” Xibel exclaimed.
The others followed, catching the smell and rushing in, all heading to the kitchen to see what Ye Mu was cooking.
However, the last one, Nala, paused, turned around, and closed the door first, feeling that such a fragrant aroma shouldn’t escape outside!
Even so, the whiff of aroma that drifted out upon opening the door caught attention, and neighbors and passersby perked up, whispering, “The culinary god must have a new dish!”
“What a delicious smell! What could it be?”
“I don’t know, but it smells a bit sweet? Yet it doesn’t seem like dessert.”
“Why do I feel like it smells like meat? But… can meat taste sweet?”
Outside, people were buzzing with discussion. In the kitchen, Ye Mu finished the last step of reducing the sauce, lifting the pot to find a large bowl generated automatically by the system. She poured all the braised pork into it.
The value panel instantly appeared:
[Braised Pork with Potatoes (Epic)]
—Will continuously restore health and stamina while consumed,
—Can restore up to 20,000 health and 20,000 stamina (total restoration amount depends on the quantity consumed),
—If the amount consumed reaches 10% of the dish, an extra buff [Full of Happiness] will be granted, which makes the player immune to all negative effects for 2 hours (if the amount consumed exceeds 10% of the dish, the duration will increase proportionally),
—If the amount consumed reaches 50% of the dish, an extra buff [Energy Overflow] will be granted, which makes the player immune to all negative effects, increases movement speed by 20%, and reduces stamina depletion by 50% for 4 hours (if the amount consumed exceeds 50% of the dish, the duration will increase proportionally),
—If the amount consumed reaches 100% of the dish, an extra buff [Big Eater] will be granted, which makes the player immune to all negative effects, increases movement speed by 20%, and reduces stamina depletion by 50%, while all eating and drinking actions will grant 20-100 random experience points (if the amount consumed exceeds 50% of the dish, the duration will increase proportionally).
This panel left the already cramped kitchen, filled with eleven people, in stunned silence.
Everyone: Wide-eyed and speechless!
Ye Mu: I’m speechless too!
It was at this moment that Isaac arrived at the restaurant. As usual, he knocked on the door but received no response, so he hesitated and pushed the door open to take a peek inside.
Seeing everyone in the kitchen, he walked over, greeting them politely, “Good afternoon, I—” but midway through, he noticed everyone seemed frozen in place.
His first thought was that they had collectively fallen under some spell, perhaps something like [Advanced Petrification]. Just as he approached to investigate further, he spotted the panel hovering above the braised pork.
The eleven petrified people turned into twelve.
After a long while, Xibel finally gasped, managing not to suffocate from the shock.
The others were pulled back to reality by the sound of her intake of breath, and the atmosphere lightened. Isaac continued to stare at the panel, genuinely impressed, “That’s amazing! How did you make it?”
“…Actually, it’s a very simple dish. I didn’t expect the values to be like this.”
“What?” Isaac looked puzzled and turned to assess her, “Isn’t the value different from what you made before?”
Ye Mu: Damn it, I got flustered!
The dishes Ye Mu made before didn’t have any value at all!
But she quickly composed herself and said nonchalantly, “This is a new dish. I imagined the recipe myself and thought it would turn out well, so I gave it a try. I’ve never made this before.”
After saying that, she beckoned everyone, “Let’s eat! You all serve yourselves rice, and I’ll make a couple of vegetable dishes to balance it out!”
“Long live the culinary god!!!” Xibel team cheered as they went to serve rice. While their hands were busy, their minds were still reeling from the shock of the panel.
If Ye Mu’s previous dishes were considered “noble cuisine,” what level was this dish? A royal chef’s creation?
The dish was labeled as “Epic” by the system, something they had never seen before!
It must be incredibly delicious!!!
At the stove, Ye Mu quickly made two simple vegetable dishes. One was stir-fried bok choy, made with just a bit of minced garlic and salt, and without much oil—it was light and fresh.
The other was smashed cucumber, a cold dish that in the real world often uses a lot of vinegar and a small spoonful of soy sauce, but soy sauce was too expensive here, and there was no vinegar, so Ye Mu used only sugar and salt. After tasting it, she found it refreshing and tasty.
She brought these two dishes out and saw that three tables had been pushed together to form a long one. Everyone was seated but hadn’t started eating, they were all waiting for her.
“Go ahead and eat!” she smiled, placing the stir-fried bok choy and smashed cucumber on the table before sitting down in the space everyone had left for her.
Then, under everyone’s eager gazes, she picked up a spoon and served herself the first piece of meat.
Using a spoon for the meat was really inconvenient, she thought she might ask Isaac to help her make a pair of chopsticks next time.
—While scooping the meat, Ye Mu was thinking about this.
But the others didn’t know about the existence of chopsticks. Even if they did, they couldn’t focus on such details right now. Seeing the chef move first, they all reached for the food!
Xibel was the first to take a piece of braised pork, and as soon as she bit into it, she was stunned, wide-eyed, banging the table and trying to describe the deliciousness to Nala beside her, but she was so amazed she couldn’t say a word.
The meat she had just eaten had both sweet and salty flavors, which didn’t feel strange but instead blended perfectly.
The seemingly greasy fatty meat and skin turned out to be completely non-greasy, the fat was unexpectedly sticky, and the skin was slippery!
Meanwhile, Isaac was still eating with devotion. He carefully ladled a spoonful of meat sauce over the rice on the left side of his bowl, then took a piece of meat, feeling that it was too large to eat in one bite, so he leisurely cut it in half. He even wanted to scoop a small piece of potato…
At that moment, Leah slammed the table, exclaiming, “What the hell! Oh my god! What is this?! It feels like it’s not meat… but tastes even better than meat!”
Ye Mu smiled softly, “It’s potato.”
“Potato?!” Leah looked at Ye Mu in disbelief, repeatedly scrutinizing her expression, trying to figure out if she was joking.
She had eaten potatoes—roasted, fried, and stir-fried with mixed vegetables. But the piece he just had was completely different from any potato!
That unknown ingredient was stewed until it was tender, not only did it soak up the flavor of the sauce and the meat’s aroma, but its texture was incredibly soft, melting away with just a slight press of the mouth.
As it melted, the fragrance intensified, mingling with its own subtle aroma, lingering tantalizingly between his lips and teeth.
Ye Mu earnestly said, “It really is potato. I had considered making other dishes with potatoes, but I felt that this ingredient, like a staple food, restores stamina, and it wouldn’t be meaningful to make it alone. Using it in the stew today fits perfectly.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Isaac cutting the potato in his bowl, her expression one of disbelief.
He was so serious! He was meticulously carving away, unconsciously leaning in closer to the bowl, his long eyelashes almost brushing against the edge.
What’s wrong with him!
Ye Mu couldn’t help but mentally roll her eyes, raising an eyebrow and clearing her throat: “The best way to eat this dish is to mix it all together with the rice in a messy way. The sauce should be evenly mixed, and the meat and potatoes should be thoroughly combined. It might not look great, but it’s really satisfying to eat.”
“Okay, okay! I’ll give it a try!” Leah immediately responded.
To be honest, even though she hadn’t eaten yet, just imagining how that potato would mix with the rice based on the flavor she just tasted was driving her crazy!
The others quickly followed Ye Mu’s suggestion, with Ivy even helping the youngest, Della, mix her portion.
Meanwhile, sitting next to Ye Mu, Isaac’s hand holding the spoon trembled slightly.
…Mix it?
He took a deep breath, instinctively rejecting that method.
He gritted his teeth, suppressing the impulse to follow suit, preparing to place the small piece of potato he had just cut onto the rice that was drenched in sauce and accompanied by meat.
Then he heard Leah, who had quickly mixed her rice and tasted it, exclaim, “So good!!!”
Suddenly, the impulse to follow along surged again, shifting from “a little” to “a considerable amount.”
Isaac took another deep breath, continuing to restrain himself.
But for some reason, his gaze darted toward Ye Mu’s bowl.
Ye Mu was still mixing her rice, and he clearly saw how the white rice slowly turned a brownish color, how the meat was broken into small bits mingling with the rice, and how the potatoes were reduced to a sand-like consistency, disappearing into the mix…
At the same time, he felt something strange happening to his senses.
From an aesthetic perspective, he found the process utterly terrible. The once appetizing chunks of meat and potatoes had become a messy mixture, and combined with the rice, it looked even more unappetizing.
…But the reality was, as he looked at the chaotic brown mix, he surprisingly felt hungrier.
He couldn’t understand why, only hearing a voice inside him saying: Why not give it a try?
Yet his upbringing held him back.
Finally, Ye Mu finished mixing her rice.
When it came to eating, she didn’t share Isaac’s odd “craftsmanship,” but she had her own meticulousness—when it came to things that needed to be mixed or spread, she insisted on making sure everything was evenly combined.
For instance, when mixing rice or noodles, she preferred that no white rice or noodles were left uncoated, when spreading jam or butter on bread, or sauce on steamed buns, she would try to make the spread even, ensuring uniform thickness everywhere.
So, the bowl of rice she mixed looked particularly appetizing.
She had noticed Isaac’s gaze while mixing, so she deliberately avoided looking at him, secretly amused.
It wasn’t until she took a bite that she lifted her eyes, meeting his gaze as she asked, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Cough…” Isaac quickly looked down, feeling inexplicably guilty.
He wanted to continue eating in his own way, but when he glanced back at the rice in front of him, it suddenly seemed less appealing than Ye Mu’s bowl.
Ye Mu rested her chin on her left hand and scooped another spoonful of mixed rice into her mouth: “There’s nothing like a warm bowl of mixed rice in winter!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Everyone, except Isaac, nodded vigorously.
Isaac was on the verge of breaking down. In the past twenty-two years, he had never felt this way. Even when facing turmoil that shook the capital, he had remained steadfast.
He only did what he believed was right and could clearly discern what was correct.
He had always strived to live like those he admired. He wanted to be a shining knight—brave, just, with good manners and all the wonderful qualities.
But now, he was in a dilemma, he was wavering, starting to question himself.
This was tormenting him, making him feel like he was undergoing an unprecedented trial.
And all this torment… actually came from a bowl of potato braised pork mixed rice!
—
¹”you can’t bleed the residents dry” means you shouldn’t exploit or overburden people by taking so much from them (such as money or resources) that it leaves them with little or nothing left.