After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 243: Chapter 242: Red Broth

Li Shuang stood on the corner tower, watching their backs as they left, his heart heavy.

Stay or go? For anyone, it was a high-stakes gamble with life and death on the line. But he had already decided to stay.

What surprised him was that Li Zhi had also chosen to remain, rather than take advantage of the chaos to escape Dunyu.

Uncle Li was currently out on bail. If he left Dunyu City, the bail of one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver would be confiscated, and not a single coin would return to the Li Family.

But the Li Family didn’t care about that sum of money, and he believed Li Zhi didn’t either.

Li Shuang had always considered his uncle mediocre and impulsive, but this time, his composure was surprisingly solid.

’This is infuriating,’ he thought. ’If Li Zhi had fled, the Li Family would have been without a leader again, and it would have been easy for me to take over.’

Now, he would have to wait another month or so.

The situation in Dunyu City was changing several times a day. He was getting impatient.

...

As night fell, Ding Zuodong arrived at Hesu Building.

Shan Youjun had accompanied him. Dunyu City was in a state of chaos today, and Ding Zuodong was carrying a host of valuable contracts, terrified of being robbed.

Few restaurants in the city were open for business today, but Hesu Building was an exception.

Ding Zuodong had promised everyone, from the chefs to the waiters, a hefty bonus. Of course, the most important factor was that the restaurant now belonged to Eldest Young Master Hee. Since their master, the bellwether, was so calm, the servants reluctantly settled their nerves.

However, the old establishment only had two tables of guests tonight. They were both regulars and hopeless drunks who would show up unless the sky itself fell.

The moment Ding Zuodong stepped inside, he sniffed the air. An indescribably strange and wonderful aroma permeated the space.

As a die-hard fan of fried peanuts, he could tell there was a rich, heavy aroma of cooking oil, but what were the other scents that so aggressively invaded one’s lungs?

He beckoned an attendant over. "Where is the Master? And what is the kitchen making that smells so fragrant?"

The attendant answered both questions with a single sentence:

"The Master has been in the back kitchen for two double-hours. He said he won’t see anyone but you."

Ding Zuodong and Shan Youjun were both astonished. At a critical time like this, the Master was holed up in the kitchen? And had been for the entire afternoon?

He really had nerves of steel. The world outside was about to be turned upside down!

The two rushed to the back kitchen, only to unexpectedly find Fuzzy Peach outside the door. Ding Zuodong recognized him as one of Hee Lingchuan’s men but was surprised to see him sitting on a chair by the entrance, apparently acting as a guard.

Fortunately, Fuzzy Peach also recognized Ding Zuodong and yelled inside at the top of his lungs, "Boss, Steward Ding is here!"

Hee Lingchuan’s voice came from the kitchen: "Steward Ding, please come in."

Only then did Fuzzy Peach get up and let them pass.

Their curiosity piqued to the maximum, they walked in and saw that Hee Lingchuan was the only one in the kitchen.

"Master, what are you...?"

Basins were lined up on the table, at least twenty or thirty of them. Luckily, this was a large restaurant with a staggering number of dishes. Inside the basins was a shimmering, crimson...

Ding Zuodong pointed at a basin. "Wait a minute, is this oil?"

He was certain that the strange aroma was coming from the basins. But the liquid inside, a brilliant red laced with scarlet-gold, gave off a strangely menacing feeling.

Hee Lingchuan walked over. "Yes, it is. What were the results of your work today?"

He could smell the scent of oil all over himself; his hair felt particularly greasy.

At the mention of his success, the wrinkles on Ding Zuodong’s face smoothed out. "We got it! Master, we’ve successfully acquired Oil Tiger!" As he spoke, he pulled a stack of contracts from his robes and handed them over. "I also took the opportunity to grab two shops and thirty acres of irrigated fields. They were so cheap I couldn’t pass them up."

Shan Youjun craned his neck from the side. "The old brand specializing in sesame oil, Oil Tiger?"

"Is there any other? Unless it’s a fake!" Ding Zuodong was, for once, beaming with delight. "Originally, Oil Tiger was about to be sold to the Shu Family, but I intercepted the deal. My bid was just ten taels higher than theirs! Heh heh, always just ten taels higher. You should have seen that bastard from the Shu Family—his face turned purple with rage."

The Shu Family had framed him for a crime and kicked him out years ago. He’d been bottling up his resentment ever since, and now he had finally vented a small part of it.

"He got into a bidding war with you?" Hee Lingchuan asked, using a large ladle to scoop something from a boiling pot.

"Only once. I jabbed him with a few sharp words, and he flicked his sleeves and stormed off."

The last time the Shu Family’s head steward saw Ding Zuodong, he had looked down his nose at him, tossing him a string of cash to get rid of him. Coincidentally, it was the same steward this time, but now he was so incensed by Ding Zuodong that he didn’t dare talk back and could only leave in disgrace.

The feeling of using power to bully others... one couldn’t call it refreshing, but it was certainly exhilarating.

Ding Zuodong felt once again that he had definitely hitched his wagon to the right person.

"Congratulations, Master! The entire Oil Tiger industry, including hundreds of acres of farmland, five oil presses, and seven retail oil shops, now belongs to you!"

One of the major pillar products of Dunyu and its surrounding areas was oil.

Peanut oil, rapeseed oil, and sesame oil were sold far and wide, both within and outside the state, and were even offered as tribute to the Capital City.

Oil Tiger was a thirty-year-old local Dunyu brand. It even had its own fields for raw materials, ensuring quality control, and was deeply loved by the people.

It had always been one of the key assets Ding Zuodong recommended Hee Lingchuan acquire. Before today, however, the owner couldn’t bear to part with it and was indecisive, so not even the Shu Family could secure it.

"If not for today’s special circumstances, I might not have been able to acquire it."

"You’ve worked hard." Hee Lingchuan poured the contents of the pot into a bowl, then took one of the basins of brilliant red oil and ladled some over the top. "Here, have a taste."

The two men stared blankly as they took the bamboo chopsticks the Master handed them, hesitating for a moment. "Ah, this...?"

’This Eldest Young Master Hee doesn’t seem like the type who knows how to cook. Could it be a hidden talent?’

Shan Youjun was more direct. He reached out with his chopsticks and picked up a piece of meat pudding.

With another pinch, he grabbed some bean sprouts.

He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed a few times. His jaws gradually stopped moving, and his eyes grew wider and wider.

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t tell what he was trying to express. "How is it?"

Before Shan Youjun could reply, he let out two big sneezes.

It was a good thing he remembered to turn his head first.

"ACK! COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Shan Youjun couldn’t get a coherent sentence out, his face flushed beet red.

Hee Lingchuan was prepared. He brought over a cup of water, shaved two handfuls of ice and snow from a branch outside, added them to the cup, and handed it to him. "Drink this. You’ll be fine."

Shan Youjun took it and, GLUG, GLUG, GLUG, downed it in one go, letting out a long "Ahhh."

Ah, sweet relief.

His reaction was so exaggerated that Hee Lingchuan found a pair of chopsticks and tried a bite himself.

’Hmm, it’s not the best flavor I remember, but it’s passable. After all, I’m just a foodie, not a professional chef.’

"Old Ding, you try some."

Seeing Shan Youjun’s reaction, Ding Zuodong felt apprehensive, but since the Master insisted, he had no choice but to raise his chopsticks.

He didn’t know what he had just eaten, but the flavor exploded in his mouth.

Numbing, spicy, and fragrant sensations assaulted his palate in turn, finally culminating in an explosive burst of umami.

Hmm?

Eh?

Hee Lingchuan asked him with a grin, "How is it?"

"I... I can’t describe it." For the first time, Ding Zuodong felt he was at a loss for words. "What did I just eat?"

"Pig’s blood curd."

"Let me try again." Ding Zuodong reached out with his chopsticks and picked up another piece of meat pudding.

Watching from the side, Shan Youjun couldn’t help but ask, "Don’t you find it spicy?"

"The spice is what gives it flavor." Red oil dripped from the corner of Ding Zuodong’s mouth, but he was completely oblivious. "You’re not a local. You wouldn’t understand!"

Hee Lingchuan already knew that the people of southern Xiazhou loved spicy food. The region even produced an abundance of small chili peppers.

Seeing how much Ding Zuodong was enjoying it, Shan Youjun couldn’t resist reaching for his chopsticks again.

Even though the spice had him hissing and panting, the flavor was strangely addictive. The spicier it got, the harder it was to bear, yet the more he wanted to eat.

The two of them, one chopstick-full after another, quickly emptied the bowl, leaving only the shimmering red oil. Not a single bean sprout was left, but Ding Zuodong still poked his chopsticks around, trying to find more, clearly not having had his fill.

Shan Youjun, his throat feeling like it was on fire, ran straight outside to eat some snow.

Hee Lingchuan tossed two sheets of paper over. "Wipe your mouth."

"I’ve lost my composure, how embarrassing!" Ding Zuodong wiped his mouth, leaving the paper completely stained with red oil. "I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Master, but this dish was truly delicious."

He went to the water vat, scooped out a ladle of clean water to drink, and then looked for another piece of paper.

It was so spicy it cleared his sinuses.

Hee Lingchuan pointed to the red oil and asked, "Do you think the people of Dunyu will like this?"

"They will!" Ding Zuodong gave a thumbs-up. "Definitely. Absolutely."

The Dunyu People loved spicy food, but they had never combined oil, spice, salt, and numbing flavors like this before. Ding Zuodong believed this taste would make them tremble from the depths of their souls.

"Then I’ll leave this to you. Have the head chef of Hesu Building start developing dishes as soon as possible. I’ll write down the ingredients for you."

Ever since Ding Zuodong acquired the large, time-honored restaurant, Hee Lingchuan had been studying the *Collection of Hundred Fragrances* he had obtained in the Panlong Dream Realm. The book indeed contained spice-blending methods specific to the *málà* (numbing and spicy) flavor profile. Besides, in his previous life, he had eaten so much *malatang*, *maocai*, *chuan-chuan*, and red-oil hot pot that the taste was seared into his memory. The mere thought of it made him crave it uncontrollably.

That was why he had gotten the spices from the apothecary this afternoon and started tinkering in here.

It was, more or less, a success.

As the Master, his work was done at this stage; he couldn’t invest any more energy into it. The rest would be up to Ding Zuodong and Hesu Building.

Ding Zuodong was overjoyed. "We have an apothecary, and we have an oil press. Making this won’t be a problem. The recipe should be made by a dedicated person to keep it secret. This will add another signature dish to Hesu Building!"

Hee Lingchuan laughed. "No matter how you try to keep it a secret, it will get out. Even if others don’t know the exact recipe, they’ll try to replicate it."

The red oil itself wasn’t that difficult to make. Its very existence pointed the way for others.

Ding Zuodong understood this as well. "We’ll hold onto the secret for as long as we can."

As Hee Lingchuan ladled water to wash his hands, he heard Ding Zuodong speak again. "The Zhan Family has left. I hear they sold their remaining grain and fields to the State Government, including the military-farmed lands they originally took over."

"The Zhan Family was already selling off their assets and had moved half their people before we even came to Dunyu. Now they have even less reason to stay." Hee Lingchuan wasn’t surprised. "Quite a few people must have left with them, right?"

When a major family like that migrates, other minor nobles and commoners who also wish to leave will follow them, partly to follow the crowd and partly for safety.

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