My Home's Ancient Well Connects to the Martial Arts World

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Another Plate

The sun sank below the western hills, ushering in the evening. The sunset’s afterglow stained the horizon red, bathing the trees and leaves of Yunli Mountain in a golden light. Tourists streamed down from the mountaintop temple, their path along the stone steps illuminated by the fading light.

At the foot of Yunli Mountain, business at Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop was booming. The open space in front was packed with tables, all surrounded by diners waiting for their food.

”So slow! It’s taking forever!” a corpulent man with a thick gold chain and a potbelly complained, growing increasingly impatient.

”It really is taking too long. I doubt the food at a little dive like this is any good anyway. Why don’t we just go back to our hotel to eat?” the woman next to him, who looked to be in her thirties, said with a slight frown. She was clearly disdainful of such a small eatery.

The couple was expensively dressed. They were obviously wealthy and accustomed to fine dining.

”It’ll take over an hour to get back to the hotel. I’m starving! Forget it, let’s just make do with a meal here.” The man with the gold chain then bellowed toward the shop, ”Boss! Is my food ready yet or not?”

”Hey, yes! It’s ready! Coming right up!” Ye Xing’s uncle-in-law, Cheng Degen, hurried over with their dishes. ”So sorry about that. We’re swamped today. Thank you for your patience. Here’s your food.”

Cheng Degen set the dishes and tableware down on the couple’s table.

The couple was clearly famished. As soon as the food arrived, they immediately dug in.

”Huh, this stir-fried water spinach is actually decent. The chef at this little place has some real skill,” the woman said after chewing on a few stalks. ”This is almost as good as what the chefs at the Jinsheng Hotel make. No wonder this place is so busy.”

”Don’t just hog the water spinach! There’s also stir-fried bamboo shoots with shredded pork,” the man said, picking up a strip of pork.

”I’m on a diet. You should eat less meat, too,” the woman said, annoyed. ”You’re already this fat, and you’re still ordering meat!”

”Alright, alright, stop nagging. I’ll just have a little bite. It’s stir-fried bamboo shoots with shredded pork, right? It’s just a few slivers of meat!” The man popped a small shred of pork into his mouth and chewed it casually a couple of times.

The next moment, his narrow eyes shot wide open, his gaze filled with astonishment.

SWOOSH! The man’s chopsticks shot back toward the plate of bamboo shoots and pork. He began shoveling it into his mouth, barely even bothering to chew, wolfing it down like a starving ghost.

”Hey, what are you doing? Is that any way to eat? We’re in public! Fatso, have some damn dignity!” his wife snapped, glaring at him before snatching the plate of bamboo shoots and pork away.

”AHHH! It’s so good! Honey, give it back! It’s incredible! The bamboo shoots are delicious, but the pork is even better! It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted!” The man was practically drooling, his eyes glued to the dish in his wife’s hands.

”Pfft, don’t be so dramatic. You’ve had every delicacy under the sun. Do you really have to act like this?” she chided. But then a flicker of suspicion crossed her eyes. Her husband’s reaction was just too strange. ’Could it really be that delicious?’ She picked up a shred of pork and popped it into her mouth.

The next moment, her eyes glazed over.

”Haha! See? It’s good, right?” the man said, gloating as he wiped his drool.

”It’s so good... Ah, it’s SO GOOD! I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my entire life!” Completely abandoning her composure, the woman held the plate in one hand and shoveled the food into her mouth with the other.

”Hey, why are you eating so fast! You fatty, aren’t you supposed to be on a diet?”

”The diet starts after I finish this plate!”

”Hey, save some for me!” the man cried out in alarm.

The couple immediately fell upon the plate of bamboo shoots and pork, devouring it like a whirlwind and drawing stares from all the surrounding tables.

...

「Inside the kitchen of Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop」

”Degen, why haven’t you taken out the stir-fried bamboo shoots and pork for table five?” Ye Xiuying asked with a frown.

”I just took it out!” Cheng Degen replied, confused.

”Nonsense. The one I cooked is still sitting right here!” Ye Xiuying handed the dish from the kitchen counter to Cheng Degen and urged, ”Here, hurry up and take it to them!”

”I really did take one out!” Cheng Degen said, getting flustered. ”There were two plates of it sitting here. I took one, so this must be the one that was left.”

”How could there be two? I only made one!” Ye Xiuying froze, then her heart lurched. ’Oh no... that dish must have been the one Axing made!’

”What? That kid Axing knows how to cook?!” Cheng Degen was completely dumbfounded.

”Quickly! Before they eat any of it, go switch the dishes!” Ye Xiuying yelled as she bolted from the kitchen.

”It’s too late! They’ve probably already started eating,” Cheng Degen said with a grimace, following her out. He braced himself for a tongue-lashing, praying the customers weren’t the difficult type.

However, when the two of them reached table five, they both froze on the spot.

’Huh? What’s going on here?’ A giant question mark seemed to appear over both Ye Xiuying’s and Cheng Degen’s heads. Logically, customers who ate something Ye Xing cooked should have been complaining nonstop. But the scene before them was the complete opposite of what they had expected.

The two customers at table five were ferociously fighting over the dish. In just a few moments, the plate was empty—licked clean down to the last crumb of pork and sliver of bamboo.

”That was so good! That stir-fried bamboo shoots and pork was absolutely incredible! There just wasn’t enough of it. I could eat so much more!” the woman said, still craving another bite.

”Boss, another plate of the stir-fried bamboo shoots and pork!” the man called out to Ye Xiuying.

’This... what is happening? Axing’s cooking is... delicious? Is there something wrong with their taste buds?’ Ye Xiuying’s eyes darted to her husband. ”Go get the plate I cooked.”

Cheng Degen quickly ran back to the kitchen and brought out the dish Ye Xiuying had made.

”Huh, this plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots and pork looks a little different from the last one,” the man with the gold chain noted, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. He picked up a piece of pork and bamboo.

His wife eagerly grabbed a piece as well. She chewed a couple of times, then her brow furrowed in displeasure. ”Boss, what is this? The flavor of this dish is completely different from the one we just had!”