I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

**Chapter 86: Pea Shoots and Crispy Pork Soup**

Zeng Fubai had no choice but to tell the truth.

Lin Zhusheng had already half-expected it, honestly — after all, this blogger had said from the start that he’d eaten that cabbage at some small country eatery.

But he still hadn’t imagined that the owner of that little restaurant had grown the cabbage herself. No high-tech growing equipment, no fancy organic farm. The boss just planted it casually, and somehow ended up with something that tasted that incredible.

Good heavens — if the guys at the organic farms ever found out, they’d die of jealousy.

Once he knew mass supply was out of the question, Lin Zhusheng let it go. A top-tier restaurant needed a stable, consistent source, after all.

That said, he kept pressing the blogger, Fubai, for details until he finally got the name of that little eatery.

"Qionghua Restaurant?"

Lin Zhusheng rubbed his chin. Bulk cabbage orders were a no-go, but now he was genuinely curious about the place.

If this little restaurant could grow vegetables that delicious, wouldn’t the food they cooked be amazing too?

He’d have to visit sometime.

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Jiang Tingyun had no idea that a single cabbage had made her shabby little restaurant catch the attention of Tong Sheng — the oldest, most established restaurant in Yancheng.

Now that winter had arrived, Phoenix Mountain Scenic Area had entered its off-season.

Without the tourists, Qionghua Restaurant’s business had slowed down quite a bit. Most days it was just regulars who lived nearby coming in to eat.

Sure, the food was amazing, but not many people were willing to travel all the way out to Phoenix Mountain in the dead of winter. Jiang Tingyun finally got the peaceful, slow days she’d been hoping for.

And when things are slow, time flies. It slips by like water.

Before she knew it, the end of the year was almost here.

After harvesting the last of the cabbages, she’d recently started pickling vegetables.

She looked around the storage room at all the jars and crocks — salted potherb mustard, pickled plums, salted lemons, osmanthus honey, candied osmanthus, dried daikon strips, pickled cabbage…

Every kind of ingredient stacked up against the walls. A strange, deep satisfaction rose in her chest.

Behold! This was the kingdom she’d built.

“When it gets a bit colder, I can butcher a pig,” she thought. “Salt some ham and bacon. Maybe make some sausages too.”

Once those chores were done, she started thinking about what to sell today.

“I’ll just make something simple again. Still probably won’t be many customers.”

She didn’t have any clear ideas, so she wandered out back to the field.

“Hey — the peas grew fast.”

Peas could handle the cold. She’d only planted them after the weather turned, and it felt like no time had passed, but the shoots were already pretty tall.

Peas were such a treasure. Aside from the pods, their tender tips — called pea shoots, or sometimes pea tips — were delicate, fresh, and delicious.

In some hotpot restaurants, pea shoots were a precious seasonal item that sold for a pretty high price.

If she waited any longer, they’d get tough. She made up her mind. Today she’d sell pea shoot and crispy pork soup.

It was cold out anyway. She could fry up a batch of crispy pork, meatballs, fried fish chunks, and the like to have on hand — they kept well.

Jiang Tingyun’s hands moved fast. In no time, she’d picked a whole basketful of pea shoots.

It looked like a lot, but the edible part wasn’t much. You had to pinch off the fuzzy tips and the older, tougher stems toward the bottom. What was left was just a tiny bit of tender young stem and leaf.

But that’s why people loved them — the flavor was unbeatable.

After prepping the pea shoots, she picked out a few pieces of pork belly with a good balance of fat and lean and started making small crispy pork pieces.

She cut the pork into thumb-sized cubes, then added green onion, ginger, salt, sugar, cooking wine, and other basic seasonings, along with a generous amount of Sichuan peppercorns. Let it marinate for a bit.

The key to good crispy pork, besides frying technique, came down to two things: lots of peppercorns to remove any gaminess and boost the flavor, and the proper batter.

Different regions had different methods — the main difference was the type of starch used. Some used regular cornstarch, others liked pea starch.

Jiang Tingyun preferred a batter made from sweet potato starch and eggs. They’d had a big sweet potato harvest recently, so she’d ground a lot of starch…

But more importantly, sweet potato starch made the fried pork especially crispy and light.

Eaten plain like that, without soup, it was incredibly fragrant. And when you added it to soup, the batter’s airy, porous texture absorbed the broth’s deliciousness beautifully.

She poured plenty of oil into the wok. When the temperature was high enough, she carefully added the golden-battered pork pieces. Under the heat, the batter visibly puffed up into a crisp, golden shell, and a rich meaty aroma filled the entire kitchen.

“That smells amazing,” Jin Feifan said as he followed the scent into the kitchen.

Jiang Tingyun quickly stopped his reaching hand. “Hold on. Haven’t done the second fry yet. Once more in the oil, then they’ll be even crispier and tastier. Get your chopsticks ready.”

By the time the crispy pork was done, the Qionghua disciples were already waiting by the stove, practically drooling.

“Go on, eat up.” Jiang Tingyun shook her head with a smile. She probably hadn’t made enough — she still needed some for the soup later. No way this’d be enough.

She pulled out a few more slabs of pork belly and repeated the process.

Maybe she just loved feeding people?

She didn’t know why, but watching everyone happily eat the food she’d made, showering it with genuine praise, filled her with a strange, warm sense of satisfaction.

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> **Qionghua Restaurant — Little Zhu:** Today’s menu: Pea Shoot and Crispy Pork Soup. The pea shoots were just picked — sweet and tender. The crispy pork is savory and delicious. Come over if you want some!

It was cold outside. Zhou Zhongming was at home with a few friends, sipping tea and playing cards.

*Ding.* His phone’s special notification tone went off.

He pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and his eyes lit up.

“Whoa. Pea shoots today. Sorry, guys — no more cards. I’m going out to eat.”

His friends immediately tried to stop him.

“Hey, you can’t do that! You win a few rounds and then bail? You’re cheating. Or did you get a terrible hand and you’re afraid of losing your pants?”

Zhou Zhongming snickered. “Nothing like that. I’m not joking — I really do need to go eat. Qionghua Restaurant’s serving pea shoots today. I love that stuff.”

His friend Xu Weiguang immediately laughed. “Boss Jiang’s place? I’ll come with you. Remember that mess at the film studio live stream? I only talked to her on the phone after that. Haven’t thanked her in person yet.”

Now the other two friends were curious.

“What restaurant? Who’s Boss Jiang? Why haven’t we heard of it? When did you guys go?”

“Oh come on — you’ve been saying my standards are too high, that no restaurant’s food ever satisfies me. Well, Qionghua Restaurant really hits the spot. Remember those shepherd’s purse wontons I told you were incredible? That’s the place.”

Zhou Zhongming casually tossed his terrible hand of cards onto the table and grinned.

“So? Want to come try it with me?”