I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 36: Mala Ban and Mung Bean Soup

It was right in the middle of the day, past the busiest lunch rush. Jiang Tingyun stared in disbelief as two people practically carried each other as they shuffled into the eatery.

"What happened? Are you not feeling well?" Zhu Lili hurried over to greet them.

Cai Jie laughed awkwardly. "No, no. We just went hiking."

"Did you... fall off the mountain?" Jin Feifan asked, also shocked by the state of these two.

"Don't talk nonsense." Jiang Tingyun shot Jin Feifan a look, then smiled and asked, "You haven't worked out in a while, huh?"

She could tell at a glance that these two had just overexerted themselves hiking. As a former office slave herself, she understood completely. Sitting at a desk all day, then suddenly going hiking? There's no way your body can keep up.

Take herself, for example. If she hadn't awakened her talent, there's no way she'd be able to fly up and down the mountain like she did now.

Qin Mengmeng nodded helplessly. "Yeah. Sit in the office all day with the AC on. I didn't realize my stamina had gotten this bad."

"What do you have? Let's order a bunch of dishes. We burned a lot of energy today." Cai Jie looked around for a menu.

Jiang Tingyun pointed awkwardly at the chalkboard. "Sorry, today we only have mung bean soup and Mala Ban."

"Huh?" Cai Jie froze. First, he'd dragged her on a hot day to climb a mountain for half a day. Then, when he promised a big feast, the recommended place only had Mala Ban.

He was sure this blind date was ruined. All his brownie points were gone.

Qin Mengmeng was too exhausted to complain. She just said, "Mung bean soup is fine. Give me a bowl. I'm dying of thirst."

She found a seat and quickly sat down.

Cai Jie quickly added, "Then make it two orders of Mala Ban, large size, with everything on that chalkboard."

Then he turned to Qin Mengmeng. "Is there anything on the menu you don't eat?"

Qin Mengmeng shook her head weakly. She was too tired to speak.

The mung bean soup had been ready for a while and was brought out quickly.

Qin Mengmeng scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth. The soup had cooled but wasn't cold—just a hint of coolness as it went in.

The mung beans had completely softened to the point where you couldn't even recognize them anymore. They were all sandy and creamy. The sweetness was just right. It slid smoothly down her throat, incredibly refreshing.

She downed several spoonfuls in a row, feeling as if her entire insides had been instantly soothed.

"It's actually really good..." Qin Mengmeng was a little surprised.

Truth be told, she had never really liked old-fashioned sweets like mung bean soup. She preferred trendy desserts like taro balls with papaya and snow lotus seeds.

Today, she didn't have a choice. But she never expected that such an ordinary dish as mung bean soup could taste this good.

And it really helped with the heat. Her temples had been throbbing from the heat, but after a bowl of this soup, her whole body felt so much better.

Cai Jie hadn't ordered mung bean soup—he didn't like the stuff. But watching Qin Mengmeng drink it so happily, he asked for a bowl too.

One sip, and he found it cool, refreshing, sweet, and rich—truly a rare treat.

He'd been thinking that when he got home, he'd give his sister Cai Fang a piece of his mind for wasting her college money on video games if she thought this little place was worth raving about. But now he realized he'd been too hard on her. This place actually had something special.

By the time the Mala Ban arrived, the two had already recovered quite a bit of energy. Earlier they'd thought they might not be able to eat much, but now, stimulated by the numbing, spicy aroma, they realized their stomachs had been cramping with hunger for a while.

Qin Mengmeng stopped being reserved. She picked up her chopsticks and dug in.

The Mala Ban had a huge variety of ingredients. The meat was beef, the meatballs were a good brand, and there were all kinds of vegetables: lettuce slices, cucumber slices, green peppers, zucchini, tomatoes—almost ten different kinds.

They didn't add instant noodles to the mix. They just ate it with rice.

First bite—the beef was chewy but not tough. You could tell it was real beef, no fake stuff mixed in.

The vegetables—who knew how they were prepared? Each had a different texture, but all were crisp, tender, and refreshing. You could clearly taste how incredibly fresh they were.

All the ingredients were tossed in the fragrant spiciness of chili oil, the numbing coolness of Sichuan pepper oil, the mild aroma of sesame seeds, plus the sweet and sour from tomatoes and vinegar.

The overall flavor profile was numbing, spicy, sour, fresh, and savory. It made your mouth water and your fingers itch to grab more. On a hot summer day, a bowl of this was pure bliss.

The two of them were so focused on shoveling food into their mouths that they didn't have time to chat or build any chemistry.

By the time they put down their chopsticks and bowls, they realized they'd finished most of it.

Qin Mengmeng stared at the large bowl in shock. How scary—she'd actually eaten the whole thing.

She touched her bloated stomach. Oh man. After eating this much, how long was she going to have to exercise to burn it off?

Then the next second, she sighed contentedly. Forget it. She'd hiked for so long today. She deserved to eat a little extra.

"Your sister was right. This place is really good," Qin Mengmeng said with feeling.

Cai Jie nodded enthusiastically.

There was a place right under his office building that specialized in Mala Ban. The flavor was decent, so business was great. You had to wait in line every time you wanted some.

But this place's Mala Ban was way better than that one.

If it weren't for the remote location—over an hour from downtown—and if Fenghuang Mountain weren't so average that it only got crowds during peak season, this place would be doing way better than it was now.

If this shop were under his office building, even with higher prices, it would be packed every single day.

He even started doing the math in his head—he could come here every weekend.

Cai Jie gave a sheepish smile and carefully tested the waters. "So... are you free next weekend? We could come back to Qionghua Eatery."

Qin Mengmeng hesitated for a moment. "I mean... I guess... but just for the food. No more hiking."