I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 21: Ganba Mushrooms – Better Than Meat

By the time the new customer reached his third bowl of rice, Zhu Lili absolutely refused to serve him any more.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do business. It was that their portions were generous—the bowls weren’t small—and he was already on his third bowl!

She was afraid the man would burst his stomach. That would be a real disaster.

Xiao Li regretfully patted his bulging belly. *Yeah, I really shouldn’t eat any more.* He’d been here for over an hour, and three big bowls of rice had nearly cleared out the restaurant.

But the rice was so fragrant. If it weren’t for the ham inside—which would be sinful to bring into the temple—he’d have taken a portion back for his young master Yun.

Every time he watched Young Master Yun eat, he felt pained. Even when top chefs made delicious dishes, the young master barely touched them. Xiao Li ended up eating most of the food himself.

The young master refused to eat meat because he said it had a b****y taste, and he was so picky about what he’d eat. There wasn’t much left that he could stomach.

Xiao Li often wondered if his young master would one day starve to death. Could a person really survive that long eating so little every day?

But that wasn’t something a lowly assistant like him could worry about. At least he’d filled his own belly. He decided to head back to the temple and resume his duties.

As he walked to the entrance, he saw the owner sitting there cleaning mushrooms.

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Jiang Tingyun was still cleaning mushrooms. She’d only had time that morning to prepare the boletes for lunch. The rest were still untouched.

The *ganba* mushrooms were especially hard to deal with—they were famously difficult to clean. The mushrooms were full of pine needles, fine hairs, and grass stems. She had to pick them out one by one by hand, then tear the mushrooms into thin shreds. By the time she finished cleaning these two—one large, one small—she felt more exhausted than after a whole morning of picking.

“One person does all the washing, and a crowd does all the eating,” Jiang Tingyun grumbled.

“What are you washing?” Xiao Li crouched down, curious.

“Oh, these are called *ganba* mushrooms.”

Xiao Li asked, “Are they good? They look like a pain to clean. How do they compare to boletes?”

Jiang Tingyun stopped what she was doing. “Listen—I’m not trying to put down other mushrooms, but let me tell you: not just boletes—I think even matsutake and truffles can’t beat these things. You don’t need to add meat to bring out their flavor. Just stir-frying them with vegetables is amazing.”

Before she quit her job in the big city, she’d eaten *ganba* mushrooms once. Even with a chef who wasn’t particularly skilled, the flavor had stayed with her ever since.

And these mushrooms had been picked fresh today. If she cooked them at full talent power, just thinking about it made her mouth water.

Xiao Li’s interest was piqued. “Are they really that good? Are they even more expensive than truffles?”

Jiang Tingyun paused. “It depends on the quality. For ones as good as these… maybe two thousand yuan.”

Xiao Li thought for a moment, pulled out his wallet, and took out two thousand yuan. “That’s not too bad. Miss, cook these for me and pack them up. Just a simple vegetarian stir-fry.”

Every month, he received a separate food budget from the Yun family. But since the young master was so picky, the money just piled up.

Besides, meals at high-end restaurants outside cost a fortune. Two thousand yuan was nothing to him. If it could actually make his young master happy, it was well worth it.

Jiang Tingyun’s hands trembled. An intense battle raged inside her. *This guy has too much money and no sense!* The two thousand she’d mentioned was for a whole kilogram. Her mushrooms were tiny—they weighed barely a few hundred grams.

She’d originally planned to keep them for herself, not sell them. But then she thought—if she took the money, she could buy another kilogram of *ganba* mushrooms at the market. And she wouldn’t often encounter such a generous customer.

She gritted her teeth. *Fine. I’ll skip eating them myself.*

“Deal! Wait right here. I’ll make it for you now.”

Jiang Tingyun took the mushrooms and walked into the kitchen.

The flavor of *ganba* mushrooms depended first on freshness and maturity. If they weren’t fresh or were too old, they could taste bitter. Then there was the stir-frying heat and the ratio of oil to salt. If you messed it up, they could turn hard and lose their fragrance.

For Jiang Tingyun, all of this was easy to control. She didn’t even use garlic slices to bring out the aroma. She simply stir-fried the mushrooms with green peppers in vegetable oil, keeping the seasoning as simple as possible. Absolutely no MSG or chicken powder. Instantly, the rich scent of *ganba* mushrooms filled the entire kitchen.

“So fragrant… and it looks so good,” Xiao Li said excitedly.

He grabbed a takeout container and, afraid the food would get cold, jogged all the way back to the temple. Somehow, even though it was a completely vegetarian dish, he felt a little guilty sneaking it into the temple.

As soon as he opened the door, Yun Tingyi wrinkled his nose.

“What’s that smell on you?”

Xiao Li presented the takeout container like a treasure. “Young master, I went out today and bought some *ganba* mushrooms. The food at that restaurant was incredibly good. This simple stir-fried *ganba* should be great too.”

Yun Tingyi glanced at the plastic container with disdain. *How uncouth.*

“You eat it. I’m not hungry.”

Xiao Li quickly opened the container. Instantly, a rich aroma filled the entire room. The stir-fried *ganba* mushrooms didn’t look like mushrooms at all—they resembled shredded air-dried beef, paired with crisp green peppers. Utterly tempting.

“Is there meat in this?” Yun Tingyi sniffed the aroma. It was intense, but there was no b****y smell of meat.

Xiao Li smiled. “Of course not. Just a vegetarian stir-fry. And interestingly, the restaurant is called Qionghua Restaurant—the same place that donated the tomatoes and other vegetables you liked.”

Yun Tingyi thought of those fresh, sweet, and tangy tomatoes. His interest in the dish was finally sparked. He reluctantly took the chopsticks and tried a bite.

The flavor was quite unique. He chewed slowly.

The mushrooms themselves weren’t the main event. He’d eaten better-quality *ganba* mushrooms before.

Ever since he had developed a distaste for the b****y flavor of meat, his father had searched everywhere for top chefs.

Some chefs used mushrooms to imitate meat, creating almost indistinguishable mock meat dishes. Others pursued pure, unadulterated flavors by using the highest-quality wild mushrooms.

Those dishes were of course delicious. But none of them had this effortless quality—no rich broth to enhance the flavor, relying entirely on the ingredients and the cook’s skill. Rustic and simple, yet endlessly flavorful.

He kept eating while thinking, each bite more fragrant than the last. The dish seemed to carry the essence of various meats, but without any of the gamey smell. Even the green peppers in the dish were crisp, tender, and sweet, leaving a lingering fragrance in his mouth.

*Qionghua Restaurant…* He repeated the name to himself.

*How interesting.* If a top-tier restaurant had produced this flavor, he wouldn’t be so surprised. But a small, rustic eatery like this, with this level of cooking skill? That was truly fascinating.

After finishing his meal, Yun Tingyi sipped his tea and said slowly, “Xiao Li, the flavor of this dish was slightly compromised from being packed and brought back. Next time we have time, let’s go eat at that restaurant in person.”