I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 9: Shepherd’s Purse Pork Wontons – So Fresh They’ll Make You Cry

Several more groups of customers trickled into Qionghua Restaurant.

Zhou Zhongming was very health-conscious. Ever since he retired, he often went to Fenghuang Temple Scenic Area to exercise. After his workout, he’d have a bowl of vegetarian noodles at the temple as a late breakfast.

Fenghuang Temple was famous for its vegetarian noodles and dishes. During the May Day holiday, people came from all over just to try them.

By the time Old Mr. Zhou finished his workout, the line for noodles at the temple stretched out the door, and the dining hall was full.

So he decided to walk outside the scenic area and find some random place for a simple meal. He mostly ate vegetables rather than meat, so as he passed by the various restaurants, the smell of oil and meat put him off. He didn’t want to go in.

Before he knew it, he’d walked farther from the scenic area. He rounded a corner and spotted the sign for Qionghua Restaurant.

*Alright, I’ll eat here. Just pick something light.*

When Zhou Zhongming walked into the restaurant, he saw a bunch of young people in the dining hall chatting cheerfully. It was pretty noisy. He frowned.

But when he looked at the chalkboard menu, he smiled instead. The owner might not have many dishes, but they knew how to eat—everything was seasonal spring produce.

“Waiter, I’ll have one order of shepherd’s purse pork wontons, with the soup.”

Zhu Lili quickly wrote down the order and sent it to the kitchen.

The shepherd’s purse pork wontons had been wrapped by Jiang Tingyun that morning. When a customer ordered, she just dropped them in boiling water, cooked them, and scooped them out.

Jiang Tingyun herself didn’t like fatty meat. Even though the ideal filling used three parts fat to seven parts lean, she mostly used lean meat, plus the freshly picked shepherd’s purse from the mountain. She didn’t add much seasoning—just let the natural freshness shine. She didn’t put seaweed or dried shrimp in the wonton soup either; too many strong flavors would clash.

“Wontons are here. They’re not served in the water they were boiled in—here’s a separate bowl of shredded pork and *qingcai* soup to go with them.” Jin Feifan came out carrying a tray.

“Thank you.”

Zhou Zhongming unwrapped his utensils and looked at the wontons. They weren’t huge, but they were plump and perfectly shaped like little gold ingots—quite adorable.

The soup looked very light too, garnished with a few strands of *qingcai*. There wasn’t much shredded pork to be seen.

After working out for half the day, his mouth felt dry, so he picked up his spoon and took a sip of soup first.

*What a refreshing, unique preparation.* It really tasted like the freshness of vegetables and the mild savoriness of meat—no sesame oil, no MSG, but it went down warm and soothing.

The *qingcai* in the soup were especially good. His palate was light and sensitive, and he could tell these greens were crisp, tender, and sweet—better than any he’d had before. Too bad there was so little; they were gone in a few bites.

The soup whetted his appetite. Zhou Zhongming quickly picked up a wonton and bit into it. His eyes widened.

*This shepherd’s purse—so fresh!*

When he bit down, the rich, savory juice of the shepherd’s purse burst out. The meat became a mere supporting actor. He’d eaten at so many places, but this—this was the flavor he’d been looking for.

The wonton skins were silky and smooth, and before he knew it, each one seemed to just slip down his throat. By the time he realized it, he’d finished the entire plate.

Zhou Zhongming felt a little ashamed. His golden rule of eating in moderation had completely gone out the window.

After paying, he carefully noted down the name and address of this restaurant. He couldn’t afford to lose track of it.

His friends always said he was impossibly picky about food, that there was hardly any place outside that met his standards. Next time he had a chance, he’d bring a few of them over and let them try it. See—this shabby little place suited his taste just fine!

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Before the sky had even fully darkened, Jiang Tingyun had sold out of all the ingredients she’d prepared.

She’d worried about having too few customers on opening day, so she hadn’t stocked up much. She hadn’t expected to run out.

The shepherd’s purse pork wontons were the most popular. All the meat dishes were sold out too—only some vegetables remained.

Jiang Tingyun secretly regretted it. She actually cooked vegetarian dishes even better than meat ones.

“Jin Feifan, hang up the ‘Temporarily Closed’ sign.” Jiang Tingyun was happily counting the day’s revenue as she gave the order.

The revenue was impressive. But she knew it was thanks to the May Day holiday. Her place was out of the way—probably only a few holiday periods each year would bring this much business.

Sure, she wanted to make money, but she didn’t need to get rich.

Once the prepared ingredients were gone, she’d just close up and rest.

She had one goal: enough money to get by, and not burn through her savings.

She loved growing vegetables, loved cooking, and loved seeing the satisfied smiles on people’s faces as they ate her food. But she also didn’t want to be trapped in the kitchen.