I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 34: That Backfired Pretty Quickly

That weirdo Yun Tingyi coming and going reminded Jiang Tingyun of something.

She remembered that when she first went to the temple, Master Zhengyuan had mentioned that his newly pickled snow mustard greens had turned out bitter for some reason.

She had tried making them herself later.

The method was simple: dry the leafy mustard greens until slightly wilted, then work salt into them repeatedly, pack them into a jar, and seal it.

Later, Jiang Tingyun used those pickled snow mustard greens to make Snow Mustard Greens with Bamboo Shoot Noodles for Old Master Qi's birthday banquet. It was a huge success—the pickled greens had no bitterness at all and were very refreshing.

She figured that with Master Zhengyuan's many years of pickling experience, his method couldn't be the problem. It was probably something about the external conditions.

She decided to go to the temple again tomorrow morning when she had time, to discuss it with Master Zhengyuan.

Also, although Master Zhengyuan had never taught her how to make noodles, the Snow Mustard Greens with Bamboo Shoot Noodles from that birthday banquet had actually been her attempt to recreate Master Zhengyuan's flavor.

Jiang Tingyun felt very grateful but didn't know how to express it.

And she had just happened to dig up a few more dried mushrooms (ganba mushrooms) from their original spot on the mountain. She decided to give some to Master Zhengyuan.

...

The next morning, Jiang Tingyun carefully wrapped the dried mushrooms in leaves and headed to the temple.

She had delivered fruits and vegetables to the kitchen several times before, so several of the young monks already recognized her.

She knew the way well and went straight to the back kitchen. At this hour, no one was eating, and the other cooks and volunteers weren't around.

Master Zhengyuan was standing by the stove, stirring something.

"Master Zhengyuan, I brought you something good."

The plump old monk recognized her voice and said cheerfully, "Little Jiang, are you bringing me more vegetables? Don't give away too much—you need to eat too!"

Jiang Tingyun laughed. "Not this time. Look!"

She opened the leaf wrap, revealing a few fresh dried mushrooms (ganba mushrooms).

Master Zhengyuan's eyes lit up. "Ganba mushrooms? Where did you get these?"

"I picked them from the mountain behind my house. They're delicious stir-fried or oil-drizzled. I brought these for you to try." Jiang Tingyun carefully placed the mushrooms by the sink.

Master Zhengyuan tried to decline. "These are expensive. You should take them home and eat them yourself."

But Jiang Tingyun refused to take them back. "It's okay, I still have more. Hehe. And they grow wild in the mountains. Maybe after it rains, more will pop up."

As she spoke, her nose twitched. "Smells amazing. What are you cooking? It's sweet."

Master Zhengyuan smiled. "I'm making lily bulb and mung bean soup. It's been hot lately. This is good for cooling down at lunch. Want a bowl?"

Jiang Tingyun didn't stand on ceremony. She grabbed a bowl and ladled some out. The mung bean soup was more like a thick porridge—the beans had bloomed and turned into soft, sandy goodness. With rock sugar, it was sweet and very refreshing.

After thanking Jiang Tingyun repeatedly, Master Zhengyuan started cleaning the dried mushrooms.

"This stuff is best fresh. I'll wash these and make a topping for noodles later," he explained as he worked.

"Dried mushrooms as a noodle topping? Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!" Jiang Tingyun slurped down her bowl of mung bean soup and asked, "Master, what happened with your pickled mustard greens in the end?"

Master Zhengyuan sighed and said with a wry smile, "Mystery solved. It was Zhengtong. He misread the date and opened my jar early. No wonder the taste was off."

Jiang Tingyun laughed too. "At least you found the problem."

She didn't stay long. After dropping off the mushrooms, she headed into town. She planned to buy some mung beans.

The mung bean soup had been really good—a must-have summer cooler. It was too late to make it today, but she had already decided tomorrow's menu: mung bean soup!

...

Back at the temple, those dried mushrooms were a pain to clean. Master Zhengyuan spent a long time carefully washing them.

Then he fried them in plenty of oil to make oil-drizzled dried mushrooms (ganba mushrooms).

He drained the oil from the mushrooms, laid them over plain noodles, and mixed them thoroughly with chopsticks. The aroma was incredibly intense.

Master Zhengyuan remembered that the young master of the Yun family, who was staying here, hadn't been eating well for the past few days. This morning, he had directly said not to prepare breakfast for him. The dried mushrooms were good stuff, so Master Zhengyuan decided to set aside a portion and make him a bowl of noodles with ganba mushroom topping, hoping the young man would eat a bit more.

The assistant Xiao Li came to pick up the food and immediately noticed that today's noodles were special. "Master Zhengyuan, why do your noodles smell so good today? Is that ganba mushrooms mixed in?"

Master Zhengyuan chuckled. "That little restaurant owner Jiang from Qionghua Eatery just brought them over. Hurry and take them to your young master. He's young—he can't keep skipping meals. This stuff is delicious and fragrant. Have him eat a bowl to settle his stomach."

Xiao Li was touched. "Thank you, Master Zhengyuan. These are expensive and rare. Miss Jiang must have brought them for you, and you still saved so much for our young master."

Master Zhengyuan waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I have some. Besides, I'm old and shouldn't eat too much of this rich food. You young people should eat more. Don't starve your stomachs."

Xiao Li happily carried the lunchbox back to the side room.

As soon as he pushed the door open, he couldn't wait to say, "Young master, Master Zhengyuan made some incredibly fragrant noodles today. You have to try them."

Yun Tingyi had been scared out of his wits yesterday, and his stomach had hurt all night. He hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. He was so hungry his front was sticking to his back.

But his mouth had no taste, and he really couldn't force himself to eat. Yet if he didn't eat, his stomach hurt. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and pick up his chopsticks.

Today's noodles were special—they were dry noodles, no broth. On top were premium vegetables his family had sent, and the aroma was wonderful. Master Zhengyuan's noodle-making skill was truly unmatched.

As he ate, he discovered that mixed in there were dried mushrooms (ganba mushrooms). Not a lot of them, and they had been soaked in vegetable oil, so they weren't quite as good as the stir-fried version from before—but still very tasty.

Yun Tingyi felt like he had found treasure. He downed half a bowl before he finally felt like he was coming back to life, a warm comfort spreading through his stomach.

He was a little curious. "Did my family send these ganba mushrooms? Why did they suddenly think to send these?"

Xiao Li hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, no. Miss Jiang from Qionghua Eatery brought them for Master Zhengyuan, and he set aside a bit for us. If you like them, I can call home and have them send some over."

Yun Tingyi's chopsticks paused.

"..."

Hadn't he sworn yesterday that he would never eat anything from Qionghua Eatery again?

Never mind. Mushrooms didn't count.

He was too hungry. And these noodles were really fragrant.

Yun Tingyi resignedly took a few more bites before putting down his chopsticks.

Once his stomach was full and he felt comfortable, he resumed the dignified air of a young master from a noble family. He took out a handkerchief, wiped his mouth carefully, and had his assistant Xiao Li bring tea to rinse his mouth.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Tell the family to send over some premium ingredients. Say they're for Master Zhengyuan. We've been troubling him far too much these days."