Quick Transmigration: Not My Story

Chapter 7 The Cook Mistress（part 6）

Lin Dan was a quiet and reserved person, but she was very diligent in her work. No matter how dirty or tiring the tasks her daughter-in-law assigned to her were, she always completed them silently and without cutting corners.

Over time, the daughter-in-law became more at ease and no longer watched her every move. The old woman took advantage of her daughter-in-law's breaks to teach Lin Dan how to make the softest, smoothest tofu and how to prepare the most fragrant and delicious tofu balls.

After three months, Lin Dan mastered the dish. She bid farewell to the reluctant old woman and, with Qi Shi, left the small town. From then on, she traveled to various places, seeking teachers to learn new skills. If someone was unwilling to teach, she would work in their shop or home, using sincerity to win them over. If they still refused, she would leave without complaining.

She tasted the cuisine from all over the Great Chu Kingdom, met many different people, and experienced various lifestyles. This journey lasted for ten years.

In the early spring of the tenth year, a convoy passed along a mountain path, guarded by strong and muscular bodyguards at both the front and rear. It seemed like a wealthy family was relocating. When they reached a fork in the road, the convoy slowed down. A middle-aged man with a round belly jumped out of the most luxurious carriage, hurriedly walking toward the last carriage, and quietly asked, “Lin Shopkeeper, is your illness any better?”

"Cough, cough..." A hoarse voice came from inside the carriage. "Much better, thank you, Mr. Shen, for taking care of me along the way. I hope we can meet again in the future."

"That's good to hear. I still have some tonics here; you should take them." Mr. Shen hurriedly had a servant bring up the prepared gift box and then shamelessly added, "We will definitely meet again. If you open a shop in the capital, I’ll travel a long way just to visit. Since you’ve been ill, nothing tastes good to me."

From the sound of it, Lin Shopkeeper seemed to be a woman, and Mr. Shen’s last sentence sounded somewhat flirtatious. But surprisingly, neither the people inside nor outside the carriage seemed to notice anything strange and all laughed together.

Seeing this, a strong man guarding the convoy sneered and nudged his companion with his elbow, silently mouthing: "Look at that, even sharing a carriage on the way can lead to flirting. Women shouldn’t be out showing their faces."

His companion silently nodded with a mocking expression, but when they looked at their leader, they saw him still sitting on his horse, his narrow phoenix eyes vigilantly scanning every fork in the road without showing any signs of relaxation. The two men shuddered and quieted down.

It seemed that Lin Shopkeeper was worried about passing on her illness to others, so she only opened the carriage curtain a small gap, reaching out to take the gift box. She then instructed, “Xiaozhu, take the gifts I’ve prepared to Mr. Shen. We owe him a lot of thanks these days, or we wouldn’t have made it to the capital.”

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy immediately jumped down from the front carriage, holding a jar of wine. When Mr. Shen saw the jar, his face, already rosy, seemed to glow. Although he repeatedly declined, his hands eagerly reached out. His eyes nearly disappeared as he smiled, "Ah, Lin Shopkeeper, you’re too polite. It was nothing at all!" He then sniffed the jar, looking intoxicated.

“To you, it’s nothing, but to us, it’s a great kindness. It’s getting late, Mr. Shen, you should depart soon. Let’s part ways here, and if fate allows, we will meet again in the capital. I will definitely treat you to a meal,” Lin Shopkeeper said sincerely.

Mr. Shen laughed even more broadly, showing his teeth, and repeatedly said, "Lin Shopkeeper, to ensure you don’t forget, I’ll put that meal on the ledger. I’ll definitely come to the capital to collect the debt one day."

“I won’t forget. Farewell,” Lin Shopkeeper chuckled softly.

After their farewell, the long convoy split into two. The first ten carriages took the fork toward Jiaozhou, while the last five continued straight toward the capital. The bodyguards also split into two groups, one continuing with Mr. Shen, and three strong men falling behind Lin Shopkeeper’s convoy, riding at a steady pace.

It seemed Lin Shopkeeper saw the three men through the carriage curtain, so she sent a servant to greet them.

The servant, looking somewhat timid, gathered his courage and asked, “Are you three gentlemen going to the capital?”

One of them, with a half-smile, replied, “What if we are?”

“If you are, our shopkeeper wants to hire you as bodyguards. If you can safely escort us to the capital, our shopkeeper will give you ten taels of silver each, and we’ll also provide food and drink along the way. Is that acceptable?”

“No,” the burly man laughed loudly, but his words were suffocating. His companions scoffed, clearly unimpressed by the offer of ten taels of silver.

The servant, his face reddening from anger, still patiently emphasized, “Please reconsider, gentlemen. We really do offer good food and drink. You won’t be disappointed.”

“Ten taels of silver is beneath me. Do you think I’d care about your food? Get lost, don’t waste our time!” The burly man became impatient and seemed ready to draw his whip.

The leader, the tallest and most imposing of the group, gave a cold glance. His dark skin and handsome features were marked by a scar that ran dangerously close to his brow, making him appear even more intimidating. It seemed he disliked his subordinates being too noisy, and with a cold glance, the two men immediately straightened up and explained, "We’re in a hurry, taking a shortcut back to the capital. We can’t travel with you."

The shortcut required going up the mountain, where the roads were rugged, narrow, and impassable for vehicles, only passable by horses. The servant quickly bowed and excused himself, throwing a quick glance at the leader, his heart racing. The man was riding a tall horse, with sharp, narrow eyes and a toned figure clad in dark, tight-fitting clothes—a clear martial artist.

Such a heavy air of hostility... Could he be a bandit? The thought made the servant run off even faster.

Lin Shopkeeper’s carriage was close enough to hear the conversation, so she stopped asking any more questions.

The group traveled quietly, and by noon, they stopped in a clearing by a stream to rest. Two young maids carried clay jars to fetch water from the river, and three servants brought stones to build a stove and prepare a fire for cooking.

Pink wild roses were blooming on both sides of the mountain path, their fragrance mixed with the fine mist of the rain, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Lin Shopkeeper opened the carriage curtain to enjoy the scenery, then drank a bowl of dried tangerine peel and ginger tea before slowly climbing down from the carriage. “I’ve been sitting in the carriage for too long. My bones are stiff. I need to get out and stretch. I’ll cook today. You all bring down my kitchen tools.”

"Ah, that’s great, Sister Lin is cooking today!" The two maids cheered happily, and the servants looked overjoyed.

The three strong men had followed the convoy all the way, and today, for the first time, they saw Lin Shopkeeper in person. They couldn’t help but stare. She was about twenty years old, with her hair styled in a woman’s bun. She was tall and beautiful, with a slight wheatish complexion, which was quite different from the beauty standards of the time. But there was an air of heroism in her brows, which made her very pleasant to look at.

So this was the Lin Shopkeeper who Mr. Shen had been so attentive to—far from the delicate beauty or enchanting woman they had imagined. The two strong men were rather disappointed, but their leader stared at her for a long time.

Lin Shopkeeper, or rather Lin Dan, immediately noticed the man’s unusual gaze. She turned her head and met his eyes. One looked surprised, and the other was full of questions.

"Excuse me, sir, have we met before?" Lin Dan asked, cupping her hands in a polite manner.

The man hesitated for a moment before answering in a deep voice, "No."

Lin Dan carefully observed him, confirming that she had never met him before, so she stopped paying attention.

With such an imposing appearance and such a strong presence, if she had met him once, she would have certainly remembered.

After Lin Dan walked away, one of the burly men lowered his voice and asked, "Boss, do you know this Lin shopkeeper?"

The man did not respond immediately. Instead, he silently took out some dried food and a water pouch, swallowing the food with difficulty. Another burly man tore off a chunk of dry bread and shoved it into his companion's mouth, scolding, "Just eat your food, stop asking so many questions."

The carefree burly man spit out the hard bread and muttered, "Damn, how many days has this bread been sitting around? It's harder than a stone! Eating this stuff every day, my mouth’s as dry as a desert!"

"Just hang in there. Once we get to the next junction, we’ll take a shortcut back to the capital. We’ll have a big feast with plenty of meat and drink, then sleep well when we get home," his companion said with a hopeful look.

"How far is the next junction?"

"Not far, we should get there by tomorrow morning."

"Damn, if it’s not far, why are we only getting there tomorrow morning? I wish I could sprout wings and fly back!"

The two men continued chewing on the bread while talking, while the leader of the group remained silent, occasionally glancing at Lin Dan, as if paying special attention to her.

Lin Dan, busy preparing lunch, remained completely unaware of the men's attention. She placed some evenly cut pieces of fatty and lean bacon on the fire to roast. When the fat began to sizzle, she used a knife to scrape off any leftover pig hairs that had been burned by the flames, then rinsed the bacon in the river water to clean it.

The two young maids, following her instructions, ran into the forest to dig up some wild onions and bamboo shoots, while several servants started a fire to cook rice.

Lin Dan sliced the cleaned bacon into pieces and stir-fried them in a pan, letting enough oil render out before adding several pale pink dumplings made from an unknown ingredient. She gently broke them apart with a spatula. A distinctive sour smell mixed with the strong aroma of bacon began to fill the air, making the three men stretch their necks to get a better look.

"Damn, what’s that smell? It’s sour and a bit stinky," the carefree burly man complained, though his mouth was already watering.

"I don’t know either, I’ve never seen it before," his companion said, tiptoeing to stare intently at the pot that Lin Dan was stirring.

The pale pink dumplings had already been completely broken apart, turning into fine powder that mixed with the bacon slices. The dish didn’t look particularly appealing, but the fragrance was incredibly strong—sharp to the nose, yet somehow tantalizing, making people salivate. The so-called "stinky but fragrant" smell was probably exactly what it was.

Finally, the quiet and imposing man spoke up, "That’s pickled tofu residue, a specialty from the Anqing region. When the weather is clear, people crush tofu residue, store it in jars with some salt and Sichuan pepper, and let it ferment slowly. If the flavor isn’t strong enough, they can add bone broth made from pork bones to enhance the taste. After fermentation, they form the residue into lumps and dry them, making them easy to carry. The taste is sour, spicy, salty, and numbing, with a hint of bean aroma mixed with the rich flavor of meat. It’s a very unique taste."