Side Story 37. Hangzhou, Mancheon Inn (3)

Ma Bi-hong ate the plain-looking noodles, then froze in that very posture.
His eyes widened, and his pupils expanded too.
Tension drew taut through the room like a pulled bowstring.
And in that deathly silence.

Clatter.

The sound of chopsticks falling broke the silence.

“Ah, sorry, sorry.”

The one who had dropped the chopsticks was not Ma Bi-hong, but Tsering.
She smiled awkwardly as she picked them up, and Baek Sang-ye and the other onlookers shot her glances.
Then Ma Bi-hong, who had been frozen stiff, awkwardly lifted the noodles to his mouth again.

Hurururuk—

He ate the noodles once more, then this time scooped up the broth too.
Then he made a puzzled expression.

“…Mm.”

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Ma Bi-hong did not give his opinion on the noodles’ taste.

“The stir-fried vegetables too.”
“Uh, h-here.”

Seeing Ma Bi-hong react so seriously, even the innkeeper seemed flustered.
Rather than eating the stir-fried vegetables right away, he first examined them with his eyes.
The vegetables had been cut to a proper size.
And because they had been stir-fried well, they glistened with sheen.
He picked up a balanced bite of vegetables and put them into his mouth.

Wajak, wajak.

And a sound that made the mouth water just hearing it rang out.
It was clear they had been stir-fried just enough that the vegetables had not gone limp.
But the more Ma Bi-hong chewed, the stranger his expression became.
He would not say at all whether they were good or bad.

He quietly ate a few more bites of the stir-fried vegetables.

“……”

Then he stayed silent for a long time.
Just as one of the impatient spectators was about to urge him on, Ma Bi-hong opened his mouth.

“…It’s good.”
“Ooooooh!”

It was far too different from his first verdict, when he had called it trash.
What in the world had changed?

“We’ll taste it too.”

Then Baek Sang-ye, who still had not tasted it, stepped forward.
She and Tsering quickly took the noodles and slurped them down.

“Mm!”

Maybe it was because they were hungry, but the soft noodles slipped down especially well.
And when they tried a bite of the stir-fried vegetables too.
The fresh texture of the vegetables and a savory depth spread all at once.
In the end, the other customers who could not bear it any longer hurriedly tasted the stir-fried vegetables and the noodles as well.
And they all exclaimed in admiration.

“Hey, what in the world did you do!”
“You could make it like this, and yet you cooked like that every day!”

Among the customers still here, many were regulars.
And they were bewildered by the fact that the stir-fried vegetables and noodles tasted far better now.
At that, the innkeeper said with an awkward expression,

“I had a whole half an hour, didn’t I?”
“…Ah!”

Ma Bi-hong let out an exclamation.
A half an hour was not that long a time in a cooking contest.
The reason Ma Bi-hong had been able to make West Lake Vinegar Fish in a half an hour was because his skill was that quick.
But with the noodles sold at an inn, it was a different story.

“If it took a half an hour to make noodles and stir-fried vegetables, I’d have to shut the inn down.”

The innkeeper was right.
Half an hour was more than enough time for him to make those two dishes.
Precisely because of that, he had been able to put far more care into them than usual.

“That’s not all. The ingredients are different.”
“K-keheum.”

Ma Bi-hong took another spoonful of the noodle broth.

“You used chicken stock in the broth instead of vegetable stock. And this… did you add mushrooms?”
“Black hoof mushroom.”

The one who cut in was Cheongho.
Combined with the herbology knowledge he had learned at Azure Forest, Cheongho’s sense of smell precisely identified the broth’s ingredients.
Ma Bi-hong was startled that Cheongho had recognized an ingredient even he himself had not identified.

“Black hoof mushroom…? That’s more a medicinal ingredient than a cooking one. And it has a distinct unpleasant smell.”
“It’s good for the body. I worked to get rid of the smell.”
“…Mm.”

Ma Bi-hong pointed at the stir-fried vegetables with the tip of his chopsticks.

“You didn’t use peanut oil. You used lard.”
“That’s what makes it properly savory, doesn’t it? But I can’t afford to use it on stir-fried vegetables that cost only two coppers.”
“That’s not all… this is bamboo shoot.”

What came up with Ma Bi-hong’s chopsticks was a piece of bamboo shoot.

“And you used tender, high-quality bamboo shoots at that. That’s why the texture was so good.”
“Kheum-heum.”

There was a reason the innkeeper, Yuk Man-cheon, kept clearing his throat.

“Innkeeper, what gives? Why are the ingredients suddenly different? You never serve dishes with bamboo shoots, and you don’t make noodles with chicken stock either.”
“……”

That was right. Honestly, now that the cook had left several days ago, the inn should not have had any proper ingredients left.
In any case, Ma Bi-hong made a bitter expression.

“Was I arrogant?”

The West Lake Vinegar Fish was luxurious and delicious.
But there had been a large difference from the ingredients onward.
He had competed using a fish worth one whole nyang of silver, so naturally he should have crushed his opponent overwhelmingly.
But what was the result?

“Hey, eat slowly. I can make more.”
“This is good. Can’t you make it like this from now on?”
“……”

Even though he had made plenty of stir-fried vegetables and noodles, they ran out in no time.
He looked at the West Lake Vinegar Fish.
Half of it was still left.
Was it because the flavor was so intense? Or were there really that many people who disliked fish?
He did not know the reason, but the response was weaker than expected.
Of course, Ma Bi-hong still took pride in the fact that his West Lake Vinegar Fish was far more delicious than the noodles and stir-fried vegetables.

But… his pride had been wounded.

“You there! Judge!”

The one being called a judge was none other than Cheongho.
When Cheongho pointed at himself, Ma Bi-hong nodded.

“What do you think? Of the result of this contest.”

Ma Bi-hong decided to leave the contest’s outcome to Cheongho. He intended to accept whatever answer Cheongho gave.

“Mm.”

Cheongho thought for a moment.
Even for him, this was a difficult question.
Even so, he did not hesitate for long.
The West Lake Vinegar Fish had no flaws. But the noodles and stir-fried vegetables did.

“The West Lake Vinegar Fish won.”
“Ah…!”

The spectators let out exclamations.

“Why?”
“Because the noodles and stir-fried vegetables aren’t seasoned right.”
“Mm…!”

At that, the audience looked puzzled.
After all, to them, the noodles and stir-fried vegetables had tasted perfectly good.
But Yuk Man-cheon made a stricken face, and Ma Bi-hong nodded.

“The noodles from before were badly seasoned too. That’s why I called them trash. And in terms of seasoning, the noodles and stir-fried vegetables this time were no different.”
“Then why are you saying they’re good this time?”
“Because of the umami!”

At the voice that sounded almost angry, the people eating noodles flinched.
In answer to Tsering’s question, Ma Bi-hong declared,

“He brought out the noodles’ umami with chicken stock, and the stir-fried vegetables’ umami with lard. He overcame the lacking seasoning with aroma and umami. Judge, am I right?”
“That’s right.”

At this moment, Cheongho really did seem like a proper judge.

“It almost felt as if you had deliberately underseasoned them.”
“…It wasn’t deliberate.”

Yuk Man-cheon gave a bitter smile.

“I’d simply grown used to cooking food without much seasoning. My wife had a stroke, so she can’t eat salty food.”
“So that must be why you had black hoof mushrooms and bamboo shoots.”

Cheongho said that.
Only then did Baek Sang-ye and Tsering look as though they had just realized it.
Black hoof mushrooms and bamboo shoots were both ingredients known to help with stroke recovery.

“That’s right. They weren’t meant to be used here. I was going to cook them for my wife later.”

That was why the bamboo shoots and black hoof mushrooms had been here.
The atmosphere in the room turned solemn.
That miserly-looking innkeeper was, in truth, a deeply devoted husband, one who cooked personally each time for his sick wife.

A few people’s eyes reddened with emotion.

“In any case, my victory it is.”

Ma Bi-hong said that flatly.

“Hand over the noodle money.”
“…A promise is a promise.”

The innkeeper handed over the three coppers for the noodles from inside his robe.
It felt merciless.
Other than Cheongho, no one looked at Ma Bi-hong kindly.
But then, Ma Bi-hong suddenly undid the white cloth tied around his arm.

“I am Ma Bi-hong, Special-Grade Chef of Beijing!”

Special-Grade Chef.
Fewer than thirty in each province.
The summit of the Great Ming Empire’s culinary world.
On Ma Bi-hong’s forearm was embroidered the red character ‘Special’, symbolizing such a Special-Grade Chef.

“S-special-grade chef!”
“No wonder his cooking skill was so incredible.”

Even Baek Sang-ye was impressed.
Special-Grade Chefs were not people one saw easily.
And Ma Bi-hong looked young at a glance. If he had not forged his status, it was an astonishing achievement.

“No wonder he looked familiar.”

Baek Sang-ye murmured. Perhaps she had seen him once in Beijing.
In any case, having introduced his identity, Ma Bi-hong declared,

“I have tasted truly outstanding noodles and stir-fried vegetables. I shall pay their price.”

Then he took out one nyang of silver and firmly pressed it into Yuk Man-cheon’s hand.

“Waaaaah!”
“Hooo, hoooh!”

It was an ending that stirred a man’s heart hotly.
People clapped and celebrated the outcome of the contest.
Yuk Man-cheon stared blankly at the silver in his hand, then in the end his eyes reddened.

“Th-thank you. Thank you!”

Then he expressed gratitude not only to Ma Bi-hong, but to Cheongho as well.
He too had once been a chef with a decent name for himself.
For the first time in a very long while, he had experienced his heart burning hot the way it once had.
People laughed noisily.
In the warmed atmosphere, Ma Bi-hong walked over to Cheongho.

He was taller than Cheongho.
Looking down at Cheongho with his fierce eyes, Ma Bi-hong said,

“I had a feeling, but you….”

He grinned and said.

“We’ll be competing before long.”
“…?”

Cheongho had no idea what he meant.
It seemed Ma Bi-hong was misunderstanding something.

“We’ll exchange names after we settle who is superior. I’ll see you at the competition, chef!”

Ma Bi-hong said only what he wanted, then turned and strode right out of the inn.
Tsering walked over to Cheongho, who was standing there blankly.

“Does he think you’re a cook, Senior Brother?”
“…Looks like it.”
“What an airhead.”

Tsering giggled.

The contest at Mancheon Inn passed like a storm.
Not only the innkeeper, but even the customers seemed unable to calm down from the excitement.
With the atmosphere still in an uproar, the trio stepped outside first.
Jin Li-yeon had not yet come, and they also wanted to look around the streets of Hangzhou.

Wajak, wajak.

Tsering crunched into tanghulu.
Prices in Hangzhou were high, but tanghulu was still delicious.

“What kind of competition is it that even a Special-Grade Chef came all the way to join?”

Tsering asked that.
She had heard from Baek Sang-ye how remarkable Special-Grade Chefs were.
They were people who could work as chefs anywhere while receiving the very highest treatment.

“Right. Since they say it’s a competition personally hosted by the greatest rich man under heaven, it must be different somehow.”

The number one family under heaven was reckoned to be the Baek Clan.
But that was a matter of Kangho.
If one asked which family possessed the most money in all the world, naturally Seok Family Manor would be named.
And here in Hangzhou’s costly district stood the estate of that very Seok Family Estate.

“We’ll know if we go take a look.”

And the lord of Seok Family Manor was Seok Sung.
He was a man with the exact same name as Seok Sung, who in ancient times had been called the greatest tycoon of Western Jin.
There were even rumors that he had gone senile in old age. And it was said that he was the one holding this cooking competition here in Hangzhou.

It had nothing at all to do with the Azure Forest trio, but by chance they had ended up meeting people connected to it.
So the three decided to go have a look at Seok Family Manor.

“There it is.”

In front of Seok Family Manor stood a large notice board.
The posted notice had been written on silk cloth, of all things.
People were gathered in a cluster before it.

“The Number One Cooking Competition Under Heaven….”

It carried the grandiose epithet ‘under heaven’.
Baek Sang-ye smiled inwardly and read through the details.

With something like this, naturally one looked at the prize money first.

“Third place is silver… huh?”

Baek Sang-ye checked whether she had mistaken copper for silver.
It was definitely silver.

“Five thousand nyang, five… thousand nyang.”

It was an enormous sum.
Then what about second place?

“Fifty thousand nyang of silver…?”

It jumped tenfold.
It was insane. Fifty thousand nyang of silver was enough to be called a great magnate no matter where one went.
It was hard to believe that such a sum was being used merely as second prize in a cooking competition.

“Then first place!”

Then what was the first-place prize?

“One hundred thousand nyang of silver and a golden ladle.”

It was astounding.
Baek Sang-ye was deeply shocked.
Even by the standards of someone like her, a royal long accustomed to wealth and splendor, the title ‘Number One Cooking Competition Under Heaven’ was no exaggeration.

On the notice was drawn the golden ladle, the additional prize for first place.
A splendid golden body, and on its handle a violet gemstone set into it….

“Oh my.”

Tsering giggled.

“This really looks just like a Guihon Jade.”

She whispered that.
It was an amusing thought.
Naturally, there was no way Guihon Jade would actually be offered as a prize in a cooking competition.