"Sizzle."
A large spoonful of hot oil slid down the tower of piled-up chili and Sichuan peppercorns into the milk-yellow colored pickled cabbage fish, instantly releasing a slightly pungent, hearty aroma.
Yang Ge, holding the spoon, turned around to scoop up the second spoonful of hot oil from the smoking pot. But in the moment he turned his head, Zhao Cha appeared from nowhere, leaned over the steaming bowl of pickled cabbage fish, and vigorously sniffed the robust aroma with her shiny nose, "sniff-sniff" she went.
"Hey... don’t drool into the bowl."
Yang Ge pushed her away with disdain, pouring the second spoonful of hot oil into the second pot of pickled cabbage fish. "If you want to eat, use the chopsticks!"
Zhao Cha’s eyes lit up, and she pulled out the chopsticks she had prepared from behind her, picked up a snowy white slice of fish, and popped it into her mouth, where it was so hot that she stuck out her tongue: "Ah, delicious, delicious, delicious..."
Even before she had swallowed the fish in her mouth, her chopsticks were already reaching into the bowl for a second piece.
"Take it easy, watch out for bones..."
Yang Ge muttered to her softly while skillfully covering the pot with its lid and placing it in a bamboo basket, then leisurely untied his apron from around his waist, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and sampled a piece of the fish thoughtfully.
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"The chili isn’t quite right, still lacking something..."
He put down his chopsticks and shook his head with a light sigh of regret.
Authentic Sichuan and Chongqing pickled cabbage fish should be made with top-quality Guizhou dried chili segments and Sichuan peppercorns to deodorize, enhance the flavor, and add a special taste.
The chili powder he had gotten from the Zhang Family’s rice noodle stand had been pre-charred over charcoal, a type of spicy shell chili with a bit of a burnt flavor. While its smoky taste added a novel flavor when used in noodles or rice noodles, it was slightly off for pickled cabbage fish.
"Ah? This is still lacking something?"
Zhao Cha looked up, her mouth shiny with oil, her eyes gleaming: "If this is lacking, how delicious must the perfect one be?"
Yang Ge glanced at her and laughed audibly, "Pfft."
Zhao Cha looked at him puzzled: "What are you laughing at, Second Brother?"
Yang Ge shook his head: "Nothing, just reminded me of a good friend by seeing the way you eat."
Zhao Cha ’Oh’d, not offended but curious: "Which friend? Have I met him?"
Yang Ge shook his head: "You haven’t, he hasn’t been to our inn yet."
Zhao Cha: "Oh, that’s a pity. Your friends are all so interesting..."
"You’re the most interesting one!"
Yang Ge put down his chopsticks and picked up the bamboo basket: "Eat slowly, save some for me."
Zhao Cha hastily put down her chopsticks: "Is this for the adoptive father? Let me deliver it, I’ll go!"
Yang Ge gave her a surprised look and said with genuine laughter: "At least you have some conscience!"
He handed the basket to Zhao Cha: "Be careful, don’t spill it."
"Alright!"
Zhao Cha, cradling the basket, hurried out: "Don’t finish it all, save me some..."
...
Jinling, Confucian Temple.
Yang Tiansheng played with his chopsticks listlessly, flipping through various dishes on the table, before finally tossing his chopsticks away in irritation, "Ah, why is everything either too salty or too sweet? It’s nowhere close to Yang Ge’s cooking skills!"
Xiang Wudi, sitting opposite him eating salted duck, looked up in confusion and asked, "Yang Ge can cook?"
Yang Tiansheng suddenly said, "I almost forgot, you’ve never tasted Yang Ge’s cooking!"
Xiang Wudi had a puzzled look on his face, ’Blame me?’
Yang Tiansheng grabbed a duck leg and gnawed on it half-heartedly, asking casually, "How have you been lately?"
Xiang Wudi: "Just so-so."
Yang Tiansheng: "Which so-so is that so-so?"
Xiang Wudi: "The same so-so you are."
The two looked at each other and sighed together.
Yang Tiansheng heaved a sigh and lamented, "The jianghu without Yang Ge stirring up storms is really as lonely as snow!"
Xiang Wudi also wore an expression of annoyance, "Let’s just say, isn’t it possible that because there was such a freak as Yang Ge in the jianghu, it’s become as lonely as snow?"
After thinking about it, Yang Tiansheng nodded in agreement, "That’s also true, anyone would be eating their vegetables quietly with such a Grandmaster squatting atop their heads!"
The two exchanged a glance again, then let out another sigh in unison, both feeling uninspired.
After a fiery and passionate expedition to Dongying, the ordinary strife of the jianghu simply couldn’t arouse their interest anymore; they didn’t even care to watch the excitement.
Furthermore, after their journey to Dongying, they had all essentially achieved financial freedom, and trivial benefits could not catch their eye at all; in fact, they might be too lazy to bend over to pick them up even if they were handed to them on a platter.
Somehow, life had become more and more like salted fish...
Practicing martial arts, more often than not, was about competing with oneself since the external pressure wasn’t completely nonexistent but almost negligible.
After a long, silent exchange, Xiang Wudi forced some spirit and asked, "By the way, I haven’t asked yet, what did your Sect Hierarch go to Lou Wai Lou for?"
Yang Tiansheng had come to Jinling with their Ming Sect’s Sect Hierarch, Yang Potian.
And since the Xiang Family was in Suzhou, not far from Jinling, Xiang Wudi, having learned of Yang Tiansheng’s arrival in Jinling, had specially made his way to Jinling for a small reunion.
"The Sect Hierarch didn’t say."
Yang Tiansheng sipped his wine, replying casually, "But I guess he must be coming to consult the Grandmaster about Yang Ge’s strength. After all, only the Grandmaster was present when Yang Ge killed that nameless grandmaster, and the overly deferential attitude shown before at Lou Wai Lou was rather too obvious."
"Ah?"
Xiang Wudi looked at Yang Tiansheng in surprise, both shocked by his cleverness and by his calmness, "Aren’t you worried at all?"
Yang Tiansheng looked at him blankly, "Worry about what?"
Xiang Wudi: "Your Sect Hierarch has come all this way to investigate Yang Ge’s strength... Are you sure he’s not planning to make a move on Yang Ge? You are as close as brothers with Yang Ge, and if your two families really start fighting, where will you stand?"