The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Lin Dan was a woman of few words, but she had always been serious in whatever she did. Regardless of how dirty or tiring the chores that were assigned by the old woman's daughter-in-law, she could complete them silently without cutting corners. As time passed, the daughter-in-law was relieved and stopped watching her all the time. When the daughter-in-law was idling and lazing around, the old woman seized the chance to teach Lin Dan how to make the most tender and refreshing tofu, and how to make the most delicious and fragrant tofu balls.

Lin Dan had mastered this dish after March and bade farewell to the old woman who was unwilling to part with her. Lin Dan left the town with Lady Qi. From then on, she went to various places to learn cooking from different chefs. If they were unwilling to impart their skills, she would work in their shop or home and persuade them with her sincerity. If the chef was still unwilling, she would not complain and leave silently.

She had tasted all the delicacies across the great country of Chu, met all sorts of people, and had different life experiences. Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.

It was early spring, a line of a carriage came along the mountain trail, with muscular-looking guards keeping an eye at the front and back of the fleet. It was probably a prestigious family who was on the move. When the fleet slowly came to stop at a junction, a middle-aged man with a big belly hopped out of the most luxurious carriage of the fleet. He ran to the last carriage with small steps and whispered, "Manager Lin, are you feeling better now?"

"Cough, cough…" A hoarse voice came from the carriage, "I’m feeling much better. It’s all thanks to you who took care of me along the way. I look forward to seeing each other in the future."

"Happy to hear that. I still have some medicine to speed up your recovery, you can have it." Boss Shen quickly asked a servant to present the gift box that he had prepared for a long time. He said, "Of course we will meet again. If you open a shop in the capital, I will definitely patronize no matter how far I am. Since you’ve fallen ill, everything I eat has since become tasteless."

The Manager Lin in the carriage sounded like a woman, and Boss Shen's last remark seemed as though he was making romantic advances. However, the people inside and outside the carriage did not notice his intention and even laughed in unison.

Upon seeing that, a brawny man guarding the fleet scorned and nudged his companion's waist with his elbow. He whispered, “Look, she can even hook up with someone on the way. Women really shouldn’t show themselves in public.”

His companion nodded with a scoffing face without saying a word. He looked at his leader again, only to find that he was still sitting on the horse and watching each junction with his long eyes with extreme vigilance. The two of them were astounded before deciding to knock it off.

Manager Lin was worried that she would spread the illness to others and only pulled open a small gap in the curtain. She stretched out her hands to pick up the gift and instructed, "Xiao-Zhu, present the gift I’ve prepared to Boss Shen. It’s all thanks to Boss Shen's kindness that we are able to get to the capital."

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy immediately leaped down from a carriage in front, carrying a jar of wine in his arms. Seeing the wine jar, Boss Shen's ruddy face beamed. Although he spoke words of politeness, he stretched out his hands eagerly, smiling so much that his narrow eyes were disappearing. "Oh, you’re being too polite. It was nothing!" He gave the wine jar a deep sniff as he spoke and enjoyed what he smelled.

"It may be nothing to you, but it’s great kindness for us. It’s getting late, Boss Shen. Let’s bid our farewells here. I’ll definitely invite you to dinner if we meet again in the capital." Manager Lin said sincerely.

A bigger smile appeared on Boss Shen’s face. He added, "To prevent a busy woman like you from forgetting your promise, this meal will be noted in my account book. I will definitely visit Beijing to collect the ‘debt’ from you in the future."

"Don’t worry, I won't forget this. Goodbye." Manager Lin chuckled.

After the two said their goodbyes, the long line of the carriage was also separated into two. The ten carriages in the front made a turn at the junction and left for Jiaozhou, while the five carriages at the back went straight ahead to the capital. The escorts protecting the fleets were also divided into two groups. One group followed Boss Shen while three other strong men followed Manager Lin's fleet on horses.

Manager Lin seemed to have noticed the three men through the carriage curtain and sent a servant to greet them.

The young servant was timid, but he plucked up the courage and asked, "Brothers, are you going to the capital too?"

One of them smiled nonchalantly, "Why does it matter?"

"If you are, our manager wants to hire the three of you as escorts and ensure our safety as we enter the capital. We will pay you ten taels of silver each, food and drinks will also be provided along the way. How does that sound?"

"Bad." The strong man laughed, but his speech was sharper than knives. His companion snorted softly and seemed to be uninterested in the ten taels.

The young servant blushed with anger, but he still insisted patiently, "Please reconsider our offer. We will be providing food and drinks, you won’t lose anything."

"I don't even care for the ten taels of silver, do you think I care about your food? Get lost and stop delaying our journey!" The strong man became a little impatient and acted as if he wanted to pull out a whip around his waist.

The leading man was the tallest among them and had the most frightening aura. He had dark skin and a handsome appearance, with a scar that stretched across a corner of his forehead to his temple, which made him even more hostile. He seemed to be unhappy that his subordinates were drawing too much attention. He glanced coldly at the two brawny men and their faces immediately turned solemn. One of them said, "We are in a hurry. We will be taking a shortcut to the capital and won’t be able to protect you."

As the shortcut stretched into the mountain and the mountain road was rugged and narrow, it can only be traveled by horses and not carriages. Upon hearing this, the servant bade farewell to them. He took a quick glance at the leading man before leaving and was astonished again. The man that was riding on a big horse had a pair of narrow and cold eyes and had a well-built figure that was covered in a dark suit. He was obviously a fighter.

“Could this hostile man be a bandit?” The servant thought and quickly ran away.

Manager Lin's carriage was not far from the group. She knew she should not persist after hearing their response. The group continued their journey quietly and rested by a lake when it was midday. Two young maids carried clay jugs to fetch water in the river, while three servants took out the stone stove and started cooking.

Both sides of the mountain road were full of pink wild roses, and the pleasant aroma of flowers filled up the place after being nourished by the rain. Manager Lin lifted the carriage curtain to admire the beautiful scenery. She drank another bowl of ginger water with orange peel before slowly getting out of the carriage. She said, "I feel restless after sitting in the carriage for a long time. Take out my kitchenware, I’ll make lunch today."

"That’s great! Can’t wait to have your cooking today!" The two young maids cheered happily, while other servants were also overjoyed.

Although the three brawny men had been taking the same route as them, it was the first time they saw Manager Lin as she was ill throughout the whole journey. They could not help but take a good look at her. They saw a tall and beautiful lady in her early twenties, who was wearing a lady's bun. Different from the beauty standards of the time, her skin was lightly tanned. She also carried a fearless aura which made her look pleasant.

The two brawny men were disappointed to see Manager Lin, the woman who Boss Shen tried so hard to flatter yet was not a stunner or beauty of their dreams. However, unlike them, their leader stared at her for a long time.

Manager Lin, who was Lin Dan, immediately noticed the man's gaze and turned her head to look at him. When their eyes met, one of them was stunned while the other was puzzled.

"Excuse me, have we met before?" Lin Dan joined her hands together and greeted, looking natural, and at ease.

The man hesitated for a moment before replying in a deep voice, "Never."

Lin Dan looked at him carefully and made sure that she had never seen him, and stopped paying attention to him. He was a very good-looking man with a terrifying aura, she reckoned that she would definitely not forget this face if she had seen it once.

When Lin Dan walked away, one of the strong men whispered, "Boss, do you know her?"

The man did not answer but silently took out the ration and water sacs before swallowing down the food with difficulty. Another brawny man tore off a hard bun and stuffed it into his companion's mouth. He chided, "Eat up, and don't ask unnecessary questions."

The brawny man spit out the hard bun and yelled, "Darn it! How many days has this bun been left out for? It's even harder than a rock! My mouth is gonna turn into a beak by eating these foods every day!"

"Just put up with it for a while more. We will hurry to the capital after taking the shortcut at the next junction. When we are there, we can enjoy a big feast before going home and enjoying a good sleep." The companion gave a longing look.

"How far are we from the next junction?"

"Not far, we will probably reach there tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning? Darn, that’s far! I wish I could fly instead!"

The two men chatted while gnawing on the buns, but the leader never said a word. He raised his eyes to look at Manager Lin from time to time, seemingly interested in her.

Lin Dan was busy preparing lunch, unaware of the man's attention. She took out a few pieces of evenly cured meat and roasted it on the fire. When oil seeped out of the meat, the pig hair that had not been cleanly removed was eliminated under the flame and completely removed after being washed in the lake. She then scraped off the burnt parts with a knife.

The two maids received her instructions and ran into the woods to dig a few handfuls of wild onions and bamboo shoots for use later, while several other servants helped to set up the fire.

Lin Dan cut the cleaned meat into slices and stir-fried them in the wok. When enough fat was produced, she threw several pink dumplings that were made of unknown ingredients and gently stirred them with a spatula. An indescribable sourness mixed with the aroma of cured meat filled the air, attracting the three men to crane their necks and take a look at it.

"Dammit, what's this smell? It's sour and pungent." Although the brawny man was wearing a disgusted expression, his mouth was already watering.

"No idea, I've never seen it." His companion tiptoed and stared right at the large wok that Lin Dan was constantly stirring in.

The pink dumplings had been completely crushed by Lin Dan and turned into a fine powder before being mixed with the slices of meat. Although the color of the dish was not the most appetizing and it was giving out a strong and pungent aroma, it somehow made people’s mouth water. This was probably the true combination of exotic fragrance and pungency.

The handsome man, who had not said a word, finally spoke, "This is pickled tofu dregs, a specialty of Anqing Fu. It is made by crushing the tofu dregs in good weather and storing them in a jar after adding some salt, pepper, and other ingredients. If the taste is not strong enough, thick bone soup can be sealed in lotus leaves and added to the bean dregs before letting it ferment slowly. After the fermentation is complete, it can be kneaded into a dough and dried so that it’s easy to carry around. The pickled tofu dregs are sour, spicy, salty, and rich in flavor. The aroma of the meat is mixed with the aroma of beans, creating an incredibly unique taste."