It was still beneath the tree in the courtyard, where a long wooden table had been put together.
Two large basins sat in the middle, filled with Cover Noodles.
Thump!
The bell rang, and a group of Senior Brothers came over, laughing.
"Junior Brother, Junior Brother, we could smell the meat from ages ago! Did you take Master's cured meat and cook it?"
"Pilgrims who came to offer incense at the temple gave that to Master. He usually can't bear to eat it. If you don't make it well, you'll be in for a scolding!"
"Junior Brother, you really were careless! Did you think we'd never had our eyes on those pieces of meat? It's all because Master is so stingy. He can't bear to spend much effort on the matter of eating, and won't let us have any. Otherwise, toss it in with the rice—whether it's porridge or steamed rice, wouldn't it add a little salty flavor?"
"Well, it's already cooked..."
"If you ask me, it should've been cooked long ago!"
Everyone sat down, laughing and chatting without pause.
But when they looked down, they saw that the Cover Noodles had been stretched wide and thin, clearly different from the rice dishes they usually cooked. Then they looked at the broth: cured meat, dried bamboo shoots, and termitomyces mushrooms. They could imagine how savory it would taste, and the distinct aroma of the mushrooms was already reaching their noses. They were instantly surprised.
"Huh?"
The Senior Brothers weren't good at cooking, but that didn't mean they'd never eaten anything decent. Besides, in this day and age, most people were lucky just to eat their fill. Not many knew how to cook well.
Of course, they could tell tonight's dinner was different.
"What's this called?"
"Cover Noodles."
"Tsk! So Junior