Eating Meat

"Any news of Qiu Laojiu yet?"

Deep in the county yamen, three courtyards stood in a triangular formation.

Even beneath the shroud of night, they remained brightly lit.

The courtyard on the left was somewhat shabby.

Yao Xiong and Sun Fei sat around a table inside the room. Above them sat a middle-aged man as imposing as a mountain.

He was more than a whole size larger than Yao Xiong.

Nearby,

Fatty Sun, who had been so carefree at noon, now sat ramrod straight, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

Yao Xiong sat respectfully beside him and answered solemnly, "The old fox is slippery as an eel. Every time we're just about to catch him, he vanishes without a trace."

"This subordinate was at fault."

As he spoke, Yao Xiong was about to rise and admit his mistake, but the middle-aged man in the seat of honor waved him back down.

This man was none other than Sun Qifeng, the Dianshi of Baiyun County.

"It's not your fault."

Chief Clerk Sun raised a hand and waved. The doors swung open, and the kitchen staff filed in, taking dish after dish from their food boxes and nearly filling the round table.

"Qiu Laojiu has always been crafty. We've dealt with him for so many years. Do you think I don't know that?"

"Put up his portrait tomorrow."

Chief Clerk Sun's fingers tapped unconsciously against the tabletop.

Yao Xiong's expression changed. "Wouldn't that make it impossible to keep this under wraps?"

Chief Clerk Sun's fingers paused. "He killed thirteen people. Did you think we could keep it under wraps by not putting up his portrait?"

Yao Xiong's expression shifted several times before he finally nodded.

"Qiu Laojiu won't get away. Put this aside for now."

"Let's eat."

Chief Clerk Sun pointed at the chopsticks in front of Yao Xiong, then glanced over the dishes. His eyes lit up. "We're in for a treat tonight."

Yao Xiong stared blankly for a moment, unable to keep up.

How had they suddenly gone from hunting a murderer to eating dinner?

"Hm? This Three-Shreds Dish... there's something special about it."

Sun Fei's eyes lit up too. His gaze seemed glued to the table as he asked in confusion, "Big brother, does the yamen have a chef this skilled?"

"How many times have I told you? When we're in the yamen, you address people by their official titles."

"You brat."

Chief Clerk Sun scolded him with a laugh, but wasn't truly angry.

"Got it."

Sun Fei nodded, then looked up at his elder brother and pursed his lips.

His meaning was clear.

"Dig in. Eat your fill."

After gesturing to the somewhat ill-at-ease Yao Xiong, Chief Clerk Sun picked up his chopsticks first.

Yao Xiong and Sun Fei followed right after.

Chief Clerk Sun had personally ordered the Three-Shreds Dish, and he had eaten it more than once. Yet tonight's dish gave him an experience unlike any he'd had before.

It was fresh and mellow, light but full-bodied, with an aftertaste richer than anything he'd ever known.

With every bite came a fresh, sweet hint of grass and trees.

"Excellent!"

Before Chief Clerk Sun could speak, Sun Fei had already clapped his hands in delight. "Crisp, tender, smooth, and succulent. Delicious!"

"The crispness and tenderness mingle with a soft, springy bite. The freshness sings together with the savory saltiness."

"Truly a rare dish."

Chief Clerk Sun wasn't as animated as Sun Fei, but his words brimmed with praise.

Yao Xiong took a bite too, and felt that not a single dish he'd eaten in his more than thirty years could compare.

He wanted to praise it, but after struggling for a long while, he couldn't find the words. In the end, he could only blurt out two.

"Fucking amazing!"

"Uh... Chief Clerk, the yamen kitchen actually has a chef this skilled?"

Sun Fei asked as he kept his chopsticks busy.

The other dishes couldn't match the Three-Shreds Dish, but they were still rare delicacies.

The flavor aside, no chef in the Sun Family could match this knife work.

"Could Old Yan have improved his cooking again? The flavor is right... no, that knife work doesn't seem like his."

Chief Clerk Sun shook his head. "Eat first. Then we'll send someone to the kitchen and bring Old Yan here."

As he spoke, he popped a large pork knuckle into his mouth. He barely chewed before swallowing it.

He didn't even spit out the bone.

Yao Xiong caught sight of this and quietly swallowed.

"I'll go."

Sun Fei was curious to find out which master chef in the yamen kitchen had such transcendent knife skills.

Could it really be Master Chef Yan?

"I told you, I was born with it. Do you believe me?"

Under the night sky, a dim oil lamp had been lit in Master Chef Yan's private courtyard behind the kitchen.

After all that work, Chen Zhuo was starving, but Yan Ming showed no sign of opening the food box.

"Born with it?"

Yan Ming was so annoyed by his answer that he laughed. His voice dripped with mockery. "Do I have 'fool' written on my forehead? Who would believe a ridiculous story like that?"

"You're a temporary kitchen hand, yet your knife work surpasses even mine. Why did you come near the kitchen? What are you after?"

With a sharp ring, a flash of blade streaked past.

A kitchen knife stood embedded in the stone table, its blade sunk three inches into the rock.

Yan Ming's expression was stern. In the lamplight, his eyes fixed on Chen Zhuo as if blazing with fire.

Chen Zhuo didn't panic. He only sighed in resignation. "Is it really that hard to get a bite of meat?"

As he spoke, Chen Zhuo seemed to think of something, and a faintly mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "I'm the third child in my family. Ever since I was little, I've been the one in charge of cooking. After years of practice, how could I not develop these knife skills?"

"When I joined the yamen, all of this was recorded clearly. You can check if you don't believe me."

He hadn't lied.

Ever since he could remember, life had never been easy.

That home had been an abyss.

If the old man hadn't left him some money when he died, even getting a job as a White-Uniform Runner at the yamen would have been a pipe dream.

"I'll check, of course. If I find even one thing you said was false..."

"Suit yourself."

Chen Zhuo's expression remained calm.

"Eat."

Yan Ming gave him a long, deep look, his thick fingers tapping the table with a series of dull knocks.

After a moment of silence, he bent down, picked up the food box, and finally set the dishes on the table.

Chen Zhuo glanced over them. His lips trembled, and he nearly burst into tears.

So much meat...

All the meat he'd eaten over the past several days combined wouldn't amount to even one plate on this table.

"Starting tomorrow, you won't be a kitchen hand anymore."

Yan Ming's voice rang out again, making Chen Zhuo furrow his brow.

He bent down, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and handed them to Chen Zhuo. Then he changed the subject. "You'll take the Qiu sisters' place."

Chen Zhuo paused. "The Qiu sisters quit?"

Yan Ming shook his head. "Something happened."

"What happened?"

"Eat first."

Chen Zhuo had just started to ask when Yan Ming cut him off.

"Grrr..."

His stomach was already wailing. Chen Zhuo looked at Yan Ming, then stopped being polite and immediately dug in with gusto.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the dishes on the table had been swept clean.

"I still need meat."

Chen Zhuo gently rubbed his distended belly, then suddenly realized he was getting sleepy.

For the first time in days, a meal had made him drowsy.

The strength he'd spent training in martial arts that day had also recovered considerably.

"Since you've taken over the Qiu sisters' work, you're entitled to the corresponding benefits."

Yan Ming picked his teeth and spoke casually. "Thirty coins a month, plus one meal with meat every day. I can't promise the flavor, but there'll be plenty."

Thirty coins?

And meat every day?

The surprise came so suddenly that Chen Zhuo could hardly believe it was real.

Thirty coins wasn't much, nowhere near a yamen runner's monthly pay, but for a White-Uniform Runner who worked without pay, it was an unexpected windfall.

And on top of that, he would get a meal with meat every day.

With this, his martial arts would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

There was less than a month until the examination for promotion to yamen runner. This unexpected boon was more than enough.

"What? You don't want the job?"

Yan Ming glanced at Chen Zhuo.

Chen Zhuo stood and clasped his hands in a respectful salute. "Thank you, Master Chef Yan."

Yan Ming waved a hand. "Do your work properly. The kitchen may not have much else, but there'll always be food enough for you."

Chen Zhuo smiled and nodded.

Just then, two White-Uniform Runners walked in, one after the other.

They spoke almost at the same time.

"Master Chef Yan, the Chief Clerk requests your presence."

"Master Chef Yan, the Dianshi requests your presence."