Shockingly delicious!

In the modern world a thousand years later, people liked to think of ready-made meals as unhealthy, cheap products.

But that was because modern people had too many foods to choose from, so they preferred freshly stir-fried dishes with that distinctive wok-fired flavor.

Put those same ready-made meals in the Heian Era, though, and things would be different.

Historically, although iron woks had already appeared during the Song Dynasty, stir-frying was still a trendy new cooking method rather than the norm.

It would take another few hundred years, until the Ming-Qing Period, for it to become widespread among ordinary people.

Even a large proportion of nobles could not afford it, while ordinary people in Japan would have to wait until modern times to eat a stir-fried dish.

So to an ordinary farmer of the Heian Era, an iron wok was alien technology they had never even heard of.

What Jianxia was doing was bringing delicacies enjoyed by a select few to a much wider audience.

What ban on eating meat? Not only did he raise pigs in Hiraizumi, he encouraged every household to raise them!

It was precisely this policy that had made lard and pork important food sources in Hiraizumi, supporting the variety of snacks sold along its streets.

Uraume deftly took a block of ice from his bundle. Frozen inside it was a mound of golden fried rice.

First, he placed the ice in an iron wok, then dispelled his Cursed Technique-the ice vanished instantly, leaving not even a drop of water to affect the texture of the rice.

Ice made entirely from a Cursed Technique naturally would not melt like ordinary ice.

Then Uraume lit the charcoal and quickly stir-fried the chilled rice, bringing it back to a suitable eating temperature.

After these simple steps, a rich aroma immediately wafted out of the wok. Jianxia even had Megumi Zenin summon Nue to fan the scent toward the village.

Sure enough, quite a few villagers turned their heads as they worked, but after watching for a while, they went back to their tasks.

To them, this was probably some noble cooking a delicacy. It had nothing to do with ordinary people like them.

Jianxia immediately guessed what they were thinking. Casually using Clumsy House to make a wooden megaphone, he held it to his mouth.

"Thank you all for your hard work! We're travelers from Hiraizumi, here on the orders of the Zenin Clan head to treat you all to a meal!"

"Just bring a handful of firewood to fuel the stove, and you can come over here and eat!"

Free things often came at the highest price, so Jianxia had chosen not to offer the food for nothing. Instead, he charged a handful of firewood.

Although all Jianxia really wanted was to spread the word, the stove did need fuel.

But even after Jianxia had said all that, nobody came over for a meal.

After all, a deal like this was a windfall from heaven. They would not dare dream of such a thing.

Only after quite a while did a middle-aged man with rough skin and a wrinkled face cautiously approach the mobile food cart, clutching a handful of firewood.

He looked nervous, keeping his head down and not daring to look directly at the three of them. The closer he came, the smaller his steps became.

Jianxia did not need to think twice to know why they were so cautious.

In these ordinary people's minds, nobles were people they must immediately bow before upon approaching, never daring to look them in the eye. The slightest mistake could bring punishment.

And although Jianxia and the other two were indeed cooking, their clothes and appearance alone made it clear that they were no commoners.

Having even one person willing to come and test the waters was already a stroke of luck.

"Don't be so scared. Come a little closer." Jianxia reached for a small tree by the roadside and turned it into a wooden bowl. "Uraume, give this man a bowl first-you can have more if it's not enough. Take your time eating."

Uraume took the wooden bowl and filled it with a heaping scoop of golden egg fried rice. He accepted the villager's firewood with one hand and passed him the rice with the other.

Holding the fried rice in both hands, the villager stared blankly at the distinct grains. Everything seemed to have happened too quickly for him to believe it was real.

"There's more. Here."

Hearing Uraume speak again, the villager looked up to find him offering a cup and a spoon.

"Fried rice can be hard to swallow on its own, so we also provide free ice water-the spoon is for eating the rice."

Spoons did exist in the Heian Era, but they were only popular among nobles. The villager accepted the spoon and tentatively scooped up a mouthful of rice.

Saltiness, savoriness, and a hint of sweetness from the rice... A complex blend of flavors exploded in the villager's mouth. His eyes widened, and he felt as though he had taken flight.

Even roasted meat without any seasoning was an exquisite delicacy to people of the Heian Era, let alone egg fried rice cooked personally by Uraume and quality-checked by Jianxia himself.

This bowl packed a thousand years of culinary mastery. Even Sukuna could not withstand it.

Tears spilled from the corners of the villager's eyes. In the second after he swallowed the rice, memories of his past several decades flashed before him.

He had lived in this village since birth, and the same life, day after day, had numbed him. But now he knew one thing for certain-

-He had been born to encounter this mouthful of fried rice.

He finished the egg fried rice in a few bites, then knelt respectfully on the ground. "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. I cannot thank you enough..."

Jianxia hurriedly helped him up. "Don't thank me. This is the goodwill of everyone in Hiraizumi-it isn't far from here, either. If you move there now, you can still receive farmland. As long as you're willing to work, you'll have a place to live!"

The villager's eyes lit up. Eating egg fried rice had already left him satisfied; he had never expected an extra surprise.

"May I ask where Hiraizumi is, my lord?"

Most people in ancient times never left their birthplace in their entire lives. The farthest they had ever traveled might have been a river a kilometer away.

Although Hiraizumi was only a few hours away on horseback, to commoners, it might as well have been another world.

"Just keep heading east. There's a large city gate-you can't miss it," Megumi Zenin answered from beside them. "When you get there, someone will help you register as a resident. You don't need to worry about being treated as a vagrant."

The Heian Era also had a strict household registration system. Jianxia was not quite sure how Shinji Zenin had managed to ensure that everyone who moved to Hiraizumi could settle there without trouble.

The villager kowtowed to the three of them in thanks again, then raced back to the village, apparently to prepare for the move.

About five minutes later, Jianxia saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance.

He narrowed his eyes for a closer look. The entire village, nearly a hundred people from a dozen or so households, was hurrying toward them together.

Apparently, that first man had spread the word after returning to the village, and it had worked very well.

"Uraume, Uraume! We've got customers!"

Jianxia turned to look at Uraume, but the chef was already prepared and had taken out several blocks of ice containing everything from steamed dishes to deep-fried food.

"Please leave it to me, Lord Jianxia." Uraume took a deep breath, then reinforced his body with cursed energy, his hands darting rapidly between the various cooking utensils.

In an instant, every cooking method on the mobile food cart sprang into action, like a grand concert.

Steaming, stir-frying, boiling, deep-frying, roasting... Uraume was the conductor of this concert, sending out dish after dish.

Meanwhile, Jianxia and Megumi Zenin accepted the villagers' firewood and passed the reheated food into their hands, while also keeping order to prevent any accidents.

"Don't rush, everyone! There's enough for all of you!"

Jianxia shouted at the top of his lungs amid the crowd, reaching out to steady a child who had nearly fallen.

"If you haven't had enough, you can go to Hiraizumi! They're giving out houses and farmland there! Just head east!"