After finishing his morning practice as usual the next day, Zhang Xiao hurried to the Great Hall and took his seat.
Just as arranged, the tabletop was empty, with nothing on it.
He tapped the table with his wand, and as if by magic, a bamboo steamer, a large bowl of soy milk, and golden, glistening fried dough sticks suddenly appeared.
Zhang Xiao took his chopsticks, slid them against each other twice, and eagerly picked up a fried dough stick and dipped it into the soy milk.
After letting it soak for a second or two, he quickly popped it into his mouth. The fried dough stick had yet to lose its crispness, but now carried the rich, mellow sweetness of the soy milk.
With the slightest chew, he could feel it crumble between his teeth, mingling with the soy milk.
Zhang Xiao nearly cried. Finally! After months of effort, I finally get to have fried dough sticks and soy milk at Hogwarts!
He picked up a translucent soup dumpling, its broth sloshing beneath the wrapper. Making these dumplings took real skill: a free-range chicken had to be simmered with various seasonings until all its essence had gone into the broth.
The chicken broth was then chilled into a springy jelly, a small piece of which went into each dumpling. The wrapper had to be thin without tearing, ideally just translucent.
Only then would the steamed dumplings be full of broth, filling every mouthful with flavor.
He gently bit a small hole in the wrapper. One sip instantly filled his mouth with savory broth, and he bit the opening a little wider.
With a practiced motion, he dipped it into the vinegar saucer. Bird Sis had brought this six-year-aged Zhenjiang Vinegar all the way from China.
Then he popped the