Unsurprisingly, the head chef chose Mo Caihuan's recipes and had the "Treatise on Original Flavor" printed as a booklet to hand out on opening day.
When the twenty-first restaurant opened, plenty of people came to show their support. Before their meals, however, they received a little booklet with "Treatise on Original Flavor" written on it, and had no idea what it was.
Most diners gave it a hurried glance before concentrating on their food. The dishes tasted excellent. Though seemingly light, their flavors were anything but perfunctory, with distinct layers and an endless aftertaste.
"This really tastes good." The diners were thoroughly satisfied.
Some people also read the "Treatise on Original Flavor" carefully.
Mr. Xu from the Gan Family Private School was one of them. He had brought his family to support his employer's business and had not expected to receive a booklet. Initially, he thought little of it, but once he began reading, it drew him in.
He had previously served in the Hanlin Academy, where he was responsible for compiling books, and could be counted among the great Confucian scholars of the age. Yet this was the first time he had seen anyone connect cooking with governing a country.
Still, he found it eminently reasonable. Sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, and saltiness had to be balanced properly to create a delicious dish. Governing a country was much the same: good and evil, loyalty and treachery, right and wrong contradicted yet reconciled with one another, ultimately forming the complex fortunes of a nation.
"Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!" White-haired old Mr. Xu could not help slapping the table in admiration.
"Old man, just eat your food. Stop making such a fuss. What if you frighten our grandson?" His wife patted their thirteen- or fourteen-year-old eldest grandson on the back and said, "Keep eating. Have a chicken drumstick."
Old Mr. Xu ignored her and called out, "Waiter, who wrote this 'Treatise on Original Flavor'?"
"Chef Mo wrote it."
"A chef?" Old Mr. Xu could hardly believe it. He had assumed the manager had commissioned some learned master to write it, only to discover it was a cook?
Cooks were among those Confucian scholars looked down on most. In disbelief, he asked, "How could it be a cook?" Then he added, "But why couldn't it be a cook? If the author weren't a cook, how would they have connected cooking with governing a country?"
"My good waiter, could you invite this chef out to meet me?"
"Not right now. The kitchen is very busy. The chef will only have time after we close."
"No matter. I can wait," the old man said.
"Then I'll go let her know."
Mo Caihuan's plan had been quite successful. Sometimes, one simply had to sing a contrary tune. Blindly following the crowd would only leave one lost among the masses.
The restaurant had been open for barely three days before someone took the bait.
When the manager heard that Mr. Xu wanted to meet Mo Caihuan, he immediately gave her a few reminders. "Mr. Xu is one of the great Confucian scholars of our age, and he is currently our employer's head tutor. Mind your manners when you meet him."
Mo Caihuan thought, Toss a brick in the Jin Kingdom and hit ten people, and nine of them would be great Confucian scholars. Great scholars are a dime a dozen. Still, she knew she needed to keep a low profile, so she remained perfectly respectful when she met Mr. Xu.
Old Mr. Xu was stunned. The author's being a cook had already shocked him, but he had never imagined she would be a female cook!
His grandson's eyes lit up. Looking at Mo Caihuan's face, he seemed as hungry as if he had spotted a huge chicken drumstick.
"You're the one who wrote the 'Treatise on Original Flavor'?"
"That would be me," Mo Caihuan said modestly. "It was merely something I wrote in jest. I hope you won't take offense, sir."
"If this was written in jest, haven't those sour scholars who study the classics until their hair turns white poured all their learning into a dog's belly?" He could not help asking, "Do you have a master?"
He still believed there was a learned master behind Mo Caihuan, rather than these theories being her own conclusions.
"My master has always been free-spirited and unrestrained. He comes and goes without a trace and dislikes attention, so I cannot disclose his name," Mo Caihuan said with a show of solemnity.
There really was a master behind her. Old Mr. Xu felt much better and said, "If you have time another day, would you be interested in explaining the 'Treatise on Original Flavor' in greater detail?"
"It is not I who annotate the Six Classics, but the Six Classics that annotate me. The 'Treatise on Original Flavor' is already in your hands, sir. You may interpret it however you wish. It belongs to everyone now, no longer to me," Mo Caihuan said inscrutably.
"It is not I who annotate the Six Classics, but the Six Classics that annotate me?" Even a great Confucian scholar could not immediately understand those words, much less accept them.
But one thing was certain: this young woman must have studied under a distinguished master and was an expert herself. He could not help asking, "May I ask why you work here as a cook, miss? After all, a gentleman keeps his distance from the kitchen."
"May I ask why a gentleman must keep his distance from the kitchen?"
"Because he cannot bear to see animals slaughtered for food. It demonstrates a gentleman's benevolence and righteousness."
"Wouldn't it be better not to eat them? Wouldn't abstaining from meat like a monk be even more benevolent and righteous? There are many ways to demonstrate benevolence and righteousness. Shouldering the burden in the kitchen is also one of them. By entering the kitchen, I allow one more gentleman to leave it. If I refuse to enter, I force another gentleman to go in. I choose the former. I need not be a gentleman myself, but I must protect others' opportunity to be gentlemen."
Old Mr. Xu had no answer.
"Knowledge and action must be one. Someone who only talks but never acts is no gentleman," Mo Caihuan said. "Do you have anything else to say, sir? If not, I'll return to my work."
Old Mr. Xu had been shaken, but that was only the beginning.
Mo Caihuan's goal was to make a name for herself, attract cultivators living in the mortal world, and recruit talented people.
The Full Fragrance Restaurant had a beautiful female chef. Not only had her cooking reached the very pinnacle of excellence, but she was also well versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and had proposed the theory of "The Six Classics Annotate Me." One stone had stirred a thousand waves.
Confucian scholars kept coming to debate Mo Caihuan, and she seized the opportunity to build connections.
Mo Caihuan's teachings were rebellious and departed from the mainstream, making them highly appealing to young people.
That day, another group of young Confucian scholars gathered at the Full Fragrance Restaurant. Every one of them was handsome, elegant, and debonair. Holding folding fans, they filed through the entrance.
With a slap, one of them set down a gold ingot and said, "Have Chef Mo prepare a table of fine dishes. She must cook them herself."
"No problem." At the sight of the gold ingot, the manager said happily, "We guarantee you'll be satisfied, honored guests. This way to a private room, please."
He was overjoyed. The head chef truly had a razor-sharp eye, recognizing that Mo Caihuan would bring them good fortune. With her there, the restaurant was packed every day, and all its customers had money to spare.
Sure enough, these days a meal was no longer just a meal. It needed added value, too.
"Is this Mo Caihuan really so extraordinary?" one scholar asked his companions.
"Brother Chen, you placed first in Nan Commandery's provincial examination, but your ears hear nothing except the books of the sages. You have no idea that the whole city is talking about her. They describe Mo Caihuan as someone found only in heaven, never on earth, and say her learning is so vast that she has the talent to top the imperial examination."
"She wrote the 'Treatise on Original Flavor' and proposed theories such as 'The Six Classics Annotate Me.' Haven't you also praised the 'Treatise on Original Flavor' to the skies, Brother Chen?"
Everyone chimed in at once.
Chen, the provincial examination champion, grew even more curious.
Soon, a tableful of substantial dishes arrived, and the friends passed cups back and forth while discussing and appraising the food.
"Delicious. These flavors are exceptional. At the very least, her cooking really is as outstanding as the rumors claim." Everyone agreed that the food tasted excellent.
"I've heard Miss Mo isn't merely a fine cook. Her beauty is a feast in itself, enough to captivate anyone."
"How does she compare with Miss Zhang Xixi of the Happy Red Courtyard?"
"That's different. In beauty, the two are evenly matched. But although Miss Zhang is well versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, her insights merely pick up scraps of other people's wisdom. How could she strike straight at the heart as Miss Mo does?"
"Miss Zhang is also a talented woman. Neither is superior to the other." Someone did not want them putting one woman down to praise the other.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Chen, the provincial examination champion, said, "Waiter, could you invite Miss Mo to meet us?"
"I'll go ask," the waiter said.
The manager had known they would make such a request, so once Mo Caihuan finished cooking, he had told her to tidy herself up. These young Confucian scholars certainly had not come just for the food. Nine times out of ten, they were here for the beauty.
Naturally, Mo Caihuan did not mind meeting promising young men. After all, she intended to poach talent.
As she entered the room, she sensed something different from the other outstanding young men she had met before. A wave of Righteous Qi swept toward her, making her give them a few extra looks.
Seeing that Mo Caihuan was indeed as lovely as a flower, the scholars all greeted her courteously, showing her no disrespect.
Mo Caihuan returned their greetings one by one and asked, "Gentlemen, were you satisfied with your meal?"
"Very satisfied. Even heaven's delicacies could be no better."
"Miss Mo's cooking is as outstanding as her beauty."
Everyone offered their praise.
"You flatter me, gentlemen," Mo Caihuan said.