Liberi Reader

Wait a minute! I'm busy!

Oh. All you ordered was a bowl of plain noodles. It's on the house!

Thank you, come again!

Hey, Jiang! I'm here!

Coming, coming! What'll it be today, Liu?

I'll have the usual. Any specials today?

Well, persimmons are in season. We also got a fresh batch of chestnuts today. You can either eat them raw—nice and crispy, or cooked—sweet and tender. How about stewed beast belly with chestnuts and then some osmanthus-flavored dried persimmon for dessert?

Nice. Alright, I'll try that then.

By the way, that sign we fixed for your restaurant a while back...

Don't worry. I checked with our chef. This meal is on the house.

You've taken care of all our carpentry work the past few years. Treating you to a few meals is the least we can do.

Hahaha. You're too kind!

He's really a great cook, the greatest under Heaven, I'd say. I can't find food this good anywhere else!

That wooden talisman I gave him, I meant it! He was too modest to accept the gift!

Come on! Enough already!

We're just a little old eatery. It's you who keeps us in business. You don't need to flatter us like that.

By the way, where is that young chef of yours? I didn't see him sitting outside and chatting with the guests today.

Don't even bring him up—he's been sulking since early this morning.

There's this famous food critic going around lately, taking advantage of the buzz from the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies, you know? I hear she's visiting all the hidden little eateries in town, rating them one by one in the newspapers.

I know, I know! I hear she published an article reviewing taverns in Baizao. She's even writing a book, says she wants to compile all the best recipes from Baizao, past and present.

She calls herself, 'The Wandering Foodie' or something like that?

She's certainly ambitious—Baizao has countless taverns, and these places have been making their dishes for generations. To write a book about them, she'll need a wealth of knowledge and a stomach big enough for all that food!

Exactly... But I hear the book she's working on, Baizao Cuisine & Food Culture, already earned some praise from the head chefs of the Four Great Restaurants. And none of them have anything bad to say about her reviews.

Rumor has it, she's dropping in here today.

Well, you have nothing to worry about. With your chef's cooking, even the harshest critic will have nothing to criticize, right?

You know his temper. Whether the reviews are good or bad, he can't stand people talking about his food.

(Whisper) He says he doesn't want to get into a cooking competition, but that's just because he's afraid he'll lose.

Alright. That's enough of that!

Haha. The only thing I'm worried about is people discovering this place, so I won't be able to get a table here anymore.

Knock on wood. Oh. Another customer!

Hey, look, the two of you coming right at this hour.

We're right across from the Judicial Review Office. I guess it's kind of become your unofficial cafeteria.

If it wasn't for this restaurant, I would have resigned and moved home ages ago!

Don't say such things. We have a duty! How could you think of resigning?

What's up? Why so serious?

It's the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies, of course! The busiest time of the year for the Office. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a month—who can keep going like this?

The precautions are necessary, though. There are so many tourists here now. If something bad were to happen, it would be a disaster.

No matter how careful we are... there's just too much going on. Something is bound to happen.

Hey. Enough shop talk. Just enjoy the food.

You think we're talking about work because we want to? Ugh!

By the way, did you hear about the Ding Feng Lou case?

What case? If there's something to say, just say it—why all the secrecy?

I'm not trying to be secretive—this case is just downright eerie.

On the 15th of last month, when Ding Feng Lou was busiest, every one of its hundred or so stoves were burning all day and late into the night.

That night, one of the stoves caught fire, and the staff could not put it out. A handful of chefs were injured.

The Originium pipe sprung a leak, was it? That's nothing new.

Well, the investigators could not determine whether the pipe had been tampered with or not.

Hundreds of people have access to that kitchen. Who knows if someone did something?

You must know that Ding Feng Lou is the most famous restaurant in Baizao, and the organizer of the Feast.

The thing that makes this incident particularly strange is that it happened on the 15th day of the month, and the fire started on the hundredth stove. Some say they saw a strange silhouette amidst the flames.

Let's stick to the facts, yes? We don't need to fabricate things here.

I'm telling you the truth! Many people said they saw it!

The work you do at the Judicial Review Office is pretty interesting. Listening to you talk about your cases is like reading a detective novel.

Come now. We're hardly authors here. It's just that whenever a case drags on for a few weeks without progress, I have nightmares about it.

Actually, now that you mention it, I also heard about a strange case, recently.

There's nothing supernatural about it. It's just plain weird.

Oh? Another juicy story? Do tell!

I really shouldn't divulge too many details about this.

You can't tease us like that! The suspense is killing me!

This is a matter of great importance. The place where this incident occurred is truly significant!

It was the Mr. Ning's manor, former Minister of Rites.

My shifu has been investigating this case for a while now. I've only heard an overview. He won't tell me more.

Mr. Ning has been retired for several years now. He's in the process of leaving Baizao and moving back to his hometown in Jiangnan. But a few days ago, a strange thief broke into his mansion.

Nothing was stolen, and no one was hurt. But in one of the guest rooms, there was a painting of a Xian hanging on the wall, and someone used melted honey to draw a line across the Xian's mouth.

Of course, the mansion was heavily guarded, but the thief seemed to know the layout very well.

And that thief—whether down to incredible skill or sheer experience—left no trace behind. My shifu and the others have their hands full trying to crack the case.

Sealing the lips with honey? Isn't that from the 'Legend of the Stove God'? It ensures the Stove God will 'say more good things than bad'. The thief vandalized a painting, but didn't steal anything of value. They don't care for money, so did they have some other motive?

What motive could they have had? Minister Ning is an honorable mandarin. He has a decades-long record of dutiful public service. Who could have any issue with him?

Regardless, he is an important court mandarin. The ransacking of his manor is no small matter, especially at a time like this.

It's our greatest fear, come true.

Oh! Hey! I just thought of something!

You scared me! What's the thought?

I just remembered that I also saw something weird a few days ago, right in this very restaurant!

It was three days ago, I was here eating when a real strange customer walked in.

He looked to be on the older side, and he was still wearing a prison outfit, as if he had just been released by the Judicial Review Office.

He sat down and ordered twenty bowls of white rice, nothing else. He downed them in no time flat!

That's... all you're going to eat?

Eating all that rice is bound to make you choke. Why don't we whip up two little entrees for you, and a bowl of soup. On the house.

No.

It's Dahuang rice, nice and fresh, the finest on the land. What other food could I possibly need?

I've filled my belly. I've no need for any free dishes. Check, please!

After the funny fella finished eating, he grabbed all twenty empty bowls and walked out of the restaurant. He kept walking until he reached the Judicial Review Office. He threw the pile of bowls at the door of the office, and yelled—

'I'm the one who set the fire in the scrollery!'

Well, I'm sure you know more about it than me, especially with my terrible memory. Who was that guy anyway? What happened to him in the end?

......

There's no way I could discuss something like that with you...

Shhh! There are civilians at the next table over!

Don't worry about them. I heard that lady speaking Victorian. I think they're foreigners. They don't understand what we're saying anyway.

(In perfect Yanese) Laoban, diancan!

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'Red Silk Special,' 'Mala Tofu,' 'Soft Yellow Shells,' 'Autumn Casserole,' and 'Jade Surprise'...

...and that's all she ordered.

......

Is she trying to challenge us?

She seems very polite. She just looked at the menu and picked out these dishes. Didn't look like she was asking for trouble.

You think she might be that food critic, the one who wrote 'Baizao Cuisine & Food Culture'?

What kind of food critic comes in and orders nothing but tofu?!

Relax, chef, relax.

You know how things are going here, business-wise. The future of our restaurant hinges upon this very moment!

You have to do your best. The dishes must be flawless!

Please, drink and enjoy! This wine was meant for sharing!

Aiai, so what happened next? What became of the weirdo who threw the empty rice bowls?

Good lady, what you just heard was nothing more than idle diner's chatter.

Whatever you do, please do not share it with anyone else.

Huh? But you haven't finished the story yet. Where's the cliffhanger? Where's the 'stay tuned for the next episode'?

I am a mandarin of the Judicial Review Office, madam. I'm not a storyteller in the teahouse.

What a coincidence! I have a good friend who works there too.

And here I was, thinking everybody at the Judicial Review Office was stuffy, pretentious, and tight-lipped.

*cough* *cough* *ahem*...

Dear madam, have you come to Yan all by yourself? Are you here on vacation?

Let's not be so formal. My Yanese name is Huang, or Blaze in Victorian.

And yes... I guess you could say I'm here on vacation.

I haven't met many Victorians who speak Yanese as well as you do. Have you lived in Yan previously?

Haha. Actually, no. But I'm not a hundred percent Victorian. My father is Yanes—

Three rules, you say?

Yes, if you can't follow these rules, I won't be able to take you back to Baizao.

Okay, okay. Lay 'em on me.

First, be wary of strangers. Do not, of your own volition, take actions that are unnecessary.

What do you take me for? A three-year-old? I know that. What else?

Second, do not tell anyone that you are an Infected.

Do I really need you to tell me that?

Third...

Do not, under any circumstances, tell anyone about your father.

...Okay.

Blaze, you are an important witness in all of these major cases… as well as an important piece of evidence.

I need your cooperation, and in return, I will guarantee your safety.

What's that about your dad?

Errr... I'm here to visit some family... and I'm on vacation. Haha.

Well, madam, you came at the perfect time. The Feast of a Hundred Delicacies is about to begin! All Baizao's restaurants compete to serve the best dishes. This is the time of year when you can try the tastiest food!

Really? Do you have any Baizao delicacies you can recommend, or maybe a restaurant or two?

Baizao doesn't have any signature dishes, or 'Baizao delicacies', as you put it. Instead, you'll find that every single dish you eat in Baizao makes a delicacy.

Ah, that makes sense! I didn't make the connection until now that Baizao means hundred stoves in Victorian!

You know what they say, 'To the people, food is heaven.' Yes, the name 'Baizao', bestowed ages ago by the reigning True Lung, means to tend all cooking stoves under heaven.

Later, someone says 'Exquisite food demands meticulous preparation.' See, fine food doesn't just fill your stomach, it soothes your soul.

There are different dishes for every season and every region. The best chefs? They have a wealth of knowledge, and the power of the gods, at their fingertips.

Please. Let's eat. Enough fooling around with foreign tourists.

Order up!

Did you send out the food? Does she like it?

Actually, she didn't really eat much. She gave most of it away to the other customers.

Ugh...

Settle down. She might be feeling out the ambiance, you know.

Just calm down. Let's see what happens.

So what is this 'Feast of a Hundred Delicacies' you keep talking about?

You may speak fluent Yanese, madam, but there are clearly gaps in your knowledge of our culture.

The Feast of a Hundred Delicacies happens every year in Mid-Autumn, when the True Lung convenes meetings with mandarins at all levels to discuss state affairs.

If it's just a bunch of government meetings. Why is it called the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies?

Now, that has a beautiful origin story.

Many years ago, the True Lung at the time held a birthday banquet, and all the mandarins presented him with gifts, including all manner of rare treasures from all across Yan.

But there was one mandarin, a young Assistant Minister from the Ministry of Revenue, who gave the True Lung a bowl of 'Pearl Jade Soup'.

The True Lung lifted the lid off the bowl, only to find a clump of rotten cabbage leaves and a scant few grains of brown rice floating in some water.

The True Lung was enraged, demanding, 'What is the meaning of this?!' The Assistant Minister replied, 'There was a flood in Jiangqi this year, so we had a terrible harvest. What you see in the bowl here is what the peasants have been eating every day.'

Speaking up for what's right—that's what any good mandarin should do.

Still, doing it to the True Lung's face, on his birthday like that, takes some serious guts.

Yes. The surprising thing is, the True Lung did not punish the young mandarin—he praised him and ordered that all other mandarins follow his example in advocating for the people.

The True Lung ordered cuts to the court budget and used those funds for disaster relief. He built embankments to guard against future floods, and Jiangqi was saved.

Yes, and the following year, the mandarins presented the True Lung with a bowl of sumptuous 'Fortune Soup' to show him that the finneries were thriving.

*ahem*...

In summation, the annual banquet became a tradition, called the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies, held every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

And all restaurants in the city serve dishes from the traditional Hundred Delicacies menu, welcoming all the people to join in the celebration.

Oh. The Yanese really know food, don't they?

This little shop here is a great example. It may look ordinary, but it serves top notch eats! Just look how many different types of tofu they can make! Amazing!

Then again, these cakes here... they taste different to the ones I've had before, and not in a good way. I think something's not quite right with them.

......

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Huh? Why's everyone gone silent?

Was it you?!

You're the one criticizing my food?!