Dao of Cooking

Chapter 4 - Spirit Rice

It was a beautiful night in the eastern part of Jiangzhen, and the cobbled streets hosted a great crowd that strolled under the stars. Some ladies wore make-ups so thick that Lei reckoned you could season a wok with them, and some others preferred simple attires fitting the cool and serene air of the night.

Lei nodded here and there to the acquaintances he'd made during his time as a dishwasher as he trudged through the crowd. Not the most distinguished bunch, these people, but seeing them almost washed away that sensation of being a complete stranger in a different world. And they did save him from brooding alone with his thoughts. Gave him something to work for.

He'd always be grateful for that.

Past the Eastern Square, the hawkers were busy screaming into the crowd, their stalls lit brightly under the lanterns and adorned with veils and ornaments of their own making. Their grand display stretched from rugs to basic tools, and further along, gave way to robes of quality silk and carved wood paintings that greeted mostly the ladies, who were either ushered away by experienced husbands with a slight tap on the shoulder, or directed towards less expensive, but equally gorgeous, options.

Though he and Fatty Lou spent most nights out in the streets, Lei still hadn't gotten used to their ways. He knew people tend to forget certain things, and had that ability to carry on from even the gravest disasters, but the folks here didn't seem to remember that one-third of the city's eastern part had gone missing some weeks ago.

Better to carry on than dwell too much on the past. Lei guessed there was wisdom to be gained somewhere in there, but it didn't quite sit well with him.

Fatty Lou was waiting for him at Swirling Frog, a two-story teahouse that stood just around the corner, stools and tables scattered before its front yard. He sipped from the ceramic cup as his eyes wandered here and there, but mostly toward the young ladies.

He didn't look much, but he knew his way around the women.

Lei tapped the shoulder of an old man as he passed through the stools, smiling down at his face, "Master Feng, another pot for us."

Master Feng's dark eyes snapped at Fatty Lou and then back at him. He gave him a nod and vanished inside the teahouse.

Lei poured himself over a stool before Fatty Lou and shuffled under the questioning gaze of his brother-in-arms.

"What?" Lei asked when that gaze got a little too much for him.

"What do you mean 'What'?" Fatty Lou placed the cup back on the table and frowned at him. "We've busted our asses for the whole week, but not once have I seen you like that. You've a fever or what? That sickness, maybe, that's been going around in the city? What was the name again? Longfever, was it?"

Lei shook his head. "I'm fine, Brother Lou. All that work must've gotten to me, that's all. This stall business is harder than I thought."

"Mm." Fatty Lou rubbed his chin, then clicked his tongue. "You're not wrong, but it makes me worry, you know? When do you plan to get rid of that damned house, anyway? Living with all that dust and ruins can't be good for your health."

"Money is better spent on more important things," Lei said, tapping a finger to the table. "I've a roof over my head, and a bed to sleep in. A man has to live frugally if he wants to work out a capital for ventures, right?"

"Exactly!" Fatty Lou waved a finger into his face. "A dead man has no use for things like money. You're always around those kids, and that's dangerous. You know what my Mother used to say about children?"

"What?"

"That they're nothing but a bunch of walking diseases! Always coughing and sniffing, those little devils, sucking at sticks, pebbles! Anything they find they think of as something to be eaten or at least deserving of a lick!"

"Come now, brother, don't be too heartless." Lei smiled slightly at him.

"I'm not being heartless. If you want to help them, help them, that's fine with me, but don't do it at the risk of your health. We need you up and running if we want to fix them a place."

"You're right, but this really has nothing to do with them," Lei said.

Fatty Lou was just about to press him when Master Feng came with a teapot and two new cups, laying them gently over on the table before fixing them with a curious gaze. The man was a mute, got his tongue cut as punishment for speaking too loud back in the day, or at least that's what the people round the teahouse joked about now and then, but he had his eyes for all that talking, and they did a damned good job for the most part.

And they say he has the sharpest ears across the city.

So Lei waited for him to clear away before leaning closer to Fatty Lou. A simple motion, but it hooked the man enough that he perked his ears up for him.

"Something happened," Lei said, staring around himself to check if anybody was listening. Different faces, dozens of them, were too busy talking loud and laughing to pay them heed. "It's a bit hard to explain. So I won't."

Best we treat with caution here.

Fatty Lou smacked him on the head with two fingers, face twisted up in rage. "Are you playing with me, bastard? Speak up! You know I'm not the one for patience."

Lei jerked his head back, stifling a laugh, "That's why you can't find a good wife, brother, instead you're fooling around with all those ladies. Improper and immoral, don't you think? What if Master Li finds out? Think he'll kick you out of the house?"

"I'm twenty fucking years old, you think I'd fear a wrinkled old man? And don't start with the wife-talk. There's not enough beauty in this place to chain my soul in some dusty house to father a bunch of bastards. Thought we were aiming higher, no? Become rich and get ourselves a place in one of those Immortal Cities, eh? Clear your damned head and focus on the mission, and tell me what the hell has happened!"

"I'm thinking it's best I show you because I don't know how to explain." How can you explain to a man that you have a system stuck in your soul, giving you skills and showing you screens? "But for that, we need some spirituality."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we need spiritual ingredients. Some restaurants near the city center sell spirit rice, yeah?" Lei asked, feeling the coins inside his pocket. He'd probably have to spend a week's-worth of earnings to get a handful of that rice, but it was for a good cause. You can't be stingy when you've got a system in your head.

But Fatty Lou gave him an exaggerated sigh. "We've had this talk already. You can't trust those places. That's no spirit rice they're selling, that product is foul and of poor quality. Just some scraps they'd bribed out from the Alchemy Guild and the Adventurer's Guild."

"I know that, but you have to trust me on this one," Lei said.

It took more than just spiritual energy to raise such crops, and the demand was already high enough that nobody would risk a journey across the forests and mountain paths to sell spiritual ingredients to a city as mortal as Jiangzhen. But it was possible to sweep some now and then if you had the right connections in the Empire's own Alchemy Guild and Adventurer Guild.

"You're… serious," Fatty Lou said, narrowing his eyes. "If that's the case, I know a place. But first, drink your tea."

…..

The center of Jiangzhen was a beast on its own, its roads paved and cared for, rows of shops almost too bright to look at. The robes people wore here had a different sound about them as they flapped and creased with the wind. Seemed to Lei's eyes that flower embroidery was making a comeback. The last time he'd come here these ladies were all about birds and bees.

And the streets were too wide. It was always the case with the rich folk here. They liked things wider and deeper.

Fatty Lou led the way with the confidence of a young master, chin high and chest puffed out like a proud rooster amongst the chicken. He was made for great things, he'd often say, and he certainly had the right attitude for it. Just that he was lacking on the money front.

But Lei didn't like it here. This whole place smelled and looked too fake for his taste. Just like those shopping streets in big cities back on Earth, here people greeted each other with mysterious smiles that spoke of deeper things.

It was always about a deal or an exchange with these people, and Lei had his fill when he thought working for richer folk would be a good idea. Foolish of him, of course, but it made him see the greater truth about this city, and he couldn't say he was too surprised when he'd found that it was all the same.

Money talked, people listened.

They came upon a great street that had short buildings, their tiles painted and lined with gold, lanterns hanging down the roofs latched with sparkling hooks. Flavors of dishes and perfumes splashed out across from the half-opened doors, filling the street with a rich wave of fog that beckoned customers for a treat.

"You think they'll give us the rice uncooked?" Lei asked, rather doubtful of this arrangement.

"I know a guy here," Fatty Lou said, squinting up at a place called 'Moonlight Delight' with a smile on his face. "Just prepare the money."

Lei clutched the coins inside his pocket as he stared at the two ladies fanning themselves before the door. It must've taken a great deal of powder to paint all that skin cloud-white, but at least they made a show of their efforts and looked quite triumphant as men, older and younger, poured inside while sneaking glances from them.

"You sure this place sells rice?" Lei asked. Seemed to him that his brother had done some injury to the truth.

"Don't worry, they sell everything here." Fatty Lou smiled as he clapped him on the back before making his way through the door.

Lei followed him, raising a hand when the ladies so kindly invited him for a cool drink in the back rooms. Fatty Lou had shown him those kinds of rooms before, so Lei could proudly say it wasn't a first for him, but he was a touch curious as it seemed this place had some quality about it.

We've other business to be about, ladies, my apologies.

Once inside, the starlight gave way to the soft red of the lanterns that lined the wooden beams, casting a warm, intimate glow over the space. The air was thick with perfumes, and it got thicker still when they stepped into the great hall.

Dozens of tables were crowded with patrons, mostly rich men, accompanied by the ladies of the house as they gulped away their worries. Right around the left side was an opening where a lonely woman sat on a tasseled cushion, clad in elegant reds as she plucked the strings of a zither.

Ancient times and modern times. Not that different when you've seen them both.

Fatty Lou led the way through the throng, weaving between the tables with practiced ease, and out toward a side door that didn't fit the lively ambiance of the hall with its flat face. He knocked on the door twice, and then it clicked open, revealing a middle-aged man with short, gray hair.

"Little Lou?" The man cocked an eyebrow at him, stepped back, and gestured to them to get inside. "You've honored me with this visit! Come inside!"

"It's been too long, Uncle Zhang!" Fatty Lou smiled widely at him and shrugged when Lei gave him a questioning look.

You have an uncle in a brothel? This guy is something else.

Lei shook his head as he sat down on a chair, dragged it screeching near the desk that had dozens of papers stacked over on it. Fatty Lou and the old man were seated soon, both smiling round at each other.

"Father misses you," Fatty Lou started. "You've gone for so long that we'd nearly forgotten your face!"

"These are tough times, Little Lou, you know that." Uncle Zhang shook his head at him. "But sometimes even I don't know what I'm doing here around the brothels."

"Somebody has to keep these accounts, right? They can't find anyone better than you," Fatty Lou said, then straightened his back and leaned closer to him. "Uncle Zhang, I don't want to keep you for too long, so I'm just going to tell it to you straight. I need something, and I was thinking that maybe you could help me with that."

"Oh?" Uncle Zhang said, his eyes widening in surprise. "Go on, say it. If it's anything this old man can do, he will do his best for his nephew!"

Fatty Lou glanced at Lei before speaking in a solemn voice, "We need some spirit rice. Uncooked, untouched. Straight from the source, if you will. Not much, just a handful or two. We've brought the money for it."

Lei pulled the coin pouch from his pocket and put it on the table. Fatty Lou snatched it with a quick hand, staring up at the old man.

Uncle Zhang frowned. "Spirit rice? What are you going to do with spirit rice? Don't you know they're selling poor-quality rice here? Yes, it's rather tasteful and good for your bones, but it isn't anything like those real spirit rice we'd eaten back in Lanzhou."

Lanzhou? That's where my soul brother's clan resides. A month's trot away from here.

"I'm aware, but as I've said, we don't need much of it," Fatty Lou said.

Uncle Zhang took the money pouch, stuck a finger inside, and checked the coins. "It's tough…" he said, scowling down at them. "But if it's important to you, I think I can arrange some."

"I knew we could count on you, Uncle Zhang!" Fatty Lou slapped his thigh and sprung on his feet, rounded the desk, and hugged the old man till his bones groaned. The poor man's face reddened like a beet from lack of breath, but his eyes were glinting.

"Hah!" he choked out a laugh when Fatty Lou got back on his seat and left him gasping. Then he waved a hand over them, "You two wait here while I go and get your rice. Don't make a fuss!"

Lei nodded like a little child under the man's gaze, and Fatty Lou didn't look much different than a real child, to be honest. For a second he turned into a kid who got candies and chocolate for just being there.

"So, spiritual cooking, is it?" he said when the old man left them alone. "But you know we can't do much with a handful or two. Not like these people would give us a whole sack. They're too stingy about these things."

"It's not for selling," Lei said. If [Essence Enhancement] would work as he thought, then they wouldn't be selling those dishes. Not before they got high on some spiritual energy, that is. "I'm thinking we might have a real shot at this cultivation business, after all."

Fatty Lou stiffened, his eyes narrowing down. "What do you mean by cultivation? Between you and me, there's not enough roots for a fucking sapling! You think some spirit rice will solve that problem?"

"Just let your brother cook," Lei said. "We'll soon see if this thing's half as good as it sounds."

…….