Chapter 305 – Fragrant Dew Rice aka Flower Dew Rice (a) [1]

Translated by Gumihou

Edited by Gumihou

 

Gumi: …this author just made a new and interesting mistake. She had gotten the name of a dish wrong. It should not be 香露飯 but 花露飯. See note 1 for more details.

 

The cluster of peach blossoms was like pink clouds against a jewel green background of straight, swaying bamboo. The sight was as beautiful as poetry.

Against a background of a snow-covered world, the flowers and grasses beckoned like a peaceful garden.

The peach blossoms that had bloomed overnight scattered their petals all over the snow-covered ground by the main road and the front of the snack shop.

Just a single flowering peach tree in the snow would have been amazing enough but there were dozens of them, planted in a circle surrounding the treehouse.

[2a] Green vines sprouted under the peach blossom trees, twining together to form a natural fence.

When the three new hires came to work, they first thought they came to the wrong place.

They left this place last night and encountered such great change the next day! They were so shocked by the spectacle that they thought they were hallucinating.

They entered the courtyard and found the slightly desolated space of yesterday were now filled with plants and flowers.

White hosta, red peony, green peony, yellow lin… all manner of flowers were blooming in the garden.

Even after workers entered the kitchen, the shock on their faces lingered.

“Looks like our master is someone quite important…”

At first, they thought they were serving some children of rich families with money to burn. However, today’s changes shocked them to the core. [3] It was one thing to have money, it was quite another to have the power to make trees and flowers bloom in winter.

“This Violent-Gold Peony must be at least 400-years-old!”

“This is a 700-years-old Tricolour Hibiscus…”

“A Green Peony! I want to take a bite just to see what it tasted like!”

“… …”

Two people were standing there, staring at a flower field, their mouths watering at the sight of these flowers.

[2b] To the northeast corner of the space was an exquisite lotus pond. The pond was not large, only about the size of two flower beds combined. The lotus flowers over the pond were already in full bloom. All that was needed was some fish in the pond.

Next to the lotus pond were tall locust trees and mulberry trees. When the locust flower blooms, the fish would feed on its fallen petals.

When Shiyu was finally done with the decoration, it would truly transform into a unique garden paradise in winter.

By mid-morning, pretty much everyone within the city knew about the blooming peach blossoms outside the city and came over to have a look.

Once people began to gather in front of the treehouse, some trickled into the shop and the once empty tables and chairs became fully occupied.

In fact, there were so many people crowding in front of the treehouse that the main road was almost blocked off by pedestrians who stopped to gape at the blooming trees.

Some curious diners asked Liu Eleven, the waiter, what happened last night? What’s going on?

Liu Eleven’s only reply was, “Probably the work of some passing immortal!”

Since they could not get a definite answer to this question, they asked, “What do you have to eat around here?”

The smile on Liu Eleven’s face grew more cordial, “Tea, Milk Tea and Rushan.”

The diners blinked. Aside from the first item, the rest were not very familiar to them. Still, when they inquire after the price and found it within their means, they ordered a set of everything.

When the hot Milk Tea and Rushan were delivered, the air was immediately filled with the thick scent of milk.

Many people have very little resistance to sweet food. Though most might not like them much, very few would reject them. The combined fragrance of milk and tea, supplemented by the sweet taste of honey was very pure. The texture of milk tea was like silk on their tongue and was surprisingly satisfying when drank warm.

As for the Rushan, it was light, crisp and slightly sweet [4], not at all greasy. It was the perfect little snack to go with their tea.

Attracted by the unique atmosphere and this fresh product, the endless number of diners soon came in just to taste this new thing.

The teahouse opposite also enjoyed some of the reflected glory. Their business was actually even better than usual. [5] People who could not bear to be seen gawking on the street headed to the teahouse to sip tea and view the peach blossoms from up high. Others who could not wait to enter the new teahouse would come to this side too. Until noon, the waiters’ feet barely touched the floor.

The waiter who had been keeping an eye on the opposite shop stared with wonder.

To turn the situation from a desolated shop to something so lively and bustling, it was clear their background was clearly not simple.

While he was serving tea, a new group of young masters suddenly came to the teahouse.

The waiter rushed over to greet them and saw his master standing in the middle of this group.

“Go, clean up a table by the window on the second floor for us.”

The master was a young man in his 20s. He was well mannered, gentle and spoke without arrogance. The waiter has a very favourable impression on this master of his.

He quickly rushed to the second floor, invited the people occupying the desired window seat to another table, and managed to clean up the place just as the group of young masters reached the second floor.

“Dongting, the other side has real blooming flowers, ah. To pull such a trick right in front of your shop, they’re probably trying to snatch your business!” one of his companions teased.

The young man, his real name was Luo Dongting, was the owner of the teahouse.

“My teahouse only earn some small profits each year. If they insist on grabbing that, I can’t do anything about it. I can still afford this loss,” said Luo Dongting generously. He looked at the treehouse with interested eyes. “On the other hand, you all insisted on coming here to admire the peach blossoms in the snow. Such a sight is not something that fascinating, is it really worth your time to especially call me out here?”

To make trees and plants burst into full bloom, all you need to do is inject a little extra spiritual power into the plants. Anyone with a moderate spiritual ability, especially Wood Attribute Cultivators, could do it. Why bother coming all the way out just for this?

“Do you really think we’re here to admire the peach blossoms?” his companion sneered. “Put your nose up and take a sniff, now tell me what you smell.”

Luo Dongting did as instructed. However, all he could detect was the sweet scent of milk along with the fragrance of flowers.

“Don’t tell me… you’re here for the food?”

His companions sighed in defeat.

“It’s the fragrance of medicinal plants,” said one of them. “The land behind that shop had been turned into a field of flowers today. I heard that it had been a wasteland just yesterday.

Someone investigated the field this morning and found that most of the flowers there are medicinal flowers. The youngest plant was several decades old. The majority of them are a few centuries old.”

“I can’t quite believe it still,” he said. Indeed, there was a look of disbelief on his face. “After all, who would treat precious medicines as decorative flowers? It all sounds quite suspicious. Seeing with my own eyes is better, so I came here to take a look,”

This was really why they had all come to the teahouse together.

Luo Dongting touched his nose and muttered, “I see, this news must have passed me by,”

“Well, it would be strange if it caught your attention. The Luo Clan are in a succession battle right now and your brothers are in a heated fight with each other. Do your best, brother. If you succeed in becoming the leader of the Luo Clan, you’ll be the first among us brothers to be promoted.”

Right now, their group consisted of second and third generation young masters. If Luo Dongting becomes the head of the family, his social status would be different from theirs.

At this, Luo Dongting merely smiled without speaking.

After sitting for a bit, he left his friends to entertain themselves and made his way to the back of the teahouse.

The shop manager followed.

“What’s happening with the other side?”

Since the incident was happening right in front of his own territory, whether it’s for good or bad, it’s best to know more about it.

Before the owner of the teahouse, the manager behaved very obediently with none of the airs he used when dealing with the waiter. With short, succinct words, he explained everything he knew about the place to his master.

Luo Dongting pinched the space between his eyebrows.

Although the manager had told him everything he knew, he was still missing certain crucial information on the teashop opposite them.

Such as: Who were those people? Who were their backers? Why did they set up shop here? Why opposite his teashop in particular?

“That’s right, that person once tried to see you before, said they wanted to purchase this teahouse.”

“Such a thing happened?” Luo Dongting thought about the matter carefully and realised that someone did send word about wanting to meet him a few days ago but he had dismissed the matter as unimportant.

 

[Gumihou: Oho? A new named character has appeared!]

 

We now have Glossaries for Character, Cultivation Terms, Clan Names, Restaurants & Places

 

[1] Li Yu recorded his secret recipe for Fragrant Dew Rice in <<Rice Congee>> under the <<Food & Drinks>> section of the <<Leisurely Sentiments.

With just a little flower dew, you can create rice with great flavour.

Li Yu said: Prepare a cup of flower dew. Pour it over the rice after the first cooking, cover it with the lid to let it simmer for a while. Then mix the rice.

Those who eat this rice will think that they are eating some exotic rice or grain and never knew they are merely eating ordinary gain.

This way, you do not need to use a whole pot of dew, that’s just too costly. Just a little drizzle works just fine.

https://kknews.cc/food/qozb6gb.html

There, Gumi has revealed the recipe. Looks simple enough, I wonder how Shiyu is going to handle this.

[2] Deleted Stuff:

[a] The peach blossom trees surrounded the empty space.

Yes, yes, it’s every-bloody-where, surrounding every-bloody-thing.

[b] Do not look at them

I think this pithy remark is meant to be funny?

[3] Added Details for Dramatic Purpose: Describe their shock instead of just saying their shock.

[4] …and goddamned sourrrr… the whole air around the treehouse teahouse should be sour

[5] Added Details for Dramatic Purpose: Give more details why the teahouse business gets better.

 

If you love my translations, do consider dropping a comment at novelupdates!

Gumihou loves reading your comments, so gimme, gimme ~

( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Or Supporting me via Patreon or Ko-fi ~

໒( ́ ۝ ́ )७