Let’s Be Partners in This Mortal World, Eating Until We’re Plump and Happy

Let's Be Companions in This Mortal World and Eat Until We're Plump and Happy: Su Yue is a foodie who can taste the memories of an ingredient's past life. Just as she discovers that mapo tofu is crying and sweet-and-sour ribs hold a mother's love, a mysterious organization comes after her to seize her “taste-based ability.”

She ropes in her best friend Lin Xiao, whose passion for food is off the charts, and meets Chen Yu, a sharp-tongued food club president who can smell additives. Along the way, they pick up Lu Yao, an influencer who livestreams her way through food from all over the world. The four foodies form the “Feast Force” and eat their way from a soy milk stall at a morning market at four a.m. to a century-old noodle shop deep in the snowy mountains.

Every bite is a bombshell: the crispy skin of Peking duck conceals a recipe feud dating back to the Guangxu era; the beef tallow broth of Chongqing hot pot holds the burning spirit of dockworkers; even the sugar paintings sold by an old woman on a street corner have sugar threads tangled around a secret love that lasted half a century.

They chew on pig's trotters to solve old grudges between time-honored brands and slurp luosifen to expose unscrupulous merchants. But when they crack the 99th food mystery, they discover that Su Yue's ability is connected to the vanished “Guardians of Culinary Heritage,” while their pursuers hold a deadly recipe that could strip every dish of its soul...

When the warmth of everyday life collides with conspiracy, should they save the world first, or finish slurping this plate of crawfish? The answer lies in the hook at the end of every chapter. Will you dare take the next bite?