Li Juyou, a night-market haggling pro whose name sounds like “tangerine and pomelo,” slams his head into a chopping board while grabbing for tangerines and transmigrates to the imperial kitchens of the Great Yong dynasty. He becomes Li Gousheng, a “leftover” cook who can even burn scrambled eggs.
From the start, he has to prepare the main dish for the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, but turns “Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity” into “Charred Coal and Burnt Wood.” In desperation, he manages to fool the emperor with “dark-style health food.” After the banquet kitchen disaster, he brings out tangerines he’s been hiding for three days and creates an entire tangerine feast, from “Golden Crisps” to “Amber Rice.” He puts the fruit to such creative use that he rises through the ranks to become deputy head of the imperial kitchens.
From then on, this transmigrator brings a modern foodie’s mindset to stirring up trouble in ancient times: he wins over the imperial kitchens with “hot pot can cook anything,” charms the women of the harem with “milk tea substitutes,” and even makes “cultural merchandise” out of tangerine peel... He single-handedly sparks a new food craze in Great Yong. The only catch is that every time he tries something new, he has to invent a whole spiel about its health benefits to fool the emperor. After all, in the imperial kitchens, without an imagination and a silver tongue, you could end up scrubbing chamber pots at any moment!
