After falling into the water, Hu Hai suddenly got smart: modern nutritional science appeared in his head, and one glance was all it took to know what someone was lacking.
At first sight of his father, Ying Zheng: heavy metal poisoning, dead within six months.
Hu Hai: If Father dies, I take the throne? Won’t Xiang Yu chop my head off? I have to save him!
And so began a life of feeding people:
He simmered detoxifying soup for his dad and wrecked the alchemists’ elixir business.
He made stomach-soothing porridge for Fusu and gained the strongest bodyguard imaginable.
He put together military rations for Meng Tian and, along the way, lured the kitchen helper Han Xin into the army.
He taught Xiao He bookkeeping and “convinced” the future Han chancellor to help revise Qin law.
Later, he opened the Taotie Pavilion, and all the noble remnants of the Six States came flocking:
Xiang Yu tucked into a whole roast lamb, Zhang Liang pondered over soy milk, Han Xin squatted in the kitchen drawing maps of military strategy, and Xiao He kept chasing after him with questions about double-entry bookkeeping.
Later still, hot pot shook the Xiongnu, the land flourished with every kind of cuisine, Han Xin defeated the enemy, Xiao He wrote books, and Zhang Liang stayed.
On the day Fusu ascended the throne, Hu Hai looked around at the room full of heroes and fell into deep thought:
All I wanted was to stay alive. How did I end up creating a golden age?
Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish. Food can make Qin strong.
Food is the first priority for the people, and governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies.