He Yitang was a corporate drudge laid off by a big tech company. Clinging to the last of her stubborn pride, she survived on culinary science experiments: maltodextrin creamer in spicy hot pot, fruit drink braised with ribs, and whatever other unholy concoctions came to mind. Then one late night, as she turned around with a pot of homemade bone-broth hot pot, she found a door that had appeared out of nowhere in her kitchen wall.
Beyond it lay a deserted old courtyard. A man with a knife stood beneath the moon and immediately asked for food.
Staying alive came first. He Yitang handed him the pot of hot pot made with maltodextrin creamer.
The man ate with tears streaming down his face. “I’ve traveled far and wide, and never tasted noodles this good.”
From then on, that door became her ticket to wealth. The young woman who’d been laid off transformed into the proprietor of a little eatery in ancient times. Chen Qi, the knife-carrying traveler, came by every day, and his merchant friends started visiting in groups.
Her business took off in the ancient world, and her recipes made with culinary science experiments conquered an age starved of seasonings.
He Yitang gripped her cleaver and spatula and thought: Who cares? This is too good a chance to make money.
The story is very interesting, but I feel that the male and female protagonists lost the battle. Although they finally chose modern life, they were forced to leave due to the struggle for imperial power.