Good news: Lin Zenan, a gourmet, has won a prestigious award.
After tonight, he’ll claim the greatest prize of his life, take his place among the world’s culinary elite, and reach the pinnacle of success.
Bad news: He transmigrated on the eve of the ceremony.
He wakes in the body of a frail young man whom neither his father nor his mother loves.
One oil lamp. One dilapidated house. His stepmother has tied him up, ready to sell him to a sickly, wealthy old landowner.
If the old landowner dies tonight, Lin Zenan will be wed to him in a ghost marriage, or handed over to his young masters.
If the old landowner survives the night, Lin Zenan will be forced into a lucky marriage to bring him good fortune, then shared among his young masters.
Luckily, a benefactor appears from nowhere, and Lin Zenan manages to escape.
But he has no money and no idea what to do. Where can he go?
Just staying alive is already a problem.
Since he is here, he might as well make the best of it. Even in ancient times, he believes his abilities can still take him to the top.
Fortunately, he has a way to make a living.
First, survive. Then make money!
As a modern culinary master, a chef who knows how to satisfy the appetites of everyone from high and low alike, he trades the bridal gown he is wearing for two taels of silver and opens a food stall.
The stall may be humble, but the snacks are anything but.
With simple ingredients, he creates entirely new flavors.
Three-delicacy buns, tofu pudding in a hundred flavors, shrimp and loofah autumn-leaf buns...
The delicious food soon spreads by word of mouth. The prices are fair, from two to five coins a serving.
The stall is packed every day.
Before long, he has saved enough to open a small restaurant.
Assorted cured meats and vegetables, beef brisket and radish casserole, black bean dace with bok choy, rice cake and fish with two fresh delicacies, delicate plum-scented pork ribs, steamed smoked pork cartilage, chicken drunk in aged wine with jujube fragrance, fermented rice and red bean taro dessert, and six-treasure steamed buns with black-leaf dough... He serves them all!
There is something for every budget, with prices ranging from two coins to two taels of silver.
With so many affordable delicacies on the menu, he makes a fortune.
Thanks to his culinary talent, everyone from peddlers and scholars preparing for the imperial exams to gentry, celebrities, and even princes and nobles becomes a loyal fan.
But Lin Zenan has a problem.
He discovers that he is being pursued.
By a whole group of people!
Everyone loves him.
Every day, the restaurant is crowded not only with diners, but also with admirers.
A wealthy landowner waves a stack of banknotes, offering thousands of acres of land and ten thousand taels of gold as a bride price.
A newly appointed provincial scholar holds a betrothal letter, promising to marry him once he places first in the palace examination.
And a mysterious prince says he’ll invite Lin Zenan to share his bed once he inherits the throne!
Hey, now! This is getting ridiculous!
But the biggest shock is yet to come. His wedding day is near!
Just as the suitors are turning the front of the restaurant into a complete mess every day, a handsome scholar strides up the steps.
“This is my betrothed. Who dares cause trouble?”
What?!
Without another word, the scholar scoops him up and carries him off on horseback.
“My dear betrothed, have you forgotten so quickly? That night, I saved you from a ghost marriage, and you climbed into my bed. What, now that we’ve slept together, you don’t want me anymore?”
Lin Zenan watches as the admirers who were just so aggressive fall silent and quietly scatter. His eyes widen until they are rounder than the longans in his hand.
Has he really caught the eye of some King of Hell?
Pretty much.
The moment they see the horse’s forehead ornament, everyone steps back.
What difference is there between provoking him and provoking the King of Hell?
The least ambitious and most carefree prince in the empire: Zhao Che.
[Sunny, soft and cute cake-like bottom × cunning, proud, ferocious dog-like top]
Reader’s guide:
1. Lighthearted food story.
2. Set in an alternate Song dynasty.
3. Both leads are sexually inexperienced. The top’s carefree attitude is just a facade; in truth, he is a hidden dragon biding his time and quietly gathering strength.
Theme: Live happily
