I Fed the Male Lead of an Imperial Exam Novel (Food)

My next novel, "A Country Girl's Road to Prosperity," is coming soon. See the blurb below, and come take a look!

Xu Tao, from a family of imperial chefs with a century-old legacy, transmigrates into a book about the imperial examinations. She becomes a down-on-her-luck imperial chef working odd jobs at a restaurant, then gets framed and kicked out of the restaurant that used to belong to her family.

In the original story, she travels from place to place working in kitchens and saving money to file a lawsuit. Many years later, she finally meets the original male lead, the newly appointed top scholar who has become a county commandant, and wins back the restaurant. By then, however, she is already sickly, and she collapses before the restaurant can reopen.

Rather than wait for the original male lead, whose whereabouts are anyone's guess, she grits her teeth and treats the only keepsake her parents left her as capital. She starts by carrying cold noodles and dan dan noodles around the streets to sell, saving up until she can set up a stall.

Braised pork rice, soy-braised chicken, pork trotter rice, and more take turns on the menu, and her stall grows more and more popular. One day, a scholar collapses at her stall, and Xu Tao takes him to a clinic. Afterward, this scholar, whose clothes have been washed until they are faded, often comes by to eat. Every time, he orders two taels' worth of plain noodles with sauce, then drinks a free bowl of noodle soup. Xu Tao secretly gives him extra noodles, along with a little more sesame and scallion.

Half a year later, she rents a shop. The day her restaurant opens is also the day the results of the palace examination are announced. As everyone is there to offer their congratulations, the newly named top scholar sends over a gift. Everyone wonders why, until they see him arrive in his official top scholar's robes. This scholar is the male lead!

From then on, the top scholar becomes a regular, but he no longer eats two taels' worth of noodles and leaves. Every time, he stays until closing.

She thought reclaiming the restaurant would take a great deal of effort, but as it turns out, someone had remembered her offhand remarks at the stall during the Qixi Festival long ago. He volunteered to serve under the prefect, investigated the case in secret, and had the restaurant sealed after uncovering its crimes. Then he passed along the news that it was about to be auctioned to her.

On the day the restaurant opens, its regulars walk in and are astonished. "Huh? Why is the newly appointed Assistant Minister of Revenue working behind the counter as the bookkeeper?"

The story of how the down-and-out scholar I fed by chance turned out to be the male lead of an imperial-examination novel.

Blurb for my next novel, "A Country Girl's Road to Prosperity":

Jiang Ling, a craft blogger, wakes up to find that she has become a country girl with the same name in a novel.

Her parents have died, leaving her and her two younger siblings behind. Most importantly, all they have left at home is one last bowl of coarse rice and eight copper coins.

Jiang Ling takes the eight coins and heads out to buy grain. To her surprise, she learns there is a bamboo grove nearby. Her eyes light up: this is exactly what she needs! Time to put her old skills to work!

Starting with bamboo and straw weaving, she makes baskets, hampers, trays, fans, and bamboo mats. If you can imagine it, she can weave it. She starts by peddling her wares through the streets, then sets up a stall, rents a shop, and eventually opens one in the capital. With her clever hands, she weaves herself a wonderful life and uncovers the secret behind her father's early death.

The Pei family has had many members serve in the Ministry of Works. Pei Zhao's grandfather once served as Minister of Works and hopes that one of his descendants will carry on the family tradition. Unfortunately, one of his two sons is obsessed with solving cases and the other with martial arts. Among the grandchildren, only the stiff and proper Pei Zhao is good at studying and seems obedient, so his grandfather has high hopes for him.

But he's completely hopeless with his hands!

A little scene: To avoid disappointing his grandfather, Pei Zhao sneaks out on his grandfather's fiftieth birthday to buy him a present.

His playful, spendthrift cousin insists on coming along, so Pei Zhao has no choice but to bring his little tagalong. At Jiang Ling's newly opened shop, his cousin can't bear to put anything down. After buying what he came for, Pei Zhao remembers his aunt's warning and solemnly advises him, "Don't let your hobbies distract you from your duties."

Pei Zhao has always been serious and stiff, and his cousin is afraid of him, so he hangs his head and picks just one thing.

Much later, Pei Zhao visits Jiang Ling's shop in the capital every day, buying something each time.

At the end of the month, when she is doing the accounts, Pei Zhao comes by again. Jiang Ling tilts her head and smiles. "Lord Pei, don't let your hobbies distract you from your duties!"

Pei Zhao, the most upright and stern man in the Ministry of Works, turns red from his face to the tips of his ears.

Announcement: This novel will be available to read by subscription on April 7, 2023 (this Friday). There will be three chapters that day. Thank you for all your support!

Note:

1. This novel is set in an alternate mid-to-late Tang dynasty and involves transmigration into a book. It includes many original fictional details, so please just enjoy the story and don't nitpick or argue over them.

2. Protecting wild plants and animals is everyone's responsibility. Any unavoidable scenes involving the wilderness in this novel concern harmless species in a parallel world and are included only to serve the story. Please keep the historical context in mind and do not imitate anything!

The blurb was screenshotted on April 14, 2022.

Theme: Self-reliance, self-improvement, and preserving traditional culture