A Day Laborer at the Dali Temple (Food)

My food-themed novel, The Imperial College’s Biggest Eater, is now serializing in my author profile! The story has undergone major revisions. The official version is on Jinjiang, and I’m not responsible for pirated copies. Blurb: Everyone at the Court of Judicial Review is busy every day, but the food is so awful it’s downright appalling! Today it’s stir-fried greens with oranges; tomorrow, grapes stewed with potatoes. The officials have suffered through the cafeteria for far too long. One day, a job notice went up outside the Court of Judicial Review. It had just one requirement: be a good cook. Li Shuhe, a food blogger, transmigrates to another world. She’s just arrived and has no money to her name. Luckily, she spots a job opening at the Court of Judicial Review as soon as she gets there. The only requirement is being a good cook. What a perfect fit! A government job, with a guaranteed position! She’s in! So she applies on the spot. [Diary of an employee at the Court of Judicial Review] May 21, sunny The new cook, Lady Li, really is a culinary genius. The cafeteria used to be deserted, but now there’s a long line. Sigh! I almost didn’t get any food today! Major Heat, sunny The sun was scorching, and we came back drenched in sweat after investigating a case. Luckily, there was chilled fruit yogurt waiting for us as soon as we returned to the Court of Judicial Review. Even Lu, the Junior Minister, who usually has no appetite, ate three bowls! October 15, heavy rain Lady Li took the day off, and the cafeteria was quiet again. Even workaholic Junior Minister Lu seemed distracted while investigating his case. How strange! Start of Winter, light snow Lady Li made a new kind of hot pot, and we all sat together to cook and eat. She even put quite a bit of food in Junior Minister Lu’s bowl, but why is his face so red? He must not be used to spicy food... Sixteen years ago, Li Shuhe’s father mysteriously disappeared. It was only after she came to work at the Court of Judicial Review to uncover the truth that she discovered... The victims dismembered in brothels, and the successive sudden deaths of professors and clerks at the Imperial College... They all seemed connected to the truth behind her father’s “flight to escape punishment.” [A few things to know] 1. The dynasty is fictional, and I’ve made up a lot of details. Please don’t take them too seriously. 2. A slow-paced, everyday food story with a little detective work. 3. I hope all the lovely readers who clicked in enjoy plenty of good food and drink. ---------------Upcoming Novel----------------- Below is the blurb for my upcoming novel, The First Culinary Cultivator in the Immortal Realm. Please visit my author profile and add it to your favorites! Sui Yu transmigrates into a cultivation novel where the heroine is doted on by everyone, becoming a tool-like senior sister. Whenever her junior sister cries, she gets scolded. Whenever her junior sister is badly hurt, she gets punished. And when her junior sister reaches Foundation Establishment, Sui Yu will be carved up to make a pill as a medicinal ingredient. Sui Yu’s heart sinks. She packs her things and makes a run for it in the middle of the night. She’s done being a cannon-fodder tool! It isn’t until she’s on the road down the mountain that Sui Yu finally has time to check the cheat she just activated. A Culinary God Training System?? Wait, what... She looks at the pots, bowls, rice, oil, salt, and firewood in the beginner’s gift pack. Her silence is deafening. At the System’s urging, Sui Yu finally begins her culinary showcase. She grabs a hoe and plants a field, unexpectedly harvesting an entire mu of spiritual plants. She swings a spatula and stir-fries a dish, filling the food with spiritual energy. When she raises pigs and lets them roam the mountains, every piglet grows plump and strong enough to take down a demon with one charge. Before long, Sui Yu’s name has spread throughout the cultivation world. Cultivators shake their heads. Who cultivates like this? Her former senior brothers see her hauling water, spreading fertilizer, raising fish, and growing vegetables every day, and they all mock her: Look! She’s clearly destitute and idle now that she’s left the sect. Then, at the once-in-a-century gathering of the immortal sects, Sui Yu wins the championship with a cleaver in hand, and elders from every sect treat her with great respect. Everyone: “???” Wait, why isn’t the story unfolding the way we thought it would?! Theme: Food is essential to the people.