With only 3 days left until Xiaoyao Tower opened, Du Heng shut the front doors and started “closed-door taste-testing,” and not only were ordinary customers turned away, even the Ministry of Works officials who came to supervise the site were stopped outside.
He knew perfectly well that this was not some small pre-opening fuss for an ordinary restaurant, but the first official debut of his “gewu principles”… if it succeeded, the common people would believe in this logic, but if it failed, all the hardship he had endured before would be wasted.
Princess Changle arrived early, and she even brought along 2 elderly master chefs from the Imperial Food Office, both with hair already white, to serve as judges.
She wore a lotus-purple everyday outfit, and she did not put on any of those fancy accessories in her hair, only pinning in a white magnolia, and she smiled as she leaned close to Du Heng and teased him on purpose: “So, Master Craftsman Du, if today’s dishes don’t pass, my Father Emperor won’t acknowledge you as his future imperial son-in-law!”
Du Heng was not flustered at all, and he smiled and cupped his hands: “Princess, please rest assured, because today’s dishes are all made for the common people of Great Tang… no flashy tricks, only honest flavors that can be learned, can be promoted, and that the people can eat every day without getting tired of them.”
The back kitchen was extremely lively, and 10 iron woks flared up at once, with firelight bright enough to make the whole room look like daytime.
Du Heng personally manned the main stove, whipping the ladle in his hand so fast it blurred; A Ruan stood beside him passing seasonings, moving like a gust of wind, giving salt when asked for salt and sauce when asked for sauce without delaying even a moment; the waiters carried dishes with featherlight steps, without even the sound of plates clinking; Old Zhou held a little notebook and kept accounts at the side, clearly recording who stir-fried which dish and how much ingredients were used, and the entire back kitchen was as orderly as a well-trained elite force.
The first round served the main dishes first, a full 30 of them, and the judges’ eyes went wide at the sight.
The first dish was “Xiaoyao Pork,” with pork belly cut into neat little cubes and slowly braised over soy sauce, honey, and ginger slices for 3 shichen, and when it was brought out it gleamed with oil and looked appetizing.
One old master chef picked up a piece and put it into his mouth, closed his eyes and savored it for a long while, and only then sighed and said, “This flavor is far too rich and mellow, and the heat control is just right, even better than the palace’s imperial braised pork! And it is not fishy or greasy at all, so even elderly people with bad teeth can eat it.”
Next came “Kung Pao Chicken,” with chicken thigh cut into little cubes and stir-fried with zhuyu, minced garlic, and sweet-and-sour seasonings, and the moment it hit the table you could smell its tangy, spicy, fresh fragrance.
Changle picked up a chopsticks’ worth and put it in her mouth, coughed lightly from the heat, yet smiled until her eyes curved: “This spicy kick is truly satisfying! It is like a young man’s bold spirit, rushing straight to the top of your head in an instant… so exhilarating!”
When “fish-fragrant eggplant” came up, an old master chef from the Imperial Food Office froze, lifted a piece to taste it, and asked in surprise, “What method is this? You did not add fish, so how does it have a fish fragrance?”
Du Heng smiled as he explained, “When pickles ferment, they produce lactic acid and esters, and that smell is a bit like fish sauce, so it is called ‘fish-fragrant,’ and doing it this way can save a lot of costs too.”
As soon as “Apricot-Fragrant Soft-Scrambled Eggs” was brought out, a fresh apricot scent rose to the nose.
It used freshly picked green apricots that were pitted and diced, then stir-fried with eggs and a bit of honey for seasoning, and the eggs were so tender they were like congealed cream.
When Changle tried it for the first time, the sourness made her frown slightly, but then her eyes lit up: “This flavor is so fresh, like spring apricot blossoms blooming and falling right into the bowl, neither cloying nor bland, it is wonderful!”
“Cucumber Stir-Fried with Cured Meat” used cucumber sliced into pieces and stir-fried with cured meat Du Heng made himself, and the cucumber was crisp while the cured meat was salty and fragrant, making it especially good at cutting greasiness.
Old Zhou took a bite and nodded repeatedly: “This dish is best for summer, and the common people will definitely like it… cucumbers are cheap and easy to grow, and cured meat can be stored all winter, so this pairing is far too clever.”
As each dish was brought to the table, a “gewu note” was also placed beside it, written on plain paper, with both words and simple drawings.
The slip for “Xiaoyao Pork” said, “Braise over low heat, and proteins break down into amino acids, so it tastes fresh; fat melts, so it feels rich without being greasy”; the slip for “Kung Pao Chicken” said, “Zhuyu contains pungent compounds that stimulate the taste buds and increase appetite; sweet-and-sour balances the heat and also protects the stomach”; the page for “fish-fragrant eggplant” said, “The lactic acid bacteria in pickles ferment to produce fragrance, which can replace fish to boost umami, and costs can drop by 70%”; the slip for “Apricot-Fragrant Soft-Scrambled Eggs” explained, “Green apricots have natural fruit acids that bind with the proteins in egg whites, making the texture more tender; honey neutralizes sourness and adds layers to the taste”; and “Cucumber Stir-Fried with Cured Meat” said, “Cucumbers have high water content, and quick stir-frying preserves crispness; cured meat is already salty and fragrant, so there is no need to add extra salt.”
The judges ate while reading the slips, nodding in surprise again and again.
An old master chef from the Imperial Food Office stroked his beard and said, “I have wielded the wok for 40 years, and only today did I learn that cooking can have so much reasoning to it, because a dish can truly hide great principles within it!”
After the first round of main dishes, before everyone had even recovered, the second round of “special blended sauces” was brought out.
Du Heng carried out 5 clay jars sealed with wax, and each jar had a handwritten label pasted on it.
“Changle chili sauce” was made by fermenting zhuyu, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce together for 7 days, and it was spicy yet fragrant, with a sweet finish after you swallowed; “Rose Fermented Tofu” was tofu fermented and then mixed with rose dew, bringing a rose-like light sweetness into its salty fragrance, making it perfect with porridge; “sesame sauce” was made by roasting flaxseed until fragrant and grinding it into powder, then mixing in a bit of honey, and it was especially fragrant tossed with noodles without being greasy; “garlic soy sauce” dissolved garlic’s pungent compounds into soy sauce, so it could both sterilize and enhance umami, and eating it in summer could also prevent diarrhea; and “Xiaoyao sweet sauce” was simmered with maltose, fermented black beans, and cinnamon together, made specifically to pair with grilled meat, with a sweet-salty intertwining that soaked in deeply.
Changle picked up “Changle chili sauce,” scooped a spoonful and mixed it into white rice, then ate 3 mouthfuls in one go, and her eyes even turned a little moist: “This taste… is like the chili sauce my Mother Empress used to make.”
It turned out that Empress Zhangsun lived in Luoyang when she was young, and she often used zhuyu to make chili sauce to eat with rice, but later she stopped because of a qi ailment, and before she died she still muttered about “the fragrance of zhuyu.”
Today, tasting this familiar flavor, Changle suddenly remembered her mother.
She then picked up a chopsticks’ worth of “Apricot-Fragrant Soft-Scrambled Eggs” and said softly, “This dish is light and moistening, and when my Mother Empress’s qi ailment flared up back then, it would have been just right for her… its sourness can open stagnation, eggs can nourish yin, and honey can also moisten the lungs.”
The third round was to set the menu.
Everyone repeatedly tasted and discussed the 30 main dishes plus more than 10 kinds of snacks and drinks, and only then did they finalize the menu: 18 main dishes, including 10 meat dishes, and besides Xiaoyao Pork, Kung Pao Chicken, and 胡瓜cured meat, there were also scallion-braised crucian carp and sauce-fried pork liver that common people often ate; 8 vegetarian dishes, including fish-fragrant eggplant, Apricot-Fragrant Soft-Scrambled Eggs, stir-fried shepherd’s purse, and mapo tofu; 12 kinds of snacks, with items like a cured meat platter, dried rose fruit, mint candy, sesame crisps, and flaxseed cakes all on the list; 6 kinds of drinks, including rose dew, sour plum drink, ginger tea, apricot cream, flaxseed drink, and soy milk, with both hot and cold options; and the sauces were the 5 kinds they had just tasted, among which “Changle chili sauce” could also be bought separately for 10 wen per jar.
They also thought through the pricing of each dish especially well, so that both poor and rich could accept it: main dishes ranged from 20 to 50 wen, and for individual seating you could even order a half portion, spending just over 10 wen to try something new; snacks were 5 to 10 wen, and buying a sesame crisp as a nibble was not expensive either; sauces were 10 wen per jar, and if you bought 3 jars you got 1 jar free, making it especially cost-effective.
“Commoners can try something new, and the rich can eat comfortably,” Du Heng said with a smile, “because you can spend 5 wen for a simple meal, or spend 100 wen for a decent banquet, and everyone can find something that suits them.”
Changle nodded, and her eyes suddenly lit up as she offered an idea: “Why not set up a ‘princess set meal’ with Xiaoyao Pork, Kung Pao Chicken, and Apricot-Fragrant Soft-Scrambled Eggs, plus 1 jar of Changle chili sauce, priced at 100 wen, and you also give a glass cup as a gift… engraving ‘gewu zhizhi’ on the bottom of the cup.”
“Brilliant!” Du Heng understood at once, “Use the set meal to attract customers, use the glass cup to make everyone remember to come back and buy again, and you can even use the cup to spread the reasoning of gewu, achieving 3 gains in one move!”
By the time the taste-testing ended, the moon had already risen overhead, and the stove fires slowly died down, but the fragrance inside the room still curled around the beams without dispersing.
Changle did not leave in a hurry, staying in the back kitchen to watch Du Heng wash the woks and wipe the stoves, and his movements were especially earnest as he polished every wok until it shone.
“Are you tired?” Changle asked softly, her voice much gentler than usual.
“When there is something to hope for in my heart, I do not feel tired,” Du Heng said with a smile as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, “because I am just hoping that we open tomorrow and the common people can taste this honest, worldly warmth.”
Changle stared into his eyes and said seriously, “When we open tomorrow, I will disguise myself as an ordinary diner and sit in the 1st floor individual seating.”
“Princess, your status is noble, so it is not very appropriate to sit in the individual seating…” Du Heng said, a little worried.
“I want to see with my own eyes how the common people assess your dishes, and how they view your gewu reasoning,” Changle cut him off, her gaze especially firm, “if Xiaoyao Tower succeeds, you will be Great Tang’s number 1 craftsman; if it fails… then at worst I will go back with you to Dujiawa to farm, and we will eat your stir-fried shepherd’s purse every day!”
Du Heng felt his heart grow hot all at once, and he only said one sentence: “I definitely will not let you down.”
The night wind blew in through the window, carrying a trace of leftover warmth from the stove fires.
A Ruan quietly brought over 2 cups of mint tea and set them by their hands; Old Zhou was still in the accounting office checking the final entry of the taste-testing accounts; and the waiters were not idle either, still practicing calling out dish names in the courtyard, their voices bright and catchy.
The fragrance of those 30 dishes seemed to have already drifted out of Xiaoyao Tower, drifting toward the streets and alleys of Chang’an and into countless households… and not a single one of these dishes came from later generations, yet every dish flashed with the light of gewu: using reasoning to season good flavors, using practicality to embody beauty, and putting the common people’s needs first.
Tomorrow morning at the chen hour, Xiaoyao Tower’s doors were going to open, and customers would come in an endless stream.
A bowl of Xiaoyao Pork, a plate of Kung Pao Chicken, and a jar of Changle chili sauce looked like ordinary food, yet they were about to open a different era… gewu was not only for studying objects, but could also be woven into everyday food; and a flourishing age was not only the splendor of the court, but was also hidden in the common people’s 3 daily meals and in every bite of hot rice.