Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 23
Translated by Serena Love
Edited by Azure and unsaltedfish
Chapter 23: Lunch Box
Xie Xun woke up late again. Although he had slept soundly last night, it was difficult for him to get up in the morning.
He washed and dressed in a hurry. Unsuspectingly, his memory suddenly awakened, and all the bits and pieces from last night poured into his mind.
He was still wearing his robe hurriedly, but suddenly his whole body was stunned as if he had been tapped in his acupuncture points. The sleeves of his clothes were still in his hands, and his figure froze.
Seeing him freeze, Zhi Mo was confused. He hurriedly stepped forward to remind him, "Master, it's going to be late for work..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Xie Xun's abnormal appearance.
His fair face was stained with a gorgeous blush. It was hot, and the heat misted his eyes.
His black eyes were bright and watery, his brows frowning, and his expression kept changing, finally turning to annoyance and shame.
"Master?"
Zhi Mo called him again, and Xie Xun regained his senses. His face was hot, and he panicked even more, rushing out in his disheveled clothes.
"Master, the jade pendant!"
"Master, the belt is not fastened yet."
"Master, the neckline! The neckline!"
Xie Xun rushed headfirst in the front, and the two young men rushed behind him. Suddenly, he saw someone's silhouette and ran to the side in fright, then plunged into the bushes.
Zhi Yan and Zhi Mo were dumbfounded. They suspected that they were still dreaming. This was their calm and rigid master! How is it possible that he could do things like hiding in the bushes!
When they looked in the direction that Xie Xun was avoiding, they saw the beautiful and bright third lady who was coming in their direction.
Seeing the two dumbfounded in place, Jiang Shuyao was unavoidably confused and asked, "Where is your lord?" The two did not know how to answer.
Zhi Mo's brain was slightly blunt, and he subconsciously raised his hand and pointed towards the pile of trees.
Zhi Yan held him down and smiled stiffly, "Answering Madam, the master has already left."
Jiang Shuyao tilted her head, "Really? How come I didn't see him? I thought he hadn't gotten up." She muttered quietly, "I also told him that I will make food."
Xie Xun couldn't hear the conversation. He stumbled and ran to the moon gate quickly, intending to take this opportunity to slip away.
Zhi Mo and Zhi Yan saw that Xie Xun was about to pass the moon gate. However, Jiang Shuyao happened to turn around after speaking and immediately caught him.
"Xie Xun!" Jiang Shuyao stopped him and walked forward with the lunch box.
Xie Xun stiffened. He turned around helplessly, trying to pretend that it was a chance encounter.
"Where were you from? I didn't see you just now." Jiang Shuyao asked smoothly.
Xie Xun didn't know how to lie. His scalp was numb, and he secretly vowed that he would never drink again in the future.
Fortunately, Jiang Shuyao didn't care about this issue. Instead, she said, "Last night..."
Xie Xun was most afraid of her mentioning this, and quickly stopped her, "I was abrupt last night, so... forget it." Thinking he was greedy and followed her for food, and acted like a baby to make her cook for him, he felt ashamed.
Jiang Shuyao was stunned when she heard the words, she covered her mouth and laughed, "What was abrupt?" How does that matter have anything to do with being abrupt?
Zhi Yan's eyes widened when he heard this. ‘Last night? Abrupt?’ Thinking of how the master came back drunk last night...
He bit the tip of his tongue abruptly, ‘My Lord has lost his innocence!’
‘What's going on, was it because the Master's mind was in chaos after drinking or was it because Madam was taking advantage of him?’
Zhi Yan was thinking wildly, almost forgetting to come forward and help Xie Xun.
Xie Xun was even more embarrassed by Jiang Shuyao's smile, and his face was red like it was bleeding.
Jiang Shuyao put her smile away and stuffed the lunch box into his hand, "It was late last night, so I didn't have enough time to prepare. I just made something random this morning. If you are hungry, you can eat it, but it's cold. The lunch box is not insulated, I am still trying to improve it." As she said that, she was a little proud and her eyebrows were very bright. "It is estimated that a new lunch box can be made tonight, and you can bring hot meals tomorrow."
Xie Xun was holding the handle of the lunch box in his hand. He felt hot, and the blue veins on the back of his hand were looming. He was afraid that he would not be able to grasp it without force, but he was afraid that the handle would be broken by too much force.
He didn't expect Jiang Shuyao to be so attentive and was a little surprised. Seeing her full-fledged look, he panicked again. He didn't dare to look closely and couldn't say anything. He could only say dryly, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jiang Shuyao laughed again, "You said I can't go back on my words."
Xie Xun's face burned again, desperately scolding himself to be calmer. Why was he like this! How embarrassing!
He wanted to escape, but his feet were firmly stuck to the ground, unable to move.
In this scene, Zhi Yan could see that his master should be in a hurry, he can't be delayed, he is going to be late!
But Xie Xun was still standing there, stubbornly saying, "Thanks for your hard work."
"It's nothing."
"I will definitely finish it."
"Well, you don't have to, it's not good to eat too much."
"... Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes."
Zhi Yan couldn't stand it anymore, "Master! It's late!" Where did the graceful and unwavering master go?
Xie Xun was taken aback. He looked up at the sky, and said to Jiang Shuyao, "I'm going now!"
Before she could say anything, he hurried away, but halfway through he couldn't help but look back at her.
Seeing her standing on the spot looking at him, he quickly turned around and continued to run away. His robe was flying, his hair swaying, and his figure disappeared into the bright morning light.
When Zhi Yan saw this scene, he was a little bit emotional.
His master had always been restrained and proper since childhood, carrying himself with a composed maturity far beyond his years - never elated by things, never cast down by himself. Yet today, he truly looked like a young man again.
＊
Xie Xun managed to arrive right on time and rushed to the duty room. He put the lunch box aside and started to work.
He was well-educated and talented, studied under the prime minister, and had traveled to foreign lands. Everyone followed his example and would consult with him if they encountered difficulties.
His colleague, Guan Ying, came over with a ledger. He put it on Xie Xun's desk, and asked, "Boyuan, see if there is anything weird in this. Li Fu and I have been checking it for a few days and finally—what's wrong?"
Xie Xun came back to himself, his expression calm and unruffled. Just as Guan Ying thought he was about to explain everything with confidence, Xie Xun merely asked, "Hm? What did you say?"
Ooh!
Several heads immediately popped up all around with a swish. So even Xie Boyuan could have moments of absent-mindedness, huh.
Guan Ying felt uneasy and said the first guess that came to mind, "Did something happen to the construction of the dam?"
Someone probed, "Or is the food shortage in the north still not resolved?"
"No, it should be that group of thieves making trouble again."
"Or did you study too much?"
"How is it possible? It should be..."
Xie Xun pushed away their heads helplessly, and coughed, "No, I didn't eat breakfast, and I was a little hungry."
" ..."
Someone was about to withdraw his head that was looking at the excitement, when Lin Cheng jumped out from nowhere and hit Xie Xun's shoulder with a punch, "Who are you fooling? Everyone knows you, Xie Boyuan! Even if you don't eat or drink for three days and three nights, you won't show this spaced-out appearance. Just say it, what happened?"
"I didn't lie to you, I'm hungry." Xie Xun was speechless, pushing away Lin Cheng's body.
Lin Cheng thought about Xie Xun's appearance of "drowning his sorrow with wine" last night and felt a pain in his heart.
He quickly returned to his desk and brought a pastry to Xie Xun's table, saying, "Eat some pastry to cushion your stomach."
Xie Xun had long been tired of the cakes in the East Palace and thanked Lin Cheng for his kindness.
He straightened his neckline, lifted his chin slightly, and said in a calm tone, "I brought food from home."
Lin Cheng and Xie Xun have been playing together since they were toddlers. Lin Cheng knew Xie Xun very well. He looked left and right, and he felt that his tone was weird.
He didn't think too much, and said, "I didn't expect you to bring pastries. It just so happens that you are hungry, so you should take them out and eat a few pieces."
Xie Xun ignored his last sentence and corrected him, "Not pastries."
"Not pastries? Other food is not good when it is cold. I haven't tried to bring meals for a long time."
Xie Xun was also curious about what Jiang Shuyao packed for him. He got up, picked up the lunch box from behind him, and put it on the table.
Everyone who was listening to the conversation had their ears on top their heads. Seeing Xie Xun’s movements, all their eyes collective fell upon his lunch box.
Xie Xun's mood was quite subtle for a moment.
He thought quickly, his expression was natural, and he sat down calmly, "There is nothing new, you can get busy with your matters."
Most of the people believed him, and only a few were left standing at his table and staring at him.
Xie Xun was too embarrassed to drive people away. He was a little nervous and opened the lid of the lunch box in his hand.
The top layer of the lunch box was neatly lined with a layer of seaweed rice. Each column had a different style, including assorted seaweed rice, egg yolk and pork shredded seaweed rice, sweet corn and pork floss seaweed rice, and crab filet seaweed rice.
At first glance, the bright colors of yellow, green, white, and pink were mixed with the rice balls, which were small and round. They were exquisite and novel, and people couldn’t help but wonder about their taste.
"This is rice? Could it be made like this? Will it taste good at room temperature?"
"Look at what's on the bottom layer!"
Xie Xun placed his hand on the bottom layer. He paused and held his usual coffin face, "Are you so free? Don't you need to go back to work?"
It's a pity that no one cared about what he said. If it were like usual, they may be fooled away. But how can they go away with these fancy foods here?
"Hurry up and let us have a look."
Xie Xun couldn't escape, so he could only open the bottom layer in front of them.
A porcelain bowl was filled with crystal-clear jelly, topped with red sauce and spicy oil, and sprinkled with chopped green onion. The jelly was red and green, and a faintly spicy and sour scent wafted out when the box was opened.
A small bamboo basket was also filled with salt and pepper, and crispy pork in bite-sized pieces. The skin was crispy, the color was golden, and it was cut into finger-thin strips. The surface is sprinkled with a thin layer of pepper, and two green bay leaves are placed in the middle. The aroma was overflowing. There was a light, oily smell of fried food, but there was no greasy smell.
"I haven't seen these kinds of foods yet. What are they made of?"
"Is this fried food? I'm hungry when I smell it. Do you have many chopsticks? Give me a pair."
"Wait. I'll order the meal later. Go to the dining room and ask for some vegetarian soup. I want to go with these dishes."
Xie Xun lowered his eyes, with a warm and indifferent expression, not sure what he was thinking.
Lin Cheng sighed with emotion. "The last time I met you in the morning, I was drooling over the pancakes in your hands. I didn't expect that there were newer and more delicious foods now. Where did you find the chef at your house?"
The silent Xie Xun suddenly raised his head, his thick eyelashes gleaming with shreds of bright light from his black eyes, and he said, "It wasn't the cook."
The chattering people were stunned, "Then?"
Xie Xun said, "It's my... cough... Ma... Madam." It was the first time that he said this word. He was not used to it. He feared that this lingering and intimate way of addressing her would make him ashamed and teased.
Lin Cheng saw that he still had the virtue of a cold face, but when he took a closer look, he saw that Xie Xun's mouth was pursed lightly, the corners of his mouth curled up, and his eyebrows were also stained with a shy smile.
Hiss! How terrifying!
Why did he see the shadow of his family's silly cat, who loved to bask in the sun and raise his chin when he was happy?
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