Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

Upon arriving in the kitchen, Li Xingzhi first prepared some garlic, chili peppers, and a pot of soup. Then he heated the oil, took out several pieces of black, smelly tofu, rinsed them in water, and then put the tofu directly into the oil.

Before long, a wonderful aroma wafted from the oil pan, causing Li Xingzhi to take a deep breath—this was the smell.

Once the tofu floated to the surface, he scooped out a few pieces and placed them on a plate that had been prepared beforehand. After waiting a while, he scooped out a few more pieces and placed them on another plate. Finally, he scooped out the remaining pieces and placed them on a third plate.

He sprinkled some bright green scallions on each small dish, then drizzled oil over them. At this moment, the stinky tofu sizzled, and an even stronger aroma wafted out, making Li Xingzhi's mouth water.

Ignoring the chubby boy staring at him, he picked up a piece of stinky tofu, chewed it, and found it to be just right!

Seeing Li Xingzhi's blissful expression and smelling the strange aroma mixed with scallions and garlic, the chubby boy gritted his teeth, picked up a piece of dark, stinky tofu, stuffed it into his mouth, and gently bit down—"crack!"—the crispy outer shell broke open, releasing the unique aroma inside, a truly distinctive flavor mixed with the taste of scallions and garlic!

What was originally an unpleasant odor had now become a mouthwatering and irresistible treat! The chubby boy opened his mouth wide and chewed fiercely, not even bothering to greet Li Xingzhi, before reaching for the other two plates of stinky tofu.

The first dish of stinky tofu was tender inside and out, with a stronger pungent smell. It was white inside and only slightly warm. The last dish, on the other hand, was crispy inside and out. The original pungent smell of the stinky tofu had been reduced, and it had more of the aroma of scallions and garlic.

While eating stinky tofu, Li Xingzhi thought of something else—pickled mustard greens.

He remembered that when he was a child, at the stinky tofu stall, he and his group of kids not only liked to eat stinky tofu, but also liked to eat the tender pickled mustard greens cut into small squares and cooked in the oily broth of the stinky tofu. They would always ask the auntie selling stinky tofu to give them extra.

I don't know if pickled mustard tubers are in the system. I'll need to spend some time looking for them. After all, there are too many things in the system, and they're all very disorganized!

He looked at the pitiful few pieces of stinky tofu on the plate and quickly pulled the chubby boy away, saying, "If you want to eat, make your own food. It's not a big deal."

As she spoke, she ordered a servant to bring a lunchbox, packed the remaining pieces of stinky tofu into it, and then attached the recipe, instructing the plump aunt to deliver it to the "Tofu Beauty."

Upon arriving at the main hall, Ouyang Xun was discussing matters with Wang Xiucai. When they saw Li Xingzhi approaching, they both stood up.

Knowing that the library had just been established and there were still many things to sort out, Li Xingzhi didn't want to waste any more time and asked Wang Xiucai directly, "Sir, do you know of a wealthy family surnamed Zhao in Tanzhou City?"

"I've heard of him, but I don't know much about him." Li Xingzhi was somewhat disappointed when Wang Xiucai added, "However, I'm sure Young Master Ouyang knows quite a lot!"

At this moment, Ouyang Xun said, "Young master, do you still remember what happened at the alley entrance that day?" Li Xingzhi's heart skipped a beat, knowing he was referring to the day he was driven out. Without waiting for Li Xingzhi to speak, he continued, "That was the Zhao family!" His tone was quite cold.

At this point, a hint of resentment crept into his voice, something rarely seen in Ouyang Xun, who was usually a gentleman! He must have suffered quite a bit of humiliation at the Zhao family's hands.

According to Ouyang Xun, the Zhao family had five sons, but only the third son held an official position in the capital. The rest were all good-for-nothings, and the eldest son was particularly absurd and muddle-headed, almost causing his father to die of anger and making a huge fool of himself. He was kicked out of the family because he had stumbled upon the eldest son's disgraceful deeds.

Upon hearing this, Li Xingzhi disregarded the Zhao family's situation. He summoned Sun Er, the most clever of his servants, and ordered him to take a few other servants to protect Madam Yu and her child. As for the Zhao family patriarch…

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Madam Yu prepared some thin porridge, and the two children were already sitting down, swallowing their saliva, waiting to eat.

Just then, there was another knock on the door, and Madam Yu's heart jumped.

She peeked through the crack in the door and saw a woman standing in front of it, which eased her anxiety a little.

She carefully opened the wooden door, which was already somewhat worn out, and saw a well-dressed old woman standing in front of the door, carrying a box.

When the fat aunt saw the door open, she sized up the beautiful young woman in front of her, her mind seemingly wandering to some unknown gossip, and stood there lost in thought.

Feeling a little uneasy under the plump aunt's scrutiny, Madam Yu asked in a low voice, "What can I do for you, Auntie?"

Aunt Pang then came to her senses and slapped her forehead somewhat embarrassedly, "Look at me, I forgot about the important matter!" With that, she stuffed the food box into Madam Yu's hands, and without waiting for Madam Yu's reply, she said, "This was sent by my husband!" With that, she walked away.

By the time Madam Yu came to her senses, Aunt Pang had already vanished.

She looked around at the door, still unsure what had happened. Looking at the food box in her hand, she felt somewhat lost. The image of the young man from earlier flashed through her mind…

Madam Yu closed the door and returned to the kitchen. At this moment, Erxiao followed her in. She opened the food box, and there was a piece of paper on it. She looked at it and it seemed to be a recipe for a dish, but it was incomplete and unclear.

She opened the next layer, and steam rose out, along with a strange smell that made her frown. Ignoring her discomfort, she looked into the food box. In the center was a delicate, milky-white dish with several black chunks on it, garnished with some bright red ingredients and a few green scallions—quite a beautiful sight!

At this moment, the two little children next to them also looked over curiously, swallowed their saliva, and the discomfort caused by the smell could not stop the unbearable hunger. They asked in their childish and clear voices, "Mom, is this food? It smells awful!" As they spoke, they swallowed their saliva.

Yu glanced at the two children beside her, gritted her teeth, picked up a dark-colored object with her chopsticks, and gently bit into it. A flavor similar to tofu but softer and more lingering came from her tongue, along with the spicy aroma of scallions and garlic, making her reluctant to let go.

She ate a piece, and seeing that nothing was wrong, she handed it to Erxiao.

The two children couldn't wait to pick up their chopsticks, each grabbing a piece and finishing it in a few bites. Then they were about to grab more chopsticks when they noticed their mother standing beside them, not touching her chopsticks. "Mother, you eat too!" The two children said, swallowing hard as they looked at their mother.

"You two eat, Mother doesn't like it!" Looking at her two children's innocent and adorable appearance, Madam Yu threw all her worries to the wind.

"Why doesn't Your Majesty like to eat such delicious food?" The two children asked with puzzled expressions, swallowing hard as they spoke.

"So you have to finish it all." Hearing the two children's clear voices, Madam Yu's heart melted. She patted their heads and said.

Watching the two children happily eating, she picked up the piece of paper next to her, looked at it again and again, and remembered the bucket of rotten tofu that the young man had taken away earlier. She then understood and decided to try making some more rotten tofu in a couple of days.

The next day, Madam Yu made a lot of tofu and took it to her stall in the city to sell. After opening the stall, she looked around worriedly, but she didn't see the same few market bullies from the previous days. Before long, she sold a lot of tofu.

Several women who regularly bought tofu from her saw that Yu was free and started gossiping again. One said that the local bullies who used to run rampant in the city had their legs broken, and another said that the patriarch of the Zhao family had offended a powerful figure and had his mouth gagged and his limbs broken at home... As the women talked, they all stared at Yu. "Oh my, my good sister! Do you have some powerful relative? I only started bothering you because of that old beast, and now look what happened."

The gossipy women were starting to doubt themselves.

Only Madam Yu felt a thought, a figure flashing through her mind, but she immediately shook her head and remained silent...

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Chapter 2 is here!

Please add this to your favorites! I'm just 30 short of 3,000 words, I wonder if I can reach that number today~~