The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

The meal lasted from dawn till dusk, and everyone was reluctant to leave.

The next morning, the air was already quite chilly and damp. The surroundings were very quiet, with only the occasional crowing of roosters and barking of dogs.

In order to get back to the capital in time and reach the next post station before dark, they had to set off very early.

It was still dark when Grand Tutor Zhou and Ye Shu arrived at the entrance of Shen Family Restaurant in a carriage.

They agreed last night that they would get ready early this morning and have breakfast at Shen's Restaurant before leaving.

It wasn't yet time for Shen's Restaurant to open, but Shen's kitchen was already bustling with activity.

Dumplings on the way up, noodles on the way down.

Shen Cao made dumplings early in the morning and also prepared a lot of food for them to eat on the road.

Despite having made preparations in advance, Shen Cao only slept for two hours last night.

The door of Shen's Restaurant was ajar, and candles were lit inside.

Almost as soon as they parked the carriage, the people inside came out to greet them, clearly having been waiting for a long time.

Shen Chen quickly helped Grand Tutor Zhou down from the carriage. Ye Shu was young and didn't need anyone's help; she nimbly jumped down from the carriage.

Mr. Shen called the coachman to go inside together.

Just as they were about to head to the backyard, the coachman said, "I'll just sit here and wait for you; I won't go in."

They listened to the coachman and stopped insisting, letting him sit at the dining table in the front hall.

Grand Tutor Zhou and his entourage went to the backyard.

Mr. Shen kept the coachman company, talking and drinking tea.

As he passed by the kitchen, Grand Tutor Zhou smelled the delicious aroma.

Upon entering the main room, several small dishes were laid out on the table.

Shen Chen quickly poured a cup of hot tea for Grand Tutor Zhou.

Then, Shen's mother came in carrying two plates of white, plump, and unfamiliar food that looked like noodles.

Mother Shen smiled broadly, "Grand Tutor Zhou, this grass is called 'dumpling,' and it's said to be related to wontons."

"She always eats these dumplings before going on a long trip because their shape resembles a gold ingot, which symbolizes good luck."

"They say that eating these dumplings will bring good luck and a safe journey for you."

Grand Tutor Zhou looked at the plump dumplings and saw that they did indeed resemble ingots in shape.

It's said to be from the same company as wontons, does that mean it also has fillings? I just don't know if it tastes the same as wontons.

Shen's mother brought in two more plates of dumplings, followed by Shen Cao carrying two bowls.

Shen Cao put down the two bowls of sour soup dumplings and sat down with her mother.

"These are sour soup dumplings. It's a bit chilly in the morning, but a bowl of hot sour soup dumplings will warm you up."

"I didn't know which ones you liked, so I made them all."

"Dried dumplings can be eaten directly with chili oil and vinegar."

"Sour soup dumplings are even simpler; just like eating wontons, you drink the soup while you eat."

Grand Tutor Zhou looked at the sour soup dumplings with a layer of red chili oil floating on the surface with great interest.

He was the first to serve the sour soup dumplings.

Shen Cao went to the kitchen again and brought out two bowls of sour soup dumplings, both without chili peppers.

Shen's mother said she wasn't hungry and would eat after they left.

Indeed, it's still early. If you eat breakfast early, you'll be hungry before you've even finished your work at noon.

Shen Cao handed the two bowls of sour soup dumplings without chili peppers to her older brother and Ye Shu.

"You have a long journey ahead of you this morning, so have something hot to warm your stomach."

The sour soup dumplings lived up to their name; they smelled sour, mixed with the aroma of cilantro and sesame oil. They were indeed somewhat similar to wontons, but also different.

Shen Cao made two kinds of dumplings this time.

With the current weather, sea cucumbers are in season. She only discovered them by chance yesterday while browsing the market.

This thing looks like an insect, and it's slippery on the surface; nobody wants it.

She bought all the sea cucumbers on the stall for only five coins.

The seller was a fisherman who was sorting through his catch to sell when he picked out a basin of sea cucumbers, which he had originally planned to throw away.

Nobody eats this stuff. There's plenty of it in the sea. Every time we go fishing, we manage to haul some up with it.

Shen Cao saw the bowl of sea cucumbers in the corner of the stall before the owner had a chance to throw it away, and bought it for five coins.

It's a big basin full, weighing about four or five pounds.

Sea cucumbers are over 90% water, so there's not much left after processing.

Shen Cao bought some chives and made sea cucumber dumplings.

The other filling is the three-delicacy filling, and the shrimp have been quite plump lately.

The sour smell awakened Zhou Taishi's taste buds early in the morning.

He eagerly picked up a dumpling from the bowl, but the surface of the dumpling was so smooth that he couldn't pick it up successfully.

He watched as Shen Cao leaned closer to the bowl and used her chopsticks to put a dumpling into her mouth.

He followed her example and successfully put a dumpling into his mouth.

It was a little hot, so he lingered it in his mouth for a while before starting to chew.

He had barely taken a bite when the dumpling burst open, the juices inside scalding his tongue.

However, the accompanying delicious flavor made him reluctant to spit out the dumpling in his mouth.

He had no choice but to quickly chew two bites and swallow.

He swallowed it whole at the first bite, and that's when he tasted it.

With his previous experience, he simply gave up the chopsticks for the second bite, picked up the spoon next to him, scooped up a dumpling, blew on it, and then took a small bite.

As he bit into the dumpling, the juice inside overflowed.

He saw bright green chives inside, and something circular that he had never seen before.

"This is sea cucumber. Sea cucumber with chives makes it even more delicious."

Grand Tutor Zhou chewed carefully; the sea cucumber had a crunchy texture.

It's the taste he likes.

He ate them one after another, unable to stop.

After finishing his meal, he picked up a dried dumpling from the plate that had already cooled down.

This filling is different from the previous one; it actually contains a shrimp.

It tastes very fresh and delicious, and the texture is completely different from the sea cucumber we just ate.

This is also delicious.

He ate half a plate of three-delicacy dumplings before stopping.

The group was once again won over by Shen Cao's dumplings.

If it weren't for the Emperor himself asking him to return, Grand Tutor Zhou would have been truly reluctant to let him go.

After seeing their elder brother off and watching them disappear outside the city gate, Shen Cao and the others finally left.

Shen Cao was a little tired, so she went back to her room to sleep.

Mr. and Mrs. Shen were busy with their morning business in the front hall.

Shen Cao slept until the morning business was over before waking up.

She had just woken up when she heard a knock on the door.

"Cao'er, are you awake? Hurry up and get ready, we have guests."