act40side

Blaze, what do you think of this one?

Mm... not bad!

What I mean is, do these tangerine cakes taste like the ones you remember?

Umm... well... not exactly.

They're still not as sweet as the ones I had before. They also don't have quite the same mouth feel.

That's strange. This place uses traditional cooking methods. Their snacks are definitely authentic. They haven't changed their recipes in one hundred years.

One hundred years? Have tangerine cakes even been around that long?

No, tangerine cakes are not quite that old, but many famous Baizao snacks do have quite a long history.

The tangerine cake you are looking for were actually invented by a scholar who came to Baizao to study in its early years.

The scholar's hometown was famous for its tangerines. After he moved to Baizao, he missed those tangerines. It was too far to go home and get them, so he improvised.

He smashed up some old, dried tangerine peels and made them into dough, added some sugar, shortening, and spices, and baked them. It was a cheap, easy way to get his tangerine fix.

He gave the recipe to his landlord in lieu of paying rent. He even wrote a small poem about them, 'These tangerine cakes are bright and fresh, just like the orange groves back home.'

After the scholar passed the imperial examination and assumed office, the tangerine cakes became very famous. People began to view them as a symbol of homesickness.

Interesting...

Symbolic food. First time I've ever heard something like that.

Yan is a vast land, with many different climate zones, each with their own cash crops and produce. That's why there are many different types of Yanese cuisine. You can trace all of Yan's history through its food.

For example, Yan's Four Major Cuisines match up with its Four Great Restaurants, which predate Baizao's transformation into a nomadic city.

Cities develop, but flavors remain. It would be odd to find any snack without its own bit of history behind it.

One of my colleagues told me that there are many different kinds of Tianshis in Yan. You know so much about food, you must be some kind of Tasty Food Tianshi, right?

If there really was such an individual, someone who could use Arts to transform stones into vegetables, that might be worth studying, eh?

Alas, I am just an amateur foodie. I like to take notes on the food I eat, and its history. Over the years, I've compiled several notebooks full of such information.

To put it another way, Blaze, if there really were a better recipe for tangerine cakes out there, surely someone here would know about it.

But I'm telling you! The ones I had when I was younger, they were sweeter, and just better!

That really is rather odd...

Traditional tangerine cakes emphasize the fresh essence of the tangerines, not the taste of their pulp. Very little sugar is used, because tangerine cakes are supposed to be a light snack.

You're telling me you've eaten much sweeter tangerine cakes, and I'm telling you that I've never heard of such a thing.

Maybe we can ask one of the chefs around here to try cooking up a batch with extra sugar, so you can compare?

But even if we do that, it doesn't prove that the sweeter variety of tangerine cakes ever actually existed before.

What I want to know is, how did the taste of these tangerine cakes change during their journey from Baizao to Victoria. I'm sure there's a story there somewhere.

It seems you're just as much of a foodie as I am.

I was afraid you'd get tired of traipsing off to all these restaurants.

You're the guide. You lead, I follow.

Alright then. Let's keep looking!

My word, look at the time! We should have lunch first.

Hmm? Lunch?

Yes. It's lunchtime. Shouldn't we have some lunch?

But I just finished eating snacks from five different restaurants!

Snacks are snacks, but lunch is lunch. You must have a proper lunch, you know!

I don't think my tummy has any more room for lunch...

Haha. I know one restaurant that I can guarantee won't make your tummy ache.

Will you give it a try?

You're the foodie here, so I, and my stomach, trust you!

Hmm?

What's wrong?

I feel like... we're being followed.

You... you're... an Imperial Guard?

No, no, no. Without darksteel armor, I'm not a proper member of the Imperial Guards. Officially, I'm a captain serving with the Yulin Guards.

Deputy Minister Lin, I doubt you'd want to encounter anyone wearing darksteel armor anyway, certainly not in broad daylight.

I once heard Taihe mention that there is a 'junior drillmaster' serving in the ranks the Imperial Guard apprentices. She's very young, but skilled beyond her years.

That must be you. You're the junior drillmaster.

Hmph. I guess Taihe's still sore that I beat him in a couple matches last month. There's no need for name calling, though.

No matter. I'd like to ask you, what are you doing here?

I'm investigating a case.

Does that case have anything to do with the former Minister of Rites? Has the Judicial Review Office issued you a search warrant?

You're just a drillmaster. You have no authority to question whatever warrants I may or may not have, do you?

You have no authority to question my authority. Just answer my questions, please.

...Very well.

I heard you were on a long business trip just recently. You left Baizao for a while, did you not?

That's right. I went to go question a witness in an old case and update the case files.

What old case? From when? What witness? Why are you just investigating it now?

I don't understand your line of questioning.

If the Yulin Guards want to investigate the Judicial Review Office, I'll go submit the necessary documentation immediately.

If that still isn't enough for you, I can have the Minister of the Judicial Review Office report to the Yulin Guards for questioning.

My questions have nothing to do with the Judicial Review Office. They only concern you, Deputy Minister Lin.

So you went to investigate an old case. What did you learn?

...Too much time has passed, so the trail has gone cold. I didn't learn anything.

Nothing? Really? Are you sure?

Nothing.

Alright. I believe you. However, remember that you are speaking to the Yulin Guards here. Your answers carry great weight.

Very good. I'm done discussing official business for now.

So you still have some personal business you wish to discuss?

Taihe, that dumb Forte, told me he doesn't have many friends in government. Well, you now count as one.

Well, I must warn you, don't stick your neck out too far.

Your worries are unfounded. I'm just pursuing the truth here, as it is my job to do. I'm not putting myself at any additional risk.

...Very good.

Give Taihe my regards.

They are questioning why I'm here. Well, why are the Yulin Guards here?

Their presence here, I think, is proof that I'm on the right track.

Phew—

Boy, am I stuffed. I never would have guessed that a roadside stand could make such amazing wontons. They're certainly better than the ones in the Rhodes Island cafeteria freezer!

I'm so stuffed that I want to just take a nap right here. Ah... nng...

After eating all that greasy street food, a nice, hearty bowl of wontons is the perfect thing to settle your stomach.

The famous restaurants need no introduction. As your guide in Baizao, I figured I'd share some of my favorite lesser-known food spots.

Well I'm lucky to have found such a good tour guide. Thank you!

Well, I'm also glad to have found a culinary companion. I tend to eat alone, which means I can only order one or two entrees for myself.

You know what they say, 'the more the merrier.' Now that I'm here, you can order as much food as you want.

Speaking of food, what is in these wontons, anyway? They're fantastic!

Just meat and celery. The key ingredient is the soup!

Most places use shellbeast caviar in wonton soup to enhance the flavor. Unfortunately, the finniness of the caviar crowds out the other flavors.

This place uses soybean sprouts instead. This makes for a milder soup, which allows the flavor of the wontons to shine!

The meat filling for the wontons is fresh beast belly. After the wontons are cooked, the bits of fat will naturally seep into the soup.

These wontons are light, yet delicious. They are made of high-quality ingredients which are hard to find elsewhere.

Well, do these wontons have a history? Do tell.

Not really. I just really like this particular wonton shop, I guess.

When I get writer's block, or need a little pick-me-up, I come here and eat a bowl of wontons.

The shopkeeper has been making wontons her whole life. She used to own this shop together with her husband.

Her husband fell ill and passed away, leaving her to raise her child alone. Later, her son joined the army, but he died in a Catastrophe up north several years ago.

She's still running the place all by herself. She says she wants to continue the family legacy and preserve their authentic taste.

What a sad story.

There are many such sad stories. There is no joy without pain.