At twelve o’clock noon, a heavenly aroma drifted across Central Scholar Avenue.
The fragrance was rich, savory, and sweet. It smelled of slow-simmered Nine-Turn Dragon-Marrow Pork, crystal Pure-Lotus Shrimp Wontons, and freshly steamed golden buns stuffed with five-grain honey.
The intoxicating steam rolled out from the wide, open windows of Taichu Immortal University’s Grand Dining Pavilion, wafting across the avenue and intoxicating every passerby on the street.
Inside the bright, sunlit dining hall, Grandma Chen stood behind twenty massive copper cauldrons. She wore an embroidered floral apron and held a giant wooden soup ladle: [Grandma Chen | Head of Taichu Canteens | Goodness: 98/100].
Beside her, six-year-old Little Guo’er stood on a sturdy wooden stool, carefully dropping pink lotus candies and powdered spirit-honey into the simmering broth: [Little Guo’er | Lotus Pill Saint | Goodness: 100/100].
“Eat, eat, my dear children!” Grandma Chen bustled cheerfully, ladling overflowing bowls of steaming wontons and braised dragon-marrow pork into porcelain bowls. “You boys have been reading in the cold for three months. A scholar cannot cultivate Dao on an empty belly!”
Little Guo’er handed out bowls of honeyed lotus tea with a bright, sweet smile.
“Brother scholars, drink this tea before eating,” Little Guo’er chirped cheerfully. “Grandma boiled it with pure morning dew and dragon-heart herbs! It warms your dantians and makes your thinking super clear!”
