Chapter 454 - 288: The Power of the Thousand-Year Egg

Chapter 454: Chapter 288: The Power of the Thousand-Year Egg

Shooting several videos in a row at the market, one thing Lin Chen found most comfortable was that regardless of which stall he sourced his ingredients from, after they had tasted the delicious final dish—no matter how amazing it was—no one ever ran back over with more ingredients to ask him to cook again.

He could only get more scraps if he went and asked for them himself; otherwise, the vendors would usually just throw them away.

He had discussed this with Erica before.

Erica’s conclusion was that everyone here had been running their shops for years. They knew how to get along and make things comfortable for themselves, which also extended to their neighbors in the service industry.

Besides, there wasn’t much competition in a small, remote town like this. The neighbors all got along, and they were all just regular people trying to make a living. No one would bother someone else just to get a little something for free.

This was especially true for a new neighbor, and a foreigner at that.

That was one reason. Another was that while the food he made was new and exciting to them—perhaps even mind-blowing at first taste—it ultimately wasn’t what they were used to eating.

It was fine to try as a novelty now and then, but it wasn’t so incredible that they would have the nerve to go out of their way to bother him for more.

Before coming here with Lin Chen, Erica had spent most of her time either in the forest or at home. She only went out to eat with friends occasionally, living in a state of near-total social isolation.

But since coming here and seeing how happy and harmonious everyone at the market was, devoid of any negativity, she had gradually started to open up. She could even crack a joke with people from time to time.

Don’t be fooled by how talkative she seemed; that was only for Lin Chen’s benefit. In front of strangers, she was a total introvert, avoiding conversation whenever possible.

The only time she became more talkative was at work, when the topic touched on her area of professional expertise.

"Lin, deciding to rent this stall to you was the best decision I’ve made all year!"

Magnus licked the last of the reddish-brown sauce from his plate, then tossed the disposable dish into a nearby recycling bin, still wanting more.

"I do have one question, though. What exactly was that black egg?"

"You’re not the first person to have this question, and you definitely won’t be the last."

Lin Chen smiled and took an unfinished box of century eggs down from the shelf.

It wasn’t just the landlord; even Erica leaned in, curious.

Now that the filming was over, she could finally speak her mind. She snatched the plastic box, only to find it was covered in Chinese characters. Only the nutrition facts and calorie chart on the back had an English sticker.

This was the usual way of labeling imported goods.

"Snatching it like you can read any of that."

Lin Chen crossed his arms, an amused smile playing on his lips. "That reminds me, when are you going to start learning Chinese? A lot of tourists from Great Xia are bound to show up, and a good number of them probably won’t be able to communicate well in English."

"Besides for work, if you go to a Great Xia restaurant or store in the future, you’ll be able to order for yourself if you can read Chinese. The translated names and meanings always lose a little something in the process."

"Okay! You can start teaching me later!"

She might not have been interested in anything else—studying was her least favorite thing—but when it came to learning Chinese, she was genuinely motivated.

"Fine. Let’s start with this, then."

Lin Chen took the box back and took out an egg that was a pale greyish-blue all over.

The egg was noticeably larger than a chicken’s egg, and its color was distinctly different.

Magnus frowned and studied it for a moment before saying tentatively, "A duck egg?"

"That’s right, a duck egg. It’s a type of preserved duck egg made by curing it in a mixture of plant ash, quicklime, food-grade lye, and various spices, along with pine branches. It’s a very iconic food from Great Xia. Salted duck eggs are similar, as they’re also a type of cured duck egg."

"...Huh?"

’Plant ash, quicklime, lye, pine branches.’

Magnus and Erica thought they must have misheard. None of those sounded like ingredients you could use to cure food.

To make a stronger impression, Lin Chen simply cracked the eggshell and peeled one right in front of them.

"A century egg is also called a ’pine-flower egg.’ See these beautiful, snowflake-like patterns on the white? They look like the needles on a pine branch, or like flowers made of frost, which is how it got the name."

"The reason it looks like this is that alkaline substances seep through the shell and react with the proteins, causing this transformation."

"Of course, internationally it has a very famous name: the ’thousand-year egg.’ I wonder if you’ve heard of it."

"Wait, this is the ’thousand-year egg’?!"

Erica’s jaw dropped. "I think I’ve scrolled past videos with that in the title, but I never clicked to watch. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing one in person."

Seeing the century egg up close, she finally understood why people jokingly called it a ’thousand-year egg.’ Its color really did make it look like it had been sitting around for a millennium.

Erica had never tasted a century egg and had no idea what to expect. After Lin Chen cut it open, she picked up half and gave it a sniff. A strange, alkaline aroma made her furrow her delicate brows.

She found it hard to believe that this duck egg, with its bizarre smell and appearance, had been used as an ingredient in the noodles—and had been met with such overwhelming approval from the customers.

She had just filmed the whole thing herself, so she knew exactly how popular that bowl of noodles had been.

Based on all the positive reactions to the Great Xia food so far, she decided to trust what she’d seen with her own eyes. She opened her mouth and tentatively took a small bite.

The translucent, grayish-black white had the texture of Jell-O—specifically, the cheap red and green kind you’d find at any buffet, the sort that always showed up in ’Tom and Jerry’ cartoons.

The white itself didn’t have much of a strange taste, but the moment she bit into the yolk, a powerful, alkaline flavor exploded in her mouth.

The sudden flavor caught her completely off guard. She gagged instinctively and quickly grabbed a napkin to spit it out.

"What’s wrong?"

As the very first person to have tried the noodles with roasted pepper, eggplant, and century egg, Magnus stared at the gagging Erica, unable to believe his eyes.

It wasn’t just him; nearly everyone who’d tried the noodles had loved them. The few complaints were only that it was too spicy, not that there was anything wrong with the taste.

But why was Erica, who had eaten more Chinese food than he had, having such a reaction?

Skeptical, he picked up the other half of the century egg and took a big bite.

A few seconds later, the color drained from his face. He obviously understood why Erica had reacted the way she did.

’It’s the exact same food. How can the taste be so different?’

"It’s not just you. Even we Da Xia People rarely eat century eggs plain like this. We usually pair them with seasonings. Besides, this particular brand is pretty heavy on the alkaline taste, so you definitely need strong seasonings to cover it up."

"Freshly made ones, or those from a farmer or a professional duck farm, won’t have such a strong alkaline taste. In fact, some have almost none at all. That’s the mark of a truly good century egg."

"These were probably cured for too long, and since they’re meant for export, the alkaline taste is stronger than usual."

As he explained, he took the small dish the egg had been in and added a few drops of light soy sauce, aged vinegar, and chili oil. He threw in some cilantro and green onion, then crushed a garlic clove, minced it, and stirred it all together.

"Try it again after dipping it in the sauce. The most common way we eat century eggs in Great Xia is dressed with a sauce like this. It’s called a ’cold-dressed century egg.’ Of course, there are plenty of other ways to prepare them, too."

Still reeling from her bad experience, Erica stared at the dipping sauce, hesitant to reach out. She was thoroughly put off by that alkaline flavor.

Magnus, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate. He took the small piece of egg he had left, rolled it around in the sauce until it was completely coated, and popped it into his mouth.

The seasonings were similar to what had been in the noodles, so he had every reason to believe the sauce was the key.

Sure enough. With the sauce, the egg’s intense alkaline flavor was suppressed by at least eighty percent, and that nauseating taste was almost gone.

Without the alkaline taste, he found that it was actually pretty good. It was like a regular boiled egg, just with the texture of a duck egg.

Erica blinked, her eyes glued to Magnus’s throat. Only after she saw him successfully swallow did she skeptically take the dish from him.

She took a deep breath. First, she poured a little of the sauce into her mouth. Then she stuffed the rest of the egg in, followed by all the remaining sauce.

"Hm?"

To her surprise, the century egg was actually delicious this way!

The sweet and sourness from the vinegar was the perfect touch. It didn’t just get rid of the unpleasant aftertaste, it awakened her taste buds. Her flat stomach actually let out a GROWL.

"See? There’s no such thing as bad food, only bad ways of eating it. Just like surströmming."

"...You’re joking, right, landlord?"

Hearing the word "surströmming," Erica’s expression froze, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

"Oh, right. I forgot you’re Spanish. Surströmming is a Swedish thing. As a fellow European, it’s not surprising you’d find it delicious."

"That’s not right, is it?"

Lin Chen tilted his head, a curious look on his face as he gazed at her delicate features.

"If I’m not mistaken, aren’t you of mixed heritage? Half European? By his logic, you shouldn’t think surströmming is bad either, right?"