Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 844

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 844
“They say they covered squid dumplings with a mixture of soy sauce and honey.”
“With Baek Rin’s port, all sorts of delicacies flow in.”
“The price is higher than regular fried dumplings, but they say it’s exquisite. Should we try some?”
“Yes, yes!”
Sim Haksa was not one to refuse such an offer.
Sim Haksa quickly took a squid dumpling and bit into it.
Crunch—
The moment he bit down, rich squid juices burst forth, mingling with the sticky soy-honey glaze that flooded his mouth all at once.
“Wow. This is incredible! Why is the food quality in Baek Rin so exceptionally high?”
“Ilgwang personally instructs the cooks, and the Golden Blood Hall’s Sobangju takes special care as well.”
“They say the fried dumplings are also excellent. Should we try those?”
“Of course!”
Along every street and in every restaurant, people stood buying dumplings.
It wasn’t just dumplings.
All manner of street food lined the stalls, and even the rice cake skewers were of exceptional quality.
Truly a feast for the senses—the scholars’ eyes gleamed with delight.
As the three scholars sat and gazed down at the cooking grounds, before long, a gong sounded.
The signal announcing the competition’s beginning.
The emcee was Muhua.
She was the sister of Muwol, the Chief Manager of Baekrin Uiseon.
She handled the formalities first, and when she sensed everyone had grown bored, she raised her hand to signal.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Her experience as a performer in the past never faded.
She spoke with her inner energy infused into her voice.
“I shall introduce the judges one by one. First, the Patriarch of Baekrin Uiseon and ruler of Baek Rin, Baek Rin-ui-seon, Uiguk Baek Jegalling!”
Boom!
Roaaaaaaaar!
The drum sounded and cheers erupted. Baek Rin-ui-seon folded his fan slightly and offered a simple gesture of gratitude to those gathered.
“From the Demonic Sect! The Demonic Sect Leader, Sulche, has arrived!”
Sulche crossed his arms, clearly displeased.
‘Sitting next to that cunning bastard Jegalling? This is going to kill me. Absolutely.’
That man was bad for an old man’s lifespan.
Sulche decided he wouldn’t engage in unnecessary conversation.
Just eat the dumplings and leave quickly.
“Though now retired, the greatest swordmaster under heaven, Wuying Touguai!”
Elder Toegoe had originally planned to sneak and eat, but now that she was formally invited, she felt somewhat awkward.
“When you mention Migang, that’s me! Gaebang’s Elder Taesangbangju!”
Bangju stood up and suddenly raised his hand.
The crowd’s cheers grew louder. He was quite the crowd favorite.
“And finally, among the greatest swordsmen under heaven, the most distinguished of distinguished families—the Patriarch of the Namgung Family himself has graced us with his presence!”
Namgung Un was the youngest among them.
Whether by rank or by age, there was no way for him to compete with these elders.
I never imagined I’d have to endure this torment just for a dumpling.
‘Ugh, and why do they all seem to know Jin’s younger brother? How did Cheol-san agree to this so readily? No, wait. I heard he has no friends because of his difficult temperament. So that must be true.’
Just as Namgung Un suspected, Cheol-san had no friends.
To put it kindly, he was so devoted to cooking that he had no time to make friends. To put it harshly, he was stingy with his social relationships.
That was it.
‘It’s only natural that one of the hundred greatest masters under heaven has no time for friendships if they’re to become a culinary master… Right. Yes.’
Ilgwang before my eyes was an odd fellow.
Muhua spoke.
“Well then, now that such distinguished individuals have gathered, let us hear your thoughts.”
Jegalling spoke.
“I shall judge fairly, staking the honor of my family.”
The typical words spoken at such occasions.
Next came Sulgye’s turn.
“You lot! There’s no dish I haven’t tasted. The delicious one wins!”
He genuinely intended to be fair. Wuying Touguai was the same.
“Hahahaha! Being a year older than this fool Sulgye, I’ve eaten far more delicious things. I’m the true connoisseur!!!”
The term “true connoisseur” was one that Jin Cheon-hee had recently popularized.
The Elder Taesangbangju of Gaebang was not to be outdone.
“You youngsters don’t know the taste buds of this beggar. Even the Previous Emperor acknowledged my palate. You fools!!!”
And then it was Namgung Un’s turn.
‘Why are these elders so earnest about mere dumplings?’
But if everyone else were younger than him, Namgung Un could also declare with conviction that he was the greatest connoisseur.
However, facing gentlemen who were two or three ranks his senior, he couldn’t claim to be the greatest connoisseur.
“…I shall conduct the judging fairly and impartially.”
Namgung Un felt oddly sorrowful.
Aaaaaahhhhh!
This is torture.
Why must he be invited to such a gathering and suffer among these elders?
Why did only these temperamental elders from Gangho have to gather here to eat dumplings?
The way these judges stake their lives on dumpling evaluation reminds me of the past Jeongsa Tournament.
Muhua spoke.
“Yes, for some reason, all of you judges seem quite resolved… Very well then. To your stations!”
At Muhua’s words, Cheol-san and Jin Cheon-hee each headed to their cooking stations.
And Muhua herself picked up a ladle and struck the gong.
Claaaaaaang!
“Cooking begins–!”
The moment it started, Cheol-san brought out a live pig.
Without hesitation, he slit the pig’s throat and began draining its blood into a vessel.
The freshly slaughtered pig’s blood began pooling in the jar.
With the addition of Xigong Jue, the blood drained at an astonishing speed.
He began butchering the carcass with equal swiftness.
Muhua continued her commentary.
“Ohhh! The skill of slaughtering a live pig and extracting its blood—truly the work of a master! By the way, Judge Jegalling mentioned earlier that if Chef Cheol-san cooks without washing his hands, he won’t even taste it. I wonder if Chef Cheol-san will actually wash up?”
At those words, Cheol-san deliberately splashed his hands in the water, making a show of it.
“Washed!”
Cheol-san thought to himself.
‘Well, even if my touch loses a bit of finesse, there’s no helping it. But fresh pork prepared on the spot using the golden ratio for pork and Chinese chive xiaolongbao! Add just a hint of málà flavor to that, and no one in the world could match this taste!’
Cheol-san grinned with confidence.
Muhua spoke.
“And now, the dumplings that won the Championship of the World’s Greatest Housekeepers! It’s said that even when the Emperor was already full, he finished an entire plate of these dumplings, declaring them the most delicious dish under heaven!”
‘I won’t forget. You bastard Emperor!’
Jin Cheon-hee mentally added 500 silver coins to his Silver & Gold account.
Why did they have to hold such a ridiculous Championship of the World’s Greatest Housekeepers and put him through this ordeal?
These damned fools!
Then Jin Cheon-hee pulled out something pitch-black, truly dark and murky pork.
“What?! What is that?! The color of the meat is strange! Could it possibly be spoiled?”
Uuuuuh!
The audience gasped in shock. Jin Cheon-hee spoke loudly.
“It’s not spoiled! It’s aged meat!”
“Aged meat?!”
Having said that much, he removed the meat and began slicing it with his blade technique, starting to fold the dumplings.
‘Aged meat is a battle against bacteria.’
One careless mistake and the meat would rot instead of age properly.
To create even a single batch of aged meat, Jin Cheon-hee had to sterilize the surrounding area for an extraordinarily long time.
Moreover, aging requires precise control of both temperature and humidity.
Normally, one would use a dry-aging refrigerator or seal the meat in vacuum-sealed bags for aging.
But this was the Central Plains.
He had procured pig bladders made by the Tang Family, soaked in their special herbal solution, and wrapped them tightly around the meat.
This was also called Tang-yu-cheon.
Originally, this Tang-yu-cheon was used as material for things like IV tubes.
By repeatedly coating it with the herbal solution and boiling and drying it at high temperatures, it mysteriously transforms into a material similar to modern plastic. The Tang Family originally used it to store deadly poisons.
But Baekrin Medical Guild uses it for medical purposes.
And Jin Cheon-hee uses it for aging meat.
‘As for refrigeration, I had no concerns.’
The Research Hall!
The Research Hall’s cold storage, where the primordial ice crystals from the North Sea Ice Palace lay dormant, was comparable in size to an entire house.
It actually resembled a house in structure, and by utilizing the fact that the closer one got to the primordial ice crystals the better the freezing function, each room was labeled with its temperature and stocked accordingly.
Within that refrigerator lay treasures of culinary research—samples that could rival any museum collection, shaved ice snacks for the researchers, and cold tea for late-night work sessions.
And there, in a state of perfect hibernation, rested my secret weapon: aged pork.
[Soggakju’s Meat / Do Not Eat Under Any Circumstances! / Poisoned / Poisoned Poisoned Poisoned Poisoned!]
The pudding and other dishes I’d prepared ahead of time kept mysteriously disappearing—clearly the chicks were sneaking bites.
But once I labeled it as poisoned, they finally stopped touching it.
The way it was wrapped in ice, coiled tightly, might have resembled ‘that’ kind of cell.
‘It does look rather like Dong Cheon-gun cells.’
Dong Cheon-gun’s arm flesh continued to thrive peacefully in my refrigerator.
In any case, exactly four weeks.
From the very day we’d set the preparation period for the dumpling competition, that aged pork had finally completed its four-week maturation and emerged from the cold.
“One side: freshly caught pork! The other side: aged pork! Which pork shall claim victory?!”
Moreover, what I’d created was the most fundamental pork and Chinese chive dumpling.
The basics of basics, passed down through generations in the Jegallim Family.
No tricks, no flourishes—simply mincing the meat, steaming it, and hand-folding the dumplings.
I reflected silently.
‘Aged meat is supposed to be grilled as a steak. Tch… what extravagance is this.’
“Truly the Jegallim Family! Competing with nothing but fundamentals and pride. Can the family’s secret traditions and aged pork alone truly defeat all under heaven?!”
Roooaaaar!
The spectators erupted in excitement, their voices thundering.
The arena grew hot with fervor.
“Cheol-san’s dumplings certainly look delicious. Xiaolongbao made from freshly caught pork, no less. Didn’t even the Emperor himself finish an entire bowl!”
“I’ve heard the Jegallim Family’s dumplings are the finest under heaven, but that pitch-black meat looks rather… suspicious, doesn’t it?”
“Aged meat? Wasn’t it Soggakju himself who always preached that hygiene is paramount? Then why such dark meat?”
“I’m casting my vote for Cheol-san.”
“Me too!”
“I’d cast mine as well if I could!”
The crowd’s sentiment clearly leaned toward Cheol-san’s side.
Even Namgung Un seemed worried whether my dumplings were safe to eat, whether they might cause stomach troubles.
‘Is that really alright? Still, he’s from Baekrin Uiseon, so if something goes wrong, he can treat it himself, right?’
Yet surprisingly, both Elder Toegoe seated beside him and the Elder Taesangbangju of Gaebang remained composed.
Rather.
“How does the young one know of this?”
The Elder Taesangbangju’s reaction was particularly heated.
‘Strange. Everyone in the audience, myself included, is predicting Cheol-san’s victory… yet these elders cannot tear their eyes from my younger brother’s dumplings.’
It wasn’t merely personal connection.
Even if it were myself or even the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Changwang Akjin, these elders were all the type for whom the character “Weird” fit their titles perfectly—
Actual martial legends whose exploits earned them the epithet “Weird,” with Elder Toegoe himself among them.
They were the sort who would curse you out if the food tasted bad, saying ‘You made this shit, so why are you taking it out on me?’
Old eccentrics more honest about their nature than anyone.
‘These old eccentrics are licking their lips at my younger brother’s dumplings? Why?’
Namgung Un grew increasingly curious.
“Cooking time is up–!!!!”
Waaaaaah!
With Muhua’s cry, the cooking came to an end.
“Time’s up, so both of you please raise your hands!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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