Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 845

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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 845
“Pork and Chinese chive xiaolongbao. The very taste that impressed the Emperor! Do try one!”
Cheol-san brought out the dumplings.
And Namgung Un gazed down at the dumplings, lost in thought.
‘On the surface… Cheol-san’s dumplings actually look superior…’
Cheol-san’s dumplings were crafted with thin wrappers so delicate that the filling showed through slightly.
In contrast, Jin Cheon-hee’s dumplings, still waiting in the distance, were made with ordinary, opaque wrappers that concealed their contents!
Moreover.
Cheol-san had called his dumplings pork and Chinese chive xiaolongbao.
In other words, the wrappers contained hot broth inside!
Wrappers so thin the filling showed through, yet containing broth?
This was evidence of extraordinary dough craftsmanship.
An ordinary housekeeper could never achieve such a level.
‘Where…’
He picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks and brought it to his lips.
There are many different methods for eating xiaolongbao.
Just as there are different ways to eat sweet and sour pork—dipping versus mixing—there exists one method where you place the xiaolongbao on a spoon and gently tear the side to extract the broth.
You taste the broth lightly with ginger, then pop the entire dumpling into your mouth in one bite!
However.
Another method exists.
Simply place it directly in your mouth all at once and let the scalding broth sterilize your palate as you eat!
And Namgung Un preferred the latter method.
‘Ah! Ah-hot!’
It was scorching.
Yet this meat juice overflowing in his mouth! And this broth!
Combined with this intense aroma of pork and Chinese chives!
This is… Oh! Behold! Exquisite!
A symphony of flavor so magnificent it drew involuntary laughter.
Truly, the most scalding gourmet experience in the world!
“Haaah…”
Exhaling hot steam, Namgung Un marveled inwardly.
‘Indeed! This is a taste worthy of imperial recognition!’
And lingering in that aftertaste, he glanced to the side.
The elders were each enjoying the pork and Chinese chive xiaolongbao in their own preferred manner.
Judging by their expressions, they were all utterly delighted!
“Ilmi, you’ve done well.”
“Now I understand why he won.”
“Now I see why the Emperor chose these dumplings.”
“At this level, even Cheonhailgwang would struggle.”
Each of them offered their own assessment of the dumplings they had just consumed.
Cheol-san watched it all unfold.
“Hehehehe! How’s that? Cheonhailgwang! My victory!”
Geumbong Ilmi Cheol-san was brimming with confidence!
“One can only judge length and shortness by comparison.”
Yet Jin Cheon-hee remained composed. And he brought out his dumplings.
“Thank you for your patience.”
This was a problem.
The judges were already full from Cheol-san’s dumplings.
Hadn’t they completely finished a plate piled high like a mountain?
More dumplings on top of that?
Of course, these were all seasoned Kang Ho-ins who had experienced everything.
Since they ate more than ordinary people, it wasn’t impossible for them to eat more.
But eating on a full stomach tastes different from eating when hungry, doesn’t it?
I felt a sense of regret.
Moreover, the plainly made dumplings looked exactly like homestyle dumplings you’d see anywhere.
There wasn’t even the basic garnish that high-class inns would use.
These were dumplings made purely from the Jegallim Family’s fundamentals.
To bring something like this to this place?!
Cheol-san smirked.
‘His liver’s burst out of his belly. Ilgwang Jin Cheon-hee!’
Namgung Un held a similar impression.
‘Indeed… what will Jin’s Younger Brother’s dumplings be like?’
Now the chopsticks turned toward Jin Cheon-hee’s dumplings.
Dipping lightly in soy sauce, they placed the dumpling in their mouth.
And the taste that bloomed.
It was.
An explosion.
‘This… this taste!!! Oh!’
The universe revealed itself.
It was a universe made of pork!
The explosive richness of meat and the exquisite balance of spices!
Melting away softly, leaving behind a concentrated fragrance before vanishing.
And this unique texture!
I had never eaten dumplings like this before!
No. I had never even tasted meat like this!
Is this truly what a dumpling should be?
Am I perhaps tasting cuisine from a new world?
Within a single dumpling lay the Five Elements.
Flour grown from earth, kneaded and minced meat with a blade, steamed in a hot pot with water—doesn’t it all come together?
Small explosions occurring in the mouth created a symphony of new flavors, and it felt as though there might be a place for dumplings in the very sky above my head.
The Five Elements. It was the Five Elements.
To think there was a teaching of the Five Elements in a single dumpling!
“Gasp!”
Namgung Un quickly came to his senses and returned to reality.
Looking around, all the elders appeared equally entranced.
Only Jegalling, Jin Cheon-hee’s Master, sat with serene composure, leisurely sipping his tea.
“You put extra care into this one. Hope.”
“Yes, Master. Since it bears the name of the Jegallim Family, I had to do my very best.”
At those words, the three ancient masters all fixed Jegalling with eyes burning with jealousy.
It was a look that hadn’t appeared even when Jegalling boasted about his disciple’s martial prowess like a proud father.
‘Indeed, the older one grows, the more honest one becomes about food.’
Jegalling grew even more delighted.
Happiness.
Was this the true joy of nurturing a disciple?
Yoo Ho observed his lord’s expression and inwardly cursed his terrible personality.
Regardless, Jegalling was converting the jealousy of the other ancient masters into pure joy.
There was indeed a reason his disciple’s name contained the character for joy (喜).
“Have all the judges reached their decision?”
At Muhua’s words, all the judges nodded.
The ancient masters had already exchanged their opinions through secret transmission.
Yet there was no need for prolonged discussion.
The decision had already been made.
“Then please tell us!”
Creak.
The Open Sect Patriarch rose to his feet.
“I shall speak on behalf of the judges. There is none here who hasn’t received kindness from the Open Sect, and I myself have connections to both of these individuals. Is that not so, Cheol-san?”
At those words, Cheol-san’s face flushed red.
“…That is ancient history.”
Ohhhhh!
Even Jin Cheon-hee hadn’t known of the connection between Cheol-san and the Open Sect Patriarch.
However, seeing how Cheol-san was reluctant to acknowledge it and how the Patriarch had refrained from mentioning it until now, there seemed to be some complicated history involved.
The Patriarch continued.
“Both dumplings were delicious. Such a lavish feast is rare indeed. Especially in the world of Gangho.”
Everyone held their breath, their attention fixed on the Patriarch’s words.
Without needing to infuse his voice with inner energy, the old man’s words carried far and wide.
That was right.
He was the one who had built the Open Sect into what it was today.
He had protected the Open Sect, aided the poor, and spent his youth fighting against the Heterodox Factions and the Demonic Cult.
Yet despite all this, the only possession he had was the tattered hemp robe he wore.
Both the wealthy and the poor acknowledged the authority of the Open Sect Patriarch.
“Cheol-san, your dumplings were worthy of being called the finest housekeeper’s dumplings under heaven. The moment I tasted them, I thought I would gladly pay a fortune just to eat them again. The Emperor must have felt the same way. They were that extraordinary.”
Praise poured forth without restraint.
Ooooooh!
As the crowd’s roar rose, the judging moved forward to the next contestant.
“Cheon Hee’s dumplings transported me back to childhood the moment I ate them. There was a time in my youth when I received charity meat. It came from the home of a poor butcher—people who had nothing themselves, yet they shared their precious meat with me. I remember eating it while worrying whether it had spoiled.”
“….”
The elderly man gazed into the distance. It was the taste of memory.
“I never tasted meat more delicious than that in my entire life, and yet I never thought I would taste it again. But yes… I have.”
The Patriarch closed his eyes.
His weathered eyes trembled softly.
Moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes as he recalled the past.
Memories—the painful struggles of early childhood. And within those struggles, he recalled the hope that carried him forward through each tomorrow.
The elderly man had journeyed this far on the strength of that hope.
“This is a dumpling that cannot be found in any inn. A dumpling that cannot be served at any feast. Cheol-san’s dumplings are the kind you can eat by paying a fortune, but Ilgwang’s dumplings are the kind you cannot eat even if you offered a fortune. Therefore, the outcome is obvious, is it not?”
All the judges nodded in agreement.
Soon, the Patriarch declared loudly:
“We have unanimously determined that Ilgwang’s cuisine is the victor!”
“Ilgwang! Ilgwang is victorious–!”
Waaaaaaaah!
The roar erupted once more.
Yet among the crowd, some cursed at the result.
“How could spoiled meat defeat freshly caught meat!”
“This makes no sense!”
“The judges must have been bribed by Ilgwang’s faction.”
At that moment, the commoners glared at the martial artists shouting their complaints.
“Why, what will you do about it? Weren’t the judges themselves brought from Ilgwang’s side from the beginning?”
Then Tugoe hurled the chopsticks she had been holding.
Whoosh-crack!
Though they were merely bamboo chopsticks, they embedded themselves three inches deep into the ground.
“Eek?!”
The martial artists gasped in shock.
Tugoe spoke.
“I am one who has tasted every delicacy under heaven that bears the name of finest. I have staked every meal I have ever eaten without paying for it in this judgment! That is the pride of a wanderer! Do you dare question that result!”
In the past, Tugoe had proudly proclaimed that she had never paid for a meal before her retirement.
The declaration of the greatest free-eating wanderer under heaven.
At those words, everyone fell silent.
Death itself was not what they feared.
If anyone dared say “no” to that honor(?), she seemed capable of stripping them bare, leaving only their undergarments.
She was a person who could do such things.
No matter how distinguished a young master of a great family might be, she was someone who could teach them what poverty truly meant starting tomorrow.
However, Cheol-san had nothing to lose.
“Even so, I cannot accept this result. Even if Tugoe says so, what of the others?!”
The Open Sect Patriarch answered calmly.
“If you’re dissatisfied, shouldn’t you have brought your own judges? My boy.”
“Ugh.”
“And as you well know, do I look like someone who would lie for the sake of taste? If Tugoe obtained food without payment, then I, a beggar, obtained mine justly! That is a beggar’s pride! I stake my dumplings on this judgment, and you have lost!”
The Thief King and the Beggar King debated the pride of taste.
Beside them, Sulgye muttered.
“Ugh, I just bought mine like a normal person!”
A gourmet life lived by paying fairly for everything.
Why did it feel like he was at a loss?
Then Jin Cheon-hee removed dumplings from the steamer.
Tap—
“What is this?”
“Please try one.”
Cheol-san picked up his chopsticks with trembling hands and placed one of Jin Cheon-hee’s dumplings into his mouth.
“….”
After chewing and swallowing for a long while, a silence followed—a very long silence.
Finally, along with the words “one more,” he spat out a curse.
“Damn it. You made it well! Curse it, I lost!”
At this, Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened.
‘Ou, he actually admitted his defeat on his own?’
Honest about taste, then.
The man was quite decent after all.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke to the angry martial artists.
“The winning dumplings will be sold at the Baekrin Inn. Please try them yourselves and judge! We look forward to your patronage!!”
The refrigerator in the Baekrin Medical Guild’s research hall was large.
Very large.
And Jin Cheon-hee had not waited four weeks merely to prepare a single piece of meat.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke to Cheol-san.
“Would you like to sell them together? If you just maintain hygiene like this time, I can manage things properly for you.”
“….”
* * *
At the Baekrin Inn, both the Jegallim Family’s pork and chive dumplings made with aged meat and Cheol-san’s pork and chive xiaolongbao were sold together.
Half of each plate was occupied by Jin Cheon-hee’s dumplings, the other half by Cheol-san’s dumplings.
Everyone became judges, savoring both types of dumplings.
“I think I understand why the judge chose this one.”
“I heard the aged meat is limited stock—once the remaining meat sells out, that’s it.”
“What a shame.”
“I thought he was just letting meat rot, but it wasn’t like that at all….”
“I’ve heard that some of the mountain folk living in hiding prepare their ingredients this way. Of course, if done carelessly, mold can grow and make it even harder to eat.”
The people enjoyed the dumplings without sparing their praise.
“It was worth the long journey just to taste this.”
“Indeed. Where else would you find dumplings like these?”
Sometimes, eating itself becomes a memory.
While the people passed the dumplings back and forth in enjoyment, the Baekrin Medical Guild held a modest victory celebration of their own.
* * *
A celebration of victory.
Though modest, the food and wine were nothing short of festive.
Moreover, since the food had been prepared generously, it was distributed evenly to all the on-duty doctors and other staff members.
Of course, the star of the meal was the dumplings that had sparked this entire incident.
Everyone enjoyed the dumplings happily, and I boasted to my master Jegalling about my victory.
The clan elders of each faction and Muyue all shared drinks together joyfully.
“This peach wine is really delicious!”
Sama-hye, who claimed not to drink, seemed to have relaxed her guard enough to show her true colors.
I made sure to set aside some wine for Sama-hye separately.
A signal for her to share it secretly with close friends later.
Sama-hye promptly grabbed the wine and dumplings, hiding them away somewhere.
It seemed she planned to invite Ga-won as well and hold their own private drinking party later.
The peach wine paired perfectly with the dumplings, after all.
Small and precious moments passed by.
The celebration proceeded joyfully until it finally came to an end.
While I was cleaning up in the kitchen, word came that a visitor had arrived.
It was Cheol-san.
“Oh, please show him in!”
Originally, I had planned for him to join the celebration after making the dumplings, but at some point, Cheol-san had disappeared along with his street vendor cart.
I had thought, ‘He must have left in frustration after losing…’
But now he had returned, which made me wonder, ‘Why did he come back?’
Footsteps.
“As expected, you’re first-rate even as a housekeeper. Proper cleanup after cooking is important too.”
Cheol-san said this as he entered the kitchen.
His manner of speaking as a senior in the martial world was the same as before, yet there was a subtle difference in his presence.
“If you don’t clean the iron cookware promptly, hygiene can deteriorate.”
A round iron pot.
I held what people on Earth called a wok and wiped it clean with a cloth.
“Hygiene, you say… I thought you might speak that way.”
“But what brings you here?”
“There’s something I need to discuss discreetly.”
“Hmm? I understand.”
Was this about the dumpling secret recipe?
If he’s asking about the Jegallim Family’s dumpling secret recipe, I have no intention of teaching it. Still, I’m willing to hear what he has to say.
“Would you take me somewhere private? It will be a confidential discussion that will determine the state of Gangho and the fate of what’s to come.”
‘Dumplings again? Yes. If it’s dumplings, it’s certainly significant enough to determine Gangho’s circumstances and destiny.’
I guided him while entertaining this absurd thought.

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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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