What he wanted to make was none other than oden.

As early as when he was looking through the memories of the traveler, he discovered such a thing. Not only did the traveler eat it himself, but there were also people eating it in the books and images he saw.

On a cold and windy winter night, he held a cup of steaming food in his hand. Oden, what a delightful thing it was.

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At the Autumn Harvest Festival market, he stood behind his stall and observed the people coming and going, wrapped in heavy clothing and inhaling the chilly air. He thought that he should create something like this first.

Firstly, to earn money, and secondly, to ensure the people in the town wouldn’t be so cold in winter.

But when he examined it, the oden soup base appeared to be crafted from bonito flakes and kelp. They didn’t have these ingredients here, so Jiang Zhou had to consider alternative options.

His top choices were bone broth and fish broth.

The bone soup was light, and the big bones, devoid of meat, had no oily scent. What he extracts was the nutritional essence from the bone marrow. The fish soup was rich and milky white, providing excellent nutrition.

He simmered the fish bones along with the flesh removed and the bone broth. Together, the soup wasn’t so cloudy and was quite similar to the authentic Oden soup.

The deliciousness of oden primarily depends on the broth. Though Jiang Zhou’s broth wasn’t the most traditional, it incorporated a variety of ingredients. Upon tasting it, he found it was somewhat bland and the impact wasn’t significant.

Yet, he always sensed that his taste differed from others, so he had to ask Wen Yan to taste it.

Wen Yan had a discerning palate and was skilled in cooking. He took a spoonful and realized what was lacking, “It seems like something is missing. It’s somewhat bland.”

Jiang Zhou thought carefully and realized he hadn’t added cumin and pepper. The soup appeared to deviate a bit from his memory. He inspected the items he purchased and found a jumble of ingredients, making it quite chaotic.

With his sharp eyes, Wen Yan noticed a dried salted fish sandwiched between two vegetables, “Is it this?”

All the other ingredients were fresh, and having a dried salted fish mixed in seemed out of place. Wen Yan picked it out and asked, “How do you use this?”

Jiang Zhou scratched his head and admitted, “That’s the one, I forgot about it.”

The rest of the seasonings he bought were ground into powder, so they were all mixed together. He couldn’t find dried bonito, and since they didn’t produce bonito locally, he decided to use dried salted fish instead.

Since he didn’t know the exact amount of dried salted fish to use, he didn’t want to put it in all at once. Instead, he took a small amount, ground it into powder, and added it gradually, having Wen Yan taste it after each addition.

Wen Yan had just savored two candied haws, and the sweet taste still lingered in his mouth. Now that Jiang Zhou had tricked him into trying Oden soup, he immediately wrinkled his nose and rejected it, “Just give me the sweet ones. I don’t want to drink this soup anymore.”

Dried salted fish-based soup… Wen Yan made it clear he wasn’t a fan!

Jiang Zhou was very familiar with this behavior. In the past, he acted the same way when he had to take medicine. He’d come up with various excuses, claiming his mouth was bitter or he felt dizzy and drowsy. He always found reasons to avoid taking the medicine.

But he couldn’t taste it himself, so he could only implore Wen Yan, “Ah Yan, please give it a try.” Wen Yan blinked his eyes and reluctantly swallowed another spoonful.

“How is it?” Wen Yan smacked his lips, took another sip, and his eyes lit up, “It doesn’t taste like salted fish. It’s light, and the salty and umami flavors blend well.”

Seeing his approval, Jiang Zhou felt relieved and said, “I won’t deceive you. Now that the soup base is ready, I can gather the ingredients.”

He set up a new pot, added the peeled and sliced white radish, and added the thick tofu skin. He rolled minced meat and wrapped it with green onions to form lucky bags. Since this was just a test, he kept it simple. He also made a few fish balls and meatballs, skewering them all with bamboo sticks.

Once the food in the newly set-up pot was cooked, he moved it to the bottom of the soup.

Wen Yan was eagerly waiting for the food to be ready and asked, “Isn’t it inconvenient for you to bring this pot to the town?”

While the town didn’t prohibit charcoal burning in the market, vendors typically avoided using extremely smoky charcoal fires. Selling this dish would require a lot of wood and could create smoky fires.

Jiang Zhou handed him a fish ball and reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements. It won’t be a problem.”

He had considered this issue and went to the town’s blacksmith shop to purchase a set of special pots, although these pots were somewhat cumbersome to make. The blacksmith had given him a ten-day deadline and would have them ready for pickup tomorrow.

Wen Yan took a bite of the fish ball. The fish meat was delicate, and Jiang Zhou had added potato starch to make the fish balls elastic. The mixture of fish and pork filling made them delicious.

To go with the oden, Jiang Zhou had prepared a small jar of seasoning sauce two days earlier. In their region, where the climate was humid, people enjoyed foods that could warm them up.

While Jiang Zhou hadn’t found chili peppers, he had made mushroom sauce as an alternative. He finely chopped peanuts, pork, and winter bamboo shoots, and then fried them in oil to extend their shelf life.

Although others might have their preferences, Wen Yan enjoyed it. The small plate of mushroom sauce that Jiang Zhou had put out was devoured by Wen Yan, leaving nothing behind.

As the weather grew colder, Wen Yan and Jiang Zhou sat in the empty courtyard, savoring oden. Despite the biting cold of the month, they didn’t feel it at all.

Jiang Zhou hadn’t been hungry initially, but he took a few bites with Wen Yan. After eating, he was sweating. If Wen Yan hadn’t mentioned that sudden changes in temperature could make one ill, he would have removed his clothing by now.

Wen Yan was eating more seriously, dressed in thick clothing. His cheeks turned red from the heat, and though there was sweat on his forehead, he couldn’t bear to let go of the delicious food in his hand, savoring it in small bites.

Compared to all the varieties of meat, it was evident that he favored the white radish soaked in the soup.

Wen Yan had never been fond of radishes, often finding them too pungent. He wouldn’t touch the radishes in the pork ribs and radish soup that Jiang Zhou had once cooked. But today, he felt that the essence of the soup had been absorbed by the radish, making it exceptionally delicious. It was so good that he almost bit his own tongue.

He suddenly understood why Jiang Zhou had the courage to give up the promising sponge cake business and switch to this venture. Not everyone was willing to let go of something with such a hopeful future.

In his heart, there was a hidden sweetness and pride – for Jiang Zhou’s vision and bravery.