The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Hearing the noise, the man immediately calmed down and said, "Find a place to hide, and I will go out and have a look. As the sound of the horses is constant and uniform, I suppose they should be well-trained soldiers. This place is only one hour away from the Cangshan Camp and I think Zhao Liu and Tietou should have called for reinforcements as they couldn't find us."

Lin Dan nodded and watched him as he went out. To prepare for any surprises, she found a place and hid with her two maids. After a while, the door of the village slowly opened, and the man walked in with a tall leading man with a knotted beard, followed by Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou.

"Fuck! You got me here on this barren mountain in the middle of the night for a rescue mission, but looks like I came in vain! I’ve even brought some of my best soldiers here who are close to my heart and they were ready to sacrifice themselves. Although we won’t be fighting, you better remember our kindness!" The bearded leader complained in frustration.

"General, we rescued these people from the woodshed, and they are not injured." Some soldiers ran over to report the situation, who were followed by a thankful group of people including Xiao-zhu and the others.

"Where's the manager? Didn't you say that there is a Manager Lin whom we must rescue?" The bearded man looked around impatiently.

"I am here. Please accept my gratitude for coming to the rescue!" Lin Dan immediately walked out of the dark and presented a low bow, while Shaoyao and Dujuan cupped their hands in fear.

The bearded man looked at Lin Dan carefully. He was a little disappointed to see that she only had a nice figure but was not a charming beauty. He had thought that the Manager Lin who Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou asked to rescue no matter what was an exceptional beauty, but she turned out to be someone who was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Never mind, rise." The beard became even more impatient. "My brothers have worked hard during the day and rushed here in the middle of the night. I wonder how many of them will collapse tomorrow. I won’t be here if I have known it’s just such a small bandit hideout!"

Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou were embarrassed. If they had known that this group of bandits was easy to deal with, they would not rush to the mountain to rescue everyone too. They knew that their leader was strong in martial arts and could certainly protect himself, but they were unsure whether Manager Lin and the two maids would go unscathed. Bandits were well-known to be inhumane, they would rape women and cut men’s tongues for sale at the Xishan coal mine. This was why they could wait no more and immediately got reinforcements here as soon as possible.

"Where are the bandits? Have you finished them up?" The bearded man looked at the handsome man and had no doubt that he was able to do so.

"It was Manager Lin who dealt with them." The man pointed to the hall. A group of people hurriedly rushed in to have a look and was shocked by the scene.

"What the fuck?" The beard walked back and forth around the drunken bandits before giving a hard sniff at the empty wine urn. His face turned somber, "What kind of wine is this? It smells damn good!"

Xiao-zhu proudly replied, "This is the Thousand-Days Wine that is brewed by the manager herself."

"Thousand-Days Wine? The one that Liu Xuanshi drank?" The bearded man raised his voice with a shocked expression. He did not mind the mess and grabbed a wine cup that was used by one of the bandits before pouring the last bit of wine into his mouth. He could not help but smacked his lip in an exaggerated manner. 

"This is a fine wine and an extremely rare one. It has a nice aroma, it’s mellow and strong but smooth as it enters the throat. It burns as it enters the stomach and has a bittersweet aftertaste that lingers for a long time… This is the best wine I have ever drunk. The legendary Thousand-Day Wine, indeed!" As the bearded man commended the wine, he picked up all the wine cups on the table one by one and finished them without wasting a single drop.

Most of the soldiers that came with him loved wine as much as him, and they started checking all the wine pots, hoping to find some wine. But they would probably find nothing since these bandits were so greedy that they had finished all the good things.

"Darn, there’s none left. Would it kill you to drink less?!" As the bearded man could not find any wine, he could only vent his anger on the bandits who were already dead drunk. Suddenly, he turned his head quickly at Manager Lin as he remembered that this wine was made by her. He looked at her with a pair of eyes that looked brighter than a torch.

Lin Dan cupped her hands and said regretfully, "I’m sorry, general. This wine is extremely difficult to brew. It took me three years to make only one urn and I don’t have any more left."

The bearded man’s bright eyes went out instantly. He then lifted the urn with his hands and shook it vigorously before yelling in surprise, “There is still a thin layer of wine left! Hurry, bring me an empty jar!"

The handsome man shrugged but quickly brought him an empty jar. The bearded man slapped the bottom of the urn and could only gather just a little bit of wine. It was a really pitiful scene as the amount of wine left could not even fill up the palm-sized jar.

The bearded man looked at the small jar in his palm and at the big urn that was initially filled with wine. He then looked at the bandits who were unconscious and lost his cool. He grabbed one of them and kicked him violently while cursing him, "You motherfucker! How dare you rob on my territory?! I’m gonna screw you up when you’re awake!"

The bandit was so badly beaten up that he was puking blood, yet he was still unconscious. This showed how strong the wine was.

Lin Dan cupped her hands and tried to appease him, "I’m thankful for everyone who is here to save us in the middle of the night. Since there is some food left in the kitchen, shall I whip up some food to fill everyone up? I’m sure all of you must be tired from traveling here, it will be a good time to take a break and replenish your energy. "

Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou were already drooling at the table full of leftovers. When they heard this, their eyes lit up, and even the handsome man had swallowed his saliva quietly. As the bearded man had never tasted the Manager Lin’s cooking, he was indifferent to her suggestion. The other soldiers who came nodded half-heartedly and took out a rope to tie the bandits up.

Lin Dan smiled and took the two maids to the kitchen. Since the bandits only drank but did not get to eat much, the food was still warm on the stove.

The dishes were soon served. There was a large pot of beef stew with rice wine, a large pot of beef meatballs boiled in beef soup, a plate of braised beef tendon, a plate of stir-fried beef with green onion, and a bucket of white rice. The portions were more than enough to feed more than twenty to thirty people. The dishes were all piping hot and white steam was coming out from the dishes. A delicious aroma of meat that was mixed with the mellow wine aroma slowly filled up the hall.

“Gulp,” The bearded man swallowed hard.

“Gulp, gulp…” The soldiers stood up one after another, swallowing saliva and rubbing their bellies. They felt as though there was a gluttonous worm wiggling in their bellies and eager to feast on a meal.

"Thank you all of you for coming here to save us. I have no other talent besides having decent culinary skills, and this meal is my way of expressing my gratitude. I hope you will like it." Lin Dan thanked everyone again sincerely. Her servants had already cleaned up the messy dining table and were serving the soldiers one by one.

The bearded man stretched his neck and swallowed his saliva. He waved his hands and said, "Don’t mention it at all, I’m sure we will enjoy this." He smiled and there was no hint of impatience anymore. His soldiers also gathered around, ready to begin.

"Let's eat." As soon as the handsome man spoke, everyone hurriedly picked up their utensils.

"This beef was actually stewed with the Thousand-Days Wine?" The bearded man ate a piece of beef stew and his eyes widened. He started eating faster and quickly grabbed as much food as he could into his bowl. Everyone picked up their speed as well and enjoyed the food with their mouths full of grease, and their faces full of amazement.

The stew was made of cow brisket where it had a mixture of lean meat and fat. It was cooked so soft that it could melt in the mouth. The beef meatballs were made of beef clods, which were beaten repeatedly and kneaded with a wooden stick. It would produce a chewy and smooth texture when cooked and a gap will naturally be created within the beef ball filled with fat and bone broth. The fragrant and thick broth would ooze into the mouth with only a bite, creating an amazing experience. The beef tendon was deep-fried, steamed for another quarter of an hour, before finally stir-fried in the wok, where each and every tendon would be covered in the bright and reddish gravy. Each bite would give a soft and chewy texture at first but would turn sticky and springy at the end, creating an interesting meat texture.

Manager Lin had displayed her exceptional culinary skills through these dishes. They were incredibly delicious, some of them were aromatic, some chewy, while others were flavorful and fresh. Everyone was only half full when the food was finished, but all of their unhappiness for doing a rescue mission in the middle of the night was all gone, and they seemed to want more of it. “This trip was totally worth it!” They thought.

Knowing that they were unsatisfied, Lin Dan broke the beef bone that had been boiled for two hours and made another pot of bone marrow soup. The stewed beef marrow that was hidden in the bone would be delicious when it was slid into the mouth with a gentle suck. One would feel refreshed drinking the soup, and would even feel as though their pores were cleansed.

The bearded man sucked a cow bone with both his hands happily and commended, "Manager Lin, how did you possess such good culinary skills? We heard from Zhao Liu saying that you intend to open a restaurant in the capital? You’ve got to inform me when your restaurant is open, my brothers and I will show you some support!"

Lin Dan scooped a spoonful of soup for the handsome man and put a piece of beef bone in it. She said humbly, "My skills are not as good as you said, General. But as long as you’re in the capital and are visiting my restaurant, I’ll… "

Before Lin Dan could finish speaking, the man said solemnly, "Showing support doesn’t mean you're having a free meal, since it’s not easy to open a restaurant in the capital." The man gave the bearded man a cold stare that sent shivers down his spine. The bearded man said that he would definitely pay for his meals and not a single cent less.

Lin Dan saw the two men's interaction and knew that the handsome man’s identity was not simple, but she kept the question in mind. She knew that travelers should know when to speak, look, or act, lest they get into trouble. She thought they would not see each other anymore after entering the capital and there was no need for her to know too much.

After everyone had finished eating, they followed Lin Dan to where her carriages were parked and seized the bandits’ loot. The handsome man did not know how she got to know about the hiding place of the stolen goods, but he had a better understanding of how shrewd she was.

The bearded man helped Lin Dan organize the goods and carefully checked that she really did not have any extra wine left, before returning to the camp reluctantly. That night, he brought that jar of Thousand-Days wine into the capital to find his boss, Duke of Weiyuan. If the bearded man was a wine lover, the Duke of Weiyuan was an even bigger wine lover than he was. The Duke of Weiyuan governed the south-eastern region, while the Duke of Yongding governed the northwest. They were both two of the most powerful figures in the kingdom of Great Chu, where one could expect himself to easily rise up in ranks with only a word from them.