Grand Epic Elemental

Chapter 15: Breakfast Conversations and Paying Respects

Leiyu and Thallios sat at a small wooden table near a row of outdoor food stalls. It was mid-morning and there were a few other customers sitting around them. A waiter approached them with a tray and set down two plates and two steaming bowls of milky liquid.

"Is this soup?" asked Thallios as he pointed to the bowls.

"It's called doujiang. It's made from soybeans that have been ground up, boiled, and filtered to remove the chunks. You can take the youtiao," Leiyu gestured to one of the plates that had several sticks of fried dough, "and dip it into the doujiang."

"Oh, interesting."

"And this is fantuan," said Leiyu, pointing to the other plate. "It's sticky rice wrapped around youtiao and rousong. Rousong is...I guess you could translate it as meat floss."

"Meat...floss?"

"It's meat that's been marinated, dried, and pulled apart to thin strands."

"Fascinating."

Leiyu began chewing on one of the fantuan while Thallios took a spoon and gingerly sipped the doujiang.

"Oh, this is an interesting taste," said Thallios. He tore off a piece of youtiao, dipped it into the doujiang, and brought it to his mouth. His eyes lit up.

"You like it?"

"Mm-hmm." Thallios then reached for the other fantuan on the plate and took a tiny bite. "This one's good too." He took a larger bite. "Ah, this must be the meat floss you were talking about. Never seen anything like this. It has an intriguing texture."

"Glad you like everything."

They savored their food for a few minutes.

"So," Thallios said after he finished off the fantuan and returned to the doujiang, "tell me more about Shifu and the other disciples."

"Okay, sure. Our sect was more like an orphanage but in a good way. All the other disciples were orphans, runaways, or other kids who had no place to go. Shifu gave us all a place to stay and three hot meals a day. He also taught us martial arts. And unlike other sects, he didn't insist on lifelong loyalty. If disciples wanted to move on to something else, he would let them. Wished them well and said they could always come back if they wanted. I met Jianyi the first day I was there. Anying, I met later..."

***

Jianyi and Leiyu accompanied Shifu to the apothecary shop to pick up medicinal herbs. As Shifu chatted with the shopkeeper, the boys looked through the shelves of ginseng, tea leaves, and various dried items that included mushrooms, fish maw, scallops, and sea cucumbers.

After Shifu received his parcels of herbs, the three exited the shop. As they prepared to cross the street, Leiyu tugged at Shifu's sleeve and motioned to the two figures near them. A beggar boy sat on the ground with an empty bowl, while a man was slumped on the ground next to him.

Shifu approached them slowly and checked on the adult. He frowned. The man had already passed away. Turning to the boy, he asked, "Child, is this your father?"

The boy nodded weakly.

"I am sorry," said Shifu. "He is already gone. Where is your mother?"

"Baba said that she died when I was born," the boy replied.

Shifu sighed in sympathy. "Do you have any relatives nearby?"

The boy shook his head.

"Would you like a place to stay?" Shifu offered. "There are other kids your age."