By the rules of deduction, those with an exceptionally keen sense of smell often possess extraordinary talents—like Tie Tou, Albus, and, of course, the legendary Chu Liuxiang. Perhaps I should start steaming or perfuming my nose—maybe then I could score higher on my university exams.

  "The fifth dish! Whoever can name it correctly—dinner's on the house tonight!" Auntie Jin-Dao decred.

  Auntie Jin-Dao tapped the pot lid with a spoon, and we put on expectant expressions.

  When the lid was lifted, it revealed a pot of soup.

  The broth was exceptionally clear, yet it carried a fiery red hue. Tomatoes and eel intertwined leisurely, as if in a graceful dance. The eel seemed to be smiling—perhaps satisfied to have tomatoes as its final companions.

  Tie Tou looked troubled, shaking his head repeatedly. A-Ta hesitated, his eyes widening and narrowing in uncertainty.

  This dish probably didn't make it onto the menu very often.

  “Let me guess—‘A Forbidden Love Between Tomatoes and Eel’?” Tie Tou chewed on his finger, blurting out a completely nonsensical name.

  “Let me try—‘The Angry Tomato and the Unreasonable Eel’!” A-Ta decred with conviction, showing the most decisive expression I’d ever seen on him.

  But I couldn't quite see where the tomato's anger was coming from.

  “In my opinion, how about ‘The Eel Remains, Yet Another Sunset’?” I chimed in, unwilling to back down.

  “Correct! That’s exactly it—‘The Eel Remains, Yet Another Sunset’!” Auntie Jin-Dao shrieked excitedly, while Uncle Jin-Dao cpped in approval.

  I was utterly stunned. This had to be a supernatural event!

  "Everyone, dig in! I'm in such a joyful mood tonight"! With Auntie Jin-Dao's hearty ughter filling the air, we happily began our meal. I was especially thrilled, having correctly guessed the wildly imaginative dish name.

  "By the way, Auntie Jin-Dao , how do you manage to cook such amazing food? It's just as skilled as a professional chef's!" I said cheerfully, scooping a generous portion of chicken sad onto my pte with my fork.

  Having dinner at a undromat tonight—it was quite an interesting experience.

  "A professional chef? Auntie Jin-Dao is way beyond that! You can tell how creative someone is just by the names they give their dishes. Being a chef is all about inspiration!" A-Ta enthusiastically expined as he poured me a tiny bit of red wine—not exactly suitable for an underage girl.

  "It's true! My wife is the best. If she hadn't married a man like me, stuck running a undromat, who knows which five-star restaurant she'd be working at now as a head chef? A meal like this would cost us tens of thousands!" Uncle Jin-Dao gazed at his wife with deep affection before unching into a nauseatingly sentimental story about their past.

  It turned out that over twenty years ago, Auntie Jin-Dao was a renowned figure in Hsinchu's culinary scene. Her cooking skills were unparalleled, and so was her beauty.

  She worked as a chef at the prestigious Ambassador Hotel, and the hotel had even pnned to sponsor her to study culinary arts in Japan.

  Uncle Jin-Dao, on the other hand, was just a temporary gas delivery worker. He had to deliver gas to the hotel kitchen three times a week and had long admired her from afar, though he never found the right opportunity to express his feelings.

  One day, he delivered another gas cylinder to the hotel kitchen and saw her struggling to chop ingredients, overwhelmed with work. Thinking back, he realized she often spent a lot of time and effort chopping. So, when he got home, he ordered a top-tier knife from Kinmen and practiced relentlessly, honing his speed-chopping skills while waiting for the perfect moment to showcase them.

  The heavens took pity on him, and that day finally came. She was swamped in the kitchen, completely overwhelmed. Without hesitation, he set down the gas cylinder on his shoulder, pulled out his knife, and with lightning speed, chopped through vegetables like a whirlwind, clearing everything in sight.

  "From this day on, my name is Jin Dao—Golden Bde—for you."

  "Jin Dao? That sounds like such a fierce name."

  "Yes. For you, I don't mind having a little more fierceness."

  "Dao, have you ever tasted my cooking?"

  "I'm poor. I can't afford it. But one day, I'll save enough money. Wait for me."

  "No need to wait. I'll come to your house and cook for you."

  From that day on, she became known as Auntie Jin-Dao .

  She waved goodbye to the grand hotel and stepped into the tiny kitchen of a gas delivery worker. A few years ter, the gas worker opened a undromat, and she was promoted to boss's wife—and mother of two.

  Utterly romantic. Utterly unbelievable.

  "I've had enough of the grease and smoke in big restaurants. Ugh, you guys have no idea how painful it is to cook every day. There's no joy in it at all—I'm choking on the fumes all the time! It ages you so fast! Is youth really the most important thing?" Auntie Jin-Dao carefully picked the bones out of the tipia for me and continued, "More importantly, those people who pay me to cook always think that money is enough of a reward, but they won't even let me name my dishes? What the hell! Why can't I name the dishes I create? It makes no sense! So, I just quit and came to this damn kitchen instead!"

  "Hehe, that's why I always let my dear wife name the dishes, and then I memorize each one," Uncle Jin-Dao said with a mischievous grin.

  I burst into ughter—what a fascinating story.

  Auntie Jin-Dao cooked but hated the grease and smoke, so she only fired up the stove once a week. The rest of the time, they either ordered takeout or let Uncle Jin-Dao whip up a simple bowl of noodles. Her culinary skills were renowned among a select few food lovers who also happened to be her undry shop customers, including Tie Tou.

  Regardless of wealth or status, any regur customer who paid a basic 300-yuan ingredient fee could enjoy an exclusive, vish feast held once a week in the secret dining space above the undromat.

  "This is so good—so delicious that I'm about to shed tears of joy!"

  I gave a thumbs-up and kept devouring the food.

  "If it's good, eat more! A-Ta, serve some food!"

  Uncle Jin-Dao knocked A-Ta on the head with a spoon, prompting him to quickly pce a mb chop onto my pte.

  "Getting to taste an entirely new dish this time—what a rare treat!"

  Tie Tou grinned, his teeth speckled with bits of food, looking absolutely content.

  Eating, drinking, and chatting about all sorts of random things, this magical dinner sted about an hour and a half before wrapping up. Through our conversation, I learned that Auntie Jin-Dao's two sons had both left town for their studies two years ago—one went to a culinary school in Kaohsiung to hone his skills, while the other was studying at NTU. Both were a significant source of pride for the couple.

  I also found out how A-Ta knew about this pce.

  "A-Ta? He's just an overly enthusiastic guy. Whenever he comes to do his undry, he always chats with me and bickers for fun. One day, he brought in a feather jacket to wash, and the TV downstairs happened to be broken. He saw me messing around with it, trying to fix it, and right away, he confidently said, 'Leave this little thing to me.' Sure enough, he carried the TV away, and by the next day, he brought it back all fixed. That's how we got familiar with each other," Uncle Jin-Dao said, his expression full of admiration for A-Ta.