Year 4 of the Xin Ming Calendar.
From the kitchen came the lively sound of cooking, followed by Zao Ying's cheerful voice:
"Da Niu, tonight's dinner is your favorite, braised beef."
Zheng Da Niu's entire face lit up. His reaction was immediate and intense, like a starving wolf that just heard the word "meat."
"Really?! I love that! How much longer?"
"Almost done," Zao Ying laughed. "If you can't wait, eat what's on the table first. Your favorite white-cut chicken."
"I already finished it!"
"Haha, I knew it." Zao Ying sounded smug. "Check the cabinet on the left. I hid another dish, your favorite boiled edamame."
Zheng Da Niu rushed over and pulled open the cabinet. Sure enough, a plate of edamame was waiting there like buried treasure. He grabbed it eagerly, cracking shells open and tossing beans into his mouth, one after another.
"Ever since I married you, I get to eat delicious food every day. This is heaven!"
Zao Ying snickered to herself in the kitchen.
Going to Gao Village Family Technical School to learn cooking really wasn't a waste. Whoever said you win a man's heart by controlling his stomach was absolutely right.
Just then, the side bedroom door opened.
Their son, Zheng Xiao Niu, walked out, muttering as he went:
"Mom, first you said braised beef is Dad's favorite. Then white-cut chicken is his favorite. Then edamame is also his favorite. What's with all these 'favorites'? Does that word even mean anything anymore?"
Zao Ying burst out laughing.
"You silly kid, what do you know? For your father, whatever food is in front of him becomes his favorite. Got it?"
Zheng Xiao Niu: "…"
That explanation was… devastatingly ridiculous.
"With parents like you, there's no reasoning at all," he said, shaking his head. Still, his hand reached for the edamame anyway. Then, trying to salvage his dignity, he straightened up and began reciting:
"From this world of heroes I arise,
Once in Jianghu, time flies,
Imperial glory laughed away,
Life's but a drunken dream."
"Oh ho! My son can recite poetry now!" Zheng Da Niu was overjoyed. "Your old man here is an idiot who only knows how to eat. But you're different! You'll be a scholar someday, right?"
Zheng Xiao Niu puffed his chest proudly. "Of course!"
Zheng Da Niu slapped his thigh. "As long as you're more learned than Gao Zhengjing, I'll go mock Gao Chuwu every day! Hahaha!"
Zao Ying poked her head out of the kitchen.
"Son, what poem was that? It sounded… a bit strange. Which great poet wrote it?"
Zheng Xiao Niu answered without hesitation:
"Gao Sanwa."
"PFFT!"
A single edamame bean shot straight out of Zheng Da Niu's mouth like a hidden weapon and smacked onto Zheng Xiao Niu's face.
Zheng Xiao Niu wiped his face furiously. "Dad! What the hell?! That's disgusting!"
Zheng Da Niu jumped up. "What did you say? That poem was written by Gao Sanwa?!"
"Yeah!"
Now even Zao Ying rushed out.
"You perfectly good kid, why are you memorizing his poems? Why not read proper Tang poetry?"
Zheng Xiao Niu rolled his eyes.
"What's wrong with Gao Sanwa's poems? This one is called Storm of Heroes. It's overflowing with dominance! One day, I'll be like the protagonist in his stories, roaming Jianghu with a sword, cutting down villains one after another. Ahh… I really want to experience that kind of life."
Zheng Da Niu scratched his head and turned helplessly to his wife.
"Wife… what exactly is Jianghu? Our son wants to go there. I don't even know how to explain it."
Zao Ying walked out and looked at her son with a strange expression.
"Son, Jianghu is just fighting and killing. There's nothing interesting about it."
"Nothing interesting?!" Zheng Xiao Niu protested. "Jianghu is amazing! The heroes are free and happy. Way better than being an official."
Zao Ying smiled faintly. "Being an official is better."
"You're lying! Even Gao Sanwa says Jianghu people look down on officials. No one wants to enter the system."
"I'm not lying," Zao Ying said calmly. "Most people in Jianghu dream of getting into the system."
"I don't believe you!"
Zheng Da Niu turned to her. "So… do you beat him, or do I?"
"Beat your head," Zao Ying snapped. "You only know how to hit. That's not how you teach a child."
"Then how do we teach him?"
Zao Ying didn't answer.
Instead, she took out a signal rocket.
With a sharp whoosh, she fired it into the sky.
"One arrow through the clouds, and thousands will answer the call."
The rocket disappeared into the sky… and for a moment, nothing happened.
Zheng Xiao Niu kept peeling edamame, still confused.
Then suddenly, thunderous hoofbeats.
He ran to the door and flung it open.
Outside, a massive group of cavalry had gathered.
He recognized every one of them.
Uncle Zhang. Uncle Zhu. Uncle Li. Uncle Zheng…
These men usually wore military uniforms.
But today, they were all dressed in rough Jianghu outfits, looking like seasoned wanderers.
They shouted toward the house:
"Boss! You sent the signal. What's the job?"
Zheng Xiao Niu froze on the spot.
"What is this…? Uncle Zhu? Uncle Li? What are you all doing?!"
Before he could process it, Zao Ying stepped out.
She had already changed clothes.
Gone was the housewife. In her place stood a Jianghu warrior in fitted gear, a curved blade at her waist.
With a loud laugh, she leapt onto the old horse they used for grocery runs.
That same old horse, usually dull and obedient, now stood tall and spirited, as if something ancient had awakened within it.
Zao Ying raised her blade and shouted:
"Move out! Tonight, we rob a corrupt rich man!"
Her old subordinates roared with laughter.
"Alright! Whoever Boss says we rob, we rob!"
Zao Ying grinned.
"We're robbing Gao Chuwu. That brat's been getting too arrogant lately, always bragging about his son. Let's drag his whole family out and make them drink ten bowls of wine!"
"HAHAHA! LET'S GO!"
She looked down at her son.
"Got the guts to come?"
Zheng Xiao Niu's brain completely short-circuited.
"I… you… Mom? What were you before?!"
Zao Ying laughed loudly.
"Your mother? I'm exactly what you've been reading about. A Jianghu figure. The great horse bandit of Northern Shaanxi, Zao Ying!"
Zheng Xiao Niu: "!!!"
"Move!"
At her whistle, the riders surged forward like a storm.
Zheng Xiao Niu scrambled onto a horse.
"Mom, wait! I want to be a bandit too!"
Zao Ying laughed.
"I don't want to be a bandit anymore. I'm already inside the system."
"Doesn't matter! If you went from bandit to system, then I will too! Charge!"
He shouted wildly:
"From this world of heroes I arise! Once in Jianghu, time flies! Imperial glory laughed away—HAHAHA! Uncle Gao, I'm coming to rob you!"
The group stormed into Gao Chuwu's courtyard.
Inside, Gao Chuwu and Gao Zhengjing were eating peacefully.
In the next moment, chaos exploded.
The cavalry snatched all the food from the stone table and stuffed it straight into Zheng Da Niu's mouth, while grabbing Gao Chuwu and Gao Zhengjing and hauling them away.
"What are you eating at home for? Come drink!"
Behind them, Xing Honglang stormed out, waving her chopsticks furiously.
"Are you insane?! You want to play? Fine, I'll play too!"
She fired her own rocket.
"One arrow through the clouds, and thousands will answer!"
Soon enough…
A swarm of old salt smugglers rushed in.
"Damn bandits! Stop right there!"
"Come on then! Let's see who drinks who to death!"
Both sides clashed… in a tavern.
The result?
Mutual destruction.
Old bandits and old smugglers alike collapsed, drunk beyond salvation.
Their children rushed in later, carrying their unconscious fathers home one by one.
Zheng Xiao Niu carried his completely wasted mother on his back.
"Damn… Mom and Aunt Xing are incredible… so cool…"
Beside him, Gao Zhengjing was carrying Xing Honglang.
"Brother Xiao Niu, next time, let's have a match."
Zheng Xiao Niu grinned. "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who?"
Gao Zhengjing smirked. "Who Afraid Who!"
---
Year 15 of the Xin Ming Calendar.
Zheng Xiao Niu failed the civil service exam for the third time.
He decisively gave up his mother's path and chose his father's.
He began learning cooking.
---
Year 16.
Zheng Xiao Niu opened his steak hotpot buffet: Guodi Lao.
Zheng Da Niu charged in as the first customer.
---
Year 18.
The first branch opened.
---
Year 30.
The Zheng Xiao Niu Group spread "Guodi Lao" across every major city.
Zheng Da Niu, now retired, spent his days eating endlessly at the main restaurant.
As a founding hero of the nation, his constant presence became a legend.
People came from everywhere just to watch him eat.
Without even trying, he became a "food streamer."
And under the combined efforts of father and son…
Guodi Lao conquered the stomachs of the entire realm.