His feet carried him through the streets. Providence was on his side that day because he took a wrong turn and ended up in front of the house. He recognised the gates when he saw it. It was located at the end of an alley in the amber river district. He tried to control his excitement as he knocked on the gate. 

Fu lianzu took a few steps back when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the other side of the door.

Ye zhian was puzzled to see the old man. He'd recognised him immediately upon seeing. He just didn't understand why he had appeared in front him.

'Kid, I have come to eat.' 

He stated, pushing past Ye zhian into the house. 

They were busy today. Bai li yue was teaching him a technique called hot air cooking today. He didn't wish for any interruptions.

'Sir, please. Today- today is no good. Please come back another time.'

'I don't want much, just something good like last time.'

'The lady is busy today, sir. Please, understand.'

He pleaded again. But Fu lianzu was as stubborn as he was old.

In the back of the kitchen, Bai li yue wiggled her hands idly. Ye zhian was taking too long to return. He had gone to investigate a sound and wasn't back yet. The dough was ready to enter the oven and she wanted him there to see it. 

'What's keeping that boy?'

She found him arguing with an old man. He wanted the old man to leave the house but the man wasn't budging. 

'What is this?'

'Miss.' 

Ye zhian quickly explained the situation hoping that she would take control of the situation, but all she did was chuckle. 

'He is welcome to stay. Uncle, please take a seat. Your meal will be ready soon.' 

She motioned Ye zhian back to the kitchen. 

He backed away from the hot metal contraption that Bai li yue had commissioned from a blacksmith. He still didn't understand how the contraption worked, but Bai li yue looked unconcerned with the heat emanating the metal chamber. They placed the loaves into the hot chamber and went back into the kitchen. 

Ye zhian had learnt a lot under Bai li yue's tutelage. He chopped vegetables and meat with a familiarity that spoke of hundreds of hours of practice. 

Bai li yue stayed near the rudimentary oven and sniffed the air from time to time to determine how the baking was progressing. She quickly pulled the bread out the moment she smelled burning. Her senses were on point. The golden brown loaves were only burnt on the bottom. With a few careful slices, the charred bits were history. She left them to cool outside and watched Ye zhian fry a section of deboned fowl for their customer. 

She sliced the bed and passed Ye zhian a slice. He devoured it instead of savouring it as she'd intended. She took another for herself. The bread was a yeastless bread and wasn't as fluffy as what she knew, but it was better than nothing. 

She assembled a sandwich using the fresh bread, vegetables and homemade egg mayo.  

Ye zhian watched in awe as the different parts of the meal came together. He knew how to prepare everything except the loaf cooked in the metal chamber. 

'Go get a pot of cold juice from the river.'

Ye zhian jogged to the river bank behind the house and pulled a metal box attached to a rope out of the flowing river. They used the box to cool and preserve the juice they made.

He returned from the river with a pot of cold citrus fruit juice that would accompany the food. 

He tossed the fowl in some spicy sauce and  served the meal to the old man waiting impatiently in the garden. 

'Uncle, here you go.'

'Kid. What is this food called?'

'I will go and ask.'

Ye zhian went to the kitchen where Bai li yue was preparing another batch of sandwiches.

'Egg sandwich.'

'Egg sand witch?'

Bai li yue chuckled. It was probably a better idea to change the name to something else. She handed him a sandwich.

'Try it and think of a name…'

Ye zhian took a big bite and chewed attentively. 

'Heavenly bite.'

'Wow! That's ambitious. Aren't you afraid the heavens will smite you?'

'You said-'

'Heavenly bite it is!'

When Ye zhian returned to inform the oldman of the name, he found a generous sum of money, but no person.

Strangely, the table was bare. The man had taken the plate  and the pot away. He shook his weird and memorised the old man's face. Generosity aside, if he ever showed up again, he wouldn't cross the threshold.

He didn't tell Bai li yue of the theft of the plate. He listened as she explained the new technique of cooking to him. He still couldn't wrap his head around all the steps. He didn't know much about the other countries on the continent, but he was certain that people didn't cook with hot air. The metal contraption was something that even the blacksmith had some difficulty building. How could it be easy? He had never seen or heard of it before.

Fu Lianzu was having a wonderful day. One could say it was the happiest day of his life. They wouldn't be wrong. He was beaming like a child earning his first gold. A group of old men followed him through the streets. 

Mere hours after he'd left the house, he was back there again. 

This time, it was Bai li yue who answered the door. She'd been resting in the shade when she heard the knocking.

'We have come to eat.' He declared as if it was the password that would gain them immediate entry into the house.

'This isn't a restaurant.' 

She wasn't about to let the man back inside - not when he was accompanied by a flock of people. She'd be glad for the patronage if she intended to open a restaurant, but she didn't have time for this.

'We are willing to pay generously.' 

He spoke the second password. Again his words fell on deaf ears. Bai li yue moved to close the gate. He struck his hand out, stopping it from closing. 

'Please!' 

He breathed desperately. He had gathered the association members with promises of a meal out of this world. He wouldn't be able to show his face before them if they were refused entry.

'Please.' 

He pleaded again when the gate didn't shut immediately in his face.. 

'This had better be the last time, i see you here.' 

She sighed and stepped aside.

'Ye zhian! We have guests!'

She called out to the boy who had gone for a swim in the river. He came running and froze when he saw the old man surrounded by newcomers. Fu lianzu winked at him.

'Kid, i told my friends how good the food here is. You shouldn't turn me into a liar. Now, get to work. We're starving!'

The sun had set when she finally sank into a chair. Ye zhian was serving the final platter of fruit salad. The impromptu customers had eaten all the food in the pantry in one sitting. She just hoped that the money they paid would cover restocking the pantry and their labour. 

'Are they gone?' 

She asked ye zhian when he returned carrying a heap of dirty plates.

He handed her a heavy money purse. 

'Keep it. Use the money to buy food for the kitchen and save the rest for yourself.'

'What about you? You did all the work.'

'My gift to you. Aren't you planning to open a small restaurant of your own someday? That means that you'll need to save every coin until you're ready.' 

She wouldn't be there to see him achieve his dream, so she figured she'd help him as much as she could.