Nicholas was impressed. Every time he made the meal, people had always wondered what secret ingredient Nicholas had added to create the distinct flavor. The answer was simple, time.

Aspergillus oryzae was a fungus used in the fermentation process of many foods, such as soy sauce, white wine, and fish sauce. Doubanjiang required at least 10 months for the aspergillus oryzae to break down the protein to the amino acids, the key to creating the distinct flavors. However, the amount of amino acids from Grandma Pao’s was a lot more concentrated than the typical doubanjiang. 

It was extremely difficult to keep doubanjiang for ten years without over fermenting, but Nicholas’s grandmother had figured out a way to extend the fermentation process and to enhance the flavors without it completely breaking down and spoiling. It was a secret only passed down to one child in every generation.

“You’re really amazing Doctor Li!” Nicholas didn’t need to ask about the other ingredients. If Li Yun was able to figure out the sauce, the rest were simply add ons. “It would be an honor if you can join us as the third critic.”

Li Yun was still hesitant. Wu Ling and Rouxi already explained to him about the benefits of joining the show, which was mainly for the sake of publicity. If it wasn’t for the publicity for the company, he wouldn’t even bother. However, he really didn’t know much about the taste of the food.

“What do I need to do as the judge?” Li Yun asked. “All the ingredients used by the contestants are already decided?”

Nicholas nodded, Li Yun did have a point. Li Yun might be able to identify the food by eating something, but the audience would already know just by simply watching the contestants make the food. Li Yun's ability was more of a one-off talent. It would be amusing to see it for the first time, but it wasn’t enough to keep people’s interest. It was like a magician’s card trick. One or even two times were interesting, but it would get boring afterward.

“You don’t have to worry, I’m sure the writers will come up with an interesting scenario,” said Nicholas.

“How about health benefits and balance between yin and yang?” asked Rouxi. “You’re always telling me that there was too much yin or too much yang in the food. And even when there were too many fire elements or wood elements?”

“Oh hey, that’s not a bad idea either!” Nicholas exclaimed. “We don’t profile food quite often according to classical profiles, and a lot of modern food critics have forgotten about the yin-yang balance. My grandmother used to tell me that doubanjiang is one of the most nutritious foods because it combines all elements of nature.”

Li Yun also thought it was something he could point out with his ability. He nodded his head in agreement, “When are you filming?

“We will start filming in two months in November. The production will be in Panda City, are you able to spend two weeks there?”

Panda City, the birthplace of Taoism. For someone who had been studying it for so long,  Li Yun thought a pilgrimage to the city would be appropriate.

“When will it be aired?” Li Yun asked.

“After two weeks of filming, there will be a lot of editing to divide the footage into 12 episodes. We are hoping to have it aired next spring. If there’s a delay, possibly summer 2018.”

“Do you mind if I talk advertise the company I work at?” Li Yun main purpose was to use the show to advertise his company. “We might start farming local produce.”

“Cousin! Really?” Wu Ling's ears perked up and her eyes smiled with the thought that her idea might come to fruition.

“It’s a good idea, might as well do something with the empty farmland. Bufu will take charge of the project.”

“What!? Ju De hired Bufu?” Wu Ling had no idea why Bufu was even involved.

“He said he’s overworked at Bababa, so he’s going to start in a few weeks,” Li Yun explained. However, it was more likely that Bufu was bored and wanted a challenge.

“Dr. Li has a company?” Nicholas thought the doctor worked in a hospital.

“I’m a researcher at Shennong Pharmaceutical,” Li Yun explained. “We might branch out to farm local produce and sell them directly to consumers.”

“Ah, I see, a pharmaceutical company.” Nicholas wondered if a pharmaceutical company was a reliable source for produce.

“Dr. Li! If you do produce vegetables, let me be a customer,” Pao Lie chimed in. “And cousin Nick, wouldn’t it be wonderful to come to Yide for an episode?”

“We’ll come to Yide for a day's competition,” Nicholas thought it was the only way to stop Pao Lie from calling him.

Once the deal was made, they simply chatted about food. With the notebook complete, Li Yun swallowed down the tofu like it was soup, causing everyone to wonder how his tongue and stomach were handling the burning hot flavor.

“Dr. Li is truly unique?” Nicholas wondered if he should feel offended or happy that his food was swallowed down so quickly.

“He’s like that,” Rouxi explained.

“Can Dr. Li eat a lot of spicy food?” asked Nicholas.

“Most of my taste buds died and never came back,” Li Yun replied. 

Nicholas, Chef Kaiyi and Pao Lie all laughed, but he was dead serious. Li Yun was sure he had 2,000 taste buds left. He probably had a lot more as a kid, but the taste buds never came back after he started studying Taoism. Typically, taste buds grew back after 10 days, but his never grew back.

His taste buds were very limited to the basic flavors like salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. He could tell whether something was good or bad with his tongue, but the nuance of the flavors was lost on him. High-end coffee to low-end coffee, they both taste the same to him.

Nicholas realized that Li Yun could be funny with deadpan responses. The audiences may like it.

The following day, Li Yun focused on paperwork for Huifu-01 and -02. People looked down on TCM medicine, but it was because of the lack of oversight and regulation. Outside of China, TCM medicines were often classified as supplements and were not well regulated at all.

It was not the case in China. TCM medicine needed to complete the registration and regulatory documents. Technically, as a TCM medicine, the approval process should be processed easily through CFDA. Huifu-01 was classified as a multi-ingredient TCM product and -02 was a TCM injection.

The difficulty was that Li Yun’s formula wasn’t a classical formula, but derived from it. Many classical formulas had been used for centuries in clinical applications, and many of their effects were understood. The application process may it easier for those formulas to be approved.

However, Li Yun’s formula was different from the classical formulas and much more potent. It required the doctor to be well aware of its benefits in emergency situations to reduce aneurysms of the veins and arteries, as well as limitations. There were not many short term or long term side effects, but improper usage will cause diarrhea and dehydration. There were also more chances for people to experience allergic reactions such as hives.

That was the main problem with TCM pills. While they were effective, they contained too many varieties of chemicals. More chemical compounds meant more chances for people to experience some type of allergic reaction. People were different and could have allergic reactions to anything, including fruits, fish, vegetables, and even the sun. This was why some TCM pills were not too effective in large scale clinical trials. Also, any drug that reduces the pain could become an addiction. Li Yun had to limit the dosage and make it difficult for people to attain. Otherwise, the medicine was relatively safe. He made sure that any sort of overdose would be like a person overdosing on eating kale, which was possible due to the amount of thallium. Eating too much of any type of food was problematic.

As Li Yun was typing the documents, Bizi watched over the store. Li Yun worked from home as much as he could, but once he finished drafting the report, he had to finalize it at the office. Fatty Fang and Ju De had no problem going to work, but Li Yun hated driving thirty minutes to the factory.