Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 239 - 238 Tofu Pudding and Soup Dumplings

Five minutes before nine, the provincial team had completed their check-in for training.

After finishing his last cigarette in the hallway, Teacher Jie entered the classroom on time, not looking at anyone. He headed straight to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote down three big, crooked characters—

Jie Qifen.

After writing, he threw down the chalk and pointed at the blackboard.

"Make sure you see it clearly, the ’Qi’ from ’dispute,’ and don’t write it as the ’Fen’ from Liu Jifen."

Amid sparse laughter, Jie Qifen directly took a seat on the platform, casually nodding to the class, "We only have seven days, so let’s not waste time. This training session, I have two paths here, but limited time means choosing just one. So, let me ask first, who wants to get closer to the truth of physics? Raise your hand."

This first question stunned everyone.

Still, three or five people, including Qi Yingnan, caught on and raised their hands high.

"Okay, I got it," Jie Qifen continued, "Who wants to improve their competition scores, raise your hand."

This time, seven or eight people uncertainly raised their hands, and Qi Yingnan’s hand was still up.

"Those who didn’t raise their hands both times, why did you come here?" Jie Qifen shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Okay, okay, I know you’re having a hard time choosing, let’s try this again—"

"Those who want to get closer to the truth of physics, I’ll take you to visit real research-grade laboratories in the experimental training section if possible, you might even get to participate; for theory, I’ll teach you cutting-edge knowledge."

"Those who want to improve their competition scores, we will do and discuss problems. Ji University isn’t short of competition champions, they will teach you better than any teacher, and I’ll personally pull them all in for you."

"We have limited time and resources, so we can only choose one path; the minority will follow the majority."

"Now, those who want to get closer to the truth of physics, please raise your hand; those who want to improve their scores, just stay still."

After this explanation, only two people remained raising their hands, even fewer than the first time.

One was Qi Yingnan, and the other, a lower grade auditor.

"Alright, I got it," Jie Qifen showed no extra emotion as he jumped off the platform and said to Lu Yang, "Organize them. Meet at the basic teaching laboratory at 9:30. I’m going out to fetch a couple of champions for the physics competition."

After giving these instructions, he pocketed his hands and walked out of the classroom, already putting a cigarette in his mouth.

Although the class was confused by this teacher, if he really could bring experimental champions for guidance, as far as the competition was concerned, it definitely would be more effective than most university teachers.

Lu Yang was quite innocent in this matter, the opening speech for the training was supposed to be the Vice Dean’s task, but after being passed around, it ended up in the hands of a regular student.

Sigh, no choice, for the sake of recommendation, he had to toughen up and do it.

Thus, Lu Yang stepped up to the podium, sighed, and said, "Sorry everyone, Teacher Jie is quite a character, but he is actually our country’s first IPhO champion, only 16 at the time. The reason he didn’t get full marks was that his English was too poor, he didn’t understand the question."

The classroom buzzed!

All students were shocked.

Is this Ji University? Any random person has this level of achievement?

A student eagerly asked, "Since Teacher Jie became famous so early, he must have many accomplishments by now, right?"

"Well... research is something that requires perseverance... and also a bit of luck," Lu Yang said awkwardly, "But please rest assured, Teacher Jie’s understanding of competitions is definitely the best in our school, it’s not easy to have him for this training."

After saying these words, Lu Yang suddenly felt more grown-up.

To the entire class, to lie without batting an eye, have I really matured this much without realizing?

Then another student asked, "Senior, when we meet him, should we call him Professor Xie?"

"Well… he personally doesn’t like the title ’professor’ much, just call him teacher. Actually, calling him by his name is fine too; he doesn’t mind," Lu Yang clapped his hands, "Alright, now I’ll point out a few things to be aware of..."

...

In the courtyard of the School of Physics, Li Zheng sat alone on a stone bench, not in a hurry to leave.

As the saying goes, having come all this way, even just to breathe the air of physics is a great thing.

Thinking back to the past, not to mention Ji University, he barely dared dream about universities like the University of Science and Technology or Polytechnic University, let alone compared to people like Lin Yujing, he felt like they were worlds apart, invisible to each other.

But now, here he was, truly sitting here, with his grandest goal merely a stone’s throw away.

I didn’t know what state I would be in when I actually started university.

In the midst of my reverie, a whiff of cigarette smoke drifted over.

Li Zheng frowned and turned his head just as Jie Qifen pinched out his cigarette and sat down next to him.

"Stop thinking about it, it’s pointless," Jie Qifen patted Li Zheng on the shoulder. "If you really like it, go abroad. IPhO is a good opportunity."

"?" Li Zheng unconsciously shifted to the side, considering the other was a Ji University teacher, he didn’t think it appropriate to contradict him outright.

"Li Zheng, right?" Jie Qifen pointed at the academic building and smiled, "When you look up at it, you can only see the side it shows you, and you might imagine it to be incredibly sacred and beautiful. But once you actually get up there, that’s when you’ll see what ’filth’ really means."

Upon hearing this, Li Zheng immediately stood up. "If that’s true, then why didn’t you go abroad, Teacher Jie?"

"My English isn’t good," Jie Qifen nodded solemnly. "I friggin’ hate English."

"..."

"Haha, alright, do whatever you want then, I’ll stop nagging," Jie Qifen also stood up and started walking away. After about seven or eight steps, he suddenly turned back and added, "Study math well, as well as you can. It’s not just for competitions, it’s important for the future too."

"Hmm..." Li Zheng nodded doubtfully.

That advice was really to the point.

...

Leaving the School of Physics, Li Zheng was about to leave when he passed by the breakfast stall he often frequented during the chemistry provincial team’s training. Remembering their tasty tofu pudding, he strolled over and ordered a bowl.

The stall owner, recognizing Li Zheng’s face, filled the bowl a bit more and sprinkled extra cilantro on top.

Just as he was about to hand it over, Li Zheng suddenly raised his hand. "Add another 2/3 spoon of gravy, thanks."

"Oh?" The stall owner added another half a spoon for Li Zheng and chuckled. "Young man, aren’t you afraid it’s too salty?"

"It’s not salty," Li Zheng confidently took the bowl. "You gave a generous amount of tofu and cilantro today. Without extra gravy, it would lack flavor."

Only then did the stall owner realize that he had already formed a habit of how much seasoning to add. Even though he had given more tofu, he had forgotten to pair it with the appropriate amount of gravy.

Such miscalculations shouldn’t happen at an old breakfast stall.

On one hand, the owner was somewhat embarrassed, but on the other hand, he looked at Li Zheng with a new respect.

Who would’ve thought, this familiar young man, quite young, had already become a veteran tofu pudding connoisseur.

As it was nearing the time to close the stall and there weren’t many customers left, the stall owner took the time to size up this young veteran eater.

At his end, Leng Zheng, sitting comfortably, added a bit of chili oil, picked up his spoon, and meticulously scooped out a section that was half spicy and half not.

The stall owner watched that spoonful of tofu pudding and couldn’t help but nod in admiration.

Here, the skill of eating tofu pudding was displayed.

To achieve even flavor, one must stir appropriately.

But stirring too much could ruin the integrity of the tofu, turning what was a smooth block of tofu pudding into a fragmented mess with no texture.

And a true veteran, with one spoonful, would definitely scoop up a perfect piece of tofu along with just the right amount of gravy and chili oil.

Indeed, he had not misjudged the man.

After comfortably swallowing his first spoonful, Li Zheng savored it with a pleased pursing of his lips, then carefully, steadily scooped up the next spoonful.

After consuming three to five spoonfuls, the stall owner’s smile was complete.

Heh, this young man’s skill was deeper than he had imagined.

One must know, each spoonful of tofu pudding is deliberate, with the seasonings evenly distributed.

If one ends up with only plain tofu at the end, then there’s no flavor left.

If only the seasonings remain, then the previous experience wouldn’t have been perfect.

Easy to say, but without a decade or two of experience, don’t even dream about achieving this with every spoonful.

If anything, this is a mathematical problem.

Suppose the total amount of tofu dessert is X cubic centimeters, and it requires Y spoons to finish, with each spoon nearly the same size.

Suppose the total amount of seasoning is Z milliliters.

Thus, each spoon corresponds to X/Y cubic centimeters of tofu dessert, as well as Z/Y milliliters of seasoning.

Add to that the uncertainty of cilantro and chili oil.

To achieve perfect distribution, one must introduce calculus and limits.

But even with perfect calculations, one still faces the inaccuracy of human estimation and the instability of human hands.

One could say that perfect tofu dessert eating, like Euclidean geometry, exists only in abstract theory and can never truly be realized.

But that does not prevent humanity from pursuing perfection.

Just like the concept of 1 centimeter is abstract, though we cannot achieve it with absolute precision, humanity can continuously improve precision, getting closer and closer to the limit of accuracy.

And at this moment, Li Zheng was the challenger of this limit.

To the vendor’s eye, each of his spoons was flawless.

In the blink of an eye, half a bowl of tofu dessert was finished; the vendor, looking at the condition inside the bowl, had already widened his eyes.

The size of the tofu dessert had just halved.

The thickness of the seasoning had also exactly halved.

Perfect… too perfect…

In the midst of his astonishment, a round-faced girl with glasses approached the stall, eyeing the steamer piled high with baskets of buns.

"Soup dumplings, the bottom tray, thank you,"

Just by the voice, the vendor knew who it was, smiled, and shook his head, pulling out the designated tray of buns, "Freshly steamed, don’t worry, would you like another bowl of soy milk?"

"Ha, you remembered," the girl said with a beaming smile as she took the buns and moved to the table behind Li Zheng.

The vendor poured a cup of soy milk, equally full of admiration for the girl.

If that young man was an expert in tofu dessert, then this girl was an expert in soup dumplings.

The art of soup dumplings is no less complex than that of tofu dessert.

The simplest rule—one must eat them freshly steamed.

If they were steamed earlier and just kept warm on top, after a while, the buns might stick to the basket, tearing when picked up.

For soup dumplings, tearing is a catastrophic experience, akin to a ballpoint pen leaking on an answer sheet during an exam.

Therefore, the shrewd soup dumpling connoisseurs take care to observe the cook’s basket arranging technique closely, pinpointing the freshest batch and intercepting it just as it’s perfectly steamed.

The round-faced girl paid, took her soy milk, and hastily sat down behind Li Zheng, urgently pulling out a pair of chopsticks, picking a dumpling by its edge, and gently shaking it.

The vendor’s lips slightly curved up.

This was no flurry but a pursuit of the ultimate tasting moment.

The reason for this few shakes was firstly to slightly loosen the part of the soup dumpling sticking to the basket, lowering the chance of "breaking the skin" when picking it up later.

Secondly, it was to let the fats mix evenly with the meat inside, preventing an overly rich broth.

As expected, after a few shakes, the girl deftly lifted the entire dumpling without spilling a drop.

Next came the most crucial step.

The round-faced girl did not hurry to eat the dumpling but placed it on a spoon, gently poked a small hole, then held the dumpling allowing the broth to fill the spoon, before she brought it to her lips, gently blew on it, and then sipped it clean.

"Ah…" The girl showed a content expression, savoring the broth before stuffing the rest of the bun into her mouth.

That’s the thing, the essence of soup dumplings is in the broth, not the bun.

If one bites into it all at once, it inverts the subject and object, losing the essence of the soup dumpling.

However, this method of "pouring broth into a spoon" is not the most perfect way to eat them.

Could it be because of that?

The stall owner looked at the round-faced girl as she picked up her seventh bun with suspicions filling his mind.

This time, she didn’t put it into a spoon but instead titled her head back and clamped it between her lips.

Here it came!

The girl gently bit into it, creating a small opening in the bun’s skin. With a single "slurp" sound, she sucked all the tasty soup out.

That was the perfect way to eat it.

The girl obviously knew it.

She hadn’t eaten like this before only because it was too hot. She needed to pour it into a spoon and blow on it a bit.

But waiting for it to cool naturally posed the risk of the soup buns sticking to the bottom of the steamer and breaking.

Starting to suck on the seventh bun was essentially the best solution.

Watching a century-old tradition being passed on within the Ji University campus, the stall owner smiled with gratification as he began to pack up his stall.

Some traditions had already been turned on their heads.

Some legacies were just beginning.

Seeing the stall owner packing up, the young man and woman sped up their breakfast pace and almost simultaneously turned in their bowls.

Hero, now their paths crossed.

"Li Zheng?" the round-faced girl exclaimed, "How come you again..."

"You are..." Li Zheng stared at the girl for a long while before saying somewhat timidly, "Senior Sister Shen?"

"Damn, it’s only been a few days and you don’t recognize me?" Shen Yiyun cursed as she wiped her mouth, "Ungrateful wretch!"

"It’s not... I have a good memory. It’s your issue."

"Me?" Shen Yiyun narrowed her eyes, "Oh come on, just say someone has gotten prettier straight out~~~"

"Alright, alright... you’ve gotten prettier, to the point of being unrecognizable."

"How come your words sound so insincere?"

"Hahaha." The stall owner laughed, "He’s embarrassed to tell you that you’ve gotten fat, but fat looks good on you."

Shen Yiyun’s face twisted, and she pulled Li Zheng away.

The stall owner did not know that his comment would cause him to forever lose a hardcore foodie.

Li Zheng and Shen Yiyun walked toward the east gate, chatting about recent events until he learned that the IChO finals had already concluded. The closing ceremony would start around 4 pm Jijing time today to announce the rankings.

"So, do you want to watch the livestream together?" Shen Yiyun asked.

"Won’t it interfere with your work or studies?"

"Hey, it’s still the ’May Day’ holiday, you know~" Shen Yiyun pulled Li Zheng by his hands, "Come on, don’t you want to see Zhou Chenghuan and Shi Yang receiving their awards?"

"Well... it does sound interesting..." Li Zheng pondered then replied, "But it’s still early, and we’re free anyway. I haven’t been to Ji University in a while. I kind of miss some things."

"Like what?"

"The five-kilometer run."

"..." Shen Yiyun stepped back.

"Come on, come on." Li Zheng turned back and grabbed Shen Yiyun, "Don’t give up on yourself. Push yourself, work hard, be strong."

"Not... can we just do one kilometer..."

"Are you kidding? That doesn’t even count as foreplay. Five kilometers isn’t that hard, it feels like dying at first but you’ll get used to flirting with the edge of death."

"No... no... you go back, forget about watching the IChO or whatever."

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