My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 67: Chapter 66: Savory and Sweet, Only Kids Make Choices

Li Xiang used cooked gypsum to set the tofu. Following Granny Li Xiang and Third Granny’s instructions, he broke off a small piece of the gypsum, ground it into a powder, and mixed it with clear water to create a slurry.

In the countryside, there was no such thing as precise measurement; everything was done by experience. Li Xiang estimated the ratio of gypsum to soy milk to be somewhere between 1:300 and 1:500.

He sprinkled the prepared gypsum slurry evenly into the large basin, gave it another gentle stir with a long-handled stainless steel ladle, then covered it. A short while later, he lifted the lid to find that the soy milk had ”transformed” into smooth, white, and tender tofu pudding.

This was southern-style tofu, which was whiter and more delicate than northern-style tofu. The sweet tofu pudding preferred by ”Team Sweet” was usually made from this southern style, as sweet tofu pudding demanded a higher quality of ”delicacy” compared to its savory counterpart.

In fact, Li Xiang had tried both types of tofu pudding and felt they each had their own unique, delicious flavor. However, savory tofu pudding had a much bolder taste, with many toppings added like soy sauce, scallions, cilantro, chili oil, dried shrimp, and crushed peanuts. Because of this, it didn’t matter if the tofu was slightly firmer.

Tofu pudding had to be eaten while it was fresh and hot. If left for too long, it would turn into firm tofu, and the texture wouldn’t be as good.

Li Xiang made a savory bowl for his grandmother. He knew her tastes—she only ate savory. He prepared it in the authentic Sichuan style, adding minced garlic, minced ginger, soy sauce, red chili oil, ground Sichuan peppercorns, preserved vegetable sprouts, diced pickled mustard greens, sesame oil, scallions, and fried soybeans.

Since they were making tofu and wanted to taste the fresh tofu pudding today, all these toppings had been prepared yesterday. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been enough time to get them ready on the spot.

With a setup like this, Li Xiang could have opened his own shop.

Some people substitute fried soybeans with peanuts, but in reality, the texture of peanuts in tofu pudding isn’t as good as fried soybeans.

Only true Sichuanese could understand the quality of this bowl. The numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant flavors perfectly showcased the essence of Sichuan cuisine.

Of course, even within Sichuan Province, different regions had their own variations, but that savory, fragrant, numbing, and spicy flavor was always essential.

Some also liked to add crispy fried pork or a secret-recipe broth.

”Third Granny, would you like savory or sweet?” Li Xiang asked.

Third Granny was already drooling with anticipation. She quickly replied, ”Give me a sweet one! And add lots of sugar.”

”You got it!” Li Xiang deftly ladled a large bowl of steaming hot, tender white tofu pudding for Third Granny, adding five full spoonfuls of fine white sugar.

It looked like a huge, hearty portion, but the tofu was so tender and had such a high water content that it wasn’t actually that much. It wouldn’t make one feel stuffed.

”Cai’Er, how about you?” Li Xiang asked, looking at Jiang Cai’Er.

Jiang Cai’Er was still holding a phone, filming. She blinked, and her delicate, willow-leaf brows arched as she said playfully, ”Only kids have to choose. Of course, I want both!”

”You got it, Holy Daughter!” Li Xiang moved quickly and prepared two more bowls of tofu pudding, one sweet and one savory, both just as large as the ones for his grandmother and Third Granny.

”That’s too much, Li Xiang! What if I can’t finish it all?”

Li Xiang jutted his chin toward the outside and said, ”We’ve got dogs at home.”

”No way! If I can’t finish it, you have to!”

”Fine, fine. It won’t go to waste, anyway.” Li Xiang also made two bowls for himself, one sweet and one savory.

’If you can eat it, then just eat it. Why bother choosing?’

Jiang Cai’Er started with the savory bowl. On top of the tender white pudding was a rich sauce, crispy fried soybeans, red chili oil with a potent kick, and a variety of diced vegetables and scallions scattered about. It was a vibrant medley, a feast for the eyes.

She scooped up a spoonful, having to open her mouth wide to fit the generously topped bite. As the tofu pudding entered her mouth, it was a mix of soft and resilient textures. Her teeth were slowly Piercing the delicate curds, and a complex, layered explosion of flavors—fragrant, spicy, numbing, salty, savory, and rich—erupted in her mouth, seizing her taste buds like a powerful blow to her senses!

The exquisite taste made Jiang Cai’Er cry out in praise after just one bite, her eyes curving into crescents. ”This is absolutely delicious! It’s the best tofu pudding I’ve ever had! The kind you’ll never forget!”

”Haha, aren’t you exaggerating a little? I feel like you’re just sucking up to me.”

”It’s true! It’s so good.”

Jiang Cai’Er quickly finished the large bowl of savory tofu pudding. Then, she tried the sweet one. It had to be said, after eating something so flavorful, ”rinsing her mouth” with the light, sweet tofu pudding was a completely different kind of delight.

Because it had fewer toppings—only white sugar—the sweet tofu pudding couldn’t compare to the savory version in terms of layered complexity. However, its standout qualities were its lightness and sweetness.

If the savory tofu pudding was like an experienced, mature woman, then the sweet tofu pudding was like a pure, idealized first love.

Eating the sweet tofu pudding was smooth, sweet, and just like a first love.

Li Xiang also downed two large bowls. As for Jiang Cai’Er, she was never a picky eater, had no dietary restrictions, and was easy to feed. ’She’ll be highly adaptable in the future Apocalypse.’

In truth, as long as Li Xiang made it, Jiang Cai’Er wanted to try a bite.

For example, that snake and centipede wine Li Xiang had steeped—Jiang Cai’Er wanted a glass of that, too. She smacked her lips, eager for a taste, but Li Xiang wouldn’t let her drink it, saying he was afraid it would affect her intelligence and interfere with her studies.

Jiang Cai’Er burst out laughing at that. ”I’m not a child anymore! How could it affect my intelligence?” she chuckled.

People always say that young children can’t drink alcohol because it affects their brain development, but she was already fully developed.

Li Xiang had retorted at the time, ”You’re still growing.”

The prime of her youth, at sixteen or seventeen—wasn’t that exactly when one was still growing?

But Jiang Cai’Er froze, wondering. Her height hadn’t increased in a long time, so where else could she be growing? She couldn’t help but glance down at her chest. ’Is he talking about... here?’ she thought. ’Well, they are getting bigger.’

’Pfft! What am I thinking? Would drinking even affect *that*?’

「...」

After the video of them making tofu was posted, fans flocked to the comments: ”I can smell it through my screen!”

”How did you guys get Team Savory and Team Sweet to coexist so harmoniously? Are Sichuanese people really that accepting?”

”Back in my hometown, sweet tofu pudding is king.”

”In my hometown, savory tofu pudding is number one in the world! Team Sweet are all heretics!”

”Team Savory are the real heretics! Unforgivable!”

This once again stirred up the great sweet-versus-savory debate. In reality, there was nothing to argue about. Just like Granny Li Xiang and Third Granny, you should just eat whatever you like according to your own taste. When you’re eating at home, why worry so much?

Everyone saw that the girl from the Miao Family had appeared again, looking adorable even while eating tofu. Someone asked, ”Is the Saintess on vacation?”

Someone else stood up for Jiang Cai’Er: ”You dragged a high school student over to be your part-timer. Are you even paying her a wage?”

Li Xiang thought he really should pay her something. So he mentioned it to Jiang Cai’Er, saying he wanted to transfer some money to her. It wasn’t right to have her work for free all the time.

But Jiang Cai’Er refused. She pouted her pink lips and said playfully, ”If you really want to give me something, then wait until I get into university and buy me a laptop as a graduation gift.”

She’d heard that you absolutely had to have a computer for university.

Even though she was only in her second year of high school, she was already looking forward to university life.

Li Xiang said it was no problem. He promised to buy her a laptop with excellent performance and great aesthetics. ’The hard drive should be bigger, so she can store more... materials.’

’And if that’s not enough, we can add an external hard drive.’

’A place like a university has such an academic atmosphere. Naturally, one should steal a little more—no, *learn* a little more knowledge to bring back.’

In truth, he was willing to buy her something even more expensive. He was just afraid Cai’Er wouldn’t accept it. With the phone from before, she had only taken it after he said he was just lending it to her.