Backstory for Holistic Herbalism: How Mako met Liu
Chef Mako Rubiessence grew up in an area called Liyue, learning many skills from both her family and her small town. Among them was an older gentleman named Liu Xiaoxia.
Liu Xiaoxia was the last remaining member of a long line of prolific farmers of various exotic produce, and providers of local goods. Mako and Liu met when Liu was out harvesting rice stalks for his dinner, while Mako was trying to rob the merchant.
Mako's grandmother has been ill for quite some time and having watched her shakily breathe herself to sleep night after night, Mako knew she had to find some way of relief for her. She began researching various recipes used by doctors over the years, as well as medicinal research papers and old books about health and wellbeing. Holistic healing became her slowly developing ace, with her needing to swindle honest businessmen in order to keep herself afloat.
She had read of a 'seven-bean-stew' made of various rare ingredients high in various compounds good for the body, all cooked under a full moon for three days. It was said to have godly healing properties, being fed to comatose patients, with them recovering over days. This stew was made by various long-living wealthy families that could afford the toll of the exotic ingredients.
As she walked along a barren path of broken grass and gravel, she came upon a dimly lit rice paddock at the top of a pyramid of evenly spaced rice fields. The moonlight shone brightly above, yet the clouds flitted the light through smoky filters. The rice grew in a never-ending void of stars and darkness, having been bathed by the night sky for months after months. Taking a careful step forward, she feels the slimy exterior of a koi fish, slipping past her feet to the further waters.
She jumped, attempting to keep herself upright, but failing to do so, falling not-so-gracefully into the void behind her. Panicking slightly, she looked wildly around, frozen in place. Her vision had begun to blur, but after feeling the cold night air slide down her throat like that of refreshing iced water during a hot summer, she settled in the distance, eyes locking with the deep dark brown gaze of a middle-aged man.
Freezing in place, she had hoped that he hadn't seen her, cloaked by the night's shadow. Unfortunately, though. He seemed to glide right towards her, not making a single splash. Like a butterfly, he settled in front of her, reaching his hand out to her.
"Child, are you aware this ground is private, and you are trespassing?" Liu asked her. Knowing very well she had come to rob the man, Mako gains the quick wits to use her advantage.
"Priv... private grounds? This rice field can't be private-it's open! That's what my books says!" She glances down into the waters, trying to play at the innocence act. However, Liu was smarter than this. He picked the child up onto his shoulders and began to head back towards his rice paddock. This caused Mako to panic, but he simply chuckled and reassured the child.
"Child...I will not harm you. Bears hunt for fish in rice fields at night. Best you not be mistaken for a fish... Why were you in the field to begin with?"
"I... I needed some rice stalks for my gramma, she's real real sick and hasn't been out of bed for days, and I found this recipe by a man called Zhongli Xiaoxia for a... uh... 'six beans stew'...it needs unshucked rice stalks..." she trailed off into the distance, fear taking over and causing her to shut down. Liu had taken the child into his paddock and placed her on a pillow next to the fire, locked the door behind them, and went to grab a pot from the stove.
"Do you mean 'seven bean stew'? That recipe was written by the first member of the Xiaoxia family and is said to bring people back from the dead."
"Hold on, I heard it was bringing people back from a coma..."
"Zhongli...was reborn by the stew." At this point, Mako's jaw had dropped open slightly and she eagerly grabbed for the cup of ginseng tea. Sipping the liquid, she sat back down and declared that she needed some rice stalks to make the stew so she could feed it to her grandmother.
Liu chuckled and sipped his own. He sat it down on the table and went to his kitchen, removing a lid from a bigger pot on the back burner of his stove, filling the small space with a strong smell of ginger, lotus root and that citrus floral scent that made Mako sit up straight. Noticing this, Liu lidded the mixture again, grabbed some firewood and motioned for her to follow him outside.
He placed the firewood on a pyramid shaped metal frame and built a flammable teepee around it. He brought a final circular metal frame to set over the teepee, and then the pot from inside. He sat with the child back inside, sharing another cup of ginseng tea.
"Young one, how sick is your grandmother?"
"She hasn't gotten out of bed in months."
"Tomorrow when the dusk settles, I will light the fire. I will wait three days. We will have Seven Bean Soup when the moon crests highest in the sky. Till then, I will send you out, and you will return with your belongings, your grandmother, and the ingredients listed. If you can complete the journey, I will share the stew with you and heal your grandmother."
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