I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Even Kinoshita Mai, who looks weak and seems like she would cry for a long time if punched, can complete the difficult task of "infiltration and reconnaissance" on her own.

During the recent long-distance run, Qing Deng, who was running alongside the officers, did not miss a single lap and completed the training with the team members.

If you look closely, you will be surprised to find that every single one of them—including the female Sanako and Kinoshita Mai—only had slightly shortness of breath after running the entire 2500 meters, and hardly even shed a drop of sweat.

This is really baffling!

The most exaggerated one was Qing Deng—not only did he not sweat at all, but his breathing remained steady and normal, just like he had just finished a walk!

A glimpse into the whole picture... This single detail reveals the vast difference in strength between the Shinsengumi's officers and ordinary members.

—Is this the power of Niou...?!

Thinking of this, Shimada Kai looked down at his sweat-soaked clothes.

After directly experiencing the distance between himself and top martial artists, he felt amazed, but also a sense of defeat rose in his heart.

At this moment, Qing Deng's voice pulled him back to reality:

That's all I have to say! Now, everyone go eat breakfast!

Breakfast—upon hearing this word, everyone's eyes lit up immediately.

……

……

Led by Qingdeng himself, the officers and soldiers formed four columns and strode toward the mess hall.

The canteen at the residence was converted directly from the old tea room of the mansion.

The original owner of this mansion was a cultured person who not only built a courtyard covering an area of ​​more than 10,000 square meters, but also built a tea room of more than 200 square meters inside the mansion.

A standard Japanese tea room is a room enclosed by paper sliding doors, without actual walls.

The tea room is decorated in a light green color scheme.

The tatami mats are the highest quality "Bigo-o" produced in Hiroshima.

Every paper sliding door surrounding the tea room is adorned with exquisite paintings.

It must be said that the original owner of this mansion was truly extravagant. Not only did he abandon the huge, luxurious mansion, but he also left behind the rather high-class tatami mats and paper sliding doors in the tea room. He simply packed them up and gave them to Qing Deng.

It makes one marvel once again at the astonishing extravagance of the privileged class in feudal society.

This spacious room with a simple layout is perfect for converting into a cafeteria!

No major changes are needed; simply remove the high-end tatami mats and paper sliding doors and replace them with ordinary paper sliding doors.

Why does a mere cafeteria need such high-class decorations?

You mean tatami mats? What need is there for tatami mats in a cafeteria! You're too kind! If you eat sitting on tatami mats, they'll be covered in grease in less than a month!

Qingdeng didn't waste the tatami mats and paper sliding doors that were dismantled; he dragged them all away and sold them, earning a total of 35 taels of gold, which was more valuable than the broken trees in the courtyard.

The money earned from selling tatami mats and paper sliding doors was also used to subsidize military expenses.

When he was working as a middleman in Qingdeng, Qinghe Hachiro approached him and suggested that he preserve the original appearance of the teahouse.

"Lord Tachibana, this tea room is quite beautiful. Why not preserve it and use it as a special venue for receiving distinguished guests in the future!" - These were Kiyokawa Hachiro's original words.

Qing Deng rejected Kiyokawa Hachiro's suggestion without hesitation.

The army's combat effectiveness has not yet been formed, yet they are already thinking about entertaining guests... Qingdeng couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this.

The Shinsengumi is currently in a state of disarray, and there are countless places where money is needed.

Instead of keeping this teahouse as a facade, why not demolish it, sell it, and use the land as a canteen? All the dismantled items should be sold off—in Qingdeng's eyes, this is the most effective way to utilize this teahouse!

Just as the group was getting closer and closer to the cafeteria... suddenly, the sound of people sniffling loudly and frequently rang out in the queue.

"Smell...smell...smells so good! It smells so good!"

What is this smell?

"I can smell it! It smells like meat!"

"Meat? Is it chicken?"

"It doesn't seem like that! Chicken wouldn't smell that good!"

A rich aroma wafted over like a breeze, lingering around everyone's noses.

Shimada Kai sniffed wildly, greedily inhaling the aroma, his mouth uncontrollably producing copious amounts of saliva that he couldn't seem to swallow.

As he smelled the aroma, a bold idea formed in his mind:

—Such a wonderful aroma… Could it be… that breakfast will be quite lavish today?

Looking back on the meals I've had in Kyoto these past few days, they've all been very simple and plain.

We eat dry rice for lunch, and porridge for breakfast and dinner. The side dishes for all three meals are common and inexpensive dishes such as pickled radish and taro.

Therefore, it's no wonder that everyone looked astonished after smelling this rare fragrance.

With intense anticipation, Shimada Kai, swallowing hard, eagerly stepped into the spacious dining hall.

At a glance, the dining tables in the canteen have already been set up, with bowls and chopsticks neatly arranged on them.

Just as everyone was seated in their respective places, a dozen or so middle-aged women wrapped in cloths that had been cutting and cooking—they were all highly skilled cooks that Qingdeng had hired at great expense—carried a large pot into the canteen.

The moment the cooks... or more precisely, the instant the large pot came into view, the entire place fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Shimada Kai stared wide-eyed at the large iron pot that was spewing out plumes of steam, his lips moving as he unconsciously muttered to himself:

"What's this……?"

Plump chunks of meat and glistening grains of rice stained a dark red with meat juices—this was the scene that everyone saw at that moment.

The generous portion of meat congee was almost overflowing from the pot!

After a brief silence, the crowd first erupted in a quiet uproar, which then escalated into a violent commotion.

Am I dreaming?

"It's rice! Not millet or barnyard millet! It's rice!"

"There's so much meat inside!"

Is this really our breakfast?

"Impossible! This should be reserved for Lord Ren-wang and his entourage! How could we lowly soldiers be worthy of such fine food?"

"Lord Ren-wang and his group are only a few people. How could they possibly eat so much porridge!"

Qing Deng smiled slightly, as if he had anticipated the soldiers' reaction, and calmly looked at the faces filled with shock and doubt.

After a moment, he said softly:

"quiet."

The commotion gradually subsided.

"No doubt about it, this is your breakfast today."

The cafeteria, which had just been quiet for a short while, became noisy again—gulp, gulp, gulp—the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard everywhere.

"Sit still, everyone. The cooks will fill everyone's bowls. Don't rush, and don't fight. No one is allowed to touch their chopsticks until I say 'Let's eat.' Anyone who violates these rules will not be allowed to eat for the entire day!"

Before Qingdeng finished speaking, the soldiers hurriedly put their legs together, placed their hands on their laps, and sat obediently, just like children waiting for their turn to eat fruit.

Under Qingdeng's instructions, the cooks slowly walked to each person's table and swung their large ladles... filling one empty bowl after another with meat porridge.

The soldiers craned their necks, gazing longingly at the cooks, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.

If Qingdeng hadn't issued the strict order of "no fighting, line up obediently," these soldiers, who were starving after just finishing their long-distance running training, would definitely have rushed forward and started scrambling for the food.

The cooks were incredibly efficient at adding porridge, filling a bowl in just one second.

However, under the influence of Einstein's theory of relativity, the soldiers felt that the process of "waiting for the cook to come to them" was exceptionally long and agonizing.

Finally... the meat porridge has been distributed.

Gazing at the delicacies so close to him, Shimada Kai's eyes widened again, as if they were about to tear apart, his expression filled with intense disbelief.

The alluring fragrance, like the delicate hand of a peerless beauty, repeatedly caresses the skin, teases the senses, and stimulates the nerves.

Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation at the corner of his mouth—his mouth was full of saliva, and because he was so shocked that he forgot to swallow, the saliva had already dripped down the corner of his mouth.

In fact, from the moment this large pot of meat porridge appeared, Shimada Kai had involuntarily doubted himself several times, wondering if he was dreaming.

With such a thick porridge, chopsticks inserted into it would definitely stand upright!

To his shame, this was the first time in his life he had ever seen porridge so thick that chopsticks could stand upright in it!

Despite having experienced a series of complex events, including losing both parents, being adopted by relatives, marrying into a businessman's family, and being adopted by the Shimada family, every family Shimada Kai visited was a fairly ordinary middle-class family.

During the Edo period, the definition of the middle class was simply not going hungry. As for the quality of food, forget about it. The most common food was porridge, which was made from millet. Rice was only available during festivals.

Only wealthy merchants, rich farmers, and upper-middle-ranking warriors could afford to eat rice at every meal without any worries.

However, even in upper-class families of this caliber, the side dishes they ate daily were so simple that they could be described as rudimentary. They were basically just pickled radishes, salted vegetables, taro, tofu, etc. A fish was considered a feast.

Once you understand the dietary standards of the Edo period, it's easy to understand the intense reaction of the Shinsengumi soldiers upon seeing this pot of meat porridge.

It's not just rice porridge, but meat porridge with lots of chunks of meat... Even a high-ranking official with a stipend of over a thousand koku would drool over such a meal!

All eyes fell on Qingdeng—and amidst everyone's eager anticipation, Qingdeng uttered the words they most wanted to hear:

"Alright, let's eat!"

In an instant, the entire place descended into chaos!

Click-clack—that's the sound of chopsticks tapping against the side of the bowl.

Huffing and puffing—that was the sound of the soldiers wolfing down their food like pigs.

The sound of soldiers being scalded by the boiling porridge, yet unwilling to spit it out or stop, continued to devour it with gusto.

Shimada Kaiya immediately grabbed his chopsticks.

However, as if he had remembered something, he suddenly froze, a look of hesitation appearing on his face.

He wasn't the only one exhibiting such unusual behavior.

Like him, many people hesitated and didn't start eating for a long time.

"This meat... seems to be peony."