Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

The last class of the afternoon ended.

Xue Yuantong, like a robot receiving instructions, kicked her legs and instantly flopped onto the desk.

"Jiang Ning, you know what to do."

She shamelessly uttered, despite their minor conflict in the morning, however, conflicts between them never involved the matter of eating.

Conflicts are conflicts, eating is another matter.

Xue Yuantong would still cook for Jiang Ning, and of course, Jiang Ning was expected to go out and buy her dinner from the school.

"Today, I'll just get you whatever," Jiang Ning said.

"Mm, I trust your taste," Xue Yuantong said, hugging her phone and burying her head in the desk, placing the phone on the outer side of the desk hole, her forehead resting on her arm as she played on her phone, feeling a secret sense of security.

"Be careful with your eyes. Watch out for myopia," Jiang Ning reminded, as he hadn't yet started researching Elixir Pills for eyesight.

"Don't worry, my eyesight is super good, our family's genes are incredibly strong."

Xue Yuantong carelessly waved her hand, gesturing Jiang Ning to leave quickly and stop disturbing her phone play.

Jiang Ning saw that Xue Yuantong had launched the game 'Joyful Landlord' and was ready for a rampage.

She did have quite a lot of Joy Beans, a long string of them.

Xue Yuantong's phone was very close to her eyes, only a hand's width away, completely ignoring Jiang Ning's prior warning.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment, feeling that Xue Yuantong was becoming more and more outrageous and decided to tease her.

His fingertip touched the tabletop, a trace of electric power leaking out, bouncing along the desktop toward Xue Yuantong's arm.

"Crackle," white sparks flickered.

Xue Yuantong, like a startled rabbit, shuddered all over, her braids jumping up.

Xue Yuantong hugged her arm, crying out in panic, "Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, I got electrocuted, protect me!"

She held her arm, both shocked and angry.

Jiang Ning sneered inwardly: 'The assassin is me.'

In fact, Jiang Ning knew better than her that the electric current he had just applied was very small, merely tingling slightly.

To warn Xue Yuantong, Jiang Ning seriously bluffed:

"It's very normal, you know. When a smartphone is operating normally, it generates an electric current. The friction from a cotton coat in winter produces static electricity. The effect of the two combined is not just as simple as one plus one, but a terrifying one times one!"

"If your face is too close to your arm, you'll get shocked."

"Do you understand what I'm getting at?" Jiang Ning asked her.

Xue Yuantong didn't believe it at all, asserting firmly, "You're definitely lying to me."

Jiang Ning said, "Don't believe me? Try playing with your phone while leaning on your arm again?"

He was ready to electrocute her again.

"Hmph, you think I wouldn't dare?" said Xue Yuantong, as she continued to play her game on her phone, only this time, she obediently placed it a little further away.

Jiang Ning was quite satisfied.

He clapped his hands and said to Geng Lu behind him, "Let's go, time to eat out."

The two had made plans to go to a newly opened noodle house outside school.

"Okay, sure." Geng Lu followed behind Jiang Ning and they left the classroom.

Once outside where the area was more open, she quickened her pace to walk alongside Jiang Ning.

She subconsciously stayed very close to Jiang Ning, not at all like ordinary male and female classmates who maintain a safe distance from each other.

It was dismissal time, and the students in the school surged towards the gate like waves.

Jiang Ning didn't take the main path but detoured through the small garden instead.

The soles of his shoes pressed against the cobblestone path, feeling the hard sensation of the pebbles, the greenery in the small garden a bit wilted in winter, with newly-installed solar-powered streetlamps standing nearby.

As Geng Lu walked through the garden, she kept talking nonstop. She was cheerful and could always find topics no matter where she was.

They crossed the garden and continued along the street, the noodle house being a bit far from the main gate of Fourth Middle School.

Approaching the crossroads, Geng Lu pointed at the 'Xinxin Noodle House' sign and told Jiang Ning:

"This place, before school started, I brought my junior high classmates to visit Fourth Middle School, and we ate at their restaurant afterwards."

The two entered together, and the noodle house was run by a down-to-earth couple.

At this moment, there were already two tables of customers in the store, and the Boss Lady warmly shouted:

"There's a menu up there, take a look at what you want. Our zhajiangmian is really good, and we also have deep-fried skewers, pick whatever you like."

It seems many couple-owned restaurants are like this, with the male owner usually silent and the Boss Lady handling the customers.

Geng Lu immediately ordered: "Two bowls of zhajiangmian."

"Do you want cilantro and green onions?" the Boss Lady asked.

"Either is fine," Geng Lu replied, having already consulted Jiang Ning's preferences, and he didn't have any dietary restrictions.

After ordering the noodles, Geng Lu also picked out some fried skewers from the fresh-keeping cabinet. She chose a few meat skewers and some 'vegetarian chicken'. She initially wanted to get some drinks too, but it was too cold, and the drinks were too chilly. The owner had soup, which would be just right to drink later.

The two sat chatting, and Geng Lu said:

"They also have sesame pastries here, very crispy. I was afraid we couldn't finish it all if we ordered too much, so we can come back next time to try it."

"Now that we're on the subject, if we were really going to eat sesame pastries, I know a place in Guyang County." She remembered that Jiang Ning's hometown was Guyang County.

"That specialty sesame pastry is super delicious, I tried them once when I went to Guyang County, I ate five in one go, it's just that I forgot what their name was," Geng Lu said with regret.

"Hu Gou sesame pastries, perhaps," Jiang Ning added.

"Yes, yes, that's the one." Geng Lu nodded like a pecking chicken, "I've heard the pastry is made with donkey fat."

Jiang Ning said, "Years ago, they indeed used donkey fat, but later on, since donkey fat became hard to buy, they switched to lard."

"Actually, the taste difference between the two types of fat isn't big; it really depends on the skill of the cook."

"The Hu Gou flatbread really tests one's technique. It's complicated to make. Let me tell you about one step of the process—have you seen the oven they use to bake Hu Gou flatbread?"

Jiang Ning looked at Geng Lu.

Geng Lu replied, "I've seen it; it looks like a huge iron barrel."

She slightly opened her arms to demonstrate, tugging at her snug cotton jacket, revealing her precociously developed figure.

Jiang Ning's gaze shifted slightly and he continued, "The other pastries you eat from the market are just put directly into the oven to bake, which is very simple. Making Hu Gou flatbread requires you to hold the dough, reach into the oven with your hand, and then press the dough into a round shape and stick it to the oven wall."

Halfway through his explanation, Jiang Ning looked at Geng Lu, who was very quiet, just listening attentively, never interrupting others.

Jiang Ning went on, "At the very bottom of the oven is a charcoal fire. Just thinking about sticking your hand into an oven hot enough to cook the dough, you can imagine how high the temperature must be. Moreover, because you have to 'press' the dough, it means your hand has to stay inside the oven for a while."

Geng Lu, picturing this scene, couldn't help asking, "What happens if you get burned?"

Jiang Ning chuckled, "If you get burned by the oven wall, you just quickly pull your hand out. But if you pull it out too fast, you might fling the dough up into the air."

"That sounds tough." Geng Lu blinked—if Jiang Ning hadn't explained, she couldn't have imagined such complexities behind a simple flatbread.

"Yes, that's why authentic Hu Gou flatbread is quite rare now. Once there's really a good one, people often come from several neighboring counties just for it," said Jiang Ning.

Geng Lu listened quietly to Jiang Ning speak at length; she suddenly felt that Jiang Ning knew so much. For something as simple as flatbread, he could talk about so many intricacies. Sometimes when she talked to Jiang Ning about other topics, he always mentioned things she had never heard of before.

"You know so much, unlike me, so dumb and clueless," Geng Lu praised him, feeling quite ignorant.

Jiang Ning tapped the edge of the table with his chopsticks, smiling, "I just knew a little earlier than you. Besides, don't you know now?"

Geng Lu suddenly felt a warm sensation inside, her eyes softening.

She opened her mouth wanting to say something when she caught sight of a few familiar silhouettes outside.

"Xiaxia, why don't we eat here? I'm sick of beef soup."

The cool girl with the short, sharp haircut stepped into the noodle house first; unlike typical short hair, hers seemed cut with a single stroke, giving her a unique charismatic charm.

"Ah, Geng Lu, you guys are here too?" Yang Sheng greeted them.

Following behind was Bai Yuxia, who took a longer look at the two. She wondered why Jiang Ning, who was Xue Yuantong's good friend, was out alone with Geng Lu.

During high school, if a boy and girl came out to eat alone together, it often led to speculation.

Although she thought this, Bai Yuxia didn't say much and also greeted Jiang Ning.

"Boss, I want a bowl of 'three delicacies' noodles, please, please don't add any spice!" Yang Sheng solemnly reminded the owner.

Bai Yuxia then said, "I'll have the chicken wing noodles, the spicier the better."

Following them were twins, identical girls who made the Boss Lady pause for a moment.

Jiang Ning and Geng Lu's Zhajiang noodles and fried skewers were quickly served.

Geng Lu mixed her Zhajiang noodles with her chopsticks and took a taste, "It's the same flavor as that day, delicious."

"Jiang Ning, you should try it and see how it tastes."

"Not bad," said Jiang Ning.

Bai Yuxia watched this scene, always perceptive; she could tell from Geng Lu's demeanor that her feelings for Jiang Ning were probably not just that of classmates.

The Boss Lady quickly prepared the noodles and served them by the bowlful.

Midway, the Boss Lady came over to ask, "What do you think of the taste? Is there anything that needs improving?"

Geng Lu said, "I think it tastes quite good, delicious."

The Boss Lady then asked, "How about the price? Is it expensive?"

In 2014, in a small city, a bowl of Zhajiang noodles for ten yuan was somewhat pricey, which could deter some students.

But Geng Lu, being a student with a thin skin, felt uncomfortable mentioning that it was expensive, fearing it might be embarrassing.

So, she said, "It's okay."

The Boss Lady agreed, "I also think it's appropriate. Our prices are higher than other places, but we use ample ingredients, definitely worth it."

"We used to be a franchise, but now we've opened our own place, ready to start anew."

The Boss Lady spoke with a face full of optimism for the future.

Jiang Ning didn't speak.

The success of a restaurant business often involved a bit of mystique; unless your food is so good that it blows everything else away, success often depends on luck.

And running a restaurant is a real test of one's disposition.

After chatting with Geng Lu's table for a bit, the Boss Lady went to ask other customers for feedback, showing great enthusiasm.

Bai Yuxia's table was also asked by the Boss Lady.

After finishing their meal, Geng Lu went to settle the bill, which, combined with the fried skewers, just happened to spend all of the thirty yuan she had earned from drawing online—a fairly expensive meal compared to her usual dinners.

Previously, when Jiang Ning and Huang Yuzhu went out for chicken soup, they could fill up for six yuan each.

Most students would likely be reluctant to patronize this noodle house and would feel that the noodle dishes weren't worth the price.

The two of them bid farewell to Bai Yuxia's group and left first.

Walking on the road, Geng Lu suddenly remembered something and said apologetically,

"Jiang Ning, I have something to do and can't accompany you back to campus."

"Sure, go ahead, and be careful."