Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 1677 - 913: People of the Past, People of the Present

Chapter 1677: Chapter 913: People of the Past, People of the Present

Jiang Ning took the bamboo rat outside and with a burst of fire skill in his palm, he killed it instantly.

At the same time, he stripped all the fur off the bamboo rat, removed the skin’s fishy smell, then with a knife, he opened its belly.

After cleaning it up, he carried the bamboo rat back to the house.

Tongtong wasn’t cooking in the kitchen. Today is the Lantern Festival, the moonlight is exceptionally beautiful, she chose to have a picnic on the open ground in front of the house.

Xue Chuchu picked up a spade, helped dig a pit on the ground, set up a pot stand, and placed the home’s spare pot on the stand. Thus, a simple outdoor earth pot was made.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the full moon hangs high, bright and beautiful.

The distant fields were covered in a thin silver veil, while the flat area by the door was illuminated by electric lights. Xue Yuantong sat on a small wooden chair padded with soft cushions, deftly sorting out bowls and basins.

"Fried bamboo rat with bamboo shoots, and stick flatbreads around the pot edge!" she planned.

Xue Chuchu looked at the pit she had dug: "Hmm, my house has sweet potatoes, need them?"

"Need them, need them, when it’s almost done, we’ll bury the sweet potatoes under the firewood, and there’ll be fragrant sweet potatoes." Xue Yuantong thought she was getting hungry.

Jiang Ning announced: "Let’s start."

And so, they started cooking.

Next door, Mr. Qian watched the trio of Jiang Ning play house, but he said nothing.

Butcher Zhang stood at his doorstep, gazing at the full moon, borrowing words from the news he just watched, sighed: "Joyful Lantern Festival, celebrating the reunion, my Ba Wang, where are you?"

Though a pig butcher, he wasn’t heartless. After all, he had raised a dog for years, the most clever dog Butcher Zhang had ever seen.

"Son!" Butcher Zhang called out.

Zhang Ruyun jolted: "Dad, what’s up?"

He was just chatting with his girlfriend Ah Yue, tomorrow is the day to return to school. He wanted to ask Ah Yue if she would take the train with him, but Ah Yue said a friend would drive her to school.

Zhang Ruyun, already feeling melancholic, became even more so.

Father and son, one missed the dog, the other missed his girlfriend.

The only happy ones were Jiang Ning and the others having a picnic outside.

The firewood crackled as it burned, though noise, the sound was especially peaceful, more real than the white noise many hear through headphones, for the smell of the burning firewood, the sensation of heat from the flames was hard to mimic.

The flames cast flickering light on Chuchu’s calm face, adding a layer of mysterious color, as if firelight flickered within her bright and shining eyes.

Xue Yuantong was blanching the bamboo rat, not needing to look, she knew Jiang Ning wasn’t minding the fire.

She instructed: "Chuchu, go make some flatbreads in my kitchen, the fire’s strong, it cooks fast."

"Okay." Chuchu walked away.

After Yuantong finished blanching, the oil was hot, and she began to stir-fry the bamboo rat meat, adding spices, ginger, cooking wine, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce, one by one into the pot.

Though small in stature, she worked vigorously, Jiang Ning wondered where she got her strength.

Mr. Qian, observing the intense stir-frying of bamboo rat, remarked: "What are you eating, so fishy, doesn’t smell good when fried."

Jiang Ning ignored Mr. Qian, focused on adding a piece of wood to the pit under the pot, specifically suppressing the aroma while Tongtong cooked, preventing them from choking.

After intense stir-frying, she added the cut bamboo shoots into the pot, simply stir-frying a couple of times. A refreshing fragrance wafted out, invigorating Xue Yuantong, who vigorously stir-fried.

When evenly stir-fried, she began to add water to simmer, also directing Jiang Ning: "Add more wood quickly."

Jiang Ning added three pieces of wood at once, the flames grew stronger.

Tongtong skimmed off the foam with a spoon, then covered the pot, next came the waiting time.

Chuchu returned with a small bucket and basin.

"You came too early!" Xue Yuantong said, the flatbreads can be stuck to the pot ten minutes before it’s ready.

Xue Chuchu: "Nothing to do inside, warming by the fire."

Jiang Ning: "Here to smell the aroma, right?"

Xue Chuchu remained silent.

Next door, Mr. Qian shouted: "Hahaha, since there’s nothing to do, why not join me in guessing lantern riddles! ’The bright moon shines above the frontier’, guess a word!"

Xue Yuantong was too lazy to entertain the lone elderly scholar, waving a hand: "We’re about to play Fight the Landlord."

Mr. Qian forced a smile.

Butcher Zhang was puzzled: "Old Qian, if you’re so good at lantern riddles, why not go to the Evergreen Liquid Building, I heard there are prizes for guessing riddles there!"

Mr. Qian glanced at him, thinking, Evergreen Liquid’s event is major this time, a brick thrown would surely hit a bunch of professors, his own skills...

Mr. Qian shook his head, dreamily: "Talent mustn’t be shown! Talent mustn’t be shown!"

Butcher Zhang looked utterly confused, frowning: "What gibberish are you saying?"

Mr. Qian lamented his rarity and unfair fate, angrily scolding: "The unteachable child!"

At this moment, Xue Yuantong, struggling to grasp a card with her small hand, said: "Hey, Jiang Ning, why does the smoke always drift towards me? It’s hot!"

The heat of the flames made her involuntarily turn her face away to avoid it.

Mr. Qian, upon hearing this, immediately said loudly: "Because the Lantern Festival is a day of sacrifice, when you burn a fire outside, the departed elders feel your presence. Separated by life and death, they reach out to touch the taboo, so your face hurts so much!"

His tone was deep and melancholic, as if recalling his deceased parents, truly moving.

Butcher Zhang was touched, mourning his long-lost Bawang Dog.

Xue Yuantong stared at the burning flames, only to see the flames at the bottom of the pot become more vigorous, actually leaping out from the edge of the pot, rising and forming a dazzling fiery tornado that spiraled into the sky.

"Wow wow wow!" Xue Yuantong jumped up, eyes wide open, looking at the spectacular scene.

"What about this? What about this?" she exclaimed, bouncing around. To those who didn’t know, it looked like she was performing a ritual dance.

Zhang Ruyun, who had been helplessly gazing at the moon, suddenly saw the brilliant fire vortex, and instantly, memories of past moments with Ah Yue uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.

In his university-educated tone, he exclaimed: "The flying sparks are the tale of longing!"

Butcher Zhang: "Good lad!"

Mr. Qian looked up at the sky and laughed heartily, clapping his hands in praise: "Good good good!"

Immediately, Mr. Qian was inspired and, gazing at the full moon, passionately recited: "Old friends gently stroke the brows of current ones, dispelling decades of disasters for you!"

Xue Yuantong kept her eyes fixed on the dazzling flames, joyfully speaking to them: "Great-grandmother, you’re back! As expected of my great-grandmother, even your return effects are so dazzling!"

Xue Chuchu pursed her lips: "..."

She thought for a moment and explained, "From a scientific perspective, the principle of a fire causing a whirlwind is mainly due to the convection created by hot air rising and cold air supplementing it."

Tongtong pouted: "Such a cold Chuchu."

Xue Chuchu couldn’t help but think: ’Alright, I guess I shouldn’t have spoken.’

Xue Yuantong took the opportunity to make a wish, clasping her hands together and chanting crisply: "Great-grandmother, bless me to grow to one meter seventy, no, one meter eighty!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the fiery tornado immediately subsided.

The scene suddenly became particularly quiet.

Xue Yuantong awkwardly paused for a few seconds, then said earnestly: "Chuchu, you’re really right, I shouldn’t have been superstitious!"

Jiang Ning couldn’t stand it anymore and said with amusement: "Did you think of Chuchu as your toy?"

...

The entrance of the Xue Family was lively, and the bonfire pile to the east of the farmhouse was still very lively.

Zhuang Jianhui and a group of teenagers and girls gathered together playing, at an age full of exuberance, naturally having endless things to say.

Boss Yang had the chef prepare longan and water chestnut soup for tonight’s guests, which tasted very refreshing.

Everyone talked about their experiences over the past year, with laughter and chatter echoing continuously.

Wang Yong took this chance to share some matters from the Fourth Middle School with the nearby young lord, to close the gap.

"Speaking of the most ostentatious person in our school, it has to be Qi Tianheng from class 2 of grade 11. He has Zhao Xiaofeng as his lackey. Zhao Xiaofeng can connect with seniors in grade 12 and command juniors in grade 10. He even has a dedicated intelligence organization working hard for him. Truly a big shot in the Fourth Middle School!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Although Wang Yong’s family was just minor officials and he considered himself to be of a different class, when money reaches a certain level, it also becomes a form of power.

His family couldn’t compare to Qi Tianheng’s father. Qi Tianheng’s father wanted to obtain residency in the Capital, and directly invested in a factory there. When he returns to Yuzhou, he is often received at the departmental level.

Wang Yong: "Qi Tianheng has many watches. Rumor has it that the most expensive one, the watch king, is close to a seven-figure price."

The young lord, hearing this, sipped the sweet soup and merely smiled, his tone unperturbed: "Nowadays, even regular folks are living quite well, aren’t they?"

Lin Zida glanced at him, thinking, true to form, you’re one of the top posers in our circle.

Lin Zida chuckled: "Brother Jin, what, plan to flaunt it?"

The young lord didn’t answer. He raised his wrist to show his watch: "Yongzi, look at my watch, how does it compare to Qi Tianheng’s?"

At first glance, Wang Yong saw it as an ordinary electronic watch. Nothing special could be seen, but considering the man’s background, Wang Yong couldn’t help but focus and examine closely.

"The glass on this watch, could it be the sapphire used in iPhones? The clarity is so high, hmm, the surface seems to have a water mist effect?" Wang Yong was uncertain and intrigued.

The young lord slowly retracted his watch and leisurely explained: "This is a custom rare crystal that exhibits a mist effect when temperatures are below zero."

Wang Yong was enlightened: "Then your watch is surely more expensive than Qi Tianheng’s watch king!"

The young lord brushed it off with a smile: "It can’t be compared."

Lin Zida was left speechless, just pondering that indeed, Wang Yong, the kid who usually seems smart, how could he not guess it’s just an ordinary watch?

Zhuang Jianhui commented in his mind: ’Ordinary people’s baseless speculations about those in higher positions are both dull and vulgar.’

Wei Zishan urged: "Is the chicken ready, Yongzi? I’m really hungry. If this keeps up, Jiang Ning’s bamboo rats might be reincarnated soon!"

Wang Yong put on a smile: "Almost, almost. Bamboo rats are hard to handle, Jiang Ning probably won’t have any to eat for now..."

Suddenly, a strange fragrance wafted from afar, swiftly sweeping over the farmhouse bonfire.

Wang Yong’s words instantly halted. He sniffed deeply, and just from the aroma, images of transcendent bamboo shoots growing in the mountains, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, involuntarily appeared in his mind.

"What is that?" Wei Zishan suddenly turned toward the west.