Is Chapter 3 about the memories of this body? Let's pack up and go...

Roasting chili peppers is similar to stir-frying tea; both require slow roasting over a low flame in an iron wok.

The difference is that stir-frying tea involves roasting raw tea leaves, a long and complicated process, while chili peppers, being dry and with thin skin, become crisp very quickly.

However, whether it's stir-frying tea or roasting chili peppers, the temperature requirements are very high.

An Fusheng wiped each chili pepper clean, cut them into segments about one centimeter long, and then heated the pan.

Once the pan is almost hot, turn the heat to the lowest setting, add the chili pepper pieces, and stir-fry quickly to ensure the chili pepper skin is heated evenly.

Soon the aroma of chili peppers began to spread.

Grandma Ao's range hood wasn't working properly, and the kitchen door was closed. The aroma of chili peppers in the kitchen grew stronger and stronger, and An Fusheng couldn't help but sneeze several times.

As he continued to stir-fry, the chili pepper skins began to turn a golden brown. An Fusheng turned off the heat and used the residual heat to continue roasting the chili pepper skins.

Once the chili pepper skin has become completely crisp, remove the peppers and place them in a pre-prepared cotton bag. Let them cool and crisp, then seal the bag tightly and gently pound the outside of the bag with a rolling pin.

Roasted, crisp peppers crumble at the slightest pressure.

If the chili peppers are crisp enough, you can crush them into powder by hand, but they're too spicy for An Fusheng to do so.

Don't ask, the answer is that I pinched it with my hands when I was a child, and it burned me so badly that I cried. The original owner's hands look like the kind of hands that never lift a finger. I don't even know if they're as strong as his hands when he was a child.

As the chili peppers are pounded, their aroma and spiciness are gradually released.

For chili peppers, their appeal is only fully realized when both their aroma and spiciness are fully expressed.

"Cough cough cough cough!"

Grandma Ao pushed the door open and was choked by the strong smell of chili peppers, coughing repeatedly. "Why is the door closed?"

"I'm afraid you'll choke," An Fusheng said. "Why don't you go out first? I'll be fine in a bit."

"You're afraid of choking me, but aren't you afraid of choking yourself?" Grandma Ao pushed the door open completely, letting the pungent smell dissipate. "Let me see, this smells so good, cough cough!"

"I'm used to it." Actually, he wasn't used to it, or rather, the original owner of this body wasn't used to it. He almost ran out to get some fresh air.

In no time, the chili peppers were pounded into a fine powder, and the pungent smell gradually dissipated after the kitchen door was opened.

Pour the chili powder into a stainless steel bowl. Some of the chili skins were still in large pieces. An Fusheng continued to crush them in the bowl with a rolling pin, like pounding medicine, until all the chilies were turned into powder.

A large bowl of chili powder has a rich aroma and vibrant color, with no burnt bits, indicating that the chilies were roasted to perfection.

Grandma Ao couldn't resist dipping her chopsticks in the food and tasting it: "It smells so good, not spicy at all, and there's no burnt taste at all. Xiao Fu, you're amazing! It's not easy to control the heat like this. You used to make this often, right?"

"Mmm." An Fusheng nodded, then dipped some into his mouth with his chopsticks. It was nine parts fragrant and one part spicy, perfect for people who can't handle spicy food but love it.

From as far back as An Fusheng can remember, whenever his grandmother cooked, he would be coaxed into following her around and helping her.

Grandma was very patient; every time she cooked, she would explain the steps, details, and principles to him over and over again.

When An Fusheng was nine years old, he already had the power to "shovel" chili peppers. Chili peppers were a common dish in his family, and they would make a bowl of chili powder almost every few days. Naturally, he became skilled at it.

"Oh dear, this chili powder tastes good with everything, Xiao Fu. Could you make some chili oil to keep at home? It would be so delicious." Grandma Ao imagined the taste of the chili oil and couldn't help but swallow.

“Okay.” An Fusheng nodded.

An Fusheng set aside a small portion of the chili powder to make chili oil.

Chili oil may look like chili powder soaked in oil, but it's actually not that simple to make.

Rapeseed oil makes things more fragrant when fried. My grandma used rapeseed oil to fry wolf tooth potatoes, so we always keep rapeseed oil on hand. Anfusheng poured the rapeseed oil into a preheated pot. Once the oil was hot, he added spices such as scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves to the oil and extracted the aroma before removing them.

Next, An Fusheng added a piece of lard to the oil. The lard softened the chili peppers, reduced the pungent taste of the chili powder, and made the spicy flavor of the chili peppers more mellow.

The lard melted quickly in the hot oil, so An Fusheng turned down the heat to let the oil cool down slowly.

This step is mainly because the chili powder has already been roasted to a crispy enough texture, and the oil temperature is too high, which could easily burn the chili powder.

After the oil temperature dropped to the appropriate level, An Fusheng poured the oil into the chili powder and stirred it evenly.

Add a little high-proof liquor to the chili oil to enhance its aroma and color, while also acting as a preservative.

Finally, add appropriate amounts of salt and chicken bouillon for seasoning, stir well, and the chili oil is ready.

Grandma Ao watched in astonishment. The chili oil was brightly colored and glossy, with a rich aroma, and it looked even more delicious!

After making the chili powder, it was almost lunchtime. Grandma Ao hadn't finished processing the potatoes yet, so An Fusheng volunteered to make lunch.

Grandma Ao didn't stand on ceremony with him. She was certain that An Fusheng was an excellent cook. If it weren't for the fact that An Fusheng was a guest, she would have wanted him to cook every meal, which is exactly what she did.

Ao Daiya won't be back for lunch, so only Grandma Ao and An Fusheng will be eating lunch, so we can keep it simple.

Grandma Ao bought two blocks of soft tofu this morning. Since soft tofu doesn't keep well, the two of them decided to have tofu for lunch today.

Grandma Ao uses a rice cooker to cook rice, but An Fusheng doesn't know how to use it, so he asks Grandma Ao for help.

"You silly child, you don't know how to use a rice cooker, but you cook such good food," Grandma Ao said with a smile.

An Fusheng touched his nose: "We used to cook with firewood at home."

"Cooking rice with firewood? That must smell amazing!" Grandma Ao exclaimed in surprise. It's really rare to see people cooking with firewood these days.

"Hmm." An Fusheng said, "Cooking rice over a wood fire can drain the rice water, and you can also use it to cook flatbread. Soaking the flatbread in the rice water makes it very delicious."

“Yes, yes, we ate like that when we were little.” Grandma Ao recalled: “There were many brothers and sisters in the family back then, and they would fight fiercely every day for the guokui (a type of flatbread) and rice soup.”

An Fusheng laughed and said, "I have a cousin who is about the same age as Xiaoya. He also likes to fight with me for the guokui (a type of flatbread).

"Hahaha, you're still too young to understand. When you're my age and look back on these times, they'll all be precious moments of happiness," Grandma Ao said with emotion.

An Fusheng knew all too well that when he came to this strange world and realized he could never go home again, these had already become the most beautiful memories hidden in his heart.

But these things happened just yesterday morning.

After teaching Anfusheng to cook, Grandma Ao retired and went to the yard to chop potatoes.

Grandma Ao bought firm tofu this morning; it's a bit hard and suitable for frying or stir-frying.

"Then let's make pan-fried tofu," An Fusheng muttered to himself.

Turn on the heat, put the pot on, and drizzle a circle of rapeseed oil around the edge of the pot. The golden oil slowly flows into the center of the pot, and the pot wall is evenly coated with oil during the process. An Fusheng cut the tofu into pieces about two centimeters thick and five centimeters long on each side, and put them on the oiled pot wall to fry over low heat until both sides are golden brown. After frying the tofu, he also fried two poached eggs.

Set aside the fried tofu and poached eggs.

Next, pour a small amount of oil into the pot, sauté the garlic cloves and chili peppers until fragrant, then add the fried tofu. Pour soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, etc., over the tofu, add water, and add the poached eggs to the soup to cook together. Cover the pot and turn the heat to the highest setting.

As the saying goes, "tofu should be cooked over high heat, fish over low heat," meaning that when cooking tofu, it should be simmered over high heat so that the broth boils and penetrates the tofu.

"It's almost done, the broth is almost gone." An Fusheng lifted the lid, added the chopped garlic leaves, chicken bouillon, and salt, and gently stirred to mix the seasonings evenly. "Ready to serve!"

Finding one dish a bit monotonous, An Fusheng simply stir-fried some romaine lettuce.

"bite!"

The bok choy was cooked, and the rice in the rice cooker was also done.

"Grandma Ao, dinner's ready!" An Fusheng called out to Grandma Ao in the yard from the kitchen window.

"Alright! I can smell the aroma in the yard." Grandma Ao quickly washed her hands and came into the kitchen.

An Fusheng had already neatly arranged the food on the table.

"With you here, I'm truly blessed," Grandma Ao said with a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm really not being polite at all, haha!"

An Fusheng said, "I should thank you for taking me in. All I know is cooking. I'm at ease knowing you like it."

"That's good, that's good. Let's not stand on ceremony." Grandma Ao said, "Eat quickly, eat quickly! This tofu is fried to a golden brown, and with the bright green garlic leaves and red chili peppers, it looks so good."

Grandma Ao picked up a piece of tofu and took a bite. "Delicious! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! The tofu is soaked in the broth, so flavorful!"

An Fusheng smiled modestly.

"Who taught you to cook?" Grandma Ao asked An Fusheng as she ate.

"I learned it from my grandma."

"Then your grandma must be a great cook."

"Yes, my grandma's cooking is famous throughout the surrounding area. She's always invited to be the head chef for celebrations in the village. Sometimes, when everyone's happy occasions coincide, they even fight over who gets to cook for her."

"It's rare to find a boy like you who's willing to learn to cook."

“It started because my mother didn’t know how to cook. My grandmother was afraid that when she got old, no one would cook for my mother, so she coaxed me to learn how to cook.” An Fusheng paused and said, “Later… when I was seven years old, I had a high fever. After the fever subsided, my mind was a little sluggish. My grandmother was afraid that when I grew up, my mind would be not good enough to find a job and I would not be able to eat. So she continued to make me learn how to cook, saying that if I could cook, I would never go hungry when I grew up.”

"Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry. You've done so well, you haven't let her down."

An Fusheng said, "No, my grandma spoils me and can't be strict with me, so I don't study hard and my cooking isn't as good as hers."

“You’ve done a great job. Even restaurants don’t cook as well as you. Your grandma is so proud of you.”

An Fusheng thought to himself: That's true. No matter what I do, Grandma always praises me a lot.

The food was so delicious that the two of them chatted for a few rounds before focusing on eating.

After the two finished eating and put down their chopsticks, both dishes were empty, and the rice was just the right amount, neither too much nor too little.

"It's so delicious! I feel like I've had two meals with you, and I feel so much more energetic now." Grandma Ao patted her slightly full stomach. "If I weren't so old and have trouble digesting, I think I could eat some more."

"Haha." An Fusheng laughed.

After finishing the meal, An Fusheng cleaned up the dishes and helped Grandma Ao wash the chopped potatoes. He washed off the starch and soaked them in water in a bucket so they could be fried directly in the afternoon.

The stall would be set up around 4 p.m., and An Fusheng wanted to help Grandma Ao, which Grandma Ao was more than happy to do.

There was nothing urgent for the time being, so Grandma Ao urged An Fusheng to take a nap.

An Fusheng wasn't really used to taking afternoon naps, but since he had nothing else to do, he simply lay down on the bed.

Unexpectedly, he fell asleep while lying down, and in his hazy state, he seemed to be having a dream.

In his dream, he saw the original owner of this body in a large courtyard with many children. Some children had fallen to the ground, some were crying, and others stood indifferently to the side.

The original owner leisurely finished airing the quilts before rubbing his temples with a headache. He went over to help the child up from the ground, patted the dust off him, and asked, "Did you hurt yourself? Who started it this time?"

The child lowered his head and sobbed, without answering him.

Helpless, the original owner pulled the child to change clothes.

An Fusheng was somewhat dazed when he woke up from his dream. How could he have dreamt of these things? Were they memories of this body? Was that the place where he lived?

What place is that?

An Fusheng couldn't imagine where there would be so many children besides a school, but the place didn't look like a school at all.

There was a knock on the door from the outside.

"Xiao Fu? Are you awake? Let's get ready to set up our stall!"

"OK."