Li Chunyan said with concern, "Zhang Fan, don't do such dangerous things in the future. What if you get bitten by a snake?"

Zhang Fan must have been really craving meat to go and hunt snakes to eat.

Li Chunyan looked at the snake and was at a loss: "I don't know how to cook snake. I'll go ask Aunt Pang how."

She called out to Aunt Pang, who poked her head out and looked over, her eyes shining as she gazed at the cauliflower snake: "This is a treasure! Stew it with chicken and it becomes Dragon and Phoenix Soup, so delicious!"

As she spoke, she unconsciously swallowed.

Li Chunyan lowered her eyes. She didn't raise chickens at home, not because she didn't want to, but because she was too poor to even afford chicks.

Hu Xue tricked them out of their only three hens.

Zhang Fan's family was very poor. When the village distributed land, they were given barren fields.

After the brothers divided the family property, Zhang Fan and his eldest brother only received two mu of land, enough to grow enough vegetables for the whole family.

Li Chunyan was the only one working in the family, barely making ends meet, and couldn't afford to save money to buy chicks.

Aunt Pang came to the rescue, saying, "My old hen is always trying to run away, so she deserves to be eaten. If you don't mind, we can eat her together."

Li Chunyan declined, saying, "That's not really appropriate."

The plump aunt pretended to be angry: "You wouldn't be reluctant to part with the snake, would you?"

"No."

"That settles it then."

The black hen was pecking at the insects on the ground when Aunt Pang suddenly pounced over, holding the black hen upside down: "I'll kill the chicken first, you can start the fire, and then we'll pluck its feathers."

Li Chunyan wanted to stop her, but then she saw Aunt Pang slit the black hen's neck with a knife. She could only carry her by the hand to Aunt Pang's house and say, "Aunt Pang, what's the trouble?"

"Now is the perfect time to cook, so that Tiegen can eat when he gets back."

The two had barely left when they heard a commotion in the village below the mountain. However, they were too busy making soup to bother finding out what was going on.

Seeing that no one was in the courtyard, Zhang Fan quickly hid in a corner and carried the hidden medicinal herbs into the house.

Zhang Fan cut the medicinal herbs into small pieces, and for those that needed to be ground into powder, he used a kitchen knife to crush them.

Fortunately, he was strong and easily ground the herbs into powder.

Since he didn't have a furnace, Zhang Fan used a large iron pot for cooking rice to refine it.

Light the fire, put the medicinal herbs in one by one in order, stirring occasionally. Then, just wait patiently to find out if the elixir has been made successfully.

Refining pills with ordinary fire takes a long time, sometimes one or two days. However, Zhang Fan has spiritual power, so he doesn't need to wait that long.

He channeled his spiritual power into the stove fire, and the fire blazed up, turning the edges of the pot red-hot.

Seeing that the time was right, Zhang Fan took out ginseng, the last medicine and the key to success or failure.

To be honest, Zhang Fan was a little apprehensive.

Alchemy requires talent; many people study for half their lives and may only succeed once in ten attempts.

Zhang Fan opened the ginseng packaging box, and his pupils suddenly widened.

Huh?

Something's not right!

Good heavens, this ginseng is fake.

This is a ten-year-old ginseng, with a few thick ginseng roots added to disguise it as a twenty-year-old wild ginseng.

The technique is so sophisticated that you can't tell without opening the packaging box.

Bai Rou'er did not have any ulterior motive; it is highly likely that the boss fabricated the information.

It's important to know that as ginseng ages, its price increases exponentially, and its medicinal effects weaken considerably.

However, ten-year-old ginseng was also the medicine he needed. Zhang Fan put the ginseng in the pot and patiently waited for the pill to be ready.

A wisp of smoke escaped from the pot lid, revealing three bright red pills lying inside the iron pot.

It seems he does have some talent for alchemy, but the big iron pot won't work; the medicinal herbs worth tens of thousands of yuan only yielded three pills.

Zhang Fan picked up a pill, put it in his mouth, and a warm feeling surged up in his dantian, which then turned into a burning pain, like being burned by fire.

His vision became distorted and his consciousness blurred, but with his indomitable will, he walked to the water vat and buried his face completely in it.

A cool breeze swept over him, making Zhang Fan feel refreshed. He drank large gulps of water from the tank, finishing half a tank in no time, finally relieving the heat.

The dragon and phoenix soup over there has just been cooked, so I'm calling Zhang Fan over to eat.

Just then, Zhang Fan got up from the water vat. Crystalline water droplets dripped from his hair, ran down his cheeks, and soaked his clothes, outlining his strong chest muscles.

Upon seeing this, Li Chunyan stared blankly for two seconds before snapping out of it, her cheeks flushed red. She hurriedly looked away, saying, "Go eat something quickly."

Zhang Fan walked over and revealed the empty water vat. Li Chunyan's eyes widened, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

She said with difficulty, "Brother Tiegen said that Baijia Village is short of people to harvest wheat, so I have to go and help. After you finish eating, go and fetch water."

"good."

As Li Chunyan passed by the kitchen, she murmured, "Why does it smell a bit burnt?"

She sniffed it, but couldn't smell anything, so she assumed she must have been mistaken.

Upon arriving at Aunt Pang's house, even before stepping into the courtyard, a unique and enticing aroma filled the air, whetting the appetite and making one's mouth water.

Dragon and Phoenix Soup is hailed as the best soup in the world. Dragon refers to snake and phoenix refers to chicken.

Not only does it taste delicious, but it is also extremely nutritious. It can replenish qi and blood, and people with weak constitutions will no longer be afraid of the cold in winter after drinking it.

On the table sits a pot full of dragon and phoenix soup, covered with a thick layer of yellow oil—a favorite among country folk.

A bowlful of soup, crystal clear, leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

After finishing a bowl of soup, Zhang Fa's anger, which had been suppressed, surged up again.

He needs to do some physical labor to burn off the heat in his body.

Zhang Fan finished his meal as quickly as possible, put down his chopsticks and said anxiously, "Sister-in-law, I'll go get some water."

"Why are you in such a hurry, kid?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Fan hurriedly ran out.

Zhang Fan picked up the water buckets and ran down the mountain.

There are two wells in the village, one halfway up the mountain and the other at the foot of the mountain. Zhang Fan went to the well halfway up the mountain.

He walked to the well and found that the water level was particularly shallow today, making it impossible to draw water.

With no other option, he had to walk down the mountain to the well to fetch water.

There were a lot of people getting water today, including Zhang Fan and two other people.

They all lived in a village at the foot of the mountain. The one in front was named Zhang Jianye, and the one behind him was named Zhang Xingguo.

Upon seeing Zhang Fan, Zhang Jianye rolled his eyes; he was related to Zhang Si.

Zhang Si would sometimes give these relatives some benefits, but now that he's dead, those benefits are gone.

Zhang Jianye snorted coldly: "Zhang Fan, why didn't you go upstairs to fetch water? What are you doing down here?"

Zhang Fan couldn't be bothered to give this kind of person a friendly look.

He picked up the wooden bucket and threw it into the well without saying a word.

Feeling humiliated, Zhang Jianye kicked Zhang Fan's bucket hard: "I'm talking to you, did you hear me?"

Zhang Fan said coldly, "Apologize."

He raised his cold eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing, like a hawk, exuding an imposing aura.

Zhang Jianye felt a chill run down his spine. He then realized that he had actually been frightened by this fool. He said, his voice trembling with fear, "What are you looking at? I'll beat you to death today."

He raised his hand high, about to bring it down.

Zhang Xingguo quickly stopped him: "You can't hit him!"