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Li Jin left at noon the next day, leaving her phone number with Wang Yao before she left.

“You can call me if anything happens,” he paused, then added, “You can call me whenever you want, even if there’s nothing else.”

The school's preparatory bell had already rung. Wang Yao was in a hurry to leave. She took the phone number, hurriedly left a message saying, "Okay, thank you, Brother Li. Have a safe trip, Brother Li," and ran into the school.

Niu Ling, who was running alongside, was panting and couldn't help but feel envious. "Wang Yao, your brother is so great! I also want a brother as good and handsome as him. Unfortunately, I don't have one, so I beg God to give me a boyfriend like that!"

Wang Yao didn't respond. Actually, she felt a little strange. She had a feeling that something was off about Li Jin, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Sometimes I think I'm just being delusional and overthinking things; how could someone possibly be interested in a young, underage girl like her? Other times, I think I've lived for decades; surely I can see through the little schemes of young people?

Sigh, forget it, forget it, why think so much? It's just making trouble for myself. The most important thing now is to improve my grades. Being second to last in the class is really shameful.

Zhang Wei also felt that his current situation was disgraceful.

He heard that Li Jin's train was at noon today, so he went to the train station to see him off and also to give his old squad leader a apology.

Seeing his sincere attitude, Li Jin didn't press the matter further. He still told him to visit the Hao Zai Lai Restaurant whenever he had time, and that even if he didn't do anything, his police uniform was intimidating enough.

Zhang Wei readily agreed. He now truly realized that after retiring from the army and returning to his hometown, he had indeed relaxed for too long in his comfortable life.

The train slowly started moving. Li Jin sat by the window, rubbing a broken rubber band in his hand, his eyes looking in the direction of the county's No. 1 Middle School, imagining what Wang Yao would look like sitting upright and listening to the lesson at this moment.

What else could it be like? Of course, it would be someone who is utterly hopeless and listless.

"Wake up, all of you. Look at you, you're like lumps of fat spread out on the benches."

"Niu Ling, what formula do we use for this problem?"

"If you don't know, then tell your deskmate."

“Niu Ling, did you hear what your deskmate answered? Look at you two, aren’t you like clay idols in a dilapidated temple, ready to collapse in the wind? How can you not know? Such a simple question, and you still have the nerve to say you don’t know? I’ve never seen students as stupid as pigs as you…”

The physics teacher spoke passionately on the microphone, which woke up the students who were already drowsy in the afternoon.

But he didn't stay awake for long, because the second period in the afternoon was Chinese class.

As the Chinese teacher's gentle, soothing voice swayed, half of the students in the classroom fell into a deep sleep, with Niu Ling sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world around her.

Wang Yao was also struggling to stay awake. Instead of forcing her eyes open to listen to the teacher's lecture, she wrote things down.

Legend has it that a great man surnamed Mao once jokingly said, "Eating braised pork every three days will help you win battles." The pride and flavor in those words could only be achieved by cooking over a Hunan-style stove.

The secret to Hunan-style braised pork lies in its absence of soy sauce. In those days, soy sauce was a precious commodity, so chefs would refine rock sugar in oil until it turned from pale yellow to golden brown, and finally to a vibrant jujube red. Therefore, the red color of Hunan-style braised pork comes from fire, not from dye.

...

The star of the show is the chili pepper. Sun-dried for the sweltering summer months, these peppers are crushed in hand before cooking, releasing a subtle yet powerful aroma. Once the meat is about 70% cooked, the peppers are sprinkled in, the lid is put on, and a flavor revolution begins. In the boiling broth, the fiery peppers and the rich fats clash. Ultimately, they miraculously reconcile; the spiciness is tamed by the gentle oil, and the heat melts away the layers of grease.

...

In one class period, Wang Yao revised and edited the article, which turned out to be a few hundred words long, so she didn't waste the class.

After a busy and painful period of studying, Wang Yao finally welcomed the National Day holiday. Unfortunately, the National Day holiday is only two days long now. It will not be until after 1999 that the National Day holiday will be gradually extended.

Although it was only for two days, it was enough to make the students happy.

Niu Ling was no longer listless in class. She was planning where to go with her friends and asked Wang Yao if she wanted to come along.

Wang Yao firmly shook her head and refused. Finally, she was on vacation, and she had to go back to the kitchen to continue the cooking work she had been longing for.

Since the start of the school year, her mother has forbidden her from entering the kitchen except on Sundays, saying she's afraid it will interfere with her studies. Even on Sundays, it took her a lot of pleading before her mother finally agreed.

Her mother was worried that cooking would be too tiring for her, but for her, cooking was not only not tiring, but actually a pleasure.

She enjoys the feeling of accomplishment that comes from transforming initially bland ingredients into a mouthwatering delicacy in her hands.

Now that she has two consecutive days off, she's determined to enjoy herself to the fullest.

On the first day of the holiday, before the sun had even risen, the hardworking Ms. Liu Xiangmei was already busy, rushing to the market to grab the freshest meat.

Wang Yao rubbed her eyes and insisted on going along.

The early morning market is the most vibrant and lively place. Wang Yao loved it in her past life, but she hadn't been there many times in this one. Today, she wanted to experience it for herself.

As Wang Yao passed by Yu's Sichuan Restaurant, she glanced at it a few more times and noticed a large lock on the door. The fallen leaves and trash in front of the door were left unattended, making it look rather desolate.

She sighed inwardly. People shouldn't do bad things, like Yu Daqiang. But people can't be entirely good either, like the old man before her.

Wang Yao had heard her mother say that there was a pitiful old man in the vegetable market who had raised three sons, but now he was destitute and had only a granddaughter he had taken in to depend on him. He sold vegetables in the market every day to support his granddaughter's education.

Every time Liu Xiangmei saw this old man, she felt sorry for him, but she didn't have the ability to help him much, so she could only buy the vegetables in his basket.

A vendor nearby praised Liu Xiangmei for being kind and honest, and Liu Xiangmei humbly waved her hand and said, "It was just something I did."

"Some people can get things done easily, while others can only make things worse, right, Shunzi?" someone asked loudly to Shunzi, who was silently preparing vegetables not far away.

Shunzi smiled awkwardly. Seeing so many people looking at him, he was too embarrassed to hide anymore. He said to Liu Xiangmei, "I'm sorry, Boss Liu. It's all my fault for being so talkative, which caused this commotion between you and Yu Family Sichuan Restaurant. I'm really sorry that your restaurant had to close for a few days."

Wang Yao and Liu Xiangmei then realized that Yu Daqiang thought Liu Xiangmei had spread the word about him buying rotten vegetables, and that's why he did all those things in order to get revenge on Liu Xiangmei.

But the story about buying rotten vegetables was actually something Shunzi mentioned while drinking with his friends, and it was those friends who spread it. Liu Xiangmei was truly an innocent victim.

Liu Xiangmei was both amused and exasperated, but she didn't hold it against them. Given the personalities of Yu Daqiang and Ma Zhen, even without this incident, they would never get along with her in the future. After all, rivals in the same trade are enemies.

Now that Yu Daqiang has been arrested, he has been punished for his evil deeds. She doesn't want to worry about that kind of person anymore. Even a few months later, when she heard that Yu Daqiang had been sentenced to five years for food-related crimes, false accusations, and intentional damage to property, she just ignored it and let it go.

Back at the shop, Liu Xiangmei and Chen Xiu began preparing the ingredients for the day according to Wang Yao's instructions, while Wang Yao herself took a fried dough stick and went home to read.

She planned to finish reviewing all her junior high school material during the National Day holiday. However, after school started, she had to learn new high school material every day, so her review of junior high school material wasn't as fast. She's been procrastinating until now, and there's still a little bit left to learn.

"Yaoyao, you can start cooking now!" Liu Xiangmei's voice came from downstairs.

"Coming~" Wang Yao stood in front of the desk, craning her neck to answer.

Wang Yao planned to cook some new dishes for lunch today. Since the start of the semester, the menu at Haozailai Restaurant has not been updated because Wang Yao has not had time to teach. So Liu Xiangmei also prepared her notebook and was ready to study.

First, there was the early radish that Chen Hai had brought in the morning. Wang Yao planned to use it to make a pork belly stew with radish.

After finishing that, Wang Yao made another dish: dry-pot lotus root slices. Wang Yao loves all kinds of dry-pot dishes, so in her previous life she specially learned how to make many kinds of dry-pot dishes, among which dry-pot lotus root slices were her specialty.

To keep lotus root slices crisp, soak them in vinegar water or lightly salted water for five minutes before frying. Then fry them in oil at 60% heat until the edges are slightly golden brown.

After removing the lotus root slices from the water, stir-fry the pork belly, then add fermented bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red. Of course, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and other seasonings are also essential.

After stir-frying until fragrant, add the fried lotus root slices, as well as green and red peppers and other side dishes. Stir-fry quickly, and then add soy sauce, sugar and other seasonings to enhance the flavor.

In this dry-pot lotus root dish, the lotus root slices, after being deep-fried, have a slightly charred and fragrant outer layer while remaining crisp and tender inside. The various side dishes are also oily and flavorful. The addition of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers makes the dish spicy but not overpowering, numbing but not bitter. The sugar added at the end cleverly brings out the lotus root's natural sweetness and lingering aftertaste.

After it was cooked, Wang Yao couldn't wait to take a bite, and even though it was so hot that she screamed, she couldn't bear to spit it out.

Xiao Chengzi, who had been standing by the stove for half a day, tugged at Wang Yao's clothes, indicating that she wanted to eat too.

During this period, Xiao Chengzi has been staying in the store after getting off kindergarten and has already become familiar with the people in the store.

At this moment, there was no shyness at all when it came to food; there was only craving, the kind of craving that makes your mouth water.

Wang Yao was also a mischievous child. Completely ignoring the fact that Xiao Chengzi was anxiously circling around her feet, begging for her attention, she continued eating by herself.

"Ah~ Eat, I want to eat too, sister~"

Who could resist a chubby, adorable little boy? Wang Yao wasn't heartless either, and just as Xiao Chengzi was about to cry from hunger, she finally gave him his wish.

Children express their liking by repeatedly saying, "It's delicious, I want more!"

Adults are different.

"Little girl, give me another spoonful of rice."

"Young lady, I want to pack one order. I want all the dishes: dry-pot lotus root slices and braised pork belly with radish."

"Boss, give me a bottle of wine. This dish just wouldn't be complete without some."

"Me too! I'll have some baijiu (Chinese liquor), the beer isn't flavorful enough!"