Chapter 63 Seclusion: Liu Yiyi smiled with her eyes half-closed...
Liu Yiyi smiled and warned Lin Qing'an with half-closed eyes. Lin Qing'an quickly made a zipping motion towards his mouth.
At this moment, Lin Yanfeng and Abao also returned from school. When they saw Chen Gengnian, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, Abao ran over to hug him affectionately and rubbed against him, calling out to him sweetly.
Seeing that he was doing well, they wouldn't let go. Lin Yanfeng shook his head helplessly and affectionately, muttering something under his breath, but no one heard him. He took two steps forward and pulled Abao over, "Alright, brother-in-law has been working hard all day, let them go inside and rest."
Ah Bao always listened to Lin Yanfeng the most, and stood obediently to the side with a sweet grin.
Lin Yanfeng pointed to the oxcart and asked, "Brother, brother-in-law, are we going to move these potatoes inside?"
Chen Gengnian nodded, "Yes, we need to move it to the inner room."
As soon as Chen Gengnian finished speaking, Lin Yanfeng started rolling up his sleeves and went over to untie the rope in a few steps. Abao followed suit and did whatever he was doing.
Lin Yanfeng had grown quite a bit taller, and doing these things didn't require much effort. Although he was a scholar, he had also experienced hardship, so Lin Qing'an didn't stop him; he still needed to exercise.
Lin Qing'an was about to go and help when Chen Gengnian stopped him, saying, "Leave these to us men, you guys rest."
Even Lin Jing, who was about to help, was stopped by him. "Jing, you should rest too."
Lin Jing immediately objected and retorted in a low voice, "Brother Nian, I can do it!"
"Even if you're capable, take a break." Chen Gengnian rolled up his sleeves, strode over, and stepped onto the oxcart with his long legs, repeating again, "We men will take care of this job today."
As soon as Chen Gengnian finished speaking, Lin Yanfeng and A Bao chimed in.
"right!"
"right!"
Lin Qing'an, Lin Jing, and Liu Yiyi looked at each other, and finally the three of them tacitly spread their hands, as if asking Lin Qing'an. Lin Qing'an shook his head and said with his eyes: I don't know what's wrong with him today.
Chen Gengnian didn't ask them for help, so Lin Qingan pretended to go inside and get three cans of soda, which he then distributed to Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi. The three of them sat on a bench nearby and leisurely drank their soda.
The potatoes in the oxcart only looked plentiful; in reality, there were several chairs supporting it, so there weren't many actual potatoes.
Because it hadn't been stored for long, Lin Qing'an only placed a small amount outside to avoid attracting attention.
Seeing that they hadn't moved much left, Lin Qing'an got up and called Lin Jing to come inside with him to make hot pot.
Liu Yiyi followed them into the house.
"What is a hot pot?" Lin Jing asked curiously.
"You'll see in a minute." Lin Qing'an smiled mysteriously, then cut the potatoes and pork belly into separate large bowls and poured in the seasonings.
Liu Yiyi and Lin Jing noticed that Lin Qing'an had been pouring this dark stuff into the dish a few days ago, but they hadn't asked what it was. Today, they couldn't help but ask, "Qing, what is this? Why do you put it in every time you cook?"
Lin Qing'an came up with the simplest and easiest-to-understand name.
Lin Qing'an explained the "black soybean oil" in a misleading way: "It's black oil made from a type of black soybean that has been dried and then processed through several steps."
It wasn't that Lin Qing'an was trying to fool them, because he never expected that they wouldn't even have soy sauce as a condiment. But what he said wasn't wrong either; soy sauce is made from soybeans, so it wasn't really a lie, he thought.
"Hey!"
Lin Jing suddenly slapped her thigh and stood up, startling Lin Qing'an and Liu Yiyi so much that they almost dropped their bowls.
"What's wrong, Sister Jing?" Lin Qing'an asked.
Lin Jing looked excited and grabbed Lin Qing'an's wrist, saying, "Qing, I think I've discovered a business opportunity."
Lin Qing'an and Liu Yiyi looked over with question marks, while Lin Jing excitedly said, "If we can also make this black soybean oil, won't we become rich?"
Liu Yiyi's eyes suddenly lit up. She slowly nodded and was about to speak when Lin Qing'an raised his hand and gestured for her to stop.
"Don't even think about it." He ruthlessly poured cold water on the two of them. "We simply can't make this."
"Huh?" Lin Jing was somewhat unwilling. "If others can do it, why can't we?"
Why? Because he's never worked at a soy sauce factory!
Asking a low-educated laborer to make soy sauce based on that TV commercial?
This is tantamount to sending him to rebel!
However, Lin Qing'an didn't tell them that it wasn't impossible, because he had an inexhaustible treasure bag, but it was also impossible, because he didn't want to become famous because of this lousy soy sauce.
Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi noticed that Lin Qing'an's eyes were rolling around, but he didn't say anything and just stood there lost in thought.
Lin Jing shook him, "Aqing, you still haven't told me why?"
Lin Qing'an snapped out of his reverie, coughed twice, and prepared to start rambling.
"Because I also stole it; I didn't have the recipe."
Lin Qingan put down the bowl, spread his hands, and expressed his helplessness.
"ah?"
Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi exclaimed in surprise at the same time. Lin Qing'an felt that there was no need to dwell on this topic for too long, so he changed the subject and quickly prepared the dishes.
"Sister Jing, make the fire bigger, and we can eat it in a little while."
Lin Jing was already used to Lin Qing'an's mysterious behavior. Anyway, she had always felt that Lin Qing'an was not as delicate as before, and was braver and wiser than before.
"Never mind," Lin Jing thought, "everyone has their own secrets."
Lin Jing didn't ask Liu Yiyi any questions, and naturally didn't ask her any more. However, she spent much more time focusing on Lin Qing'an.
After Chen Gengnian and his team finished moving their things, they could have dinner.
However, tonight's dinner was rather special, prepared in a way they had never seen before.
Lin Qing'an took out a small pot. Luckily, there was a small stove in this godforsaken place. He put the pot on the stove and poured in some oil. The amount of oil surprised Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi.
Lin Jing stammered as she raised her hand to ask, "This is... not going to happen?"
Lin Qing'an just smiled, and the others weren't particularly surprised.
Lin Jing found it extremely bizarre.
However, the change of clothes in the previous second was replaced by drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Everyone followed Lin Qing'an's example, placing pork belly in the center of the pot and then potato slices around the outer edge.
The pork belly sizzled and popped in the oil, and Lin Qing'an threw in two more cloves of garlic. The aroma instantly filled the air and the smell filled everyone's nostrils.
Although he wasn't hungry, Abao's stomach started rumbling like thunder.
Chen Gengnian watched Lin Qingan flip the pork belly, and after learning for a while, he asked Lin Qingan to entrust this glorious task to him.
Seeing his sincerity, Lin Qingan thought it over carefully before nodding in agreement.
Chen Gengnian's cooking skills are undeniable; the roasted meat is tender and juicy, and when dipped in Lin Qing'an's special chili sauce, the taste is absolutely amazing.
The meal took a long time, and Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi only returned to their residence after cleaning up.
Although Lin Jing was very capable, she was still a woman after all, so despite her objections, Lin Qing'an still asked Chen Gengnian to send her over.
After washing up, A Bao and Lin Yanfeng went back to their room to read and write. Lin Qing'an sat downstairs waiting for Chen Gengnian. Before he could even sit down properly, A Meng came out of the magic bag.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Lin Qing'an asked, then suddenly remembered something and cautiously asked A-Meng, "Senior brother...did you just wake up or have you been awake for a while?"
"Just woke up? What's wrong?" A-Meng asked, rubbing his eyes with his wings.
"No...no..."
What's wrong? He forgot about his good senior brother while eating! Not only did he forget, he also forgot to save some for him!
Feeling a little guilty, Lin Qing'an quickly changed the subject, saying, "We're about to go to sleep, why aren't you sleeping? Are you hungry?"
Besides eating with them, A Meng also goes out to forage for food. It is a carnivore by nature. Sometimes Lin Qing'an will buy some chickens and ducks to feed it, but most of the time it prefers to go out and find food on its own. In its words, "Wild game is the most delicious food."
Sometimes, if there are too many, they are all put into the treasure bag, so Lin Qing'an doesn't have to worry about it going hungry.
Although Lin Qing'an dislikes trouble, he will definitely do it if his senior brother says he wants to eat, no matter how troublesome it is.
Ah Meng sat upright in the chair next to Lin Qing'an like a human being, and suddenly sighed deeply, startling Lin Qing'an.
"What's wrong?" Lin Qing'an rarely saw Ah Meng looking worried, and this change made him feel a little uneasy.
Ah Meng sighed again and remained silent.
Lin Qingan felt even more guilty and quickly said, "Okay, okay, I admit it was wrong of me to forget to call you when we were eating barbecue. If you want to eat now, I'll go and make it for you right away."
Unexpectedly, A Meng shook his head and remained silent.
Lin Qingan immediately sensed something was wrong, poked A Meng's head with his index finger, and said, "Hey, just tell me what's wrong. Doesn't it hurt to pull your pants halfway and then put them back in?"
Ah Meng slowly looked up at the night sky. Tonight, the stars were as bright as a galaxy. Ah Meng stared at the brightest North Star, and his dark eyes gradually turned melancholy under the dim light.
Seeing this, Lin Qing'an's heart was filled with alarm bells, and he was extremely anxious when A Meng finally spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know if I'll ever get ahead."
After a two-second pause, Lin Qing'an suddenly understood the meaning behind the words. The unease in his heart instantly turned into a feeling of powerlessness and discomfort. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Ah Meng's voice continued to ring out.
"It took me so many years of cultivation following my master to finally be able to speak. I thought that once my master ascended to heaven, he would probably take me with him in one fell swoop, or at the very least, I could continue cultivating in that mountain full of spiritual energy. But now..."
Ah Meng's voice stopped abruptly, his dark eyes filled with an indistinct mass of ink that Lin Qing'an couldn't see. Lin Qing'an thought for a moment, then gently stroked the fur on Ah Meng's back, sobbing in a choked voice, "Don't worry, Master often says that you have high attainments. It may just be that your time hasn't come yet. After all, cultivators like you all rely on an opportunity."
“But Ah Qing…” Ah Meng suddenly turned to look at Lin Qing’an, paused, and then said, “I can’t sense a trace of spiritual energy here, except for the spiritual spring…”
Lin Qing'an said happily, "Then you can continue cultivating in the spiritual spring, just consider it as a period of seclusion."
After staring at Lin Qing'an for two seconds, A Meng shook his head and said, "My knowledge of spiritual springs is too limited, and the spiritual energy within them is far too weak for cultivation. I think..."
Ah Meng's voice suddenly stopped. The man and the eagle stared at each other, and Ah Meng's hesitation made Lin Qing'an feel very uneasy.
He refrained from asking, but he already had some guesses in his mind. However, he decided to wait for Ah Meng to tell him himself.
Time seemed to stand still, with the continuous croaking of frogs and chirping of crickets filling the air.
After an unknown amount of time, Ah Meng finally said with difficulty, "I may have to leave... to find a mountain forest with abundant spiritual energy to cultivate, so..."
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Author's note: I've been a bit busy lately, so updates will be every other day.
I'll add more chapters when I have more saved up! [heart emoji]
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