I Alone Am Immortal: My Rebirth and Leisurely Cultivation

Chapter 443 The Fragrance of Fireworks
Jiang Yingzhu quickly returned with a piece of cured meat. Hua Junshu and Li Yan took one look and both thought the meat was very good.

The whole piece of cured meat was stained a deep reddish-brown by wind, frost and salt, with an oily sheen and a smooth, firm skin.

The fine, smoky patterns seep into the texture, and a light sniff reveals a subtle fragrance of pine and rice straw.

The oil seeped out glisteningly under the warm autumn sun, its alternating thick and thin textures resembling inlaid red and white agate, beautiful and alluring.

Jiang Yingzhu's mouth watered as she looked at them. Seeing that the two were still examining them, she urged them on:
"Li Yan, quickly chop it down, this piece of cured meat is about to become a spirit."

"It can't become a spirit," Li Yan said calmly, picking up his knife and striking with it.

Thin slices of meat, as thin as lamps, were then shaved out.

Meanwhile, Hua Junshu began processing the vegetable shoots.

Pinch off the head and peel off the skin.

The rapeseed sprouts grown by Li Yan are nourished by spiritual energy and taste delicious even without peeling.

However, it tastes even better without the skin.

As Hua Junshu peeled away the outer layer of the rapeseed shoots, the exposed tender white and green stems emitted a faint fragrance that drifted gently through the room.

Jiang Yingzhu took a deep breath, savoring the top-quality flavor, and then lost interest in the cured meat, turning instead to Hua Junshu's side.

"Senior, let me help you!"

She can also peel rapeseed shoots, which is not a difficult task for her.

Meanwhile, Mei Mengqian was already quietly helping out.

Li Yan glanced at them.

"You can peel the skin, but don't eat it."

Jiang Yingzhu glared at him. "We're not stupid. Do you need to tell us?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Mengqian quietly suppressed the urge to lick her fingers.

She remembered that the skins were edible.

Back in Jiangcheng, if you ordered stir-fried vegetables outside, they often didn't peel the skin off properly.

"I'm just giving you a heads-up, in case some little gluttons can't resist."

Li Yan glanced at them and said, "The skin doesn't taste good either."

Jiang Yingzhu and the other two ignored him.

While the three of them were processing the rapeseed shoots, Li Yan had already chopped the green peppers and started stir-frying the pork.

First, put the raw meat slices into the pot and cook until just done, then remove them from the pot.

Then add the chopped garlic cloves, chili peppers, and ginger strips that the senior student prepared, and sauté until fragrant.

Next, pour in the drained oil-drained meat slices and stir-fry vigorously, followed by the green bell pepper pieces.

Everything was normal until the green peppers were added, and the aroma in the kitchen suddenly became stronger.

The aroma has also changed from the original fermented bean flavor to a spicy flavor.

Next door, Zhou Qinqin, who was typing away, sniffed and glanced through the window toward Li Yan's kitchen.

"What's going on? It smells so good."

"Ouch."

As soon as the dish was cooked, Jiang Yingzhu couldn't wait to take a bite.

"good to eat!"

“I want Zhuzhu too,” Mei Mengqian said.

Jiang Yingzhu picked up another piece of meat for her.

Mei Mengqian ate the meat and squinted her eyes.

At this moment, Hua Junshu placed the chopped eggplant and meat ends next to Li Yan.

At the same time, he said to him, "I want to eat."

Li Yan chuckled helplessly, picked up a few slices of green pepper and a piece of meat, and held them to her lips.

Hua Junshu opened his mouth and slowly ate.

The crisp, spicy flavor of the green peppers exploded on her taste buds, mixed with the rich aroma of the meat slices. After a few chews, her mouth was filled with juice, making her squint her eyes in enjoyment.

Jiang Yingzhu's eyes narrowed as she stared at her senior before shifting her gaze to the dish.

"Yes, green peppers should taste even better, they should be eaten this way."

She took a bite as she spoke, then gave Mengmeng a bite, and then took another bite.

Seeing that she wasn't going to stop, Li Yan quickly picked up the pot lid and put it on the plate.

"Just eat a few bites, the food isn't ready yet."

Jiang Yingzhu smacked her lips, but didn't leave the kitchen; she just watched from the side.

She saw the eggplant that her senior was holding.

There will definitely be more delicious food later.

Seeing this, Mei Mengqian followed suit, but she gave herself a reason.

"I'd like to learn how to cook."

Li Yan chuckled, not exposing the truth, and sautéed the fermented bean paste, scallions, ginger, and garlic in a pot to make minced meat and eggplant.

The eggplant's aroma wasn't very strong, but it was still enticing.

As soon as it came out of the pot, Jiang Yingzhu, Mei Mengqian, and Hua Junshu couldn't resist taking a bite.

After Li Yan finished cooking the last plate of stir-fried rapeseed with cured pork, Jiang Yingzhu and the other two had already moved a table and placed it in the yard.

Seeing that he had turned off the fire, they immediately went into the kitchen.

Get bowls and chopsticks, serve dishes, and serve rice.

Then we sat down in front of the door and started eating immediately.

Jiang Yingzhu first ate a few bites of stir-fried pork with rice, mumbling that it was delicious, while reaching out with her chopsticks to pick up some vegetable shoots.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Nobody's going to steal it."

Li Yan remained silent, while Mei Mengqian spoke earnestly:

"We're hungry. Neither Zhuzhu nor I have had breakfast."

"Lazybones."

"Hmph!" Mei Mengqian snorted lightly and picked up a piece of cured pork and vegetable with her chopsticks.

The pale green rapeseed shoots and the red and white cured meat complement each other beautifully, creating a pleasing visual effect.

The rapeseed shoots are light and delicate, with a subtle fragrance infused by the rich aroma of cured pork. The saltiness of the cured pork, in turn, perfectly balances the lightness of the rapeseed shoots.

Every bite is a delight.

The four of them were eating when the aroma of the food wafted into Zhou Qinqin's house next door. Zhou Qinqin scratched her head, having lost all interest in writing.

However, since the four kids next door didn't invite her, she felt a little embarrassed to freeload a meal.

Zhou Qinqin rummaged through the refrigerator at home to see if there was anything she could get a free meal from.

Meanwhile, at Grandma Tian's house, TuTu was already drawn out by the aroma.

Clutching the instant noodles that she had finally begged her grandmother to make, she stood longingly by the yard, watching Li Yan and the other three eat.

The instant noodles in my hand no longer taste good.

"Brother Li Yan, what are you eating?"

"Cauliflower with cured pork, stir-fried pork, minced pork and eggplant," Jiang Yingzhu announced the dishes, glancing at the instant noodle container in Tu Tu's hand.

"TuTu eats instant noodles for lunch."

"Mmm." TuTu nodded, but said a little unsure of herself, "It's delicious."

"Really?" Jiang Yingzhu chuckled, waving a piece of meat around with her chopsticks to amuse the child.

TuTu stared at the red slices of meat, which smelled delicious, and swallowed hard.

I could feel my grandma watching from behind, and I knew that if I said no, she would definitely have an excuse not to let me eat instant noodles in the future.

So she stared intently at Jiang Yingzhu's chopsticks with her animal-like eyes and said, insincerely:
"Yes"

"How about you let me try your noodles, and I'll let you try my dishes, TuTu?"

"Really!?" TuTu's face immediately lit up with joy, and she couldn't wait to step over the flowerpot and come to them.

She glanced at Li Yan, then at Hua Junshu and Mei Mengqian.

"I'll give some to you too."

As she spoke, she had already used her fork to scoop out noodles.

When Jiang Yingzhu and the others saw the noodles, their expressions immediately turned strange, and they all suppressed their laughter.

That's not instant noodles, it's long, thin noodles.

As Tu Tu approached, Jiang Yingzhu glanced at the noodle soup. It was clear and bright, just the most common kind of noodles with oil and salt.

There were a few more shredded meat and vegetables.

The only thing that might have an element of instant noodles is that instant noodle container.

Jiang Yingzhu suppressed a laugh and put a little bit of each of the three dishes on Tu Tu's plate.

She symbolically took a bite of her noodles.

"Alright, alright, TuTu, go back to eat."

"Thank you, older brother and sister."

TuTu was deeply moved when she saw that Jiang Yingzhu had only eaten a small bite of her instant noodles before giving her a huge amount of food.

"I will repay you in the future."

Jiang Yingzhu smiled and waved her hand, while Mei Mengqian and Hua Junshu put some more food on her plate.

“The child is so cute. Li Yan, why don’t you put some food on her plate?” Mei Mengqian said.

Li Yan rolled his eyes. "I'm sitting so far away, and she's not coming over to me, so how am I supposed to get her food?"

Grandpa Qin was sitting further away, eating the leftover steamed buns from breakfast with pickled vegetables. He looked up and glanced over here.

The once flavorful steamed buns suddenly became tasteless.

"Why do the vegetables at Xiao Li's house smell so good? Is it because the feng shui of his place is better than mine?"

Grandpa Qin is not short of money and often eats at farmhouses. Ever since he tasted the vegetables grown by Li Yan, he has looked down on the vegetables he grows himself.

However, he was used to being frugal, so he would eat even if he didn't like it.

"Let's see if Old Zhuang has any of Li's stuff," Old Qin thought to himself.

He's a proud person and doesn't want to ask for things like a child.

Thinking this, he couldn't wait any longer. He chewed on his steamed bun and walked across the street.

At lunchtime, the farmhouse restaurant was doing good business, so Grandpa Qin didn't ask the owner to serve him.

Go directly to the kitchen and ask Lao Zhuang.

"Old Zhuang, did Li kid give you any dishes? Get me a portion."

"Yes! Freshly arrived tomatoes."

Old Zhuang immediately said that he knew Old Man Qin was not short of money; although he was frugal, he was also generous with his spending.

They're not the kind of people who, after eating, will nitpick and haggle over the price.

Therefore, if he has any high-end ingredients, he will give some to Grandpa Qin.

"That's good, give me a cold salad." Old Qin was delighted; Li's dishes could only be truly appreciated when served cold.

Zhuang Ming, however, said with some difficulty:
"I only have three here. A big customer ordered two more, so I can only give you one at most. It probably won't be enough for a cold dish."

Grandpa Qin waved his hand, "Alright, make a braised beef brisket."

"no problem."

Grandpa Qin found an empty seat and sat down, thinking to himself, "What big client? Old Zhuang must be a glutton."

Just then, Old Zhuang's son carried a plate of sweet, cold tomato salad into the private room.

Old Qin was taken aback. Peeking through the crack in the ajar door, he saw two young men inside.

"Sis, why did you make me transfer to this school? It's so run-down, just like the old society."

Jiang Xinting glanced at her younger sister and sighed.

"Yueyue, since you don't plan to follow the arrangements your family made for you and want to go into business, then you need to make more connections."

"Li Yan is the behind-the-scenes boss of Qiqi Company. His future is limitless. Becoming his classmate will be of great help to you."

“Then I can’t go to university again.” Jiang Xinyue crossed her arms, looking unwilling.

"College friendships can't compare to those in high school," Jiang Xinting said with a smile.

Jiang Xinyue was still unhappy. She had no problem with Li Yan, but how could someone her age become the behind-the-scenes boss of such a large company?

Its legendary status is no less than that of Huo Qubing, who was recorded in history as having sealed the wolf's lair at the age of twenty-one.

The environment here is terrible; it feels inconvenient everywhere.

Jiang Xinyue continued to argue: "Don't you make more connections in the capital?"

“Think about it carefully, are those people targeting you?” Jiang Xinting shook her head. “Those are your parents’ connections. Even if you ignore them now, you’ll still need them later.”

"But if you miss this opportunity now, it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

(End of this chapter)