Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"I don't deserve Young Master Ling's praise," Hong Lingbo said timidly. "My martial aunt is much more beautiful."

"..."

That's true, but... am I really that scary?

Ling Chi scratched his head: "Shuang'er and the others are cutting paper snowflakes, why don't you go too!"

Hong Lingbo breathed a sigh of relief and immediately moved away from him.

"..."

"She seems very afraid of you," Little Dragon Girl said.

"I can see that." Ling Chi said with a hint of helplessness, "It seems I scared her back then."

"Ah."

"..."

That "hmm" is really good!

"Are you hungry?" Ling Chi held her hand, which was cool and white, as tender as jade.

"I steamed some xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), they're still warm, go eat them!"

A hint of shyness appeared in Xiaolongnu's eyes as she withdrew her hand: "Then I'll go."

Seeing her slightly flustered look, Ling Chi smiled slightly. They had already seen each other, yet she was still so shy.

So cute.

……

The Spring Festival has a long history, dating back to ancient times, before written records existed. At that time, it wasn't called the Spring Festival, but rather a sacrificial activity. It evolved over countless years to become the Spring Festival we know today.

Customs and traditions during the Spring Festival vary from region to region. For example, people in the north always eat dumplings during the Spring Festival, but people in the south may not. Some eat glutinous rice balls, some eat steamed buns, and others eat stir-fries, hot pot, or whatever makes them happy.

Of course, that's in modern times. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was already difficult for ordinary people to have enough to eat on ordinary days. During the New Year, they were lucky to have a fish and a few ounces of meat to go with their drinks.

Unlike Ling Chi, who starts preparing all sorts of elaborate dishes early in the morning, there are at least eighteen or twenty dishes, which can be described as extravagant.

Lingchi was in charge of cooking, while the girls' jobs were to decorate the wooden house, clean the courtyard, and when they had nothing to do, they would sit around the wooden table and play something called mahjong.

This mahjong set was invented by Ling Chi ten days ago. Because there weren't many people, he only carved one set out of wood.

After it was finished, he didn't take it out immediately. Only today did he explain the rules to the four women and give each of them one hundred copper coins so they could have a go.

……

Little Dragon Girl drew a card and carefully played it: "Two of a Kind".

"Bang!" Lu Wushuang chuckled, "I've been waiting for this one for a long time, I'll pong it."

"Look how pleased you are with yourself," Shuang'er said with a laugh. "Hurry up and deal the cards."

"Wait, let me see which card I'm going to win?" Lu Wushuang hesitated for a moment before finally playing an 80,000.

"..." Hong Lingbo pushed the cards away and said weakly, "I won."

"..." Lu Wushuang looked at him and his face turned green as he saw that he had actually won with a perfect hand: "Are you kidding me! You actually won this?"

Shuang'er shook her head helplessly and pushed the cards away: "A bet is a bet. Wushuang, you're the one who discards the winning tile, so you'll lose double."

"Waaah..." Lu Wushuang lost everything and could only run into the kitchen to cry to Ling Chi, "Big brother, I lost it all, waaaah..."

"..."

Soon after, the little girl returned triumphantly with a huge sum of five hundred copper coins in her pocket: "Again! I'm going to dominate the battlefield!"

Half an hour later.

"Waaah, big brother..."

"..."

Chapter Thirteen You Are Mine

In the evening, the fireplace in the cabin burned brightly, making the interior warm and cozy.

Everyone sat around the dining table, which was set with several plates of delicious-looking dishes, as well as steaming dumplings.

Ling Chi poured a glass of wine for Xiaolongnu and said with a smile, "This is my homemade wine, Long'er, please have a taste."

Little Dragon Girl nodded gently, looked at the red liquid, and smelled it; it smelled somewhat fragrant.

Take a sip, and it's slightly sweet and a little astringent, but more than anything, it's refreshingly cool.

"How is it?" Ling Chi asked.

"It tastes great." Little Dragon Girl's face was a little flushed. "It's just that I feel a little dizzy."

"..."

This wine only has an alcohol content of 8%, lower than beer. Little Dragon Girl felt dizzy after just one sip, showing a terrifyingly low alcohol tolerance.

"It's alcohol after all, and drinking too much will make you drunk." Ling Chi filled her glass. "But we're happy today, so it's okay to drink a little more."

"Hmm." Little Dragon Girl liked the taste of wine, and under Ling Chi's persuasion, she drank a few more glasses.

Before they had even finished half of their New Year's Eve dinner, Little Dragon Girl fell asleep on the table.

"Long'er? Long'er?" Ling Chi nudged her, but there was no response.

Ling Chi glanced at the women and coughed lightly, "Long'er is drunk. You all eat first, I'll carry her to her room to rest."

At this moment, Hong Lingbo had also drunk quite a bit under Shuang'er's persuasion and was feeling dizzy and unresponsive. Lu Wushuang had also drunk a bit too much, her face was flushed, and she was silently shedding tears, muttering, "Yang Guo, you bastard."

Only Shuang'er gave a thumbs-up: "Brother, keep it up!"

Ling Chi was very touched; Shuang'er was the most considerate.

……

Ling Chi's bedroom is on the first floor, and there's only one bedroom on the first floor. It's not big, about ten square meters, and besides a relatively large wooden bed and a wooden cabinet, there's nothing else.

Ling Chi carried Xiaolongnu to the bed.

The room was dark, but that didn't stop Ling Chi, who already had night vision, from seeing through everything.

The drunken Little Dragon Girl was very quiet and gentle.

"No, no." Ling Chi patted his face: "We can't take advantage of someone in distress."

……

Ling Chi left the room and closed the door.

"Why is brother back so soon?" Shuang'er asked, somewhat surprised.

"Don't look at me like that. Your brother is a gentleman. Why would I take advantage of someone in distress?" Ling Chi sat down next to her with a righteous expression. Just as he was about to eat, he saw Hong Lingbo swaying and collapsing down as well.

"..." Ling Chi said helplessly, "Shuang'er, let her sleep in your room tonight! You and Wushuang can squeeze in together."

Shuang'er nodded, went upstairs to make the bed, and then came back to carry Hong Lingbo upstairs.

After settling Hong Lingbo in, Shuang'er returned and had just sat down when she heard a thud as Lu Wushuang collapsed.

"..."

The two were left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Let me do it!" Ling Chi picked up Lu Wushuang: "This little girl usually pretends to be nonchalant, but she reveals all her true colors when she's drunk."

Looking at the tear stains on Lu Wushuang's face, Shuang'er sighed softly, "The word 'love' can cause immense harm."

Ling Chi shook his head and carried Lu Wushuang back to the room.

A perfectly good New Year's Eve vigil ended up with only him and Shuang'er left.

"Come, Shuang'er." Ling Chi raised his wine glass: "You've been through so much over the years, I'd like to toast you."

Shuang'er smiled broadly: "Shuang'er also toasts brother, and wishes brother success in winning over Miss Long tonight."

"Sigh, I've already said, I'm not that kind of person."

Shuang'er nodded: "I believe you."

"..."

……

In the early hours of the morning, bursts of firecrackers echoed from the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, and fireworks lit up the night sky.

Ling Chi and Shuang'er sat on the rooftop and looked down the mountain. Below, thousands of lights were already lit, creating a dazzling spectacle that never extinguished the night.

Shuang'er nestled against Ling Chi's shoulder: "So beautiful!"

"Yes! So beautiful." Ling Chi held Shuang'er's slightly cold hand and whispered, "Shuang'er, how many Spring Festivals have we spent together?"

"Sixty-nine," Shuang'er replied immediately. "If my brother hadn't gone on a long trip two years ago, this would have been the seventy-first."

"It's amazing that you remember it so clearly," Ling Chi said with a smile.

Shuang'er gave a soft "hmm" and said, "I remember every single day I spent with my brother very clearly."

"..." Ling Chi pulled Shuang'er into his arms and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

Shuang'er's heart was beating a little fast, and she murmured, "Brother."

"From now on, stay with me." Ling Chi hugged her tightly: "Forever."

Shuang'er's heart melted: "Mmm."

……

The firecrackers and fireworks stopped, and Lingchi and Shuang'er returned to the house.

Shuang'er smiled and said, "Brother, I'm going upstairs. Good luck tonight."

“I’ve said it so many times,” Ling Chi said righteously. “I’m not that kind of person.”

"Yes, I believe you." Shuang'er chuckled and went upstairs with light steps.

“…” Ling Chi shook his head: “This girl.”

Turning to look at the door to her bedroom, Ling Chi felt a surge of excitement.