“I’m done with my work!!!”

“Finally, no more beef slicing!”

Ji Rongxia stretched with a huge yawn.

“Xia-ger, you’re amazing. It’s only been ten days, and you’ve already sliced all that meat.” Gu Tangjin didn’t hold back his praise.

“Hehe, I know everything about cattle now. Hey, Tangjin, did you know? There are so many different kinds of cattle! Some produce exceptionally tasty beef, while others give tons of milk—more than even water buffalo, from what I’ve heard…”

Ji Rongxia chattered excitedly about the cattle breeds he’d recently learned.

Truthfully, he’d only half-understood many terms in the instructional videos, but he’d memorized them all anyway!

After committing them to memory, he slowly reviewed them in his mind, gaining deeper insights into cattle.

As Gu Tangjin listened, he grew increasingly convinced that his husband could complete this task in just over ten days—truly a man of extraordinary talent.

“Oh, right—my reward! Beef jerky! I can’t treat you to beef yet, but I can offer you beef jerky. That kid said it’s spicy and fragrant. Wonder how it tastes.” Ji Rongxia whispered excitedly.

“This is milk, and this should be the beef jerky.” Hearing Ji Rongxia’s words, Gu Tangjin retrieved two items from the box beside the bed.

One was milk in a paper cup, the other a packet of beef jerky wrapped in oil paper.

Ji Rongxia took the oil paper package and tore it open in a few swift motions.

He took a deep breath.

A rich, savory, and spicy aroma immediately filled his nostrils.

“Try it! It smells amazing.” Ji Rongxia handed Gu Tangjin a piece of beef jerky.

The jerky was dotted with sesame seeds, had a deep red color, and carried a distinct spicy scent.

Gu Tangjin hesitated before taking it. Seeing Ji Rongxia’s eager gaze fixed on him, he finally took a bite.

“Whoa. Cough cough cough!” Gu Tangjin sucked in a sharp breath, then couldn’t help but start coughing.

“What’s wrong? Is it bad?” Seeing his reaction, Ji Rongxia instinctively popped the beef jerky into his own mouth and took a bite.

Salty, savory, spicy, chewy, and that distinct beef flavor.

Delicious!!!

“It’s good, just a bit spicy. But this heat doesn’t quite taste like it comes from ginger or cornelian cherry.” Ji Rongxia tasted it but couldn’t pinpoint the flavor. He couldn’t help but take another bite of beef jerky.

Gu Tangjin’s face was already flushed red from the spice, even his fair neck tinged with a faint blush. Ji Rongxia, no longer able to savor the flavor of the beef jerky in his hand, hurriedly urged Gu Tangjin to take a sip of milk to ease the burning.

“Quick, take a couple of sips.”

After drinking two mouthfuls of milk, the sharp, lingering spiciness in Gu Tangjin’s mouth eased considerably.

“This beef jerky… tastes unique.” Gu Tangjin wasn’t accustomed to spicy foods; he rarely ate either ginger or cornelian cherries.

“I think it’s delicious. It’s a shame you can’t enjoy something this tasty.” Seeing that he was feeling better, Ji Rongxia took another bite of the beef jerky with renewed ease.

So good!

Gu Tangjin cleared his throat twice. “Hmm, the flavor is indeed nice. It’s just that I don’t usually eat spicy food, so it’s a bit unfamiliar to me.”

“This flavor doesn’t taste like jujube or ginger,” Ji Rongxia shared his observation. “Next time I’ll ask what seasoning they used on this meat.”

Worried he might find it too spicy, Gu Tangjin offered the milk in his hand: “Have some too. This milk is actually quite tasty.”

“No need. The more I eat, the more flavorful it gets—not spicy at all.” Ji Rongxia’s eyes sparkled. Whether it was the beef itself or the perfect balance of spicy and savory, he found the jerky increasingly delicious with each bite.

After five pieces, he reluctantly stopped, carefully repackaging the oil paper wrapper.

Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia finished the milk together. Though Ji Rongxia still felt a lingering spiciness in his mouth, after drinking the milk and rinsing his mouth, he pursed his lips. The heat seemed to have subsided by about seventy percent.

“If only we could grow this kind of spicy ingredient. It’s truly delicious,” Ji Rongxia mused.

Though Gu Tangjin didn’t quite grasp the appeal of this flavor, he pondered for a moment before replying, “Our Qingchi County gets plenty of rain. Eating spicy things should help dispel dampness.”

Too bad he couldn’t enjoy it himself.

“Next time, I’ll sneakily ask the system what this is,” Ji Rongxia whispered, burrowing into Gu Tangjin’s embrace.

Gu Tangjin lowered his voice in reply, “Alright. We’ll plant it in the wooden tub too. Oh, and tomorrow we can plant the taro.”

“Right, right, I should sleep early. We have to plant the taro tomorrow.” Ji Rongxia quickly closed his eyes to sleep. Gu Tangjin wrapped his arms around his waist and shut his own eyes.

Early the next morning, taking advantage of the cool dawn air, the two planted the sprouted taro tubers in wooden pots. They then watered the cucumbers they had planted a few days prior.

The cucumbers had already sprouted and were growing vigorously.

It seemed they would definitely have fresh cucumbers to eat this autumn!

“Except for the first day when we only sold fifty pan-fried buns, we’ve been selling over seventy every day since. Most customers buy two at a time. Just from the dumplings alone, we’re making about one hundred and ninety wen. The fruit drinks bring in sixty wen daily. After deducting costs, we’re earning nearly two hundred wen a day.”

“Over these ten days, we’ve saved another two strings of cash, finally scraping together ten taels of silver.” Ji Rongxia calculated as he watered the cucumbers.

Ji Rongxia exclaimed excitedly, “At this rate, come next year, who knows? We might actually be able to buy some land!”

Ji Rongxia’s family owned no fields. Though carpentry was a viable trade, he’d often heard his parents lament as a child how much better it would be if they had land. Buying grain from the store was simply too expensive. Later, their family became close with Qian Xuecheng’s family, and they began purchasing grain from the Qians instead. Without the grain store taking a cut, they saved a fair bit.

“How to actually farm it is another matter. Never mind, we’ll figure that out later.” Ji Rongxia waved his hand dismissively, unwilling to dwell on the troublesome details, and instead lost in his own joyful daydreams.

Gu Tangjin kneaded the dough needed for today’s pan-fried buns while listening to Ji Rongxia’s ramblings.

Farming was something Gu Tangjin had been pondering lately, too. Since the purpose was to conceal Xia-ger’s peculiarity, they couldn’t get things backward—Xia-ger’s safety came first. They still needed to find reliable help before planting; they couldn’t buy land just for the sake of buying land.

“Oh! I need to get the pork rinds simmering right away—if I wait too long, it’ll be too late!!!” Ji Rongxia quickly finished watering the plants and hurried off to the kitchen to start simmering the pork rinds.

Ji Rongxia had become quite skilled at making pan-fried buns. Thinking about how the family had been eating these buns for breakfast these past few days, he realized even the most delicious food could become tiresome. He wanted to try something new.

Glancing at the refurbished oven, inspiration struck. He decided to try baking crumbly pancakes crumbly pancakes 

He wondered why these pancakes had such a peculiar name.

For the crumbly pancake dough, there was no need to knead a separate batch. He could set aside the dough for the pan-fried buns, let it ferment a bit longer, and use it for this purpose. With this in mind, Ji Rongxia called out to Gu Tangjin: “Tangjin, make a little extra dough today. I want to make pancakes.”

“Got it,” Gu Tangjin replied.

With the dough sorted, the crumbly pancakes still needed a meat filling. No need to prepare that separately either. As Ji Rongxia minced pork, he recalled the recipe for crumbly pancakes.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He set down the cleaver and dashed over to Gu Tangjin: “I know what that thing is called!”

“What?” Gu Tangjin knew immediately Ji Rongxia was referring to the seasoning used in the marinated beef jerky they’d eaten last night.

“It’s chili!”

“That stuff must be called chili!”

Ji Rongxia leaned close to Gu Tangjin and whispered in a hushed voice.

“Chili peppers. The recipe for crumbly pancakes mentions them, but I don’t have any. I had to substitute with cornelian cherry paste instead. No idea how it’ll taste.” Ji Rongxia spread his hands helplessly. “The recipe also lists a few other seasonings I don’t recognize. I wasn’t thinking about that when you read it to me earlier.”

As she spoke, Ji Rongxia’s little brain began spinning rapidly.

“Oh, right! If that little brat thinks my cooking is no good, he might just have to teach me how to make it today!”

Who knows? Maybe he’ll actually trigger a random quest!

Then he’ll get to taste whatever that chili pepper is!

Even if he didn’t trigger a random quest, he wouldn’t be at a loss.

Gu Tangjin flicked Ji Rongxia’s forehead with his clean left hand. “My Fulang is so clever.”

Ji Rongxia grinned, covering his forehead as he returned to the stove.

Though Ji Rongxia secretly hoped to trigger a random quest, he wouldn’t deliberately make the pancakes taste bad. The flour and meat filling were precious ingredients—not to be wasted carelessly.

He chopped the meat filling, skipping any missing seasonings or substituting them with alternatives he thought would taste good.

He poured a little soybean oil into the wok, sautéed the scallions and ginger until fragrant, then removed them. Finally, he added the cornelian cherry paste.

To the meat filling, he added soy sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil, a pinch of ground dried shrimp, and the scallion-ginger oil mixed with cornelian cherry paste for flavor. He stirred everything in one direction until well combined.

The dough for these cakes needs to be slightly softer than the dough used for pan-fried buns. After proofing, add a bit more water and oil, then punch and knead it with your fist until it’s just barely usable.

Roll each dough portion into a flat cake shape, spread the meat filling on top, and press it in the oven for baking.

A fire burned beneath the oven. Ji Rongxia dared not stoke it too high—this was his first time using this oven, and he feared burning it.

As the cakes baked, the savory aroma of meat wafted out.

Ji Rongxia carefully lifted the cakes from the oven with a pair of long bamboo chopsticks.

The mouthwatering aroma instantly made anyone see them feel hungry. Ji Rongxia picked up a knife, sliced one pancake in half, and placed both halves on a plate. He walked over to Gu Tangjin, who was preparing fruit drinks.

Ji Rongxia picked up a piece of pancake with his chopsticks: “Try it. Quick, try it and tell me if it’s good.”

Ji Rongxia glanced at it—it hadn’t burned, so it should be edible, right?

Gu Tangjin couldn’t spare a hand, so he simply lowered his head slightly and took a bite.

The cake was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a savory meat filling spread over it. It had a mild spiciness that was just right for someone like him who couldn’t handle heat.

Gu Tangjin smiled. “Delicious!”

“See? Delicious!” Ji Rongxia took a bite herself. “Mmm! Roasting the pancake like this gives it a different flavor than pan-frying. The inside is softer while the outside is crispier—it’s surprisingly good!”

Since they’d started eating, the two of them simply took turns finishing the entire flatbread, treating it as an early snack to tide them over.