“You can keep the deed.” Yao Tianlan handed the deed back to Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia, then stood up. “I’m going to feed and water the Guans’ donkey. It wouldn’t be right to send it back to them like this.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Chuncai also stood up. “Right, that makes sense. I’ll go with you to brush the donkey’s coat. You two eat up. If there isn’t enough, there’s more on the stove.”

“Go ahead, Mom and Dad. If there isn’t enough, I’ll go get more,” Ji Rongxia replied. The two of them went off to tend to their tasks.

By the time Ji Rongxia and the others had eaten their fill, Yao Tianlan and Gu Chuncai had not only fed the donkey, brushed its coat smooth, but had even scrubbed the donkey cart clean.

Gu Tangjin went to return the donkey cart, while Ji Rongxia went to the kitchen to scoop some cold eight-treasure porridge, placing it in a bamboo tube for Ji Ronghu to take back and eat. They also made plans for Ji Ronghu to accompany them on another trip to Tongdong Village the next day; since people there knew Ji Ronghu, having him along would make things go much more smoothly.

With everything settled, Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan didn’t rush to ask how the land had been purchased. Instead, they urged them to go to bed first, saying they could discuss other matters after they’d rested a bit.

Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia were both a bit tired, so they obediently followed their parents’ advice and went to their room to rest for a while. By the time they woke up, it was already around the fourth hour of the Shen period.

After getting up, Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin hurried to the kitchen. While helping with the chores, they explained in detail to Yao Tianlan and Gu Chuncai how they had purchased the land.

“That Lu family is truly despicable. How could they use a woman’s grave as leverage to make him accept a smaller share? They’ve no conscience at all.” Yao Tianlan frowned as she listened.

Gu Chuncai shook his head as well: “Go take a look tomorrow. If they seem like decent people, go ahead and buy the land.”

“That’s exactly what Tangjin and I were planning. That plot out there is actually quite good; we won’t lose out if we buy it,” Ji Rongxia said. Yao Tianlan thought for a moment and said, “But if you buy these two plots in different locations, it’ll be a bit of a hassle to go back and forth.”

Gu Tangjin replied, “It’s fine. Tongdong Village and Heshui Village aren’t far apart, and neither is far from our Qingchi County. It’s just a matter of walking a few extra steps.”

“Oh, right. The customer who bought a lot of braised meat last time came back at noon. He ordered quite a bit of braised chicken and braised lotus root, and also bought some braised fish.” 

Yao Tianlan smiled, her eyes crinkling. “He really is a big customer. The braised meat sold out quickly, but the braised vegetables are a bit harder to sell—most people who come to our restaurant want to eat some meat.”

“The one from last time? He really is a big customer.” Gu Tangjin also had a strong impression of Zhu Pengyi, “But he looks strangely unfamiliar.”

Ji Rongxia remarked offhandedly, “Maybe he doesn’t even live in the eastern part of town. When I first met you, I couldn’t believe there was such a handsome man in this county.”

Gu Tangjin: “……”

A faint blush spread across his handsome face. Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan burst out laughing upon hearing this.

As they chatted idly, they finished their work. Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan, worried the two might be exhausted, urged them to go take a bath and get some sleep as soon as the restaurant closed, telling them they could feed the dogs and tidy up themselves.

The two couldn’t refuse, so they took a bath first and then went back to their room. Gu Tangjin didn’t drag Ji Rongxia into learning to read today. Ji Rongxia cheered silently to himself, happily lying down on the bed to sleep, while Gu Tangjin, as usual, took out a book and leaned against the bedside to read.

Upon entering the system space, Ji Rongxia stretched lazily: “I’m exhausted.”

Ji Rongxia’s eyes lit up as he said to the Cooking God System, “Little Master, did you see that? We’ve got land—and it’s a paddy field, no less. It’s perfect.” 

“I see, Host. Congratulations, Host.” The Cooking God System flashed.

Ji Rongxia: “Thanks. I really owe this to you. Let’s go complete a quest.”

Completing a quest should be the best way to thank the Cooking God System, right? “Wait, Host, I have a congratulatory gift for you,” the Cooking God System hurriedly said.

“What kind of gift?” Ji Rongxia stopped in his tracks, waiting for the Cooking God System to continue.

【Ding, Long-Term Mission: Help the Cooking God System recharge.】

【Mission Progress: 45%.】

【Initial Mission Reward: One packet of improved rice seeds (Bi Yu Mi, bred and named after the “Spirit Rice” from a certain cultivation novel set in a small world; sweet and fragrant in taste, rich in nutrients, but with the drawback of lower yield.)】

Ji Rongxia listened in a daze until the very end before it dawned on him: he had purchased the paddy fields, which was why the Cooking God System had issued this long-term mission.

Ji Rongxia scratched his cheek and said, “I’d recharge you even if you hadn’t given me a long-term mission. Thanks.”

The cloud-shaped Cooking God System flickered: “No need to thank me. This is a long-term mission, you know.” Ji Rongxia froze for a few seconds, then nodded and said, “Oh, I see.”

Which meant the little chef could use this quest to secretly send him gifts in the future.

“No, that’s not good for you. Let’s just forget about this time, but don’t do it again,” Ji Rongxia hurriedly said.

“No, no, Host. Recharging me is very important. Even if the Supreme God finds out, it’s fine—I’ve done everything strictly by the rules.”

The Cooking God System said proudly.

After all, it was a high-tech system; once it learned how to exploit loopholes, it mastered the art in no time.

Besides, traveling in ancient times was so inconvenient; it wouldn’t be easy for the Host to recharge him in the future.

Wasn’t it only fair to give him a little extra reward? He was just following the rules here!!!

Ji Rongxia chuckled. “All right, then. I’ll accept the gift. Tangjin and I will take good care of it. We’ll plant it ourselves, so don’t worry.”

“By the way, you said the yield is low—just how low is it? Tell me so I can get a better idea.”

The Cooking God System explained in detail: “With careful cultivation and sufficient fertilizer, the yield per mu is around 500 jin. In this dynasty, one shi is roughly 100 jin, so that’s about five shi. However, based on current farming conditions, the yield per mu is approximately 350 to 450 jin.”

“Three hundred and fifty jin isn’t bad at all! Four hundred and fifty jin would be a lot, a whole lot!” Ji Rongxia exclaimed in surprise.

“The other day, Tangjin taught me to read using an agricultural book, and I remember that in this dynasty, the maximum rice yield per mu is no more than five shi.” Ji Rongxia counted on his fingers, “If you say this is a low yield, just how high could it possibly be?”

“In a certain small world I’ve visited, rice yields have already reached four thousand jin,” the Cooking God System said. Ji Rongxia’s eyes widened as he continued counting on his fingers. If we calculate based on three hundred and fifty jin per mu, one mu would be equivalent to more than eleven mu!

Over eleven mu!!!

Ji Rongxia blinked rapidly, staring at his ten fingers, unable to process it.

Ji Rongxia considered himself decent at math, especially since he’d been learning to read with Tangjin lately. Tangjin occasionally taught him mental arithmetic, which had improved his skills even further. Yet even so, he still found it hard to believe the result he’d calculated. He stubbornly counted on his fingers several times before finally exclaiming, “So one mu of land can be used as more than eleven mu? That’s amazing. No one in that little world must go hungry—that’s really great.”

Cooking God System: “Yes, advancements in farming technology have indeed solved most people’s food security issues. After addressing yield concerns, there’s been a surge in efforts to improve taste and texture. However, there’s sometimes a trade-off between flavor and yield—this green corn, for instance, prioritizes taste and texture over yield.”

“The people who developed these truly deserve immense credit.” Ji Rongxia folded his ten fingers and said solemnly, “I’ll make sure to grow this rice well.”

“Host, let’s continue with the mission.” The Cooking God System realized it no longer needed to dangle empty promises in front of the host; the host would now work hard on the mission on their own. Only by treating the host with sincerity could it earn the host’s sincerity in return. What had it been doing all this time? The Cooking God System underwent a process of reflection that was almost human in nature.

Ji Rongxia nodded and headed to the kitchen.

“Let’s get started!”

The moment he stepped up to the stove, dozens of bowls filled with various seasonings appeared to his left. Among them were seasonings Ji Rongxia was familiar with, as well as some Ji Rongxia didn’t recognize.

On his right appeared ingredients such as chicken and cucumber.

【Fifth Dish: Koushui chicken.】

【Note: here is a simplified version of the recipe: Wash the chicken thoroughly and place it in cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add a pinch of salt, ginger slices, scallion segments, Sichuan peppercorns, angelica root, Chinese angelica root, bay leaves, and gardenia peel. Turn off the heat and let it sit until cooked through. Prepare the sauce with salt to taste, a small amount of sesame paste (optional), soy sauce, ground Sichuan peppercorns, sugar, spicy seasoning sauce, minced garlic, chili peppers, cilantro, minced scallions, vinegar, and chili oil to taste. Cut the cucumber into segments, slice the cooked meat into pieces, arrange them neatly, and drizzle with the sauce.】

【Please enjoy the finished dish, Host.】

“Koushui chicken? Hmm, what a strange name. But it looks pretty tasty.” Ji Rongxia looked down and saw that the Koushui chicken was already right in front of him.

The chicken was drizzled with a fiery red sauce that smelled incredibly fragrant.

Ji Rongxia took a bite and immediately understood why it was called “Koushui chicken.” It truly made his mouth water—fragrant, numbing, and spicy!

No wonder it has such a peculiar name, Ji Rongxia couldn’t help but say, “Mmm, mmm, mmm, this is delicious. The chicken is so tender, and the sauce is perfectly seasoned.”

“This would go so well with rice.”

Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

Of all the dishes he’d learned recently, this “Koushui chicken” was the one that best suited Ji Rongxia’s taste! He had a strong palate—he loved spicy and sour flavors, and he especially loved meat. This dish perfectly matched Ji Rongxia’s taste.

After tasting the perfectly finished dish, Ji Rongxia felt a bit empty.

He shook his head, then threw himself into perfecting the Koushui chicken recipe.

Passion is the best teacher. Ji Rongxia performed exceptionally well this time. On his very first attempt, he keenly realized that gardenia wasn’t particularly useful for seasoning but played a major role in coloring the chicken. He easily avoided some unnecessary pitfalls, and after just four attempts, he had already brought the dish’s completion rate up to 80%.

But after reaching 80%, the completion rate began to jump up by one point at a time, occasionally even taking a step back.

At first, the Cooking God System didn’t notice anything amiss.

But soon, the Cooking God System realized: its host was manipulating the score to milk the system for all it was worth!!! This really is a world of academic prodigies—the host has even learned how to manipulate scores!!!

Of course, Ji Rongxia understood the importance of pacing himself—one shouldn’t overdo things. Even though he loved Koushui chicken, he’d only made it fifty times. On the fifty-first attempt, he decided to give it his all.

As the fifty-first batch of Koushui chicken was served, Ji Rongxia heard the familiar system notification.

【Ding. Detection shows the Koushui chicken’s seasoning completion rate is 99%. Exceeding 95% triggers a special reward.】

【Ding! Special Reward: The detailed recipe for the host’s own version of Koushui chicken and the Perfect Koushui chicken.】

Ji Rongxia yawned lazily: “Alright, that’s it for today, little chef. See you tomorrow. Oh, and little chef, don’t forget to take that green corn out.”

The Cooking God System was stunned; it suddenly felt like the Host was on the verge of effortlessly mastering this seasoning task.

“Uh, okay. Bye, Host.”

Ji Rongxia exited the system space.

He’d only been inside for a total of one hour today—he’d performed exceptionally well, using hardly any time at all. Gu Tangjin was still reading and hadn’t gone to sleep.

“La la la, look at these rice seeds—a gift from the young master.” Ji Rongxia picked up the paper bag beside his pillow and said

to Gu Tangjin beside him, “Huh? It’s a bit heavy. It feels like five or six jin.”

“That’s enough to plant two mu of land. The paddy field we bought is just over one mu, so we’ll have plenty of seeds left over.

Although Gu Tangjin has never farmed before, he’s read quite a few agricultural books, so he can still figure this out.

Ji Rongxia: “Oh, is that so? That’s quite a lot. The young master said the yield per mu for this variety is over 350 jin, and if cultivated well, it could even reach 400 jin. And this is the low-yield variety—he said it yields less precisely because the resulting rice tastes so good.”

“Low yield?” Gu Tangjin asked, puzzled. “Over 350 jin isn’t exactly a low yield.”

“The young master said that in some places, they’ve cultivated rice that yields four thousand jin per mu. I don’t know how they did it, but it’s truly amazing,” Ji Rongxia couldn’t help but marvel. No matter how many times he heard it, it never ceased to amaze him.

Gu Tangjin was also taken aback. “Indeed, that’s truly remarkable.” If only they had such talent here.

“Right? That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”Ji Rongxia smiled as he leaned against Gu Tangjin. 

“Tangjin, we have seeds now. You were going to give me some to grow, right? Since they’re seeds anyway, why don’t we learn and give it a try? We have the seeds and the young master. Even though we don’t know how to do it, who knows—maybe we’ll get lucky and figure it out on our own. It’d be a waste not to try.”

After speaking, Ji Rongxia handed the seeds in his hand to Gu Tangjin: “I’m leaving these in your care!” Gu Tangjin took the large bag of seeds, feeling a faint surge of excitement in his heart.

Having spent so many years studying and under the tutelage of Juren Zhao, he had learned to constantly suppress his talents and ambitions. Even though he later realized this was wrong and made a conscious effort to correct it, he had been deeply influenced by that mindset.

The reason he had taken an immediate liking to Ji Rongxia was precisely because of that vibrant, unyielding spirit within him.

Compared to Ji Rongxia, he felt like a lifeless shell; now, it seemed his own ambition had been reignited by Xia-ger.

“All right, I’ll give it a try,” Gu Tangjin finally said.

Ji Rongxia smiled, yawned, and said, “I knew you could do it. If a place were full of starving people, it would be ridiculous for a culinary genius to emerge from there. The better everyone eats, the more impressive I look. Well, Xiucai, you’d better work hard!”

Gu Tangjin was amused by Ji Rongxia’s words. “I haven’t even done anything yet, and you’re already saying this. The burden on my shoulders is truly heavy.”

“Then let me give you a massage. A little massage and you won’t feel the weight of that burden anymore!!!” Ji Rongxia actually sat up and vigorously massaged Gu Tangjin’s shoulders, making him sway from side to side.

Gu Tangjin carefully set the seeds aside before letting himself roll around in a heap with Ji Rongxia…

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Wu Baoquan was awakened by the growling of his stomach.

He groggily got up to get dressed, but halfway through, he remembered that the eateries in the eastern part of the city weren’t open today and hadn’t set up their stalls.

“Ah, I really want some pan-fried buns. The crumbly pancakes are good too, and pancakes stuffed with meat are great as well.”

After returning yesterday, he had grilled Constable Tao for all the details.

That’s when he found out that the breakfast was made by Ji Rongxia, the young Fulang who’d recently married into the Gu family—the lad’s cooking skills were truly impressive. The restaurant’s braised fish was pretty good, too. Yesterday at noon, he went there with Zhu Pengyi and bought quite a bit of braised pork and braised fish. That County Magistrate Zhong still thought he was trying to curry favor with Constable Tao, so he gave him the cold shoulder.

Heh, Wu Baoquan really wasn’t afraid of him. Back when he was in Shouwu County, things were far tougher than this. He quickly dug up a case involving Magistrate Zhong from the backlog of cases and gave him a good dressing-down. Privately, he handed out some silver to the constables, clerks, and scribes as a stipend for running errands in the sweltering heat.

Magistrate Zhong still thought that because he’d been in the business for years, those constables and clerks would naturally listen to him.

Little did he know that cultivating relationships really does cost a fortune.

Besides, he was the county magistrate, and Magistrate Zhong was getting on in years—anyone with eyes could see who was the obvious choice.

Wu Baoquan had been doing business in Shouwu County in the Northern Frontier for many years. Although his achievements had been claimed by others, the trade routes he controlled, as well as the businesses run by his second-youngest brother and third-youngest sister, remained intact. The new county magistrate also showed his family considerable favor. Wu Baoquan had no need to embezzle any silver; he lived quite comfortably on the monthly profits his second younger brother and third younger sister sent him.

To be fair, this Deputy Magistrate Zhong hadn’t actually committed any murder or robbery; he was just too greedy. The relatives he’d promoted were incompetent, bullying men and oppressing women. Wu Baoquan was keeping him around for now only because he’d just arrived and was still cautious about his actions—but he’d replace him sooner or later!

With these thoughts in mind, Wu Baoquan had already reached the kitchen. He took out the braised meat from the previous day—he’d carefully soaked it in cold water to preserve it, so at least it hadn’t gone bad.

He sliced the braised meat and served himself and Zhu Pengyi two bowls of dumpling soup. He pulled up a stool and sat in the kitchen, eating the dumpling soup with the braised meat.

So simple, yet so delicious.

As Wu Baoquan ate, he made up his mind: he was going to buy a house in the eastern part of the city!!!

Life is all about eating and drinking; if you can’t enjoy your meals, what’s the point of living? This dish tastes best right out of the pot, so he really needs to live closer to a restaurant.

His parents, husband, older brother and sister-in-law, younger brother and sister-in-law, younger sister and brother-in-law, daughters and sons, and his own ger—they would all surely agree with his decision! As for having to get up early for his shift and walk a few extra steps, what’s that? He’d just treat it as a way to lose weight!

Having convinced himself, Wu Baoquan solemnly polished off every last bite of his braised pork. Meanwhile, Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia had also woken up early.

Having sold breakfast for so long, it had become a habit; it was hard to sleep in even a little longer.

Ji Rongxia didn’t plan on making anything complicated today either; he simply steamed a pot of rice to serve with the Koushui chicken later. Let Mom and Dad try the Koushui chicken—they’re sure to love it!

Just steaming some rice was a breeze for Ji Rongxia. He and Gu Tangjin split some firewood, marinated the meat and vegetables, washed and prepared the day’s produce, filled the jar with spring water bought from Li Fulang, sliced and marinated the meat, and scaled, gutted, and fried the fish to have it ready.

After finishing the chores, it was surprisingly still early.

Ji Rongxia pondered what else needed to be done. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and pulled Gu Tangjin aside, saying, “Let’s get the taro to sprout. By the time we return from the provincial capital, it’ll be just right for planting in the dry fields. And we’ll need to start the rice seedlings too, won’t we? Come to think of it, we’ll need to get more wooden basins—the ones we have at home won’t be enough!”

“That’s right, exactly. Xia-ger hasn’t been reading those farming books for nothing these past few days. But since those seeds are precious, we should wait until we return from the prefectural city to start the seedlings; the taro, on the other hand, can be sprouted now.” Gu Tangjin explained carefully, “These rice seeds not only need to be soaked, but they also have to be planted first and then transplanted once they’ve sprouted. Plus, I want to take careful notes on what the soaking and sprouting process looks like. We’ve been too busy to do that these past few days.”

“Oh, all right then. Let’s start with the taro. We’re familiar with that, and since the weather isn’t as hot now, it should grow even better.”

Ji Rongxia didn’t hesitate and said decisively.

The two got right to work. Ji Rongxia took the remaining taro from the system space and began the sprouting process.

He chose a shady spot, cut the large taro roots into small pieces, and used the pieces to induce sprouting. He’d done this before, and since the taro in the wooden basin was growing well, this method should work just fine.

He covered the taro with a straw mat and sprinkled water over it. It wouldn’t be long before they sprouted!