Chapter 29: Xiangnan
The friendship between men comes just like this, fierce and inexplicable.
Hearing the three men’s jumping-around nicknames by her ear, Su Ning’s dimple on her face became even more obvious.
“Brother Zhang says so, we really do have fate!”
Wu Ming happily rubbed his hands. Because of his father, although he had promised his family not to join the army, his natural good feeling for olive green had never faded, and it even grew stronger with age.
This time on the train, not only did he meet two retired older brothers, but they were also going to the same Xiangnan Star City. There would be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future. Just thinking about this made him so happy he couldn’t stop grinning.
“Like a silly boy, hahaha. When we get there, bro will treat you to noodles!”
“Deal!”
……
To let the three men chat freely without worry, the considerate Su Ning found an excuse, lay on her side, and closed her eyes to rest.
Accompanied by the train’s clacking sounds, the somewhat bored her couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander wildly.
——If only she could enter Peach Blossom Spring without using her body.
The light in front of her clearly shifted from dim to bright. She immediately opened her eyes and truly saw the familiar space scenery. First startled, then suddenly overjoyed.
“It really works!”
Confirming her body was still safely lying on the bedding, the relieved Su Ning curiously examined the ‘her’ in the space.
She had hands and feet, could run and jump, but it seemed like there was no pain sensation?
“Finally something to do, to pass the hard-to-endure days on the train!”
Just in time to take this opportunity to properly inquire about the space, to figure out exactly what places she hadn’t fully understood yet.
First, she refilled feed for the pigs at the aquaculture farm, then released the fences to let the cattle and sheep graze on their own.
Then she went to the orchard and fields to check around.
As she thought, the growth speed of plants and animals was much faster than outside, but not exaggerated to the point of full maturity in less than a day like those two times.
Subconsciously, she bent down to touch the vibrant seedlings in the field.
Besides tasting fruit last night, she seemed not to have tried the grain and vegetables grown in Peach Blossom Spring, nor the meat from the livestock raised there.
Anyway, there was plenty of time. All kitchen utensils were prepared early. Crucially, no matter how much she cooked and left in the kitchen, it stayed fresh like just out of the pot, never spoiling or wasting.
“Let’s try!”
Excited, Su Ning immediately ran back to the small courtyard kitchen.
When she used spiritual power to successively take out plenty of ingredients from the cellar, she was about to start cooking when she discovered a particularly embarrassing problem—
She seemed… not to know how to cook!
She fiddled with the braids hanging in front of her chest, desperately recalling in her mind the way her maternal grandfather cooked.
Su Ting, who was both father and mother, had truly apprenticed and put in effort to learn good culinary skills for his daughter’s picky mouth.
“Right, the notes!”
Remembering, she turned and ran to the study room. The room was full of books; besides the few textbooks for her studies, most were her maternal grandfather’s treasures and various handwritten notes.
“Here… um… I remember it’s here, found it!”
A thick cookbook, not only with drawings of the dishes, but also detailed explanations, from preparing ingredients to methods, all recorded meticulously, with her maternal grandfather’s insights written at the bottom.
After gently stroking the familiar handwriting notes on it with her fingertip, Su Ning carefully closed it and held it in her arms.
“Maternal Grandfather, wait until Ning Ning has learned them all, then let you, Maternal Grandmother, Mom, and younger brother all properly taste my skills!”
……
After the initial fluster, with her always astonishing learning ability, in just a few hours she was doing it properly.
Although, um, the taste was still not satisfactory, with plenty of room for improvement, but at least it was edible now, right?
To avoid wasting food, she specially made practice dishes in tiny portions, just one or two bites.
Even so, after eating who knows how many hard-to-swallow dishes, she finally had the taste of normal food!
Only then, as if awakening her culinary skills soul, she improved with each try, and the taste of the finished dishes soared.
That feeling of personally making various delicacies was simply too fascinating and intoxicating.
Completely addicted, she tirelessly did three things in the kitchen: wash, chop, stir-fry!
“No plates left?”
Searching the cabinet and finding it empty, Su Ning suddenly came back to her senses. Seeing the kitchen full of dishes everywhere, she gasped, “When… did I make so many?”
Good grief, how many days would it take her alone to eat all this!
A bit chagrined on her face: Luckily, the kitchen preserves freshness, eat slowly, eat slowly.
……
“Ning Ning?”
“Hm? What’s up, Brother Zhang.”
Seeing her finally sober, Zhang Ze smiled with a relaxed expression, “Look outside.”
Forced to return from the space to reality, Su Ning stood up in confusion and looked out the train window.
“It’s dark?!”
Peach Blossom Spring Space was always bright daylight, she really hadn’t noticed the time, and looked at her watch on her wrist.
It was already seven-thirty, almost eight.
“You slept a good long time, got confused, huh?”
“Hehe, Ning Ning hungry? Dinner’s already packed, eat it while it’s hot.”
Su Ning, who had already eaten a full belly: Oh no, tasted too many dishes, can’t eat another bite, what to do?
The lunchbox that had held dumplings earlier was already cleaned by Mao Jinqian, and filled with a big basin of rice.
The yellowish-gray mixed rice had a spoonful of stewed cabbage and tofu on top.
“Brother Zhang, Brother Mao, I just woke up and really have no appetite, you guys share some!”
“Sure.”
Already knowing her appetite, Zhang Ze and Mao Jinqian didn’t suspect anything, took her lunchbox, and each scooped a small half into their own.
Auntie’s spicy sauce was indeed appetizing and went well with rice, but her belly couldn’t hold more.
She had to stuff bit by bit into her mouth, actually stuffed to the point of almost vomiting, while her inner self silently shed tears, secretly deciding: For the next few days, absolutely not eat one more bite in the space.
……
Just like that, whenever free, Su Ning entered the space either to tend to the plants and animals inside, or to continue studying the cookbook left by her maternal grandfather.
Four days passed in a flash, and before they knew it, they arrived at their destination station, Xiangnan.
Carrying big and small bags, they finally squeezed off the train, only to be hit by a rolling heat wave that made the three choke, followed by profuse sweating.
“This Xiangnan is really different from Beijing City, huh. The weather’s hot like a furnace, whew!”
The long platform was full of either the backs of heads or various luggage slung over people’s backs and shoulders as far as the eye could see.
Zhang Ze and Mao Jinqian were already loaded with bags on their bodies and hands, still frequently turning back to check if she was keeping up.
“Ning Ning, watch your step, hold on to Brother Zhang, don’t let go!”
“Okay.”
She tightened her grip on the leather suitcase strap, and didn’t forget to hold tight with the other hand.
Smelling the same sour stench from herself and the people around, Su Ning’s temples throbbed with pain.
“Brother Zhang, Brother Mao, Comrade Su Ning this way! This way!”
“It’s Wu Ming that kid.
“Let’s go, over there first!”
Wu Ming waved his hand vigorously, standing on tiptoe and shouting loudly toward them.
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