CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: SMILING AT REUNION, A THOUSAND LIKES

Chen Xu felt that indeed, the matters of the world are quite absurd.

He had sent Lin Qi on his "final journey," and now he must send him again. Could the Lin Family have imagined that Lin Qi was actually killed by him?

Chen Xu accepted the invitation brought by the steward of the Lin Family and assured that he would certainly go to pay his respects tomorrow.

After that, he spent the rest of the morning receiving the second and third waves of guests.

First, Xu Wenyuan came by, chatted with him for a bit, and they agreed to go to the Lin Family to pay their respects together the next day.

After Xu Wenyuan left, Wang Mochuan came.

Wang Mochuan, like Xu Wenyuan, invited him to pay respects at the Lin Family tomorrow. He also asked, "Brother Chen, will you be taking part in the provincial examination this year?"

Chen Xu didn’t understand his intention, but didn’t deliberately hide anything. He directly replied, "Of course, I will take part. Brother Wang knows, given my background, I shouldn’t miss any exam opportunities."

That said, Chen Xu had missed the exam three times already.

Such repeated misses would surely discourage anyone, but when mentioning the past, Chen Xu’s tone was unexpectedly casual and relaxed.

Wang Mochuan couldn’t help but admire him and apologized for the past, saying, "I’m sorry, Brother Chen, because of some inexplicable rumors, I’ve had some misunderstandings about you in the past.

It was foolish of me, and I shouldn’t have done that."

Wang Mochuan already had the title of Scholar, and he was seven or eight years older than Chen Xu, being a senior figure in the County School.

His sincere apologies to Chen Xu showed his genuine remorse.

Chen Xu invited Wang Mochuan to sit in the kitchen and filled a bowl of porridge for him. He raised the bowl and said, "Brother Wang, what’s past is past, why dwell on it?

My humble home has no tea or wine, but with this bowl of porridge as a substitute, shall we drink and laugh it off?"

Who laughs it off with porridge?

Wang Mochuan hesitated for a moment but eventually picked up the porridge bowl.

Chen Xu proactively clinked bowls with him, and Wang Mochuan, embarrassed not to eat, quickly brought the porridge to his mouth.

Upon eating, he involuntarily praised, "Fragrant, sweet, soft, and smooth, just like jade dew. I... I’ve never tasted such delicious porridge in my life. It’s even better than the exquisite porridge of Zuanyu Building in Yunjiang Prefecture!"

After praising, Wang Mochuan paused.

Then he looked at Chen Xu, and Chen Xu looked at him.

Both of them, holding their porridge bowls, indeed laughed together.

Wang Mochuan burst into a hearty laugh, and the previous tension dissipated.

He praised again, "What a wonderful porridge!"

And asked, "Brother Chen, where did this porridge come from? How is it so delicious?"

[Like +1+1+1...]

A string of likes popped up, and through the Food Cauldron Celestial Book, Chen Xu immediately realized that Wang Mochuan’s daily like limit was actually 30 points!

Even higher than that of the two Mouse Demons.

This was truly something quite remarkable.

Meanwhile, all the data on Chen Xu’s Celestial Book Plate was rapidly increasing.

[Accumulated Likes: 895]

[Accumulated Likes: 916]

[Accumulated Likes: 922]

...

Evidently, Madam Lai’s pancakes over there had started selling.

No, not only that.

The South Market Street incident with the Beast Creation Skill from the night before began to ferment, and the deeds of an unknown "Knight" also started spreading among the people.

Either directly or indirectly praising Chen Xu’s [Martial Fire Cooking Human Demon] became more frequent.

Naturally, Chen Xu’s like count began to rise rapidly.

Getting closer and closer to a thousand likes, Chen Xu suppressed his excitement and attended to Wang Mochuan even more diligently.

After all, Wang Mochuan, with a thirty-like limit, coming to his door, it was only logical to get all thirty likes.

Chen Xu told Wang Mochuan, "Brother Wang, this porridge is made from five types of grain. They are soaked in cold water overnight, then quickly cooked with Martial Fire until they bloom, followed by slow cooking with a gentle fire..."

He described the process of making the five-grain porridge in a rhythmic and engaging manner.

Listening, Wang Mochuan first thought he heard wrong. When he finally understood that the porridge was indeed made by Chen Xu, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "You, Brother Chen, you cooked the porridge yourself?"

Chen Xu retorted, "Isn’t that obvious?"

"Obvious?" Wang Mochuan retorted back.

After their exchange, he finally realized—for it was quite obvious.

Wang Mochuan smiled wryly, "I’m sorry, Brother Chen, once again I assumed too much."

Here, his gaze at Chen Xu carried a subtle sympathy.

To Wang Mochuan, it seemed the only reason for Chen Xu to cook porridge himself was poverty.

But at first, even though Chen Xu was clearly poor, Wang Mochuan thought despite his poverty, daily chores and the kitchen work could be outsourced.

After all, what kind of scholar would wash their hands and cook?

With that in mind, Wang Mochuan slightly frowned and said, "Brother Chen, hasn’t your family sent anyone to town to take care of you?"

Chen Xu replied, "My family is busy farming and cannot leave the land, and secondly, I have hands and feet; it’s just studying, not something that necessarily requires being taken care of."

Chen Xu smiled, "Brother Wang, did you think I cook because I’m poor?

Honestly, though my family isn’t wealthy, it’s not lacking in funds to hire help. Besides, I make some income from transcribing and writing books, so I can afford my studies."

At this point, Chen Xu was preparing to justify the large sum of money he recently acquired.

After all, money should be spent when in hand; if merely saved and hidden, it becomes worthless, akin to a miserly scrooge.

Additionally, Chen Xu continued, "The main reason I began cooking is because of recent reflections in my studies.

Sages often compare governing a state to cooking, and there’s an old saying that the greatest flavor of the mortal world is simple happiness.

As a scholar with limited knowledge, it’s difficult to directly relate worldly truths to culinary flavors, so I thought of a simple method.

By cooking myself, I hope to learn from martial and gentle fires, understanding the balance and harmony in cooking.

Realizing growth from reduction, avoiding extremes, and grasping the essence of moderation."

Here, he served Wang Mochuan another bowl of porridge and asked, "Brother Wang, try it again and see if the flavors are rich and layered?"

Initially, as Chen Xu spoke, Wang Mochuan had some reservations, but as he continued to listen, his expression grew more serious, reflecting deep contemplation.

When Chen Xu invited him to have another bowl, Wang Mochuan duly picked up the bowl, took a small sip first.

Holding the porridge in his mouth, tasting it for a moment, he couldn’t help but praise, "Sweet and clean, but what’s commendable is its sweetness without cloying thickness without stickiness. Is this what ’just right’ is? Truly a good porridge!"

[Like +1+1+1...]

Watching the cumulative likes on his Celestial Book Plate approach the number 1000, Chen Xu also smiled.