Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

The river dam courtyard, the kitchen.

On the white porcelain plate, a neat arrangement of cleaned miscellaneous fish, all fallen under Xue Yuantong's relentless knife.

But, the big grass carp remained swimming in the large aluminum basin, seemingly unaware of its predicament.

Xue Yuantong gripped the knife, staring intently.

Chen Siyu clenched her fists, shouting out cheer:

"Tongtong, kill it."

"Kill it!"

Like the fiercest and most venomous henchman.

Despite the words, Xue Yuantong's knife hesitated to fall.

Earlier when handling the big grass carp, she had tested once; the three-pound grass carp was quite strong, a flick of its tail easily shook off Xue Yuantong's grip.

If she hadn't dodged quickly, she might have gotten a slap.

Thus, they ended up in a deadlock!

Sister Chen Siqing had a method, she calmly said: "Let's slam it to death, we slam it to death!"

"Slam it to death is too cruel," sister Chen Siyu said.

She thought of a genius method: "Or, shall we starve it to death?"

Xue Yuantong immediately dismissed it; if starved, the meat might shrink.

"Or, you two hold it down? I'll stab it to death!" Xue Yuantong suggested, replacing the kitchen knife in her hand with a sharp boning knife.

The twins looked at each other.

Finally, they agreed to Xue Yuantong's method, the two women squatted by the aluminum basin, reaching out their sinful hands.

The golden-scaled big grass carp in the basin seemed to realize something, wiggling restlessly.

Then, two pairs of slim little white hands descended from the sky.

Xue Yuantong brandished the boning knife, revealing a cruel smile.

When Jiang Ning entered the kitchen, he happened to witness the scene.

The fish's body was too slippery, Chen Siyu and Chen Siqing reached out together, but couldn't hold it down; the frenzied fish flailed its body, splashing the water out of the basin.

Seeing such a scene, Bai Yuxia was first stunned, then found it amusing, "What are you two doing?"

The twins failed to collaborate, Chen Siyu complained: "This fish is too big, can't kill it."

Chen Siqing nodded.

Jiang Ning had anticipated the outcome before stepping out, he set the tofu in place and washed his hands.

Soon after, he grabbed the grass carp as if seizing the throat of destiny, the big fish still struggled desperately, Jiang Ning slapped it with a backhand, the fish instantly stopped flapping.

He placed the dizzy fish in front of Xue Yuantong, "Done."

Xue Yuantong beamed with joy.

She then took charge of handling the grass carp, and after finishing, placed the fish on the chopping board, handing it to Jiang Ning.

Regarding kitchen tasks, Xue Yuantong rarely got involved in those demanding physical strength.

Jiang Ning cleaved the fish head in one blow and chopped a few times more, cutting the fish head into eight small pieces.

Somehow, Chen Siyu found his knife-wielding movements particularly pleasing to the eye, filled with an indescribable charm.

Bai Yuxia felt it keenly, like a dance move; practiced by ordinary people and by a Master dancer are entirely different.

Bai Yuxia looked around, seeing the twins sitting on small stools.

She saw the stove in the kitchen, its lid opened, and asked: "Are we using the earthen pot today?"

"Yeah, earthen pot cooking is flavorful," Xue Yuantong noted.

"I'll light the fire." Bai Yuxia suggested; her family used gas, and she hadn't cooked with an earthen pot before.

However, Xue Yuantong hesitated.

Jiang Ning explained: "For beginners, earthen pots are difficult to manage; the fire might fluctuate wildly, possibly leading to it extinguishing."

This would affect the taste of the dishes.

Bai Yuxia was helpless; she initially wanted to lend a hand, but given her limitations, it seemed she'd only be able to stand by like the twins.

The task of lighting the earthen pot fell to Jiang Ning.

Living in the countryside, lighting earthen stoves in winter is quite enjoyable; with temperatures below zero outside, one could warm up by the stove, perhaps even toss a few peanuts in or roast a couple of sweet potatoes.

But, summer was quite torture; with thirty-degree heat, staying by the stove was nightmarish.

Jiang Ning activated the Array to cool down the kitchen.

Jiang Ning had lit many earthen stoves; he loved watching the wood blaze fervently because then it was hard to extinguish; occasionally adding a few logs sufficed, conveniently controlling the fire's size.

He preferred burning wood, though wasn't fond of the lighting process.

Usually, matches or lighters would ignite flammable corn husk leaves, followed by moderately flammable straw.

Many who had lit earthen stoves their whole lives saw a slight chance of failing to ignite.

Yet, Jiang Ning lightly snapped his fingers, a Spiritual Fire flew into the furnace, instantly igniting the wood.

During cooking, Chen Siyu was annoyed by her sister's ineptitude, thus suggesting her sister learn culinary skills from Xue Yuantong to cook for her in the future.

Unlike her shameless sister, Chen Siqing, being the elder, genuinely felt she should take on the responsibilities of an older sister.

She truly sought guidance from Xue Yuantong.

Xue Yuantong generously shared her culinary skills; despite being small, her cooking was fierce.

She took up the oil can and poured more than a pound of oil straight into the pot.

Chen Siqing hesitated, "Tongtong, isn't it too much? Why does my mom only pour a little when she cooks?"

Xue Yuantong said: "No worries, the oil can be reused."

Jiang Ning stirred the flames, the wood burning vigorously, giving off a crackling sound.

Meanwhile, the oil in the earthen pot started to boil.

Xue Yuantong explained: "River fish carry earthy smells; today I'm making fish head tofu soup, thus must remove the smell. Only with abundant oil can it be fully fried out and the smell removed."

Chen Siqing understood, but still worried her cooking method might incur her mom's wrath.

Xue Yuantong taught patiently at the stove, Bai Yuxia likewise listened; Xue Yuantong shared many insights, which she noted down entirely, planning to try them at home.