The Fragrance of Meat Fills the Air

In the kitchen, a rich aroma of meat was spreading through the air.

Xiao Yan, who was squatting before the stove to tend the fire, caught the scent and could not stop her saliva from flowing.

"Brother, when can we eat?" The little girl could barely hold herself back.

"Just let it simmer a little longer."

Lu Qing himself was practically unable to remain still as well.

As a carnivore in his previous life, after coming to this world, he had not eaten any decent meat apart from fish.

Now, with that rich fragrance of meat in his nose, the cravings inside him were practically being lured out.

Lu Qing was making Braised Pork.

Of course, lacking enough seasonings, what he made was a simplified version of Braised Pork. Or perhaps calling it stewed meat would have been more fitting.

The reason he had decided to make Braised Pork was that, at Da Ji, he had unexpectedly seen someone selling Soybean Paste.

It was being sold by a farm woman, stored in jars at first, and he had nearly overlooked it.

Later, he tasted a little and found that its flavor was surprisingly somewhat similar to Soy Sauce, though not salty enough. He was immediately overjoyed.

He promptly bought quite a lot, leaving the farm woman deeply grateful.

Taking the opportunity, Lu Qing asked about the origins of the paste and learned that the recipe had been left behind by the farm woman's grandfather.

Her grandfather had once worked in the back kitchen of a restaurant in a distant city, but after certain changes, he had ended up stranded here.

After she married, her husband's family was poor, so she had thought of making some Soybean Paste to supplement the household income.

Beans were cheap anyway, and even if she ruined a batch, the loss would not be great.

However, the people here did not seem particularly receptive to Soybean Paste.

She had been selling it at Da Ji for so long, yet Lu Qing was still the biggest customer she had encountered.

After hearing this, Lu Qing sympathized with her and bought another jar of paste, prompting another round of grateful thanks from the farm woman.

After the unexpected gain of Soybean Paste, Lu Qing carefully browsed Da Ji once more.

Unfortunately, he found no more pleasant surprises like the Soybean Paste.

He did see an old man selling sugar, though, and bought some.

Sugar was far more expensive than Soybean Paste, but Lu Qing had never been stingy when it came to food.

It was precisely because of these gains that Lu Qing decided to make Braised Pork.

He cut the half-fat, half-lean Pork Belly into chunks, blanched them first, then fried them in the wok until their surfaces turned lightly golden.

Then he removed the meat and began stir-frying the paste.

Once the fragrance of the paste had been brought out, he poured in the lightly fried meat chunks and stir-fried them together.

Afterward, he added sugar, salt, and water, then let it all simmer.

This was certainly not authentic Braised Pork, but with the limited conditions, this was all Lu Qing could manage.

Fortunately, even if the method was simple, meat was still meat.

After simmering for a while, the fragrance of meat drifted out, still making the brother and sister swallow their saliva again and again.

Once he judged the timing to be about right, Lu Qing lifted the lid and prepared to reduce the sauce.

The instant the lid opened, steam surged upward, and the rich aroma of meat rushed into his face, filling the entire kitchen at once.

The fragrance even drifted outside, making passing villagers stop in their tracks when they caught a whiff of it.

After sniffing for a while and realizing that the scent was coming from Lu Qing's home, they clicked their tongues in amazement.

"With such a strong smell of meat, just how much meat is Lu Qing cooking at home?"

They wanted to go inside and take a look, but felt that it would not be very polite.

In the end, after standing there for a while and feeling their stomachs grow hungrier and hungrier, they hurried home.

If they stayed any longer, they feared they would not be able to resist going in to mooch a meal.

The meat fragrance drifted farther and farther, and several nearby households caught its scent.

Once they confirmed that it was coming from the Lu Family, they could not help sighing as well.

"The Lu Family's life is getting better and better. What kind of meat are they cooking? It smells so good!"

"I thought that after Lu Ming and his wife passed away, Lu Qing and Xiao Yan, those two children, would have a hard time living all alone. It seems there is no need to worry now."

"I heard that Lu Qing and Da An went to Da Ji this morning and bought back a lot of things. Lu Qing even repaid all the grain, oil, and salt he had borrowed from everyone before."

"Old Doctor Chen really treats his disciple well."

"What a pity my useless brat does not amount to much. Otherwise, I would have wanted to ask the Old Doctor to take him as a disciple too."

"Give it up. Your boy does not even recognize a single word. Hand him a medical book, and he would not understand it anyway."

"You only talk about my family. Isn't your boy the same? He cannot even count past ten. Let's not have the pot calling the kettle black."

Lu Qing knew nothing of the villagers' discussion.

At that moment, he was reducing the meat sauce until it thickened and beginning to dish up the meat.

The fully stewed meat chunks trembled delicately as they landed in the bowl, looking exceptionally tempting.

Even Lu Qing could hardly endure it when he saw the color and appearance of the Braised Pork.

He quickly stir-fried a vegetable over high heat, then announced that dinner was ready.

"Xiao Yan, this one is yours. Eat slowly, and be careful, it's hot."

At the table, Lu Qing first picked up a piece of meat for Xiao Yan and placed it on top of her rice.

"Got it, Brother."

Xiao Yan obediently answered, then began blowing on the meat in her bowl, wanting it to cool down faster.

After giving Xiao Yan a piece, Lu Qing picked up a chunk of Braised Pork for himself as well.

He blew on it until it cooled slightly, then took a bite, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The meat had simmered for a long time and was completely infused with flavor.

It was soft and glutinous yet carried a trace of springiness, making for an excellent texture.

After swallowing a piece of Braised Pork, Lu Qing revealed a satisfied expression.

His long time in the kitchen had not been wasted.

Although, due to the lack of seasonings, this Braised Pork could not compare to what he had made in his previous life in terms of layers of flavor—

Being able to take a bite of meat like this under his current circumstances was already enough to satisfy him.

"Brother, this meat is so delicious!"

Xiao Yan had oil all over her mouth by then as she happily said to Lu Qing.

"Haha, of course it is. Your brother put a great deal of effort into making it." Lu Qing looked rather pleased with himself.

"Brother's cooking is so delicious! In the future, Xiao Yan wants to learn to cook from Brother too, and then I can make lots and lots of delicious food myself!"

The little foodie declared her grand ambition.

"Then Xiao Yan needs to eat well. Once you grow a little older, Brother will teach you how to cook."

"Okay!"

The brother and sister enjoyed another wonderful dinner.

After eating and tidying up, Lu Qing took a piece of cloth and went next door to Grandpa Zhang's home.

"Grandpa Zhang! Grandpa Zhang!"

"What is it, A Qing?" Grandpa Zhang came out of the house.

"Is my Second Aunt home?"

Second Aunt was Grandpa Zhang's second son's wife, and her needlework was famously good throughout the village.

"She's inside. You're looking for her?" Grandpa Zhang called into the house. "Second son's wife, come out quickly. A Qing has something to ask you."

"What does A Qing need me for?" A woman emerged from the house.

"It's like this. I bought a piece of cloth at Da Ji this morning and want to make two sets of clothes for Xiao Yan, but I don't know how to sew. So I'd like to ask Second Aunt to help. I'll pay you for the work."

Lu Qing showed her the cloth in his hands.

"You child, why talk about payment? We're neighbors, and helping each other is only right. Give me the cloth, and I'll think it over. Have Xiao Yan come to my place tomorrow so I can measure her. I'll have it finished for her within the next couple of days." Second Aunt Zhang took the cloth.

"That's right. You brought such a large piece of meat over at noon already. You were far too polite," Grandpa Zhang said as well.

"I can't let Second Aunt work for nothing." Lu Qing smiled. "Then it's settled. I still need to go back and study."

"Yes, yes, yes. Studying is important. Hurry back."

After returning home, Lu Qing looked at Xiao Yan playing in the courtyard and smiled.

The little girl's clothes had originally been altered from things he had worn before, and now they were covered in patches.

When he had done laundry these past few days, he had noticed that some of the seams were starting to split open.

It just so happened that someone at Da Ji had been selling cloth today. Although the quality was average and the price was high—

Lu Qing still bought some, intending to ask someone to make Xiao Yan two new outfits.

Without telling Xiao Yan that she would soon have new clothes, Lu Qing planned to give her a surprise tomorrow.

That night, Xiao Yan once again fell asleep before the Black Little Beast came.

When she woke early the next morning, she was still feeling gloomy.

But her dejection quickly vanished after she learned about the new clothes.

Two days later, the new clothes were finished. Once the little girl put them on, she was overjoyed and showed them off for several days.

Because he had made a round of purchases at Da Ji, they had plenty of daily supplies.

For the days that followed, Lu Qing stayed in the village and did not go out.

Every day, he went to Old Doctor Chen's place to study, returned to do some farm work, such as planting vegetables in the courtyard, then spent the afternoons thinking about how to make food delicious under limited conditions.

From time to time, he also went fishing and brought back fish to feed the Black Night Spirit Fox.

His days were extraordinarily regular.

Finally, one morning, when he and Xiao Yan arrived at the Half-Mountain Courtyard again—

The Old Doctor told him that he no longer needed to read the Classic of Materia Medica.