Jiang Ning carried the Bamboo Rat outside. Fire Spell erupted from his palm, killing it in an instant.
At the same time, he burned off all its fur to remove the gamey smell from the skin, then slit open its belly with a single stroke.
Once he had cleaned it thoroughly, he carried the Bamboo Rat back home.
Tongtong was not cooking in the kitchen. Today was the Lantern Festival, and the moonlight was beautiful, so she had chosen to have a picnic in the open space before the house.
Xue Chuchu grabbed an iron shovel and helped dig a pit in the ground, set up a pot stand, then placed the spare pot from the house on top. Thus, a simple outdoor earthen stove was complete.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, a full moon hung high in the sky, bright and clear.
The distant fields were draped in a thin veil of silver. The level ground before the house was illuminated by electric lights. Sitting on a small wooden chair padded with cushions, Xue Yuantong swiftly arranged the pots, bowls, and dishes.
"Stir-fried Bamboo Rat with bamboo shoots, and a ring of Unleavened Flatbread stuck around the edge of the pot!" she planned.
Xue Chuchu looked at the earthen pit she had dug. "Mm, we have sweet potatoes at home. Want some?"
"Yes, yes! When it's almost done, we'll bury the sweet potatoes under the firewood, and then we'll have fragrant roasted sweet potatoes." Just thinking about it made Xue Yuantong hungry.
Jiang Ning announced, "Let's begin."
And so, they started cooking.
Next door, Teacher Qian watched Jiang Ning and the two girls playing house without saying anything.
Zhang Butcher stood at his doorway and gazed up at the full moon. Borrowing a phrase from