Astonishing Efficiency

Feng Chen chose the small path outside the village, avoiding the main road where villagers usually came and went. He kept close to the edges of the fields and thickets all the way, and no one noticed him.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Feng Chen returned to his own front door.

He freed one hand and pushed open the courtyard gate. It creaked.

The moment the gate opened, a rich aroma of meat rushed at him—the scent only stewed meat, attended by scallions, ginger, seasonings, and proper heat, could possess.

It was rich and perfectly weighted, mingled with the distinctive smoky warmth of burning firewood, instantly stirring Feng Chen's stomach into a churning sea.

He shut the courtyard gate behind him, set the two large sacks down in the yard, and followed the scent toward the kitchen.

Lin Qing'er was already making lunch.

She was bent over, feeding firewood into the stove. Hearing the courtyard gate open, she straightened and turned, seeing Feng Chen standing in the kitchen doorway,

his face carrying the dust and fatigue of a long journey.

Her face immediately blossomed into a smile. "Husband, you're back."

"Yes, I'm back." Feng Chen smiled and beckoned. "Come quickly. Look at what I bought."

"Alright, Husband." Lin Qing'er turned back to the stove, added another split log to the firebox, and used the tongs to poke at the flames. Only after making sure the meat in the pot would not burn did she wipe her hands and quickly follow Feng Chen into another room.

Feng Chen carried the supplies he had bought to the table. He untied the largest sack first and took out its contents one by one.

Half a sack of hulled brown rice, a clay jar of rapeseed oil, salt and soy sauce wrapped in oiled paper, and a small bag of coarse grain.

With every item he laid out, Lin Qing'er's eyes widened another fraction.

"Husband, don't tell me you spent all the money from selling the prey?" Looking at the pile of goods on the table, Lin Qing'er's voice carried equal parts surprise and heartache.

Feng Chen shook out the empty cloth sack, folded it, and placed it at the corner of the table. Nodding, he said, "Yes. We were going to need all of this anyway."

"But, Husband..." Lin Qing'er bit her lower lip, her brows knitting slightly.

In the past, it took their family several days to save even a single copper coin. When had they ever bought so many things in one go?

Feng Chen patted her thin shoulder, his tone calm yet resolute. "Don't worry. We'll have more money in the future. Today's prey was only the beginning. The days ahead will only get better and better."

After a pause, he took a cloth bundle from another sack. "Also, I bought you a new outfit. See if you like it?"

He unfolded the new clothes for Lin Qing'er to see.

The fabric felt soft and smooth, without the prickly roughness of the coarse cloth clothes they had at home.

Lin Qing'er carefully reached out and gently touched the fabric.

The moment her fingertips met the soft, fine cloth, her fingers paused slightly. A joy that rose from the depths of her heart appeared on her face. She looked up at Feng Chen and said, "Thank you, Husband."

Afterward, the two of them put away everything they had bought.

The brown rice was poured into the old rice jar in the corner, filling more than half of it at once;

the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar were sorted and arranged beside the stove. The stove, which had originally held only a few chipped clay jars, suddenly gained a touch of the comfortable abundance of a proper household.

Lin Qing'er carried the newly bought oil and salt toward the kitchen. As she walked, she turned back and smiled at Feng Chen. "Husband, with these seasonings, today's rabbit meat will definitely taste even better."

"Alright, I'll help you."

Feng Chen followed her inside as well.

On the small kitchen stove, the rabbit meat simmered with a bubbling gurgle. With the newly bought soy sauce and several slices of freshly cut old ginger, its fragrance grew even richer than before.

The two worked together before the stove. Lin Qing'er handled the cooking, while Feng Chen passed her things.

Half an hour later, the rabbit meat had stewed until it was tender and flavorful. With a pinch of the chopsticks, the meat slid right off the bone.

Lin Qing'er then used the remaining broth to braise half a wild chicken. Its skin stewed to a golden yellow, with glistening oil floating atop the soup.

As for the remaining rabbit and half of the wild chicken, Lin Qing'er carefully rubbed them with salt and hung them in the ventilated corner of the kitchen to dry.

The two sat down to eat lunch.

Feng Chen picked up a piece of rabbit meat and put it into his mouth. The meat was firm without being tough, soaked through with the savory fragrance of soy sauce and ginger slices. It was far better than their old way of boiling it in plain water and sprinkling salt over it.

Seeing Feng Chen eat with such relish, Lin Qing'er also picked up a small piece and chewed it slowly, her eyes and brows full of contentment.

After the meal, Feng Chen had intended to clear the dishes, but Lin Qing'er pressed down on his arm and told him to rest first while she washed them.

Feng Chen nodded and went into another room.

He truly had something to do.

Once inside, he opened the books wrapped in oiled paper, untied the hemp rope, and several books lay quietly on the table.

He first picked up the incomplete copy of Tiger Fist and opened its first page.

On the yellowed paper was a drawing of a figure in a horse stance, with tiny characters beside it marking the opening stance: Tiger Crouch.

Feng Chen carefully turned the pages one by one, his gaze sweeping over every diagram and every annotation. From the opening stance to Black Tiger Rips Out the Heart, from Tiger Sweeps Its Tail to Tiger Roars Through the Mountain Forest, one move after another unfolded before his eyes.

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had finished reading it.

Ding dong, Tiger Fist has been recorded. Please check it, Host.

A notification from his Destiny Talent sounded in his mind.

Immediately afterward, all the diagrams and text in that manual seemed to be copied with perfect precision, neatly arranged deep within his consciousness.

The transitions of every move and every key point of exertion were etched clearly into his mind, ten times clearer than seeing them with his own eyes.

Feng Chen froze for a moment, then a brilliant smile spread across his face.

He truly had not expected his talent ability to have such a use!

He did not need to memorize page after page himself, nor repeatedly ponder the diagrams. He only needed to carefully read through it once, and the entire manual would be automatically recorded into his attribute template, ready for him to access and comprehend anytime, anywhere.

Then he would continue.

He immediately picked up the medical book and began reading. From the properties, flavors, and meridian affinities of herbal medicines to the processing methods for mineral medicinal materials, from external remedies for bruises and injuries to internal decoctions for regulating qi and blood, every character his gaze passed over left an indelible mark in his mind.

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had finished reading the medical book.

Ding dong, Basic Medicine has been recorded. Please check it, Host.

Next, Feng Chen picked up the introduction to Martial Artist Realm knowledge and the chart of human meridians and acupoints, reading them just as carefully from beginning to end.

The introduction to Martial Artist Realm gave him a clear outline of this world's cultivation system!

The Body Tempering Realm was divided into nine levels... The densely packed meridians and acupoints on the human body chart were all recorded in his mind with perfect precision as well.

Half an hour later, Feng Chen had finished reading all the books.

He put down the last book, closed his eyes, and felt the vast amount of knowledge surging up in his mind.

The forms and exertion techniques of Tiger Fist, the warm, cool, cold, and hot properties of herbs and the principles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy combinations, the distribution and paths of the body's meridians and acupoints and the laws governing the circulation of qi and blood, the cultivation essentials of every martial realm!

This knowledge felt as though it had always existed in the depths of his memories, merely awakened anew now.

He opened his eyes, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

He truly had not expected the power of Destiny Talent to be this formidable. Not only could martial skills grind proficiency, even knowledge from books could be recorded directly. The efficiency was simply beyond reason.

With such a powerful talent within him, he would surely become formidable very soon.