Scholar Cooks Porridge, Rat Gives Thumbs Up

Yonghui Year 11, the spring chill was sharp.

A night of wind and rain had swept through the small alley. In the early morning, the only sounds were the setting up of a tofu stall at the alley entrance and a crisp voice hawking, "Tofu two copper coins a jin, dried tofu one coin a piece, all fragrant!"

In the distance was the South Street morning market, porters coming and going, merchants haggling.

"This is Unenviable Sheep, Bone Rot, how can ten taels of silver for one be considered expensive?"

Chen Xu sat bolt upright in bed, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Unenviable Sheep, Bone Rot – these weren't good terms, but slang for cannibalism!

He quickly got up, his lame leg making it difficult as he hobbled to the window, pressing his ear against it to listen to the sounds from the alley entrance far away.

Before the sounds reached him, various food aromas wafted over.

The savory scent of meat buns, the smoky smell of fried pastries, the sweet freshness of tofu pudding... as well as the stench of the slaughterhouse, the rotten smell from accumulated ditches, and so on.

All sorts of familiar smells.

And in the distance, the merchant was boasting about his sheep: "These are sheep raised in the villages near Black Dew Mountain, they drink dew and grow on huangjing and ginseng. They were originally supplied only to wealthy families. If you don't understand, don't speak nonsense and make a fool of yourself!"

Chen Xu heard him clearly, secretly shaking his head: This merchant really knew how to brag.

At the same time, he felt a sense of relief.

It seemed he had been groggy and misheard.

After all, it was now the prosperous Yonghui era, a rare time of peace. How could there be a morning market openly selling "Unenviable Sheep" like this?

Chen Xu stood by the window, clicking it shut to block out the complex smells.

He gently regulated his breathing, his thoughts slowly settling.

He wasn't originally from this world. In his past life, he was a corporate slave on the internet who died of overwork at his desk.

Pity that he, a pure science student, had transmigrated to this ancient world without technology or internet.

After assessing the reality of his situation, he found that in this world, the only path for a poor family's son to get ahead was through study, with no other options.

Chen Xu was seven at the time, and his family was considered upper-middle class in the village.

Yet, they couldn't escape the various taxes, corvée labor, and levies from above. These things, born of class distinctions, were like insurmountable mountains pressing down on the common people, making it impossible to breathe.

Chen Xu resolved to take the imperial examinations.

He put great effort into convincing his family to support his studies. He began schooling at seven and became a Child Scholar at thirteen.

After ten years of diligent study, he was now seventeen.

Unfortunately, his luck in exams seemed to have taken a sharp turn for the worse the year he became a Child Scholar, as if forcefully steered onto a rugged path by some unseen force.

He took the Xiucai exams for three consecutive years afterward, but was always barred from the examination hall due to various accidents.

Sometimes he fell ill from the change in climate, other times he was choked unconscious by smoke from a fire at his inn, or he was injured by falling roof tiles while on the road.

This year was even more absurd. At the beginning of the year, he went to the County School to register. On his way down the mountain, he stepped on a stone and fell, breaking his right leg.

Such a string of bad luck, failing every exam, had once made Chen Xu disheartened.

He reflected deeply, asking himself if he should choose a different path. But if he switched paths, what other path could he take?

Moreover, after years of persistence, it was hard to give up.

Finally, with the help of his classmates, Chen Xu rented a small courtyard in Ping'an Alley, not far from South Market Street, to recuperate and study.

Despite its name, Ping'an Alley was not a peaceful or quiet place.

It was densely populated and noisy, the only advantage being its affordability.

Chen Xu had been recuperating for over twenty days. Although he still limped when walking, he could at least manage his daily life.

But last night, something strange had happened.

It was around the fourth watch of Hai (9-11 PM), approaching midnight.

A cool mist rose in the night, and Chen Xu, chilled and unable to sleep, decided to get up and heat some porridge in the kitchen to warm himself.

He didn't light a lamp, relying only on the sparse moonlight outside the window as he slowly walked to the kitchen, leaning on his cane.

In the darkness, he heard the crackling sound of firewood burning in the kitchen. A small cluster of orange-red flames illuminated the dilapidated window panes.

Chen Xu stopped abruptly.

He had extinguished the kitchen fire before going to bed. How had the fire in the stove reignited?

"Squeak squeak!"

Suddenly, he heard the low chirping of rodents, rustling and squeaking...

In the blue shadows of the night, the firelight flickered. As Chen Xu listened to the squeaking, his mind automatically translated the sounds into human speech.

"Sigh, this scholar is too stingy with his porridge. Besides rice, he puts nothing else in."

The voice was high-pitched and old, sounding as if it were right beside his ear, yet also coming from some distant crevice.

"Squeak!" The responding sound was still a mouse's squeak, which Chen Xu's mind again translated into human speech, "Delicious, white porridge is also delicious, fragrant, sweet!"

"Silly child, you've never eaten anything good, to think even a bowl of plain congee tastes delicious." The aged voice paused, and finally sighed, "But at this point, to be able to eat a bowl of plain congee... plain congee is good too."

[Rat Demon Likes +1]

[+1]

Chen Xu froze. For a moment, he suspected he was hallucinating, then his mind roared as if something strange had exploded in his head, scattering into starlight.

Chen Xu's mind buzzed, his worldview shaken.

And the rat's words at midnight continued: "Ninth Master, plain congee is delicious. It would be even better if we could eat it every night."

[Rat Demon Likes +1]

Chen Xu closed his eyes, then opened them again.

His vision was perfectly clear, and he felt completely awake.

Yet, strange notification text continued to pop up in the empty space before his eyes, and the squeaking of rats in his ears persisted.

"If you find it delicious, then so be it. We can't move around much now, so we can only share food with this scholar. However, this scholar's misfortune is abnormally severe, his aura is dark and gloomy. I fear he won't live much longer."

"Squeak!" the little rat cried anxiously, "He won't live long? Ninth Master, then how much longer can we eat his congee?"

The aged voice was silent for a moment, then replied with a hint of helplessness, "How can we be sure? Look at the misfortune clinging to him, it's so thick it's almost dripping. I fear he's had his luck stolen. He won't live long anyway."

"Squeak squeak squeak!" The little rat was immediately dejected. "He cooks congee sweeter than others. He's dying soon, what a pity."

[Rat Demon Likes +1]

The aged voice explained softly, "The human heart is a dark place, full of unpredictability. This is the difference between humans. Forget it, though we are but rats, we cannot eat someone's food for free. A Shi, place these Worry-Free Clothes on the stove. Consider it payment for these past few days."

Afterward, there was another rustling sound.

Perhaps this was the Rat Demon delivering the "Worry-Free Clothes"!

Chen Xu's heart churned like a stormy sea. He had an urge to rush into the kitchen immediately, to see with his own eyes if Rat Demons truly existed, and to ask them carefully if the words "he won't live much longer" were true. Yet, he also worried that as a mortal, he wouldn't be a match for the dangers of demons.

Although these two Rat Demons spoke with more sense and reason than some humans, not seeming like evil demons.

But if they were truly demons, who knew how much credibility their words held?

Chen Xu gritted his teeth, finally standing firm in the shadows of the moonlight.

His mind was in turmoil, his worldview collapsing and rebuilding, leaving him almost unaware of the current time.

It wasn't until the fire in the kitchen inexplicably died out, all rustling sounds faded away, and the sharp pain in his injured leg jolted him back to reality, that Chen Xu truly awoke.

He dared not make a sound, quietly shuffling his feet as he slowly retreated to his room.

Lying back on his bed, he pulled the covers tight, but the chill throughout his body wouldn't dissipate.

Chen Xu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, thinking of many things.

Ten years of arduous study, he had thought his path was simply a difficult journey of a farmer's son through the imperial examinations. Who would have thought there were demons in this world!

If demons existed, then what was the point of his ten years of study?

Ever since he took the Child Scholar exam, he had been plagued by misfortune. He had thought it was just his bad luck, but now, to this extent, it had deviated from the norm. Could it be that he was indeed targeted by some villain using dark magic?

Luck Stealing, the very name sent a shiver down his spine.

Chen Xu recalled his past experiences.

He had been a science student in his previous life. After transmigrating, his preconceived notions led him to dismiss the existence of "supernatural phenomena" first. Furthermore, he came from a rural farming family, and he had never heard of any cultivation practices in the surrounding villages.

There were some rural tales, of course. There was a spirit medium in the next village who could allegedly scatter rice to divine and summon the souls of children. Chen Xu had overheard some of these stories and dismissed them as the ignorance and superstition of the villagers. He never connected them to the idea that this world might be abnormal.

But what if this world truly was abnormal?

Lying in bed, Chen Xu felt a bone-chilling cold.

He had vaguely figured out many things, yet even more questions became increasingly incomprehensible.

Finally, the most perplexing question was: what exactly was the information that kept flashing in his mind, the so-called [Rat Demon Likes]?

This new book is being released. After several twists and turns, the theme has been changed many times. This latest iteration was inspired by a sudden flash of insight. The scenes have just formed in my mind, and the beginning and the ten-thousand-word outline came together in one go. I hope to bring you an interesting story. Please follow, vote for the monthly ticket, comment, and interact. Thank you, thank you!