Chen Xu felt that the affairs of this world truly were absurd in so many ways.
He had seen Lin Qi off on his "final journey," and now he was going to "see him off" once more. Could the Lin Family possibly imagine that Lin Qi had actually been killed by him?
Chen Xu accepted the invitation sent by the Lin Family steward and said that he would certainly go pay his respects the next day.
After that, he received a second and third wave of visitors in succession that morning.
First, Xu Wenyuan came by, chatted with him for a while, and arranged to visit the Lin Family with him the next day to pay their respects.
After Xu Wenyuan left, Wang Mochuan arrived.
Aside from asking him to visit the Lin Family together the next day, just as Xu Wenyuan had, Wang Mochuan asked, "Brother Chen, will you still be taking the Courtyard Examination this year?"
Chen Xu did not understand what he meant, but he did not deliberately conceal anything either. He answered directly, "Of course I will take it. Brother Wang knows as well that, given my background, I should not miss any examination."
That was what he said, but Chen Xu had clearly already missed it three times.
Repeatedly missing such opportunities would inevitably dishearten anyone, yet when Chen Xu spoke of the past now, his tone was unexpectedly casual and relaxed.
Wang Mochuan could not help but admire him. He apologized for the distance he had kept from Chen Xu before. "I am sorry, Brother Chen. Because of some inexplicable rumors, I have always misunderstood you somewhat.
"It was I who was foolish and ignorant. I truly should not have acted that way."
Wang Mochuan had already earned the Xiucai Scholar degree, and he was seven or eight years older than Chen Xu. At the County Academy, he was truly one of the senior elder-brother figures.
For someone of his standing to repeatedly apologize to Chen Xu showed just how sincere he was.
Chen Xu invited Wang Mochuan into the kitchen, served him a bowl of porridge, and raised his own bowl. "Brother Wang, what is past is past. Why dwell on it any further?
"Your younger brother comes from a poor household. I have neither tea nor wine at present, so let this bowl of porridge stand in for both. How about we drink this porridge together and greet one another with a smile?"
Who had ever greeted someone with a smile over porridge?
Wang Mochuan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still picked up his bowl.
Chen Xu took the initiative to clink his bowl against his. Wang Mochuan was too embarrassed not to drink then, so he hurriedly brought the porridge to his mouth.
The moment he tasted it, he blurted out praise. "Fragrant, sweet, soft, and smooth—it is like jade cream and nectar! I... Wang have never eaten such delicious porridge in my life. It is even tastier than the exquisite porridge at Yunjiang Prefecture's Bell and Drum Delicacies Pavilion!"
After praising it, Wang Mochuan froze for a moment.
Then he looked at Chen Xu, and Chen Xu looked back at him.
Holding their bowls of porridge, the two truly did smile at one another upon meeting.
Wang Mochuan laughed heartily, and the slight restraint he had felt earlier vanished like smoke in thin air.
He praised it again. "Truly fine porridge!"
Then he asked, "Brother Chen, where did this porridge come from? How is it so delicious?"
[Likes +1+1+1...]
A string of Likes notifications appeared. Through the Cauldron Scripture, Chen Xu immediately learned that Wang Mochuan's daily Likes limit was actually thirty points!
It was even higher than those of the two Rat Demons.
That was truly somewhat unbelievable.
At the same time, the various figures on Chen Xu's Cauldron Scripture began changing rapidly upward.
[Accumulated Likes: 895] [Accumulated Likes: 916] [Accumulated Likes: 922] ...
Clearly, Granny Lai's pancakes had begun selling outside.
No, it was not just that.
On South Market Street, the matter of last night's beast-making occult art had begun to ferment, and the deeds of that unknown "hero" were also spreading through the streets and alleys.
More and more living beings were directly or indirectly praising Chen Xu, the Demon Who Cooks People with Fire.
Naturally, Chen Xu's Likes began rising swiftly.
One thousand Likes was drawing ever closer. Chen Xu suppressed his excitement and instead treated Wang Mochuan with even greater care.
Wang Mochuan was someone with a limit of thirty Likes. Since he had delivered himself right to Chen Xu's door at this very moment, how could Chen Xu possibly let him leave without giving up all thirty Likes?
Chen Xu told Wang Mochuan, "Brother Wang, this porridge is made by selecting five kinds of rice and grain, first soaking them in cold water overnight, then catching them off guard with fierce heat and swiftly boiling all five grains until they bloom, before switching to gentle heat..."
In rhythmic, engaging language, he vividly described the process of cooking five-grain porridge.
At first, Wang Mochuan thought he had misheard. Once he realized that the porridge had truly been made by Chen Xu himself, he cried out in astonishment, "You... Brother Chen, you cooked this porridge yourself?"
Chen Xu asked in return, "Isn't that obvious?"
"Obvious?" Wang Mochuan asked back as well.
After asking, he finally realized that it really was obvious.
Wang Mochuan gave a bitter smile. "I am sorry, Brother Chen. I have once again let preconceived notions guide me."
As he spoke, however, his gaze toward Chen Xu could not help carrying a subtle trace of sympathy.
In Wang Mochuan's mind, the only reason Chen Xu would cook porridge himself was poverty.
But at first, even though Chen Xu was plainly poor, Wang Mochuan had only thought that no matter how poor the man was, he should still be able to hire someone to handle daily chores and kitchen work.
After all, what scholar washed his own hands and made his own soup?
Thinking this, Wang Mochuan frowned slightly and said, "Brother Chen, your family... will none of them come to the county town to look after you?"
Chen Xu said, "My family is busy with farming and cannot easily leave the land. Besides, I have hands and feet of my own. I am merely studying; it is not as though I absolutely need someone to care for me."
As he spoke, Chen Xu smiled. "Brother Wang, do you think I cook for myself because my family is poor?
"To be honest, though my family is not wealthy, we are not short of the silver needed to hire a servant. Besides, I ordinarily copy books and write storybooks, so I have a few sources of income. It is not as though I cannot afford to study."
For one thing, Chen Xu said this to lay the groundwork for the large sum of money he had newly acquired.
After all, money had to be spent once it was in hand. If it was merely collected and hidden away, it was nothing but useless trash. He would be no different from a miserly, spineless fool.
For another, Chen Xu continued, "The greatest reason I cook for myself is that I have gained some insight from my studies recently.
"The sages often compare governing a state to tending a cauldron, and an ancient worthy once said that the finest flavor in the human world is simple joy.
"We late learners and newcomers find it difficult to directly connect the ultimate principles of the world with the hundred flavors. Thus, your younger brother came up with a clumsy method.
"By cooking for myself, I can also experience through gentle heat and fierce heat what it means for relaxation and tension to alternate, the civil and martial way.
"I can understand what it means for less to bring forth life, excess to bring burning, and know what it means to be just right."
With that, he served Wang Mochuan another bowl of porridge and asked, "Brother Wang, taste it carefully again. Isn't this porridge rich in layers of flavor?"
As Wang Mochuan listened to Chen Xu, he initially disagreed somewhat. But as he continued listening, his expression gradually turned solemn, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
When Chen Xu invited him to drink another bowl, Wang Mochuan indeed lifted it and first took a small sip.
He held the porridge in his mouth and savored it carefully for a moment before praising it again. "Its light sweetness is one thing, but what is rare is that it is sweet without cloying, thick without sticking. Is this what it means to be just right? Truly fine porridge!"
[Likes +1+1+1...]
Looking at the Accumulated Likes on his scripture panel, climbing ever closer to one thousand, Chen Xu smiled as well.
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