Sleeping under the fragrant, soft winter quilt his sister used herself, even Chen Shi'an, steadfast in his Taoist resolve, took five minutes longer than usual to fall asleep.
The next day was Sunday.
Chen Shi'an still got up at five in the morning.
Now that it was mid-to-late November, the daily average temperature had fallen to around eleven or twelve degrees Celsius. For many people, getting out of bed had become difficult, never mind getting up this early.
Fat Cat was still sleeping soundly on top of the quilt when Chen Shi'an opened his eyes and threw it back.
Cold air instantly swept over his whole body. Chen Shi'an did not use his magic to ward it off; the chill helped him wake up faster.
He put on warm thermal underwear, then a thick, padded cotton Dōfuku jacket. This was Chen Shi'an's everyday winter outfit outside school.
He did not have much planned for the weekend today. Mainly, he was taking Little Cicada out as a reward-oh, rather, Little Cicada was rewarding him with an outing.
Figuring the girl probably would not wake up so early, Chen Shi'an took care of his own business first.
After washing up, he carried two buckets of meat he had salted last week into the yard.
The meat had been curing for a full seven days. Each piece glistened with oil, and the fragrance of the seasonings had completely penetrated the fibers.
Chen Shi'an checked the meat and nodded, very satisfied.
He went back inside for a smoking mixture of pine twigs, tangerine peel, tea leaves, and other ingredients, intending to smoke the cured meat in the smoker in the yard.
Although he was not a city native, Chen Shi'an had lived in the city for some time and naturally knew its rules. If