Free Web NovelPublish Time: 2026-06-26 13:32:00
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«Chapter 528: Never Lonely with Lihua Around
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In the afternoon, Chen Changsheng prepared the two fish. He added no oil or salt, just boiled them in the pot with water.
Lihua loved fish.
These two fish weren’t small, but for it, they weren’t enough to eat.
While waiting, Lihua had long been guarding its small bowl in the kitchen, eyes fixed on the pot. Almost like its eyes were going to fall into the pot.
“Is it done?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh…”
A short while later, Lihua asked again.
“Is it done now?”
“Still needs a bit more time.”
It was very impatient; it had been a long time since its last fish.
“Done!”
Lihua immediately carried its bowl forward with its mouth.
Chen Changsheng smiled helplessly, took the bowl, and put one fish inside. Unfortunately, the bowl was too small and could only hold one.
Lihua didn’t care if it was hot or not. It lowered its head and began eating.
“Is it good?”
“Mhm, mhm.”
Chen Changsheng served up the remaining fish and then started cooking the meal.
It was just some simple home-cooked dishes and didn’t take much time.
The firewood crackled in the stove, and thick smoke rose once more.
This was the literal, physical, smoke-and-fire atmosphere of life.
When people talk about this ‘atmosphere’, first they mean the hustle and bustle of the secular world, the human connections; second, they mean the liveliness of the Mortal World, the everywhere-rising cooking smoke is that liveliness. freewebnσvel.cøm
Ruyi had gone somewhere that afternoon but returned right on time for dinner.
She stepped into the kitchen and saw the steaming dishes in the pot, immediately feeling hungry.
“Uncle Chen, let me help you.”
“Add some firewood.”
“Okay!”
With Ruyi helping, things naturally sped up a bit.
In no time, the food was on the table.
Ruyi ate as messily as she did yesterday. The Tabby Cat crouched on the table eating its fish; it wouldn’t stop until it was finished.
Ruyi said, “Uncle Chen, teach me to cook sometime, I want to learn.”
Chen Changsheng paused and asked, “Sanniang doesn’t live with you anymore, right? And Ping An isn’t in Qingshan City, so it’s just you living alone. Surely you know how to cook some basic things?”
Ruyi replied, “I usually rarely go home. Most of the time, I’m at the Embroidery Workshop. The people below prepare good food; I never have to do it myself.”
Chen Changsheng asked, “I recall that in the past, times were pretty tough. Didn’t your mother ever teach you?”
“Back then…”
“Uncle Chen, you know how it was. We mostly ate rice porridge or Baked Pancakes, without any proper dishes. There wasn’t even anything to cook, so I never learned anything.”
“When I’m not at the workshop, I just buy a couple of buns or steamed buns on the street and eat them with pickled vegetables. One day passes like that.”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment.
He hadn’t expected it to be like this.
In his previous world, children from poor families matured early; skills like cooking were ingrained from childhood. But here, in this kind of poverty, there had been no opportunity to even practice cooking.
Still, thankfully, those times were behind them.
Chen Changsheng said, “Eat. I’ll teach you later.”
Ruyi smiled. “It’s a promise then?”
“It’s a promise.”
Ruyi could be silent when angry, but otherwise, she was a chatterbox, even more talkative than Lihua.
Mostly about everyday, ordinary things.
She spoke about Ping An too. Now that Ruyi was older, her words were full of praise for her brother, nothing but good things from start to finish. And, of course, longing.
Ruyi thought for a moment and asked, “Uncle Chen, since you’re an Immortal, can you divine when Ping An will come back?”
Chen Changsheng said, “I am not an Immortal.”
“Uncle Chen, just tell me if you can divine it.”
Chen Changsheng explained, “If Ping An has already entered the Imperial Court, it might be impossible to divine.”
“Why is that?”
“Naturally. Those in the Imperial Court are connected to the Fortune of nation. The more important a person is to the Imperial Court, the harder it is to divine…”
Actually, under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be difficult for Chen Changsheng.
His uncertainty now stemmed from the Disrupted Providence. In this situation, seeing the Destiny of an ordinary person would still be possible. But for someone like Ping An, who likely entered government service, combined with the Disrupted Providence, it was unlikely he could divine it.
“Try?” Ruyi blinked.
Chen Changsheng considered it, then raised his hand to perform a calculation.
After a moment, he lowered his hand. “I can see the past, but not the future.”
As he had suspected.
Ping An had probably indeed entered the Imperial Court.
Ruyi sighed. “He didn’t come back last year, won’t come back this year, sends only two letters a year. Who knows when I’ll see him next? I don’t even know what he looks like now!”
Chen Changsheng said, “Ping An only started his post last year after leaving the Academy. It will likely be difficult for him to return in the short term.”
Ruyi blinked and looked at Chen Changsheng. “Uncle Chen.”
“Hm?” ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
“What kind of official do you think Ping An will become in the end?”
“Ping An excels in both literary pursuits and martial arts. What official rank he ends up with really depends on himself. It’s hard to say.”
Ruyi asked, “A General on horseback? A Chancellor off it?”
Chen Changsheng chuckled. “If it really came to that, Ping An would be remembered for ages.”
“That would be troublesome…” Ruyi muttered. “If Ping An becomes so powerful, wouldn’t it mean I couldn’t hit him anymore?”
Chen Changsheng thought and said, “You could still hit him secretly.”
Ruyi was stunned. “Uncle Chen, why do you teach such bad things?”
“Nonsense, I don’t.”
Chen Changsheng retorted, then pointed to the table. “Eat your food, it’s almost cold.”
“Okay.”
The Tabby Cat hadn’t been listening to their conversation at all.
A while later, only two fish skeletons remained on the table.
Two fish had filled its belly.
Stuffed full.
Right now, it didn’t even want to move; it just wanted to lie down and sleep soundly.
Ruyi suddenly said, “Oh, Uncle Chen, there’s a Temple Fair tonight. How about we go?”
“A Temple Fair…”
Chen Changsheng recalled the last time he’d visited a temple fair; it had been extraordinarily lively.
The Tabby Cat’s ears twitched, and it looked at the two of them.
“Since we have nothing to do tonight, let’s go have a look.”
Chen Changsheng looked at the Tabby Cat lying on the table and asked, “Do you want to go too, Lihua?”
Lihua’s gaze seemed to ask: What’s a Temple Fair? Is it fun? Does it have yummy food?
It didn’t understand at all.
Ruyi, seeing the dazed Tabby Cat, said, “Does it really understand?”
Lihua snapped back to attention and looked at Ruyi.
“Meow.”
Ruyi paused, her chopsticks stopping mid-air. She exclaimed, “This cat really has become a Monster!”
Chen Changsheng explained, “Lots of people at the Temple Fair, very lively, very fun, and there are all sorts of strange and interesting things. Do you want to go, Lihua?”
Lihua became interested upon hearing this. It dipped its head.
Ruyi couldn’t stay calm. She sprang up from the table!
This move attracted the gazes of both Chen Changsheng and the Tabby Cat. Both looked straight at her.
Ruyi paused, then stammered, “You… you understand human speech! And you nod?!”
Lihua thought for a moment, then looked at Ruyi and dipped its head again.
Ruyi’s lips parted slightly. She asked, “You wouldn’t… be a Demon, would you…”
Lihua froze upon hearing this.
Then it spoke directly: “You’ve grown wiser!”
Ruyi trembled and stepped back.
«Chapter 528: Never Lonely with Lihua Around
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