After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

I washed all the pots and pans, and then scrubbed the cutting board, which looked like it had grown mold.

I picked and washed the vegetables I bought down the mountain, and I also washed and cut the fish and marinated it with seasonings.

Just preparing all the spare ingredients took up almost half a tank of water.

I put down the dull kitchen knife, filled the water tank, and found a suitable stone to sharpen it.

I need to sharpen it. This knife is okay for cutting vegetables, but it's definitely not suitable for cutting meat.

He bought a large piece of cured pork, thinking he could make stir-fried cured pork with bamboo shoots on the mountain.

The bamboo forest is so big, there must be plenty of bamboo shoots. We don't have time now, but we can eat some fresh bamboo shoots.

When we have some free time, we can dig up more fresh bamboo shoots and make them into dried bamboo shoots.

The method of making dried bamboo shoots is also simple: dig up the bamboo shoots, cook them for half an hour, then take them out and rinse them with cold water.

Next, arrange the bamboo shoots that have been rinsed in cold water neatly in a basket, and place a large stone on top to press out the excess water.

After pressing overnight, take it out and sun-dry it for five to six days.

If you want to eat smoked bamboo shoots, you can smoke them with firewood for seven days, but that's more troublesome and wastes firewood.

Jiang Xiaoqi sharpened his knife and went straight into the bamboo forest. A short while later, he returned carrying two fresh bamboo shoots.

The large bamboo shoots were almost half his height, but they were still very tender.

The bamboo shoots are growing well, but this isn't the best time to dig them.

Summer bamboo shoots can sometimes be slightly bitter, which is why people mostly choose to dig bamboo shoots in the spring.

After all, spring is the best season for digging bamboo shoots, as most bamboo shoots are delicious at this time. Bamboo shoots dug in spring are called spring bamboo shoots.

Of course, some people also dig bamboo shoots after autumn, usually from September to before the Lunar New Year, which is called winter bamboo shoots.

Jiang Xiaoqi plans to make a stir-fried bamboo shoot with cured pork and a fresh bamboo shoot chicken soup with the two bamboo shoots she dug up.

Master is an old man, so he needs to be nourished gradually. He can't be nourished like he did for Wenbin on the boat, to the point of causing nosebleeds.

In the past two years, I have read a lot of medical texts and case studies in my study space. Although I have never studied the four diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation, I have gained some understanding of them.

Based on the physical characteristics of patients with various ailments described in the book, Jiang Xiaoqi drew a conclusion—the gentleman is ill! He is seriously ill!

A reclusive scholar: You're the one who's sick! Your whole family is sick!

Cough cough, that's why he bought a bunch of ingredients suitable for nourishing the body, and also brought a lot of medicinal herbs into his space.

One reason was to make medicinal cuisine, but more importantly, it was rare to encounter someone with an internal ailment, which was much more interesting to treat than Wenbin's external injuries!

Stuff the fish's belly with seasonings and a few herbs, then light the stove and steam it.

Cut half of the bamboo shoots into chunks and the other half into slices. Put all the chunked bamboo shoots into a ceramic pot and stew them with an old hen bought from town.

Slice the cured pork into thin slices and set aside. Cook the vegetables in the pan when the others are almost back.

Another dish is dried shrimp with bok choy. Blanch the bok choy in boiling water, but don't overcook it. Add a little oil and salt to the water to help the bok choy stay bright green.

Dried shrimp are very common here, after all, it's only a hundred miles from the sea, and many merchants and peddlers bring dried goods here to sell.

However, few people here use dried shrimp in salads; they usually add it to soups to enhance the flavor.

As dusk settled, the bamboo gate of the courtyard was finally opened from the outside.

Jiang Xiaoqi had just finished arranging the dishes, and only one stir-fry was missing.

Upon seeing his master return, he had someone sit down at the stone table and benches first, and then plunged into the kitchen.

Ouyang Zheng stared blankly at the dishes on the table. Could these have been taken back from a restaurant down the mountain?

Steaming fish and chicken soup were rising from the pot, which was filled with fresh, dark gray smoke marks. It was extremely hot to the touch, as if it had just been taken off the fire.

Looking up towards the kitchen, he heard a sizzling sound—the sound of something being taken out of the pan. Could it be that his new apprentice really made it?!

Impossible. How could a pampered little child possibly make such complicated dishes?

They must have secretly brought a servant up the mountain to do things for their master! And before I returned, they sent someone else down the mountain.

Hmph! Disobeying the master's orders is a perfectly valid reason to expel him from the sect.

Despite his many thoughts, Ouyang Zheng's stomach started pounding like a war drum, forcing him to put aside his thoughts and pick up his chopsticks.

"This dish is dried shrimp and bok choy salad, refreshing and not greasy; this is stir-fried cured pork with bamboo shoots, perfect with rice."

Before the chopsticks even touched the food, they suddenly paused upon hearing this, unsure whether to pick up the food or put it away.

"The steamed fish is stuffed with some herbs, which are good for the body; the fresh bamboo shoot and chicken soup can replenish qi."

Jiang Xiaoqi put down the last plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork and then picked up a bowl to serve rice to her master.

As he handed over the rice bowl, he reminded his master, "Master, you haven't eaten greasy or meaty food for a long time, so you shouldn't eat too much at once. Eating until you're seven or eight tenths full is good for your health."

Ouyang Zheng suddenly felt embarrassed, realizing that he had been outmaneuvered by a little kid.

He suppressed his embarrassment and deliberately put on a sullen face to first pick up a bite of the dried shrimp and green vegetables. He had never eaten it like this before, and unexpectedly, the taste was better than he had imagined.

I tried several other dishes and found that each one was delicious and visually appealing. Although the seasoning was not complicated, it was precisely because of this that the chef's skills were put to the test.

These dishes preserve the original flavor of the ingredients as much as possible, and each ingredient is prepared just right.

Actually, Jiang Xiaoqi felt that she hadn't performed well. She had to take care of both adding firewood to the fire and keeping an eye on the food in the pot, which meant she was neglecting one thing for another.

Fortunately, they were all cooked through and not burnt, so I guess it's a success.

Seeing his master devour the last bite of food on the table, Jiang Xiaoqi was genuinely worried that he might have upset the old man.

"Ahem, this food is still edible. You should put more effort into cooking in the future and not start strong but finish weak."

Ouyang Zheng rubbed his swollen belly, his previous air of otherworldly elegance completely gone.

Indeed, delicious food makes people fall from grace.

Watching Jiang Xiaoqi, with her small arms and legs, start clearing the dishes and then busy herself in the kitchen for another fifteen minutes before coming out, Ouyang Zheng was now somewhat convinced that the dishes were made by him.

After all, the other person explained the cooking steps in a logical and organized manner during the meal, which didn't seem like they had just memorized it.

He quickly tidied up the kitchen countertop, as if he were used to doing this kind of work, which was strange.

Nowadays, do the sons of officials and wealthy young masters no longer study etiquette, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, and mathematics? Instead, do they have their children learn frying, stir-frying, and cooking?

As Ouyang Zheng was pondering this, he saw Jiang Xiaoqi finish tidying up, lower her rolled-up sleeves, and walk over.

"Master, may I ask where I shall stay tonight?"

Ouyang Zheng then realized that he had been busy and had returned late, and that his little apprentice had probably gone straight into the kitchen as soon as he arrived.

"Come with me."

From the outside, it looks like a bamboo house with three rooms, but once you step inside, it's a completely different world.

The middle room was indeed the main room, with a table and three chairs. There were no fine tea sets on the table, only a rough teapot and a coarse pottery bowl, the kind that sells for two coins each in town today.

To the left of the main room is a suite, which is why it looks like one room from the outside, since it is separated from the inside.

The suite on the left is Ouyang Zheng's study and bedroom, while the suite on the right has the same layout, but it is not a bedroom and a study.

Both rooms on the right are bedrooms, but one door is locked and the other is unlocked.

Ouyang Zheng led the person to the unlocked door and stopped them there:

"You can stay in this room. It has simple bedding. If you need anything, your servants are all down the mountain and can come up to deliver things to you every fifteen days."

"Yes, Master." Seeing that Ouyang Zheng was about to turn around and go back to his room, Jiang Xiaoqi went out and scooped the hot water that had been boiled in the kitchen into a wooden basin.

Add some cold water and wash up quickly.

This wooden basin was secretly taken out of my spatial storage after I went up the mountain, when no one was around. In addition to the wooden basin, there were also several other sets of clothes and shoes.

In addition, he temporarily placed a quilt, pillow, and even bed curtains and sheets in the place where he stored firewood.

It's perfect to take it to the room and decorate it now. He had only glanced at it briefly earlier, and although the room wasn't dusty, the bedding looked like it had never been washed.

If I want to get a good night's sleep tonight and not be kicked out of my study space, I should just switch to my own space.

After tidying up, the moon rose above the willow branches. I closed my eyes and entered my study space as usual, then began to browse through recipes.