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

The deeper Li Haisheng walked into the bamboo forest, the more he felt something was wrong.

He seems to... smell meat?

It smells like meat!?

I quickened my pace and soon arrived at the bamboo gate. Looking into the courtyard through the low bamboo fence, I didn't see my master.

He pushed open the door and went straight to the kitchen.

"Master, what are you doing? It smells so good!"

Hearing the sound, Jiang Xiaoqi put down the spatula and looked up. Oh dear! Where did this black potato come from?

Black Potato Li Haisheng: Whoa! Where did this little dwarf come from?

Li Haisheng looked at the tiny figure in front of him, whose height only reached his hips, with a puzzled expression: Could this be the servant that Master bought?

Isn't this a bit too much? This child looks only six or seven years old.

She was fair-skinned and quite good-looking, and now she was staring blankly at me, which was rather cute.

The chef is a heartless employer to let such a young child cook.

"Excuse me... sir, who are you looking for?"

Upon hearing this, Li Haisheng felt a little embarrassed and scratched his head, saying, "Uh... I came to see my master, but... my master is out?"

"Master?" Could it be that Mr. Ouyang has other students? Jiang Xiaoqi thought of the locked room and immediately understood.

"So it's Senior Brother who's back. Master went out, but judging by the time, he'll be home soon."

"What did you call me? Senior Brother?!" His master had secretly taken on another disciple while he was away!

"Senior brother, you must be tired from your journey. Go wash up first. The food will be ready soon. I just made braised pork today. Senior brother, please try my cooking!"

"Braised pork? That's the smell I was just smelling! I could smell it from outside the bamboo grove, it smelled so good!"

Seeing that she had successfully changed the subject, Jiang Xiaoqi took out her chopsticks, picked up a piece of bright red braised pork, stood on tiptoe, and held it to Li Haisheng's mouth.

Li Haisheng, as if possessed, opened his mouth wide and swallowed it with a "whoosh"—delicious! Tender! Smooth!

I really want to have a bowl of rice with it!

"Delicious! So delicious! Junior brother, your cooking skills are absolutely amazing!"

So this is how you call someone your junior brother, haha, braised pork really works.

Two meals were enough to appease the stern-faced master, and a piece of braised pork was enough to win over the stern-faced senior brother. Young people are definitely easier to please!

When all the dishes were almost ready, Ouyang Zheng finally returned.

"Master! You're back!"

Li Haisheng ran out to greet him and took the wine gourd from Ouyang Zheng's hand.

Jiang Xiaoqi placed the dishes on a tray, then leisurely left the kitchen to set out the meal.

"Runzhi, you're quite fast!" Indeed, you were fast, since you walked back.

"Haha, I received a message from Master by carrier pigeon. I know you miss me, so how can I not come back soon?"

Ouyang Zheng's expression became unnatural for a moment, but Li Haisheng did not notice.

"Hmm, was everything alright at home when you got back this time?"

“My brothers and sisters are all doing well. They did a few business deals at the dock and stocked up on food for the family before coming out.”

"Yes, you must be tired from your journey. Sit down and have a meal first. Try your junior brother's cooking. By the way, you've already met Mingfei, haven't you?"

"I've met you! Master, where did you find this little apprentice? He's so small, but he's incredibly capable!"

Li Haisheng felt the taste of the braised pork lingering on his lips and teeth; heaven knows how anxious he had been for his master's return.

Master is back, so we can eat now!

Ouyang Zheng sat down at the stone table, opened the wine gourd, and poured himself a cup of Zhuyeqing wine.

Jiang Xiaoqi served the last dish and rice, and then sat down with Li Haisheng on either side of Ouyang Zheng.

"Dinner's ready!" As soon as Ouyang Zheng finished speaking, Li Haisheng swiftly and decisively picked up the braised pork he had been eyeing for a long time.

Sure enough! Rice and braised pork are the perfect match!

Jiang Xiaoqi had eaten some food when it was cooked, and was about half full, so she was eating very slowly and deliberately.

Because Ouyang Zheng was going to drink alcohol, he hadn't eaten his main course yet, so he ate his meal rather slowly.

Li Hai had never seen anyone cook pork belly into such a delicious dish before, and the way he ate it could only be described as brutal.

He devoured a large bowl of rice in a flash, then ordered two more bowls before finally putting down his chopsticks, still feeling unsatisfied.

"Junior brother, your cooking skills are better than the best restaurant in town! Whoever marries you will be so lucky!"

"Ahem, Runzhi, Mingfei is only a few years old. Don't say such nonsense in front of a child."

Looking at the plate where even the broth was gone, Ouyang Zheng immediately regretted calling this charcoal-faced disciple back. Sigh, I was too hasty!

Even the bamboo leaf green tea in this cup doesn't taste good anymore. No wonder people say drinking leads to trouble. It really does! It makes it hard to eat meat!

Jiang Xiaoqi prepared a large portion of food. Although she didn't expect a senior student to suddenly appear today, based on her previous cooking experience, she felt it was better to prepare more food as a precaution.

Tonight's meal is normally enough for three people, but that's only under normal circumstances.

I ate three bowls from such a huge bowl, along with so much meat and vegetables, and finally finished off with a bowl of tofu and dried shrimp soup.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt stuffed just looking at him, but this senior brother still seemed to want more. What an enormous capacity!

With the basin and bowls empty, Ouyang Zheng put down his wine cup and said, "Haisheng, tomorrow you will accompany your teacher into the city to buy some things."

"Oh, okay, Master." Every time Li Haisheng came back, Ouyang Zheng would go to the town or county to buy some good food, and he naturally assumed it would be the same this time.

"Xiao Qi, stay home and watch the house. Don't go into the deep mountains. Although there aren't many wild animals in Yunqing Mountain, the villagers at the foot of the mountain occasionally encounter wild boars!" Ouyang Zheng instructed.

"Yes, Master, I promise I won't go out. I'll stay home and cook a good meal for you and my senior brother to come back," Jiang Xiaoqi said obediently, though she was already thinking about how to cook wild boar meat to make it taste good.

Hearing his junior brother say this, Li Haisheng grinned and immediately looked forward to tomorrow's meal, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Jiang Xiaoqi.

The person was already dark-skinned, and in the darkness, the whites of their eyes paired with their bright white teeth looked like three glittering white stars floating in the yard, which was a bit eerie.

Yunqing Village at the foot of the mountain

"Li Mo, it's been four days. Let's go up the mountain to check on the young master. I wonder if he's been eating and sleeping well these past few days."

"They must be lacking supplies on the mountain. Let's go to town again to buy some things and send them to the young master!"

Li Mo, who was wiping his sword, put down the cloth and sheathed the sword:

"Alright, the things that young master took up the mountain that day are probably almost used up, but we may not be able to get up the mountain."

The young master had previously instructed us not to go up the mountain unless necessary; perhaps his master had set that rule.

However, if we buy it first, we can save a lot of time by taking it with us when the young master returns from his day off.

"Where are you going? Me too! Me too!" Ah Niu, who had just fed the horses, was afraid that the two would leave him behind.

“Alright, all of you go! Ah Niu is strong, he can carry back a lot more stuff.”

"Hehe, of course! I can carry a whole pig up there for you, young master!"

"Then forget it. In this sweltering heat, do you want the young master to eat rotten pork?"

I think it would be best to buy some things that can be stored for a while, or some live animals, and keep them in the courtyard for now. When the young master comes back, he can take whatever he wants.

This way, we can always provide the young master with fresh meat. Although we have a carriage, this village is too remote, and each trip to town and back takes up a lot of time.

"Live chickens and ducks? Let the young master kill one for each one he eats? That's fine too. If we raise some hens, they can lay eggs."

Li Mo had also thought of this, but he didn't know if the young master dared to kill the chicken.

Then he recalled that night on the official boat and realized that he had really underestimated the young master and treated him like an ordinary child.

How could a young master who could kill thieves without flinching be afraid of killing chickens?