I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 35: Sect Master, Keep This Up and You're Asking for Trouble

Early the next morning, Jiang Tingyun started preparing the mung bean soup.

The local way of making mung bean soup was extremely simple. The only ingredients needed were mung beans, sugar, and water.

Jiang Tingyun didn't even soak the beans ahead of time. She just grabbed a big pot, picked through and washed the mung beans, threw them in, added water, and slowly cooked them until done.

But there was one special thing about this method: after the first boil, you pour out the water, then cool the cooked beans with ice cubes, add cold water again, and boil them twice like this.

This way, the beans would bloom quickly and release a lot of sandiness. Finally, just before taking it off the heat, you add rock sugar. The sweet, refreshing, heat-relieving mung bean soup was ready to eat.

Of course, it tasted even better chilled.

Besides this style of mung bean soup, Jiang Tingyun also really liked the Suzhou version. Her mother was from Suzhou, and she and her parents had lived there back in the day.

The Suzhou mung bean soup was completely different from this local style. It didn't aim for sandiness.

It was called mung bean soup, but it was actually steamed mung beans and glutinous rice soaked in mint water, topped with red and green dried fruit, raisins, candied dates, and other preserved fruits. That was a completely different flavor.

But the people in Fenghuang Town probably wouldn't accept that taste, so Jiang Tingyun decided not to make it.

...

Jin Feifan always woke up early. While the mung bean soup was still simmering on the stove, he was already waiting in the kitchen, eyes eager.

As soon as the soup came off the stove, he didn't even wait for it to cool before ladling himself a bowl and digging in.

He happily slurped the mung bean soup, thinking how strange his Sect Master was. Her hands seemed to carry some kind of spiritual energy. Simple foods—especially plants—just tasted better when she made them.

Take this mung bean soup. It was sweet and silky in the mouth, packed with sandy goodness, and the cooking time was just perfect.

Jiang Tingyun smiled at him and asked, even though she already knew the answer, "Good?"

Jin Feifan immediately gave her a thumbs up. "Absolutely amazing, Sect Master. Your mung bean soup is way better than what you'd get anywhere else."

Jiang Tingyun ladled herself a bowl too, drinking it contentedly, listening to the insects chirping and birds singing outside, enjoying this rare moment of leisure.

"What do you think—if I only sold mung bean soup today, would that work?" She put down her bowl and stretched lazily.

Jin Feifan's face immediately scrunched up with worry. He said cautiously, "Sect Master, maybe we should rename Qionghua Eatery to Qionghua Snack Bar."

"Going all-veg, doing bitter melon, or only selling one rice dish—that was still fine. But you're pushing it now. Keep this up, and customers are gonna give you an earful."

Jiang Tingyun glared at him. "Nonsense!"

But after thinking it over, she had to admit he wasn't entirely wrong. Thanks to the great flavors, business was pretty good now. There were a lot of repeat customers, and the Qionghua Eatery WeChat group was getting bigger and bigger.

But still—selling *only* mung bean soup for a whole day was a bit much.

Ever since awakening her talent, she'd had tons of energy and strong physical stamina. But having the energy for something didn't mean she didn't feel like being lazy.

Plus, with the weather getting hotter, the kitchen was getting more and more unbearable. Until they got that air conditioner installed in the kitchen, she really didn't feel like stir-frying anything.

"Oh! I know what I can make." Jiang Tingyun slapped her thigh happily.

Yesterday when she went into town, besides buying a big bag of mung beans, she'd also picked up some Erjingtiao peppers, lantern peppers, red and green Sichuan peppercorns, and other seasonings. Last night, she'd cooked up two big bottles of chili oil and numbing oil.

She could use them for *Mala Ban*—Spicy Numbing Mix!

The locals here weren't as crazy about spice as their neighboring province, but among the younger generation, more and more people were loving spicy food.

For Mala Ban, all you had to do was blanch whatever vegetables, meatballs, or meat you wanted, then toss them with chili oil, numbing oil, ginger juice, garlic juice, vinegar, salt, sugar, sesame seeds, and other seasonings.

She had plenty of vegetables at home, ready to pick fresh.

She had meat in the fridge too. Since Mala Ban used heavy seasoning, the quality of the meat didn't need to be top-notch. Even thawed frozen meat could taste great.

All she needed to buy were some meatballs and instant noodles.

This dish was simple to make. Decision made. Jiang Tingyun immediately rounded up the sect members and started prepping ingredients.

...

On Fenghuang Mountain, a young man and woman were helping each other as they wobbled and stumbled down the mountain.

"It's so hot. What were you thinking, dragging me out here to climb a mountain?" Qin Mengmeng felt her legs shaking from soreness. They said going down the mountain was harder than going up, and boy, were they right.

Cai Jie also looked like he could cry. "I didn't think this mountain would be this exhausting just because it doesn't look that tall."

Qin Mengmeng and Cai Jie had recently been set up on a blind date. They both had time off work, so they decided to go out together, to get to know each other and maybe build some chemistry.

Fenghuang Mountain scenic area was somewhat well-known locally. Dense vegetation, pleasant environment, and the mountain wasn't tall—very safe.

Neither of them had any hiking experience. On a whim, they decided to climb Fenghuang Mountain early in the morning.

When they first set out at dawn, the weather was lovely—a gentle breeze, very comfortable. But halfway up, the sun came out and the temperature rose. Even with trees providing shade on both sides, they were drenched in sweat, and their energy levels plummeted.

Qin Mengmeng wanted to go back down right then. Mountain climbing was really different from walking on flat ground. It was all uphill, with no break for your legs.

But Cai Jie said the famous phrase: "Since we're already here..."

So they gritted their teeth and made it to the top, panting heavily the whole way and not saying a single word. Zero chemistry built.

At the summit, the temperature was comfortable and the view was wide and nice.

But there were no restaurants up there—just one or two stalls selling water. Many people had brought their own lunchboxes and were having picnics.

Cai Jie hadn't expected the mountain top to be so bare. It really was just a mountain top.

And these people were *serious*. Climbing the mountain was exhausting enough, yet they'd managed to haul so much food up. He'd only brought two bottles of water, and he'd finished them both.

So after just a few loops around the summit, they sheepishly started heading down.

By the time they successfully reached the foot of the mountain, they were drenched in sweat, pale-faced, and their legs were trembling with every step.

"Are you okay?" Cai Jie asked guiltily. They hadn't driven—they'd taken the direct shuttle bus. Now they didn't have the energy to make it to the parking lot. He looked around. "Let's find a place to eat something and rest."

Qin Mengmeng looked dead inside. "I'm too hot and too tired. I can't eat anything."

Cai Jie thought for a moment. "My sister studies at Fenghuang University. She's recommended this place to me so many times—a farm-to-table restaurant called Qionghua Eatery. She says the food there is amazing. Let's have a big lunch there today."

Qin Mengmeng was also a foodie. Hearing the words "the food is amazing," she finally managed to muster some energy. The two of them helped each other along and headed toward Qionghua Eatery.