I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 55: Plump Autumn Crabs, Shared with a Friend

After lunch, Cao Zhizhi, exhausted from the long journey, finally felt the fatigue. She took a shower and fell into a deep sleep in Jiang Tingyun's room.

When she woke up, it was already completely dark. Everything was silent except for the faint sounds of laughter drifting up from the yard below.

She quickly washed her face, went downstairs, and walked toward the yard. Everyone at Qionghua Eatery was sitting together around a large grill, happily eating barbecue.

Jiang Tingyun was quickly flipping skewers over the grill with both hands. When she saw Cao Zhizhi, she teased, "Zhizhi, you're finally awake. I thought you were going to sleep until tomorrow morning."

But Cao Zhizhi's attention was completely absorbed by the barbecue.

The beef, marbled with fat and alternated with green peppers on skewers, sizzled and spattered oil over the charcoal fire. Sprinkled with chili powder and cumin, the aroma made her mouth water and her stomach growl loudly.

"Your food smells so good. So this is your cozy little life." She pulled up a bamboo chair and sat down, staring eagerly at the meat.

Jiang Tingyun quickly handed her a few grilled beef skewers. "You must be hungry. We've eaten most of it. Go ahead."

As she spoke, she took out several marinated whole chicken wings, placed them on the grill, flipped them back and forth, and carefully brushed them with wild honey.

Cao Zhizhi couldn't wait to dig in. The beef was fragrant and savory, bursting with juice at every bite. Paired with the crisp, sweet green peppers, it was full of flavor.

She couldn't help exclaiming repeatedly, "So good, so good. How are even your green peppers this delicious?"

Jiang Tingyun handed her a honey-glazed wing, golden and glistening with oil, and smiled. "Those green peppers are homegrown. The last batch of the season. Oh, let me go steam the crabs!"

Crabs cooked quickly, and soon they were brought to the table.

When she gently cracked open the crab shell, it revealed a generous amount of roe—golden yellow, already set, with rich oil that made one's mouth water.

The crab meat was tender, firm, and plump. Dipped in special crab vinegar, it was delicate and sweet, leaving you craving more.

After Jiang Tingyun finished half a crab with great satisfaction, she noticed her eldest disciple, Pei Jingmo, cramming crab legs into his mouth whole, crunching them up, and spitting them out.

"Pei Jingmo! Don't chew them like that! Suck the meat out or poke it out!" Jiang Tingyun could no longer bear to watch her eldest disciple waste such good food.

"Don't know how," Pei Jingmo muttered gloomily.

Everyone at Qionghua Sect burst out laughing.

Cao Zhizhi ate her meat skewers and grilled wings contentedly, surrounded by the laughter of the Qionghua Eatery crowd. She slowly began to drift away.

A gentle breeze carried the faint scent of osmanthus from somewhere in the distance—so subtle it wrapped around the tip of her nose, elusive, tempting her to sniff again and again.

The vast night sky stretched into the infinite distance, yet it was dotted with stars. So many stars—big and small, twinkling—making her want to reach out and try to catch one.

She hadn't drunk any alcohol, but she was already intoxicated by the night breeze and the starlight.

...

Early the next morning, even though the restaurant wasn't open, Jiang Tingyun still got up as usual.

There weren't many entertainment options in the countryside. She went to bed early and woke up early.

Cao Zhizhi woke up too, her whole body feeling soft and lazy. She stretched hugely.

"Oh my god, I slept so well. Why is sleeping here so good?"

Jiang Tingyun lazily rolled her neck. "Right? My sleep is so much better here than before."

"What should we do today? Take me around!" Cao Zhizhi suggested as she brushed her teeth and washed her face.

Jiang Tingyun thought for a moment.

Although there were plenty of attractions nearby—a film studio and a botanical garden—they were small and nothing special. Phoenix Temple was mostly for burning incense, and Fenghuang Mountain was bare and not particularly worth climbing.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She grinned.

"Want to come with me to the back mountain? We can pick chestnuts."

"Pick chestnuts? Let's go, let's go!"

Cao Zhizhi was intrigued. She had only ever eaten sugar-roasted chestnuts from street stalls. She had never seen fresh chestnuts before!

But after they set off with baskets on their backs, Jiang Tingyun realized she had completely overestimated her friend's stamina.

They had been walking along the dirt path at the foot of the mountain for barely ten minutes, not even fully into the mountains, when Cao Zhizhi was already complaining of fatigue.

Watching Jiang Tingyun easily step around weeds and thorns, Cao Zhizhi couldn't hold back anymore.

"Jiang Jiang, something's off about you. You used to be just as weak as me. How are you so fit now, and so much stronger?"

Jiang Tingyun said lightly, "You might not believe this, but I'm cultivating immortality now."

Cao Zhizhi scoffed. "You jerk, talking nonsense again."

"But I get it. You eat well, sleep well, and exercise every day. Of course your fitness has improved. That's the difference between pre-quitting and post-quitting."

As she struggled to keep up with Jiang Tingyun, Cao Zhizhi thought to herself that her fitness was really terrible. She definitely needed to find time to hit the gym when she got back.

Finally, they entered the mountain. Pine forests and broadleaf forests grew densely on both sides of the path. Leaves near and far had been dyed red by the autumn wind—beautiful.

Suddenly, Cao Zhizhi felt something under her foot. She looked down and cried out in delight.

"Jiang Jiang, look at the ground! Are those chestnuts? There are so many!"

Without waiting for Jiang Tingyun's answer, she crouched down eagerly and scooped up a large handful.

Jiang Tingyun was confused. She didn't see any chestnut trees nearby. When she looked down, she couldn't help laughing.

Before awakening her talent, she hadn't known much about these fruits either. But she at least knew what a chestnut looked like. The things on the ground were not chestnuts.

**[Acorn: Fagaceae family, Quercus genus. Oak fruit. Slightly bitter, high starch content, edible.]**

"Uh... Zhizhi, those aren't chestnuts."

"Huh?" Cao Zhizhi froze. She stared at the fruits for a moment and realized they did look different.

The chestnuts she usually ate were half-round, but these were oval, like silkworm cocoons. When she opened one, it had a faint bitterness.

She quickly asked, "So what are they?"

"They're acorns."

"Acorns?" The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Cao Zhizhi pressed on, undeterred. "Can you eat acorns?"

Jiang Tingyun hesitated. "You can eat them, but they're bitter if eaten raw. If you dry them and grind them into powder, you can make acorn jelly."

"Wow!!"

As soon as Cao Zhizhi heard they were edible, she cheered, crouched down again, and started picking furiously.

In this area, the ground between the fallen leaves was practically carpeted with acorns. Like a squirrel, she quickly filled half her basket. She was full of energy now, all thoughts of tiredness forgotten.

Acorns are slightly bitter and mildly toxic. Since living standards had improved, people in the area no longer ate them.

Acorn jelly tasted decent, but the process was complicated and somewhat troublesome to prepare.

But seeing how happy Cao Zhizhi was, picking acorns in these hills for the first time, Jiang Tingyun didn't stop her. She accompanied her as she gathered many.

When they had collected almost enough, Jiang Tingyun led Cao Zhizhi further in. She remembered the chestnut trees were farther in.

When she had come up the mountain a few days ago, the chestnuts were already ripe. The spiny husks around them were greenish-yellow, and many had already fallen to the ground.

She hadn't brought a basket or sack then, so she hadn't taken them, planning to come back in a few days.

But when she reached the chestnut trees, her jaw dropped.

The ground was littered with furry husks—all emptied out. No chestnuts.

"Huh? Where are the chestnuts?" Cao Zhizhi picked up an empty husk and asked, confused. "Did the squirrels eat them all?"

Jiang Tingyun sighed helplessly. "Someone else must have picked them."