I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 57: To My Friend: May You Be Happy and Well

Old pumpkins were very sweet, perfect for making salted egg yolk baked pumpkin.

Jiang Tingyun swiftly peeled the pumpkin and cut it into evenly sized strips. After blanching them briefly in hot water, she started coating the pumpkin strips with starch.

The pumpkin strips needed to be deep-fried first, then baked with salted egg yolk. So they had to be fried until crispy—if they got soft, the texture would be ruined.

Once the oil temperature was high enough, Jiang Tingyun quickly dropped the double-coated pumpkin strips into the oil. They turned golden and set, then she removed them to drain the oil.

For better flavor, she used fresh sea duck egg yolks. These egg yolks were savory, rich, and oozing with oil—absolutely delicious.

She heated the egg yolks over low heat, stirring until melted—they formed dense bubbles—then added salt to season.

At that point, she turned off the heat, added the crispy fried pumpkin strips, and gently tossed the wok a few times. The strips were thickly coated with the salty egg yolk. The result was a dish of salted egg yolk baked pumpkin—savory with a hint of sweetness, crispy outside, tender inside.

Jiang Tingyun couldn't wait to try one strip. It was delicious. She squinted in satisfaction.

She also picked a few random vegetables and stir-fried some seasonal greens. Just as the stir-fry was done, the pork bone soup was also ready.

...

Before the sky was fully dark, Jiang Tingyun had already prepared a full table of dishes.

There weren't many different dishes, but the portions were huge, and everything looked, smelled, and tasted amazing.

Cao Zhizhi had been smelling the aroma from the yard for a while. As soon as she heard that dinner was ready, she grabbed her bowl and chopsticks and raced to the table.

Since a guest had come all the way, Uncle Liu specially brought out his prized homemade wine—made from wild grapes he had picked last year. This was the first time it had been opened.

Zhu Lili, Jin Feifan, and Pei Jingmo all declined to drink. Under Uncle Liu's eager eyes, Jiang Tingyun reluctantly poured herself a cup.

The wine looked amber-colored, fairly pretty, but slightly cloudy.

She raised her glass and said to Cao Zhizhi with mock solemnity, "Zhizhi, you've come all this way. I only have farmhouse food. Don't be disappointed. Eat up. Cheers to you!"

With that, she downed the wine in one gulp.

The next second, her face changed dramatically.

A wave of sour, bitter, spicy, and foul—with a hint of rot—hit her all at once.

The complex flavors nearly exploded her entire mouth. She held it in, held it in, but ultimately couldn't. *Pfft*—she spat it all over the floor.

"..."

Damn. How could she have forgotten that Uncle Liu was a kitchen disaster? She actually believed he could make wine.

The others at Qionghua Sect patted their chests in lingering fear. The Sect Master had been too careless!

Uncle Liu's wine—how could she actually drink it?

Seeing Jiang Tingyun's reaction, Uncle Liu sheepishly put the wine away.

"Haha, haha, whoops, whoops. The wild grapes were bad. Let's eat, let's eat."

Cao Zhizhi tried to hold back her laughter while passing Jiang Tingyun some water.

It took Jiang Tingyun a long time to recover. She shot a glare at the others at Qionghua Sect—they knew all along and didn't warn her!

"Ahem, Sect Master, have some soup." Jin Feifan rubbed his nose, stood up, and ladled a big bowl of pork bone soup for her.

Cao Zhizhi no longer stood on ceremony. While the food was still hot, she quickly started eating.

Her first target was the braised chicken with chestnuts. She had picked those chestnuts herself and peeled them herself.

She already felt that this would be the best chestnuts she had ever eaten, even before tasting them.

And with Jiang Tingyun's cooking skills, the braised chicken with chestnuts looked amazing—rich sauce, tender chicken, and chestnuts with crispy golden skins. So tempting.

One bite, and the flavor was absolutely incredible.

The chicken was tender, smooth, and very flavorful, having absorbed the sweetness of the chestnuts. It was so good it made you want to fly.

Even better were the chestnuts themselves—soft, sweet, and creamy, with the rich aroma of chicken fat. Cao Zhizhi thought they tasted even better than the chicken.

After eating several chestnuts in a row, she turned her attention to the salted egg yolk baked pumpkin.

She had no idea how Jiang Tingyun had fried those pumpkin strips. Their golden, crispy skins looked beautiful.

One bite—truly crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. The saltiness of the egg yolk paired with the sweetness of the old pumpkin. One strip after another, she couldn't stop.

After savoring them for a while, she looked up and realized that everyone at Qionghua Eatery was eating at lightning speed. The large portions of food were visibly shrinking fast.

Oh no! If she was too slow, there would be nothing left!

Cao Zhizhi quickly joined the fray, chopsticks flying.

By the end of the meal, she was so full she slumped in her chair, shaking her head in endless amazement.

"Jiang Jiang, your cooking is just too good. I've never had anything this delicious in my life. If you opened right next to my hospital, I'd eat there every single day."

Jiang Tingyun laughed. "Hehe, eat up while you can. After these few days, you won't get any more."

"Waaah, I don't want to go back to work!!!" Cao Zhizhi wailed melodramatically.

...

The day of parting came quickly. Cao Zhizhi had only managed to get a few days off, given her special profession.

Besides taking her to pick chestnuts, Jiang Tingyun also took her to Phoenix Temple to draw fortune sticks, and to the film studio for a tour. They played until they were completely satisfied.

On the day she left, Cao Zhizhi carried all kinds of wild products—dried dogwood fruit, a jar of red sour soup base. Jiang Tingyun also made several of her signature dishes, carefully packed in takeout containers for her to eat on the road.

"Jiang Jiang, come visit me in Suzhou when you get a chance." Cao Zhizhi was sentimental. At the moment of parting, her eyes reddened slightly.

"Got it. Come again when you're free." Jiang Tingyun helped her pack and walked her into the station. "And remember, if you don't have a night shift, don't stay up late. Your health is the most important thing. Go to bed early. Eat on time."

Cao Zhizhi was silent for a moment. Then she said seriously, "Jiang Jiang, after this visit, I completely understand why you like staying here. Honestly, what job you do doesn't matter. What matters is that you're happy."

"You too." Jiang Tingyun patted Cao Zhizhi on the back.

Seeing her friend's reluctant face, she smiled. "Don't be sad. We'll keep in touch on WeChat. I'll make delicious food and send you videos. You can eat it virtually."

"...Seeing what I can't eat hurts even more."