I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

**Chapter 90: Talent Awakened**

Jiang Tingyun walked briskly into the storage room. This year, she‘d collected a lot of corn from local farms. Some she’d ground into cornmeal, and some were still drying, hadn‘t been processed yet. Perfect timing — she could shell the kernels and make popcorn.

She remembered when she was little, around the end of the year, she’d see these machines everywhere on the streets and alleys.

The popcorn those old-style machines made had a strong, smoky, fire-roasted flavor. Not as sweet or rich as the stuff sold at movie theaters today, but deeply nostalgic — a childhood treat she would never forget.

Besides popcorn, the machine could also puff rice, millet, and other grains. The puffed rice wasn‘t as sweet or fragrant as popcorn, but each grain was crisp and tasty — an unforgettable childhood treat.

After prepping the corn, rice, and other ingredients, she got some sugar. Add plenty of sugar, and the puffed grains would come out much sweeter and more flavorful.

When she returned to the yard, the Qionghua Restaurant crew had already set up the little gourd-shaped popcorn maker. The charcoal fire underneath was lit.

Jin Feifan carefully put some corn into the top of the machine, then added sugar.

He was about to pour in more corn when Zhu Lili quickly stopped him. “Less first, less. Just test it. What if the machine doesn‘t work right?”

Hearing this, Jiang Tingyun suddenly tensed up. A bad feeling rose from the pit of her stomach.

“Jin Feifan, be very careful!”

As she spoke, she pulled everyone back several steps without a sound.

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The popcorn machine was the old hand-cranked kind.

The small gourd-shaped chamber spun slowly under the hand crank as the charcoal fire roasted it. After a few minutes, the pressure reached the right level.

By then, the moisture in the corn kernels had evaporated, and the starch had liquefied. But that alone wouldn’t pop the corn. Only when you pulled the control lever and rapidly released the pressure — causing the pressure to drop instantly — would the kernels fully pop into delicious popcorn.

“Hey? Why are you all so far back? Don‘t worry. The sound is scary, but it’s not dangerous at all.”

Jin Feifan looked confused at everyone hiding far away.

“Okay, cover your ears. I‘m about to pull the lever!”

He carefully checked that the bag attached to the machine was sealed, then started the countdown. “Three! Two! One!”

As the “one” disappeared from his lips, Jin Feifan quickly pulled the control lever.

There was a massive *BANG* — like a cannon going off. Everyone jumped.

But instead of delicious popcorn, a thick cloud of smoke burst out. The entire yard of Qionghua Restaurant was instantly blanketed.

With a clatter and crash, it sounded like some parts had flown into the air and fallen back down.

“Cough, cough — what happened? Did it explode?”

“Help! I’m blinded!”

“Crap! Jin Feifan, are you okay?!”

The whole Qionghua Restaurant descended into chaos. Jiang Tingyun quickly fanned away the smoke and ran toward Jin Feifan.

As the smoke gradually cleared, Jin Feifan was seen sitting on the ground, completely dumbfounded.

His face was black with soot. His blond hair was a mess, sticking up like a bird‘s nest. Even his pants had split open at the seam, revealing his torn long underwear.

The popcorn machine had completely disassembled itself, parts scattered everywhere.

“Cough, cough.” He spat out a fully popped kernel and said dumbly, “Seems... seems to taste pretty good.”

When Jiang Tingyun saw that he wasn’t seriously hurt — just lost his hair — she finally relaxed.

“Thank goodness. Never mind whether the popcorn tastes good. What matters is you‘re okay.”

Uncle Liu had a complicated look on his face. “The machine just had a ’small‘ problem? I feel like the problem was pretty big.”

Seeing that everyone was fine, Pei Jingmo ran over and picked up the bag. The popcorn inside hadn’t all spilled out — about half a bag remained.

He tossed a few pieces into the air, then caught them deftly with his mouth.

“Tastes good.”

“...”

The machine was in pieces, and all he cared about was eating!

Pei Jingmo helped Jin Feifan up with one hand, then held out the popcorn bag to everyone.

“Want some?”

Jiang Tingyun waved a weary hand. She felt like she had developed a psychological scar from popcorn. She probably wouldn‘t want to eat it again anytime soon.

Turning the crank, a loud bang, and the machine exploded and fell apart — that was the thing she’d feared most as a kid watching popcorn being made. And today, it actually happened right in front of her!

The only thing scarier would be a ceiling fan falling down in the middle of class.

Jin Feifan brushed the dust off himself with difficulty and rubbed his soot-blackened face. “Don‘t worry. It’s fine, it‘s fine — just small issues. I’ll get some tools and fix it up.”

Then he grinned goofily. His face was black, making his teeth look especially white. The sight was almost funny.

Zhu Lili patted her chest, still shaken. “Maybe don‘t fix it. Let’s not make popcorn anymore. Be careful — don‘t blow up our restaurant!”

Jin Feifan quickly replied, “Relax, relax. I’m just going to put it back together with tools. Before I‘m absolutely sure it’s fixed, I definitely won‘t use it again.”

He ran to his tricycle, pulled out a burlap sack of tools, and picked up a hammer from the corner.

But the moment he grasped the hammer, it was as if someone had pressed a pressure point on him. He froze in place, completely motionless.

No one noticed at first. Everyone was busy picking up parts and dusting themselves off.

Liu Yanghe was the first to sense something wrong. He walked over and waved a hand in front of Jin Feifan’s eyes. Jin Feifan‘s small eyes had gone completely blank!

His pupils were contracted to pinpoints. There wasn’t even a blink reflex.

“Crap! Jin Feifan‘s brain is fried! Sect Master Jiang, come look!”

That shout scared everyone. Pei Jingmo dropped the popcorn bag and sprinted over to check on Jin Feifan.

Jiang Tingyun rushed over too, repeatedly examining Jin Feifan’s head, limbs, listening to his heart and lungs. Nothing seemed wrong.

“What is it? No external injuries. Why are his eyes not reacting? A concussion? Internal injury? Why won‘t he move?”

Anxious and unable to think clearly, Jiang Tingyun fretted helplessly.

Pei Jingmo frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly stopped everyone from getting closer.

“Step back. I think he’s awakening his talent.”

Those words sent ripples through the group. Everyone immediately fell silent, stepped back gently, afraid to disturb Jin Feifan.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the hand holding the hammer twitched slightly. Jin Feifan‘s eyes suddenly regained their spark.

The next second, his face erupted with joy and disbelief.

“I... I think I’ve awakened my talent!”