Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

Liu Yifei took a deep breath.

I took another deep breath.

She stared at the spicy candy strip in her hand, her mind racing through her experiences of the past few days.

Licking iron railings, setting off Gatling gun fireworks, couples bowing to each other...

We've come this far, what's one more spicy snack?

Liu Yifei closed her eyes and steeled her resolve.

I took a big, hard bite of that spicy candy strip!

"Snap!"

The sugar coating broke.

The first thing that hits your taste buds is the sweetness of caramel.

It looks exactly like the candied hawthorn skewers we just had.

Then, the smell of spicy strips arrived.

The rich flavor of soy products takes the lead, followed closely by the numbing and spicy notes of various spices.

Finally, that indescribable, elusive "junk happiness" unique to five-cent spicy strips surged up.

The sweetness hasn't faded yet.

The spicy version is here.

The two flavors collided on her tongue!

Liu Yifei's pupils suddenly dilated.

He was completely paralyzed, even his chewing stopped.

However, the classic scene that the audience had been eagerly anticipating—"the fairy vomited on the spot"—did not happen as expected.

Liu Yifei froze for about three seconds.

His throat moved instinctively.

I swallowed it.

Then, her expression changed from shock to confusion.

The confusion turned into an unbelievable bewilderment.

She looked down at the half-eaten spicy candy strip in her hand, then looked up at Fang Yu.

"This taste..."

She seemed to be trying to find the right word to describe it.

"...How should I put it..."

"...It's quite... addictive?"

She couldn't believe her own voice when she said the last few words; her tone unconsciously rose, turning into a question.

This is so strange!

The collision of the two flavors did not clash; instead, it produced a wonderful chemical reaction.

The sweetness softens the spiciness.

The spiciness makes the sweetness less cloying.

"How is it?"

Fang Yu leaned closer, his face saying, "I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

Liu Yifei looked at him, her expression so complex it was hard to describe.

"...Even tastier than candied hawthorn berries."

After holding it in for a long time, she finally said this.

After saying that, she didn't hesitate any longer and took another big bite of the remaining half of the spicy strip.

This time, she didn't close her eyes; instead, she savored the moment.

The more you chew, the brighter your eyes become.

The door to a new world... no, the window to a new world... seems to have truly been opened.

Fang Yu put his hands in his pockets, watching her devour the spicy snacks, a wide smile playing on his lips.

Mr. Lu Xun was right.

The window is open.

The viewers in the live stream were completely dumbfounded.

[Holy crap! She really ate it?! She really ate it?! She really ate it!!!]

[And judging from the fairy sister's expression... it looks pretty delicious?!]

My worldview has collapsed... Spicy candy strips... Are they really that delicious? I'm going downstairs right now to buy some spicy strips and sugar!

Liu Yifei had just stuffed the last piece of spicy strip into her mouth, and with a lingering sense of satisfaction, she stuck out her tongue and gently licked the little bit of sugar residue that had stuck to her thumb.

If Sister Hong saw this subconscious action, she would be so angry that she would vomit blood on the spot.

Just then.

The courtyard gate creaked open.

Fang Yu and Liu Yifei turned their heads to look at the same time.

A few small heads squeezed through the crack in the door.

One, two, three... whoosh, five in total.

They were all children from the village.

The oldest was only seven or eight years old, and the youngest hadn't even grown all his teeth yet, with two streams of clear snot running down his nose.

They were wearing new clothes for the New Year, and their faces were frozen like ripe apples.

Leading the way was a chubby-faced little boy, wearing a brand-new blue cotton-padded jacket. He was the bravest, pushing open the door and rushing into the yard.

The four or five people behind him were clearly not as bold as him; they timidly squeezed behind the door frame, only daring to stick out half their bodies.

But everyone's eyes were fixed on the wooden board in front of Fang Yu.

The row of shiny, golden candied hawthorns reflected an amber luster in the winter sun.

For a seven- or eight-year-old child, the destructive power of this luster is equivalent to that of a nuclear bomb.

The children's throats moved up and down almost simultaneously.

"Big brother!"

The little boy in the blue cotton-padded jacket looked up, his bright, black grape-like eyes staring intently at the candied ham sausage on the wooden board.

"What is this? It smells amazing!"

Fang Yu squatted down, put one arm on his knee, and looked him in the eye.

"Tell me your name first?"

"My name is Tie Dan'er!" the little boy said in a loud voice.

"Tiedan'er." Fang Yu nodded, his expression serious. "How old are you this year?"

"Seven years old!"

"Seven years old." Fang Yu picked up the rock sugar sausage and slowly waved it in front of Tie Dan'er.

The sugar coating glittered in the sunlight.

Tie Dan'er's eyes flickered.

Fang Yu swayed again.

Tie Dan'er's head swayed slightly, and his mouth opened involuntarily.

Fang Yu suppressed a laugh and took the sausage back.

"This thing is called rock sugar ham sausage, a unique and delicious creation of mine."

He stood up, cleared his throat, and glanced at the group of snotty-nosed "little customers" at the door.

"How about it, want some?"

"I want to eat it!"

The children shouted in unison.

Fang Yu smiled, enjoying the feeling of having his food appreciated.

"but--"

He held up one finger.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"If you want to eat it, you can."

"Trade in your skills."

Tie Dan'er was stunned.

"What skills do you have?"

Fang Yu stood up and cleared his throat.

He pointed to the group of children and called out their names one by one.

"Come here and sing me a song."

"You, yes, you, recite a poem for me."

"And you, tell me a joke."

"Whoever performs well will receive my reward!"

The children looked at each other blankly when they heard that they had to perform.

A few timid ones had already started to shrink back.

But the allure of delicious food is immense.

Tie Dan thought for a moment, puffed out his little chest, and started singing at the top of his lungs.

"I found a penny on the side of the road..."

He didn't sing very well, but he had a lot of presence.

"Good, that's promising!" Fang Yu nodded in satisfaction, handing him the rock sugar sausage. "Here's a reward for you!"

Tie Dan'er was overjoyed, took it with both hands, opened his mouth wide and took a bite.

"Snap!"

His expression was exactly the same as Liu Yifei's just now.

At first, he was stunned, then his eyes widened suddenly, and then his face showed an expression of surprise as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Delicious!" he mumbled, then took another big bite.