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

Below the snow cliff.

Fang Daqiang picked up the frozen red Ganoderma lucidum, wrapped it in layers of soft cloth, and stuffed it into the innermost part of the snakeskin sack.

He straightened up and looked up at the sky.

"The sun waits for no one."

"Stay close, and follow in the footsteps we came from."

"We need to retreat."

Everyone knows the answer.

It gets dark quickly in the Greater Khingan Mountains in winter, and today's harvest was already outrageous enough.

Frozen wood ear mushrooms, birch mushrooms, pine cones, wild fruits, and now they've even come across rare delicacy like frozen tops.

I've completely satisfied my craving for mountain running.

Nobody's dawdling right now.

Everyone tightened the collars of their cotton-padded coats and turned to walk back.

Going downhill was less strenuous than going uphill, and with the footprints left on the way up as a guide, the group moved much faster.

After passing through a red pine forest, ahead lies a large patch of low shrubs covered in white frost.

Ju Jingyi, standing in the middle of the group, was looking down at the snow pit at her feet.

suddenly--

"boom!"

A commotion suddenly erupted from beneath the snow crust nearby.

"Puff puff puff—!"

Several dark figures sprang out of the snowdrift, kicking up a large cloud of snow that shot straight into the air.

"what!"

Xiao Ju screamed in fright, shrank back, and plopped down into the soft, thick snow.

Liu Yifei was also startled.

She instinctively grabbed Fang Yu's arm and moved half a step closer to him.

Everyone took a closer look.

The dark figures didn't fly very high; after a few flaps, they landed on the bare branches of a row of birch trees a dozen meters away.

Each of the grayish-brown furballs, with its slightly long tail, was peeking down curiously.

Realizing it wasn't a wild beast, Ju Jingyi finally got out of the snow and patted the snow off her bottom.

The next second, her eyes lit up.

"Hey! A pheasant!"

"What a plump pheasant!"

She pointed at the tree branch, her voice rising with excitement.

"Brother Yu, hurry and get the stones! Quick!"

Fang Yu ignored her.

He stood there, staring intently at the few tufts of fur on the branch.

The carefree smile that usually graced his face was completely gone now.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Gulp."

The sound of swallowing was particularly crisp in the quiet snowy forest.

"This is not a wild chicken."

Fang Yu stared intently at the birds in the tree, his tone revealing an indescribable complexity.

Extremely restrained, yet extremely greedy.

"This is a flying dragon from the old forest."

"A flying dragon?"

Hua Yu frowned as he listened from behind.

"It's just a bird, isn't it?"

"Who are you trying to fool with such a domineering name?"

Chen Daoming's expression shifted, as if he had remembered something, and he turned to look at Fang Yu.

"Xiao Fang, is this the legendary hazel grouse?"

"Teacher Chen is an expert."

Fang Yu withdrew his gaze, forcibly suppressing the urge to swallow again, and began to educate these city folks.

As the saying goes, "Dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth."

"We can still eat the donkey meat that's underground."

"But this dragon meat from heaven—"

He raised his hand and pointed to the hazel grouse on the birch branch.

"That's the thing I'm talking about."

"In ancient times, this kind of thing was a top-grade tribute that could be delivered to the capital by fast horses, exclusively for the emperor to drink fresh soup."

Upon hearing the words "tribute," Ju Jingyi instantly perked up.

"Make soup? How?"

"Should we add ginseng and deer antler? Is it one of those particularly complex, highly nourishing soups?"

"What kind of ginseng? What kind of deer antler?"

Fang Yu waved his hand, his expression as if the pot had already been placed on the stove.

"That's a terrible waste!"

"Authentic Flying Dragon Soup, the recipe is ridiculously simple."

"Chop the meat into chunks and throw it into the casserole."

"No scallions, no ginger, no star anise, not even a drop of oil."

"Let's use the cleanest snow water from the Greater Khingan Mountains right under our feet."

Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat.

At this point, Fang Yu couldn't help but speak up again.

"Gulp."

He swallowed again.

"Once the water boils, that primal, unique aroma bursts forth from the pot lid."

"Good heavens, it could rip your skull open!"

Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment.

Fang Yu closed his eyes, his face full of rapture, as if he were savoring a fine wine.

"The soup that's been stewed is as clear as plain water, without a single impurity."

"But you only need to fill a bowl and take a small sip..."

He paused.

"That freshness, that aroma, goes straight to my brain."

"It'll make you chew your tongue and swallow it all at once."

"After eating the meat, even the bones smelled of pine nuts."

"You'll savor the taste for three days and three nights, and you won't even want to rinse your mouth!"

Quiet.

The only sound in the entire forest was the heavy breathing of the group.

Liu Yifei quietly licked her lips, and her stomach, quite uncooperatively, rumbled.

Ju Jingyi's tears were almost flowing from the corners of her mouth.

Even Hua Yu, who had just been complaining that "it's just a bird," started to have a glint in his eye.

His gloved hands began to scramble through the thick snow.

They were obviously looking for the kind of clods of dirt that Fang Yu used to kill birch mushrooms.

But the ground was covered in knee-deep snow, and there wasn't even a speck of dirt to be found, let alone clods.

In a hurry.

Hua Yu reached into his collar and ripped off the top-quality, fully green jade pendant worth hundreds of thousands of yuan from his neck!

"Snapped!"

It slammed heavily into Fang Yu's palm.

"Fang Yu! Attack it!"

"Shoot it down!"

Hua Yu pointed to the flying dragon on the tree branch.

"I can't find clods of dirt, use this instead!"

"We absolutely have to make a pot of grouse soup tonight!"

This moment.

Teacher Hua's willingness to go to great lengths to enjoy a bowl of delicious soup is so real it's heartbreaking.

The live stream room was already getting hungry from Fang Yu's words.

As a result, Teacher Hua's move made everyone laugh so hard their laughter filled the screen.

[Holy crap! Using a top-grade jadeite worth hundreds of thousands as a hidden weapon to hunt pheasants? Teacher Hua, are you crazy?!]

"I can't find a clod of dirt, use this instead" — Hahahaha!

[French croissants fed to squirrels, top-grade jade used to fight dragons! Teacher Hua single-handedly raised prices across the entire Greater Khingan Mountains!]

[Teacher Hua: I've never been this hungry in my life! I'm going to eat this dragon today! Even Jesus couldn't stop it! I'm telling you!]

Everyone present stared wide-eyed.

They waited for Fang Yu to deliver another fatal blow, just like he had done with the birch sap.

But Fang Yu sighed softly.

He weighed the full-green jade in his hand.

Then, he looked at Hua Yu as if he were an idiot.

"Teacher Hua."

"Using this brand worth hundreds of thousands as a concealed weapon is certainly extravagant, and it works quite well too."

He held up three fingers and waved them in front of Hua Yu.

"But if you dare to shoot down this dragon, you can make soup from it."

"I promise, we'll change into matching striped shirts as soon as we come down the mountain and head straight in to work on the sewing machine."

"Minimum three-year term, including room and board."

Hua Yu's expression froze instantly.

"Huh...what does that mean?"