From a country cook to a master chef

Who put so much firewood in my yard?

That's absolutely outrageous.

Lin Jue frowned as he walked into the house. Even though he had learned martial arts and lit a fire, he still felt a bone-chilling cold.

After warming himself up by the firewood, Lin Jue carried the iron pot outside, broke through the ice layer that was a finger's width thick, and brought the pot of ice back into the house.

As the firewood heated the pot, the ice slowly melted. He silently took out the Spirit-Controlling Gourd, first filling it with ice water. Once it turned into a crystal-clear green liquid, he poured it back into the pot and boiled it.

"After drinking a gourd of it last time, a wisp of internal energy was accidentally generated within my body. I wonder if it will still be effective if I drink it again?"

Looking at the steaming hot spirit-serving gourd water in the pot, Lin Jue pondered for a moment, but did not blindly drink it. He took the leftover pork tenderloin from a few days ago, sliced ​​it, made a dipping sauce, and took a bite of meat each time, stirring it seven or eight times, not too much or too little.

Even with the blessing of the spirit gourd water, the meat slices didn't taste as good as I had imagined.

Compared to the fresh broth hot pot I've had in Chaoshan, the difference is truly enormous.

Could it be because we're missing scallion, ginger, red dates, and pork bone broth?

Before half a cup of tea was finished, a pound of pork tenderloin had entered Lin Jue's stomach. After resting for a while, he stood up, assumed a horse-riding stance, focused his energy in his dantian, and closed his eyes to feel the changes in the energy within his body.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, there was still no significant movement within his body, so Lin Jue's gaze returned to the pot of soup.

Do we really have to finish it?

After taking a deep breath and exerting a lot of effort, the entire pot of spirit-summoning gourd water was empty.

This time, Lin Jue practiced his stance training in the room. He had already mastered the 72 stance training techniques of the Eight Paths of Pine Crane Long Fist, and now he practiced them at will.

Still as a pine tree taking root on the ground, dynamic as a crane spreading its wings and soaring into the sky, it combines strength and gentleness in its fast and slow movements.

He looked every bit the martial arts master!

After finishing the first round, just as he was about to do it again, Lin Jue suddenly felt his internal energy surging. Sometimes it rushed like a roaring river, and sometimes it flowed like a quiet lake. The energy flowed throughout his body, trying to peel away the impurities hidden in his flesh, bones and muscles.

An unimaginable sense of fatigue washed over me.

It feels like my body has been hollowed out.

Lin Jue involuntarily collapsed to the ground.

Under the flickering light of the firewood, his body glowed with a faint green luminescence, emitting wisps of steam. This steam turned into water vapor upon cooling, mixing with impurities expelled from his body, causing him to reek of a foul odor and appear extremely slovenly.

……

Early the next morning.

"Young Master Lin, is Young Master Lin home?"

Hearing someone calling his name, Lin Jue opened his eyes, rubbed his head, got up from the ground, and staggered to his feet to open the door.

It turned out to be Wang, the matchmaker from the next street. She was slightly overweight, wearing a black round hat, a peony-colored scarf around her neck, and waving a worn-out folding fan.

"Young Master Lin, do you want a wife? Just say the word, and I'll send one over to you tomorrow."

"want!"

Lin Jue was still sleepy and didn't hear what the other person said clearly. He yawned and agreed, then closed the door and planned to go to bed for a nap.

Since joining the martial arts school, he has been receiving food every morning.

"Wait a minute, didn't Granny Wang just say she was sending a bride?"

Reaching the bedside, Lin Jue realized he had said the wrong thing and instantly sobered up. He quickly turned around to open the door, but Granny Wang had already left.

"They're not really going to send me a wife, are they?"

Lin Jue was wide awake at this moment. Smelling the stench on his body, he didn't care about anything else and quickly boiled a pot of hot water. He mixed it with cold water and used it to wash off the filth.

"Could it be because we drank that pot of soup last night?"

Recalling what happened last night, Lin Jue calmed down and felt the changes in his body, and was immediately pleasantly surprised.

At this moment, two strands of energy existed within his body, like two small fish playing and frolicking in his dantian.

"Could it be that the Spirit-Controlling Gourd Water can have a cleansing and marrow-purifying effect?"

Just as Lin Jue was lost in his speculation, a lively commotion suddenly erupted outside, with the sounds of gongs, drums, and trumpets.

Judging from this sound, it must be a wedding celebration for some girl.

Thinking about his adventure in Wolf Smoke Valley, Lin Jue changed into a black outfit, intending to join in the fun, share in the good fortune, and bring good luck to the trip.

On the way back to the groom's house with the wedding procession, Lin Jue curiously inquired about the situation of the bride and groom's families.

Upon inquiring, my previously good mood instantly turned heavy.

The bride was a refugee who had just moved into Jiming Lane, while the groom was the son of a rice shop owner on Dongning Street in Jing'anfang. He was ugly and proficient in all vices, including eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

I heard he has a bad temper and is sure to beat his wife.

The poor bride was only fourteen years old.

She was still a child.

After some investigation, Lin Jue understood why matchmakers had been coming to his door to arrange marriages lately.

On the one hand, during those famine years, to outsiders, he was an orphan with money to learn martial arts, and strong and healthy—he seemed like the perfect person to entrust one's life to.

On the other hand, the snow disaster has caused a sharp decline in the population of Dawu, and the government wants to increase the population by encouraging marriage and childbirth.

Three days ago, the government issued a notice:

Old men should not marry young women, and young men should not marry old women; the principle of eugenics should be encouraged.

Anyone who successfully arranges a marriage can receive one tael of silver from the government office.

For those who get married, the couple can share a house, plus a one-time marriage bonus of five taels of silver.

For any pregnant woman, the government will assist in the delivery. If the child is a boy, the government will reward her with two jugs of wine and a sheep; if the child is a girl, the government will reward her with two jugs of wine and a pig.

For those who have three sons, the government will help raise two of them; for those who have two sons, the government will help raise one.

Families with children will have their taxes reduced by half.

Lin Jue stood in the wind and snow, not following the wedding procession any further.

From the refugees' perspective, these decrees issued by the Grand Military Government seem to be beneficial to their survival.

There is no age limit for marriage, and the rewards are real. You can receive five taels of silver and a wedding house upon completion of the marriage.

Keep in mind that an average person's annual expenses are only two taels of silver!

To prevent people from using marriage to swindle money from the government, the Great Wu Kingdom stipulated that anyone who marries and does not have children within a year will be fined ten taels of silver and have their marital home confiscated.

That was truly a ruthless move!

"They've gone mad, they've all gone mad!"

Lin Jue sighed deeply and silently returned to Jiming Lane.

Two streams of energy emerged within him, and he felt a qualitative improvement in his strength. His walking speed increased significantly, and his internal energy seemed inexhaustible, which undoubtedly boosted his confidence.

But before heading to Wolf Smoke Valley, there was one more thing he needed to do:

Both the beast-repelling incense and the beast-attracting incense are soaked in water from the spirit-taming gourd.

"Now that I have a wisp of energy within me, I wonder if the mutated black snake has been affected?"

Thinking of the mutated black snake in the spirit beast pouch, Lin Jue opened the pouch and found that the black snake did not react, so he simply poured it out.

The black snake was coiled up in a circle, motionless, like a wooden sculpture, its life or death unknown.

Calm down and let your consciousness sink into your sea of ​​consciousness. The Spirit Seal glows faintly, and the body of the three-clawed black dragon appears. The dragon's head, topped with two horns, is buried in the center of its coiled body, lifeless.

Lin Jue didn't understand why this was happening. Could it be related to the newly generated energy within his body?

He wasn't sure if this conjecture was true, and he even began to have some doubts about the Spirit Summoning Technique that used the Spirit Summoning Gourd Seal.

Since obtaining the Spirit Summoning Technique, he, who cherishes his life, has not yet had a chance to formally cultivate it. Now, with so many unexpected events, he dares not try it lightly.

Humans have explored the vast ocean in canoes and attempted to fly into the sky in rockets.

Curiosity inspires the urge to take risks, and adventure ignites the torch of human civilization.

Lin Jue took a deep breath and decided to cultivate the Spirit Control Technique.