A courtyard house, equipped with a fishing system, living in an era.

"Ping An, you've come at the perfect time. Quickly make me some braised pork."

Xu Ping'an had barely entered the martial arts academy's kitchen, and before he could even put down the fish in his hand, Zhou Yan was already ordering him around.

"I think Master Chen is almost proficient at it, isn't he?"

The man called Master Chen was probably in his 30s, a typical factory-run cook who prepared large-scale meals.

Hearing Xu Ping'an's words, he chuckled and put down the meat in his hand.

"No, Chef Xu, it would be a waste of ingredients for me to make this. You'll have to do it for me!"

Although Xu Pingan is an old cucumber painted green, according to his ID card age, the other person is almost a full twelve years older than Xu Pingan...

"Hey, Mr. Chen, you're too kind. It doesn't matter who does it."

Despite saying that, Xu Pingan still took the apron Zhou Yan handed him, put it on, and tied it...

Although reluctant, Master Chen wisely avoided watching Xu Ping'an's actions.

People are often deeply influenced by their surroundings...

In his previous life, Xu Ping'an learned his cooking skills by following along on Douyin (TikTok). After arriving in this era, he naturally followed many of the rules here.

For example, when he's cooking, other chefs can't come over and try to learn his techniques...

In fact, Xu Ping'an himself had not given any instructions, but since everyone else had consciously followed them, he would not specifically call them back to check.

That would be too fake...

With the overall upgrade in his culinary skills on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Ping'an's cooking skills are now renowned within the small circle of the factory office.

Hearing that Xu Pingan was coming to make braised pork, many of the older doctors brought their rice bowls and ran straight to the kitchen.

"Little Xu, I knew it was you the moment I smelled you..."

"Don't worry, Mr. Hu, it's not ready yet!"

"This is braised pork belly. Are you going to make sauerkraut fish later?"

"Don't you get tired of eating this every day?"

Old Hu's hair and beard were both white, and his beard was about three or four inches long. He gave him a demonstration on the spot of what it meant to blow one's beard and glare.

"Eat it every day? You have the nerve to say you eat it every day? Do you even come here every day?"

Zhou Yan, who was arranging to help Xu Ping'an weigh the fish and write the invoice, and had just arranged for someone to help him get money from the finance department, quickly came over to help him out.

"Director Hu, please don't wait here. Go to the front and find a place to sit. I'll get your food and bring it over in a bit."

Watching the other person's departing figure, Xu Pingan and Zhou Yan looked at each other in bewilderment.

"This old man must be at least 70 years old, right? How come he's so agile?"

"He's agile on his feet? And he has a keen sense of smell too!"

Xu Pingan glanced at Zhou Yan sideways.

Why didn't you say that to his face?

"Do you think I'm stupid? Old Hu's medical skills are renowned throughout Beijing. I wouldn't dare offend him, no matter who I've offended!"

Xu Pingan only made two dishes: braised pork and sauerkraut fish...

Pickled fish is a staple dish for him every time. Whenever he delivers the fish, someone helps him kill and fillet it on the spot, and he immediately starts cooking it by heating the oil in a wok.

I just made one more dish today!

"Why did you decide to make braised pork today?"

Zhou Yan, who had been speaking with great enthusiasm, suddenly looked pale.

"Didn't I tell you? Last time, a soldier with burns on both hands came in?"

"I mentioned it briefly, I think his surname is Fang, right?"

"Yes, his hands were infected and had to be amputated... When his comrades came to see him, they said that the boy had always wanted to taste what braised pork tasted like..."

Xu Pingan remained silent; he had no choice but to remain silent as well!

"You don't have enough ingredients here, and the meat isn't very good either. I'll bring him a bowl of braised pork tomorrow at noon, and you'll see what true culinary delight looks like!"

"That's great! I'll thank you on his behalf!"

"No, why should you speak for him? He thanked me; that's gratitude from a hero! You..."

"Get lost!"

Enraged, Zhou Yan slapped the money into Xu Ping'an's pocket and chased him away.

Since coming to this era, I have witnessed too many tragedies.

Xu Pingan sometimes felt numb, but at other times he still felt sad for their situation.

I took a lunchbox from Zhou Yan. When it was delivered the next day at noon, Zhou Yan only opened it and glanced at it before he started swallowing his saliva like crazy.

Four pieces of braised pork, each about an inch in size, with translucent skin, semi-transparent fat, and lean meat in a deep reddish-brown color, clearly divided into three layers, glossy and oily.

It's sprinkled with a few chopped green onions for garnish, creating a beautiful contrast of red and green!

Zhou Yan didn't dare to look any longer and quickly closed the lid of the lunchbox.

"You little rascal, you're really dishonest!"

Xu Pingan waved his hand away: "Just talk, don't get physical!"

"I accept that the meat is bad, but you say we lack ingredients here. What exactly are we lacking?"

"What? You want to find out my secret recipe?"

There's no secret recipe at all; it's just rock sugar, rice wine, scallions, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce.

The problem is, some of the ingredients were obtained directly from Lou Bancheng when he went to Lou Bancheng's house to cook recently...

Xu Pingan wouldn't do something like taking something for free, but he's shameless enough to ask for things.

Putting everything else aside, just take the soy sauce alone. Lou Bancheng uses only genuine soybean soy sauce, fermented for a sufficient amount of time, without any added water...

Can the food made from those ingredients taste the same as the cheap stuff you buy in stores?

These things that seem perfect to outsiders are nothing to Lou Bancheng.

Xu Ping'an asked for it, so he gave it to him!

After all, as Xu Ping'an's cooking skills improved, Lou Bancheng became increasingly polite to him.

They would call someone over to cook a meal, provide transportation, give them plenty of ingredients, and even give them 20 yuan as a service fee each time.

After leaving the Fifth Hospital, Xu Ping'an went straight to the Beixinqiao Trust Store.

Xu Pingan didn't have any specific goals for this trip. He planned to just browse around and buy whatever he liked.

The trust store has a very complete selection, the only problem is that everything is second-hand...

Second-hand Phoenix, Flying Pigeon, and Forever brand bicycles are priced between 100 million and 200 million depending on their condition.

Rolex, Roma, and Titoni – these are the types of secondhand watches that range in price from 100 million to 350 million, depending on the brand and model.

That makes me realize that it is indeed a bit expensive.

Second-hand radios are relatively cheaper, ranging from 20 to 50 yuan each!

After looking around, Xu Pingan's eyes settled on the mahogany furniture.

The best-quality and most expensive mahogany wardrobe costs 28 yuan, a price that seems a bit outrageous to the average person.

After all, a brand new wardrobe of the same style would cost around 10 yuan.

However, those who focus on this kind of mahogany wardrobe are not ordinary people...

Timber is easy to obtain, and wardrobes are easy to make; Xu Ping'an can do it himself. The problem is that rosewood is indeed hard to come by these days!

Crucially, this type of mahogany wardrobe also possesses considerable value retention properties.

In addition, there are cameras, musical instruments, and some artworks here.

Xu Pingan had actually considered buying a camera.

After all, for him, filming the current Beijing city, putting it in his backpack, and developing it later would be the most authentic record of this era.

I only found out after asking around that not only do you need a letter of introduction to buy a camera!

These film rolls aren't something you can just buy whenever you want...

"Have you heard? Qingshanju is releasing a batch of raw stones for sale!"

"Didn't the raw jade market close down after 49? Why are they selling it now?"

"Who knows? But I heard someone say that stones are hard to take with you..."

Xu Pingan glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

The two were six or seven meters away from him, and Xu Ping'an could only hear their whispers with the help of his mental power.

Rough stone? Is it a jadeite rough stone?

With the help of his mental strength, he has been looking for a way to monetize his skills without attracting attention.

Unfortunately, in this era, these things are hidden beneath the surface of the water, and ordinary people have little access to them!

Qingshan Residence?