CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28: THE SAGE’S PRINCIPLE, COOKING SMALL FISH

Chen Xu later firmly stopped Chen An from wanting to push the broken silver back to himself.

He warned him, "Go back and return this silver coins, as for the matter of repairing the canal, big brother must not go!"

When he said this, Chen An’s eyes immediately turned red: "But, although we only received three taels, the authorities said from the beginning that if we want to back out, we must return at least ten taels of silver!"

"Ten taels?" Chen Xu frowned.

But obviously, this was the usual way some people operated.

Moreover, from top to bottom, for a laborer to end up with three taels per person would be a display of the officials’ mercy.

Backing out and returning ten taels is simply no big deal.

Chen Xu said, "Leave the matter of lacking silver coins to me, you must go back and make it clear, big brother must not go to repair the canal!"

He thought about it, and fearing the family might outwardly comply but inwardly oppose, he added a special sentence: "I am determined to take the academy exam this year, I have a 99% chance of passing. Once I gain fame, if it becomes known that my big brother once went to repair the canal, this would surely be a lifelong stain on me.

Little An, do you understand?"

Speaking so seriously, Chen An immediately nervously hugged the three taels of silver back to his bosom and strongly nodded: "Second Brother, don’t worry, I will go back and make the situation clear, I absolutely will not let big brother go to repair the canal."

Chen Xu patted his younger brother’s shoulder, this younger brother was merely fifteen years old this year.

In the previous life, a fifteen-year-old teenager would still be in school, studying junior high, but Chen An was already managing household and field affairs, taking care of everything inside and outside the home.

Although a teenager, his slender shoulders seemed to carry an adult’s strength.

The two brothers sat opposite each other in the kitchen, and Chen Xu brought out the leftover porridge and pancakes from the morning, inviting Chen An to eat together.

Chen An took out a pre-cooked chicken from the basket, and once the chicken appeared, the aroma of meat instantly filled the entire kitchen.

A little mouse in a distant crevice squeaked urgently: "So fragrant, so fragrant, it’s too fragrant! Master Jiu, I really want to eat..."

Master Jiu responded slowly: "Did you hear that young man say, this is the scholar’s mother killing a family chicken to prepare for his birthday feast. We absolutely must not covet even this food. Do you understand, Ah Shi."

The little mouse squeaked urgently: "I understand, I understand! Master Jiu, I’m just salivating, I’m not greedy."

...

The little mouse kept squeaking about the fragrance, regrettably this chicken was not made by Chen Xu himself, so he received no likes from the little mouse.

Chen Xu had a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, as he chatted and ate with Chen An, during which Chen An continuously praised how well Chen Xu cooked the porridge and how tasty the pancakes were.

[Like +1+1...]

So even though Chen Xu didn’t receive the likes from the mouse demon, he managed to fill up the five likes Chen An could offer.

The two brothers talked mainly about Chen Xu inquiring about the family’s situation.

Chen An said, "Spring plowing has begun, and people in the village all want to borrow our family’s ox, but father said our ox is getting old, can’t be lent out easily, or it might be overworked and reduce its lifespan."

He further said, "Little sister practices her writing at home every day; in our family besides you, she is the smartest, and mother mentioned it’s a pity she’s a girl, otherwise she would send her to study too.

Little sister even comes to me and big brother daily to learn characters, sigh, it’s not that we’re not diligent, it’s just that these peculiar characters make us dizzy after seeing too many!

Mother is already looking for a match for big brother, saying she has already found a suitable family, and will settle once big brother returns from the canal repair...well, we’re not repairing the canal anymore."

After listening, Chen Xu commented: "Not lending the ox is correct, if little sister loves reading, let her read well, perhaps there might be a chance to go to the academy in the future. As for mother finding a match for big brother...no rush, waiting a couple of months wouldn’t be too late either."

Chen An nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining, and he constantly shared village stories and gossip with Chen Xu.

When the two brothers got to talking, Chen An’s chatterbox seemed unstoppable. After not seeing each other for a while, he was initially a little afraid of Chen Xu, but once he started talking, he became the happiest talker.

Later, Chen Xu selected some ingredients and made a large basket of small round cakes about the size of apricots.

These small cakes were also of the simple kind, made with basic ingredients.

But because of Chen Xu’s talent of [My Cooking Always Tastes Better], even simple small cakes were made especially fragrant and sweet by him.

Chen An at first was very puzzled; he knew Second Brother lived alone and sometimes had to cook for himself, which wasn’t surprising.

But making so many, and doing it so skillfully, Chen An found it hard to understand.

Chen Xu said, "I’ve gradually come to understand a principle, that all the flavors of the mortal world, the classics of sages, can be found between pots and stoves.

The sages once said, ’governing a great nation is like cooking small fish.’ As later generations chasing the ideals of sages, why not start to unravel the great path from cooking small dishes?"

This reasoning was impeccable, at least for Chen An, he could not refute it.

In the end, Chen An listened to even more profound insights, making his head spin, then left with a large bag of small cakes, carrying two baskets bidding farewell to Chen Xu.

Chen Xu asked him to take the small cakes back to the village and tell the villagers these were donations from a kind person.

If the villagers want to taste them, they must first praise the food’s deliciousness sincerely.

Chen An was again dazed, foolishly asking: "Second Brother, why not directly say it’s from you? If you say it’s from you, the villagers will be grateful to you."

"If I say it’s from me, then after giving this time, would I give again next time? If I give every time, wouldn’t it be endless? Little An, you must not nurture people’s greed in their hearts."

Chen An let out an "ah," although not fully understanding, but just feeling that Second Brother’s words made a lot of sense, he kept this reasoning firmly in his mind.

Chen Xu was currently in the stage of quickly accumulating strength, so he seized every opportunity to gain likes.

But he knew that this habit of giving out food frequently was unsustainable, so he intended it as a one-off deal.

Once he unlocked the Food God Cultivation Technique Scroll, there should be more suitable methods for obtaining likes over the long term.

After sending off Chen An, Chen Xu left a small chicken leg on the stove, then returned to his room and summoned the Food Cauldron Celestial Book.

He planned to first consume the existing resources within the Food Cauldron Celestial Book, and in the evening, it would be the right time to settle accounts with Shopkeeper Sun Wu of Boya Studio!

Just a while ago, he had sporadically gained some likes, and now the Free Attribute Points on the panel were abundant.

[Accumulated Likes: 663]

[Free Attribute Points: 18]

[Fireworks Value: 313]

Without hesitation, Chen Xu immediately consumed 100 points of Fireworks Value to enter the Fire and Smoke Kitchen.

He started adding points.

He added three points each to Qi Blood and Essence, and none to Divine Soul.

Because his Divine Soul was originally three points more than Qi Blood and Essence, now with these attribute points added, Chen Xu’s three treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit instantly returned to a balanced state.