He took the money and the two fish, heading home in high spirits.

But as soon as he returned and carried the fish cooler into the kitchen, he spotted the small cooler containing the earth dragon.

Only then did he remember he still had it.

This… which one should he cook tonight?

As for the mud snails, he had washed them the night before and left them to pickle. They were ready to eat today.

Chu Mingcheng opened the small fish cooler and saw that the oxygen pump had stopped working—its battery was dead.

He picked up the earth dragon. It was still wriggling, quite lively.

"Oh dear, you're barely hanging on. I doubt you'll make it to tomorrow. I'd better deal with you tonight!"

He looked from the fish to the earth dragon and finally decided that the earth dragon's time was running short. Tonight's menu was settled.

Chu Mingcheng plugged the small cooler's oxygen pump in to charge, then drove back to the market and bought a locally raised Muscovy duck.

On his way back to the complex, just as he was passing Jiang Luoluo's apartment, her door opened.

She was holding a bag of trash, clearly heading out to dispose of it.

"Ah Cheng, when did you get back? Is that duck… are you planning to cook that earth dragon?"

Jiang Luoluo hadn't expected to run into Chu Mingcheng. When she saw the already-butchered Muscovy duck in his hand, she instantly knew his plans for the evening.

"I just got back. I was about to come find you, but then I saw the earth dragon was barely hanging on, so I rushed to the market to buy a Muscovy duck."

"Barely hanging on?" Jiang Luoluo looked skeptical.

Although she didn't know much about seafood, she knew that eels were hardier than most sea fish. It shouldn't be dying so quickly.

But seeing that Chu Mingcheng had already prepared the duck, she didn't bother questioning him further. After all, she was just a friend.

Since she couldn't stop him, another thought sparked Jiang Luoluo's interest.

"Ah Cheng, can I make the earth dragon soup tonight? Please?"

Chu Mingcheng found it hard to resist her eager eyes and slightly coquettish tone. He spinelessly handed over the Muscovy duck. "I don't know how to make it. You do it!"

"Heehee, thanks!" Jiang Luoluo happily took the duck, tossed her trash bag back into her apartment, and as she headed inside, added, "Ah Cheng, go get the earth dragon. We'll eat at my place tonight."

"Okay!"

Chu Mingcheng agreed, went back to get the earth dragon, placed it in a washing basin, and brought it over.

When he entered Jiang Luoluo's kitchen, he was stunned to find she had lined up all the seasonings in a perfectly straight row.

Since she had only made it once and her memory was fuzzy, she had her phone out again, following the steps in a video.

Chu Mingcheng leaned over to look at the video and was speechless. "I mean, it's one thing to follow a tutorial, but do you really have to use the exact same clay pot as the one in the video?"

"Using the same one ensures accuracy!" Jiang Luoluo said matter-of-factly.

"..." Chu Mingcheng was silent.

"Ah Cheng, can you kill the earth dragon for me? I'll start on the Muscovy duck soup first."

"Sure."

Chu Mingcheng first checked Jiang Luoluo's thermos, saw there was hot water, then picked up the earth dragon, bled it with a knife, and after it had bled out, scalded it with the hot water.

A quick scald was enough; otherwise, the skin would break.

Then he used the knife to scrape off the slime, scrubbed it with coarse salt, and rinsed it clean.

Finally, he used scissors to cut open the belly and remove the innards.

The earth dragon wasn't large, and its innards had no edible value, so they were all discarded.

He snipped off the tail end with the scissors. Chu Mingcheng had originally intended to cut it into sections, but remembering how Jiang Luoluo had fried the whole sea eel, he hesitated and left it intact.

He looked at Jiang Luoluo and was speechless again.

At some point, she had taken out a small electronic scale, the kind that could measure down to a single gram.

Following the amounts in the video, she precisely weighed each seasoning and poured them into paper cups first.

At this rate, the only thing missing was a white lab coat and rubber gloves. It was ridiculous.

"Luoluo, are you sure you're cooking and not mixing some potion in a lab?"

"Of course I'm cooking. Is there a problem?"

Jiang Luoluo's tone was again one of complete confidence.

Chu Mingcheng's mouth twitched. "No problem. It's just... very precise."

He decided to just let her be.

Chu Mingcheng sat down at the dining table. Finding her cooking process quite entertaining, he took out his phone and filmed a short clip.

An hour later, at five-thirty, Jiang Luoluo's Muscovy Duck and Earth Dragon Soup was ready.

But, as was her custom, she took out the restorative medicinal wine...

Chu Mingcheng quickly stopped her, alarmed. "We don't need to add that, do we?"

"We have to. The video added it!" Jiang Luoluo refused with a serious expression.

"The person in the video is elderly. It's fine for them. I don't need it, really!" Chu Mingcheng didn't back down this time. Earth dragon soup was already very potent. Adding this on top—would he be able to sleep tonight?

"What does age have to do with it? Isn't it just seasoning?"

"You don't know what this restorative medicinal wine does?"

"I do. Isn't it just a fortifying wine..." Jiang Luoluo trailed off as she understood. She hadn't thought about it in that way before, but living in this information age, she wasn't ignorant.

Her face turned a little red. She held the medicinal wine, unsure whether to pour it or put it down.

In the end, her obsessive-compulsive tendencies won out. She said weakly, "I don't think a little bit of medicinal wine will have that strong an effect, right?"

"Of course not..." Chu Mingcheng also knew that a little medicinal wine wouldn't be that dramatic, but he was afraid that one plus one wouldn't equal two.

After his physique had improved, his energy had also increased. What if a little medicinal wine pushed him over the edge? He wouldn't be able to sleep at all tonight.

But in the end, he didn't stop her. He also felt he was making too big a deal out of nothing. He was already eating the earth dragon; a little wine probably wouldn't hurt.

With the soup ready, the two began to eat.

"Wow, this tastes amazing!"

After a sip of the soup, Jiang Luoluo found that with the same precise method, the flavor was on a whole new level. This was the effect of quality ingredients.

"Of course. If it didn't taste good, the earth dragon wouldn't be so famous in Minnan," Chu Mingcheng said with a smile.

He found that although Jiang Luoluo's cooking methods were ridiculous, she actually did an excellent job.

But he controlled himself and didn't eat too much of the soup. When the two were satisfied, there was still half a pot left.

They let it cool, put it in the refrigerator, and would finish it tomorrow.

That night, as usual, he kept Jiang Luoluo company while she studied.

Late at night, he went back to sleep and discovered a serious problem.

Under the covers, he felt hot after just a short while.

Without the covers, the temperature had dropped today, and he felt cold.

Covering only his stomach, his cold hands and feet kept him from falling asleep.

Turning on the air conditioner to cool down didn't seem to help much.

In the end, he tossed and turned all night, only drifting off into a restless sleep as dawn broke.

The next day, it was still raining outside. For the first time, Chu Mingcheng slept in. It wasn't until noon that he groggily woke up.

He looked at the time, feeling helpless.

But today was quiet. Jiang Luoluo hadn't come looking for him, and Old Man Wei hadn't called him to go fishing either.

In reality, Jiang Luoluo was in the same boat as him. Last night, her body had been burning up, and she had tossed and turned, unable to sleep, only falling asleep after dawn. She was still in a drowsy, half-dreaming state.

And Old Man Wei—last night's "flat bean curd" had been quite the affair. He had boasted about the fifteen-jin red seabream as if he had battled a sea monster for three days and three nights.

Then, without realizing it, he had drunk too much with his friends.

Today, he was also feeling miserable. The aftereffects of heavy drinking were unpleasant. How could he have the energy to go fishing?

Chu Mingcheng had slept all morning and wasn't as tired anymore.

He got up and first went to check on the fish. He had changed the oxygen pump last night, and they were still alive and well.

But it was already noon, and the oxygen pump had been off for a short while. He replaced it with the charged one and continued to aerate the water.

It was only because there were just two fish with enough space that they hadn't died after the oxygen was off for a while.

Then he changed his clothes and went to the kitchen to make something simple for lunch.

He opened the refrigerator, took out two eggs and some milk, and made a simple egg and milk congee to eat something light.

When the congee was ready, he placed it on the table to cool and went to Jiang Luoluo's to call her.

He knocked twice, and the door opened. She was combing her hair, clearly having been awake for a while.

"I made some congee for lunch. Let's have something simple to fill our stomachs. We can have a big meal tonight."

"That's fine, I'm good with anything!" Jiang Luoluo nodded, then looked a little embarrassed. "You're up so late today. You didn't sleep well either, did you?"

"It was just a bit hot yesterday. I had insomnia."

"Me too..."

"Haha!" they both laughed simultaneously.

The two, sharing the same predicament, looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing.

The earth dragon soup was indeed a bit too potent for young people with plenty of vitality. The heat from within was unstoppable.

"So what do we do with the rest?" After laughing, Jiang Luoluo was a little worried. She didn't want to experience last night's ordeal again.

"We'll drink it at noon. At most, it'll be a bit warm in the afternoon, and it will dissipate by night," Chu Mingcheng thought for a moment and said.

Wasting it was out of the question. As long as it wasn't at night, it shouldn't be a big problem.

Jiang Luoluo nodded in agreement, went back to her room, took the earth dragon soup out of the refrigerator, and came over to Chu Mingcheng's to eat.

While they were eating, Chu Mingcheng suddenly thought of the "flat bean curd" Wei Jianguo had mentioned. He still didn't know how it was prepared, so he asked, "Luoluo, you've lived here for so long—you know about 'flat bean curd,' right?"

Jiang Luoluo nodded. "I do. By the way, how did you learn about that after only being here for a few days?"

"That old man called me over to go fishing yesterday. He took two fish and gave the rest to me, saying he was taking his fish to have 'flat bean curd.'"

"Wow, the old man you met is really nice. He was so generous, giving you all those fish."

"He's a very good old man. Just a bit childlike, very interesting." Chu Mingcheng nodded in agreement. Old Man Wei was indeed a good person and took good care of him.

"By the way, I also brought back a red seabream and a sea red grouper. How about we have some 'flat bean curd' tonight?"

Jiang Luoluo readily agreed. "Sure, leave it to me. I know how to make it."

After eating, the two went back to their respective activities.

Chu Mingcheng didn't go out fishing again today. He had been studying for a week, and tomorrow he could finally book his exam.

In the afternoon, he added subtitles to the edited videos, had Jiang Luoluo—who was tired from dancing—do the voiceover, and then posted two videos to his account.

A new account with a few videos didn't get many views at first. Chu Mingcheng posted them and then didn't bother checking.

But in the afternoon, he received a call from his mother, saying that Mimi had already given birth. The three kittens were very healthy, and she even sent him a photo.

To Chu Mingcheng's surprise, he found that none of the three kittens looked like Mimi.