Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning had an argument, and this time they were evenly matched, causing her to confidently devour her food with gusto.

The shredded pork with hot peppers was very spicy, so she took a few big bites of steamed buns to alleviate the spiciness.

To further relieve the heat, she picked up her jujube rice soup.

She knew the temperature of the rice soup had cooled down a lot, and drinking a sip of the sweet soup at this moment would definitely help.

Xue Yuantong swallowed a mouthful of soup, and unexpectedly, the soup was much hotter than before!

When her mouth felt spicy, drinking a sip of hot water was intensely stimulating. The combination of heat and spice made Xue Yuantong's tears flow out.

It looked as if she were crying from the spiciness.

Jiang Ning picked up a slice of fish-flavored eggplant, detached from everything as if it had nothing to do with him; he was just focused on eating.

"Wuu wuu wuu." Xue Yuantong felt heartbroken.

The pride she had felt in winning over Jiang Ning instantly vanished.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning took out a tissue and handed it to her, saying with concern,

"Quick, wipe your face."

Xue Yuantong dabbed at the corner of her eyes, her tear-filled eyes glistening,

"Jiang Ning, you are so nice."

Jiang Ning said indifferently, "You only realize now? I've always treated you well."

"Remember not to argue with me next time," he said.

"Mmm okay, let's make up."

While they bickered, Aunt Gu watched quietly, and now that they had made up, she continued to watch quietly, rarely speaking.

Aunt Gu not only didn't find it noisy, but she also genuinely enjoyed it.

It was getting dark, and Aunt Gu turned on the kitchen light, which was an incandescent bulb emitting a soft yellow glow.

'Now that life is better at home, when I reach the age, I'll talk to Jiang Ning's parents,' Aunt Gu thought.

'With him taking care of her, Tongtong won't be bullied.'

Tongtong was naive and foolish, but as a parent who raised her, she knew Tongtong's thoughts better than anyone.

'So sharp yet so simple.'

That was the most genuine thought in Aunt Gu's mind.

Actually, it was her fault initially; she always thought about providing Tongtong with the best living environment and not letting her know the hardships of the outside world, so she pampered Tongtong.

Even if Aunt Gu suffered outside, she never told Tongtong.

She didn't put any pressure on her, even if Tongtong didn't do well in the middle school exams, Aunt Gu still had no complaints.

In fact, before the middle school exams, she had thought, what if Tongtong did poorly?

Even if the performance was poor, she would never blame her.

If Tongtong didn't do well, she would let her study at a vocational school, but she heard that vocational schools were chaotic, and she couldn't come home every day and had to stay in the school dormitory, which she heard was also messy; she was afraid Tongtong might be bullied.

If Tongtong didn't want to go to vocational school, Aunt Gu would simply keep her at home for more safety.

Aunt Gu had lost her husband, and in her heart, as long as her daughter was safe and healthy, that was her biggest wish for her daughter's life.

She's not like her sister Hua Fengmei, who is solely focused on her daughter Chuchu, making it big and living a wealthy life.

Aunt Gu never thought that much; she wasn't capable, had never left Yuzhou City in her life, didn't know the wonders of the world, and she thought being safe was good enough, that being safe and healthy was better than anything.

Even if Tongtong didn't go to school and stayed at home, she could teach her own skills; she didn't have much to offer, just able to teach Tongtong embroidery.

Letting Tongtong embroider at home when there was nothing to do, her daughter was smart and learned quickly; once she had enough skills, she could make a few hundred dollars a month to buy her own snacks.

It was because she usually had to work and worried about Tongtong feeling lonely at home, but it seemed it didn't matter; she often let her daughter go back to the countryside to play.

Everything was about whatever made her daughter happy.

It was precisely Aunt Gu's way of thinking that raised the current Xue Yuantong.

...

After finishing her meal, Xue Yuantong leaned back in a small chair.

"I really miss that goose we had that day!"

Several days after Jiang Ning was chased by the goose, he found the person who raised the goose nearby and paid to buy that aggressive goose.

Then Jiang Ning was in charge of the killing and plucking.

Xue Yuantong took charge of the cutting.

Together, they stewed the goose in a large iron pot, the aroma spreading far that day.

The neighbor's local dog gathered at the doorstep, desperately waiting, only for a bone.

"I really want to eat lamb," Xue Yuantong said again.

Jiang Ning glanced at her, thinking about how she had deliberately provoked the little lamb the day before, probably with this thought in mind?

'Pretty smart,' Jiang Ning thought.

"What are you looking at?" Xue Yuantong felt Jiang Ning's gaze was very impolite.

"Can't I look?" Jiang Ning responded.

Xue Yuantong: "You're definitely criticizing me in your mind!"

Jiang Ning didn't bother with her; after finishing the meal at Xue Yuantong's house, he left like a young master, with a toothpick in his mouth.

With Aunt Gu there, the chore of cleaning up the dishes didn't fall on him.

"Mom, look at Jiang Ning, what an attitude!" Xue Yuantong sought an ally.

Having nothing to do just after the meal, she wanted to vent on Jiang Ning and practice her skills.

Aunt Gu said, "Don't be unreasonably troublesome."

Xue Yuantong was dumbfounded, that was her mother, and she wasn't siding with her!

Could it be... that her mother no longer loved her?

"Sob."

A feeling of sadness and pity welled up in Xue Yuantong's heart, and Aunt Gu said,

"Don't be unreasonable, first look through old issues for an excuse, then pick a fight with Jiang Ning."

...

Fourth Middle School.

They had just returned from a spring outing, and the classroom of class eight was a scene of desolation.

Having walked over twenty kilometers in a day, the students were almost exhausted.

Shan Qingrong stood at the lectern, looking at the students below who were too tired to even show spirit, and he himself also wondered why the school had organized this outing.

Wasn't this just causing trouble for everyone? What was the point?

Moreover, after returning from the outing, the school had assigned another task.

Shan Qingrong announced, "This outing, everyone's performance, well, was very good."

He paused because he thought of Cui Yu from his class, and after learning what happened during the drowning incident, Shan Qingrong didn't know what to say for a moment, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

Hearing Shan Qingrong's words, the classmates looked in Cui Yu's direction, but the first thing they noticed was not Cui Yu, but Meng Gui beside him.

His hair, a few centimeters tall, stood straight up, and his height had reached around one meter eighty.

Cui Yu, realizing everyone's gaze, continued to sit quietly, undisturbed.

In fact, the incident that afternoon had made him feel very ashamed; the spring outing had thoroughly ruined his image among his classmates!

He felt utterly hopeless, thinking all prospects were lost.

He had been dejected all afternoon, but later he asked Meng Gui.

Meng Gui had said, "Considering your previous behavior in class, do you really think you had an image left?"

At the same time, Meng Gui also demonstrated a skiing motion.

Cui Yu didn't struggle with it anymore, as Meng Gui told him, life is a constant process of making mistakes and correcting them.

Yes, he, Cui Yu, had only made a mistake that every man in the world could make.

Shan Qingrong said, "Overall, this spring outing was very meaningful. Since it was so meaningful, the school wants to ensure that students preserve these beautiful memories, and specifically assigned a little homework."

"Everyone should submit an essay on the theme of this spring outing to the class monitor by next Wednesday. It should be no less than eight hundred words, and everyone must participate."

Shan Qingrong actually felt this was a bit cruel, but it was the principal's directive, and he couldn't object.

"Huh?"

The students were stunned.

"An essay?"

"Homeroom teacher, we're exhausted, and now there's an essay!" Yu Wen was furious.

The spring outing experience was already poor, and now they had to write an essay.

Lu Qiqi raised her hand and asked, "Can someone not write it?"

Her question sparked a glimmer of hope among everyone, who all turned to look at the homeroom teacher.

Shan Qingrong said, "Sure, you can go and talk to Mr. Yan about it. If he agrees, then you don't have to write."

The students' faces fell. Mr. Yan, the senior grade director, was known for his stern appearance and often patrolled the classrooms of various grades in First Year.

He had even caught students who went online outside of school, and his authority was not to be challenged.

The students were disheartened.

Chen Siyu couldn't believe it, recalling the scene of Xue Yuantong writing an essay before the departure, and she had guessed it correctly.

"What's wrong?" Bai Yuxia saw her looking puzzled.

Chen Siyu whispered, "Xue Yuantong had already finished her essay in advance."

Bai Yuxia: ...

After the homeroom teacher made the announcement, despite everyone internally resisting, they could only silently bear it.

Just like later when entering society, when the boss asks you to work overtime, you curse under your breath, but you dare not rebel.

For Guo Kunnan, the silver lining was that the homeroom teacher had finally finished talking, and he could go eat braised chicken.

Delicious braised chicken!

Guo Kunnan, Hu Jun, and Dan Kaiquan, three of them, left school together and entered the braised chicken restaurant.

As soon as they entered, Hu Jun sensed something was amiss.

A strange middle-aged man, smiling, greeted them,

"Students, please have a seat. See what you'd like to eat. We have braised chicken, braised ribs, everything on the menu, and you can order extra dishes."

Hu Jun looked at the boss and suddenly asked,

"Is there a new owner?"

He hadn't visited this braised chicken place very often because it was too expensive, but he had a very good impression of the Boss Lady, a woman who was quite the eye-catcher.

If there was a new owner, did it mean he wouldn't see the original Boss Lady again?

His love for braised chicken would diminish by a third then.

The middle-aged man put on a thick smile, "Indeed, the owner has changed, it's me now."

"But rest assured, the taste hasn't changed, it's still the original flavor because the Boss Lady hasn't changed."

Hu Jun realized in a flash, and his gaze softened considerably when he looked again at the boss, a kindred spirit!

"I'll have a medium-spicy braised chicken,"

"And a bottle of 'Scream.'"