The underlings sent by the various gangs saw what was happening and immediately returned to their respective gangs to report to their Gang Leaders.
...
Lifting the lid, an enticing aroma wafted from the iron pot, where the beef had been stewed until tender.
Lin Li picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and tasted it. Su Yue, smiling at his side, asked,
"Is it good?"
Lin Li gave a thumbs-up. "Delicious. It’s perfect. This is the best dish I’ve ever made."
"Of course it’s good. I was the one teaching you every step of the way," Su Yue said, her face beaming with confidence.
"Yes, yes, you’re amazing, Chef Su." Having learned a new skill, Lin Li lavished praise on Su Yue.
"..." Su Yue rolled her eyes at Lin Li’s rather inappropriate choice of words, but she knew his praise was sincere, so she couldn’t help but feel happy.
"I’m so hungry, let’s eat!" Lin Li said, picking up a nearby serving bowl and ladling the beef and potato stew into it. Su Yue went to get bowls and fill them with rice.
A short while later, the table was laden with a fragrant bowl of beef and potato stew, a dish of preserved egg with tofu, a plate of cold-tossed cucumber, spicy cold-tossed kelp strips, and a clay pot of chicken soup with wild ginseng.
RUMBLE...
The two of them sat down. With another rumble from his stomach, Lin Li began to wolf down his food, rapidly shoveling rice into his mouth.
PSSHT. Su Yue popped open a can of cold beer and took a leisurely sip. The icy-cold sensation was wonderfully refreshing.
Then, she watched Lin Li devour his food. In just a few moments, he had already finished half his bowl of rice. Puzzled, she asked, "What’s gotten into you?"
Lin Li looked up at Su Yue’s confused expression. He swallowed the beef and rice in his mouth and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you’re eating like you haven’t seen food in days," Su Yue said.
"..." Lin Li fell silent for a moment. ’I know exactly why I’m like this,’ he thought. ’It’s an unavoidable side effect of eating that Magical Little Fruit.’
’But there’s no way I can explain this to Su Yue.’
"Did you skip breakfast this morning?" Su Yue guessed.
Lin Li, who was racking his brain for an excuse, seized on her words and nodded immediately.
"Yeah! I skipped breakfast, so I’m starving. Plus, this beef and potato stew you taught me to make is so delicious, I just have to have a few more bowls of rice."
"You really should eat breakfast! Skipping it is bad for you," Su Yue said.
"Mm-hmm," Lin Li nodded. ’Even though I had to rush to the wilderness in the South District Suburbs to ambush that Exotic Beast Group,’ he thought, ’I definitely didn’t skip breakfast. I ate a lot, actually.’
"Don’t just focus on the rice. Try some of this chicken soup I made with wild ginseng." As she spoke, Su Yue picked up the ladle and filled a large bowl for Lin Li.
Lin Li accepted the large bowl of soup. The strong aroma of ginseng immediately hit him.
He took a sip of the soup—it was incredibly savory. Then he picked up a large drumstick and started to gnaw on it.
Watching Lin Li eat so happily, Su Yue couldn’t help but let a charming smile grace her lips. Then she also picked up her chopsticks and began her meal.
...
「Ping’an Garden District.」
Around noon, the intense sun raised the ground temperature by several degrees.
Pedestrians in the district stuck to the shade of large trees, doing their best to avoid the fierce, direct sunlight.
A small figure came skipping out of a stairwell, quickly darting into the shade and heading straight for the green belt in the distance.
Zhou Tongtong stood in the shade of a large tree by the road, holding a small metal bowl filled with diced beef her mother had prepared. She gazed toward the green belt, at two small figures resting in the shade of a large, leafy banyan tree.
"Little Black, Little White, come get your lunch..."
Two small stray cats were dozing on the grass under the large banyan tree, their tails twitching lazily. Suddenly, they heard a familiar call and their eyes snapped open.
Seeing Zhou Tongtong standing in the shade just outside the green belt, the two little strays immediately ran over to her.
"Meow..." When the two strays reached Zhou Tongtong, they immediately caught the enticing scent of the Yellow Ox Exotic Beast Meat in the small metal bowl she held.
Seeing how eager the Little Black Cat and Little White Cat were, Zhou Tongtong immediately crouched down and placed the metal bowl on the ground.
The two strays immediately huddled around it and began to feast.
"Meow... Have you had lunch yet?" the Little White Cat asked Zhou Tongtong after taking a few bites of beef.
"I already ate," Zhou Tongtong said, reaching out a small hand to pet the Little White Cat’s head.
"Meow... Me too!" Seeing Zhou Tongtong petting the Little White Cat, the Little Black Cat immediately cried out for its turn, nudging its head toward her.
Zhou Tongtong reached out her other hand to stroke the Little Black Cat’s head, then said something that struck the two little strays like a bolt from the blue.
"I’m starting elementary school tomorrow. That means from Monday to Friday, I have to go to school. I’ll have to get up early, and I’ll be staying at school for lunch. I’ll only have time to come feed you in the evenings."
"Meow...?!?!" The two little strays shuddered upon hearing her words, but then they obediently nodded to show they understood.
"Hurry and eat! It’s so hot outside. Once you’re finished, I’m going back home to the air conditioning," Zhou Tongtong told the two little strays.
"Meow..." The Little Black Cat and Little White Cat quickly finished the Yellow Ox Exotic Beast Meat in the metal bowl. A moment later, their bellies were round and full.
Zhou Tongtong saw that the metal bowl had been licked clean. She gave each of the little strays a pat on the head, then picked up the bowl and left.
The two little strays sat in the shade, watching as Zhou Tongtong grew smaller in the distance before disappearing into the stairwell. They began to confer in hushed meows.
"Meow... Starting tomorrow, we’ll have to figure out breakfast and lunch on our own," the Little White Cat said.
"Meow... It’s just finding food. That’s easy," the Little Black Cat said nonchalantly. "A friend of mine mentioned that their neighborhood has lots of mice. We can just go there and catch some."
The two little strays discussed their future meal situation and eventually came up with a rough plan.
Suddenly, they both felt a pleasant warmth spreading through their stomachs.
This drowsy warmth was something that happened every time they ate the food Zhou Tongtong gave them.
They had been surprised by it at first, but now they were used to it.
YAWN~ One always gets sleepy after a full meal. The two little strays, their bellies pleasantly warm, let out a big yawn. They turned, trotted back into the green belt, and returned to their spot under the leafy banyan tree to resume their nap.
Before they knew it, a wave of drowsiness washed over them, and their light doze deepened into a sound sleep.
Inside the two little strays’ stomachs, the Yellow Ox Exotic Beast Meat began to continuously release Spiritual Energy.
Faint Spiritual Energy Waves began to emanate from the two sleeping little ones. As time passed and they absorbed the Spiritual Energy released by the Yellow Ox Exotic Beast Meat, the waves emanating from their bodies grew steadily stronger.
Moreover, the two little strays also seemed to begin absorbing the ambient Spiritual Energy in the air. The amount was minuscule, but it was undeniably being drawn into their bodies.
If a Cultivator of Tier Two or higher had passed by the green belt at that moment, they would have discovered the strange phenomenon surrounding these two little creatures.
A careful scan with their Perception would reveal that the way they were absorbing ambient Spiritual Energy was virtually identical to how Mutant Beasts cultivate in the wild.
...