Chapter 579

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, He Laotou hunched his head and shuffled into the low thatched hut, holding a willow whip in his hand, and began lashing the children lying on the large bunk bed!

"Get up, all of you!"

"You know nothing but sleep! Wasting food!"

The children who were whipped winced in pain, and the figures originally lying on the large bunk bed all jumped up, scattering like birds and beasts.

Seeing the large bunk bed empty, He Laotou finally clasped his hands behind his back, satisfied, and paced out.

Duan Rong and his seven companions, having slept toward the inside, avoided the whip.

He Laotou paced out, glanced at the children standing in the courtyard, his eyes narrowed, and he snapped: "Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and bring out the food! After breakfast, you all work for me!"

Upon hearing they would get food, Duan Rong and his group's eyes lit up instantly. They were starving, their hearts pounding with hunger.

Several children had already gone to the communal room, bringing out a large wooden tub and a bamboo basket covered with cloth, placing them on a cracked, warped wooden table at the entrance of the communal room.

After placing the tub and basket, the children stood nearby, licking their lips; He Laotou said nothing, and none dared to move.

He Laotou walked over, roughly lifted the white cloth covering the basket, and the mixed-grain steamed buns, adulterated with wild grass, began to steam...

The children, who had long gone hungry, all swallowed their saliva.

He Laotou picked up the large ladle from the wooden tub, stirred it, and the children, as if receiving an order, began lining up to approach him.

Duan Rong and his group immediately joined the queue.

Each child scooped a bowl of thin rice porridge, as clear as water, from the wooden tub, then grabbed two steamed buns from the basket, and darted aside to eat.

Duan Rong and his group received their buns and porridge, then squatted down to eat.

This meager fare, Du Wan finished in two or three bites, yet his stomach remained empty; he glanced at the nearby children, all holding empty bowls of rice porridge, licking the bottoms.

Du Wan stared at the shiny bowl bottoms, wanting to lick, but for a moment, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

At that moment, he noticed Duan Rong still had a bite of steamed bun left; he pinched it, used it to wipe his rice bowl clean, and only then shoved it into his mouth.

Seeing this, Du Wan couldn't help but envy him, muttering: "You really know how to eat!"

At that moment, He Laotou suddenly shouted: "Finished eating? Get up! Dragging your feet!"

These children, reluctant, slowly returned their bowls to the wooden tub; Du Wan, before leaving, still couldn't resist, held the bowl, buried his face, and licked it thoroughly before placing the porcelain bowl into the wooden tub.

The children stood in the courtyard; He Laotou flicked his willow whip, dividing them into two groups, then said in a muffled voice: "You go wash the bowls and chopsticks brought back from last night's feast! You go to the communal room, prepare lunch!"

One group of children had already headed to a corner of the courtyard, where several basins of bowls and chopsticks were piled.

Another group walked toward the communal room; Duan Rong and Du Wan immediately followed.

Just then, He Laotou's flick had split Duan Rong's eight companions down the middle; Duan Rong and Du Wan were sent to the communal room, while the other six went to wash last night's feast bowls and chopsticks.

Duan Rong and his group entered the communal room and saw a middle-aged, slightly plump man in his early forties standing there, tallying the radishes, cabbages, and potatoes before him.

This man was Li Chuang, the head cook of the communal room, also considered a disciple of He Laotou. However, He Laotou had never taught him his true skills.

He Laotou guarded the small kitchen, responsible for the meals of the three village chiefs.

Li Chuang, meanwhile, managed the meals of the brothers in the stronghold within the communal room—i. e., the big pot meals; feeding several hundred brothers three times a day was no small task!

Li Chuang seemed to have already finished tallying the vegetables for lunch; he turned his head, glanced at the children, and his eyes immediately swept over Duan Rong and Du Wan.

They were new faces; Li Chuang spotted them at once and chuckled: "Hey, another batch of puppy whelps! Which village are you from?"

Duan Rong replied: "From Jiangjiazhuang!"

Li Chuang's eyes flickered briefly, he said nothing more, then said: "Get to work! Move quickly!"

The children immediately began working; Duan Rong and Du Wan followed behind, watching to see what they were to do.

Their task was actually simple: washing and chopping vegetables, though the quantity was large—over three hundred mouths to feed!

Once they finished, Li Chuang would take over stir-frying in the large iron pot!

Standing at the stove, using a large iron pestle as a stir-fry spoon. If Li Chuang weren't a fat man, he truly couldn't handle this work!

As they began chopping vegetables, Duan Rong seized the opportunity to come to the cutting board; the other children saw him approach, didn't shun him, and directly handed him a knife, saying: "Be quick! If you're slow and He Laotou sees it, you won't get food—and that means going hungry!"

Duan Rong took the knife and began slicing potato strips; though his cultivation was completely lost, many martial arts techniques had long since merged into his Divine Soul; the first few strokes were stiff, but after several, he began to look competent.

The child beside him glanced at Duan Rong with a strange look; he had been working here for two months, yet Duan Rong, just starting, not only cut faster than him but also with uniform size and length, thin and even—like a seasoned hand.

Duan Rong paid no mind; as he chopped, his eyes flickered, and he silently thought: Spirit Reader.

In the next moment, a luminous data panel flickered into view before him.

Duan Rong stared at the appearing panel, his eyes brightening; the Devouring Artifact Spirit's ability, even in this divine-demonic illusion, could actually be used.

"Devour!" Duan Rong's face remained unchanged, his heart silently declaring.

At that moment, he glanced at the wall beside the cutting board, where various knives hung! Besides the chef's knife, there were bone-cleaving knives, cleavers, etc. —the mountain stronghold's bandits couldn't go a meal without meat!

Duan Rong eyed those greasy utensils, chopping vegetables while seizing the chance to run his hand over them all; the child standing beside him, seeing Duan Rong do this, asked: "What are you fiddling with those things for?"

Duan Rong casually replied: "Nothing, just looking around."

The child glanced sideways at Duan Rong, but since Duan Rong was cutting potatoes far better and faster than him—just taking breaks to touch those utensils—he couldn't really complain!

In the courtyard, Guo Tian and Lu Chu were squatting there, sticking out their buttocks, washing bowls and chopsticks.

Several large basins of bowls, chopsticks, and plates needed to be scrubbed spotless—enough to keep them busy!

From time to time, a whip lash would fall on their backs.

He Laotou snapped: "Be quick! If you keep dawdling, you won't get lunch!"

He Laotou paced back and forth among the children washing bowls, lashed them a few times, then circled the small kitchen, and finally paced into the communal room.

When He Laotou entered, Li Chuang was pickling several large geese; these geese, once pickled, would be stewed with radishes, also counting as a hearty dish.

He Laotou stepped in; Li Chuang immediately rose and respectfully called him "Master."

He Laotou grunted from his nose, then glanced at the wooden tub containing the large geese; his brows involuntarily furrowed, and he unconsciously shook his head.

He clearly saw that the goose's feathers hadn't been plucked clean; Li Chuang always did things carelessly—this was also why He Laotou refused to teach him his true skills. Teaching him would be utterly wasting his own craftsmanship!

He Laotou stopped engaging with Li Chuang, turned, and began pacing among the children sorting vegetables.

Li Chuang glanced at He Laotou's retreating back, his eyes dimming slightly; he could feel He Laotou's disfavor. This old man had always made him do menial labor requiring only brute strength—big pot meals—clearly using him as a mere laborer!

He Laotou walked around, was about to go out, but suddenly stopped, turned his head, and looked toward Duan Rong standing at the cutting board!

Duan Rong picked up a few potatoes, placed them on the cutting board, first sliced them, then cut them into shreds, his movements flowing like clouds and water, without the slightest hesitation.

"This..." He Laotou's expression changed slightly. This knife skill was nearly catching up to his own.

He glanced at Duan Rong's face. Unfamiliar, he must have just arrived last night!

He Laotou walked over and stood behind Duan Rong, watching for a while.

Duan Rong knew He Laotou was already standing behind him, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued cutting vegetables on his own.

"Kid, stop for a moment!" He Laotou suddenly said.

Duan Rong pretended not to hear, his kitchen knife still rising and falling on the cutting board, producing a light, rhythmic tuk-tuk-tuk sound.

At that moment, Li Chong came over, tapped Duan Rong on the shoulder, and said: "Kid, He Laotou is calling you!"

Only then did Duan Rong utter an "ah," and turn his head around.

He Laotou looked at Duan Rong and said: "Your knife skills are not bad!"

Duan Rong feigned simplicity and said: "I learned from my father! Whenever there are weddings or funerals in the surrounding ten li and eight xiang, my father goes to cook, and I just help him out."

"Is that so?" He Laotou chuckled and said: "Do you know how to debone?"

Duan Rong replied: "Of course! My father taught me—when deboning and slicing meat, one must have a clear mind; otherwise, the work won't be done well, and it's just wasting things."

A seven or eight year old child saying such things, yet showing considerable confidence.

He Laotou said: "What is your name?"

"My name is Duan Rong!"

"Come with me to the small kitchen!" He Laotou said, and began to pace out of the main hall.

Duan Rong remained at the cutting board, standing there dazedly.

Li Chong stared at him with a strange look and said: "He Laotou is calling you? Hurry up and go!"

Duan Rong immediately put down his knife, rushed out, took a few quick steps, and caught up with He Laotou, who had already walked to the center of the courtyard.

Guo Tian and Lu Chu were washing dishes in the courtyard when they suddenly saw Duan Rong running out from the main hall, and immediately turned to look at him.

Lu Chu whispered: "What is Duan Rong doing?"

"Who knows?!" Guo Tian, though transformed into a seven or eight year old child, still spoke and behaved with an air of old-fashioned solemnity.

The two watched for a while, and both of their expressions changed slightly.

Only then did they see Duan Rong follow He Laotou into a room in the courtyard.

Although they had been washing dishes all along, as soon as He Laotou left, these children began whispering and gossiping.

Guo Tian and Lu Chu already knew that the place Duan Rong had just followed He Laotou into was the small kitchen!

That place was, in fact, a crucial area of this courtyard! Even Li Chong, the head cook of the main hall, could not enter and leave freely!

Lu Chu said: "Duan Rong seems to have entered the small kitchen?"

Guo Tian stared intently at that place, his eyes flickering, silent and speechless, unknown what he was thinking.

The moment Duan Rong stepped into the small kitchen, his heart gave a slight jolt. Inside was actually very tidy, completely free of the usual mess of a kitchen.

Moreover, at the far end of this kitchen hung a black cloth curtain, from behind which came a tuk-tuk-tuk sound.

He Laotou walked to the back of the stove, and suddenly, with a hualala sound, pulled open the black cloth curtain!

Inside, by the wall, stood a high cutting board where a child of similar height to him was standing on a stool, chopping meat!

He Laotou said: "This black cloth curtain blocks the cooking fumes from outside, keeping the ingredients clean! Besides skill, the most important thing in stir-frying is the freshness of the ingredients, and then proper handling!"

"Come over! Chop the meat filling for me to see!" He Laotou said, placing down another cutting board nearby, picking up a meat-chopping knife, selecting a rather tough piece of beef, and throwing it onto the board.

Duan Rong moved a small stool over, stepped onto it, glanced at the beef, and asked: "What is the meat filling for?"

He Laotou said: "Mix with vermicelli, steam beef buns."

Duan Rong said: "Then it must be chopped into meat paste!"

He Laotou said: "Good, the finer the better!"

After saying that, He Laotou fell silent, merely standing there, waiting to see how Duan Rong would proceed.

Duan Rong did not rush to chop, but first carefully observed the grain of the beef on the board, then gently pulled the meat into uneven strips!

Some large, some small, piled on the board, looking messy and disordered!

Nearby, the child also chopping beef filling, named Wang Long, saw Duan Rong's actions and couldn't help but smile slightly. However, he failed to notice that He Laotou, standing to the side, had already revealed an expression of extreme interest.

Duan Rong spent some time turning that large piece of beef into oddly shaped strips, only then beginning to chop!

The meat-chopping knife rose and fell rhythmically on the board! Duan Rong's slender wrist gripped the large meat-chopping knife, appearing to exert no effort at all!

At this moment, Wang Long's expression finally changed! Duan Rong was clearly an experienced hand!

Duan Rong used skillful force; once the knife's rhythm began, it already entered a kind of cadence!

When the knife struck the board, there was a rebound force, but most people fail to control it, using wrist strength to counteract part of it; Duan Rong skillfully harnessed this rebound to steadily lift the meat-chopping knife!

Then, after lifting, the knife fell by its own weight, and Duan Rong merely tapped it lightly, like flipping a switch.

Yet such rhythm and delicate, precise control are absolutely beyond ordinary people!

A seven or eight year old child chopping beef should be quite strenuous, but Duan Rong now, his meat-chopping knife flashing in shadow, jumping up and down, his slender wrist moving with the blade, as if it were not him holding the knife, but the knife moving his wrist!

This borders on the miraculous!

He Laotou glanced at Duan Rong's back, thinking: This kid is still a genius in knife skills!

About the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Duan Rong had already finished chopping the meat filling! The meat was minced to a paste!

On Wang Long's side, he had a piece of beef of nearly the same size, and he had started chopping earlier than Duan Rong, yet compared to Duan Rong's minced meat paste, his wasn't even close to being a semi-finished product!

He Laotou coughed and said: "Wang Long, go back to the main hall. You don't need to come here to the small kitchen anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Long's face turned deathly pale.

The boy who had been helping He Laotou in the small kitchen had, a few days prior, contracted a back abscess, suppurated and fevered, and actually died. He Laotou had only then selected Wang Long from the main hall to come help!

These few days, Wang Long was still feeling pleased, because working in the small kitchen meant meat at every meal! These few days even his burps had a fragrance, and when he slept he no longer felt itchy. But he had only been pleased for a few days when someone actually came over and took over his nest!?

(End of Chapter)