Chapter 23: Short Staff, Mastery!

The sky turned completely dark.

Every household shut its doors and windows tightly, and even their speech was very quiet.

Chen Sao and her daughter sat at the table eating dinner.

The meal was simple: spicy cabbage and a tofu soup.

Lin Yue ate in small bites, then she sniffed, looked around, and said, "So fragrant! Is that the smell of Roasted Sweet Potato?"

Chen Sao also smelled it and confirmed it was the aroma of Roasted Sweet Potato.

"Mom, is brother Jiang Cheng roasting sweet potatoes?" Lin Yue asked softly.

The scent instantly made her feel that the cabbage and tofu in front of her had lost their flavor.

Chen Sao glanced at her, lowered her head and said, "Eat."

"Okay."

Lin Yue replied, and just as she lowered her head, a faint knock sounded at the door.

"Chen Sao, are you asleep?"

Jiang Cheng's voice rang from outside the door.

The two inside the house were startled, caught off guard.

In the next second, Chen Sao got up, walked toward the doorway, and asked, "Xiao Cheng, it's so late—what do you need?"

"Chen Sao, it's this way: my Roasted Sweet Potato skill has improved, so I baked a few specially tonight, to let Grandma try them and also sent two over, hoping you and Lin Yue could taste them," Jiang Cheng said.

As his words finished, Lin Yue behind him subconsciously licked her lips.

The aroma of the Roasted Sweet Potato grew stronger.

"You don't need this, right?"

Chen Sao hesitated slightly and politely declined, "Just keep it for yourself; we've just eaten."

Lin Yue's face showed a hint of melancholy as she lowered her head again.

Counting it up, she hadn't had Roasted Sweet Potato in over a month.

In the past, Jiang Cheng would bring them, but this time he was ill and short on money, and even if he sent them, his mother wouldn't accept them.

"Chen Sao, I've already baked them, and I made five at once; if you don't take them, I can't finish them, and if I leave them until tomorrow they won't taste good," he said.

There was no reply from inside.

Jiang Cheng sighed, his tone plaintive, "Chen Sao, you can just refuse what I sent at noon, but you won't even take two Roasted Sweet Potatoes? It's not much money; honestly, doing this is really hurtful."

Chen Sao also realized that this was rather unkind.

Whatever Jiang Cheng said, it was out of good intentions.

"Fine, I'll take them."

After speaking, Chen Sao opened the door and saw Jiang Cheng standing there, holding a Large Bowl that contained two golden, steaming Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

The fragrance hit her nose, and even she couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

"Chen Sao, here, these are just baked, my skill has improved lately; today I sold over a hundred more than yesterday, and I expect even more tomorrow," he said.

Jiang Cheng deliberately repeated it, handed the bowl to Chen Sao, "Just give me the bowl tomorrow, that's all, Chen Sao, get some rest early."

After speaking, he winked at Lin Yue, who was looking this way from inside, then turned and left.

Chen Sao recovered and quickly said thank you.

Hearing the door close next door, she also locked the door, took the two Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and walked to the table.

Staring intently at the bowl, her daughter, Chen Sao smiled, "Eat, it's from brother Jiang Cheng."

"Mom, you eat too."

Lin Yue said softly.

Then she picked one into her own bowl, took a bite, and instantly felt a sweet flavor spreading to her heart.

"So sweet, so delicious."

She opened her eyes wide and urged her mother, "Mom, you try it quickly; brother Jiang Cheng's sweet potatoes this time are really good."

"Really?"

Chen Sao was half‑believing, half‑doubtful.

She thought that anyone, if they ate Roasted Sweet Potato once every ten days to half a month, would find it extremely tasty.

But after she tasted a small piece of the flesh, she was instantly stunned.

The flesh melted in her mouth, sweet but not cloying, as if a day's fatigue was driven away.

"Right?" Lin Yue said with a smile, "I think this is the best Roasted Sweet Potato I've ever had."

Chen Sao smiled and suddenly recalled Jiang Cheng's words when he opened the door.

"Skill has improved."

"Sold over a hundred more than yesterday today."

"Will sell even more later."

"If that's true, that would be wonderful."

She thought so sincerely, feeling genuinely happy for Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng had already returned home by now, sitting at the dining table.

On the table were the previously baked sweet potatoes, plus braised cabbage with pork, egg custard, and vegetable soup.

Compared with the past few days, it was a rather lavish dinner.

"Xiao Cheng, there's still a pound of meat; Grandma will cook it for you tomorrow. Sigh, Chen Sao refused everything, otherwise this wouldn't have happened."

The Old Man sighed.

"Don't worry, Grandma."

Jiang Cheng comforts: "These past two days business has been good, and it won't be bad later. When our days get better, we'll give Chen Sao's family more things, and then Chen Sao won't refuse."

"Hmm."

Old Man's face shows a smile.

She confirmed that Jiang Cheng's Roasted Sweet Potato skill had improved a lot.

The food is tasty, no worry about selling.

In a short while, the plate of meat on the table was eaten up by Jiang Cheng, still leaving some lingering desire.

He ate another bowl of rice, two Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and quite a few dishes, and finally let out a satisfied belch.

He is full.

"Not easy."

Jiang Cheng puts down his bowl and chopsticks, feeling emotional inside.

After finishing the meal, he washed the dishes and began cleaning the sweet potatoes.

The two of them were much faster; in less than two hours they cleaned about a hundred jin of sweet potatoes.

"Xiao Cheng, go to bed early."

Old Man smiles and says.

"Grandma, I'll train for a while."

Jiang Cheng blinked his eyes.

Since he has to set up a stall during the day, he'll only have a little time morning and evening; give him practice with Short Staff. The earlier sweet potato cleaning was also a digestive aid; doing intense exercise right after a meal is prone to accidents.

Old Man, hearing this, nods and says: "Don't train too late."

Since Jiang Cheng started training the staff, several days have passed without incident, and she gradually breathed a sigh of relief.

Moreover, tonight there is good news, and her mood has improved a lot.

The future is full of Hope.

"Got it, I'll train for an hour or two and then sleep."

Jiang Cheng walked over and picked up the Rolling Pin.

Being near Mastery, there is little Experience Value left; tonight he will definitely train the Short Staff to Mastery Level! An hour later, Jiang Cheng's clothes were already soaked with sweat.

Accompanied by the final strike, a large segment of memory suddenly floated up in his mind.

Jiang Cheng's body froze in place, as if struck by Immobilization Technique, motionless; after a moment he exhaled.

He lowered his head, looking at the Short Staff in his hand.

At this moment, he felt a familiarity from three or four years of practice.

His grasp of footwork became deeper, and a new power‑generation mechanism emerged.

Chop, Lift, Sweep, including Smash and Pound, are the basic Staff Methods of the Short Staff; even combos are just slightly higher‑level Staff Methods.

How to unleash the greatest power from these basic Staff Methods involves the power‑generation mechanism.

(End of Chapter)