Chapter 385: Human Appetite

"Little brother, where are you going? Teacher has a car."

"To buy groceries."

"Little brother, what groceries are you buying? Teacher will go with you to buy them."

"……Have you been hanging out with Zhang Suannai for too long, and caught her bad habit of being a show-off?"

"I caught it from you!"

"……"

"Little brother, where are you going to buy them? Teacher will drive you there."

"Teacher, where did you park your car?"

"Just over there, on the side of the road."

"Very good."

Chen Shu looked into the distance and already saw his girlfriend arriving on a motorcycle, so he said: "If you want to follow, just drive your own car. If you don't want to follow, just go back to the courtyard; your little sister friends live there anyway."

Chen Banxia stopped in her tracks.

A few seconds later, her little brother had already sat on Qingqing's motorcycle and was even waving at her, leaving her standing alone on the spot, watching the motorcycle get further and further away.

This heartless thing!

……

Local farmers' market.

Ning Qing followed Chen Shu, looking around as she walked.

These past few days of cultivating Tongue Desire, which is the desire of the mouth and tongue, namely the pursuit of food, is the most basic human desire and also the most fundamental human pursuit.

The desire of the mouth and tongue varies from person to person, and can be great or small.

Some people are obsessed with eating, and their greatest pursuit in life is to taste delicacies from everywhere. Others have a relatively weak desire of the mouth and tongue, so in times of peace, when a relatively rich food supply can be guaranteed, they are not so keen on the "desire of the mouth and tongue," but this is only limited to situations where food is sufficient. If one goes through a period of food scarcity, anyone would go crazy for food.

Ning Qing could clearly feel her own changes.

In the past, although she liked the dishes Chen Shu made and liked sour flavors, it was just liking them; she rarely had an urgent desire to eat anything. When she did, in most cases, it was mixed with the reason of "wanting Chen Shu to cook for her."

But now she wants to eat everything, and her mouth has become very greedy.

Food is the heaven of the people.

This is people's most simple and honest pursuit.

However, Ning Qing is still different from other Secret Sect Practitioners; she has always had an understanding of this saying.

Food means far more than just survival; sometimes it is also a bond of emotion. The so-called taste of mother, grandmother, or hometown is just like this.

In Ning Qing's memory, there is no taste of a mother, nor has she seen a grandmother or maternal grandmother. Due to possessing the bloodlines of Heavenly Humans and Night People, the parents of President Ning and Director An were implicated in a nationwide riot against ancient cultivators decades ago and died very early, so in her memory, there is only the taste of Chen Shu.

It is this person right in front of her.

Even when in closed-door cultivation, eating the dishes he makes brings her comfort.

And at this moment, she followed behind this person, watching him constantly pick out food items, ask the vendors for prices, and turn back from time to time to discuss with her. This mundane process was exactly the same as most people in the market, yet she seemed to taste a quiet beauty in it.

"There are small intestines…… how do you sell them, boss?"

"One set, 35."

"Not by weight?"

"Not by weight."

"It's not even the New Year yet, and it's this expensive……"

"It's all this price."

"Is it fresh?"

"From this morning."

"Has it been washed?"

"It's been washed, it's all been washed, but it's best to wash it yourself again when you get back."

"Looks alright, shall we buy it?" Chen Shu said as if talking to himself, only glancing back at her; he knew her answer, so he said to the boss again, "I'll take one set."

"I'll pick the biggest set for you."

"Boss is generous, may you get rich."

"Get rich, get rich, let's all get rich."

The boss happily packed the small intestines and handed them to him, and he also happily took them; no one earned or lost.

Then the two continued forward, and this person said to her while walking: "Let's buy some bones and pork intestines later. Tonight we'll stew a bone joint soup, and tomorrow morning we'll have pork intestine noodles. Isn't that wonderful?"

Ning Qing turned her head slightly to look at him, seeing a bit of joy in his eyes; it seemed that buying satisfactory groceries here was a thing worth being surprised about for him.

Browsing the vegetable market often brings surprises.

Ning Qing continued to follow, the things in her hands increasing.

Fortunately, Chen Banxia rushed over, found them, and shared a portion for her.

"Let's buy a duck at the end?"

Chen Shu still said to her, then squatted in front of a small stall, feeling up and down a few old ducks, touching them randomly for a long time before choosing one.

Chen Banxia couldn't help but ask her little brother in a low voice: "What were you touching just now?"

Chen Shu also lowered his voice: "Shh, I was touching randomly. I saw others touching when they were choosing, and I was afraid the boss would treat me like a fool and overcharge me if I didn't touch."

"Then how did you finally choose?"

"I chose one that felt like it had a lot of meat."

"Oh……"

Chen Banxia nodded repeatedly, her expression mysterious.

Ning Qing was still watching quietly from the side, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl into an arc.

Yes.

Sometimes one must pretend to understand even when one does not.

The tenth day of the fourth lunar month, morning.

Five people and one cat sat around the stone table; the breakfast was the result of Chen Shu working hard all last night—

One bowl of pork intestine noodles per person, served with a portion of knotted intestines.

"Happy 24th birthday, Qingqing."

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

Ning Qing only answered indifferently, seemingly not caring about it at all, then picked up the vinegar nearby and poured it into the pork intestine noodles with a glug-glug sound.

She picked up two more knotted intestines and pressed them into the broth.

The knotted intestines are made from pig small intestines, the same ones used to make Sausage. After being carefully cleaned, blanched, and stewed, they shrink and no longer look like the thin casing on the outside of a Sausage; they shrink to the size of a thumb, with a smooth surface, and are then cut into segments and tied into knots to become knotted intestines.

They are also called tied intestines.

The small intestine itself does not have as strong a flavor as the large intestine, and after proper processing, there is no gamey smell, so knotted intestines are generally stewed in a clear broth, served with high-quality tender bean sprouts, making the broth delicious and very different from large intestines.

And the most wonderful thing about them is that they are tied into knots—

The small intestine is essentially a small tube; after being tied into a knot, the space inside is sealed, and after further stewing, the inside of the knotted intestine is filled with bone broth, so when you take a bite, it is full of broth, and it might even burst out.

Ning Qing already had rich experience in eating knotted intestines, and since she was not too afraid of the heat, she stuffed the whole thing into her mouth, enjoying the feeling of the broth bursting out.

The neighbor surnamed Zhang seemed very inexperienced with this.

With one bite, the broth splashed everywhere.

"Oh my..."

She was a little Surprise.

Chen Shu laughed happily and picked one up as well.

Since it was homemade and eaten at home, it was naturally cleaned extremely well, but he did not completely remove the fat inside to avoid affecting the texture; however, one still could not taste the gamey smell of the pork intestines upon eating it, only the soft, chewy, and delicious texture of the knotted intestines.

It is a perfect match for pork intestine noodles.

He glanced at Qingqing beside him again—

She had already revealed an expression of enjoyment.

But today had only just begun.

Chen Shu was pulling out all the stops today; the main courses were all for lunch and dinner, and they were all flavors she liked to eat.

That evening.

After Ning Qing finished washing up and walked out of the bathroom, she still felt incredibly satisfied.

Chen Shu was lying on the bed, watching the news on his Mobile Phone.

Lanya Kingdom had been invading Duqin for more than two years.

Due to the Duqin people's martial and unyielding spirit, as well as the secret help from Yiguo, Lanya's military operations in Duqin had not been progressing smoothly. There had always been voices of opposition internationally, and recently, because many people had been sacrificed and a lot of money had been wasted, yet the results were not great, the resistance within Duqin had never been extinguished; instead, the Government Army and the Watcher had recaptured some lost territory, leading to growing opposition within Lanya Kingdom itself. The Yiguo media loved to broadcast footage of their anti-war protests, pulling them out to criticize them every few days.

Chen Shu couldn't help but think of Brother Cat again.

He had sent greetings to Brother Cat during the New Year, and Brother Cat had replied, but it was already half a month later when he replied, and Chen Shu hadn't chatted further, and they hadn't been in contact ever since, which always left one feeling a sense of loss.

The bed sank, and in the quiet silence, a clean and warm body entered his quilt.

Ning Qing habitually leaned against him, tilting her head to look at his Mobile Phone.

"Senior Ning, how do you feel today?"

"..." Ning Qing thought for a moment and answered seriously, "I feel like you want to end my Tongue Desire cultivation in one day."

"So, is it over?"

"Not yet."

"What else do you want to eat?"

"Lots of things."

"Well, you're something; you're the one cultivating, but I'm the one suffering, right?"

"Yes."

"..."

How shameless!

Chen Shu thought for a moment, put down his Mobile Phone, turned to her, and said, "I have a more suitable method for Tongue Desire cultivation; do you want to try it?"

Before she could answer, he added, "I suggest you try it; it might be very effective!"

"..."

Ning Qing was a little helpless, but finally said to him, "Tell me, what kind of tricks have you come up with again."

"How can you call this tricks?" Chen Shu frowned and became serious, "As a girlfriend, your kissing technique has always been clumsy, and since you happen to be cultivating Tongue Desire recently, as your boyfriend, shouldn't I teach you advanced kissing techniques? Isn't it my duty to help you with your cultivation?"

"This has nothing to do with Tongue Desire."

"How does it have nothing to do with it?"

"It doesn't."

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu pondered for two seconds: "Even if it doesn't, I still want to teach you kissing techniques."

"..."

"Silence means consent."

"I can't be bothered to talk to you."

Ning Qing did not want to waste any more breath and appear long-winded; she merely reached out a finger, and most of the lights in the bedroom went out, leaving only one bedside lamp, while the knob on the nightstand also rotated automatically and silently, dimming the bedside lamp to its lowest setting.

Immediately, she lay down in silence.

Looking as if she were prepared.

Chen Shu slowly crawled onto her, moving closer and closer to her, and whispered, "This is my secret technique that is never passed on, you must learn it well..."

"..."

Neither of them could say another word.