Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation
Chapter 790 - 471: Waiting for You

Chapter 790: Chapter 471: Waiting for You

August 24th, 7:30 AM.

The train announcement echoed, as the train from Hu City to Shen City was about to make a stop at Yu Zhou Station.

In the soft sleeper carriage, Xue Yuantong looked out towards Yuzhou City, feeling warm inside, the place she called home.

"Jiang Ning, we’ll take a taxi back home," she said. She hadn’t told her mother about her return.

Xue Yuantong planned to surprise her mother.

"No need for a taxi, my cousin will pick us up," Jiang Ning said.

Jiang Junlong, upon learning of his trip back, had booked a spot to pick him up at the station ahead of time. It was the end of August, and even Yu Zhou Second Middle School had given its students a break.

Tongtong had mentioned the day before yesterday that when they returned to the river dam, they wouldn’t be able to see Chuchu right away, because the peanuts in her village were ripe. Chuchu had gone back to the village to help with the peanut harvest and would only return after the busy farming period.

...

Outside the station, Xue Yuantong asked, "When will your cousin get here?"

Jiang Ning said, "Probably in a little while, let’s grab something to eat."

They had caught the train the previous morning at around 10 and had spent almost a whole day on board without a real meal.

Hearing this, Xue Yuantong clapped her hands in agreement.

Jiang Ning looked off into the distance, using his Divine Sense to scan and pinpoint a shop.

Xue Yuantong followed with a spring in her step.

It was not yet 8 o’clock, prime time for breakfast. It had rained the night before in Yuzhou, leaving the ground a bit damp and the temperature yet to rise.

They walked through the familiar streets and alleys.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Ning stopped in front of a shop named ’Huang Family Pancakes’.

Months ago, one morning, after foiling the youth who had cornered Yang Sheng on a motorcycle overnight, he had packed breakfast from this very shop.

Inside the shop, two women were busy at work. The middle-aged woman plastering the pancakes and another, a young girl helping out, appeared thin and frail, around eighteen or nineteen years old.

Jiang Ning called out, "Two bowls of egg soup with chicken broth and seven pancakes."

Once the girl heard his order, she turned towards Jiang Ning, her mind blanking for a moment. She paused, suddenly recalling several months ago when, while recovering from an illness and helping out in the shop, a youth with an exceptionally refined air had walked in. Even after several months, she still remembered him.

"Oh," the girl’s complexion no longer sallow as it had been months before. She inquired,

"Do you want this to go or for here?"

This took Xue Yuantong by surprise; she glanced inside the shop where there were several empty tables.

Thinking the young man hadn’t heard her, the girl raised her voice slightly,

"Do you want this to go or to eat here?"

Jiang Ning replied, "Can I eat here?"

...

Realizing her mistake, the thin girl looked embarrassed and hurriedly apologized, "Yes, yes, of course, you can eat here."

Jiang Ning nodded, "That’s fine."

The thin girl expertly cracked two eggs, stirred them, and then ladled steaming hot chicken broth over the eggs, cooking them instantly with the high temperature.

She repeated the process for the second bowl and then smiled, "You wanted less cilantro, right?"

Jiang Ning replied, "Yes."

He hadn’t expected that she would remember his preferences.

She then sprinkled on some pepper and used an iced tea bottle filled with sesame oil, squeezing out the oil. Many shop owners, to save money, would punch just a small hole in the cap, allowing only a little oil to be dispensed each time.

This shop was different; the thin girl poured a generous amount of sesame oil for Jiang Ning, rivaling the amount Xue Yuantong used when she made noodles.

"There’s spicy shredded potato and stir-fried green peppers with soybeans in the sterilizing cabinet," she said, repeating a line she had said many times.

After Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong sat down, the female owner brought over a tray of pancakes, saying,

"Here are four for now, start with these."

Xue Yuantong had never dined at this shop before, but she remembered Jiang Ning bringing home breakfast once before.

As someone who loved to eat, she could tell from the first bite that she had eaten these before.

After being away for an entire month, she had missed Yuzhou’s local cuisine. She ate and ate, devouring four out of the seven pancakes, still craving more.

"Jiang Ning, are three pancakes enough for you?" Xue Yuantong probed.

"They’re fine."

"You’re so tall, three pancakes definitely won’t be enough for you," Xue Yuantong asserted with a scientific rationale. "You’re too thin, only by eating more can you grow stronger."

Jiang Ning feigned confusion, "Really? Why do I feel like I’m full already?"

Xue Yuantong cited an example, "Haven’t you heard what they say on TV? When you start feeling thirsty, your body is actually already dehydrated and urgently needs water. If you only drink when you’re thirsty, that can have long-term effects on your health."

She enthusiastically lectured Jiang Ning on the science, with clear logic and a clear purpose.

Jiang Ning pretended to understand and nodded sagely.

He sipped the soup with a porcelain spoon and said, "Then I’ll have one more pancake."

Xue Yuantong shook her head, "Do you really think one pancake will be enough? It won’t be, for you."

She called out on behalf of Jiang Ning, "Bring three more pancakes."

And from those three pancakes, she ate two.

...

After they finished eating, Xue Yuantong walked ahead contently, the sunlight splashing on the path, brimming with life.

Jiang Ning suggested, "Let’s wait for my cousin in the park next door."

Xue Yuantong had the same idea and was ready for a stroll.

The park was bustling with dancing aunties at night but only had two elderly men playing the suona in the morning.

Xue Yuantong meandered comfortably through the park. It was August, and the plant life was thriving, with a faint scent of flowers in the air.

At the park’s center, a young couple was walking; the man was talking authoritatively about the various flowers in the park, impressing the woman beside him with what seemed to be genuine knowledge.

Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning just happened to meet them head-on.