Tang Doudou only noticed that this village chief's house was especially clean after she walked inside. Even the kitchen was very clean. There was no trace of the dust and dirt that normal rural kitchens would contain. Everything was placed neatly in their own spot. On the chopping board was a piece of cleaned pig belly and at the side was a freshly butchered chicken.

  "I heard those youngsters say that you guys were forced to stop and come to the village because you got injured? This uncastrated rooster ah! It’s really good for speeding the recovery of injuries. But those guys refuse to take it for the life of them. They just tremble and run off whenever I bring it up."

  The village chief complained angrily. "Bunch of little brats. It's not like I was making it for them, yet they had the nerve to show disdain for it……"

  Um……

  Were the little brats he was talking about Baili Yu and Jun Xin?

  How come it felt like this village chief treated them completely like family instead of outsiders? Also, he was really brave to dare to call those two this way!

  However, Baili Yu and the others probably wouldn't mind an old man calling them this way.

  Those things aside, she had been frozen in place the moment she saw the pig belly and the rooster.

  She swallowed back her saliva. He had probably raised these pigs and chickens himself, right? The taste of food grown in the countryside was fabulous!

  When Tang Doudou's thoughts got to this point, she immediately ran over and called in a very sweet manner, "Village Chief Grandpa!"

  The village chief was startled by her sudden cordiality. "Girl, what is it? If there's something, just say it."

  "Did you prepare this pig belly and chicken for me to eat?"

  The village chief nodded. She immediately hugged his arm and looked towards him with sparkling eyes. "Really?"

  "Did this girl injure her head?" The village chief asked Qing Yu.

  Qing Yu coughed. She couldn't tell what Tang Doudou was doing either.

  "Aiyah, Village Chief Grandpa, I'm just touched!" Tang Doudou laughed with a 'hehe.' Then, taking advantage of the fact that the village chief was still stunned, she asked, "Since they're for me, then can I cook them myself?"

  The village chief was stunned for a moment. Then, since she was staring so tensely, he nodded. With a laugh, he asked, "You know how to cook?"

  "Of course! Qing Yu, help Village Chief Grandpa back to rest."

  Now that the village chief had agreed, Tang Doudou couldn't stop herself any longer. She impatiently rolled up her sleeves and put on the apron nearby before rushing towards that pig belly and chicken.

  When the village chief saw that she seemed pretty comfortable in the kitchen, he didn't ask any more. Yawning, he went over and leaned on a pillar at the side to sleep.

  Upon seeing this, Qing Yu walked over to nudge him awake.

  Tang Doudou just happened to see this when she glanced back and hastily stopped Qing Yu. "It's not easy for the grandpa to sleep so just let him rest. Help me find Jun Xin and bring him over. I just happen to owe him a meal!"

  After she finished speaking, she ignored Qing Yu's shocked expression and went back to her work.

  Find Young Master Jun?

  Then should she call Master as well?

  If she only called Young Master Jun, Master would definitely get jealous once he found out……

  Qing Yu expressed that she was very troubled.

  However, Tang Doudou was already immersed in the joy of cooking. She found that the village chief really did have everything in his kitchen. Originally she had been expecting to face trouble finding all the necessary ingredients to make that dish, but the result was completely outside of her expectations.

  This place didn't seem like the small kitchen of a random village at all. Even the large kitchen in Baili Yu's residence probably didn't have such complete sets of ingredients.

  Upon seeing this, she subconsciously glanced towards the snoring village chief. He probably wasn't just a simple village chief, right?

  However, she soon stopped thinking about this. Regardless of what his identity was, her current goal was just to borrow the kitchen and cook.

  Rebirth of the Phoenix.

  This was the dish that Tang Doudou wanted to make. Although this name sounded very cool, in reality, the main ingredients were just pig belly and chicken.

  This dish was frequently seen in the modern era. However, when she got here, she found out from talking with Meng Yu that anyone that had a bit of status wouldn't eat the things inside pigs' bellies because they felt like it was something only lower class people were desperate enough to eat.

  That was why even though she had been craving this dish for a long time, she hadn't had a chance to eat it.

  And that was why this was such a perfect coincidence.

  As she was thinking about this, she sorted out the pig belly and the chicken again, then put the chicken into the pig belly. Following that, she started working on the seasoning.

  She diced the pepper into tiny bits and crushed half of them while keeping the other half as is. Once she finished preparing this, she shoved them together into the pig belly. This was done so that the original taste of the pepper could be maintained better.

  Following that, she took out appropriate amounts of the already cut scallion, ginger, poor man's ginseng, angular Solomon's seal, jujube, and milkvetch, then put them inside the pig belly. These ingredients all had warming qualities. Currently, she needed a lot of nourishment so these were the best ingredients to help her recover.

  After everything was prepared, she put the entire pig belly into the steamer basket, then started a large fire to steam it.

  The Rebirth of the Phoenix was now prepared. Tang Doudou looked around and saw that there were a lot of pig offals, so after a moment of thought, she decided to cook them as well.

  When the room became filled with delightful fragrances, the old village chief abruptly opened his eyes and sniffed. Seeming almost drunk on the scent, he remarked, "T-this scent. It's so familiar, yet unfamiliar……"

  __________

  Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Edited by Dray

  [Chiyomira's Corner]

  C: Rebirth of the Phoenix is also called "steamed pork stomach and chicken." For some reason, I feel like orz.