pjbooks Chapter 36 Lighting the Stove
Chapter 36 Lighting the Stove
Just do it.
Song You rummaged through the house and found a slightly worn phone stand. He then put a clean plastic bag over the phone before wandering off to the orchard on the back hill.
He chose the peach tree that was the most severely diseased.
The tree's leaves were curled up like clumps of dry rags, covered with dark brown spots, and several branches were completely lifeless, pointing barely to the sky.
"You're the one. I'll give you a full set of cosmetic procedures today."
Song You found a good angle, propped his phone up on a healthy tree branch opposite, and adjusted it several times to make sure that he and the entire diseased tree could be framed.
Recording begins.
He didn't rush to use the medicine, nor did he rush to use the power of the druids.
He first picked up a small pair of scissors, faced the camera, and spoke to himself in a steady tone that he would use for future dubbing.
"The first step is debridement. Remove all the necrotic tissue to make room for new tissue to grow."
He nimbly and efficiently trimmed away the dry branches.
Then, he switched to a small scraper and carefully scraped off the rough bark on the tree trunk that had already peeled off and was covered with disease spots.
On camera, the process looks incredibly relaxing.
After doing all this, Song Youcai brought over a bucket of water, mixed the lime sulfur mixture he had bought earlier according to the ratio, and carefully sprayed it onto every curled leaf and every crevice in the branches with a spray bottle.
"Then comes external treatment to eliminate the germs."
After a series of actions, he was clearly a seasoned and experienced fruit farmer.
Finally, he walked up to the tree trunk, reached out, and gently pressed his hand on the bark.
Speaking to the camera, he would say that he was feeling the signs of life in the trees.
But in reality, a faint yet pure natural force was slowly flowing into the peach tree through his palm.
This force is like the most precise scalpel, bypassing healthy tissue and penetrating directly to the root of the lesion.
He could feel the faint pulse of life inside the peach tree. After coming into contact with the power of nature, it was like a seedling that had been parched for a long time and received sweet rain, emitting a barely perceptible joyful tremor.
The whole process lasted nearly five minutes, and fine beads of sweat appeared on Song You's forehead.
This kind of precise control requires much more mental effort than simply exerting force.
[Druid Log: You lend a helping hand to withered life, and ancient arts are being revived. Jungle Druid Introductory Progress +5%! Current Progress: 18%]
Become!
Song You was delighted; a 5% increase in one go was much more efficient than removing animal traps.
He put away his phone, looked at the peach tree that, though still outwardly disheveled, had its inner vitality rekindled, and nodded in satisfaction.
I'll shoot another before-and-after video tomorrow, and then this first batch of footage will be complete.
When he returned to the courtyard carrying his tools, two cars were already parked at the gate.
Just as Song Yougang put his things down, a young man wearing glasses and looking quite refined stood up from beside the stone table and ran over with a look of surprise on his face.
"Boss, you're the champion from that food festival, right?" The young man pointed at him, somewhat excited. "I just saw the video on the local forum yesterday, and I came here with my friends today."
Song You nodded: "It's me."
"Boss, your knife skills are amazing! Can you give us a live demonstration?" The young man's friend also came over, looking on expectantly.
"OK."
Song Youle was delighted and walked to the stone cutting board at the kitchen door.
Besides this cutting board, there is another small cutting board in the kitchen, mainly because some customers are not suitable to see these scenes.
He picked up the menu hanging on the wall and handed it over, saying, "But you can try the fruits of the performance."
The two young men exchanged a glance, chuckled, and began studying the menu.
The farmhouse was extremely busy all afternoon.
The food festival video's reach far exceeded Song You's expectations.
Most of the customers come because of his reputation for "champion knife skills," and when ordering food, they often jokingly ask him to make dishes that test his knife skills.
Song You welcomed everyone who came and was so busy in the kitchen that he barely had time to breathe.
His ability to control the stove fire was a huge advantage, allowing him to perfectly time the cooking of each dish, resulting in an exceptional taste.
The progress bar for "Food Druid" steadily rose to 25% amidst the diners' praise.
In the evening, after seeing off the last table of guests, the courtyard, which had been bustling all day, finally quieted down.
Song You cleaned up the dishes, took a quick shower, and changed into clean clothes.
Instead of resting, he turned and went into the kitchen.
He rummaged through the corner and found an old iron pot that hadn't been used in a long time, a spatula, and a small cutting board.
Then, he picked two plump ears of corn from the vegetable garden and dug out a few sweet potatoes from the cellar.
Carrying pots and pans, he set off again for the back mountain under the dim moonlight.
The forest was quiet except for the rustling of leaves in the wind. Song You soon arrived at the earthen stove he had built himself.
He skillfully gathered a pile of dry firewood, stuffed it into the stove, struck a match, and lit it. The orange-red flame leaped up, dispelling the surrounding darkness and chill.
Song You placed the iron pot on the stove and closed his eyes.
[Kitchen Fire Control] activated!
In that instant, he felt a mysterious connection between himself and the flame.
The temperature of the flames and the flow of heat were clearly perceived by him.
He could even sense that this flame, because it was in this forest full of natural energy, was much more vibrant than the gas fire in the farmhouse kitchen.
[Druid Log: You have mastered fire in a place rich in natural spiritual energy; your skill in controlling the hearth has slightly increased.]
Is this for real?
Song You's heart stirred; it seemed he would have to come here more often to practice.
He removed the corn kernels from the cob, cut the sweet potatoes into chunks, and dumped them all into the hot iron pot.
"Sizzle—"
No oil was added; the food itself was directly roasted at high temperature.
A scent mingled with the sweet aroma of corn and the smoky fragrance of sweet potatoes quickly filled the forest.
Song You held the spatula and stir-fried the food slowly and leisurely.
rustle.
A slight rustling sound came from the bushes not far away.
Song You didn't turn around, nor did he stop what he was doing.
He knew the wild boars were coming.
The rustling sound grew closer and closer, finally stopping in a shadow a dozen meters away from the earthen stove.
Song You glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.
A huge black figure peeked out from behind a large tree, revealing half of its head.
It was that female wild boar.
Its little eyes were fixed on the flickering flames in the stove, and its nostrils twitched constantly, clearly attracted by the aroma of food.
But it didn't take another step forward.
Its natural fear of fire, along with the painful experience of being dominated by Song You last time, made it hesitate to move forward.
It stood there in the shadows, looking at Song You and the pot, its eyes filled with conflict and wariness.
Song You ignored it.
He continued cooking, the spatula clanging against the wok with a crisp sound.
The corn kernels burst open slightly under the high temperature, releasing an even richer aroma. The sweet potato skin was roasted to a golden brown, and the sugar inside seeped out, its sweet and cloying taste making one's mouth water.
"Gurgle..."
From the darkness came the sound of someone swallowing hard, unable to contain their saliva.
Song You paused in his movements.
He slowly turned around and looked at the shadow.
He didn't say anything, but simply picked up the spatula, scooped up a piece of roasted sweet potato that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and slowly put it into his mouth under the watchful eye of the sow.