My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Jiang Cai’Er had been hoping to sneak in some private time with Li Xiang, but she couldn’t refuse their enthusiastic invitation, so she had to go along. ’It would be better to sneak out for a date in the middle of the night,’ she mused.

The two of them spent more time apart than together, and now that Jiang Cai’Er had a taste of their intimacy, she naturally wanted some alone time with Li Xiang. But who could have predicted his cousins would show up the moment their break started?

When they returned, Li Xiang was getting ready to make Spicy Strips.

He wanted to train his fine control over his strength, so he had gone out and bought a large block of tofu for carving. While he was out, he also picked up the main ingredients for the Spicy Strips, like dried tofu skin and chewy tendon noodles. As for seasonings like dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and cumin, he already had those at home.

All three of them wanted to come and help.

After all, what young person doesn’t love Spicy Strips?

Shen Zimo was practically drooling. ”I always want to eat these, but my grandpa won’t let me.”

Shen Wenqian said, ”That’s because the store-bought ones are unhealthy. Our cousin is making these himself, so they’ll be clean and hygienic. We’re in for a treat today.”

In reality, Spicy Strips are just soy products with chili and other spices. The store-bought ones are said to be unhealthy because you don’t know what kind of additives they use. When you make them at home, you have complete control over the ingredients and know exactly what’s in them.

Jiang Cai’Er led the two younger ones in preparing the ingredients. The long tofu skins they bought were the wider variety, so she first cut them into small sections with scissors, then cut them open into individual sheets. The tendon noodles were also cut to a suitable length, and then everything was washed clean.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang went to fry the aromatics.

He took fresh scallions, cilantro, and an onion from the garden, washed them, and did a rough chop. The onion was sliced, while the scallions and cilantro were just cut in half. He poured some of his home-pressed, traditional rapeseed oil into an iron wok and heated it up. Then, he tossed in the scallions, cilantro, and onion, adding a good measure of other spices like bay leaves, star anise, cumin, and Sichuan peppercorns.

As they fried, a tantalizing aroma filled the air.

Once the onions were fried to a golden brown, he strained out the solid aromatics. To the side, a basin of chili powder was ready. It contained a mix of coarse and fine dried red chili flakes, to which he had added Sichuan peppercorn powder, cumin powder, white sesame seeds, and a bit of salt and sugar. He then ladled the scorching-hot aromatic oil and poured it over the mixture.

He poured a few ladlefuls first, stirred it all together, and then added the rest.

Because he was using a countryside wood-fired stove, the heavy iron wok was not easy to lift. The fire in the stove was continuous, so the oil remained searingly hot.

It’s worth noting that the chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and cumin powder weren’t ground by a machine. Even though there was a small, compact electric grinder in the house, this was Li Xiang, after all.

He simply rubbed the spices between his hands, and they turned to powder. This was another way he trained his fine control over his power. For instance, when he ground the chilies this way, he could produce both coarse and fine powders with uniform granularity.

By practicing grinding chili flakes, Li Xiang felt his control over his power become even more ”refined.”

Cultivation was everywhere. As long as one was mindful, every aspect of life could be a form of practice.

Moreover, through these unique methods—making Spicy Strips, carving tofu, tilling soil, pulling weeds, chopping wood—he could not only advance his Cultivation, but also temper his mind, allowing him to center himself and become less impetuous.

Without that impetuousness, the efficiency of his practice actually increased. That state of being overly eager and anxious was a perfect example of the saying, ”haste makes waste.”

By the time Li Xiang was done, Jiang Cai’Er and the others had finished preparing the tofu skins and tendon noodles. After being cleaned and soaked, they were removed, drained, brushed with a bit of rapeseed oil, and placed in a steamer basket.

The oil was to prevent them from sticking together.