Chapter 301: A Craftsman—Is There Anything He Can't Do?

After buying some fruit from Liu Laicai's nongjiale, Ning Fei returned to the Daoist temple.

"It's winter. Time to store some food."

Ning Fei headed to the vegetable patch out back and pulled up a few radishes, planning to pickle them.

Pickled radishes were sour and crisp. Eating one during a meal was smooth and refreshing; they stimulated the appetite, paired perfectly with rice, and were good for digestion.

For Ning Fei, Qingfeng Temple never lacked pickled vegetables, no matter the season.

Pickled radishes, pickled cucumbers, pickled cabbage, pickled eggplants, pickled peppers... just mentioning them was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

Back when life at Qingfeng Temple had been harder, they would eat plain steamed buns with pickles. But since both Ning Fei and Bai Yuanche were experts at pickling, the meals were still deeply satisfying.

"We're almost out of pickles, so I'm going to prepare some radishes," Ning Fei said.

Pickles are a traditional Huaxia delicacy, dating back thousands of years.

Every region has its own specialty. For example, Jingdu has its water mustard tubers, Tianjin has its Jindong vegetables, Baoding has Chunbulao, Yunnan has chive flowers, and Pudong has its snow vegetable and bamboo shoot soup.

"Pickles are truly wonderful things."

He explained all this while pulling the remaining radishes from the dirt and washing them clean.

The scene was incredibly peaceful, putting the viewers at ease.

Right then, a viewer asked:

"Temple Master, recently netizens from the Kimchi Nation claimed they invented pickled vegetables and even attacked one of our food bloggers. What do you think about that?"

Seeing the comment, Ning Fei shook his head. When it came to this subject, the Kimchi Nation really did cross the line.

"Some places lack deep cultural foundations, which is why they feel such a desperate need to prove their heritage," he said.

Of the Four Great Ancient Civilizations, only Huaxia has survived to this day. That alone explains a lot.

Our heritage goes back millennia. For that little place to try and steal credit for something as basic as pickles just shows the limits of their Realm.

"They are quite annoying, but let's not discuss them here."

After offering his brief take on the matter, Ning Fei refocused his attention on pickling the radishes.

The netizens nodded in agreement, flooding the screen with praise.

Pickling radishes was simple.

Wash the radishes, cut them into strips, add salt, toss by hand, and let them sit for an hour.

While they rested, Ning Fei prepared the other ingredients, slicing up chili peppers, garlic, and ginger.

His knife skills were excellent; watching him cook was a treat in itself.

Once the white radishes had sat long enough, he began mixing the sauce.

He poured boiled water into a basin, adding light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and a dash of salt and sugar. After stirring it all evenly, he tossed in the sliced chili, garlic, and ginger.

The dark liquid mixed with the bright red chili flakes and the stark white garlic and ginger slices, making for an appetizing sight.

Ning Fei poured the mixture over the salted white radishes.

Then, he packed everything into a sealed jar. Just like that, the pickled radishes were finished.

After chilling in the fridge for two or three days, they would be ready to eat.

"Pickled radishes are easy to make, incredibly crisp, and have a perfect sweet-and-sour crunch. They're a rare treat," he told the stream.

"If you're interested, you can follow my recipe."

Ning Fei smiled.

The viewers watched him work, full of praise:

"The food streamer is at it again."

"It's strange, but no matter what Temple Master Ning makes, it always leaves me starving."

"+1. Now I'm craving dried radishes."

"I'm actually drooling over here."

However, making pickles was only Ning Fei's warm-up for the day.

His real goal was something else entirely.

Qinshan Village is pretty remote. Usually, apart from the guests at the nongjiale near the entrance, very few outsiders make the trek up here. Because of that, our supplies used to be fairly scarce.

Take candied hawthorn sticks, for example. Nobody sold them in Qinshan Village, so when I was little, I thought they were the most delicious thing in the world.

Of course, I don't see them that way anymore.

"But that's what I'm making right now: candied hawthorn sticks."

Hearing this, one viewer immediately asked:

"Temple Master Ning, are you making them for the village kids?"

Ning Fei saw the question and smiled, shaking his head.

Not for the kids. They're for someone very important to me.

Back when supplies were scarce, many people dreamed of eating candied haws.

"It's just that there's so much good food available nowadays, candied haws have slowly fallen out of favor."

As he spoke, he started the preparations.

These candied hawthorn sticks were for Grandma Wang.

Naturally, he wasn't going to say that out loud.

Grandma Wang had been truly destitute in her youth, unable to bear the cost of even a single candied hawthorn stick.

Few people would ever guess that an elderly woman's favorite treat would be a skewer of candied fruit.

He had already bought the hawthorns from the nongjiale. All he needed now was fine white sugar, water, and a few bamboo skewers.

The recipe was simple, and Ning Fei didn't plan on making anything overly complex.

He washed and pitted the hawthorns, slicing them in half horizontally to stuff them with sweet bean paste before threading them onto the bamboo skewers.

He fell silent as he worked, moving at an unhurried, steady pace.

Before long, Little Dog and Little Fei came looking for him. Little Dog barked twice, wanting Ning Fei to play.

Ning Fei chuckled and shooed them off to play on their own.

Little Fox and the three black kittens trotted out from the doorway, but they didn't disturb him, choosing instead to watch quietly from a distance.

Xiao Feng fluttered into the frame every so often. Sharp-eyed viewers quickly noticed and voiced their surprise. It had only been a few days—how had the bird changed so much?

On screen, Xiao Feng's three tail feathers trailed gracefully through the air in flight. It was an exceptionally beautiful sight, its posture far more elegant than before.

Ning Fei offered no explanation.

Over the stove in the kitchen, he slowly boiled the fine white sugar.

The sugar melted into the water, turning into a syrup. He lowered the heat and let it simmer.

He kept it on the stove until the syrup turned a rich amber, thick and viscous enough to form thin threads when stirred.

The hardest part of making candied hawthorn sticks was perfecting the consistency of the syrup. The best candied haws didn't stick to the teeth; they shattered with a satisfying crunch, just like hard fruit candy.

Ning Fei gently rolled the skewered hawthorns over the bubbling foam of the syrup, coating them in a thin, even layer of sugar. He then laid them out to cool on a wooden board brushed with vegetable oil.

He made four skewers in a row. Once the syrup hardened, the tantalizing candied hawthorn sticks would be complete.

The netizens stared at the skewers resting on the board. Each one gleamed with a crystalline sheen, looking utterly appetizing.

"He really is a treasure of a streamer."

"Is there anything he can't do?"

"Good lord, he can even make candied haws. A true craftsman."

Having finished the last of the batch, Ning Fei turned back to the camera.

"Candied hawthorn sticks aren't difficult to make," he explained.

My master used to make them every year when I was a kid. I watched him so often that I just picked it up.

What's truly difficult is sugar blowing.

My master was incredible at making sugar figures. He used to earn a little extra money in the village with it.

He could make all sorts of shapes—the twelve Chinese zodiac animals, immortals, magical treasures.

"Now that is a true craft."

The viewers showered him with even more praise.

As the era pushed ever forward, the breathing room for these traditional Huaxia crafts shrank more and more.

Even so, there were still people who kept those skills alive.

With the candied haws finished, Ning Fei packed up to visit Grandma Wang.

Aside from the treats, he had also bought a lot of New Year's goods for her.

He chatted with the viewers for a bit longer before turning off the stream.

Heading to Grandma Wang's house felt perfectly natural. She was an elder, and showing her filial respect was simply the right thing to do.

When she accepted the candied hawthorn sticks, her eyes shone with deep emotion.

Afterward, Ning Fei headed over to the village chief's house to pay his New Year's respects.

Qin Zheng was at the village committee office, watching the Yangge dance troupe perform. Qinshan Village was deeply traditional; every year, the troupe would dance from door to door offering New Year's greetings, and each household typically gave them fifty or a hundred yuan in lucky money.

The committee office was bustling with life when Ning Fei arrived, packed with villagers.

During the New Year season, this time of day was usually the most festive. For the rest of the day, people generally holed up in various homes playing mahjong until dawn.

Then they would sleep through the daylight hours, drop by the committee office to soak in the atmosphere, and go right back to playing mahjong.

"Ning Fei, you're back," Qin Zheng said with a broad smile when he saw him.

In Qin Zheng's eyes, Ning Fei was now the undisputed "village treasure."

Ever since Ning Fei's return, good things had happened in Qinshan Village one after another, and the place had grown increasingly lively.

Qin Zheng was a superstitious man. He firmly believed that Ning Fei was a person of immense providence.

In fact, he thought Ning Fei's destiny had fundamentally shifted the fortunes of Qinshan Village itself.

A while back, when Qin Zheng had visited Qingfeng Temple, he had seen the plum blossoms inexplicably blooming outside. The environment was serene, radiating a grand, imposing aura. He knew then that Qingfeng Temple was far from ordinary.

In truth, the Bai Ze Spiritual Talisman was affixed to the plaque of the Three Purities Hall. The talisman's ability was to alter the feng shui and fortune of a residence, which was precisely why the temple's surroundings were flourishing.

"Yeah, I went to check on my master," Ning Fei replied with a smile.

"Is Daoist Bai in good health?" Qin Zheng asked. He and Bai Yuanche were good friends.

"He's doing great. My master even told me to pass along his greetings. He's very happy where he is right now."

"That's good to hear."

The two chatted for a bit longer, their conversation comfortable and easy.

The troupe's dancing was excellent. The clash of gongs, the beat of drums, and the continuous cheers of the crowd echoed all around them.

The performance wasn't a breathtaking spectacle, but it was incredibly festive. People loved watching it, soaking in the heavy New Year atmosphere.

After watching the dancers for a while, Ning Fei headed back to Qingfeng Temple.

He planned to visit the Deer Sanctuary tomorrow.

The sanctuary was one of his greatest treasures.