Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

In the afternoon, the bright sunlight scattered, falling onto the cement ground in front of the bungalow, onto the tea table, blending with the faint aroma of tea spilling from the teacups.

Lying on the deck chair, Jiang Ning had his eyes closed, brewing sleepiness.

On the neighboring deck chair, Xue Yuantong was less restful; she pinched a few pine nuts and peeled them one by one to eat.

Within the brown shell of the pine nut, the kernel presented a natural ivory white, with a much richer aroma than sunflower seeds, crisp and refreshing in texture.

Xue Yuantong peeled several, then encountered a closed pine nut, and was at a complete loss on how to start.

The pine nut's shell was very hard; Xue Yuantong considered biting it with her teeth but feared breaking them.

She was very afraid of such accidents; back in the village, there was an old man whose teeth were very strong, he could even open beer bottles with his teeth!

The old man was very proud of this, but later lost a tooth while eating at a banquet; the scene was quite brutal.

Xue Yuantong has grown up now, no longer a child; if a baby tooth fell, a new one could grow, but if a permanent tooth fell, then it would really be gone.

Thinking about being teased by Jiang Ning for speaking with a lisp, Xue Yuantong completely gave up the idea of biting the pine nut shell.

Not to mention, losing teeth would also affect her eating.

Xue Yuantong set her sights on Jiang Ning, gently coughed.

Jiang Ning slightly lifted his eyelids.

Xue Yuantong stopped eating pine nuts, picked up a small teacup, faced the sun, gently spinning it as if it was filled with flowing sunlight.

"How much were the pine nuts per pound when you bought them? Last time I went to the street, I saw them being sold for 40 a pound." She was very aware of prices, almost familiarly knowledgeable.

The roasted pine nuts were too expensive; Xue Yuantong planned to buy some raw pine nuts, roast them at home, saving half the money.

"Not sure." Jiang Ning replied.

Xue Yuantong frowned: "How can you not know? Do you not look at prices when you buy things? Even if you have money, you can't be so extravagant..."

Jiang Ning quietly listened to the advice and then said, "Tang Fu gave them."

"That silly big guy?" Xue Yuantong was completely surprised, "Silly big guy gave pine nuts to Jiang Ning?"

At the thought of this, she was tempted to crush the pine nuts in her hand!

Unfortunately, she couldn't squeeze them!

Xue Yuantong felt a bit strange for a while, then her mood mellowed a bit; she forgave Tang Fu's impulsiveness.

Oh well, no help for it; she would eventually become a tall girl!

Next door's bungalows.

Xue Chuchu had just finished eating and came out of the house, coincidentally seeing the scene at Tongtong's house.

She saw Jiang Ning lazily lying down, saw Tongtong with a small stern face chatting away, saw the sunlight dancing on them, sometimes bright, sometimes soft, like a lively painting.

At that moment, Xue Chuchu felt inner peace, forgetting the heavy schoolwork, forgetting the troubles encountered after school at noon.

She even thought about joining them.

But there was already no space at the sides of the tea table.

The spot that used to belong to her seemed to have become Jiang Ning's exclusive seat; he suited it better than she did.

Xue Chuchu turned back, leaving only the lone silhouette of a goose; her pots and pans were still unwashed.

...

Xue Yuantong kept the unopened pine nuts in her palm.

"Jiang Ning, let's play a game. In one hand, I have normal pine nuts, and in the other, unopened ones. Choose one!" Xue Yuantong stretched her little hand out to him.

Jiang Ning chuckled, he didn't need Divine Sense to know both of Xue Yuantong's hands were full of unopened pine nuts.

However, to be cautious, he still scanned them using Divine Sense.

"Right hand." He deliberately said.

Sitting to Tongtong's left, choosing the right hand would make her turn around to hand him the pine nuts, requiring more effort.

Xue Yuantong, unaware, was smug, assuming she had tricked Jiang Ning again with her wit.

"Haha, no matter how skilled he is outside, he's still my toy!" Xue Yuantong gleefully handed over the pine nuts.

All of them were unopened; Jiang Ning used two fingers to hold a pine nut, drawing a graceful mark, then slightly squeezed it, "Crack," the shell broke, revealing the kernel inside.

"Am I awesome or what?" Jiang Ning tossed the kernel into his mouth.

Xue Yuantong responded insincerely: "Eh, just average."

"Do you want to learn? I can teach you." Jiang Ning said.

Xue Yuantong immediately leaned in closer: "Really, can I?"

If she could learn this, showing it off in front of Chuchu and the twins, it would surely astound them.

Jiang Ning said: "Nope."

Xue Yuantong's fair face tightened again, begrudgingly drinking down two large gulps of tea.

The two basked in the sun for an entire noon, during which Tongtong even dozed off.

Before heading to school, Jiang Ning got up from the chair, turning her from laying position to sitting, leaving Tongtong sitting dully on the chair, hair slightly loose, eyes a bit dazed.

She regained herself after a while, returning to her quick-witted mode.

Jiang Ning urged: "Didn't you say you wanted to ride a mountain bike to school today? The tire's flat, go get the pump from your house."

Upon hearing about inflating tires, Xue Yuantong got interested, slid off the chair, put on her shoes, and nimbly ran back home.

By the time she brought the pump outdoors, Jiang Ning had already pushed the mountain bike out.

After connecting the pump needle, Xue Yuantong stepped on the pedal, eagerly inflating the tire, having a great time.

Unfortunately, happy times are always short; she was responsible for the rear wheel, Jiang Ning for the front wheel, and this couldn't be crossed since she'd had discussions about mountain bikes with Jiang Ning, eventually deciding that the rear wheel belonged to her domain.

Jiang Ning attached the pump needle, leisurely inflating the tire; in moments like these, he always recalled childhood times when he took the initiative to inflate the family's bicycle every couple of days.