Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1600 - 875: Reinforcements

Days pass swiftly, and in the wink of an eye, yet another day slips away.

The sixth day of the Lunar New Year, precisely 7 AM.

From the eastern skyline, the sun emerges as always, its beams cutting through the light fog, lighting up a line of riverside bungalows along the dam.

The cheeky Dongdong slips into a bulky cotton coat, a work tag dangling from his neck, looking every bit like a grown-up.

However, his expression brims with bitterness against the world!

Boss Yang Fei from the countryside tourism spot stands by the entrance, beckoning: "Dongdong, grab a bowl of lamb soup—sipping it will help you grow taller, tougher, and heartier!"

Hearing that, Dongdong pauses for a second, but his face soon clouds over with gloom once more.

No amount of strength can help him stand up to the fearsome Jiang Ning.

Yang Fei witnesses this and recalls the previous morning when he was occupied in the store. Jiang Ning appeared out of nowhere with Dongdong, inquiring if his strawberry field needed extra hands.

Naturally, it did.

Thus, Jiang Ning left Dongdong in his care for 150 yuan per day.

After basic instructions and some stern warnings, Dongdong began his duties at the strawberry field, badge in place.

Yang Fei approaches and slaps Dongdong on the back, counseling: "At times, we can't fight life's toughness, so why not turn it into enthusiasm? What you enjoy shapes your days!"

Dongdong balls his hand into a fist, itching to smash the entire world.

City district.

In the Old Town, the morning stirs to life slowly, as seniors start filling the breakfast stalls.

Outside a beef pancake shop, Guo Kunnan and Dan Kaiquan, joined by a couple of pals, occupy a table on the sidewalk.

Guo Kunnan snaps a picture, shares it in the class chat, and comments: "Winter holidays— who's still in bed? Early birds like us have the edge from the get-go!"

Song Sheng, who's been poring over books early on, spots the chat update and fires back: "Real winners at the starting line don't bother with early alarms."

Chen Qian, deep in his studies too: "I'll turn into a finish line they'll never touch."

River dam.

Xue Yuantong misses out on that early edge; she's still blissfully snoring away. For a high school kid, winter break is pure heaven.

Not until 9:30 AM does she finally wander into Chuchu's kitchen. The moment she does, the scent of egg fried rice hits her.

Xue Chuchu gazes at Jiang Ning in surprise; she had been pondering when to fire up the stove, given that Tongtong was still out cold, and nothing beats the fresh allure of just-made egg fried rice.

Only moments earlier, Jiang Ning announced it was cooking time, so Xue Chuchu tied on her apron without delay.

As the egg fried rice nears completion, Tongtong strolls in right then—the moment is perfect.

This isn't the first occurrence. How does he nail the timing every time?

A touch of suspicion lingers as Xue Chuchu grips the spatula, plates the egg fried rice, then glides over with the dish, her slim waist swaying softly, elegant yet soft.

Jiang Ning: "Chuchu, hold still—let Tongtong handle the serving. She lounges around all day anyway."

Tongtong, fresh from sleep, lacks the energy to argue with Jiang Ning and just lets out a quiet huff to show her annoyance.

The star of breakfast is egg fried rice, complemented by soybean milk whipped up in the machine by Chuchu. On the side, there's sausage-stir-fried snow peas—not ordinary sausage, but the meaty homemade kind from Uncle Zhang's stall at another market, packed with filling.

To wrap it up, the watermelon sauce beans, which might sound like oddball fare, but actually, Aunt Gu crafts them with a mix of onions, ginger, garlic, chilies, star anise, cinnamon, sizzled in oil before blending with soybeans and watermelon for the sauce. The taste is explosive and pairs perfectly with rice—Chuchu could down two full bowls of egg fried rice.

Luckily, Tongtong and Chuchu boast solid genetics; any other girl would balloon up in no time flat over six months.

Jiang Ning ponders inwardly that Geng Lu said her pal gifted her a batch of farm-pickled salted duck eggs, intending to share some for him to try.

"Should arrange a moment to collect them," Jiang Ning muses to himself.

At the meal table, Tongtong kicks off questions about the dealings: "Did Boss Yang clear the payment?"

"Yup," Jiang Ning replies, "Dongdong only put in half a day yesterday, but Boss Yang's pretty open-handed—he first offered full-day pay, though I turned it down, ending up with eighty yuan."

Eighty yuan! Back in 2015 for high schoolers, that's no trifle—plenty for a week's worth of late-night net cafe runs.

Tongtong beams with delight, and once the thrill settles, she turns reflective on the struggles: "You know, my mom once shared this with me—she dreamed of lounging at home daily, pulling in 100 yuan without lifting a finger, and that'd be paradise forever."

"Who'd have thought, here I am making that dream real." Xue Yuantong heaves a heartfelt sigh.

Jiang Ning flashes a thumbs-up: "Charge forward, youngsters!"

Xue Yuantong: "Lately, I've figured it out—commanding those productivity tricks is the path to riches."

Chuchu watches the pair banter on and chimes in with a playful jab: "Ever think about Dongdong's side of things?"

Xue Yuantong answers with gusto, "Totally, absolutely!"

"Yesterday, Dongdong was smacking a badminton shuttle out front, Jiang Ning spotted him, got him to haul the cart, same commission as usual—one fen each haul. Dongdong dragged his feet, so Jiang Ning asked, 'What's your worth in your eyes?' Dongdong boasted he's a full yuan, and off Jiang Ning shipped him to the strawberry field for yuan-level tasks."

Jiang Ning adds gently: "He set that price himself—totally fair."

Xue Chuchu thinks to herself: 'So the other 149 got divided up between you guys?'

Xue Yuantong keeps yapping as she munches, trading words with Jiang Ning, her head swirling with wild notions. Even if Jiang Ning acts bored, she won't stop the flow.

Were Chuchu not there, Jiang Ning would've definitely tweaked her soft cheeks.

"School resumes on the twelfth of the Lunar New Year— that's a full week away still. Jiang Ning, what's on your agenda for these days?" she queries, her sparkling eyes fluttering.