Chương 34: Some Burgers

The preparation process took much longer than Ren expected, especially the plucking part, which he almost completely messed up. The crimson shades of the pheasants, reflected in the light, didn't help it. On the contrary, they caused him to fall into thoughts and use too much force. When he came to himself, their fragile meats were on the verge of ruin. So he had to focus back on the goal at hand: making delicious chicken burgers for the kids and venison burgers with cheese for the adults.

Anyway, the pheasants were ready and settled in their salty water pond for an hour. The next part was the enormous meat slab. Big job. And the fun one. Ren laid the slab on the counter with a solid thump. The cold mist curling from its surface still clung to the faint gamey scent of wild meat.

"Alright, let's see…" He scanned the wall of tools and started with a filleting knife— thin, light, and rune-etched along the handle. He pared away excess fat, leaving just enough for flavor. A light trim was all it needed. The scraps went into a separate bowl, as he could get drippings. Their flavor was great for the sauce. Then came the butchering. He took the cleaver, a simple yet huge one with runes of heaviness and durability.

He first separated the meat into manageable sections, cleaving through the ribs with dull, satisfying thuds. The boning knife followed, its tip gliding along the grain to strip away the silvery tendons, each one as hard as steel. Though their adversary had the power of sharpness runes, easily taken care of them. The blade moved through unhindered, Ren unconsciously trying to copy the scar he saw. Only one move, hand steady, but not heavy. Light, it should glide along with meat.

Just separate a single tendon, and it was done— He messed halfway, hand trembling just a little bit. The perfect line slid only millimeters to the side, but it was enough for Ren to frown. My control is still weak. He sighed, but gave up trying. After all, he had a lot to do. Another time. Before the hardest part, Ren took the slices and rubbed a green, herbal mix all over them. It, strangely, didn't have a smell. He didn't have any idea what it contained, but since a heavenly cook made it, who was he to question?

Now, they were gonna rest for half an hour. After all, what makes it taste better than a good rest? Smiling, Ren took off his gloves, rolled his sleeves, and got ready for the great struggle called making buns. Yeast and flour were easy to get. Sugar, salt, olive oil? No problem. Even scored a couple of golden eggs from who knows which poor soul. But the real challenge? Finding where the hell Master Lei had stashed the secret ingredient for the best buns in existence.

"He'd die if he didn't change its place three times a week," Ren grumbled, checking all the cold-rune carved shelves. The disadvantage of having such a huge space immediately showed itself— he couldn't freaking find it. Scratching his head, Ren finally turned toward the stone oven in the right corner, directly against the freezer. It was something his soul brother insisted on having, using real wood instead of rune-fires.

And because it was such an inconvenience for other spiritual cooks, nobody would use it, which meant… the perfect place to hide something. He pulled open its cast-steel lid, covered in runes. A strange choice for an oven, but it was the only cheap choice for plastering a heat-trapping formation.

"Bingo," Ren smirked and took the carefully sealed container.

"Guess you're still the losing one, bastard." He popped the lid open— WHUMP! A violent puff of black smoke exploded in his face with a noise like a party popper from hell. It stung his eyes, coated his tongue in something halfway between cinnamon and burned chili, and instantly drove him into a hacking cough.

"Khh—hah—pffft!" He waved the cloud away, only to notice a small slip of paper drifting lazily down through the haze. Squinting, Ren caught it between two fingers."' If you're gonna take it, at least be ready to pay the price. I won, bastard!'" Ren glared at the note, then noticed another container sitting smugly inside the empty smoke-box." You sneaky fucker! Let's see if you'll still laugh after I finish it all." He quickly cleaned the mess and went back to his soon-to-be-bun collection.

Mix, beat, mix, beat, curse the stickiness, then curse the greedy prankster, beat the dough with more force, imagine it was him. Yeah, classic dough-making. When it reached the perfect smoothness stage, Ren opened the small container and stared at his golden trophy, sitting and glimmering in the light.

"I still don't know who could continuously supply him Heavenly Butter…" he muttered, scooping a few generous-sized pieces. It might be the greatest ingredient in the world, made from a Heaven-Grazing Cow's milk. Did I say it's an Ascendant beast right at the birth? And in front of him lay more than three kilograms of butter. Fine, I can't finish it all no matter what… Accepting his loss, Ren put the warm pieces into the dough.

This was another strange feature: melting immediately to room temperature as soon as you took it out of the freezer. Of course, nobody would complain about it. Especially someone making buns. Soon, Ren put the perfect dough into a deep bowl, covered it with a towel, and let it rest. Like a buzzing bee, he turned and took out some potatoes. He just made a thin slice on the skin, put them in cold water, and let them boil. The meat had rested enough by the time, and the pheasants were about to.

He also didn't forget the thin slices he separated. Before starting with the meat, he placed it on a stove. Then he returned to the cleaver once again, and another systematic step started: mincing. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Five minutes later, he got his ground venison with a much finer texture than any grinder could achieve.

After adding spices and rolling them down into six huge balls, he finally placed them on the griddle he had already heated— all rune fire. Cultivation world or not, culinary tools were essential. And when you have thousands of years in front of you, you ought to invent some fine shit.

"It's time…" he muttered, hands eagerly reaching forward. Szzzzt! A soul-shaking sizzle came as Ren pressed the balls fully flat. He let out a satisfied chuckle. Next steps? Fun, but more than that, busy. Extremely busy. The frantic back-and-forth drove home the harsh truth. Just because you can cook well doesn't make you a chef. However, he felt happier than ever as being busy was good. You couldn't find time to think when busy. No distracting thoughts, no sudden memory emerging. Just knives, meat, and fire.

Follow the steps and focus on the process. And Ren did that. For three whole hours, he didn't even stop for a moment. His reward? Six plates of gorgeous burgers, each one flanked by three different sauces, sat lined up in front of him. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ren covered the plates and collapsed into a chair he'd dragged in from god-knows where. Just as he let his eyelids drop, ready to marinate himself in peace before lunch— Madam Zhang swept into the kitchen with grace.

"Your timing sense is as immaculate as ever, young master." Ren winced, stealing a glance to the side.

"Actually, I need ten minutes or so."

"Hmm?" Madam Zhang arched a brow, a faint smile plastered on her face.

"The thing is," Ren muttered under her gaze, scratching his head, "I decided to make cookies, too. You know, with a great meal comes great dessert."

"Oh, I didn't know you were into desserts, young master." She leaned onto a counter, her tone soft. Almost as if she knew the hidden truth.

"That's new, but not bad. Pretty sure kids will love it. But what kind of cookies are we talking about?" He averted his eyes in guilt. Yet he knew he couldn't escape her piercing gaze.

"Just some classic cookies…"

"And?"

"…"

"Young master?"

"With butter…" The realization instantly sank as Madam Zhang's eyes widened in terror.

"Young master, please don't tell me you just used Heavenly Butter on some… cookies…" she trailed off, but it was already too late. Ren lifted his head with a smirk so wide that he almost tore his mouth apart.

"Exactly." If he couldn't return the favor of eating a smoke bomb in the face, how could he show his face the next time? … When Ren returned along with Madam Zhang, he found Baozhai had already prepared the table in the front garden. Winter was approaching fast, after all. They should enjoy such warm weather while they can.

"You're late." She gave him a faint smile. Ren couldn't help but gasp subtly. She wasn't in her usual storm-painted robes. Instead, she wore a purple dress that stopped at her knees. Nothing fancy, of course, just a plain one. Loose at the chest, cinched neatly at her waist. But somehow this plain dress created a stark contrast with her sharp features, especially with Madam Zhang's pink flowers blooming in soft clusters behind her. Except Ren didn't care about the flowers. Not even a little bit.

His gaze caught and refused to move. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and this time she was rocking a pair of earrings for sure.

"What, too tired already?" She arched a brow, a grin sharpened with mischief.

"Or are you stunned so much to forget how to talk?" The second one, I guess. Ren forced a small shake of his head, trying to scatter the freaking thoughts rattling around.

"First one, for sure," he muttered, dragging his gaze away with effort. He looked around, anywhere but her.

"Where are the kids?"

"Washing hands." She shrugged, choosing not to press on— as if holding back made it more fun.

"You'll hear them before they come. So, what's on the menu?" Ren nodded as Madam Zhang started to take out the plates. Still, he couldn't stop himself and lifted his head.

"The kids… are they fine?" he asked, with hesitation.

"I talked to them, don't worry," Baozhai muttered, then added with an amused look, "Though your compensation should be quite pricey for them to forgive."

"Heh, they'll be satisfied for sure, if so." Fortunately, they didn't need to wait for long.

"I can't believe we're gonna taste Senior Brother's handmade meal! Aren't you excited, Ruolan?"

"Excited?" Ruolan scoffed, arms crossed.

"It's just food. You're a cultivator. You won't die without it."

"But it's food that Senior Brother made!" The trio of troublemakers burst through the side door, chatter spilling out ahead of them.

"Ah, he is back!" Wenhai directly jumped at one of the chairs, rubbing his hands.

"I'm starving, let's dive in."

"Whoa, there, champ." Ren stood at the head of the table, lifting a hand.

"Wait for everyone." Even though it seemed hard, Puppy nodded, his gaze never leaving the plates. Ignoring him, Ren watched them settle on the chairs, a faint smile on his lips. This was, after all, no ordinary meal. Something— although not entirely— new for this world. Also, his way of apology, even though he had no clue if it would actually do the trick. But hey, a man could hope, right?

"You can open it now," Ren announced, clapping his hands once. A puff of steam shot up right away, curling into the air like spirit mist, fragrant enough to pull a collective gasp from the table. Golden buns gleamed faintly in the sunlight, soft and fluffy yet sturdy enough to hold themselves with pride. Beneath them, a crimson-tinged pheasant patty sizzled still, its juices mixing with the melted cheese into slow, gooey strands. Beside them stood venison burgers— triple-stacked monsters on their own.

"This… meat buns? But why are they open?" Wenhai asked. He gave the bun a poke, and it squished down before springing right back up. Ren chuckled, lifting Wenhai's burger with both hands.

"These, kids, are called burgers." his smile widened as he held it aloft for demonstration.

"It's a different version of meat bun, but way tastier, and it comes in endless varieties depending on how you prepare it. For example…" he tilted the pheasant burger slightly, letting the melted cheese glisten.

"This one is Double Cheese Crispy Chicken." The buns gave off a buttery warmth just from being near. He struggled to resist the urge to bite. Still, he gave it back to the kid and waved a hand for them to go on. Wenhai was the first to break. He practically pounced on it as soon as Ren put it back, both hands seizing the bun like it might vanish if he hesitated. One bite in and his eyes rolled back, a muffled groan of bliss escaping him.

The outer layer of patties crunched between his teeth while the soft inners exploded with juice, mixing with the sauce already streaking down his chin.

"Heavens above— Senior Brother, t-this is too good!" Ruolan, by contrast, lifted hers with deliberate care, mimicking his hold with a frown. She bit in small, sharp, testing. Her eyes narrowed further, then her jaw slowed just for a heartbeat before she quickly masked it with a scoff.

"Hmph. Greasy," she muttered, wiping the corner of her lip a little too late.

"But… not terrible." Liuxue said nothing at all. She simply picked hers up, the steam fogging faintly against her cold expression, and took the smallest bite possible. Yet the way her fingers tightened ever so slightly on the bun betrayed the truth. She did not put it down. On the contrary, her bites got bigger. Ren finally sat on his chair and leaned back, genuinely smiling. That'll do.