3: Chapter 3: Buy in the morning, eat at noon, leave in the evening.

(Character design sketch for An Miaomiao has been posted in the author's notes)

"Don't touch me."

Yang Shiguang was no longer the person he used to be. He wasn't provoked by the words; he merely said this in a deep voice and brushed the hand pressing on his shoulder away.

Li Jun looked at Yang Shiguang with some curiosity, but the flash of killing intent in Yang Shiguang's eyes terrified him, causing cold sweat to break out on his back.

But soon, seeing the colorful-haired thugs surrounding them, he pretended to be calm and placed his hand back on Yang Shiguang, smiling lecherously at An Miaomiao behind him:

"Little Miaomiao, so you like picking up leftovers? School Beauty Zhang ran off to Star City for her third year of high school, and yet you treat this dog, abandoned for a year, like a treasure. I really feel it's not worth it for you."

An Miaomiao felt terrible hearing Li Jun insult Yang Shiguang so blatantly; her willow-leaf eyebrows arched, and her peach-blossom eyes widened in anger.

"Li Jun, I won't allow you to insult Brother Shiguang!"

Li Jun didn't speak; he just laughed loudly and signaled for the colorful-haired thugs beside him to grab An Miaomiao.

However, he suddenly felt the hand he had on Yang Shiguang's shoulder being yanked, followed by a dizzying spin, and then he fell to the ground.

"I already said it: don't touch me."

Yang Shiguang glanced down at Li Jun, who had been thrown to the ground by his shoulder throw, his tone remaining very flat.

Yet, this physical action awakened the muscle memory Yang Shiguang had from before his rebirth.

Watching the colorful-haired thugs rushing up, a few elbow strikes and a sweep kick later, they were all on the ground.

"Being young is truly great; just lay your head down and you're asleep."

Yang Shiguang clapped his hands and chuckled twice.

In Li Jun's incredulous gaze, Yang Shiguang's suddenly tall silhouette was already walking away with his equally astonished childhood friends.

Li Jun's mouth was actually trembling, and he didn't even know what he was muttering.

"Brother Shiguang, you aren't hurt, are you?"

On the road, An Miaomiao kept circling Yang Shiguang, looking him over; her peach-blossom eyes were full of admiration, but there was still a hint of worry in her expression.

Yang Shiguang indicated he was fine and even patted the cute girl's little head.

You Ge, however, was extremely puzzled.

He knew his good brother could fight, but it was always just brute force head-on. He had never seen that move today!

"Shiguang, did you... awaken?"

Yang Shiguang smiled, shook his head, and changed the subject.

"I told you, the startup was successful!"

...

After buying the ingredients, he gave An Miaomiao 100 yuan and asked her to go to the pond to buy the shrimp the children had caught, emphasizing that they should take as many as they could get.

Afterward, the three of them gathered in the yard in front of Yang Shiguang's house and began the massive project of scrubbing the shrimp.

By the time the shrimp were scrubbed, it was nearly dusk. Yang Shiguang told You Ge to ride the broken tricycle at the door to go buy some items. An Miaomiao walked into Yang Shiguang's kitchen as if she were very familiar with it.

An Miaomiao's parents ran a small restaurant in Jianning, and she often went to help on weekends; when business was booming, she could even help stir-fry dishes.

Usually, after school was mealtime, and since her parents definitely wouldn't be back, and Yang Shiguang's house only had him and his grandmother, she simply became the little cook in Yang Shiguang's home, helping them cook, eating together, doing homework, and only heading home at night.

Yang Shiguang set up a large 50-liter bucket for boiling water to the side.

"If I remember correctly, emmm... star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, angelica dahurica, and sand ginger."

After tying the spice bag up and soaking it in boiling water, Yang Shiguang poured the contents of various bottles and jars into the large bucket.

After putting the spice bag into the bucket, he grabbed dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns and tossed them into the bucket.

At this moment, An Miaomiao had finished heating the oil, grabbed a basin of shrimp, put them into the pot, deep-fried them, let them change color, drained the oil, and scooped them out in one smooth motion; her movements were efficient and without any hesitation.

When You Ge returned from his shopping trip, it was already 7:00 PM. By this time, An Miaomiao had finished frying all the crayfish and had placed them in the large bucket of marinade to soak.

"Hmm, this should be the first pre-made dish in our country! Don't you think so, A-You."

Shiguang gazed at the large bucket wafting with the scent of marinade and muttered to himself.

"Shiguang, I'm hungry."

Smelling the aroma of the marinade, You Ge's stomach rumbled.

"Brother Shiguang, you must be hungry too, shall I go make something?"

After saying this, An Miaomiao was about to tie the apron she had just taken off back around her waist.

Yang Shiguang gently took the apron and said:

"Miaomiao, you rest; I'll make it."

"Huh? I was just about to ask; I've never seen you cook before. I thought you learned the crayfish on the internet."

Yang Shiguang thought to himself, "Oh no, I'm going to be exposed."

In his previous life, Yang Shiguang did indeed have good culinary skills, but that was something he had practiced after graduating from college, when he was all alone but loved to eat.

Eating out was expensive for one thing, but more importantly, whether going for late-night snacks or to high-end restaurants alone, it was okay occasionally, but doing it too often inevitably made him feel a bit heartbroken seeing others in pairs.

After all, when he was 18 in his previous life, he hadn't unlocked this skill yet.

"Uh... I've always known how; it's just that every time you come over, you rush to do the cooking, so I never had room to show off."

"Is that so? But..."

An Miaomiao didn't seem entirely convinced by this explanation, but Yang Shiguang interrupted her.

"Stop with the 'buts.' I'll make one meal today, and you can see if it's as good as yours, Miaomiao."

After saying that, he tied on the apron and walked toward the kitchen.

"What about me? Do I get to eat!"

You Ge shouted dissatisfiedly at Yang Shiguang's back.

The person was already gone, but his voice drifted back.

"Yes, you can just eat the leftovers we don't finish."

Soon, three simple, home-style Hunan dishes were served on the table.

Stir-fried pork with chili, hand-torn cabbage, bitter melon and pork slice soup, and the freshly marinated crayfish. Yang Shiguang also served a small portion for the two of them to taste.

"Try it."

The three sat down, and You Ge was the first to reach out with his chopsticks, but he was slapped twice by Yang Shiguang.

"Let Miaomiao try first."

You Ge rubbed his hand, looking at Yang Shiguang with an unhappy expression.

Meanwhile, Yang Shiguang had already peeled a shrimp and placed it in An Miaomiao's bowl.

An Miaomiao picked up the shrimp meat and stuffed it into her little mouth; her peach-blossom eyes sparkled with little stars as she gazed at Yang Shiguang with admiration.

"It's really delicious, Brother Shiguang! I didn't expect your cooking to be this good!"

"It's alright. Your cooking is also great, you know. I don't know who will be lucky enough to marry you in the future."

Watching the man and woman complimenting each other, You Ge shoveled rice into his mouth, looking unhappy.

"I can cook too, you know. How come I never hear you guys compliment me?"

As soon as the words were out, he saw An Miaomiao and Yang Shiguang stop what they were doing. An Miaomiao had a look of helplessness on her face, and Yang Shiguang was holding back laughter.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong? I think I could open a restaurant too!"

The two had indeed eaten food cooked by You Ge, but the feeling was...

An Miaomiao said helplessly:

"Yes, yes, yes, A-You's cooking is very delicious, and the hospital's air conditioning is very cool."

Hearing this, Yang Shiguang followed up with a jab.

"Yes, yes, yes, if A-You opened a restaurant, people would buy in the morning, eat at noon, and leave by night."

...

The three of them had a simple meal and then pushed the tricycle slowly toward the city.

At this time, there were quite a few cars on the road in '07. For safety, Yang Shiguang let An Miaomiao sit on the cart, while he and You Ge pushed the front, chatting intermittently.

"By the way, Shiguang, although I was joking when I said her mother would chase you away, do you really not plan to go find Zishan ahead of time?"

Hearing this name, a flash of sadness crossed An Miaomiao's face. However, both were facing away from her, so it went unnoticed.

"Find her, my ass. Didn't I say making money is the most important thing?"

"Brother Shiguang is so silly. Haven't I told you many times? You have to be proactive when chasing a girl."

"Yes, yes, yes, my little strategist."

Back in junior high, upon learning that Yang Shiguang liked Zhang Zishan, An Miaomiao had volunteered to offer advice, taking on the role of strategist. Actually, none of the three had any experience in this area. As for why You Ge wasn't the strategist? Well, 'talking strategy on paper' at least requires the ability to talk strategy, not just strumming the lute randomly.

"I've had an epiphany through countless startups: between being a billionaire and Zhang Zishan, I think being a billionaire is more important."

You Ge, standing to the side, heard this with a look of disbelief.

"Billionaire? Relying on these 10-legged things? Do you believe him, Miaomiao?"

Hearing You Ge's words, Yang Shiguang turned back to look at An Miaomiao sitting on the cart. An Miaomiao looked at Yang Shiguang and nodded vigorously.

"I believe!"

You Ge shook his head.

"Asking you is useless anyway. You believe everything he says. One day if he says he's the First Emperor of Qin, you'll believe that too."

Yang Shiguang laughed out loud upon hearing this.

"Right, I am the First Emperor of Qin. Tomorrow I'll appoint you as the Chief Eunuch and Minister of the Carriage Palace."

"Get lost!"

"Tch, you're looking down on it? You might not even have the brains of Lord Zhao."

"What about me? What about me? Brother Shiguang."

An Miaomiao asked with a grin.

"You? Of course, you'd be the Duchess of the State."

"Really? Then I'm going to take that seriously!"

"Hahaha, just kidding. We're such good buddies, I'd definitely reward you with a position as one of the Three Excellencies, right?"

"Mm-hmm, that's more like it."

Her tone didn't change, but the trace of loneliness in An Miaomiao's eyes surfaced for a fleeting moment.

But soon, it returned to being as calm as the night sky.