38: Do you really have martial arts skills?

Happy times are always short-lived.

In what felt like a blink of an eye, the sun was high in the sky, and it was lunchtime.

As the roar of an engine stopped in the yard, Yangs Mother's voice drifted up from downstairs:

"Time to eat!"

Walking out of his room at the summons, before he even reached the stairs, Yang Dian heard Yangs Mother's laughter ring out from the yard:

"Oh, you really caught a Big Black Carp?"

"This size, isn't it about twenty or thirty jin?"

Yangs Father's voice sounded a bit smug:

"Of course!"

"I weighed it, twenty-three jin and six liang."

Yangs Mother suddenly understood:

"One jin is 16 yuan, 23 jin is 368, round it down and it's 360 yuan."

Yangs Father was startled:

"How did you know?"

"You forgot to turn off family payment."

Yangs Mother pulled out her phone, which clearly showed that 360 yuan had been paid via family payment 17 minutes ago.

"Did you come back empty-handed again this morning?"

One sentence made old Yang unable to lift his head for three days.

"Mom, don't pick on Dad anymore." Hearing her mother begin her daily teasing, Yang Lele, for once, spoke up for old Yang:

"Although my dad came back empty-handed, his intention was good."

"At least he still thought to go to the market to buy a Big Black Carp to nourish us."

Old Yang, who was about to praise Yang Lele, reached out and patted his forehead:

"You might as well not have said anything..."

...Amidst laughter, he picked up the Big Black Carp and walked towards the house.

Before he even entered the door, old Yang sniffed, then turned his head towards the kitchen:

"What's that smell?"

"It's a bit strange, like the smell of fermented oranges."

"But it smells better than that."

"Did you make something delicious?"

Yang Dian looked at his old man with surprise.

Old Yang's sense of smell seemed even stronger than his.

The strange smell he detected was the scent of blue lotus seed after being pressure-cooked.

However, this smell was extremely faint; even he had to get close to detect it.

'Then again, old Yang's nose does seem a bit rounder and redder than before.'

'From a slight distance, it looks like a clown's nose in a circus.'

'Could he have Awakened too?'

'No way...'

While muttering to himself, the family walked into the kitchen.

Opening the pressure cooker, as the scorching hot steam diffused like a mushroom, the fruity fermented aroma, similar to fruit wine, became even more intense.

Yang Yong poked his head into the pressure cooker for a look, then frowned deeply:

"Can this thing be eaten?"

Hearing this, Yang Dian also looked into the pressure cooker.

The next moment, the ice-blue lotus seed soup in the pot, seemingly filled with 'Divine Qi,' came into his view.

Staring at the lotus seed soup, Yang Dian subconsciously rubbed his nose.

If it weren't for the fact that he was certain blue lotus seed was meant to be eaten this way, based on its appearance alone, he really wouldn't dare to drink the lotus seed soup.

"Dad, don't worry, would I harm you?"

"This thing was obtained through special channels; ordinary people don't have the good fortune to drink this."

Yang Yong smacked his lips, confirming again:

"Can it really be eaten?"

Yang Dian nodded affirmatively and picked up a measuring cup nearby:

"This thing is a treasure."

"Ordinary people can only consume it once a year, and the single serving should not exceed 300 milliliters."

He used a spoon to scoop the lotus seed soup from the pressure cooker.

After steadily pouring 290 milliliters of lotus seed soup, Yang Dian then poured the lotus seed soup into a bowl and, with an eager expression, handed it to Yang Yong:

"Dad, here you go."

"Can this be drunk?" Yang Yong mumbled, then tested the temperature with his lips.

After confirming the temperature was suitable, he looked at his eldest son, whose face was full of eagerness, then at his wife and daughter nearby. Finally, he steeled his heart, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and downed the lotus seed soup in one gulp.

"It's sweet and sour."

"The taste is not bad."

Just as he finished his appraisal, he saw his good son take the bowl from his hand.

Before he could ask in detail where this thing came from, or if he really couldn't drink more, he felt his intestines creeping a few times.

Realizing something was wrong, Yang Yong immediately tensed his glutes and sprinted towards the bathroom:

"There's poison in the soup, don't drink it!"

"Bang~"

"Crackle crackle~~~"

Hearing the faint sounds from behind the closed door, He Mei and Yang Lele simultaneously turned their gaze to Yang Dian.

Yang Dian shrugged, turned to the sink, and began washing dishes:

"The blue lotus seed soup's effect on regulating the stomach is like this."

"First, it expels toxins from the body, then it regulates the intestinal flora, ultimately achieving the effect of regulating the stomach."

"Oh, and the expelled toxins include some melanin."

"It's equivalent to skin whitening."

"When Dad comes out, you can see the effect."

Hearing that the lotus seed soup had a skin-whitening effect, the mother and daughter, big and small, immediately had their eyes light up:

"Does it really have a skin-whitening effect?"

"Such a good thing, can it really only be consumed once a year?"

Yang Dian, who had finished washing the dishes, nodded:

"It really does have a skin-whitening effect."

"For ordinary people, it really can only be consumed once a year."

Hearing Yang Dian mention the term "ordinary people" again, Yangs Mother subtly frowned.

She wasn't stupid.

Yang Dian had emphasized several words in a short time that he wouldn't usually use, and she had certainly noticed.

Seeing her mother's perplexed gaze, Yang Dian gestured towards Yang Lele.

Yang Lele scampered upstairs.

When she came back down, she was holding a copy of the Heaven and Man Unity Skill.

Looking at the Heaven and Man Unity Skill, which her precious daughter presented to her like a treasure, a series of question marks appeared on He Mei's forehead.

Taking the Secret Manual, she looked at Yang Dian with some hesitation:

"Martial Arts?"

Yang Dian nodded in confirmation:

"Yes, it is Martial Arts."

Saying this, he reached for the ceramic bowl on the counter and flicked it with his finger.

"Clang~"

The freshly washed ceramic bowl split into two with a crisp sound.

Looking back at his mother's suddenly wide eyes, Yang Dian then took the smaller half of the ceramic bowl into his palm.

With a slight thought, his palm once again turned purplish-green.

His palms rubbed together slightly, and the ceramic bowl turned into powder with a "crunch," fluttering down into the trash can.

After grinding the entire half of the ceramic bowl into powder, Yang Dian restored his hands to their original state, clapped them to brush off the powder, and looked at Yangs Mother:

"There~"

"This is Martial Arts."

He Mei looked at Yang Dian's hands, then at the ceramic powder scattered on the floor, then at the remaining half of the bowl on the counter, and finally walked over to Yang Dian and raised her hand to hit the back of his head:

"Martial Arts is Martial Arts, do you think your mother wouldn't believe you?"

"What kind of talk is it to break a bowl? Don't bowls cost money?"

"Look at how capable you are."

After muttering a couple of sentences, she tightened her grip on the Heaven and Man Unity Skill:

"There really is Martial Arts?"