I Really Didn’t Want to Increase My Favorability!

Chapter 171

As soon as the pill entered her mouth, the strange taste of herbs and plants dissipated instantly, and a burst of various fruit flavors exploded in her mouth.

However, it wasn’t quite sweet or sour, more like dried fruit, but with a bit more moisture.

It dissolved quickly, vanishing in her mouth just like ice cream.

“Do you feel anything?”

“It’s actually quite tasty.”

Ye Fanleng blinked her slender eyes. Xu Lin noticed that after she took the pill, her cheeks turned a bit red, making her look even more enticing.

“Haha, just wait a bit and you might feel something. Or maybe you won’t feel anything at all, but it will gradually take effect.”

“If it works, I’ll buy more to share with my clients’ wives. If they’re happy, maybe I can get a better deal on my supply chain.”

She made a joke, though she didn’t have high hopes for this homemade pill. It was probably no different from regular blood and energy supplements.

Last night, Xu Lin had gritted his teeth and bought a book on alchemy and a secret recipe for 30,000 points before bed.

Converting it into favorability points, that’s like the reward from two girls with 40 favorability points each. The content was indeed rich, magical, and difficult.

He instantly acquired level 2 alchemy skills, but he needed time to digest and practice. However, the secret recipe was quite advanced.

He was left bewildered, as he didn’t even have confidence in making basic pills. Just like in some fantasy novels, the ingredients for alchemy were often expensive, though fortunately, not to the extent of needing specific rare materials.

The quantity and types of materials were numerous, and he instinctively knew that the cost of one pill would be around 500 yuan, even if he succeeded.

Moreover, alchemy was time-consuming. He thought he’d need a long holiday to practice.

Luckily, low-level beauty pills were relatively easy to make. He hoped to succeed before the New Year and give each girl a pill.

“I want one too!”

“You don’t need it. Only adults do.” Xu Lin tapped Shaoyao’s nose.

“Adults need it? Will it make children’s stomachs hurt?”

“Yes, it will make you ugly.”

“Then Shaoyao won’t take it.”

“Let’s go, I’ll take you and your mom to breakfast.”

“Okay!” Shaoyao patted her belly, feeling a bit hungry.

“Although this is a small city, people in Linshui take breakfast seriously. There are all kinds of food.”

“Many people might skip lunch and dinner, but they always have a hearty breakfast before going to work or school.”

Shaoyao’s stomach growled as she listened. “Let’s go quickly.”

“Look at you, so greedy. Let me brush your hair.” Ye Fanleng grabbed Shaoyao, who was rushing towards the door.

“Mom, your hair is messy too.”

“You want to brush my hair?”

“Shaoyao doesn’t know how…”

“I’ll teach you when we have time.”

“Okay.”

They tidied up a bit. Ye Fanleng washed her daughter’s face, then her own, and brushed her hair smooth.

“Does mom look good without makeup?”

“Even better.”

“No… actually, Mom is getting old.” She looked in the mirror and saw a fine line at the corner of her eye.

It wasn’t that she didn’t take care of herself, but work was too exhausting. Late nights are the biggest enemy of youth, and no amount of makeup or beauty treatments can help…

“Mom will never grow old!”

“When you grow up, Mom will be like Aunt Li.”

“No, Mom will always be a fairy!”

“…” Ye Fanleng looked at her daughter, tears welling up but held back. “Yes, Mom will always be a fairy.”

“Mom, find me a dad.”

Seeing her mother so gentle today, Shaoyao had her own little thought. Maybe Mom would agree now.

“Shaoyao, do you want Brother Xu to be your dad?” Ye Fanleng thought it might not be bad to talk a bit with her daughter.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Brother is great.”

“In what way?”

“What do you mean?” She frowned and bit her finger, thinking about what ‘great’ meant.

“But isn’t Brother too young to be your dad?”

“Mommy is young too, just as pretty and young as the other girls.”

“You’re sweet, but I am indeed older than your Brother Xu. Many people will talk.”

“But if you like him, why care about what others say?” Shaoyao thought this was strange.

But her daughter’s words gave her pause. Sometimes people do change their minds because of others’ opinions.

She had always done things her own way, but when it came to marriage and finding a dad for Shaoyao, she cared about others’ opinions.

“Then I’ll work hard.”

“Really?!”

“Really.”

“Great!” Shaoyao ran outside, and Ye Fanleng quickly stopped her.

“Where are you going?”

“To tell Brother Xu.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Why?”

“No reason, don’t make Mom angry.”

“Okay.”

Xu Lin, meanwhile, put on the shoes Ye Fanleng had given him yesterday. He wanted to test his current state.

Actually, he could use his light skills to get first place directly, but he wanted to win the competition on his own. The gold medal’s meaning lies in this.

“Shaoyao washed her hands. Brother, what do we eat?”

“What do you want to eat?”

If he were to recommend, his breakfast would be the usual, black rice porridge and chicken rolls, but these are available everywhere.

“I want meat.”

“Meat in the morning?” Ye Fanleng glanced at her daughter, but she used her big watery eyes to get her way.

“Okay, but just for today.”

“Yay!”

Speaking of meat in Linshui, there’s “kou wan” (steamed dishes). Generally, filling a bowl with ingredients and steaming it upside down qualifies.

Strictly speaking, kou wan is first fried, then steamed, but this has become less strict over time. Anything turned upside down from a bowl can be called kou wan.

However, kou wan is very adaptable to local tastes.

Other famous bowl-related dishes include “eight big bowls,” with many being kou wan variants, divided into different schools.

Each school’s eight bowls are unique but all have their special flavors, offering a variety of tastes.

In Linshui, kou wan has evolved into about 12 varieties.

Typically, there’s a balance of eight meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, plus soup, as locals emphasize the flavor of the broth.

This has made kou wan a breakfast staple, with both solid food and good soup.

“I’ll take you to eat kou wan.”

“Kou wan?”

“A bowl full of meat.”

“Alright! Meat, here I come!” Shaoyao shouted, running out the door.

“Jiangli, don’t run around!”

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