"Shino, you have indeed mastered one-handed hand seals. Just practice well from now on. Also, get familiar with using one-handed hand seals for other Ninjutsu as well. You will definitely use them in future battles."
Xia Mu gave a few instructions, then conveniently put the prepared pig trotters on to stew, not forgetting to add orange peel and also preparing the soybeans.
Actually, it would be better if there was lotus root, but lotus root is so expensive! Even if he bought some, he couldn't buy much, and Choji was invited this time, so it definitely wouldn't be enough to eat. It's better to use soybeans.
Seeing this, Shino decisively helped wash the vegetables.
Before long, Shikamaru came with a large piece of venison, and also brought a grill and seasonings, which was a great help.
Choji didn't bring many snacks, but he also brought a large piece of beef, drooling as he said: "I told my parents I was eating at a friend's house, and they insisted I bring beef. Hehe, Shikamaru, you brought a grill, so let's grill it together."
"How troublesome! I'll grill it."
This is how Shikamaru is; he always says things are troublesome, but he never hesitates when it comes to his friends.
Xia Mu quickly said: "Give me some of the beef, I'll make some other flavors for you."
Shikamaru and Choji naturally agreed. Since Xia Mu was treating, he could do whatever he wanted. They were just there to help out and wait to eat.
At this time, Xia Mu was busy in the kitchen alone, while Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji were tinkering with the grill.
Shikamaru casually said: "Shino, this isn't your first time visiting Xia Mu's house, is it?"
Shino nodded, his tone still a little proud: "Xia Mu invited me over once before. The food he made was delicious. I was the first friend to taste his cooking."
"Is it that delicious? Then we can eat our fill today!"
Choji's stomach was already rumbling, especially with the wafts of fragrance, which made him drool.
Fortunately, Xia Mu worked quickly, and soon the dishes were brought to the table one by one. He also specially prepared several bottles of juice.
Looking at the table full of dishes: Braised pig trotters with soybeans, Stir-fried cured meat with garlic sprouts, Stir-fried tomatoes with eggs, Spicy stir-fried chicken, Spicy beef, Boiled chicken slices, Stir-fried green vegetables, Pork and vegetable soup, Grilled venison, Grilled beef, and a large pot of rice next to it.
Shikamaru's eye twitched: "This...this much, can we finish it?"
Choji vowed: "We can definitely finish it! And it looks so delicious, I won't leave a single bit!"
Shino was also a little greedy. He had eaten it once before and couldn't forget it. Now there were more types of dishes, and they looked and smelled amazing. He thought the taste wouldn't be bad either.
Xia Mu served a bowl of rice for everyone, a large bowl for Choji, and even put a basin of rice next to Choji.
He also gave each person an empty bowl and prepared serving chopsticks and spoons. After all, the custom in this world was to eat separately, and Xia Mu had to adapt to the local customs.
"Alright, don't be shy, let's eat!"
As the host, Xia Mu took the lead in picking up his chopsticks after announcing that they could eat. The others were also impatient.
Before long, no one at the table was talking, all of them were buried in their food, afraid that if they were a little slower, someone else would get ahead. The dishes that they originally thought they couldn't finish were quickly cleared, and that guy Choji didn't even leave any of the pig trotters soup.
By the time the sky was just getting dark, the four of them were all slumped in their chairs, the table a mess.
"Burp—So full! It was really delicious, I want to eat more!" Choji was clearly not satisfied.
"Xia Mu, your cooking is really good." Shikamaru praised sincerely.
Shino didn't speak, but just kept nodding, wishing he could give ten thumbs up, clearly very satisfied.
Xia Mu was also very satisfied. Not to mention that he deliberately made these friends, just eating with friends was much happier than being alone on a daily basis.
Indeed, people don't like being lonely; they still need friends.
"Alright, if you're too full, don't just sit there. Get up and walk around to digest, otherwise your stomach will hurt when you sleep at night."
Xia Mu urged the three of them to get up. The few of them strolled around the vicinity together, and before long they even reached the street, where they could smell the aroma of food from various stalls.
Choji still wanted to eat, but he was stopped by everyone.
Passing by Ichiraku Ramen, they saw Iruka-sensei eating noodles with Naruto. Naruto's face was full of smiles, clearly happy that Iruka was eating with him.
These two, who were not father and son but would be closer than father and son in the future, were probably starting to build their relationship at this time.
Shikamaru glanced at Naruto's back and casually asked: "Xia Mu, what do you think of Naruto?"
I'm looking with my eyes!
Xia Mu was a little speechless, but he could probably understand Shikamaru's thoughts. Shikamaru was from a large Ninja clan after all, and with his intelligence, he knew a lot of things. He probably had mixed feelings about Naruto. At present, Shikamaru and Choji had not yet become friends with Naruto, nor had they skipped class together. Perhaps Shikamaru was unsure how to interact with Naruto.
As the eldest son of the Nara clan head, which was affiliated with the Sarutobi clan, whether interacting with the Jinchuriki without authorization would be approved was enough to make him conflicted.
"Just a hot-blooded idiot."
Xia Mu gave his answer.
That's right, for children, if you don't consider the villagers' fox demon rumors, Naruto isn't some Jinchuriki, but merely a hot-blooded idiot.
Shikamaru was a member of a large clan after all, and from the Hokage lineage, so he didn't actually need to worry too much.
If he wasn't allowed to be friends with Naruto, the elders in his family would have already told him. Why would Shikamaru need to think wildly? Shikamaru was just too smart and fell into a misconception.
"A hot-blooded idiot?"
Shikamaru chewed on this sentence and laughed, "Hehe, indeed, that description is very fitting. Everyone says I'm very smart, but actually Xia Mu, you're not stupid either. Perhaps your IQ is higher than mine."
Xia Mu waved his hand: "I don't believe in IQ data. As the saying goes, even the wisest person makes a mistake, and even the foolish person has a gain from a thousand thoughts. I only know that I need to think more. But you, Shikamaru, are truly very smart. Sometimes you don't need to think too much, and you don't need to make things too complicated. Instead, you should try to find the essence of things."
Shikamaru was even more surprised when he heard this, as if he was meeting Xia Mu for the first time: "The essence of things? What is it?"
Xia Mu smiled and pointed at Shikamaru: "This is hard to explain, but I can give an example. Take you, Shikamaru Nara, for instance. On the surface, you are the eldest son of the Nara clan head and are widely recognized as a smart person, but your essence is just a somewhat intelligent salted fish. Salted fish find it troublesome and are too lazy to flip over, but they are forced to flip over and bask in the sun until one day they are completely dried."
Shikamaru patted his forehead and couldn't help but laugh: "Your description of me is also very accurate! Perhaps I really am a salted fish. However, I understand what the essence of things is."
Essence is not a superficial adjective, but the true truth.
Just like Naruto, the Fourth Hokage's son, a Jinchuriki, Sakura's simp, etc., are all on the surface. His essence is truly just a hot-blooded idiot.