Chapter 7

Having been a chef for so many years, Hao Cheng was undoubtedly discerning when it came to food. When she first arrived, she had no choice, as the scholar had been used to plain meals at home for so many years, and his palate wasn’t as refined as hers.

But after more than a month here, she had accustomed her palate to a higher standard. She could barely stomach unappetizing food, and she would rather throw away what the man in front of her cooked than take another bite.

Regardless of the cost of ingredients, delicious dishes could be made from inexpensive ones. Hao Cheng paid meticulous attention to food, striving for excellence. For example, today’s noodles were made from flour she bought herself, and she hand-rolled them since there was no noodle machine here.

Although the flour wasn’t expensive, noodles made from such ingredients had a satisfying chewiness. When she was busy, she would simply cook a bowl of noodles, and even a simple broth could be delicious.

She shouldn’t have let this stranger cook noodles for her, as it would be a waste of ingredients.

After tasting the noodles, Hao Cheng put down the bowl. With a grim expression, she refused to eat the bowl of dark cuisine.

Jiang Mengzhen didn’t think much of it. After all, he spent at least a dozen taels of silver on every meal. This kind of noodles, which didn’t cost much, wasn’t worth bothering about. It was his first time cooking, and turning the noodles into dumplings was just due to lack of experience.

Although the dumplings didn’t look appetizing, they were at least his first attempt at cooking. Suddenly seeing the scholar’s furious expression, Jiang Mengzhen felt quite unhappy.

But he was under someone else’s roof, staying in the scholar’s humble house, and he was saved by him. Jiang Mengzhen didn’t show his dissatisfaction. He simply lowered his head to eat the bowl of dumplings he made himself.

After taking a bite, he subconsciously spat it out. It was too awful! Some parts of the dumplings were undercooked, others were mushy, and they all had a raw flour taste. The broth was so salty it tasted bitter, and drinking it felt like swallowing a chunk of salt.

How could there be something so unpalatable in the world! Jiang Mengzhen instinctively wanted to scold the cook who made this abomination, then he realized. He wasn’t the high and mighty son of a duke anymore, nor was he the legitimate husband married to a deceased general’s daughter.

This disgustingly awful bowl of dumpling soup wasn’t made by someone else, but by his own hands.

He had to eat it, even though it was difficult to swallow. He could barely force himself to endure it mentally, and physically, his body couldn’t handle it. If he didn’t eat it, his stomach would keep rumbling incessantly.

It had been a long time since he felt such embarrassment and humiliation. Perhaps no one had dared to embarrass him for many years. But falling off a cliff, in this rundown little house where no one knew his identity, at this moment, Jiang Mengzhen felt a hint of embarrassment.

A knowledgeable, courteous, gentle, and wise man should also have the skill of cooking, but evidently, he failed. If he were to speak out his false identity now and portray a gentle and pleasing demeanor, what words would he say to remedy the situation?

Jiang Mengzhen’s brain was running at high speed, but before he could say anything, the young woman across from him, with a gloomy face, suddenly stood up and took away the bowl of dumpling soup from the table.

As he stood up, he heard the chopping sound of a knife on the cutting board, and the sizzling aroma of oil heating up in the pan.

Where Jiang Mengzhen lived, the kitchen and dining area were far apart, with more than a dozen cooks and kitchen staff, ensuring that the master never caught a whiff of the cooking fumes.

Unlike this house, where the small kitchen could only accommodate a few people, and everything was crammed full, even the dining hall was connected, spreading the smell of cooking throughout the house.

Out of strong vigilance, he quickly pushed aside that sense of awkwardness and stood up busy to watch the unfamiliar woman cook, so as to prevent her from putting something inappropriate in where he couldn’t see.

This was the first time in twenty-eight years that he had cooked, and also the first time he had watched someone else cook.

Hao Cheng didn’t feel anything being watched by someone else. After all, in her previous life as a chef, she had participated in many competitions in hotels of all sizes and sometimes even had to let apprentices watch her. It didn’t matter to her whether others watched her or not.

And as soon as she touched the spatula and knife, she basically entered a world of her own, not caring if anyone was watching her.

The noodles Jiang Mengzhen made, and the noodles Hao Cheng made, were both noodles, very simple plain noodles. The ingredients were also very simple, with mushroom stems simmered in broth, a handful of sprouted soybeans, a small piece of white lard, extremely fine light green scallions she grew herself, and freshly cut noodles for two.

Considering that Jiang Mengzhen might have been hungry for a long time, she deliberately grabbed a bit more noodles.

Hao Cheng covered the ingredients simmering in broth with cold water, and at the same time, she heated vegetable broth and water on the stove.

She also took out two clean wide-mouthed bowls, picked half a small spoon of rendered lard and a little salt in one bowl, then skillfully sharpened the knife on the sharpening stone, expertly removing the white part of the scallions, finely chopping the light green scallions into two-millimeter scallion flowers, extremely uniform in length, looking particularly neat and pleasing.

By the time a steaming bowl of noodles was served, it didn’t take her long.

Jiang Mengzhen originally wanted to help serve the noodles but was forced back by Hao Cheng’s extremely resentful gaze. He had just smashed her two bowls, and there was no way he would waste her money again.

Jiang Mengzhen sat at the table, a bowl of noodles with green scallion flowers and an enticing aroma placed in front of him.

“Eat.” Hao Cheng said and buried her head in her own portion. Jiang Mengzhen, however, sat upright on the stool without moving. Just now, he didn’t see this person doing anything inappropriate. It was better to be knocked out than to be starved.

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the pair of chopsticks he had washed more than ten times.