Chapter 178

In the kitchen, Shuiqing was unaware that she was being held up as a paragon.

She was focused on preparing lunch.

The large iron pot at the far end was for braising.

She put in pig heads, pig ears, pig tongues, and pig intestines for braising. Midway through, she added duck necks, duck heads, chicken feet, duck feet, chicken wings, and duck wings. Near the end, she added spiced tofu and boiled eggs, then simmered everything on low heat to let the flavors meld.

In the middle iron pot, she cooked rice. On the wooden steamer rack above it, she placed eggplants, sausages, salted duck eggs, braised pork with preserved vegetables, and steamed pork. Fortunately, the traditional stove and large iron pot could accommodate everything, as the eggplants, sausages, and salted duck eggs didn’t take up much space.

If she used an electric rice cooker, it would have been impossible to steam all that food.

The outermost iron pot was for the dishes to be cooked fresh.

They had invited the Ding family for lunch, so it had to be grand.

Shuiqing realized that the Ding family wasn’t lacking money or food; they lacked culinary skills. Sending other gifts wouldn’t help build a good relationship. If she wanted frequent visits, good food was the key!

Shuiqing first made braised ribs.

She chose tender ribs, blanched them, then stir-fried them until both sides were golden brown. She added boiling water, and the soup immediately turned milky white. Then she added yam cut into chunks, transferred everything into a clay pot, and set it on a small red clay stove to simmer on low heat.

For the pork trotters, she made red-braised pork.

After blanching, she caramelized sugar, added the trotters to coat them in the caramel, then added seasonings and boiling water. Finally, she added the soybeans that had been soaked overnight and transferred it to the small red clay stove to simmer.

The ample charcoal fire was indeed convenient for simmering dishes, boiling water, and grilling.

With the hearty meat dishes done, the stir-fried dishes were quick, and Shuiqing could relax a bit.

Mother Hu, who was tending the stove, stood up, wiped her hands, and asked with a smile, “Is there anything special about today’s guests? I noticed you weren’t this nervous when the Bai family visited.”

Qing’er usually prepared plenty of dishes, which were always lavish and impeccable. Today’s preparations were also lavish, but Mother Hu sensed that Qing’er was particularly anxious.

Shuiqing didn’t dare mention that these were the people her brother was interested in, fearing that it might affect the girl’s reputation if things didn’t work out.

However, to ensure her mother took the guests seriously and didn’t leave a bad impression, she emphasized the merits of the Ding family.

For instance, their generosity: they brought two large jars of honey on their first visit yesterday.

Their enthusiasm: despite their home being at the far end of the village and unaffected by floods, they still braved the storm to help build the dyke.

Their kindness: the Ding family provided herbs to treat mushroom poisoning in the village and saved the lives of Fan Jin’s elder brother’s family, except for Zhaodi.

Upon hearing about their medical skills, Mother Hu was filled with respect.

In the village, people revered scholars and doctors, often placing doctors even higher because everyone might need their help someday.

Especially since they were from the same village as her daughter, she wanted to establish a good relationship. In case her daughter’s family needed help, they might rely on the Ding family.

She immediately got more excited than Shuiqing and prepared tea, pastries, and candied fruits.

When Ding Heli and his family arrived with gifts, they saw a bustling scene.

Outside the courtyard, people were lining up to receive pork, everyone beaming with joy.

Inside the courtyard, people were lining up to register, full of hope.

The gloomy and sorrowful atmosphere of the past few days was swept away.

Especially notable was that the person registering, holding a brush with a graceful wrist, was a young girl!

Ding Heli and Qin Yilin exchanged glances.

Doctors need to be able to read and write to diagnose and prescribe accurately. Their family had hired a tutor for basic education when they were young.

When Jiajia came along, their family faced hardships. In this remote village, hiring a tutor for Jiajia would be more shocking than a miracle!

They couldn’t do it, so they had to teach Jiajia themselves, which was a frustrating process but eventually bore fruit.

Unexpectedly, Shuiqing’s daughter also knew how to read!

Ding Heli and Qin Yilin curiously leaned in for a closer look and saw that the young girl, despite her age, had written in a neat and clear small regular script.

Although neither of them were calligraphers, they couldn’t judge the quality of the handwriting, but as long as it was legible, it was good enough. Practicality was what mattered most.

They both felt that the hardships and efforts they put into teaching their child to study were quite worthwhile.

When Qin Yilin entered the kitchen, she smelled the delicious aromas and saw the simmering braised pork trotters and ribs, she couldn’t help but think that the food they had been eating for years was akin to pig slop.

They had been completely wasting food.

At lunch, Ding Heli stared in awe at the various delicious-looking dishes on the table.

The Ding family used to have a cook, and he always believed that professional tasks required professionals. It was natural that the food made by him and Yilin wasn’t tasty since they weren’t professionals.

Since childhood, Jiajia had rarely had delicious meals except when dining out at restaurants. It was normal for her not to know how to cook well.

Now, he realized it wasn’t a matter of professionalism; they simply weren’t cut out for cooking!

Ding Jiajia looked at the table full of food and blinked.

Even before tasting it, she already felt that it couldn’t compare to her mother’s cooking!

No, it even looked better than the food at the best restaurant in the provincial capital, Shanhai Lou!

“Husband, I watched carefully just now. Shuiqing even uses seasonings and follows a specific order when stir-frying vegetables,” Qin Yilin said excitedly.

She had always thought it was like brewing medicine: just throw everything in, add some water, salt, and oil, and cook it until done.

It turned out there was an order to it, and the cooking times for each ingredient varied.

It made her head spin; it seemed more complicated than brewing medicine!

Ding Heli: ….. His cooking skills were learned from Yilin, and so were Jiajia’s. They had found the source of their family’s terrible cooking.

But after Qin Yilin whispered the cooking details to him, he realized it wasn’t Yilin’s fault. The more he listened, the more he felt it was even more complicated than brewing medicine!

“Come, come, take a seat,” Butcher Hu said enthusiastically, insisting that Ding Heli sit at the head of the table.

Ding Heli initially wanted to refuse but couldn’t – Hu’s grip was too strong!

Everyone else took their seats as well.

The men on one side, the women on the other, with the older generation sitting at the head, and the younger ones at the lower end.

Once everyone was seated, Ding Heli and Qin Yilin noticed that the daughters of the Fan family were all sitting at the table eating, rather than huddled around the kitchen stove.

Their eyes then fell on the three sons of the Fan family.

Qin Yilin asked first, “Shuiqing, how old are Jiang, He, and Hu this year?”

They were young, but as long as the age difference wasn’t too great, it might be acceptable…

Shuiqing hadn’t expected the question about her sons’ ages. She pointed to each of them and reported, “Ten, nine, and eight years old.”

The age difference was indeed quite significant.

Ding Heli sighed deeply.

It seemed the age difference was indeed too large.

Their gazes then shifted to the three teenagers sitting at the large round table.