Chapter 75 ☆ Stir-fried minced meat with sour beans (Part 2)

In these times, no one has enough food, and everyone tries not to eat at other people’s homes. Moreover, the Xie family is a landlord family, so their situation is even more difficult. It was already uncomfortable to eat at the Xie’s house this morning, and Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng were determined to leave, despite Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Fei’s attempts to persuade them to stay.

Grandma Xie came out and said, “The meat is ready. Listen to me and have lunch here today!”

Embarrassed but accepting, Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng agreed, pushed Grandma Xie to rest, and went to the kitchen to help cook.

Xie Fei lit the fire, Zhang Xiaofeng washed the vegetables, and Han Yin prepared them. Cheng Yaoyao, wearing a small apron, was busy in front of the stove, filling the kitchen with the delicious aroma of cooking.

Xie Zhao watched from a distance through the window, feeling dissatisfied. He had not had a chance to talk to Cheng Yaoyao alone since last night.

Cheng Yaoyao laughed cheerfully as she chopped a piece of fat and lean meat into small pieces with a cleaver. The sour beans, which had turned yellow-green after being soaked, were also chopped into small pieces, along with plump white garlic cloves and small red peppers.

When the pot was heated, Cheng Yaoyao scooped a small spoonful of oil from the tank. Han Yin saw this and shouted, “Hey, that’s too much!”

“What’s too much?” Cheng Yaoyao quickly poured the oil into the pot, then added the minced garlic and chili peppers to stir-fry. The spicy aroma filled the kitchen.

Cheng Yaoyao added the minced meat to the pot, stir-frying it until the color changed, then immediately poured in the sour beans and said, “This dish won’t taste right without enough oil.”

Han Yin was shocked and said, “Jinni’s mother-in-law would only smear a bit of oil on the bottom of the pot for every meal, but you’re using a whole spoonful.”

Zhang Xiaofeng smiled and said, “The captain’s family also cooks like this. Oil is hard to come by; we only get one or two ounces a month.”

Han Yin became animated, saying, “The Lin Wuxing family is interesting. They don’t use any oil in their cooking. During this busy farming season, every household eats fine grains, but they still use cornmeal mixed with buckwheat flour. Cheng Nuonuo is going to have a tough time.”

Cheng Yaoyao paused in her cooking. Han Yin thought she was secretly pleased and continued, “Have you noticed? She’s so thin and her hair is dry and yellow.”

Zhang Xiaofeng added, “She looks much more haggard recently, which makes sense. She used to work in the brigade canteen, but now she’s in the fields. She must have become darker from the wind and sun.”

Cheng Yaoyao found it amusing. Cheng Nuonuo didn’t become unattractive from working; she had just lost her Spiritual Spring and reverted to her original state.

Moreover, she had never used sunscreen before, relying instead on the spiritual spring. She went out every day with her head bare and her arms and legs exposed. Sooner or later, the damage from sun exposure would catch up with her. Now that the spiritual spring was gone, the damage to her skin and body had quickly worsened.

Han Yin, excited, said, “I wonder how Shen Yan feels about her now…”

Cheng Yaoyao cleared her throat and pointed at Xie Fei beside her. Han Yin quickly stopped talking.

When Cheng Yaoyao first came to the Xie family, she saw Cheng Nuonuo had white skin and watery eyes. Although her face was plain, she looked pitiful. Now… Cheng Yaoyao wondered if Shen Yan could still resist her youthful charm.

However, since Shen Yan had been pursuing her for some time, Cheng Yaoyao had a good idea of his feelings toward Cheng Nuonuo.

Xie Fei, with wide eyes like a deer, asked, “Who is Cheng Nuonuo? Her name is similar to my sister’s.”

“She’s a nuisance,” Cheng Yaoyao said casually, handing the dish to Xie Fei. “Take it out.”

Xie Fei happily ran out with the dishes. There had never been guests at home before, especially not two friendly sisters. Xie Fei was thrilled to have such a lively meal.

After Xie Fei left, Cheng Yaoyao said, “Don’t mention these things in front of Xiao Fei.”

“I spoke out of turn, I spoke out of turn,” Han Yin said cheerfully.

Cheng Yaoyao added, “Xiao Fei is so innocent. We shouldn’t let her ears be polluted with such gossip.”

“That’s right,” Han Yin agreed. “But the Xie family only has this one daughter, who has been kept at home and hasn’t been out much. I don’t think many people in the village know her, right?”

Cheng Yaoyao said, “There’s not much I can do. Their family background is high, and Xiao Fei is so pretty. How could I let her out?”

Zhang Xiaofeng, being practical, said, “Xiao Fei is so gentle; she seems like a little lamb. But the Xie family can’t keep her forever. At her age, she should be going to school or finding a job.”

Han Yin said, “Does she look like she can work in the fields? The Xie family’s situation is peculiar. It’s not enough to raise Xiao Fei, and now there’s Yaoyao. Tsk tsk, Xie Zhao has a lot on his shoulders.”

Zhang Xiaofeng laughed and nudged Han Yin. The two were jovial. They thought it was just a joke about Xie Zhao and Cheng Yaoyao being so different, but little did they know they were spot on.

Cheng Yaoyao wasn’t embarrassed at all and continued cooking while humming. Xie Fei was still young, and her future would be sorted out sooner or later.

The lunch was quite lavish: cold tomatoes, scrambled eggs with cucumbers, stir-fried sour beans with minced meat, a bowl of tomato, tofu, and mushroom soup, and steamed bread made from cornmeal and three parts white flour.

The tomatoes and cucumbers were freshly picked from the yard and exceptionally fresh. The eggs were provided by Cheng Yaoyao, who had proudly shown Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin her basket of eggs.

In Tianshui Village, a dish of tofu was considered a very rich guest dish, let alone a dish with meat and eggs. Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng had been away from home for so long, and this was the first time they had received such care from their hosts. They felt warm and finally ate their fill, promising themselves to find a way to repay the kindness in the future.

The sour beans and minced meat were tangy and spicy, the minced meat tender, and the oily soup poured over the steamed bread was very appetizing. The scrambled eggs with cucumbers were tender and flavorful, the eggs fragrant, and the cucumbers crisp. The tomato, tofu, and mushroom soup was also tangy and satisfying, with tofu so tender it melted in your mouth.

Grandma Xie is old and can’t eat much. Seeing the young people with such a good appetite, she is happier than if she were eating herself.

After the meal, Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng rushed to help clean up the dishes and then said goodbye. They had spent so much time at Xie’s house and really couldn’t stay any longer, especially since they had to go to work.

Cheng Yaoyao said, “Wait for me, I’ll get you some books!”

Cheng Yaoyao came out with a few books, all of which were relatively basic review materials, from the simplest to the most advanced. “Here.”

Zhang Xiaofeng took them and flipped through them, then said with a smile, “I’ll take these back and study them first, and then we can learn together.”

“Yeah!” Cheng Yaoyao sent Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin out, closed the door, and came back. She turned around and met Grandma Xie’s worried gaze.

Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, “Grandma, don’t worry about Zhang Xiaofeng; she’s fine now.”

Grandma Xie said unhappily, “She is willing to study; what is there to worry about? It’s you, on the other hand.”

“Me?” Cheng Yaoyao pointed to herself in confusion. “What’s wrong with me?”

Grandma Xie frowned. “You still ask me what’s wrong?”

Cheng Yaoyao thought about it guiltily. She hadn’t had time to rest today. Could it be that Grandma Xie knew what happened that day? Cheng Yaoyao panicked and immediately asked for help from Xie Zhao beside her. “Xie Zhao…”

Xie Zhao said to Grandma Xie, “Grandma, I’ll explain it to her.”

Grandma Xie snorted and went back to her room. Xie Zhao said to Cheng Yaoyao, “Come with me to the room.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Cheng Yaoyao was so nervous about his attitude that she turned to Xie Fei and mouthed, “What’s wrong with me?”

Xie Fei shook her head innocently and gave Cheng Yaoyao an expression that said “Good luck.”

Cheng Yaoyao followed Xie Zhao into the room with her head down. Xie Zhao pulled out a chair and sat down, then turned and stared at her. “Do you know what you did wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Cheng Yaoyao twisted her fingers.

Xie Zhao said, “Don’t pout.”

“…” Cheng Yaoyao didn’t pout at first, but she did immediately after. “What’s wrong with me?”

Seeing this, Xie Zhao’s tone softened, and he said helplessly, “Did you tell them about the college entrance examination?”

“…” Cheng Yaoyao turned her eyes to the side and stared at the shadow of the sun on the floor. “No.”

Xie Zhao said, “Not well behaved.”

“I really didn’t!” Cheng Yaoyao suddenly became anxious and ran to Xie Zhao to explain. “I really didn’t say it! I… I didn’t say it directly…”

Xie Zhao reached out and pulled Cheng Yaoyao to sit on his lap. Cheng Yaoyao dared not speak out but was angry. She explained first, “Zhang Xiaofeng saw so many review materials on my desk and asked me first. I said that my father sent me these books, and she guessed it herself and wanted me and Han Yin to review together.”

Xie Zhao frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “That’s good. Now that she has hope, she won’t feel so desperate.”

Cheng Yaoyao was unhappy. “Zhang Xiaofeng was just momentarily upset. She is usually very optimistic.”

Xie Zhao looked at her with an ambiguous expression. “Why are you so partial to your friend?”

“…I’m partial to you too.” Cheng Yaoyao, for the first time, said sweetly, “Look, I really didn’t reveal anything. Zhang Xiaofeng even asked Han Yin and me to keep it a secret. You told Grandma, so it’s not my fault.”

Xie Zhao hummed. “Next time you bring friends home, you have to keep their things safe.”

Cheng Yaoyao said indifferently, “I don’t have any other friends either.”

Xie Zhao lowered his head and touched Cheng Yaoyao’s nose with his own. Cheng Yaoyao liked this kind of pure intimacy without any sexual connotation.

Strangely, although she had used a lot of spiritual spring water today, her Yang Qi was still abundant. The small lotus leaf, which had grown to the size of a plate, was swaying, eating Xie Zhao’s Yang Qi as a snack, and was not as greedy and impatient as before.

Xie Fei’s cheerful voice suddenly came from the door. “Sister Yaoyao, look, this is what Sister Han Yin gave me…”

Before Cheng Yaoyao could react, the door was pushed open.

“…a hairpin.” Xie Fei finished the sentence out of habit, staring at the scene in the room with her eyes widened to the extreme.

***

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