The noodles were soft yet firm, the tomatoes tangy and sweet, and the eggs tender. Ye Feng’s eyes lit up, forgetting the noodles still in his mouth, and he praised Ye Qiuling unclearly through his chewing.
Shen Wanru tasted the noodles as well. The delicate noodles paired with the eggs and tangy-sweet tomatoes created a flavor she found exquisite. Quietly, she thought, Ye Qiuling’s cooking rivaled that of a professional chef, and she felt proud of her.
Ye Dazhi sampled the noodles his daughter had made. Unlike any noodles he had eaten before, they were perfectly cooked—soft yet with a springy texture. He sipped the soup; the sweet-and-sour broth was fresh and flavorful.
The tomato and egg noodles were so delicious that soon both Ye Feng and Ye Dazhi finished their bowls. Ye Feng rubbed his stomach, laughing, “Big Sister, the noodles are so good! I want more next time.”
Ye Qiuling smiled, “Sure.”
Seeing how hard his sister worked in the kitchen, Ye Feng volunteered to wash the dishes in the future.
Once he finished washing, the family went out to buy ingredients for the cake. Ye Qiuling and Shen Wanru arrived at the farmers’ market, bustling with vendors selling fruits, chickens, ducks, and fresh meat.
Shen Wanru, seeing the eggs priced at one coin each, was shocked at the cost.
Her daughter was making a cake, and eggs were essential. She didn’t hesitate to spend the coins, buying ten eggs.
The egg vendor, a cheerful aunt, chatted with Shen Wanru, “Are you having guests? Buying so many eggs.”
Shen Wanru smiled politely, “No, my daughter is making a cake, that’s why I’m buying them.”
The aunt, unfamiliar with the concept of “egg cake,” frowned and said, “A young girl wants eggs? She should leave them for your son instead.”
Shen Wanru bristled, “In my house, children are equal. The daughter eats first, then the son.”
The aunt, preferring sons, tried to convince Shen Wanru otherwise, “The son is the pillar of the family. Why waste eggs on a girl, let alone make a cake?”
Shen Wanru rolled her eyes, “Thanks for the concern, but my daughter comes first, then the son.” Not wanting to argue further, she ignored the biased advice.
Ye Qiuling approached a vegetable vendor, asking, “Auntie, do you have lemons?” The vendor didn’t recognize them at first.
Shaking her head, she said, “Sorry, miss, we don’t have lemons.”
Ye Qiuling described them: yellow on the outside, sour inside, with some seeds. The vendor immediately understood, “Ah, sour fruits! Yes, yes, yes.” She pulled out a crate of lemons from the back.
Laughing, she said, “Miss, you must mean these sour fruits. Nobody wants them—they’re too sour. I was going to throw them away today. Since you came, take them all, no charge. I even picked them myself in the mountains, was going to sell them for a good price.”
Ye Qiuling took them gratefully, “Thank you, Auntie.”
Feeling awkward taking so many for free, she bought four corns from the vendor as a token. The vendor handed them over smiling, and Ye Qiuling thought lemonade could be a promising venture.
She tried out a deal, “Auntie, next time if you have lemons, help me cut a crate; I’ll give you a coin.”
The vendor laughed, “Sure, next time I’ll help you pick them.”
Ye Qiuling thanked her. Ye Dazhi carried the crate of lemons and corn back home with Shen Wanru, who also had the eggs.
On the way, they met Chen Xuanmo. Ye Qiuling patted his shoulder. His expression, initially sharp, softened into a warm smile when he saw her. “Qiuling, what a coincidence, back from shopping?”
Ye Qiuling didn’t notice his quick change of expression and replied, “Yes, what a coincidence. Where are you going?”
Chen Xuanmo gently asked, “I’m going to eat now, want to join?”
Ye Qiuling thought she could make him help with cake preparation. “Come to my house, I’ll cook.”
Chen Xuanmo had planned to visit anyway, and hearing her invitation, he agreed immediately.
Passing the pork stall, it was the same vendor as last time, cheerfully asking, “Little miss, what would you like today?”
Ye Qiuling looked around. There were only a few spare ribs and some pork, with cleaned pork intestines displayed neatly. She was slightly surprised but didn’t think much of it.
She examined a spare rib, considering what dish to make.
At that moment, 66 squeaked excitedly, “Host, host, sweet and sour spare ribs, corn-fried meat is delicious!”
Startled by his voice, Ye Qiuling activated her Gourmet Recipe System interface.
Pinching his chubby little face, she scolded, “66, really, you scared me. You can’t even eat, why are you so excited?”
66 puffed up his round head, avoiding her hand, “Once you earn enough Delicious Points, I can transform into human form and finally taste food. You don’t know, your dishes are driving me crazy—I can only watch.”
Ye Qiuling was amazed, “You can turn human? That’s amazing!”
The little glutton puffed up proudly, “Of course! Now I need you to make lemonade to earn Drink Points, so you can make more cakes, exchange for Delicious Points, and then I can transform.”
Ye Qiuling realized the truth, “You’re a sly merchant, using my Delicious Points and Drink Points not to exchange in the system, but to restore your human form.”
66 lowered his head guiltily but still said, “I don’t care, you must earn those points today so I can become human.”
Ye Qiuling laughed, stroking his fur, “As you wish, 66, I will complete the task.”
66 waved his tiny paw, “Understood, you may step aside.”
With ingredients secured, Ye Qiuling had no worries; she could exchange items in the system as needed and save money for Ye Feng’s schooling.
She bought spare ribs and a large piece of pork. Chen Xuanmo said, “I’ll carry them, I don’t want to get them while visiting your house.”
His hand brushed hers as he pretended to adjust his grip on the items. Ye Qiuling didn’t mind; the generous gesture made her happy, and she let him carry them, thinking she could reward him with extra cake.
At home, Ye Qiuling headed to the kitchen with Chen Xuanmo following. She cleaned the corn and split it in half. Ye Feng asked, “Sister, what should I do?”
Ye Qiuling handed him the corn, instructing him to break it into kernels. Shen Wanru and Ye Dazhi also helped silently. Chen Xuanmo asked, “What can I do to help?”
Ye Qiuling glanced at him and pointed to the lemons, “Wash the lemons.” Obediently, he washed them thoroughly in the sink.
Chen Wu quietly assisted, fully focused on washing lemons like a kitchen servant under his master’s supervision.
Ye Qiuling scooped four large bowls of rice from the container, rinsed them, and placed them to cook. She thought it might be convenient to exchange for a rice cooker in the system later.
She washed the spare ribs and cut them into small pieces. Ginger was sliced, garlic peeled into three cloves, and scallions chopped.
In a bowl, she mixed two spoons of light soy sauce, half a spoon of dark soy sauce, three spoons of black vinegar, two spoons of sugar, one spoon of cooking wine, and half a bowl of water.
She added the spare ribs to cold water in a pot, poured in the prepared sauce, and added extra wood to increase the heat. The ribs were brought to a boil, and the white foam skimmed off, then rinsed in warm water from the insulated container to prevent oil splatter during frying.
After drying, she cleaned the pan, heated it over high heat with a little oil, added the remaining ginger and garlic, and stir-fried the ribs briefly.
The prepared sweet-and-sour sauce was poured over, coating the ribs evenly. A bowl of water and another piece of firewood were added, boiled over high heat, then the fire was reduced.
Ye Feng inhaled the aroma, “Smells so good, sister. I can’t wait to eat.”
Ye Qiuling reassured him, “Don’t worry, soon it will be ready.”
Chen Xuanmo thought the dish would be delicious too, its unique flavor making him swallow instinctively. Chen Wu had tasted Ye Qiuling’s cooking before and felt fortunate, and now smelling these ribs, he was grateful for even a small taste.
After half an hour of simmering, the ribs became tender, the sauce thick and glossy, clinging to the meat. Garnished with scallions, the fragrant sweet-and-sour spare ribs were ready.
Ye Feng’s eyes gleamed at the glossy, tangy ribs, almost salivating. Shen Wanru wiped his mouth, teasing him, “Drooling?”
Ye Feng touched his mouth, found none, and pretended to be annoyed, “Mom, you tricked me again.”
Laughter filled the room. Even the leaves outside seemed to sense the joy, as one silently drifted inside.
With everyone done, Ye Qiuling sent them off.
She cleaned the pork, chopped it into small cubes, and exchanged for carrots and green peppers from the system, planning to tell them she had bought them yesterday if asked.