She poured a bowl of boiling water into a wok, added the corn kernels and carrot dices to blanch them, stirring quickly to prevent sticking. After a second, she scooped them out and drained them. Considering how hungry they were, Ye Qiuling kept the cooking time short, preserving their crisp tenderness.
She emptied the water from the wok, cleaned it, poured in some oil, and when it sizzled, added ginger slices and minced garlic to stir-fry until fragrant. She tossed in the marinated pork, added a few chunks of firewood for heat, and quickly stir-fried it with the prepared sauce until the meat changed color, then set it aside.
In another wok without adding oil, she stir-fried the green pepper dices. Then she added the blanched corn and carrot, stir-frying them on high heat for a moment.
Next, she added the cooked pork, seasoning it with salt, sugar, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce, tossing everything evenly. Seeing the wok dry and fearing the food might burn, she added half a bowl of water, stir-frying until the sauce boiled, signaling it was ready to serve.
The pork stir-fried with corn was done, and she carried it out.
Quietly, she took a large bunch of Shanghai greens from the system space, placed them in the sink, and rinsed them clean. She split the cleaned greens lengthwise at the root. The Shanghai greens from the system store were top quality, large and flavorful, breaking them apart would let the flavors seep in better.
She crushed garlic cloves, sliced red chili into strips, and boiled a pot of water with a pinch of salt and a few drops of oil. When the water boiled, she added the greens and counted to fifteen in her mind before removing them. She quickly plunged them into cold water, emptied the pot, and cleaned it.
Pouring oil into the wok and waiting for it to sizzle, she added the garlic to fry until fragrant, then tossed in the greens, stir-frying them evenly. She added soy sauce, sugar, and a small amount of water, covered the wok to simmer for a minute, then sprinkled in salt after uncovering. Stir-frying for another fifteen seconds to let the sauce thicken, she finally garnished it with red chili strips.
The stir-fried Shanghai greens were ready. Ye Qiuling carried them out. None of them had seen this dish before, and Chen Xuanmo asked first: “Qiuling, what dish is this?”
Quick-thinking, Ye Qiuling fabricated: “This is Shanghai greens, I found them in the back mountain. They’re really delicious, you can try some.”
Chen Xuanmo sat beside Ye Qiuling, and she gestured for Chen Wu to sit down and eat, saying, “My family doesn’t have such strict rules.”
Chen Wu glanced at his master. Chen Xuanmo did not object, signaling approval with his eyes. Seeing his master’s consent, Chen Wu sat down, immediately enjoying the warm, inviting atmosphere of Miss Ye’s household.
Chen Xuanmo picked up the glossy, mouth-watering sweet-and-sour pork ribs. Placing a piece in his mouth, he first tasted a slight tang, then a hint of sweetness, perfectly balanced. The cooking was spot-on, neither too sour nor too sweet, just right.
He took a bite of rice, delighted in his heart, silently thinking, “As expected of my wife, her cooking is truly delicious.”
Ye Dazhi took a piece of the sweet-and-sour ribs. There was no trace of gaminess, the tangy-sweet sauce coated the meat perfectly, making him eat two more bites of rice.
Ye Feng, looking at the golden pork stir-fried with corn, tried to pick up a kernel with his chopsticks. It slipped, either because it was too slick or because he was unskilled.
Undeterred, Ye Feng tried again, but it slipped once more. Frustrated, he glared at the pork stir-fried with corn, took a couple of bites of rice to muster strength, and tried again.
Everyone at the table watched intently as he attempted to lift the corn again. Carefully, he picked it up, but just as he was about to put it in his mouth, the kernel slipped from his chopsticks onto the table.
Ye Qiuling could no longer hold back and laughed heartily. Her laughter was contagious, and soon everyone at the table was laughing.
Embarrassed, Ye Feng looked at his laughing sister and said shyly, “Sister.”
Ye Qiuling handed him a spoon, teasing, “Since your chopstick skills aren’t up to par, use the spoon, little brother.”
Acknowledging his defeat, Ye Feng nodded, took the spoon, scooped a large portion, and ate it along with rice and corn, as if consuming all the corn kernels he had failed to pick up earlier.
The pork was tender, the corn and carrot crisp, the green pepper slightly spicy, perfectly complemented by Ye Qiuling’s delicious seasoning, almost irresistibly good.
With food still in his mouth, Ye Feng mumbled, “Delicious, sister, I want more.”
Ye Qiuling scooped another large spoonful into his bowl.
Shen Wanru picked up a piece of the Shanghai greens, built up her courage, and took a bite. Crispy with a hint of spiciness, it stimulated her taste buds, making her smile in satisfaction. Clearly, her daughter’s culinary skills were exceptional.
The dishes on the table were quickly finished, as usual Ye Feng washed the dishes.
After digesting a bit on the bench, Ye Qiuling grew restless, dashed upstairs, retrieved a hand mixer and a bottle of milk from the system space, cleverly changing the packaging in case they asked questions.
Coming downstairs, she headed straight for the kitchen, with Chen Xuanmo following.
Ye Qiuling took out two bowls, cracked an egg into one, separating the yolk from the white, putting the yolk in one bowl and the white in the other.
Seeing her, Chen Xuanmo asked, “Qiuling, what are you doing? Making a dessert?”
Ye Qiuling replied, “It’s a cake, separating the yolks and whites is necessary.”
With a gleam in her eyes, she playfully pressed him into helping. She cracked another egg, separating it, saying, “Follow my example, crack five eggs.”
Chen Xuanmo was bewildered but obedient, taking an egg and separating it as instructed.
Satisfied, Ye Qiuling sifted low-gluten flour for the cake, then took the hand mixer. She beat the yolks with a spoonful of sugar until fully blended, then added milk and mixed until smooth without lumps, then folded in the sifted flour.
Into the egg whites, she dropped two drops of lemon juice from the lemons brought by the morning vegetable seller and added two spoonfuls of sugar. Beating egg whites was hard work, and Ye Qiuling gestured Chen Xuanmo over.
“Look at your strong, muscular arms. You’ll be perfect for whisking,” she said with a playful tone.
Understanding immediately, Chen Xuanmo smiled helplessly and took over, whisking the egg whites as she had shown.
After a while, his arms felt slightly sore—not much for someone trained in martial arts, but enough to surprise him. He glanced at Ye Qiuling, who shyly avoided his eyes, cutting the lemons into four or five slices.
He realized why she had chosen him for this task, smiling faintly.
They continued adding sugar in stages until the whites were smooth and glossy. Ye Qiuling then folded one-third of the meringue into the yolk mixture, blended it, and gently folded in the remaining meringue until fully incorporated with no lumps.
She instructed Chen Xuanmo to continue slicing lemons. Holding the knife that still carried his warmth, he carefully cut the fruit.
Ye Qiuling carried the prepared batter out while Chen Xuanmo finished the lemon slices. A little regret crept in; he had wanted some alone time with her, but that plan was foiled, leaving him slightly frustrated.
She took the batter to her room, retrieved an oven from the system space, and poured the batter into a parchment-lined mold, lightly tapping three times to release air bubbles. She preheated the oven to 150℃, baked it on the middle-lower rack for 40–50 minutes.
Once baked, she inverted it immediately to cool to room temperature, then unmolded it.
Ye Qiuling brought the finished cake downstairs. Seeing the fluffy dessert, Chen Xuanmo was momentarily surprised, then composed himself.
She then pulled out something white, spreading it evenly over the cake, turning the whole surface pristine white.
Next, she decorated it with fruits, all unfamiliar to Chen Xuanmo.
He approached her, catching a faint fragrance from her clothes, blushing slightly, and picked a small blue fruit from the basket. “Qiuling, may I eat this?”
She replied while arranging the fruits, “Of course.”
Chen Xuanmo popped the blue fruit into his mouth, the sweet and sour juice spreading across his tongue.
Tea leaves soaked in the system space were added to fresh lemon slices with honey.
The whole family, along with Chen Xuanmo and Chen Wu, went to the stall, returning to their familiar setup.
Customers were immediately drawn to the cake’s appearance, while the lemonade looked unusual.
Ye Qiuling called out, “Cake for sale, one coin a slice, lemonade two coins a cup.”
The crowd buzzed, feeling her prices were too high.
Qin Jiu had wanted to browse and see if Ye Qiuling had set up a stall. Seeing a crowd, he guessed she was here, pushing through with sweat on his forehead, spotting the cake covered with various fruits.
He immediately took out thirty coins and bought the entire cake, plus five cups of lemonade.
Chen Xuanmo quietly packed it.
Ye Qiuling teased Qin Jiu, “Aren’t you afraid it won’t taste good? You didn’t even try it this time.”
Qin Jiu replied sincerely, eyes bright, “I trust your skill.”
Chen Xuanmo stood in front of Ye Qiuling, handing the packaged cake to him.
Though smiling, Qin Jiu felt a chill down his spine.
Ye Qiuling smiled broadly at her big customer, “Delicious, come again next time.”