Hearing that something delicious would be served soon, the two little ones laughed so hard that their eyes curved into crescent moons. They nodded and ran off to play.
Looking at these adorable little glutinous rice balls, Lu Zhaozhao felt a deep fondness from her heart. These two kids were not only cute but also sensible.
They even gave her flowers!
It was truly heartwarming.
Watching the two children run off, Lu Zhaozhao turned back and noticed Gu Yan staring at her intently.
He wasn’t even sharpening his knife anymore.
She didn’t know what he was looking at, so she quickly asked,
“What’s wrong? What are you looking at?”
Gu Yan said expressionlessly,
“Nothing. It’s just… really pretty.”
After that, he stopped looking at her and resumed sharpening his knife.
It took Lu Zhaozhao a moment to realize that he was talking about the flower she wore in her hair. Of course, he had heard what she had said earlier!
However, with that calm expression, it really didn’t seem like he was complimenting her.
In that instant, Lu Zhaozhao became curious. She wondered what kind of person Gu Yan really was.
Even though he was only seventeen or eighteen, he appeared so mature. What had he gone through to become like this?
In her impression, boys of that age were in high school, full of energy, lively and mischievous!
Even if this was the past, his behavior was too unusual.
In Xinghua Village, boys his age were usually cheerful and innocent, with no guile.
A boy so mature for his age was truly rare.
After thinking for a while, she still couldn’t figure it out. She didn’t know what he had been through, and it seemed he didn’t want to talk about it either. Perhaps it wasn’t a pleasant memory.
Lu Zhaozhao calmed herself, stopped thinking about these things, and focused on preparing lunch for the day.
There would be both meat and vegetables today, and several family members at home, so she decided to steam a pot of white rice for lunch.
Since coming here, she hadn’t eaten rice like this. She never thought that something she used to eat every day and had grown tired of would now seem so precious.
She first started simmering a pot of pork bone soup. When it was nearly ready, she moved it to a small fire nearby to continue slow-cooking.
She cooked rice in a large pot.
Then, she kept working with her hands, slicing all the pig liver and washing some baby bok choy.
She started another strong fire next to it to prepare for stir-frying.
Even a simple stove had its advantages; it allowed her to adjust the fire as needed conveniently.
Cooking was very easy for Lu Zhaozhao, and she genuinely enjoyed it. She especially loved watching others finish every bite of the dishes she prepared and compliment them. It gave her an even better mood.
In this regard, the Gu family was great. Since she had arrived, they had finished every meal she made without leaving a drop of soup.
Because there were no hot peppers, the stir-fried liver was purely meat.
Yet that didn’t affect the flavor at all; in fact, it made it even more appetizing to look at.
After about half an hour, Lu Zhaozhao had finished preparing a hearty lunch.
She then called the two children back to wash their hands for the meal.
Once seated at the table, An An and Momo’s little eyes sparkled, and they both exclaimed in unison:
“Wow! So much delicious food!”
“This is stir-fried liver tips, this is pork bone soup, and stir-fried bok choy. Two dishes and a soup—just enough for our family of five. Try it and see how it tastes.”
As Lu Zhaozhao introduced the dishes, she took unused chopsticks and served An An and Momo each a piece of stir-fried liver tips.
The two children were quite thin.
They really needed to eat well and gain some weight.
In her memory, children of their age were usually round and plump. A little more flesh made them even cuter.
Gu Yan and Madam Li looked at the dishes—a meat dish and a vegetable dish—and hesitated to pick up their chopsticks.
In fact, Gu Yan had bought pig liver before. Because it was cheaper than pork, once, when he didn’t have enough coins, he bought a piece to try. He thought it was still meat, so the taste shouldn’t be too different.
But when it was cooked, the liver had a strong fishy smell. It was disgusting and inedible.
It made Gu Yan feel nauseous.
He remembered eating pig liver in a restaurant in the Capital City before, and it hadn’t tasted that bad. Could it be his cooking method? Wasn’t it supposed to be edible once cooked?
Despite his doubts, the fact remained: the stir-fried liver he made was absolutely terrible. His wife and the two children wouldn’t eat it.
He had wasted a few coins. Had he known, he might as well have bought some buns to eat!
Since then, he had developed an aversion to pig liver and never bought it again.
Previously, when he went to buy meat with Lu Zhaozhao, he wanted to dissuade her. But when he heard her mutter to herself:
“Pig liver is so cheap; this is a good thing,” he kept silent.
If she liked it, he wouldn’t interfere.
At worst, a few coins would be wasted. If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t buy it next time.
Obviously, the two little ones recognized the familiar ingredient.
So this was the pig liver Little Aunt had promised would be delicious. They had eaten it before, but it had been awful.
Yet, looking at Little Aunt’s expectant gaze, Momo couldn’t bear to refuse. Gathering courage, he put a piece of the liver in his mouth.
He had braced himself to eat something revolting, but after a few chews, he realized that the liver Little Aunt cooked wasn’t bad at all!
It was completely different from what Little Uncle had made—actually quite delicious.
Momo’s little eyes widened, full of disbelief.
He still couldn’t believe it, so he picked up another piece and ate it. After finishing, he exclaimed joyfully:
“Little Aunt, you’re amazing! This liver is so tasty, not a bit of weird taste! You’re the best!”
“Really? Then I’ll try some too,”
An An said and quickly picked up a piece.
Sure enough, it was delicious, with no fishy taste at all.
Seeing the two children enjoy the food, Gu Yan and Madam Li were also amazed. They immediately picked up their chopsticks, took a piece, and tasted it.
Sure enough, it was really delicious, not at all unpleasant.
How could something as hard to eat as pig liver become so tasty in Lu Zhaozhao’s hands?
It was truly miraculous. Her culinary skills were really that impressive!
While eating, Gu Yan’s mind wandered in wonder.
After the meal, everyone drank a bowl of the pork bone soup. It was so fresh and flavorful that it almost made them want to swallow their tongues.
Once again, everyone praised Lu Zhaozhao’s cooking skills.