NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: Ideas
Chapter 21: Ideas
Wu Jingwan’s face reddened from all the praise, and she modestly said, “It’s not as good as you all say.”
“Elder Sister-in-law, don’t be so modest! No one in Taohua Village can match your cooking skills!” Li Xi exclaimed.
All three jin of delicious mushrooms and an entire spirit chicken had been stewed. It required the family’s largest bowl, or rather a basin, to contain it all.
“This spirit chicken stewed with mushrooms is so good, we should send a plate to Mr. Chen to let him taste it,” Li Shan suggested after a moment’s thought.
The adults in the family exchanged glances and smiled, saying, “We should. Mr. Chen is Xi’er’s teacher, it’s only right to send him some.”
“Xi’er, go deliver this to Mr. Chen. Hurry, don’t let it get cold,” Wang Xiuniang said.
“Alright!” Li Xi looked around, slightly confused about why the family was suddenly so enthusiastic about Mr. Chen, but she agreed readily.
She quickly tidied herself up, took the food box, and hurried out.
She rushed all the way to the entrance of the school.
The door opened, and Li Xi hurried in, running up to Chen Heng and giving a bow: “Good evening, Teacher!”
“Slow down, what’s the rush?” Chen Heng was still sitting on his meditation cushion. Seeing Li Xi arrive in such a hurry, panting, he frowned slightly. Then, noticing the food box she was carrying, he figured it probably wasn’t an urgent matter and asked with a smile.
Li Xi steadied herself and caught her breath before smiling at Chen Heng: “Teacher, my family made spirit chicken stewed with mushrooms today. We thought of bringing some for you to taste, and I was worried it would get cold, so I hurried.”
“Oh?” Chen Heng raised an eyebrow slightly.
Although Li Xi’s family often sent him things, it was usually during festivals or when they needed his help with village matters. This was the first time they had done something like this.
Li Xi said, “Teacher, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? My elder sister-in-law’s spirit chicken is delicious. Please try it!” She extended her hands forward.
Chen Heng took the food box and opened the lid. Indeed, as Li Xi had said, a fragrant aroma wafted out. Just from the smell alone, it seemed better than the dishes he had eaten in restaurants before.
“This dish does smell excellent. Is everything alright at your home?” Chen Heng still wanted to confirm, in case there was a problem Li Xi was hesitant to mention.
“Thank you for your concern, Teacher. Everything is great at home. We even bought quite a few spirit chicken chicks today!” Li Xi’s voice was filled with excitement as she recalled the cute chicks.
They were even raising spirit chicken chicks at home. It seemed there really wasn’t anything wrong.
Since nothing had happened, and this was a student’s gesture of respect, why not accept it?
Chen Heng smiled slightly, “Thank your family for me when you return home. I’ll gladly accept this dish.”
“Then I’ll head home now, Teacher. Goodbye!” Li Xi waved and hurried back home, eager to eat the delicious spirit chicken stewed with mushrooms!
“This child, always in such a rush!” Chen Heng watched her quickly disappearing figure with an amused smile.
Meanwhile, Li Jiang was doing the same thing as Li Xi.
It started after Li Xi left.
Seeing Li Xi deliver food to Teacher Chen, Li Jiang looked thoughtful. Then, with a slightly red face, he asked Wu Jingwan, “Elder Sister-in-law, could I also send some food to my good friend Wenze?”
He was genuinely a bit embarrassed, after all, his sister-in-law had worked hard to cook, and here he was asking to give some away.
Hearing Li Jiang’s request, Wu Jingwan thought of Li Wenze’s situation. That boy was pitiful, having lost his mother early, with only him and his father at home. Forget about eating good food, it was already impressive that the two of them could barely take care of themselves.
Moreover, that boy had a connection with her brother-in-law, who considered him a brother. It wouldn’t hurt for their family to look after him a bit.
So she smiled and said, “Of course you can. We made plenty of spirit chicken today, sending some to him would help us finish it.”
Hearing this, Li Jiang was delighted. After thanking his sister-in-law, he went to deliver the spirit chicken to his good friend.
After seeing Li Jiang off, Li Wenze was overjoyed. Earlier, when he had been tempted by the aroma from Li Jiang’s house, he had asked his father what they were having for dinner. His father had replied, “We still have some leftovers from this morning, we’ll finish those for dinner.”
He had been forcing down bland boiled vegetables when his good friend Li Jiang arrived with the spirit chicken stewed with mushrooms.
“It must be fate! Even the heavens couldn’t bear to see me eating plain boiled vegetables!” he inwardly cried out to the sky.
“Brother Li Jiang is truly a good man!”
Li Xi finally returned home, where the family was waiting for her in the courtyard.
She quickly washed her hands and sat down on a stool.
“Thank you for your effort, little sister. Quickly, try the spirit chicken stewed with mushrooms that your elder sister-in-law made!” Wu Jingwan put a chicken leg and some mushrooms into Li Xi’s bowl.
Li Xi eagerly took a bite of the spirit chicken. At that moment, the unique flavor of the delicious mushrooms perfectly blended with the tender meat of the spirit chicken. The distinct taste stimulated her saliva glands, mixing with the chicken meat as she swallowed.
She then picked up a delicious mushroom and put it in her mouth.
The texture of the delicious mushroom was excellent, neither too soft nor too chewy, but maintaining just the right amount of bite. Each piece was saturated with the savory chicken broth, smooth in the mouth, with a fibrous texture as she chewed.
The spirit chicken and delicious mushrooms complemented each other perfectly, elevating each other. This dish of spirit chicken stewed with mushrooms was simply amazing!
At that moment, all the flowery words in Li Xi’s mind vanished, leaving only two words: “Delicious!!!”
Seeing Li Xi’s exaggerated expression, the others couldn’t help but start eating as well.
Soon, everyone lost the ability to speak, only able to utter the words “delicious.”
No one said a word, all of them focused intently on eating.
It was too good!
After eating their fill, the family sat in chairs with their round, full bellies, looking content as they digested.
“Elder Sister-in-law, I know what you can do!” Suddenly, Liu Qiniang’s eyes lit up.
“What?” Wu Jingwan looked at Liu Qiniang expectantly.
Liu Qiniang slapped her thigh: “Elder Sister-in-law, your cooking skills are so good, it would be a waste not to sell some food!”
Wu Jingwan’s eyes also lit up, but then she became a bit self-doubting: “Really?”
“Of course it’s true! Elder Sister-in-law! Your cooking skills are top-notch!” Li Jiang joined the conversation, giving Wu Jingwan a thumbs up.
Although Wu Jingwan hadn’t said anything, Li He also knew what she had been worrying about these past few days, so he joined in to encourage her: “My dear, don’t underestimate yourself.”
“If Elder Sister-in-law starts selling food, doesn’t that mean we’ll have endless delicious food at home every day?” Although Li Xi didn’t know why Second Sister-in-law suddenly suggested that Elder Sister-in-law sell food, it didn’t stop her from imagining a future with delicious food every day.
Song’er was also immediately captivated by the scene Li Xi described. “Mom, please sell food! Mom’s cooking is the best!” he quickly chimed in.