Mr. Li didn’t respond but reached out and tapped his old friend’s shoulder and pulled him into the house with a smile.
Li Xianglu entered the kitchen and saw a very advanced kitchen for that era.
It was a row of white tiled counters, with a sink on the far side, three cabinets above, and an iron rack below.
Closest to the window was a gas stove, with dual burners.
At the mont, the counter was arranged with a plate of sliced cabbage, glass noodles soaking in a ceramic dish, and a fish, quite a rare sight.
Li Xianglu glanced at the at on the counter and said to the woman nearby with a smile, "Aunt, could you help cut the at into pieces, and do we have any brown sugar at ho?"
The woman was stunned for a mont, then quickly took out a small porcelain jar from the cabinet below and said, "We don’t use brown sugar often, just this much, is it enough?"
Li Xianglu looked and nodded smilingly, "It’s enough. Let’s cook a fish in sweet and sour sauce, braised pork, and stir-fried pork slices with cabbage and glass noodles?"
The woman, surprised, widened her eyes and nodded, "I don’t know how to make sweet and sour fish, you cook and I’ll assist you."
Li Xianglu rolled up her sleeves and began to cook, while the woman by her side curiously watched the young girl skillfully slicing the fish, her technique so adept as if she did it often, yet judging by her clothes she didn’t seem the sort to eat fish regularly.
Li Xianglu fried the seasoned fish until golden brown on both sides, then set it aside on a plate.
On another burner, the woman had already scalded the cut pieces of at in water.
First, they started with the braised pork, as it needed to stew for a longer ti, so it was prepared first.
Heat so oil up to moderately hot, add brown sugar and continuously stir until it lts into froth, then add the blanched at.
With a ’sizzle’ sound, the at rolled and turned into a beautiful soy-red color.
The woman helped with the seasoning on the side and kept praising, "Ah, the color turned out really nice."
Li Xianglu smiled without saying a word; in her past life, her dad’s braised pork was incomparable, with just its sauce she could eat a bowl of rice. Her dad used brown sugar instead of white sugar for braised pork, which gave a sweet taste and perfect color.
She added water to the at and let it stew.
Li Xianglu quickly started making the stir-fried pork slices with cabbage and glass noodles.
The at chunks were parboiled earlier, sliced when cooled, and then stewed with the cabbage, chili pepper added for an appealing taste.
The woman went out to set the table, while Li Xianglu secretly took so Sichuan pepper powder and stock from her space, placed it in the stewed cabbage, then prepared minced green onion and garlic in a bowl for the sweet and sour fish sauce.
The rice was already stead, and the braised pork sauce was well reduced, promptly dished onto a large white porcelain plate, the red and white looked mouth-watering.
The stewed pork slices with cabbage and glass noodles were in a large porcelain bowl.
She made the sauce and poured it over the fried fish, sprinkling so chopped green onions on top of the reddish soup for an attractive look.
She then cleaned up the surroundings, gave the pot a scrub, found so seaweed, boiled it, cracked an egg in to make a simple seaweed egg drop soup.
Three dishes and one soup, all in generous portions. Aunt An had to go to her son’s mother-in-law’s house to pick up her grandson, so she didn’t stay for the al.
Only the three of them were left at the dining table.
Not only was Grandpa Lan stunned, but even Grandpa Li was taken aback. Despite being just three dishes, their exquisite appearance didn’t seem like sothing Aunt An could have achieved.
Grandpa Lan was the first to pick up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks, savoring the at that was a perfect mix of fat and lean. One bite and a sweet flavor burst in his mouth, rich but not greasy. His eyes went wide, and Mr. Li, montarily confused, asked, "What’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?"
Grandpa Lan didn’t bother replying; he quickly grabbed another piece, this ti a chunk of pure fat, and swallowed it down. Delicious. He imdiately felt a surge of happiness and contentnt.
Mr. Li knew his old friend’s expression all too well—it clearly tasted great. Turning to Li Xianglu, he said, "Quick, eat up, be careful or Grandpa Lan will finish it all." He then started eating, serving his granddaughter so at as well.
Putting aside their drinks, the three of them began to feast.
It had been a long ti since they had rice. The last ti was at the Li family’s house, when Li Xianglu secretly made herself a bowl of rice and stealthily ate it with so pickles. Though the rice was a bit broken and not the best quality, likely due to less fertilizer used, it tasted exceptionally sweet. Paired with the cabbage, vermicelli, and pork stew, it was simply scrumptious.
When the three paused, all that was left of the braised pork was so sauce. Half of the cabbage, vermicelli, and pork stew remained, and only the skeleton was left of the sweet and sour fish.
Grandpa Lan, patting his stomach contentedly, sighed and said, "Mr. Li, the best thing you’ve ever done in your life was to take in such a wonderful granddaughter."
Mr. Li, who had also eaten his fill, walked around with a bowl of seaweed soup to aid digestion. Hearing his old friend’s comnt, he couldn’t help but smile wryly.
After the al, the two old n went to play chess, while Li Xianglu cleaned up the table and washed up in the sink.
After cleaning, she ca out just in ti to see the two elders arguing heatedly. She heard Mr. Li, his face filled with anger, say, "Old man Lan, put it down, you’re regretting a move, you know that!"
Old Man Lan responded playfully, "Hey, hey, Mr. Li, keep your temper, at our age, why so serious!"
Mr. Li retorted angrily, "Shaless!"
The two were embarrassed when they saw Li Xianglu erge.
Mr. Li glanced at his watch; it was already past three o’clock. He then said to Mr. Li, "Aren’t all your grandson’s books still here? The ones from high school, take them all out for my granddaughter to take away."
Grandpa Lan raised an eyebrow, "What, Xiang is going to high school?" A al had genuinely brought them closer, and Grandpa Lan now affectionately called Li Xianglu like Grandpa Li did.
Mr. Li proudly shook his head and said, "Ah, my granddaughter is very smart, no need for school, she’s going to study at ho!"
Grandpa Lan, although disdainful of his old friend constantly bragging about his granddaughter, still went upstairs and soon ca down with a big cardboard box.
Li Xianglu hurried over to take it from him. Grandpa Lan, who was fond of the young girl caring for the elderly, kept winking at Mr. Li.
Li Xianglu checked the contents: a complete set of high school textbooks and many other books.
After finishing up, Mr. Li made a phone call, and soon a jeep arrived and parked in front of the County Committee house. After a while, Qin Xi appeared, his clothes dirty, carrying a big bundle wrapped in a bedsheet on his back.
Li Xianglu, sitting in the back of the jeep, keenly noticed a square box peeking out from the side of the bundle. The wood exuded a deep lustrous glow in the sunlight, revealing its true nature – red
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