Everyone in the kitchen was busy and bustling, even Huang An Yao sitting on a small stool peeling vegetables was very focused.
The Gong Liang family of three were watching TV in the living room, feeling very at ease. If you didn’t know, you’d think this was Gong Liang’s house and that the people in the kitchen were chefs hired by Boss Gong for a hefty sum.
"Where’s your mom?" Qin Huai asked Zheng Siyuan.
"She went to my sister’s house to take care of my niece Yiyi," Zheng Siyuan said, "When my mom heard that we were going to make Four Happiness glutinous rice today, she got so scared that she left early this morning. This whole time my dad and I have been making mixed fruit filling glutinous rice balls at home, and my mom is almost sick of them."
Alright, it seems Ouyang’s value is still increasing.
Qin Huai continued making the glutinous rice balls.
The three basic flavors were no issue at all, simply a walk in the park. The mixed fruit filling was slightly more complex. Qin Huai needed to make three flavors of it, which required making the syrup three times.
Both Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan noticed this move, and both were quite pleased.
Zheng Siyuan felt that Qin Huai made three flavors of mixed fruit filling solely out of embarrassment to make only two. Compared with almond peanut and almond walnut, peanut sunflower seed was totally out of place.
Zheng Da felt that Qin Huai made three flavors of mixed fruit filling purely to please everyone, wondering why his rebellious son was so insistent on the fruit filling. However, Zheng Da could see from the almond peanut that Qin Huai’s true preference lay in one of them.
Just like that, inexplicably, Qin Huai managed to please everyone again.
As time passed, the aroma in the kitchen became more and more intense.
Of course, it was all the smell of food, having nothing to do with the snacks.
Neither the Four Happiness glutinous rice nor the Qianhua Gongdeng Bun were fragrant snacks.
Huang Shengli mostly cooked basic home dishes.
Stir-fried eel segments, stir-fried river shrimp, chestnut braised chicken, sweet and sour pork, carrot fried with meat, pan-fried tofu, leek fried squid, steamed egg.
Even the soup was the common kelp rib soup.
The dishes might be ordinary, but they were fragrant.
Often big dishes have their own aroma, and home-cooked dishes have their own, too.
Only a minority can afford to eat out daily or indulge in top gastronomic feasts. Not everyone is like Xu Cheng, with the financial strength to enjoy large, exquisite dishes made by top chefs.
For the vast majority of ordinary people, quick home-cooked stir-fry is life.
These home dishes that you can eat daily smell more fragrant and taste more flavorful. Because you eat them every day, when you come across particularly good ones, you become more covetous, drooling just from the smell.
Gong Baozhu’s eyes couldn’t hold the TV anymore, staring intently at the kitchen door, as if she’d returned to her teenage school days when she came home from school and sat right by the dining table, waiting to eat.
Gong Baozhu was drooling outside, and Huang An Yao was drooling inside.
"Dad, are the dishes ready? Can we eat now?" Huang An Yao eagerly asked.
"Look at you, no ambition, craving the Three Course Duck and even the steamed egg. If you’re that greedy, why don’t you learn to cook yourself? You won’t crave once you learn." Huang Shengli joked, "The steamed egg has one more minute. I’m ready with my side. For the snacks, you have to ask your Junior Master Zheng."
"Of course I can," Zheng Da had already turned off the heat, "You guys serve the dishes first; mine will come last, as a surprise for everyone."
"Xiao Qin, where’s your Four Happiness glutinous rice?"
"3 minutes 50 seconds, then they can be served," Qin Huai pointed to the large pot of rice balls.
"Alright," Huang Shengli nodded, "Then serve the dishes. An Yao, serve the dishes."
Huang An Yao swiftly served the dishes, shouting, "Dinner is ready!"
"Yay, dinner time!" Gong Baozhu jumped off the sofa, "Uncle Huang, Uncle Zheng, let me help with serving dishes!"