Sun Miao'er's hand trembled as she picked the crab, and the bamboo skewer pierced her flesh, causing a bead of blood the size of a bean to gush out. She couldn't help but gasp and hiss.

Fu Yuchi glanced sideways and saw that her finger had been pricked. His nameless anger was instantly suppressed, and he said coldly, "Rinse it with boiled and cooled water first, and come to me for medicine later."

“No need, little…” Before she could finish speaking, she felt the man’s solemn and stern gaze and swallowed the rest of her words.

It was just a minor injury, but she dared not continue to argue. Her words had clearly crossed her master's line, and if she persisted, the kitchen roof might be blown off.

She treated the wound simply, then picked out the crab roe. Two crabs, not a large quantity, but it was a delicate task to prepare. It would take an incense stick's time to work on just one crab.

Before I could even start picking the second one, my hand was suddenly grabbed.

Sun Miao'er looked up as Fu Yuchi held a roll of fine hemp and a small green porcelain bottle. He poured the medicine onto her finger, wrapped it with the hemp, and said, "Don't get it wet. You watch from the side, I'll do it."

The medicine caused intense pain from the wound, which was somewhat irritating. Sun Miao'er gritted her teeth and reluctantly handed the bamboo skewer to Fu Yuchi. "Master, please be careful not to get the crab shell inside."

"Don't worry, I'll do it more carefully than you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Yuchi realized that he had spoken too soon. He picked up the crab and pricked his hand on the male crab's claws. It seemed that he was just not good at anything related to food.

"Master, this is the cheek, you need to pick it out quickly, it's inedible!" Sun Miao'er wished she could go up and do it herself, but her master held the bamboo skewer tightly in his hand, so it was impossible for her to get a turn.

Fu Yuchi pinched out the crab gill that had accidentally gotten inside, and then began picking out the crab meat. His brows furrowed and relaxed at times, and it took him a full half incense stick's time to finish selecting the crab.

"And then what?" Fu Yuchi stared at the crab meat in the small bowl, at a loss.

Sun Miao'er originally intended to make a dish of crab roe noodles, but unfortunately, there were too few crabs to pick out, so she had to add some other ingredients.

She pointed to the mushrooms soaking in the water, "Take these out, chop them up, stir-fry them, and mix them with the crab roe and crab meat in the bowl, and you're done."

For Fu Yuchi, saying just one sentence was harder than climbing to heaven.

There's a reason why his cooking skills are so poor. When he was young, he once sneaked into the kitchen to find food, but he was caught and scolded by his teacher. The teacher said, "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen." Therefore, he was strictly forbidden from trying to cook.

He did as instructed, drained the mushrooms, placed them on the willow wood cutting board, picked up the cleaver, which was less than half the weight of the longsword and was very light.

The moment he started chopping, Fu Yuchi was completely at a loss. He didn't understand whether the cleaver was disobeying him or the mushrooms had a mind of their own. The mushrooms were being chopped up and flying everywhere, splattering all over the stove, the floor, and the pot.

Sun Miao'er followed behind, picked up the fallen mushrooms, rinsed them in the water, and couldn't help but laugh, "How come Master can be so disheveled just chopping vegetables?"

"I've never chopped one." He didn't want to admit defeat and refused to believe that he couldn't even handle a mushroom.

With increased force, he made a few more cuts.

The mushrooms were chopped up, but only half remained on the cutting board; the other half had flown away.

Sun Miao'er finally spoke up to stop him, "Master, let me do it. If it breaks again, we won't be able to pick it up. Don't worry, I still have one hand to use!"

Fu Yuchi was unwilling, but he still gave in and obediently put down the kitchen knife.

Sun Miao'er swung the cleaver and chopped the mushrooms on the cutting board into a paste in a few strokes, without any splattering. "Master, there is a technique to chopping vegetables. If you use force haphazardly like that, the point of application of the cleaver is not right, so naturally you can't chop them well."

Now Sun Miao'er was even more certain that her master and the kitchen were sworn enemies from a past life. There was only one stove in the house, and she was determined not to let Fu Yuchi touch anything in it again.

Heat oil in a wok, then mince some garlic and sauté it in the hot oil until the garlic aroma is released. Next, add the prepared topping and stir-fry for a few seconds. The aroma of the mushrooms blends with the sweetness of the crab roe and crab meat, creating a heavenly flavor.

One crab prepared in three ways is quite good.

Once inside, no one touched the crabs on the table. Xiaoman and Erya had already run back from the backyard by lunchtime.

"Crabs don't taste good when they're cold." Sun Miao'er teased, noticing that no one was touching the crab. "What, do you think my cooking is bad?"

Wei Jingnian chimed in, "How could that be? I was starving this morning, but then I thought, how could we leave Miss Sun busy in the kitchen while we feast here, waiting for you, Miss Sun!"

"Oh, I've never heard you so sweet-talking before, Jingnian. Does your personality change when you see a girl?" Wei Shuhua teased, then beckoned to Sun Miao'er, "Niece, come sit down."

Xiaoman went to call Grandma Sun over. Grandma Sun preferred quiet, so after taking the food back to the house, she cleaned up the separate room on the east side and left it for Grandma Sun. On weekdays, she would call her over to eat or bring the food to her.

Grandma Sun came in leaning on her cane. When she saw the room full of people, her face lit up with joy. "It's so lively today!"

"Grandma, please sit down." Wei Shuhua went up and helped Grandma Sun sit down.

Grandma Sun looked up and immediately saw Wei Jingnian across from her. "And who is this?"

"This is my nephew from my maternal family. I heard that Miao'er is good at weaving and dyeing, so he came here specifically to learn the craft and ask for your guidance!" Wei Shuhua said with a smile, giving Wei Jingnian a wink.

Wei Jingnian bowed and said, "Greetings, Grandma Sun."

The boy's voice was broad and resonant, expressing his joy and anger openly.

Grandma Sun smiled, her eyes crinkling into a smile, and nodded repeatedly. "What skills could a little girl like her have? They're just some clumsy tricks. It just so happens that they caught your eye!"

"Grandma, don't say that. Look at the dress my aunt is wearing. Even the cloth shops in Pingnan City can't buy such material or sew such patterns!" Wei Jingnian thought to himself that the Sun family girl was impervious to reason, so he might as well try to win over Grandma Sun.

Sun Miao'er interrupted Wei Jingnian's earnest words, "It's getting late, Young Master Wei. Didn't you just say you were hungry? Let's sit down quickly, the crab is cold and the noodles are all soggy!"

"Let's eat."

Fu Yuchi, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up in a low voice. He was clearly addressing Wei Jingnian, though he did not name him.

Everyone took their seats. Er Ya sat on Liang Huai'an's lap, Xiao Man sat next to Sun Miao'er, Fu Yuchi and Wei Jingnian sat opposite each other with Liang Huai'an next to them, and Wei Shuhua shared a stool with her nephew.

The atmosphere at the table seemed harmonious, but it was actually quite subtle.

Fu Yuchi and Wei Jingnian sat facing each other. The square table wasn't large to begin with, so it was inevitable that they would see each other frequently. Wei Jingnian was determined to prove himself superior to Fu Yuchi today.