Chapter 21 Hello, Aunt Lou! I watched you grow up, and you still don't recognize me…

"Dinner's ready!"

Wen Min carried the rice cooker into the restaurant.

An Fusheng followed behind, steadily carrying a large bowl of fish head tofu soup in both hands. The soup was steaming slightly, milky white in color, with a thin film on the surface. The tofu cubes, half-submerged in the thick soup, trembled slightly as he walked.

Next up was Bai Miaomiao, carrying braised chicken wings and tiger-skin quail eggs. The thick, white porcelain plate was quite heavy, and Bai Miaomiao carefully held it up. The chicken wings and tiger-skin quail eggs on the plate were glossy and bright red. Bai Miaomiao kept telling herself to watch where she was going, but her eyes couldn't help but dart to the brightly colored dishes.

Bai Miaomiao was followed closely by Bai Mangmang, who was carrying a lotus leaf-shaped plate. The dishes on the plate were piled up like a small mountain, with different ingredients and colors and flavors intertwined, creating a harmonious and fragrant dish.

Behind them were Wen Xingmou, An Shisi, and Wen Xinglin, each holding three bowls in their arms.

Sitting in his dining chair, Wen Xingrui stared intently at the proud and imposing crowd filing in, drooling and excitedly patting the chair with a laugh.

Wen Xinghe sat upright at the dining table, facing the door even though he couldn't see it, and the aroma wafted closer to his nose.

One dish after another was served, and everyone put down what they were holding and sat down in their own seats.

Wen Min distributed the rice to everyone. "Fu Zai, have you confirmed that you've saved some food for Aunt Lou?"

An Fusheng: "I kept it."

"Okay." Wen Min placed the rice cooker on the small table behind him and sat down in his seat. "Let's eat!"

At a command.

A series of clanging and clattering sounds followed.

"Wow, the chicken wings are so delicious!"

"Even this little egg is delicious!"

"The fish soup is so delicious! It smells so good when mixed with rice!"

"I...I also want fish soup in the rice." Wen Xingmou mumbled, her mouth stuffed with a tiger-skin quail egg, holding up her bowl with both hands.

"Here you go." Wen Min scooped a large spoonful of fish soup into Wen Xingmou's bowl.

An Shisi grabbed a chicken wing with one hand and tore into it, while holding his bowl next to Wen Xingmou's bowl with the other, looking at Wen Min.

Wen Min added a spoonful of fish soup to An Shisi's bowl, saying, "This is perfect for children, eat more."

An Shisi nodded and took back his bowl.

Wen Xingmou gripped the spoon with her fist, scooped up a large spoonful of rice soaked in fish soup, and put it in her mouth. "Mmm, delicious!"

"Xinghe, would you like some fish soup too? It's delicious," Wen Min asked.

"good."

Wen Min added two more spoonfuls of fish soup to Wen Xinghe's bowl and stirred it in her rice bowl as well. "Eat up."

The food tonight was so delicious, even better than lunch. Everyone couldn't help but exclaim in praise after the first bite, and then their mouths were too busy to stop eating.

For a moment, the only sounds in the restaurant were the clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the chewing of food.

While eating, Wen Min would occasionally glance at the younger children who weren't very good at eating. If they ran out of rice, he would add more rice; if they ran out of vegetables, he would add more vegetables, enjoying the pleasure of feeding them.

In a whirlwind, the dishes on the table were once again completely devoured.

Everyone was stuffed again. Except for Wen Xingrui, who was still tearing at a chicken wing with both his hands and mouth, everyone else leaned back in their chairs, satisfied.

"I'm so full!" Wen Min felt very gratified. She only ever felt this way when she secretly ate spicy hot pot outside because she was craving it. Oh dear, she felt quite guilty about sneaking out to eat behind the kids' backs. She decided she wouldn't go out to eat anymore.

“But I still want to eat,” Wen Xingmou said.

"Touch your tummy, it's going to explode if you eat any more, and then there won't be any room left to hold the food next time," Wen Min said.

"Ah?" Wen Xingmou covered her bulging belly with her hands in fear. "Then I won't eat."

Bai Miaomiao had to go back to school for evening self-study, and Wen Min also had to go to the hospital to relieve Lou Lan. After a hearty meal, Wen Min saw Bai Miaomiao off onto the school bus and then hurried off to the hospital himself.

"Sister Lan, I'm here," Wen Min said softly, bending down.

Lou Lan smiled and said, "It's alright, he's awake."

Wen Min entered the ward and saw the young man on the bed staring at her with his big eyes.

"Did you hire a chef today?" Lou Lan got up to make milk powder.

Wen Min walked to the bedside and teased the child, "We've got it! Guess who it is?"

"I guess? Could it be someone I know?" Lou Lan stopped scooping up the milk powder.

“It’s Fuzai.” Wen Min knew she definitely wouldn’t guess, so she didn’t keep her in suspense.

"Fu-zai?" Lou Lan exclaimed in surprise, "He's here to be a chef?"

“Yes, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t personally recruited him,” Wen Min said. “He said he fell and hit his head, suffered amnesia, and was fired by his boss.”

"How could this happen?" Lou Lan continued scooping formula into the bottle, muttering, "No wonder the kids said their older brother was selling wolf tooth potatoes the day before yesterday, but why is he applying for a chef's job now?"

Wen Min said, "You don't know, he can't even write properly now. If he didn't know a few words, what's the difference between him and an illiterate person? He probably can't find a job, so he applied for a chef position."

“He often helped in the kitchen when he was little, and I never expected he would even learn to cook. Luckily, he didn't forget these life skills, and by some twist of fate, he ended up in the orphanage. Otherwise, he would have suffered so much outside.” Lou Lan sighed sadly and said to Wen Min, “Now that he’s back, shall we take care of him?”

Wen Min: "That's what I think too."

Lou Lan gently rolled the baby bottle in her hands as she walked to the bedside: "How pitiful this child is. He finally managed to escape, and now he's like this again."

Wen Min: "By the way, when he came back to move his things after graduation, didn't he happen to run into Fourteen's hearing aid breaking down? He said he would save money to buy Fourteen a cochlear implant. He probably doesn't remember this. Now that he's in this state, he probably doesn't have any money. Don't mention it to him when you go back."

Lou Lan nodded: "I know that."

Wen Min reached out to take the milk that Lou Lan had prepared. "Let me do it. You go back and eat. I must say, Fu Zai's cooking is quite good. If it weren't for the fact that cooking and taking care of children is such a waste of his talents, I would really like him to stay at the orphanage and cook. I haven't eaten such delicious food in ages. I feel like my life is full of hope again."

"Is it really as exaggerated as you say?" Lou Lan handed the baby bottle to Wen Min.

"It's not an exaggeration at all. You'll see when you get home and eat it. I specially saved some for you."

"Then I'll have to go back and try it."

When Lou Lan returned to the orphanage, it was completely dark. There were no children on the first floor, so Lou Lan went straight to the activity room on the second floor. Sure enough, the children were watching cartoons in the activity room.

When the children saw Lou Lan return, they greeted her warmly as "Mama Lou."

Lou Lan felt a warmth in her heart. Although taking care of the children every day was tiring, the children were all very sensible.

When An Fusheng saw Lou Lan, he immediately stood up. "Hello, Aunt Lou, I am An Fusheng."

Lou Lan looked at An Fusheng, whose eyes were more bewildered than before, but whose spirits were not dejected. She felt relieved and smiled, "I've watched you grow up, don't I recognize you?"

An Fusheng scratched his head sheepishly and asked, "Aunt Lou, have you had dinner? We saved some for you."

"Not yet," Lou Lan said. "Thank you."

"I'll go get it for you."

After finishing his sentence, An Fusheng went downstairs and ran into the kitchen.

This child has always been calm and composed, doing everything in a steady and unhurried manner yet with a strong sense of self-righteousness. When has he ever been so eager to please others? Lou Lan followed An Fusheng into the kitchen with a feeling of heartache.

Anfu was afraid the vegetables would get cold, so he specially put them in a pot with boiling water to keep them warm. The vegetables are still warm when he takes them out now.

The kitchen light bulbs were probably old, casting a dim and scattered light, but Lou Lan could still tell that the dishes An Fusheng brought out of the pot looked quite good.

A faint fragrance wafted into my nose, and suddenly I felt hungry.

Lou Lan helped An Fusheng carry the food into the dining room.

An Fusheng placed the food on the table and said, "Please enjoy your meal. I'm going upstairs now."

“Go ahead,” Lou Lan said.

An Fusheng left, and Lou Lan sat down to eat.

She picked up a piece of tofu and put it in her mouth. The tofu was tender and smooth, and it melted in her mouth with the touch of her tongue. In an instant, the soup burst in her mouth, and the fresh and fragrant taste filled her mouth and tongue. Her soul seemed to float away. Lou Lan couldn't help but exclaim, "Delicious!"

Lou Lan quickly picked up a piece of fish head meat and put it in her mouth. It was fresh, fragrant, tender and delicious.

Lou Lan ate other dishes in succession, and they were all delicious. Perhaps because they had been left to sit for a while after being cooked, each dish was very flavorful, but the seasonings and salt were just right. This was 'very delicious', it was simply too delicious!

An Fusheng has been smart since he was a child. Lou Lan knew that he learned everything quickly and well, but she never expected that he would cook so well! If she had known, she would have let him cook before. Ugh, he has already helped with so many chores before, how could she let him cook?

Lou Lan was both disgusted with her own ideas and unable to contain her excitement because she had eaten delicious food today and knew that there would be delicious food tomorrow.

After eating her fill, Lou Lan felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.

An Fusheng was filled with regret. The cartoon was over, and the children were clamoring to take a bath. Only then did he realize that he hadn't bought any clothes for the day and had no clean clothes to change into for the night!

We can't exactly borrow clothes from Aunt Lou, can we? Although he has already worn Grandma Ao's clothes, Grandma Ao is an elderly woman, while Aunt Lou is not!

Maybe I should wear the clothes I'm wearing tonight, but they're so dirty! During the day, when I was holding Wen Xingrui, he crawled on the floor and dirtied the clothes, which then rubbed against me and got my clothes dirty too...

"What's wrong?" Lou Lan saw An Fusheng looking at Wen Xingrui with a worried expression as soon as she came in. She thought he was annoyed by Wen Xingrui's dirty clothes, so she explained, "It's inevitable that his clothes get dirty when he crawls on the ground."

"Aunt Lou, are there any clothing stores around here? I want to buy a change of clothes." An Fusheng knew that many shops in the city were open at night, and he decided that even if it was more expensive, he had to buy a set this time.

"Didn't you bring any clothes?" Lou Lan said, "There aren't many men's clothing stores around here, and clothes you buy need to be washed before you can wear them. I washed and stored some of your clothes that you didn't take with you. Why don't you wear these for now?"

"Great!" An Fusheng replied, feeling as if a new path had opened up before him!