Chapter 59 Inviting you to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival together

I always feel like Sister Geng's braised eggs lack a certain flavor, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Could it be the cassia twigs? I'll try it in virtual space tonight!

The older you get, the wiser you become. It really benefits me a lot to consult Master Sun for a while every day!

Zhao Xiaojing looked at Sun Dehai with admiration.

"Haha, Xiao Zhao, these are all the steps in a chef's training. You'll slowly learn them. How's your wok flipping practice going lately? Try making one in the air and I'll show you."

Sun Dehai looked at Zhao Xiaojing's admiring eyes with a smile. After Zhao Xiaojing showed him how to flip the spoon, he began to guide Zhao Xiaojing to adjust some subtle movements.

"Master Zhao."

Just as Sun Dehai and Zhao Xiaojing were talking seriously, Secretary Fan appeared at the door.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaojing hurriedly put down the pot and went over.

When Secretary Fan saw Zhao Xiaojing coming, he pointed outside and motioned her to follow.

Zhao Xiaojing didn't understand what was going on, so she followed Secretary Fan to a corner and saw a woman in smart clothes looking at them with a smile.

"Boss Wen, I'll go to work first."

Secretary Fan said this respectfully, took Zhao Xiaojing over and left immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Wen!" When Zhao Xiaojing heard Secretary Fan's address, she immediately realized that this was Mr. Wen's daughter, Wen Yulan, and greeted him happily.

"Hello, Xiaojing. I finally see you! I was worried it would be inconvenient to go to the kitchen, so I called you out to talk. There are no outsiders here, so just call me Auntie."

Wen Yulan has a broad face, big eyes, and very majestic facial features. When she smiles, fine crow's feet appear at the corners of her eyes, making her look very friendly, like an elder in her own family.

"You're such a hardworking kid! I was shocked when Xiao Li reported your breakfast-making salary. Aren't you tired?"

"I'm not tired, Aunt Wen. I have plenty of time to rest at noon. I also go to bed early every night now. Why did Aunt Wen come here suddenly?"

"Isn't Yunyun on summer vacation? I'll take advantage of her being here to come back for a few days. It just so happens that the difference between the lunar and solar calendars is smaller this year, so we can celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival together in a few days." Wen Yulan affectionately embraced Zhao Xiaojing with a smile on her face.

"I came back and passed by here, so I stopped by to check on the construction site and see you. I also heard about your family problems from your grandma, so I wanted to invite you to have dinner at your grandparents' house during the Mid-Autumn Festival and celebrate the festival together.

But grandma said you might have to go to your relative's house for lunch, so I asked you if you have time in the evening."

The last time Zhao Xiaojing went home, Fan Guiying chatted with her for a long time about family matters and asked about Zhao Xiaojing's family situation. Only then did she know that Zhao Xiaojing's parents had both passed away and she lived alone in a rented house.

Later, Wen Yulan called Fan Guiying back via video, and she talked about Zhao Xiaojing's life experience again. Wen Yulan immediately felt sympathy for this girl who was about the same age as her own child.

Thinking that she was lonely during the Mid-Autumn Festival, I invited her to my home as soon as I came back.

"Would it be a bit of a bother if I went over? Besides, I get off work a little late..."

Zhao Xiaojing was very touched, but a little hesitant, fearing that her presence as an outsider would disturb the Wen family's reunion.

"Haha, do you think this construction site is a gang? The deadline is approaching and everyone wants to rush the work so they can finish it early and have a good holiday. So, there's not much time to rest, but there's still a Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Besides, we'd be happy if you went there in the evening even if we weren't on holiday. Why would we bother you? Your grandparents are looking forward to your visit! Yunyun and I like you very much too. There aren't many outsiders at home. Only Yunyun's uncle might come back, and you've met everyone else. It won't bother you at all!"

"Aunt Wen, thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me. I will go."

Wen Yulan's words were sincere. Zhao Xiaojing's eyes were red after hearing it. She felt that she could never repay her gratitude. Meeting the Wen family really made her feel warm in her heart.

"Hey, what are you thanking me for? We all treat you as our own child."

Wen Yulan patted Zhao Xiaojing again, thinking that she was so young but had already experienced the greatest hardship in life, working hard and struggling alone, and she felt very sad in her heart.

The two chatted briefly for a few more minutes, and seeing that it was getting late, they said goodbye and left.

Zhao Xiaojing turned around and took a few deep breaths.

Before I knew it, the Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here. The last time I had a happy Mid-Autumn Festival was seven years ago.

After my mother passed away, I spent every Mid-Autumn Festival at my third aunt's house. I had lunch with my third aunt, my cousin, and later, my cousin's husband and children when she got married.

There was no warm family atmosphere at the dinner table. It was always filled with the scolding of the third aunt to her cousin, and the scolding of her cousin to her brother-in-law. She almost always just lowered her head and ate in silence.

After my cousin got married, her family hurriedly said goodbye after lunch and went to the man's house for dinner that night. She stayed behind to help clean up the dishes, and then she and her third aunt had another dinner in silence. How could it feel like a reunion?

As for this year, she and her third aunt had a falling out, and she was even struggling to decide whether to have dinner together...

…

At 11 p.m., Zhao Xiaojing prepared her first pot of tea eggs in virtual space, following Sister Geng's instructions and adding cinnamon twigs.

It does taste better than without it, but the taste of the egg yolk still seems to be missing.

Zhao Xiaojing pondered over it and suddenly remembered that in her previous life, she was a picky eater and she learned how to cook quail eggs at home.

In order to make the quail eggs more tender and smooth, I added salt to the water. After boiling for three minutes, I turned off the heat, covered the pot and simmered it for a while until the quail eggs were just cooked through.

Quail eggs are small and fragile, and the eggshells would break from time to time during the boiling process. She would pick them up and eat them herself.

Salt is originally added to promote shrinkage and make it easier to peel the shell after cooking, but eggs with partially broken shells will have a salty taste, not only on the egg white but also on the yolk.

Zhao Xiaojing suddenly had an idea in her mind and started a series of experiments.

I don’t know how many times she tried it, but Zhao Xiaojing finally laughed as she tasted it.

“Put the eggs in a pot with cold water, cover it with a lid, and turn off the heat once the water boils. Then simmer for five minutes until the egg whites are cooked but the yolks are not. Then put them in the tea egg broth and braising it so that the yolks can absorb the flavor.” Zhao Xiaojing clapped her hands and summed up to herself.

Ding~

[After system evaluation, the current cook's level is: 12 (low level, just a rookie, the maximum level is 100). This upgrade will receive 100 system coins and 200 cash.]

Huh? Researching a tea egg can also level up? This really shows that hard work pays off!

The phone immediately rang with a reminder that the money had arrived, and Zhao Xiaojing was overjoyed.

My salary was paid today, plus the 200 yuan reward from the system, I got another 8,500 yuan!

Not counting the working capital for the fried skewers, I have saved 25,000 yuan, and I still have 55,000 yuan left to pay off my loan!