Xie Zhuo got home at almost 11:30. Afraid that Xu Yan would get impatient and go into the kitchen, he quickened his pace as he walked through the village.

To everyone's surprise, Xu Yan was already in the kitchen when I entered.

However, this time the kitchen wasn't a mess because Da Bao and Xiao Bao were there too.

The two little rascals aren't good at anything else, but they're quite good at starting a fire. The older one stuffs firewood into the stove, and the younger one, seeing that the flames are being suppressed, quickly pumps the bellows a couple of times.

The two worked together quite well.

Xie Zhu carried the basket over to the small storeroom, then washed up, changed clothes, and tidied up before going into the kitchen.

"What are you making?" Xie Zhuo asked, leaning closer to the pot for a peek. "It smells so good."

“Mixed fried rice,” Xu Yan said.

In all her life, the best dishes she's ever made are mixed fried rice and tomato and egg noodles.

It's simple and delicious.

She had steamed the rice in advance. It was a cool day, so the rice cooled down quickly after being served on the table. Afraid that it wasn't cold enough, she scooped out a little water from the water tank outside and put the bowl of rice into the water to chill it for a while.

The effect was minimal, but it was still alright.

After preparing the rice, she timed it perfectly and diced carrots, yam, and spinach as well.

When Da Bao and Xiao Bao ran into the house with Xiao Shuanzi, she called them back.

With the help of her two children, she heated oil in a wok, first frying three eggs, then briefly sautéing the diced rice she had just cut in the hot oil, and finally adding the cooled rice.

When making fried rice, you have to be generous with the amount of oil; rice tastes better with oil.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao had never seen this kind of food before. From the moment Xu Yan started cooking, they would stand up every now and then to look into the pot, and then wrinkle their little noses.

"It smells so good, Auntie," Da Bao said.

"It smells good, doesn't it?" Xu Yan smiled. "Your third aunt will serve you two more later. You two have been a great help to your third aunt today."

"Thank you, Third Aunt," Xiao Bao said, looking up at Xu Yan with a wide grin.

Xie Zhuo had never eaten mixed fried rice before, and had hardly ever even heard of it. Seeing that Xu Yan had almost finished cooking it and was about to serve it, he quickly went over to help.

After that, Xie Zhu quickly cooked two more dishes.

After a flurry of activity, the family of four finally got to eat.

"Try it and see if it's good," Xu Yan said. "This is the dish I'm best at making."

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhuo immediately lowered his head and took a big bite.

I must say, Xu Yan's fried rice was really delicious. The rice grains were loose and fluffy, and the flavor was greatly improved after being coated with oil. The color was also beautiful.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao couldn't hold back any longer. While eating, they didn't forget to praise Xu Yan from time to time.

"You have such a sweet tongue," Xu Yan said with a smile, patting their cheeks. "Eat more if you like it."

Xie Zhuo watched her movements, paused for a few seconds, and then casually said, "It's delicious. I've never eaten such a delicious meal in my life."

Xu Yan stopped touching Xiao Bao's face and turned to look at him.

Xie Zhuo pretended to eat seriously, picked up a mouthful of rice with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, keeping his head upright so that Xu Yan could easily pinch his cheek.

It's a pity Xu Yan didn't make it.

Xie Zhuo glanced at Xu Yan out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that she didn't intend to make a move, he was about to say something when Xu Yan grabbed his hand on the table and gently squeezed it.

He lowered his gaze to look.

Xu Yan squeezed her hand into his palm and then scratched it.

"You have a sweet tongue."

Xie Zhuo: "..."

Xie Zhuo almost lost his grip on the chopsticks.

The meal didn't last long. After Xie Zhuo finished cleaning up the kitchen and brought over the basket, he was met with the two little ones' bright, starry eyes.

No, it should be three people.

Xu Yan was also pleasantly surprised.

She picked up a bayberry, stared at it for a moment, and without washing it, took a bite.

It's very sweet, with a slight hint of sourness.

The aroma of fruit makes me feel a little better.

"Where did this come from?" Xu Yan wanted to eat another one, but Xie Zhuo stopped her.

"I haven't washed them yet," Xie Zhuo said, taking a small porcelain basin and throwing a handful of bayberries into it to wash. "I picked them on the mountain this morning."

"Didn't they say that Wang Chao and his gang ruined it all?"

Xu Yan picked out a few pretty-colored items from the basin and handed them to Da Bao and Xiao Bao, then put the unwashed items from their hands into the basin.

"I guess they didn't see the tree," Xie Zhuo thought for a moment, then poured some more salt into the basin.

Xu Yan paused as she reached her hand into the basin.

"What's wrong?" Xie Zhuo looked up when he didn't hear anything for a while.

"Ah," Xu Yan responded softly.

"Huh?" Xie Zhuo hadn't dried his hands, so he touched Xu Yan's nose, leaving a small, round water droplet.

Xu Yan didn't pay any attention to it, but just looked at him for a few seconds before asking, "Why did you add salt?"

Xie Zhuo's heart skipped a beat.

I was careless.

He showed no sign of anything amiss on his face, saying, "It's clean because of the salt."

His tone was so self-assured and without the slightest hint of guilt that Xu Yan realized he was overthinking things.

When washing fruit, especially bayberries, it is common practice to soak them in salt water for a while. So when she saw Xie Zhuo pouring salt into the basin, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

Suddenly, a ridiculous idea popped into my head.

Could Xie Zhuo have also transmigrated into a book?

Otherwise, why doesn't it match the original text?

But she immediately dismissed that idea. No way, it was already absurd for her to transmigrate alone, let alone in a group?

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