At this moment, Old Mrs. Yang, who was outside the courtyard, was extremely anxious.

"What are they eating? It smells delicious! I wonder if they sell it?"

"Old man, go and get me some bricks, I want to take a look."

Old Man Meng saw his wife pacing back and forth along the wall, looking determined to get what she wanted.

Having no other choice, he hung what he was carrying on a tree branch.

He picked up a few more red bricks from the ground and stacked them together. "Come on, hold onto my hand and get up, don't fall, old woman!"

Zhuang Qing and Zhuang Qing carried a large iron pot to the stove in the courtyard. "Hehe, this is farmhouse firewood cooking. Sister Qin, you've never had it before, have you? It smells amazing!"

Qin Yi smiled and said, "Xiao Qing, give me a serving of rice crackers later."

Zhuang Qing was clearly disappointed: "Oh, so you've already eaten this?"

"Stop talking about that, come and eat, it'll get cold soon," Qin Yi urged.

Zhuang Qing quickly sat down. She had been craving food for so long, and now it was finally time to show off her meal. Who wouldn't be excited?

Zhuang Qing coughed and poured Qin Yi a cup of tea: "This is tea produced in our own mountains. You can try it. These two dishes are also made with tender tea buds from the mountains. The taste should be quite refreshing. I hope you like it."

Qin Yi tasted a little of each dish: "It's really delicious! The fresh tea tips from the high mountains have a refreshing fragrance, the leaves are smooth and chewy, with a slight bitterness and a subtle sweetness, it's wonderful! Paired with this fragrant sesame oil, it's so addictive!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Zhuang sisters, Zhuang Qing and Zhuang Qing, both smiled happily. Zhuang Qing, in particular, couldn't stop smiling: "Sister Qin, what are the names of these two dishes? And they're made with tea leaves too?"

Qin Yi said with a smile, "I'm just doing as the Romans do. Seeing such good tea leaves, I wanted to try using them in cooking."

"These two dishes are called Tea-Scented Pig Trotters and Tea-Scented Beef."

"One dish involves simmering pig's trotters in tea broth until the meat and bones are tender. The other dish involves frying steeped tea leaves until crispy and then stir-frying them with beef. The methods aren't particularly complicated because the ingredients from the high mountains are already of excellent quality. I just added a little seasoning to enrich the flavor. What do you think of the taste?"

Zhuang Qing couldn't wait any longer and quickly picked up a piece of pig's trotter and put it in her bowl.

"Whoosh~~~whoosh~~~", it was too hot from the pot, so I blew on it twice before putting it in my mouth. "Wow~~ the pork skin is chewy and bouncy, it's satisfying to bite into... Ah! Who is this?!"

Zhuang Qing pointed to the earthen wall and shouted, "Eyes! There are eyes over there!"

Grandma Yang struggled to stand on tiptoe, gripping the earthen wall with both hands, barely managing to stick half her head out. She saw several girls eating pig's trotters around a table, with a large pot of rice cooked over a wood fire next to them, and her mouth watered.

All three people in the courtyard looked towards the earthen wall. Zhuang Qing calmly called out, "Who goes there! What are you doing, sneaking around on my wall!"

Hearing the shouts from the courtyard, Old Meng quickly came to his wife's rescue: "Friends, please don't be offended. It's just that the food you made smelled so good and tempting that we were attracted by the aroma when we passed by. We just wanted to see what delicious dishes you were eating. We are just gluttons."

Zhuang Qing burst into laughter upon hearing this explanation: "Your noses are really sharp; you can still smell it even with the courtyard gate closed."

"If I'm not mistaken, this smells like firewood-cooked rice and braised pork trotters?"

"You guessed half right, it is pig's feet, but it's not just braised pig's feet."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Yang jumped down from the red brick. "It has successfully caught my attention. Damn it, I must have it!"

Old Man Meng frowned and said in a low voice, "Wife, you should read less of those domineering CEO novels. Come with me."

The two elders arrived at the courtyard gate and gently knocked: "We wonder if we could come to your residence for a simple meal? We can pay for it."

Squeak...

Zhuang Qing stood behind the door with a smile: "Grandpa, please don't make fun of us. Our home can only be called a humble abode, not your esteemed residence. My sister said that having a simple meal is no problem, but there are only four dishes. There are five of us in total, so we're afraid you won't have enough to eat!"

Old Meng quickly seized the opportunity to shake hands with the young friends at the door: "Thank you, young friends! How much can two old people like us eat? We have enough to eat! Absolutely enough!"

"Uh~" Zhuang Qing looked at her hands, which were being held tightly in a warm embrace, and thought to herself: It seems that the tactful way of refusing that Sister Qin taught her is not working.

Old Meng quickly picked up what was hanging on the tree branch, and led his wife into the courtyard. "I have some local specialties here, everyone, please eat together and don't be shy."

Right now, Qin Yi and Zhuang Qing are enjoying their pig's trotters with cold tea leaves. They had just asked Zhuang Qing to deal with the gluttonous person outside the door, but unexpectedly, she ended up bringing him into the house.

What's going on?

Zhuang Qing stood behind the two elders, scratching her head and saying in sign language, "They were too enthusiastic, they just came in on their own! I couldn't stop them!"

Sigh, Zhuang Qing shook his head, went to the kitchen and brought back two more sets of bowls and chopsticks, and called to everyone, "Sit down and eat with us. You don't need to pay. It's just some home-cooked food. I hope you don't mind."

"How could we complain! We came here specifically for the aroma of the food!"

The two elders sat on small bamboo stools, picked up their rice bowls, and Grandma Yang finally reached for the pig's trotter that had confused her all the way.

The group ate quietly, and since none of the three parties were very familiar with each other, the atmosphere was slightly awkward.

Old Meng was about to exchange a few pleasantries when he asked, "Where are you all enjoying yourselves...?"

Old Meng almost asked me one of the ten most annoying questions at the dinner table.

In an instant, a loud shout rang out: "You big pig's trotter!"

Old Man Meng shuddered! His chopsticks fell to the ground.

He quickly picked it up, wiped it clean, and looked at the old woman next to him, sighing, "Wife, calm down your voice."

"Although the tip of this big pig's trotter is dark, the skin and meat are incredibly delicious, full of collagen and infused with a rich tea aroma! What a surprise! What a wonderful surprise!"

"The beef is fresh and juicy. The quick stir-frying technique allows the beef to retain its juices to the maximum extent. When you chew it, it is tender and smooth with a hint of crunchy tea leaves. The combination of tenderness and crunchiness is wonderful! It's really delightful!"

"I've never tried these two side dishes made with tea leaves before. They taste like the essence of the mountains. Is this the charm of Qingcha Ancient Town?"

Grandma Yang launched into a long and detailed critique of the dishes on the table.

Old Meng was clearly used to it, eating, listening, and nodding as he spoke. When he saw his young friends stop to listen to his wife, he hurriedly said, "Eat up, eat up, put more in your bowls, my friends."

At first, Qin Yi and the others didn't understand why they should put more food into their bowls.

Everyone became nervous after seeing how fast Grandma Yang ate.

A piece of pig's trotter was stuffed into Old Yang's mouth and swallowed after only five chews; small foods like beef were swallowed in just three bites.

And then there was the white rice. Old Mrs. Yang drew a "well" character in the bowl. Was she preparing to eat nine mouthfuls of rice in one bowl?

Old Man Meng clearly sensed the young people's questions, and took a big bite of a pig's trotter, saying, "My wife served in the army when she was young. Her squad leader was very strict, and even the meal times were regulated. Over the years, she has developed a habit of it."

"That pre-meal critique was the time she gave to serve food to those around her."

"Eat up! She has a habit of not stopping until she's finished eating everything on the table!"

"For so many years, I've been relying on my own abilities to eat as much as I can!"