Chapter 45: All Plain Food

There were only four guests at Xiao Peng's family dinner: the Derridas, Pascal, and Felix. To be more precise, there were only three of his friends, with Felix being a minor figure.

When Mr. Derrida learned that Felix played the piano very well, he performed a beautiful four-hand duet with him. His piano skills almost made Xiao Peng drop his jaw.

In his eyes, Mr. Derrida was just a bad-tempered boatman, and he never expected that he had such a skill.

If you think about it from another angle, this is not surprising. If he didn't have any ability, how could such a good woman like Mrs. Derrida take notice of him and travel all the way from Germany to stay here with him for the rest of his life?

Unless she is blind!

Xiao Peng really went all out today and cooked a table full of main dishes: sweet and sour pork ribs, cola chicken wings, braised winter melon balls, fish-flavored eggplant, curry beef stew with potatoes, steamed sea bass, spicy chicken, plus stir-fried meat with cucumber and scrambled eggs with tomatoes as the Derrida couple strongly requested. That's it!

He cooked so much but these people couldn't finish it. In the final analysis, it all came down to: Xiao Peng wanted to eat it himself!

During his time in Marseille, Xiao Peng had always struggled with food. Eating out was too expensive, and the dining conditions on the boat were poor. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and noodles was Xiao Peng's favorite dish.

Now Xiao Peng truly understood the meaning of "there's no hardship you can't endure, only happiness you can't enjoy." He wasn't showing off his culinary skills just to impress these people. He was actually trying to treat his long-awaited Chinese stomach.

When Xiao Peng brought the last of the clam and winter melon soup to the table, he said, "Alright, nine dishes and one soup, perfect."

Mrs. Derrida smiled slightly. “It seems like something is missing.”

"One thing is missing? What is missing?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion.

Mr. Derrida took out a handbag and placed it on the table. He took out a bottle of red wine and handed it to Xiao Peng, saying, "How can you celebrate someone's housewarming with nothing?"

Mrs. Derrida said, "This is what my sister brought me when she came to visit me from Germany. It's a dry Riesling from Keller Winery. It goes really well with this delicious food."

Xiao Peng had seen this kind of wine before.

Although French wine is world-famous, German wine is not uncommon in France. This wine is priced at around 200 euros and is considered high-end.

Xiao Peng didn't hesitate. He took the wine, thanked the Derrida couple, opened the bottle with a corkscrew, and poured a glass for everyone - except Felix, who drank juice.

Pascal looked bewildered: "Do you need to give gifts on an occasion like this?"

"No, no, I didn't inform everyone in advance because I didn't want you to bring any gifts." Xiao Peng raised his glass and said, "I'd like to offer a toast to everyone with the fine wines that Mr. and Mrs. Derrida brought. Thank you all for attending today's dinner. The simple food and drinks are not a sign of respect. I'd like to offer a toast to everyone, and hope everyone enjoys their meals... Eh? Why do you look at me like that?"

Mrs. Derrida shook her head and said, "Xiao, why do the words 'simple food' and 'plain cuisine' sound like insults to us when they come out of your mouth? I can't make ten dishes in such a short time!"

Pascal said, "Even my chef can't do it."

Xiao Peng's face was filled with gloom. "Let me be frank. This is all authentic Chinese food. It's the way we Chinese eat, and it hasn't been modified. Don't blame me if you don't like it! I'll drink first as a sign of respect, and everyone can help themselves!"

He said that these dishes were authentic Chinese food, but in fact they had been modified. Of course, the changes here did not refer to the cooking methods, but to the dining system. Each dish came with a large soup spoon for sharing.

Europeans are fundamentally opposed to China's communal dining system, as it does not conform to their living habits.

After being out for a long time, Xiao Peng finally understood the saying: There is no good or bad, only different.

What people like most is to like to compare what is better or worse when encountering things, such as foreign countries are better in this way and China is better in that way. In fact, there is really no need to do so.

Is separate dining good? It's definitely good! It's much more hygienic than shared dining. However, shared dining is also a symbol of social progress:

Before the Northern Song Dynasty, China had always practiced separate dining. The shift to communal dining during the Northern Song dynasty stemmed from the region's booming commercial economy, which further spurred the commercialization of culinary culture. With a wider variety of ingredients and cooking styles, cuisine spread from the wealthy and aristocratic to the common people. The implementation of communal dining was a reflection of socioeconomic progress.

When you go to the West, you'll find that the food there is monotonous and boring compared to Chinese food, so the separate dining system is suitable here. There's no need to nitpick and compare the separate dining system with the shared dining system.

Xiao Peng was worried that authentic Chinese food wouldn't suit their tastes, but it turned out he was wrong! Everyone except Pascal enjoyed their meal.

The reason why Pascal didn't enjoy his meal was that he didn't know how to use chopsticks.

Even Felix was very skilled in using chopsticks, but Pascal looked embarrassed holding the knife and fork - he had never eaten Chinese food before.

He began to want to learn how to use chopsticks, and after he took the fourth braised winter melon ball off the plate, he switched directly to a knife and fork.

However, he was still bothered by the fact that he couldn't use chopsticks. As he ate, he muttered, "I really don't understand why you guys use chopsticks. Aren't knives and forks much easier to use than chopsticks? Look, a knife can be used to cut, and the fork can do the rest. Chopsticks are completely useless when you eat steak, aren't they?"

Xiao Peng grinned and said, "We don't have fried steak for Chinese food, why do we need a knife and fork?"

Pascal blinked and said, "But you see, eating is a very happy thing. Using chopsticks just complicates it!"

Xiao Peng curled his lips and said, "If you don't know how to use chopsticks, then don't use them. No one's laughing at you. Why are you emphasizing so much? What do you mean by using chopsticks to complicate things? I can hold a wine glass in my left hand and chopsticks in my right hand. Why don't you try to do both things at the same time?"

Pascal looked at the knife and fork in his hand, then at the wine glass beside him, and said unconvincingly, "What do you mean I can't use chopsticks? I just don't want to use them. Besides, I support environmentalism. Making chopsticks requires cutting down trees, which is not environmentally friendly!"

Xiao Peng sighed and said, "Xiao Pa, your IQ needs to be recharged! Look at the chopsticks in your hand, are they made of wood? They're made of bamboo. What is bamboo? A herb! It grows in large patches every year! You say that making knives and forks requires smelting steel and is environmentally unfriendly, or that deforestation of bamboo is environmentally unfriendly? If you can't use them, then don't use them. We won't laugh at you! Can you stop being so unreasonable? Look, Felix is laughing at you!"

Felix was still gnawing on some ribs. After hearing what Xiao Peng said, he looked up with a confused look on his face. I'm not laughing at Pascal. What does this have to do with me?