The three roommates were very happy to hear that Xia Qingqing had invited them to her home.
In particular, Xia Qingqing said that she now lives alone in that house, which means she doesn't have to face the elders, making it more comfortable for her to play.
Liu Huimin said excitedly, "I happen to have a pound of meat coupons here. I'll buy some meat and take it over. We can make braised pork ourselves!"
"Making braised pork is no problem, but buying the meat is not an option. This is the first time I've invited you all to my home for dinner. How can I let you buy the meat yourselves? That would be ridiculous," Xia Qingqing said, revealing a mischievous smile.
"Just bring any small gift, I'm not picky at all."
She said that on purpose. These days, food is precious, and people generally don't go to other people's homes for meals.
If Xia Qingqing really doesn't let the group bring anything, it will actually put pressure on them.
Sure enough, her roommates relaxed a bit after she said that, and secretly started thinking about what to give her.
A week has passed in the blink of an eye.
Xia Qingqing went to the new house a night early to prepare, and she wanted to take out the grains and vegetables in advance to make sure they were properly stored.
The materials in the system's warehouse are all readily available, saving her the trouble of going to the grocery store to buy them. Besides, the grocery store might not even be able to buy these vegetables.
For lunch, she plans to make braised pork, Kung Pao chicken, stir-fried green peppers and eggs, and winter melon and pork rib soup. She will eat rice as her staple food.
After the meal, we'll have some snacks, like sunflower seeds and peanuts, perfect for chatting, as well as some of the better-quality pastries and biscuits sold at the supply and marketing cooperative.
She only prepared apples for fruit, not because she was stingy, but mainly because fruit is quite hard to find at this time of year, and apples are a relatively common fruit that is less likely to go wrong.
......
The next day, Xia Qingqing had just gotten up and hadn't even started cooking when Liu Huimin and the others arrived.
Xia Qingqing looked at the three people standing in front of her and was both amused and exasperated: "Why are you here so early? I haven't even started preparing anything yet. Didn't I tell you to come later?"
She really didn't expect her roommate to arrive so early, but luckily she had already taken out everything she needed for the day.
“We’ll help you cook. We already feel bad enough about eating and drinking for free, we can’t let you do everything by yourself,” Liu Huimin said with a smile.
Xiang Qiu followed Xia Qingqing into the house, and what she saw there was astonishing, causing her to exclaim in surprise:
"Wow, Qingqing, your house is so big! You really weren't lying to us, you really are a hidden rich woman."
Housing is so scarce these days; it's common to see entire families crammed into one room. How can Xia Qingqing's family be considered wealthy when they actually own such a large courtyard house?
Xia Qingqing chuckled twice and moved on from the topic, leading the three of them to the main room, where she had prepared snacks and fruits.
"Don't be shy with me, eat whatever you like. There's still some time before dinner, so have something to eat first."
Fearing the three might be too embarrassed to eat, Xia Qingqing simply handed each of them an apple: "They're all washed, you can eat them directly."
"Qingqing, did you buy this apple from the grocery store? This is the first time I've ever seen such a red apple," Liu Huimin said, taking a big bite of the apple. Her eyes narrowed from the sweetness.
This is so delicious! It's nothing like the apples I've ever had before.
Xia Qingqing nodded with a smile: "Yes, I bought them at the grocery store. Maybe I was lucky, this batch of apples just happened to be of good quality."
"The price must be expensive," Chen Xiu whispered. Her mother had bought apples before, which were small and not very red, but cost 50 cents a pound. These apples were big and red, so they would only be more expensive.
"Hurry up and eat, then we'll cook together," Xia Qingqing said with a smile as she saw Chen Xiu and Xiang Qiu holding apples without moving.
Chen Xiu and Xiang Qiu stopped being polite and started eating the apples. They were sweet and delicious, and once they started eating, they couldn't stop. They finished the apples in no time.
The three followed Xia Qingqing into the kitchen and were stunned by the ingredients she had prepared. On the stove were a large piece of pork belly, a whole chicken, a basket of eggs, a few ribs, and several large white radishes.
Even Liu Huimin, who is usually very talkative, didn't know what to say. The dishes were almost as much as what other people would eat for Chinese New Year.
Xia Qingqing pointed to the ingredients on the stove and said with a smile, "There are exactly four dishes. How about we each make one?"
"Let me make braised pork. My mom taught me how to make it, and I guarantee you'll want more after you try it," Liu Huimin said with a hint of pride, clearly very confident in her cooking skills.
Xiang Qiu chose winter melon and pork rib soup, while Chen Xiu, whose cooking skills weren't as good, opted for the simplest dish: stir-fried green peppers and eggs. Finally, Xia Qingqing was left with Kung Pao Chicken.
The four of them were busy in the kitchen. Liu Huimin praised her braised pork a lot, saying that the dish was passed down from her great-grandmother's generation.
Xia Qingqing swallowed hard as she looked at the plate of bright red, fragrant braised pork on the table. She carefully picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, then immediately gave Liu Huimin a thumbs-up.
"It melts in your mouth, is rich but not greasy, and tastes even better than what the chefs at state-run restaurants make."
Hearing her say that, Xiang Qiu and Chen Xiu quickly picked up a piece and tasted it: "Mmm, delicious, so delicious."
"As expected of a family recipe, Sister Huimin, you could be a head chef at a state-run restaurant."
Liu Huimin was flattered by the three people's praise and said, "I'm glad you like it. I'll give it to you again when I have the chance."
Xia Qingqing's Kung Pao Chicken received unanimous praise, but the sheer amount of oil she used when cooking really startled Liu Huimin and the others.
The group couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "Luckily, Xia Qingqing doesn't cook much. The oil she used for just one dish is equivalent to half a month's worth of oil for other people."
In Zhang Hongyan's words, with so much oil, what wouldn't taste good? What wouldn't be fragrant?
——
Song Ze didn't manage to meet Xia Qingqing today, nor did he plan to go out. He simply stayed home and slept in until almost 11 o'clock.
As soon as he stepped out of his room, he saw someone he didn't really want to see, and Song Ze instinctively wanted to turn around and go back to his room.
Unfortunately, before he could leave, Grandpa Shen called out to him, "Xiao Ze, come here quickly! Your Grandpa Qin brought Jiajia over to play. How come you don't even know how to greet people?"
"Xiao Ze must have been very busy with his studies lately, I haven't seen him much," Grandpa Qin said with a smile as he looked at Song Ze.
Song Ze forced a polite smile: "Grandpa Qin, you've come. I've been quite busy with my studies lately, and I was just about to go back to my room to read."
"That's good, young people should be ambitious," Grandpa Qin said with a smile, patting his silent granddaughter sitting next to him. "Xiao Ze, Jia Jia has been cooped up at home all day lately. You have a day off today, why don't you take this girl out for some fun?"
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