Xiao Cheng gave her a deep look, and instead of answering, asked, "Do you want to eat it?"
Bai Lu's thoughts were still lingering on the joyful atmosphere, and she subconsciously replied, "I'll eat it if you cook it."
It was just a casual joke, but unexpectedly, Xiao Cheng went straight to the stove and pot, lifted the lid of the bamboo steamer that was just steaming, and reached out to grab the crab.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Bai Lu was startled by the big shot's decisive action without saying a word, and quickly grabbed his hand back.
"The crabs are already turning red, they'll be cooked soon, let's cook them next time. Let's cook something else, like stir-fried cured pork with fresh bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots that my uncles and aunts gave us were dug that day, they're especially fresh and crisp. Let's stir-fry bamboo shoots..."
Bai Lu knew best whether Xiao Cheng's cooking skills were good or not. She understood it deeply after the first taste and never forgot it.
Xiao Cheng wasn't incapable of cooking; he just hadn't done it before. After the first time, he tried again and again.
Bai Lu and Xiao Wei often indulged in delicious food and had become accustomed to it, so they remained calm when they saw Xiao Cheng cooking.
However, Luo Shiliu, Wang Hao, and Xiao Dazhuang were not at peace when they saw Xiao Cheng cooking for the first time.
The three identical shocked faces are beyond mere astonishment; they represent a complete breakdown.
"Brother Cheng, you're really going too far..."
"You're such a good cook, yet you never cook. Every year you watch us perform acrobatics and stir-fry all sorts of dishes, enduring the risk of getting diarrhea to eat them. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"Tell me, are you treating our cooking like a clown show?"
Three figures sat in front of three burning stoves, their three extremely sad faces and three extremely sad eyes staring straight at the aloof man standing in front of the stove, holding a spatula and cooking with an expressionless face.
Bai Lu thought Xiao Cheng would offer a word of comfort, or at least a two-word denial, but he didn't.
The big boss merely glanced at the three sorrowful faces that were desperately seeking comfort, and then gave them the answer they wanted without any expression: "Even a clown couldn't cook such a terrible dish."
Luo Shiliu: "..."
Xiao Dazhuang: "..."
Wang Hao: "..."
"That's not fair." The three grown men's sorrowful faces instantly crumbled, their sadness doubling.
"Okay, we understand... You don't cook or teach us how to cook, just because you see us as clumsy and able to survive on a mixed diet, and you're saving your skills to cook for your sister-in-law later. Now, your sister-in-law gets to eat your delicious meals every day, are you satisfied... We've been brothers for so many years, don't you feel any guilt treating us like this?"
Bai Lu, who was peeling and pounding garlic, was innocently caught in the crossfire. She doesn't eat garlic every day, and Xiao Cheng is very busy too.
She cooks one day and Xiao Cheng cooks one day, so they don't eat every day.
As Xiao Cheng heard the sound of garlic being crushed in the small earthenware pot getting louder and louder, he could already imagine the girl's indignant face, wanting to argue but too lazy to, and her frantic little movements as she crushed the garlic in frustration.
He was too lazy to argue: "No."
"But our hearts... are aching!" Luo Shiliu, Wang Hao, and Xiao Dazhuang pounded their chests and stamped their feet in despair.
They say three women make a drama, but Bai Lu's visit here was quite an eye-opener. The three men had an even bigger role to play, their wails sounding like a pig being slaughtered.
There are no tricks involved; the pain is just one word, a fourth tone, so intense that even the roof tiles tremble with sympathy.
Bai Lu suspected that the three drama queens were doing it on purpose, deliberately letting out all the air in their stomachs so they could eat and drink to their hearts' content during the meal, making up for all the years they hadn't eaten Xiao Cheng's cooking.
After all, they were eating incredibly fast, practically burying their heads in their dishes.
But under the intimidating gaze of Xiao Cheng, who exuded authority without anger, she had no choice but to gracefully extend her chopsticks and slowly pick up the food.
When eating crabs, just like a rabbit gnawing on a carrot, you crunch and crunch as you eat the crab legs.
This contrasts sharply with Xiao Cheng's elegant technique of breaking off crab legs and using the smaller crab legs to extract the meat from the larger ones.
Bai Lu still thought Xiao Cheng's method of picking crab meat was more beautiful and pleasing to the eye.
However, as she watched, the hand that was peeling the crab suddenly put the peeled crab meat into her bowl.
Bai Lu was taken aback and subconsciously explained, "I just thought it looked beautiful when you peeled the crab. I didn't want the crab legs you peeled, nor did I want you to peel the crab for me."
"Okay." Xiao Cheng indicated that he understood.
Then, peel the last crab leg, put the crab meat into the white dew bowl, and changed the method to peeling shrimp shells.
After peeling them, they were placed in the White Dew Bowl.
Bai Lu: "..."
"Actually, you look very good peeling shrimp. I quite enjoy watching you peel shrimp. I don't want you to peel shrimp for me."
"Okay." Xiao Cheng indicated that he understood.
Then he picked up another shrimp, peeled it, and said to Bailu, "If you like watching, keep watching."
Bai Lu: "..."
I'm not watching anymore; I still think eating meat is better.
If I keep looking, I won't be able to finish the meat in the bowl.
Across the table, Luo Shiliu, while gnawing on a crab leg, said in a very irritating way, "Xiao Wei, you're eating crab the wrong way. Not everything about crabs is edible. The gills you're eating are for filtering poop..."
Xiao Wei was not angry, nor did he blush with shame as he used to when his mistakes were pointed out.
Because Bailu had told him that everyone is born the same, knowing nothing, and that there is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about if you don't know something.
Bai Lu also said that all people are born equal.
Xiao Wei, with a calm expression, spat out the crab gills from his mouth, responding to Luo Shiliu's extremely irritating behavior with utter disdain.
"I don't need you to teach me."
After saying that, she turned her head and looked at Bai Lu, who was engrossed in eating shrimp and crab meat: "Sister-in-law taught me how to eat crab."
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