Qin Mi stared blankly for a while, her eyes unfocused, until she heard Wen Xi's voice and came back to her senses, "Xiao Xi, what's wrong?"
"The fire's out, and my food isn't cooked yet!" Wenxi said worriedly. "Brother Qin, what's wrong?"
"It's alright." Qin Mi shook his head, hurriedly grabbed a handful of straw and stuffed it into the stove hole. Then he used fire tongs to stir the embers inside. Seeing that the straw was slow to ignite, Qin Mi blew into the stove hole, creating a thick cloud of smoke that made it impossible for him to open his eyes.
"Brother Qin, what's wrong?" Wen Xi hurriedly squatted down in front of Qin Mi to check on him. Seeing that Qin Mi couldn't open his eyes, she scooped water, wet a towel, and then wiped his eyes.
After a while, Qin Min opened his eyes, but both eyes were bloodshot, as if he had been crying.
"Brother Qin, didn't you say you can do everything?" Wen Xi chuckled.
Qin Mi said somewhat awkwardly, "I really can do everything, but it's been years since I've used a wood-fired stove like this. I always use a regular stove, which isn't this complicated."
Wen Xi smiled helplessly, "Brother Qin, thank you for lighting the fire for me today. There's only one dish left, it'll be ready soon, you don't need to light the fire anymore. Go wash your hands and help me take the dishes from the steamer to the table!"
"Okay." Qin Mi didn't say anything more, but went to do what Wen Xi had asked him to do.
Wen Xi finished cooking the last vegetable dish and put it on the table. After washing her hands with soap, Qin Mi said from the side, "I'm off on the weekend. You can bring your friends to come and play here."
Wenxi wiped the water off her hands. "Okay, we'll come visit your place this weekend."
When Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue returned, they didn't seem surprised to see Qin Mi there, because they had already heard about Qin Mi coming to the countryside to find the little girl next door while they were at work.
Actually, Qin Mi's family wasn't Wen Xi's neighbor, but they lived quite close by. If Wen Xi was considered Qin Mi's little sister, then Shen Jiaojiao could be too, because her family wasn't far from Qin Mi's either, just a little further away than Wen Xi's!
While sitting at the dinner table, Qin Mi looked at the stir-fried pork intestines in front of her and asked curiously, "Xiao Xi, what kind of dish is this?"
"Brother Qin, haven't you ever tried the braised pork offal from our area?" Wenxi asked him curiously.
"I was taken away when I was very young. Even if I had eaten braised pork offal, I don't remember it," Qin Mi said. After being taken away by his relatives, his life was not easy. Even if his relatives had braised pork offal, he could not eat it.
Wen Xi nodded thoughtfully, guessing that the people in the place where Qin Mi lived later probably didn't eat braised pork offal!
"This is stir-fried pork intestines. It's been cleaned thoroughly and has no smell at all. It's delicious. Brother Qin, you should try it." Wen Xi picked up a piece of the stir-fried pork intestines and put it in her mouth. It was spicy, fragrant, smooth, and chewy. It was really delicious.
Previously, we had to go through a lot of trouble to clean offal before, but now there's a high-tech smart machine that makes all the difference. Just put it in, tap it, and it's clean in no time. Plus, the smart machine can clean itself with a tap, so it doesn't interfere with doing anything else.
Seeing that everyone was enjoying their meal, Qin Mi also picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up, clearly amazed by the delicious stir-fried pork intestines.
"Xiaoxi, this really tastes just like you said, and it doesn't have any flavor at all!" Qin Mi praised Wenxi while eating. "Xiaoxi, you are really amazing. Your cooking skills are so good, even better than the chefs at state-run restaurants."
Wen Xi smiled smugly. Could her cooking skills of more than ten years be fake?
Shen Jiaojiao, who was eating quietly on the side, couldn't help but boast when she heard Qin Mi praising Wen Xi, "That's right, our Xiaoxi's cooking skills are simply amazing. During the busy farming season, when we cooked at the village canteen, the commune cadres even made a special trip to eat Wenxi's dishes!"
"Really?" Qin Mi was somewhat surprised. He had heard about those things, but he didn't expect that the person they were talking about was Wen Xi.
Even more unexpectedly, it turned out to be Uncle Wang and Aunt Chun's daughter, Wen Xi.
Qin Mi had lunch at Wen Xi's house and told Wen Xi that he must come to his house on the weekend no matter what. Then he left. However, Wen Xi packed him ten catties of dried mushrooms, five packets of kiwi slices, five catties of pork jerky, and also packed two of his own dried chicken and two of his own dried duck for Qin Mi.
Back in 1999, she traded tens of thousands of kilograms of chickens, ducks, and geese with Lin Yiwan. It was a waste to have them piled up in the system warehouse, so she made some dried chickens and ducks herself, which came in handy today.
Meeting an old friend in a foreign land is a very happy thing, so Wenxi can understand Qin Mi's excitement after meeting her. To be honest, Wenxi was also quite excited to meet the legendary boy next door.
Isn't it something to be happy about that she met someone she might never have met in her entire life because she went to the countryside?
Wenxi was tidying up the tea mug that Qin Mi had just used when she saw a stack of money and tickets under it. Wenxi smiled helplessly. She kept saying that Qin Mi was like a little sister next door, but she was being so distant with her!
At noon, Liang Zhaodi and Lu Xiaoyun sat together for lunch. Liang Zhaodi said casually, "Wenxi and Director Qin are neighbors who know each other. I can't invite Wenxi to our house for dinner. If you have the guts, you can go and invite her yourself."
Lu Xiaoyun kept his head down and ate without saying a word. He hadn't expected Wen Xi to have such a strong background. He should have been more sincere when he was pursuing Wen Xi, so that Wen Xi wouldn't have realized that he just wanted to play around with her. Then he could have used Wen Xi's background to his advantage.
Although he was too playful when he was in school and his grades weren't good, he still has a high school diploma. He should be able to work as a secretary in the commune or county, right?
But you can't buy foresight!
I don't know how Wen Xi, at such a young age, could see that he wasn't sincere. He had never failed when pursuing someone before. I don't know how Wen Xi could see through it. I wish she hadn't.
This Wenxi is truly a hidden master; he has connections and a powerful background, yet he's kept it all so well hidden.
Now that Liang Zhaodi has the two thousand yuan Xia Minglei gave her, she has become more generous. She directly paid the old lady next door to help her take care of her daughter. She would bring the baby over to breastfeed when the baby was hungry, and not bring it over when the baby was not hungry. It cost five yuan a month, and the old lady happily helped.
After finishing her dinner, Liang Zhaodi put down her chopsticks and whispered to Lu Xiaoyun, "Lu Xiaoyun, let's have another child!"
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