Staring into his dark, deep eyes, she didn't even have the courage to nod, even if she wanted to.
She swallowed hard, gave him a fawning smile, and then uttered her all-powerful golden phrase.
"I'm not very good at it, but I can learn."
Gu Chong: ...
He knew it!
Xue Fu remembered the boxes of matches she had bought, took them out of the bucket next to her, and placed them right in front of the two of them.
She said, "I bought a lot. If I can't learn it all at once, I'll learn it slowly!"
Gu Chong looked at her 'righteous' demeanor and wanted to say something, but in the end he decided against it.
"Go sit over there." He pointed to the low stool over there.
Xue Fu obediently sat down, and then watched as Gu Chong sat down in front of the stove, stuffed some dry grass into the stove, and then struck a match with his fingers, and sparks appeared.
He stuffed it into the stove and poked it with fire tongs. Xue Fu saw the firelight illuminate his face, covering it with a layer of fiery red halo.
Xue Fu: ...?
Is starting a fire really that simple?
Xue Fu felt her face burn, and she seemed to receive a simple yet disdainful look from Gu Chong.
Gu Chong stuffed two handfuls of dry firewood into the fire to keep it burning.
Then wash your hands and prepare to cook the vegetables.
He looked down at Xue Fu sitting on the low stool, feeling a little unwilling. Still harboring a desire to teach her how to cook, he beckoned to her.
He said, "Come and take a look."
Xue Fu leaned closer.
Thinking of her, Gu Chong took a spatula and scooped a lot of lard from the earthenware pot into the pan.
The lard melted in the hot pan, and when it was almost hot enough, Gu Chong poured the vegetables in. The sizzling sound startled Xue Fu.
Startled, she grabbed Gu Chong's clothes and used him as a human shield to hide behind him.
Gu Chong froze.
Once the sizzling sound of the hot oil subsided, Xue Fu blushed and belatedly realized how 'embarrassing' she had just made.
"Excuse me, Gu Chong."
Her voice was soft and sweet, and her eyes were moist. Gu Chong's expression was calm: "Mm."
He added some salt, and once the flavor was almost right, he handed the spatula to Xue Fu with a serious expression.
"You can just look through the dishes."
He was still struggling to teach her the skill of 'stirring'.
Xue Fu looked at the spatula and timidly took it.
She could hear Gu Chong telling her how to tell if the food in the pot was raw or cooked.
He said, "Look at this color. It changes from light green to dark green, which means the vegetables are cooked."
His voice was deep and calm, which reassured Xue Fu. Following his words, she opened her eyes to look at the color of the food in the pot.
The green beans touching the pan seemed to have darkened, but the top layer was still a tender green.
So Gu Chong asked her to flip it over with a spatula.
Xue Fu reached out, but she still kept a distance from the pot, and began to twirl the spatula in her hand from a distance.
Just as she scooped the vegetables into the pan and was about to flip them, perhaps because the fire in the stove was too strong, or perhaps because she had put in too much lard, Xue Fu heard a popping sound from the pan. Her hand trembled and she loosened her grip.
The spatula fell into the pot, and a few pieces of green beans coated in oil popped out.
Just then, the sprouting green beans splashed onto Xue Fu's exposed arm through her sleeve. The hot oil on the outside burned her so much that she immediately cried out and her eyes turned red.
Her body was pulled out by a force, and she moved very quickly. Xue Fu was already in the courtyard.
She saw Gu Chong quickly and hurriedly drawing water from the well. As soon as the bucket was brought up, he eagerly splashed the cool well water onto her arms without even taking a ladle.
Gu Chong's face was taut and cold; he looked even more nervous than Xue Fu herself.
He kept rinsing her with well water, and as he noticed a few small red spots appearing on her jade-like arms, he glanced at Xue Fu out of the corner of his eye.
She was indeed about to cry; her eyes were red at the corners, her long eyelashes trembled, and she looked extremely aggrieved.
Gu Chong thought, how could flipping over a dish cause such a mess?
fool.
But the words stuck in my throat, and I couldn't say them.
Instead, he felt extremely upset and anxious. Seeing her sad made him feel tightness and discomfort in his chest.
"Does it still hurt?"
His voice was very gentle, which contrasted with his expression.
He was still holding the water, and the bucket he had drawn was almost empty.
He quickly brought up a second bucket of water.
Xue Fu felt pain at first, but the water was cool, and the scalded area quickly lost its sensation and became numb.
Those few little red marks from the burn look pitiful.
Xue Fu shook her head, but her eyelashes were still wet, so she didn't seem very convincing.
Gu Chong frowned, remembering that he seemed to have some medicine in his room. He went to find her a clean handkerchief, wet it, and handed it to her: "Put this on first, and I'll get you some medicine."
Xue Fu nodded, watching him stride into the west room.
She lowered her head and continued wiping with the damp cloth, thinking that it shouldn't leave a scar.
However, Xue Fu was more worried about how Gu Chong would view her.
Would you think she's a good-for-nothing?
I can't chop vegetables, I can't start a fire, and I can't even flip a stir-fry...
He's good at nothing.
She couldn't help but sniffle and wipe her eyes.
But when Xue Fu recalled Gu Chong's anxious and flustered expression, which was dark but whose words and actions were gentle, she felt that Gu Chong was a good person.
He won't dislike her, will he?
Xue Fu waited anxiously for Gu Chong to return.
Gu Chong searched through the cabinet and finally found a familiar bottle in the corner.
Holding the bottle, he returned to Xue Fu's side, but instead of giving her the medicine bottle, he unscrewed the cap himself and applied the ointment to the burned areas on her arm.
His intention was that he felt it would be inconvenient for her to apply the medicine herself since she was injured. Besides, he was used to taking care of her, so he subconsciously applied the medicine for her.
But after applying the medicine, he suddenly realized the importance of maintaining proper boundaries between men and women.
He was still holding her tender arm in his palm. Her arm had just been washed with well water, and even though it was dried with a handkerchief, it still felt cool and slippery, like the finest white porcelain.
Gu Chong had never touched skin like this before.
He could almost feel the vibrant pulse beating beneath her skin.
My body became stiff and unnatural again, and my bones and blood were burning hot.
Gu Chong quickly let go of his hand and put it behind his back.
He looked away, cleared his throat awkwardly, and coughed: "Cough... the medicine is applied."
"Don't get it wet yet."
He was worried that she might hurt herself, so he told her to just sit and play in the yard.
Then Gu Chong pretended to be busy and went into the kitchen: "I'll go check on the dishes."
Xue Fu sat in the courtyard, and her gaze swept across the room, landing on Gu Fei, who was tidying up the woodpile.
Her younger brother gave her a shy smile, and Xue Fu realized that her brother had seen everything that had just happened.
Xue Fu's face suddenly turned bright red.
As expected, the food in that pot burned.
In those days of thrift and scarcity of resources, even burnt dishes were served.
However, the burnt dish was placed in the position furthest away from Xue Fu after it was served.
Xue Fu looked at the green bean curd that was no longer recognizable as green, and wanted to take a bite to taste it.
She thought...at least she participated in the cooking process a little bit.
However, as soon as she reached for her chopsticks, Gu Chong, sensing her intention, moved the dish even further away.
Gu Chong replied indifferently, "Eat something else."
Xue Fu turned off the stove and obediently went to pick up the fragrant stir-fried eggplant slices.
She took a bite, and was immediately amazed.
Gu Chong's skills are really that good?!
Even ordinary home-cooked dishes taste so good!
She's so lucky!
We've found the right person to back us!
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