Don't move
Jiang Qing knew nothing about this. She concentrated on digging for food in the refrigerator and finally found half a bag of hot pot base left in the corner. She took it out and held it in front of Lin Nanyue.
"I won't make it difficult for you. Let's start with the simplest one and make some spicy shrimp," she suggested excitedly.
The refrigerator was still running, sending out cool air and soothing the hot air.
The distance between them was so close that Lin Nanyan could see the expectant gaze of the person in front of him just by looking down. He looked at Jiang Qing, then at the red package in her hand, his head full of question marks, hesitant to speak.
Spicy shrimp? Surely this is the easiest?
Moreover, he dared to guarantee that since Uncle Jiang hid the hot pot base so deep, it meant that he didn't want Jiang Qing to eat it, but judging from her expression, it was obvious that she had been thinking about it for a long time.
On one side was Uncle Jiang, and on the other was Jiang Qing. He wavered and proposed again: "How about doing something else?"
He took a quick glance and picked up the most conspicuous egg. "How about scrambled eggs with tomatoes? Tomatoes are delicious."
Jiang Qing shook her head and refused firmly: "No, I just want to eat spicy shrimp."
Looking at Jiang Qing who was staring at him intently, he compromised, stepped back, and nodded slightly, "Yeah."
It’s not that I can’t hold on, it’s that the enemy is too determined. I’m sorry, Uncle Jiang.
Jiang Qing pulled out the hot pot base and the frozen shrimp tails from the refrigerator and pondered the spicy shrimp recipe. How was it actually made? She'd actually tried it at home, but the result wasn't very tasty.
It seemed that she had to stir-fry the ingredients first. Thinking of this, she verbally instructed Lin Nanyan, "Take these shrimps in first and then thaw them."
Lin Nanyan took the shrimp and walked into the kitchen to soak it in cold water to thaw it. He knew common sense that thawing with cold water would make the shrimp taste better. If hot water was used to rinse it suddenly, it would destroy the meat cells in just a few seconds, causing the loss of water and nutrients, and thus damaging the taste and quality of the shrimp.
After he finished soaking, he came out and saw Jiang Qing still rummaging through the refrigerator. He walked over and asked, "What are you looking for?"
"Star anise and laurel leaves are the seasonings for stewing meat." Jiang Qing replied.
Watching Jiang Qing rummaging around, appearing very professional, knowledgeable, and busy, he asked from behind, "Do you think Uncle Jiang will keep these seasonings in the refrigerator?"
Jiang Qing popped her head out of the refrigerator. "Where else is it?"
Lin Nanyan turned back to the kitchen and opened the cupboard. A plate of washed cherries came into view. He paused for a moment, then picked up the various spices placed aside and raised his hand to greet Jiang Qing: "Don't look for it anymore, I found it."
His palms were broad, and the colorful spice bags looked particularly small in his hands.
Seeing that Lin Nanyan had already found the seasoning, Jiang Qing stopped worrying and simply closed the refrigerator door and went to the kitchen. She stood next to Lin Nanyan and gave him instructions like a professional.
"You need to stir-fry the spicy shrimp first. You need to put the oil in first, then put the hot pot base in and stir-fry until the aroma comes out." Although she is not very good at hands-on work, her theoretical knowledge is excellent.
Lin Nanyan washed his hands while listening to instructions. After drying his hands, he quickly lit the fire and heated the oil in the pan.
Jiang Qing put the hot pot base on the chopping board, cut out a small cube and handed it to him. He took it and put it into the oil pan. The hot oil collided with the base, and the aroma came out immediately.
Jiang Qing felt that they were on the verge of success, and stood aside happily, watching Lin Nanyan stir the food with a spatula.
The red hot pot base slowly melted in the pot. She watched and thought it was time to add water. She took a bowl of cold water and slowly poured it into the pot, asking him as she poured, "Is that enough? Is that enough?"
Lin Nanyan looked at the girl's serious profile, his hands moving non-stop, drawing circles around the edge of the pot: "Didn't you say you would teach me?"
Jiang Qing talked to herself as if she heard nothing, concentrating on her task of pouring water: "I think that's enough." She put the remaining water aside.
Lin Nanyan looked at the sticky soup that just covered the base ingredients and stirred it carefully.
"ah!"
Lin Nanyan was just wondering whether to put the star anise or fennel first. The two looked similar, so he finally decided to put both in. When he was throwing the star anise into the pot, he heard the girl's short cry and he turned around hurriedly.
Jiang Qing stood in front of the sink, frowning, her eyes burning from the sting of the chili peppers.
She closed her eyes tightly and tried to open them, but found that she couldn't open them at all because of the prick. She subconsciously rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand that was not stained with hot pot ingredients, hoping that it would feel better.
In the darkness, she suddenly felt a hand pulling her chin and lifting her face. She felt a warm touch. It was Lin Nanyan's fingers.
"Don't move."
Jiang Qing was about to open her mouth to say something when she was stopped by a scolding. She closed her mouth and stood there obediently.
She felt something softly fall on her eyes, wet and furry, and the cool touch eased her discomfort.
Lin Nanyan pulled Jiang Qing's hand down as it was rubbing her eyes. Her hand might have been stained with chili peppers because she had just handed him the hot pot base. If he asked her to rub her eyes with the back of her hand, her fingers might accidentally touch her eyes, which would aggravate the irritation and easily cause secondary damage.
He held the girl's face up with one hand and covered her eyes with a wet towel with the other hand, occasionally removing the side warmed by the girl's body temperature and always keeping the cool side close to her eyes to relieve her discomfort.
Lin Nanyan looked at the girl who raised her head and let him do what he wanted, and couldn't help but sigh that she seemed particularly well-behaved at this time.
After a while he asked, "Feeling better?"
Jiang Qing nodded under his hand, causing his hand holding the towel to move up and down with her movements, looking silly.
Lin Nanyan put down the towel and looked at the tears on the girl's face caused by the irritation. He raised his hand to wipe them away for her.
In the darkness, fingertips with warm body temperature brushed across her cheek, the warmth was fleeting.
Lin Nanyan held the girl's face in one hand, leaned close and blew gently into her eyes. Unexpectedly, Jiang Qing suddenly opened her eyes. Caught off guard, their eyes met. Jiang Qing's eyes were still tearful, and the tears soaked her dark pupils, making them more crystal clear.
The distance between them was so close that their breaths intersected, so he could see himself reflected in the girl's eyes. The expression on her face was gentle and focused, which he had never seen before. Lin Nanyan was stunned for a moment.
The remaining tear on the girl's face fell uncontrollably, sliding down her cheek and dripping onto his hand that was still holding the girl's cheek. The wet touch woke him up instantly.
As if he was scalded, he quickly put down his hand and threw the towel into Jiang Qing's arms. He didn't care whether she caught it or not. He turned around and casually picked up the basin full of shrimps beside him. "Now that it's ready, let's cook quickly."
Jiang Qing stood still, her face covered in tears, and sniffed, "Do you feel that... the smell in the kitchen is a little strange?"
Amidst the smoke, there was a faint smell of burning, which became stronger and stronger.
She followed the source of the smell and instantly screamed, "Lin Nanyan, it's messed up!"
"Your pot is burnt!"
On the stove that had never been turned off, the water in the black iron pot was bubbling, and had evaporated without anyone noticing. The remaining spices were slowly dried up, and finally, unable to withstand the roasting, they emitted a pungent smell as a warning.
Lin Nanyan quickly put down the basin he had just picked up and scooped up the remaining water from Jiang Qing and poured it into the pot.
Suddenly!
The collision of extreme heat and extreme cold produced more smoke and a more pungent smell, and he was choked and coughed continuously.
"Hahaha." Jiang Qing rarely saw Lin Nanyan in such an awkward state. She laughed with gloating delight at his misfortune. "You're so funny."
Lin Nanyan finally stopped coughing, raised his red eyes, glanced at Jiang Qing who was laughing like a duck, and couldn't help laughing too, because he was angry.
Jiang Qing laughed heartily with her rabbit eyes red from the stimulation of chili peppers, and Lin Nanyan looked at her with his eyes red from the choking of fireworks.
Two pairs of red eyes looked at each other with great joy.
After laughing enough, the two of them got serious and sat head to head, starting to discuss the next steps.
Jiang Qing was still the commander, very far-sighted: "First, clean the shrimps, and then throw them into the boiling pot. I said it was simple."
Lin Nanyan followed her instructions half-believingly and half-doubtingly.
"Throw it in and cook it for how long?" he asked.
She stroked her chin, thinking, and said with certainty: "About ten minutes."
The two of them just stood there, staring at the pot intently. Lin Nanyan looked at his watch from time to time, and when ten minutes were up, he turned off the fire.
He tilted his head, "That should be OK, right?"
Jiang Qing poked her head out and fanned the scent to her nose with her hand, sniffing it. "It will definitely work, trust me."
Lin Nanyan put the shrimp tails on the dining table in the living room, and Jiang Qing followed behind with a bowl.
The two of them got everything ready and sat down to eat, but suddenly they were stunned.
It seems there is no staple food.
Jiang Qing glanced at Lin Nanyan, who was sitting across from her, and then at the spicy shrimp on the table. She asked hesitantly, "Do you think we can be full just by eating this?"
Lin Nanyan didn't want to answer her stupid question, so he stood up and went back to the kitchen to search.
Uncle Jiang happened to have some rice and steamed buns left over from last night, so he asked Jiang Qing loudly, "Would you like rice or steamed buns?"
"I'd like steamed buns. I'm tired of eating rice at school." Jiang Qing answered without hesitation.
Lin Nanyan put the rice back in its place, wrapped the steamed bun in plastic wrap, and put it in the microwave to heat, setting the timer for one and a half minutes. Because he often ate frozen food at home, he knew that if the steamed bun was heated directly without plastic wrap, it would become hard as a rock. This was his experience and lesson learned.
The microwave hummed, and he stood up, picked up the steamed bun, and put it on the dining table. Looking at Jiang Qing who had already started eating, he pushed it over and said, "Eat it with this."
Jiang Qing reached out to take it, but Lin Nanyan pressed her hand down. "It's fresh out of the pan, very hot. Wait a moment."
Upon hearing this, she retracted her hand and handed the disposable plastic gloves to the other person.
Lin Nanyan took it and put it on his hand, picked up the shrimp tail with chopsticks and put it on his plate, peeling it slowly.
"How does it taste?" He paused and asked casually.
Jiang Qing looked up at him, her slender fingers stained with red sauce, touching the red and white shrimp tails through a thin layer of plastic. With a flick and a pick, the white shrimp meat fell off completely. Her movements looked very pleasing to the eye.
She suddenly discovered that Lin Nanyan seemed to be able to make hand masks as well.
Jiang Qing was pleasantly surprised that she had discovered a new business opportunity. Since he had already agreed to be her model, he should be her hand model as well.
Very good, it’s happily decided.
The person opposite him remained silent for a long time, and Lin Nanyan's heart suddenly sank to the bottom. That's right, it would be strange if such a chaotic operation could produce delicious food. It was also his fault. He didn't familiarize himself with the recipe process in advance, so he was in a hurry and messed up everything.
He looked at the shrimp tails he was peeling in his hand, wanting to taste them to see if they tasted terrible. If they were really hard to swallow, he would go and heat up the remaining food from Uncle Jiang. At least he wouldn't force Jiang Qing to the point of not having enough to eat because Uncle Jiang was not around.
As for learning to cook, he would first familiarize himself with the process at home before cooking for others. Just as he was about to put the food in his mouth, he heard the cheerful voice of the person opposite him.
"I think we are both quite talented. This is delicious." Although there was still a faint smell of burnt food, Jiang Qing felt that it was amazing that it turned out like this for the first time.
After saying that, she buried her head and continued her shrimp peeling task. Eating shrimps is more enjoyable if you peel them manually, just like cracking melon seeds, you have to crack them yourself. Buying snacks made of pure melon seeds is not fun at all.
She peeled one and ate it with great interest.
By the way, he gave Lin Nanyan a thumbs up and said, "Keep up the good work."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
