She watered the seeds, and Zhao Qingyun, who hadn't left, watched her and asked, "What kind of flower are you growing in your bowl?"
Xu Lai realized he was referring to tulips and replied, "Tulips. I didn't have any suitable flowerpots at home, so I planted them in bowls."
Zhao Qingyun nodded. He had initially thought she had planted scallions or garlic, but it turned out to be tulips. However, planting flowers in a bowl was something she did only once.
Grandpa has already planted the saplings he bought earlier in the garden. In addition to the chestnut tree, there is also a loquat tree, two peach trees, three plum trees, and two pomelo trees in the yard. Grandpa also planted a circle of orange trees around the garden. Now it is the flowering season, and the garden is full of spring.
Near the entrance to the garden, there is a grape trellis, and under the trellis is a small pond where the family's ducks and geese swim.
The weather was rather gloomy today. Xu Lai stayed up late editing videos last night and got up a little late. She stood on the balcony for a while before washing up and going downstairs for breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, Xu Lai didn't see her grandfather and asked, "Grandma, is Grandpa in the field?"
Grandma nodded upon hearing this: "The weather is neither too hot nor too cold today, so he went to plant chili peppers."
Xu Lai then took the other seeds, put on her rain boots, and went out. Her family's land was by the river, about a two- or three-minute walk from her doorstep.
When she arrived, her grandfather was watering the chili peppers. Xu Lai waved the seeds in her hand and said, "Grandpa, plant these seeds too."
Grandpa took it, dug a row of small holes with a hoe, and gestured for her to put a few seeds in each hole.
The garlic planted last year has sprouted this year. The land is about to be renovated, so Xu Lai went to pull out the garlic sprouts and stir-fry them for dinner.
She glanced around and saw that the family had cucumbers, green beans, loofahs, eggplants, water spinach, amaranth, peppers, and a vegetable with a red stem that was growing.
Besides these, another plot of land was planted with pumpkins, winter melons, cantaloupes, and watermelons. Xu Lai could already imagine the scene of a bountiful harvest in the village when summer arrived.
After finishing planting, she wiped the mud off the grass by the river, then went to the river to clean the mud off her rain boots before packing up to go home.
When Xu Lai got home, she found that her grandmother had already cooked dinner. Xu Lai had stir-fried pork with chili peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and added a vegetable dish before dinner.
While eating, she smelled the durian and thought she should finish off the fruit.
She went to town and bought some flour and tart shells, along with five or six eggs, intending to make a small cake.
As usual, Xu Lai set up her phone and began to explain: "Today we're making a small cake. Prepare a bowl that is free of water and oil. Mix corn oil and pure milk until it becomes like yogurt. Add sifted low-gluten flour and mix it evenly in a Z-shape. Set it aside for later use."
She took out another bowl and said, "Next, we'll whip the egg whites, add granulated sugar and a few drops of lemon juice, and whip until they form small hooks, like this."
As she spoke, she moved the camera toward the bowl, "Then we added the whipped egg whites to the egg yolk mixture in three batches."
Xu Lai took out ten paper cups, poured the mixed cake batter into them, and put them into the preheated oven. "Bake in the middle rack of the oven at 110 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, then at 130 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, and then at 150 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes."
While waiting, Xu Lai washed some strawberries, sliced them, whipped the heavy cream, and put it into a piping bag. She could assemble the cake once it was baked.
While waiting, she opened the durians. One was already ripe, and the other looked rather unripe and could be kept for a few more days.
She opened five boxes of meat. It has to be said that the fun of opening blind boxes is always there. Xu Lai couldn't resist taking a picture.
She took two pieces and handed them to her grandparents: "Try them."
Xu Lai tasted a small piece herself, then mashed the rest into a paste, put it into the softened tart shells, squeezed it tightly, and made a few slits on the surface.
Once the cupcakes are baked, you can put the durian pastries in to bake.
Make a small indentation in the surface of the cupcake, pipe in whipped cream, arrange strawberry slices around it, and top with a strawberry. The cupcake is now ready.
Once the durian pastries were baked, the whole kitchen was filled with their aroma. She took them out to cool, then offered them to her grandparents, asking, "Is it delicious?"
Grandma nodded: "I like sweets, they're delicious."
Even Grandpa, who doesn't like snacks, thought it was pretty good and even took a piece after trying it.
Xu Lai still gave some to the person opposite her, and just then Zhao Qingyun got out of the car. She handed it to him directly: "Try it, it's freshly baked."
He twirled his car keys and asked, "What's this?"
Xu Lai gestured for himself to take one and try it: "You'll know once you try it."
He looked at his hands and said, "Then wait for me to wash my hands."
Xu Lai clicked his tongue and said, "Troublesome, open your mouth."
He instinctively opened his mouth, and Xu Lai stuffed a piece of durian pastry into his mouth. Zhao Qingyun chewed it a couple of times, then, sensing the strange taste, asked, "Durian?"
Xu Lai nodded and asked, "Is it delicious?"
Zhao Qingyun forced herself to swallow and said, "It's alright."
Xu Lai handed him the plate directly: "Then you can take it back and eat it. I won't go in; I'm busy cooking."
Actually, she wanted to avoid Grandma Jiang from chatting with her. After spending time together a few times, she could tell that Grandma Jiang planned to arrange blind dates for her, but she wasn't considering marriage in the short term, so she tried to avoid it.
When Zhao Qingyun got home, she put the plate on the table and quickly poured herself a glass of water.
Grandma Jiang took a piece of durian pastry, tasted it, and said, "It's delicious. Nothing Xiao Lai makes is bad."
She glanced at her grandson, who was frantically drinking water, and said, "Did you eat durian pastry?"
Zhao Qingyun drank the last sip of water, nodded, and his ears turned slightly red as he recalled the scene of Xu Lai feeding him.
Grandma Jiang smiled knowingly, thinking to herself, "What a good-for-nothing."
Zhao Qingyun took a cupcake upstairs. He doesn't usually eat desserts, but he wanted to try one this time.
Suddenly, he heard a noise from the balcony. He pushed open the door and saw Xu Lai holding a ball of paper, ready to throw it at him.
Seeing him come out, she awkwardly lowered her hands. Zhao Qingyun crossed his arms, unaware that his voice carried a hint of amusement, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Xu Lai threw the paper ball on the ground and said, "Water the flowers."
Zhao Qingyun said "Oh" and then, "If there's nothing else, I'll go in first."
Xu Lai called out to him, "Hey, wait a minute."
Zhao Qingyun smiled and turned around, gesturing for her to speak. Xu Lai told him, "If you don't finish that little cake today, you can put it in the refrigerator."
Zhao Qingyun instantly became aloof. So that's why she came to talk to him. He nodded to indicate that he understood and went back to his room.
Having delivered her message, Xu Lai touched the leaves of the gardenia and went back to sleep.
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