Zhao Qingyun held her, a smile playing on his lips. In the summer, he would only pull her into his arms when she was asleep, but now he didn't need to pull her; Xu Lai came to him on her own.
After getting up in the morning, Zhao Qingyun went to work, and she still made her usual rounds around the factory.
The tea seed powder is ready to be sold. She plans to call Xia Ning over today to test it out, and then start a live stream.
Xu Lai recently wanted to turn tea oil into skincare products, a plan that existed when the factory was built. However, she originally intended to do it next year, but now that everything at the factory is stable, she is considering bringing it forward.
After she got back, she rode her electric bike to the street. Although she had a car, she usually rode her electric bike to go grocery shopping. The streets were packed with electric bikes and tricycles, and it was difficult to find a parking spot even if you drove a car.
Xu Lai regularly buys meat from a particular butcher stall because it's the freshest. She's been buying from there so often that the owner recognizes her.
She went again today, "Boss, give me a piece of pork belly and two ribs."
The owner was eating noodles when he saw her arrive. He wiped his hands on his apron before picking up a knife to chop meat for her.
"Okay, that's 65 in total."
The proprietress handed her the meat, and Xu Lai swiped the money over, took the meat, and said, "I've already swiped it."
The boss nodded: "Okay, come again next time."
Xu Lai smiled and agreed. She then went to check out the stalls, but since it was almost winter, there weren't many leafy greens left to sell.
She saw an old man selling some pretty good garland chrysanthemums, which he grew himself and couldn't pick yet, so she squatted down and picked out two bunches.
The old man put the food in a plastic bag for her. Xu Lai noticed that those plastic bags were from the supermarket when she bought things, and he hadn't wanted to throw them away, so he used them to pack the vegetables.
Xu Lai gave six yuan; these kinds of vegetables usually cost three yuan a bunch on the street.
She didn't choose to use WeChat Pay, after all, the old lady was too old to use a smartphone, and Xu Lai didn't see the WeChat payment code, so she always had to prepare ten yuan in cash every time she went to the market to buy groceries.
She went to the beef stall and bought two pounds of beef and a steak.
When Xu Lai got home, she took all her things back, then went to the kitchen to pour some hot water to warm herself up. It's true, it's cold now, and even riding a bike makes your hands feel cold.
Xia Ning arrived around ten o'clock, looking like she had just gotten up. She asked, "What important thing is going on today?"
Xu Lai took a sip of water, but instead of answering her question, she asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
Xia Ning leaned against the door, still a little sleepy: "No, I came as soon as I got up. If I hadn't woken up halfway through my sleep and read your message, I would have slept until eleven o'clock."
Xu Lai shook her head: "You only sleep in so late every day because Grandma Xia is hardworking and has a good temper."
Xia Ning snorted: "I do my job too, okay?"
Xu Lai was just joking. Nowadays, oil refineries sometimes have to work night shifts. Xu Lai hasn't been on duty yet, but Xia Ning is on duty these past two days and probably can't sleep well at night.
Xu Lai opened the package; it contained pre-processed tea seed powder that Tang Lin had sent her.
She hadn't washed her hair last night, just waiting for today's evaluation.
Xu Lai took the hair apart, poured a large pot of hot water into the basin, tested the water temperature, and then poured in the tea seed powder.
Xia Ning took the camera and helped her take pictures. Xu Lai stirred the water a few times until it foamed up before putting her hair in to wash.
Xia Ning also gave a shot of the tea seed powder next to her. Xu Lai washed her hair once and felt that the effect was indeed good. It was easy to wash out, and her hair was not dry after washing. Her hair looked shiny.
She changed the water in the basin, rinsed her hair in it again, wrung it out, and then dried it with a hair drying cap.
She looked up, and Xia Ning was still pointing the camera at her face. It has to be said that Xu Lai really held her own in front of the camera. Not a single hair was on her forehead, and her entire face was exposed, yet she didn't look bad at all.
She waited two minutes until the hair drying cap had absorbed most of the moisture before taking it off.
Xu Lai went upstairs to get a hairdryer to dry her hair. She ran her fingers through her hair, finding the strands soft and comfortable to the touch.
She always cherished her beautiful hair. In high school, her parents wouldn't let her grow it long, saying it would affect her studies.
After she went to university, she stayed in school. Xu Lai felt that she had a vengeful mentality. She wanted to make up for the dreams that she couldn't realize when she was young after she became independent.
Xia Ning took one last picture of the finished product, and her work for the day was complete.
Xu Lai invited her to stay for dinner, saying, "I bought a lot of groceries today, let's eat together."
Xia Ning shook her head: "Never mind, Grandma has already cooked the rice. I didn't tell her. Maybe next time."
Xu Lai had no choice but to give up. She tied her hair up and went downstairs to cook.
For lunch, we had pork rib soup, stir-fried pork belly with carrots, and stir-fried chrysanthemum greens.
She quite likes eating chrysanthemum greens. Many people think they taste medicinal, but she finds them delicious.
After the food was cooked, she first ladled out a bowl of soup to drink, which was very warming in the middle of winter.
Xu Lai doesn't like soup with scallions, but her grandparents do, and they always sprinkle a handful on before serving.
So she always ladles out her own portion of soup first, then adds the scallions in.
She picked up a piece of pork rib and dipped it in the sauce. She had seen a video where someone ate it this way. She thought that meat in stew should be served with a dipping sauce to enhance the flavor. After eating it, she regretted not discovering this method sooner.
In the past, when she made soup, she would just swallow it dry. Back then, her mother would put very little salt in her cooking, saying that less salt meant better health.
Even if Xu Lai was dissatisfied, she couldn't say anything, otherwise her mother would scold her, "I kindly cooked for you, but you complain that it's not good. If you're so capable, go eat outside."
She wanted to, but her mother only talked about it and didn't approve any money. Where could she go?
After finishing her meal, she put the radishes out to dry. Because of the heavy fog in the morning, her grandmother told her to dry them at noon.
In winter, she took fewer naps and couldn't sleep well because the bed was cold. Since she had Zhao Qingyun, who was like a human hand warmer, she didn't need an electric blanket.
Around 4 p.m., Xu Lai went to the field and picked a radish, which she then stewed with the steak.
First, wash the steak, then blanch it with scallions, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and bay leaves. Then rinse it with warm water.
Speaking of warm water, she found it funny. Back then, she was a complete novice at cooking. The first time she made soup, she just washed the ribs and threw them directly into the clay pot to stew.
When she opened the lid, it was covered in foam, and she felt like she was drinking blanched soup.
Then she went to learn how to cook, searched for videos and followed along. At that time, no one mentioned that the blanched ribs should be washed with warm water, so she just washed them with tap water.
The ribs she cooked turned out dry and tough, almost ruining her teeth.
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