Chapter 84 Potatoes are so delicious
After finishing their conversation in the kitchen, He's mother sent He Ziyao a WeChat message, saying that her uncle, aunt, and cousin had come and asking if she wanted to meet them.
He Ziyao replied shortly after: 【No, Mom.】
She just didn't want to eat or see anyone, but she would still reply to her mother's messages.
Mother He sighed inwardly, raised her head, and shook her head at Yao Ru and her mother.
“It’s alright, Auntie. Let Yao Yao be by herself for a while. It’s not good for her to force herself to come out and keep us company,” Yao Ru said.
Mrs. He nodded and led the mother and daughter to sit in the living room.
She brewed tea, and then filled a fruit bowl with fruits, melon seeds, and other snacks, placing it on the coffee table.
They chatted quietly, as if worried about disturbing He Ziyao in the next bedroom.
After chatting for a short while, Mr. and Mrs. He stood up to prepare to cook, and Mrs. Yao followed along to help.
Yao Ru stood at the kitchen doorway, occasionally helping to get things from the refrigerator in the dining room.
Yao Ru was stunned for a moment when she opened the refrigerator door.
Yesterday was Lunar New Year's Eve, and every family had a very lavish New Year's Eve dinner. So, there should be some leftovers today.
But the He family's refrigerator was quite empty, containing only some fresh beef, celery, side dishes, and a carton of eggs.
It seems that the He family had a very simple New Year's Eve dinner yesterday. Perhaps it was because of the situation with their cousin He Ziyao that their aunt and uncle were not in the mood to have a proper New Year.
Yao Ru sighed, took out the vegetables from the refrigerator, and brought them to the kitchen.
*
He Ziyao knew about it when her uncle's family came.
She heard the door open, and as the outer door closed, her heart tightened.
She knew her uncle's family must be coming to visit her, but she simply couldn't muster the energy to talk to them, and she didn't want them to see her like this.
Fortunately, her mother was very understanding of her current situation. She asked for her thoughts first and did not force her way in with her aunt and cousin.
Despite her mother's kindness, He Ziyao felt even more upset.
Her family wasn't wealthy, and when she was hospitalized a while ago, it cost tens of thousands of yuan. Although her parents didn't say anything, He Ziyao felt very guilty.
She didn't want to have this disease; it would only cause trouble for her family and cost them so much money. She was simply a complete burden.
But seeing the worried faces on her parents' faces, she dared not do anything foolish again. She tried to force herself to eat some food, but as soon as she ate, those people's words kept popping into her mind, and she couldn't help but vomit up everything she had eaten.
After lying in bed for a long time, He Ziyao heard the sounds of cooking and the range hood operating in the kitchen.
Her uncle and his family are here today; they'll definitely try to persuade her to eat something later.
But the thought of the food makes her nauseous. What should she say then?
He Ziyao lay in bed for a while, until she heard the range hood in the kitchen stop running.
Looks like dinner's about to start...
He Ziyao's painful thoughts suddenly stopped.
She smelled a wonderful aroma, which must be from potatoes that had been fried until soft and fluffy, with a slightly charred finish. Potatoes like this would have a very soft texture and a slightly pasty feel.
Her favorite food used to be potato chips that were fried until they were thoroughly cooked and fragrant.
He Ziyao was lost in her own thoughts and didn't realize for a long time that she didn't feel like vomiting as before when she recalled the taste of these potato chips.
"Yaoyao." There was a knock on the bedroom door three times, and her cousin Yao Ru's voice came in, "It's me, your sister Ru. I brought some delicious food, would you like some?"
He Ziyao suddenly snapped out of her daze and frowned instinctively when she heard the word "delicious".
"I..." She was about to say she didn't want to eat, but the aroma of the potatoes made her stop in her tracks.
As she hesitated, the door opened, and her cousin Yao Ru peeked in, chuckling sheepishly, "Sorry to bother you, please forgive me for trespassing into your room."
He Ziyao didn't mind.
When she was little, her parents went to work in other cities, so she lived with her uncle. Her uncle and aunt were also very busy with work, so it was her older sister Yao Ru who took care of her. Whenever there were annoying kids in the village who bullied her, Yao Ru would risk everything to pin them to the ground and beat them up.
The two sisters have a very good relationship. Last year, when He Ziyao had just finished the college entrance examination, Yao Ru, who was already working, bought her a new mobile phone to congratulate her on getting into her ideal university.
So when she "intruded" at this moment, He Ziyao didn't mind. Instead, she felt a longing and sadness for not seeing her for a long time.
She held back her tears, smiled, and slowly sat up in bed.
She hadn't eaten properly for several days and was feeling weak and powerless.
"Sister," He Ziyao called out.
Yao Ru looked at her extremely thin figure, her eyes reddening.
He Ziyao used to weigh over 110 pounds, which was within the normal weight range for her height of 1.6 meters.
He was so healthy back then, but now he's so thin he's unrecognizable, just skin and bones.
Yao Ru blinked, holding back her tears.
She smiled and said, "I'll get you some food. You can eat in your room, just wait."
After saying that, Yao Ru turned around and quickly went to the restaurant. She picked up some spirit-grade Chinese cabbage, pan-fried potato slices, and a few pieces of spirit lotus root in a large bowl, and finally poured some spirit-grade cabbage soup into a small bowl.
She carried two bowls into He Ziyao's room, and the four elders behind her followed nervously, but did not enter the room, instead hiding at the doorway.
"Here you go, Yao Yao." Yao Ru placed two bowls on the bedside table.
"Do you know Li Chang'an? He played one of the bodyguards by the male lead in your favorite TV series, 'The Thousand Miles of Time'. You even said he was the most handsome in the show."
He Ziyao nodded: "I remember."
Yao Ru smiled and said, "These vegetables were grown by him on Xuanling Immortal Mountain."
He Ziyao was a little surprised, "Sister, you managed to snatch the vegetables he planted?"
She paused, then added, "These must be very expensive..."
She learned about Xianshan Farm during the summer vacation after finishing her college entrance exam last year. However, the prices of the vegetables were too expensive for a student like her who had no source of income, so she never tried to snatch them. But she would watch Li Chang'an's live streams every time.
After I went to university, I never watched it again.
Yao Ru said, "Actually, compared to eating at a high-end restaurant several times, buying these dishes is not expensive, and it's more cost-effective. Even high-end restaurants may not be able to serve you dishes of this quality."
That's true.
He Ziyao was amused by Yao Ru's words and relaxed a lot.
Seeing that she was in a good mood, Yao Ru immediately seized the opportunity and picked up the bowl of spiritual cabbage soup: "Here, want to try it?"
He Ziyao looked at the soup in front of her. The soup was a light green color, and the cabbage leaves were like jade, making it very visually appealing.
She wanted to shake her head and say she didn't want to eat, but looking at the soup, she unexpectedly recalled the sweet taste of cabbage soup.
She swallowed hard, then reached out and took the bowl of soup.
She was weak, and her hand holding the bowl of soup trembled slightly.
Under Yao Ru's surprised and encouraging gaze, He Ziyao took her first sip of soup.
Instantly, a refreshing sweetness filled my mouth; the soup tasted better than any beverage and was more thirst-quenching than water.
Before she knew it, He Ziyao had finished a bowl of soup and eaten the cabbage leaves with her chopsticks.
After finishing just one bowl of soup, He Ziyao felt a warm sensation flowing through her body, and her limbs felt stronger.
When He Ziyao put down the bowl, her hands stopped trembling, and her eyes became more bright.
She savored the taste of the cabbage leaves, glanced at the large bowl of vegetables on the bedside table, and hesitated before saying, "I...I think I'm a little hungry."
And I didn't feel nauseous at all.
This was the first time in a long time that she had voluntarily said she was hungry.
Outside the door, Mother He couldn't hold back her tears, covering her mouth.
Inside the room, Yao Ru immediately smiled and picked up the bowl of food: "Here, this is for you. Eat as much as you like!"
Once He Ziyao had taken the food steadily, Yao Ru's smile became even brighter. She said, "My aunt said you haven't been eating properly for a long time. I thought that eating too much at once might be bad for your stomach, so I only prepared some of these vegetables from Xianshan Farm for you to eat."
“I still have twenty catties of spirit rice at home, which I’ve saved for you. I’ll bring it all over for you to eat when you feel better.”
He Ziyao nodded, holding the bowl: "Okay, thank you, sister."
She picked up her chopsticks, her hands no longer trembling, and ate a piece of lotus root.
The lotus root stewed with pork ribs is starchy, and after stewing for a long time, the aroma of lotus root and meat blend together, resulting in a soft and powdery texture.
After eating the lotus root, He Ziyao found that her body, which had been feeling somewhat unwell, was much better. Her stomach, which had been cramping slightly, now felt warm and comfortable, and she no longer felt nauseous.
These are all the benefits of these vegetables, right?
He Ziyao ate her food while lost in thought.
The lotus root was finished in no time, and He Ziyao picked up the pan-fried potato slices from the bottom.
The potatoes are soft and fluffy, with a hint of spicy dried chili peppers, and the more you chew, the more fragrant they become.
Before I knew it, I had already eaten two or three pieces.
Yao Ru watched He Ziyao eat with delight, when suddenly she noticed two drops of water dripping into the bowl.
She was startled and noticed that her younger sister, with her head down, was crying.
"Yaoyao, what's wrong?"
He Ziyao held the bowl, saying nothing, only crying silently.
Outside the room, He's mother, who was observing silently, said softly, "Yaoyao used to love potatoes the most, but after she got sick this time, she hates potatoes even more. She will vomit just by looking at potatoes."
Did you feel nauseous again after eating potatoes earlier?
Inside the room, Yao Ru was a little anxious and touched He Ziyao's head: "Are you feeling unwell? If you're not feeling well, then don't eat."
"No, it's not that I'm feeling unwell," He Ziyao said, her voice choked with emotion.
She just suddenly thought of things from the past.
When she first entered university, she was full of expectations and tried her best to get along well with her roommates, and often helped her roommates bring food.
However, one time, she failed to pick up her roommate's takeout in time, which resulted in the roommate's takeout being stolen. After that, she was bullied by that roommate and the other roommates.
He Ziyao's normal weight was called "fat pig" by her roommates. She loved to eat potatoes, and when she was eating braised chicken with potatoes in the cafeteria, her roommates said disdainfully that potatoes were for pigs and were pig feed.
After he finished speaking, his roommates laughed mockingly.
From then on, every time I saw potatoes, the phrase "pig feed" and those laughs would echo in my ears.
Later, every time she ate, the moment she swallowed, she would immediately recall that day in the cafeteria, the feeling of painfully swallowing potatoes with tears in her eyes.
"I don't understand. I already returned the money from her stolen takeout order, so why did they treat me like that?"
He Ziyao cried so hard that her whole body trembled, and she gripped the bowl tightly with all her might.
Upon hearing this, Yao Ru felt so heartbroken that her eyes welled up with tears, which fell uncontrollably.
She sat down on the edge of the bed and hugged He Ziyao, comforting her, "It's their problem. People who hate you will think that even your breathing is wrong. Even if you love to eat delicacies, they will say that it's pig swill. They are so mean. Don't hurt yourself because of their words."
“If you’re not doing well, the wicked will be pleased. So you need to eat well and get better.”
He Ziyao leaned on Yao Ru's shoulder and cried bitterly.
The two sisters hugged each other and cried. Outside the bedroom, their parents were also crying, their expressions a mixture of heartache and anger.
This was the first time they had ever learned that their daughter had encountered such a thing during her university years.
"After bringing her back, we didn't ask her anything..."
Mr. Yao patted Mr. He on the shoulder and said, "Now that we know what happened, once Yao Yao is better, we'll gather evidence and go to the school next semester to demand an explanation."
Mr. He wiped away his tears and nodded emphatically: "Okay."
When children encounter such things, parents must stand up and have a clear stance in order to give their children a sense of security and strength.
Inside the room, He Ziyao's crying gradually subsided.
She choked back tears, wiping them away from her face, "Thank you, sister."
Yao Ru patted her hair. "It's okay. Do you still want to eat?"
He Ziyao looked down at the potato slices in the bowl, and after a long while, she smiled gently and said, "I want to eat them. These potatoes are so delicious."
Yao Ru was slightly taken aback, then laughed: "Okay, next time Li Chang'an sells vegetables, let's grab them together, buy more, and eat more!"
"Um!"
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