Chapter 390 He's always been this easy to talk to.
"Calm down, it's none of your business." Jiang Nuanzhi noticed something was wrong, grabbed Li Rong, and patted his chest reassuringly: "Take a deep breath, take a deep breath, hey, right, this little bit of pearl powder won't hurt. Look, it's imprinted on the ground like white plum blossoms, isn't it pretty?"
Li Rong stood there blankly, holding the medicine grinder, and met Jiang Nuanzhi's beautiful, clear eyes that seemed to be filled with tears. After a long while, he finally nodded.
"Arong, continue grinding the pearls for me. I'll need them later."
Li Rong lowered his gaze to Jiang Nuanzhi's hair. The hair ribbon on her head had drifted forward with her movements, covering half of her forehead. He reached out to help tidy it up and replied, "I know."
After saying that, he turned and went to the pharmacy.
Jiang Nuanzhi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go into the kitchen. When she came out again, she smiled and handed a basin to Uncle Xin: "General Xin, I've been troubled by this for a long time. Could you please help me separate these red beans and mung beans?"
Everyone looked closely and saw that the bowl Jiang Nuanzhi brought back contained half mung beans and half red beans.
Xinbo clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys the order!"
Then, as if preparing for battle, he sat upright at the table and began picking beans. As he picked, his brow was furrowed, as if he had encountered a difficult problem in life.
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded in satisfaction and subconsciously looked towards the pharmacy, where she saw Li Rong holding a sharp knife, looking down quietly, seemingly lost in thought.
Jiang Nuanzhi, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately felt a surge of anger again.
She'd noticed something was off with Li Rong lately. Sometimes his expression would suddenly change, as if he were a completely different person. She didn't know much about psychology, but she was genuinely afraid that Li Rong might develop a violent personality.
When people experience significant stress and prolonged periods of intense depression, they are most prone to mental health problems. This is even more true for generals like Li Rong, who spent years on the battlefield and fought numerous battles; which of them didn't require psychological treatment?
At Li Rong's age, these are not simple battlefield wounds. The ups and downs of his life would have broken an ordinary person long ago. The fact that he is still quite normal, without even expressing his emotions, is itself a huge problem.
Jiang Nuanzhi's current feelings cannot be described simply as being terrified.
"Ah Nuan, are you calling me?"
When Li Rong saw Jiang Nuanzhi looking at him, he strode forward, stood in front of Jiang Nuanzhi with his head down, and looked perfectly normal.
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at him: "Want to cook with me?"
"Oh, okay." He was always so easy to talk to.
Thinking back on it carefully, it seems that he always spoke to her kindly, and there were never any times when his words were sharp. Even when she transmigrated, she was still known as a wicked stepmother, and he didn't seem to have ever said anything harsh to her.
Even now, preoccupied with his own troubles, he still maintains his gentle demeanor.
On the contrary, I am often short-tempered and yell without any regard for others.
A smile spread across Jiang Nuanzhi's lips as she tugged at his sleeve and led him into the kitchen.
If I leave him alone in the pharmacy, it's better to bring him into the kitchen so I can at least keep an eye on him.
Li Rong was somewhat distracted at the moment, so Jiang Nuanzhi didn't ask him to peel the skins or start the fire, but instead had him knead the dough. Anyway, he had plenty of strength, and the more he kneaded the dough, the more elastic it became, so it didn't matter.
Today, Jiang Nuanzhi gave Fusheng and Fuman two days off so they could go home and celebrate the New Year together. The whole family was busy with the cooking and household chores.
By now, the oil in the pan is hot.
The chicken strips had been marinated for a while, then coated with the prepared batter and were ready to be deep-fried.
The oil sizzled and popped, releasing a burst of delicious aromas.
There are a lot of things to fry today, not only chicken meatballs, chicken strips, and pork strips, but also vegetable meatballs, sesame balls, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, sweet and sour pork, and squirrel-shaped mandarin fish that Jiang Nuanzhi made earlier.
Getting so busy, Jiang Nuanzhi soon broke out in a sweat.
"Arong, sister-in-law, I'm back."
Chi Heng entered the room with a chilling aura, first looking for Jiang Nuanzhi and the other person.
Jiang Nuanzhi kept flipping the sesame ball over and over, and casually asked, "Is everything done?"
"Yes, they have all been buried and a libation has been offered. The ice lanterns you made earlier have also been placed there." Chi Heng stared at the sesame balls in the pot, his eyes lowered. Thinking of the basket of things Jiang Nuanzhi had prepared for him, he unconsciously clasped his hands and bowed: "Thank you for remembering my parents, sister-in-law. We are also offering our prayers today."
Jiang Nuanzhi was stunned for a moment, and was about to say something when she heard a "click" sound.
Li Rong looked at the broken wooden basin in his hand with a somewhat helpless expression: "Anuan, I didn't mean to."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Nuanzhi brought him a different basin: "Use this one."
Li Rong took it and continued kneading the dough with his head down. The dough was kneaded until it was smooth and shiny, but his hands still didn't stop.
Chi Heng looked at Li Rong, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated. Normally, he would have wanted to say a few words of advice, but he himself was not in a stable mood, and he was afraid that what he said would not be pleasant to hear, so he simply kept quiet.
"Try it."
While Chi Heng was distracted, she saw Jiang Nuanzhi hand her a porcelain bowl. Inside the bowl were golden-yellow strips of meat, with a fragrant aroma of caramelized meat and a faint sweet scent lingering in her nostrils. Chi Heng couldn't help but sniff, and just as she reached out to take it, she withdrew her hand in a daze.
"Thank you, sister-in-law. I apologize for my rudeness. Let's wait for the banquet to start eating."
"Here, have some. You left early this morning, so you must be hungry."
Chi Heng hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and took a strip of meat, putting it in his mouth.
One bite, and it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a wonderfully caramelized aroma. It also seems to have a sweet and refreshing fruity fragrance that explodes in your mouth. He was stunned for a moment by how delicious it was.
"Sweet."
“Yes, it’s sweet,” Jiang Nuanzhi said with a smile. “Arong, you should try some too.”
"I don't... *sob*"
She was more casual with Li Rong. Before he could refuse, Jiang Nuanzhi reached out, picked up a stick, and popped it into his mouth: "Try it, is it cooked enough?"
What was fed to Li Rong were small balls made of mashed potatoes mixed with milk. The sweet and chewy taste spread in her mouth, and Li Rong was stunned for a while before nodding. The kneading of the dough in her hands finally stopped.
"tasty."
"Then have another one, and help me taste how well this meat strip is fried." This time, Jiang Nuanzhi stuffed the same meat strip into Li Rong's hand as He Chiheng.
Then, he fed it to the waiter who was tending the fire.
The little boy's face was flushed from tending the fire. He stayed by the stove, his mouth covered in oil from eating. "Mommy," he said, "if I keep eating like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat anything at the New Year's feast later!"
Jiang Nuanzhi found it amusing and handed him the bowl directly: "Take a little of everything, so everyone can have a little something to eat first. Today's New Year's banquet will be a bit late."
The waiter took the bowl and ran out.
Chi Heng was later also given a bowl, a large, rough bowl filled to the brim, steaming hot in his hands.
The aroma of his breath still lingered, and as he nestled in the warm chair, his tense emotions from the past few days began to relax.
I got up and my gaze fell on the big snowman outside the window. The snowman had a round head and a big belly, and it was dressed in red ribbons and wore a red hat. Its face was painted red, and its tongue was sticking out. One of its rough twig hands was on its hip, and the other was pointing to the sky. The snowman next to it was dressed in the same way, as if it was clapping and cheering. It was really funny and festive.
In fact, it wasn't just the snowman; red ribbons were tied to the trees as well. Couplets and the character "福" (fortune/blessing) decorated the entire house. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that each "福" character was different, and some even had adorable kitten drawings. Inside the house, children and the elderly were all busy, and laughter filled the air.
Chi Heng couldn't help but smile, picking up a meatball and popping it into his mouth. The meatball was delicious, salty, fragrant, and chewy. This was probably the most lively New Year's Eve he had ever had in his life.
Come to think of it, he had never spent New Year's Eve with anyone like this since he was five years old.
He doesn't remember anything before he was five years old.
Baozhu: Brother, did you hear that sound?
Waiter: It's not important, here's some meat strips for you to try.
The old man in the outhouse: "."
"Hey? Is anyone there? We're out of toilet paper! Is anyone there?"
The waiter, having finished dividing the meat, said, "Huh? I think I forgot something. Oh well, it's not important."
[Author's note: This is the third update. Sweet dreams, my darlings~]
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
