Chapter 94 094 A Bowl of Delicious Rice from a Farmhouse, Braised Pork Rice [First Update] (...
Grandpa Duan had no complaints about today's dishes, and was even pleasantly surprised. They had agreed on one dish per meal, but today there were two! The aroma was so enticing that he even shortened the time he spent cursing.
Normally, if he encountered such a confused parent, he would have scolded them for at least an hour!
When a bowl of fragrant stew is placed in front of you, even if you can't see what's inside, the first thing you smell is the irresistible aroma of a wok. The crispy, caramelized scent of stir-fried eggs and pork belly, combined with the spicy aroma of chili peppers, comes together in a powerful and irresistible way.
He divided the food into two small bowls, covered one of them with the dish, and asked the child in front of him, "Can you use chopsticks?"
The child had just watched the old man yell at his mother and was too scared to speak. Now, seeing his parents crying as they left, he quietly swung his little leg, trying to sneak out and find his parents while the old man wasn't looking.
But……
The old man handed him a bowl of fragrant rice and asked him if he knew how to use chopsticks.
The child answered softly, "Yes, I will."
The old man didn't care about anything else and handed him a pair of chopsticks. Then he looked around and put a few cushions under the child's bottom so that he could reach the table.
"Eat."
Although the child was thinking about finding his mother, the food was so delicious that before he knew it, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating the meat and eggs.
Wen Fan sliced the pork belly very thinly. After stir-frying the thin, even slices, all the fat was rendered out, leaving the pork belly slightly charred. The fatty parts were chewy, while the lean meat was dry and fragrant. The green peppers were a little spicy, but just the right amount. The eggs were also oily and fragrant.
A bowl of vegetables placed on top of rice kept the elderly and the young child from having time to speak.
After finishing most of his rice, Grandpa Duan saw that the child had buried his head in the bowl, so he quickly reached out and pulled him out.
"Eat slowly."
Grandpa Duan was worried that the child, who hadn't eaten meat for a long time, would hurt his stomach if he ate too fast, so he added a few more bites of vegetables to his plate.
"Eat some vegetables."
The child pouted, unhappy; he was already tired of eating vegetables!
Besides, he always felt that the vegetables had an unpleasant smell.
When Grandpa Duan saw him pounding the rice, he knew he definitely didn't want to eat, so he promised him that if he ate two bites of vegetables, he would get another bite of meat.
—This child just picked out all the meat in the bowl! Now the bowl is just empty rice.
Only after receiving the assurance did the child reach out with chopsticks to pick up some vegetables to eat.
Wen Fan's vegetable dish was simple, but the fried shallots sprinkled on top were anything but. Crispy and crunchy, it was like eating a snack. The child took a bite of the vegetables, then reached for more, and soon ate half a plate without even asking for meat.
After eating a few bites of vegetables, Grandpa Duan marveled at the chef's skill.
Even a simple plate of ordinary green vegetables can be prepared with such ingenuity.
Recalling his apprentice's explanation last night that the chef at this restaurant wasn't the head of the household, but a girl still in her second year of high school, the old man initially didn't believe it. But now, with two dishes in front of him, he had no choice but to believe it.
"Truly a generation of outstanding talents..."
The meal completely relieved his fatigue.
By the time Mr. Qu came in and took away the empty plate, he had calmed down. He held the child, his face stiff, and looked at the child's mother.
The child's parents, after being repeatedly explained and persuaded by Mr. Qu, have now begun to regret their actions. Upon seeing their child, tears welled up in their eyes again.
Grandpa Duan quickly wrote out a dietary supplement recipe and handed it to her.
"Children have weak digestive systems, so don't overfeed them with meat, eggs, or dairy. Take it slow. Remember this: if they want to eat something, let them, but control the amount and increase it gradually..."
The woman's eyes were red, and she said timidly, "He won't eat... It was because he was always picky about food that I asked someone to tell him. This child has never liked to eat since he was little. Before, he was even picky about vegetables, refusing to eat this or smell that."
"Then why don't you cook what he likes to eat?!"
Grandpa Duan felt his temples throbbing again, and he suppressed his anger: "I said, as long as he likes to eat it, don't use adult standards. Children's sense of taste is very sensitive. If you force him to eat something he doesn't like, even the best appetite will be ruined."
The woman dared not say anything more, and only nodded with a wronged expression.
Grandpa Duan couldn't bear to watch any longer, so after giving a few more instructions, he patted the child on the shoulder.
"Eat well when you get back, and tell your elders if there's anything you like to eat."
The child nodded, somewhat bewildered, then suddenly realized how kind the old man was, having just fed him such delicious meat and vegetables. "Sigh, if only Mom could cook such delicious vegetables too."
After seeing the mother and son off, Grandpa Duan reminded Mr. Qu to visit them once a week.
Qu's father: ...
That old man has such a temper.
The guests who came after that were not so strange; most of them had old age-related illnesses, with only one or two having difficult or complicated diseases.
Family members arrived with thick medical records, their tired faces, worn from running around, filled with hope.
At times like these, Mr. Duan's consultation time would often be extended considerably.
He carefully examined each of the films and inquired about the patient's medical history. Even if the final result was not ideal, he would explain in detail how to make the patient more comfortable.
After seeing all ten patients in the afternoon, there were still quite a few patients crowded inside the clinic.
There was nothing I could do but sigh and add five more accounts to keep watching.
By the time all fifteen people had finished watching, dusk had fallen.
Mr. Qu gently persuaded the remaining people to go back: "My master is also tired after a long day, come back tomorrow."
After everyone left, Mr. Qu tidied up the shop and noticed that his master kept checking his watch.
Qu's father: "Master, school ends at around 6 o'clock, but the Wen family's little girl still has to attend extra classes at school, so she usually doesn't come back until 7 o'clock."
By the time dinner is ready, it will be at least eight o'clock.
The old man checked his watch; there was still more than an hour to go.
"Master, why don't we go back and rest for a while?"
Let's not even talk about the old man. He was busy all day and his back was about to break.
"What are you resting for? Come here. I haven't checked your pharmacology knowledge in a long time. I can tell you're not very motivated. Have you forgotten everything you used to memorize? You're even taking your time to dispense the medicine today."
The old man was extremely impartial and immediately began to check his apprentice's homework.
Qu’s father: ...life is bitter.jpg
****
Wen Fan returned to the store at seven o'clock in the afternoon, still recalling what he had learned that day on his way back.
Ever since Qin He asked her to explain problems to Han Lulu for half an hour every day, she had vaguely sensed a change.
At first, she felt awkward explaining problems to Han Lulu, but gradually, she began to think proactively and organize her thoughts. The overall structure of the knowledge points appeared in her mind like a clear mind map.
She became more and more fluent as she explained, and the number of questions where she would get one right but then get another wrong decreased. Often, once she mastered a concept, she would no longer make mistakes on questions related to that concept.
After listening to her story, Qin He remarked that this was exactly how she felt last time.
Once you step out of the role of a passive learner and into the perspective of an active teacher, many problems that seemed difficult before become less complicated.
Qin He patted Wen Fan's head: "Don't let me down. You must get over 100 points on the next final exam."
After the midterm exams, the school will no longer hold monthly exams; the next major exam will be at the end of the semester.
If you count carefully, it's only been two months.
Qin He was determined to help Wen Fan catch up in math, while Han Lulu was so exhausted she looked pale.
She was already weak in math, and now her deskmate was dragging her along, not to mention that Wen Fan would occasionally show a hint of speechlessness on his face, as if to say, "How come you don't even know this?", which made Han Lulu feel a little upset.
Unfortunately, her grades were not stable, and strictly speaking, she was a "problem student" teetering on the edge of becoming a high-achieving student.
So be it, Han Lulu was forced to learn. Only the breakfast at Wen Fan's house every morning could temporarily soothe her.
...
Wen Fan arrived at the shop first, carrying his schoolbag. Half of the dinner rush had passed, and the fried shrimp balls at the entrance were sold out, but the shop was still bustling with business.
Because of the presence of an elderly traditional Chinese medicine doctor next door, the number of unfamiliar elderly and middle-aged people among the customers in the shop has increased significantly.
Wen Fan greeted his parents and casually picked out a few dishes to go into the kitchen.
Wen Fan has been using his brain too much today, so he's decided to cook a big meat dish for dinner.
Wen Fan was still not satisfied with the fried shallots at noon, so he made braised pork rice for dinner.
Cut the pork belly into cubes. Put a little oil in a pan and sauté the pork belly until fragrant, just like rendering lard. As the pork belly cubes are rendered, they shrink by half. At this point, scoop out the lard and leave only a small portion for cooking.
Add various seasonings and simmer for a while, then transfer the diced pork belly to a clay pot, add diced shiitake mushrooms and fried shallots, and simmer over low heat. Simmer for an hour, just as Mr. Qu came to urge us to eat.
Wen Fan gave him a spoon and told him to scoop the soup himself: "We're having braised pork rice tonight. There's soup outside, so you can get it yourself."
Qu's father twitched his nose, his eyes filled with longing.
No matter how much he longed for it, there was no share for him. Reluctantly, he scooped a spoonful of meat onto the rice, and Wen Fan scooped a tiger-skin egg from the outside pot for him, cut it open, and barely managed to plate it.
As for green vegetables?
Wen Fan found a cucumber in the kitchen and placed it on the table.
It was supposed to be just one dish, so Wen Fan was too lazy to make anything more.
Braised pork rice, so easy!
We're having this at home tonight too.
Wen Fan quickly ate a bowl of rice and went back to do his homework. Wen's father finished his work first, then got a bowl of braised pork rice and sat down to eat.
Dark brown diced braised pork tops the rice. The pork belly strips, simmered for a long time, have a glistening, gelatinous sheen from the fat, which melts into the sauce, creating an enticing sheen. The fried shallots, sautéed in lard, are even more flavorful and crispy. The thick sauce coats the rice, and with each bite, the tender, chewy pork belly, the firm shiitake mushrooms, and the crispy, fragrant shallots make this bowl of rice utterly satisfying.
Mr. Wen ate a large bowl of food with gusto. When he saw Mrs. Wen coming to get more food, he reminded her, "Xiao Fan said you can't eat this."
Wen's mother had felt hungry from the smell, but her husband stopped her. Not only that, he also pointed to another pot for her to see.
"Your daughter specially saved this for you."
Peeking inside, I saw a plate of pickled cucumbers and a small bowl of millet porridge that had been cooked separately.
Wen's father quickly blanched a plate of greens and poured on fried shallots and seasoning sauce.
A plate of green vegetables, a plate of side dishes, and millet porridge—Mother Wen's dinner was simple and unpretentious.
Wen's mother didn't want to eat, but all the Chinese medicine had been brought back today, and her daughter had to make sure she drank the medicine at noon.
There's no other way but to eat healthy meals.
The couple sat together, but ate different meals. After finishing, Wen's mother couldn't stand it anymore.
Realizing that her ailment could actually be improved through exercise, she wiped her mouth and indicated that she had a new plan.
Learning to drive.
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Author's note: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
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