Zhou Yu was a little helpless. His future mother-in-law Huang Qing was actually a very good cook. Logically speaking, Qiao Meng had been living with her mother Huang Qing for more than 20 years, and had been influenced by her. So, if she couldn't be very good at cooking, she should at least be able to cook decently, right?
Who would have thought that after all her hard work, Qiao Meng would end up with something like this!
Listen to what she did: putting shredded ginger into shredded potatoes, under the euphemism of 'removing the fishy smell'!
Shredded potatoes?! Remove the fishy smell?!
Do you want to listen to what you are saying?!
Zhou Yu almost laughed out loud at Qiao Meng's amusement. If you said you did this to play the game of spot the difference with me, I could understand it a little, but you actually said it was to get rid of the fishy smell?!
Zhou Yu had no choice but to attribute Qiao Meng's behavior to the daily routine of talented players.
If it were anyone else, Zhou Yu would have wanted to stuff the plate of shredded potatoes directly into the other person's mouth and then ask the other person whether he needed to remove the fishy smell, but the person who did such an abstract thing was, after all, his own wife.
Zhou Yu repeated silently three times in his heart: I chose my wife, I chose my wife, I chose my wife.
After silently reciting it three times, Zhou Yu was indeed a little calmer.
Zhou Yu put down the chopsticks in his hand, looked at Qiao Meng who was looking a little nervous, and said gently, "Baoer, you did a great job! There are only a few flaws. If you improve it a little bit next time, it will be perfect!"
Seeing the joy and eagerness in Qiao Meng's eyes, Zhou Yu changed the subject, "But baby, what I want to tell you is that I know you don't like cooking. You don't have to learn these things specially. I don't want you to do things you don't like to do. I hope you can use your time to do what you want to do!"
"I like to see your concentration when you study a musical instrument seriously, and I also like to see your calmness when you immerse yourself in the world of books. Even if I see you giggling while watching a TV series, I will feel satisfied!"
"So, baby, you really don't have to force yourself to learn how to cook for me. This will not only make you unhappy, but also make me sad. The sadness is that I haven't taken good care of you, I haven't given you the life you want, and I even need you to cook for me! I will feel extremely guilty about this!"
"Zhou Yu, you're so good to me!" Qiao Meng was almost moved to tears by her boyfriend's sudden confession. Zhou Yu's words were sincere and heartfelt, so Qiao Meng also felt that she should do something for her boyfriend Zhou Yu. "You don't need to blame yourself! Don't worry, I didn't force myself to cook! I have found the trick to cooking, next time! Next time I can make a more perfect dish than this time!"
Well, I must learn how to cook well. Only in this way can Zhou Yu feel my love for him!
Qiao Meng secretly made up her mind that if it really didn't work, she would go to her mother Huang Qing, or future mother-in-law Wang Yufang for advice. Qiao Meng believed that as a highly qualified person with a 211 degree, she would be able to manage a small kitchen!
Qiao Meng's subsequent words immediately made Zhou Yu's face paler. Zhou Yu secretly said, "Oh no! Unexpectedly, these words actually had the opposite effect in the end?! This is not what Zhou Yu wanted at all!
Baby! Can't we just eat in the cafeteria? ! If that doesn't work, we can go to a special place! ! If that doesn't work, we can go out to eat out every day! I, your husband, can afford it!
There's nothing you can do. This is all your own fault. It was Qiao Meng who suddenly had the urge to cook for Zhou Yu this afternoon. Zhou Yu, who was busy at work at the time, didn't pay attention and agreed without thinking.
So Zhou Yu could only continue to persuade Qiao Meng seriously, "Bao'er, this is it. Look, let's put it another way. Although we can cook in the dormitory we live in, cooking is not good for the walls anyway. If we cook like this for a long time, it will eventually cause damage to the hygiene of the apartment!"
"Besides, cooking for a long time will cause the fumes to affect your skin, so I don't want your beautiful face and fair skin to become rough and old just because of cooking for me!"
Zhou Yu's words were so affectionate that Qiao Meng was so moved that her eyes were filled with tears. Maybe people in love tend to be slow to react. Even Qiao Meng, who was usually very smart, was moved for a moment after Zhou Yu finished his sweet words before she realized something was wrong.
"Wait, why do you keep telling me not to cook?!" Qiao Meng, who was temporarily in a love-brain state, looked at Zhou Yu's affectionate face and revealed a hint of resistance and reluctance. Now she realized what Zhou Yu's real purpose was in saying this, "Is it because the food I cook is not delicious that you are trying every means to get me to stop cooking?!"
Zhou Yu quickly explained, "How is that possible?! I didn't let you cook because I felt sorry for you! I was looking forward to you cooking. I've long been tired of those big pot meals in the cafeteria. The meals you cook are so much more delicious than those in the cafeteria!"
"Really?" Qiao Meng asked half-doubtfully, not believing it.
"That must be true! I love your cooking the most!" In order to make Qiao Meng believe what he said, Zhou Yu picked up the chopsticks at hand, looked at the three dishes and one soup on the table, and chose the last dish, the untouched smashed cucumber. "Oh, this smashed cucumber looks delicious. Let me try it first!"
Well, I didn’t add any salt, but I added too much vinegar, so it’s a bit sour.
But compared to the spicy and sour potato shreds that had a bit too much salt and were easily played with minesweeper because of the addition of shredded ginger, and the braised pork that looked greasy and unappetizing, the smashed cucumber was undoubtedly the most acceptable dish.
Seeing Zhou Yu's confident look and how happily he was eating, Qiao Meng's doubts gradually faded away.
Could it be...I am really being overly suspicious?!
Oh, I really shouldn't have done that. I actually suspected Zhou Yu was lying! He was obviously doing it for my own good, for my health, and didn't want me to waste time in the kitchen, but I actually still suspected him. I really shouldn't have done that!
Thinking of this, Qiao Meng couldn't help but reveal a touched expression, and the look she gave Zhou Yu became more affectionate.
"Don't just eat the smashed cucumbers, try the braised pork I made too!"
Qiao Meng looked at Zhou Yu lovingly and said to him tenderly, "If you don't want to eat the shredded potatoes, then don't eat them. I'll know better next time and will definitely be careful not to put in shredded ginger! But you must try the braised pork. I spent a lot of effort to learn it from the online teaching videos!"
Following Qiao Meng's gaze, Zhou Yu looked at the 'braised pork' helplessly, feeling a little speechless.
Are you sure this is something you 'learned' after a lot of effort?
Just like Zhou Yu, who could never learn to play the guitar no matter how hard he tried watching videos or signing up for classes in school, Qiao Meng seemed to be completely isolated from the talent of cooking and did not have the slightest talent at all.
Maybe both of their talents have been used elsewhere, Zhou Yu thought.
But after all, I couldn't fool around with this one.
Seeing Qiao Meng's expectant eyes, Zhou Yu hardened his heart and stretched out his chopsticks to the black and greasy braised pork. He searched carefully in the plate for a while and finally found a piece of meat that looked edible.
"Ah!"
Under Qiao Meng's joyful gaze, Zhou Yu finally felt relieved.
He put the piece of braised pork between the two chopsticks into his mouth and chewed it hard as if he had resigned himself to his fate. However, after chewing it a few times, Zhou Yu's slightly frowned brows actually began to relax.
This, uh, barely qualifies as a braised pork dish, actually... tastes pretty good?!
Zhou Yu's brows relaxed, and he chewed the piece of braised pork in his mouth a few more times. After it passed from his esophagus to his stomach, he looked at Qiao Meng and said with a smile, "Not bad, not bad, it tastes great!"
"Really?!" Qiao Meng was pleasantly surprised, "Does it really taste that good?!"
Zhou Yu nodded and agreed, "Really, believe me! The braised pork you made is the second best braised pork I've ever eaten! Honey, the braised pork you made reminded me of my childhood and my deceased grandmother!"
"Is it because the braised pork I make tastes almost the same as your grandma's?!" Qiao Meng was so excited that she interrupted Zhou Yu before he could say anything. "I'm so happy, Zhou Yu. I've decided! I must learn how to cook so that you can live better in Ruxu and eat better!"
Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Yes, but there is one thing that can be improved! The heat can be controlled a little more, and the soy sauce must be used less, and it is better to stir-fry some sugar color! In addition..."
Zhou Yu sincerely gave Qiao Meng some small suggestions that he thought were extremely important, and Qiao Meng was full of praise. "Ah, yes, yes, Zhou Yu, I didn't realize that you have such insights into this dish?!"
"I have already seen and considered the things you mentioned when I was learning how to cook this dish! But when I actually cook it, I always make mistakes, forgetting this or that. Next time I cook it, I will pay attention to it and make a perfect braised pork!"
Zhou Yu nodded and agreed with what Qiao Meng said, "You are right to think so. You will definitely make the most perfect braised pork next time. I am looking forward to it, baby!"
"Yeah, I will!" Zhou Yu gave Qiao Meng enough emotional value, making her so happy. She picked up the bowl and chopsticks and waved at Zhou Yu, "Okay, eat quickly. After eating, I have to wash the dishes, and then I will start watching videos to learn how to cook a dish!"
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While Zhou Yu and Qiao Meng were eating their meal sweetly, they were also chatting about some interesting things they encountered at work.
When Qiao Meng was telling Zhou Yu about some jokes she heard among her colleagues, she didn't wait for Zhou Yu to respond but started laughing so hard that her body shook. Zhou Yu looked at her tenderly, as if he loved her but was also worried that Qiao Meng would choke on the rice grains.
"By the way, who were you talking to on the phone while I was cooking?" Qiao Meng, who had finally stopped laughing, turned the topic to Zhou Yu's phone call with Xu Jiacheng just now. "With the student's parents? You talked for so long."
Zhou Yu nodded. "Yes, I called Xu Li's father, Xu Jiacheng! It was about the parents' meeting."
As he spoke, Zhou Yu told Qiao Meng in detail why he made the call and what he had said to Xu Jiacheng on the phone.
After listening to this, Qiao Meng couldn't help but said in surprise, "Ah, you told them to save their trouble and communicate directly online, but they didn't appreciate it and insisted on coming to Ruxu to have a parent-teacher meeting in person. Your kindness is being taken for granted!"
Zhou Yu shook his head, somewhat disagreeing with Qiao Meng's words, "You can't say that. He explained it on the phone, saying that he hasn't seen the child for a long time, and took the opportunity of this parent-teacher meeting to come and see the child at the same time."
When he said this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but laugh and joked to Qiao Meng, "But I think Boss Xu is still not telling the truth."
"What is the truth?" Qiao Meng asked curiously.
"To be honest, I came to Ruxu mainly to look after my children, and the parents' meeting was just a by-product!" Zhou Yu explained with a smile.
Hearing Zhou Yu's joke, Qiao Meng couldn't help but laugh. But after thinking about it, Qiao Meng said to Zhou Yu, "You can't say that! After all, Xu Li's grades have improved by leaps and bounds under your guidance!"
"Xu Jiacheng can't thank you enough. For the sake of their Xu Li, he naturally wants to find a way to meet you so that you can pay more attention to their Xu Li, so that Xu Li's grades won't be like when he was in Jiahe No. 1 Middle School, where they improved but dropped again not long after!"
That's true. People who are parents and those who are not parents consider issues at different points in time.
Even a shrewd person like Xu Jiacheng still has a weakness after having a child? !
In other words, Zhou Yu is dedicated to his job and has a strong sense of teacher ethics. He has never thought of taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble. Otherwise, with the one year that Xu Li has been under his command, Zhou Yu could have controlled Xu Jiacheng however he wanted.
"Since the students are in my hands, there is no chance that their grades will continue to decline!" Zhou Yu seemed confident when it came to educating students. "Xu Li told me that his dream school is to be admitted to a Zhejiang University! Just wait and see. By this time next year, I will definitely make his dream come true!"
Qiao Meng liked to see Zhou Yu's confident look. She felt that Zhou Yu looked the most charming at this moment. So when she saw Zhou Yu's performance, Qiao Meng couldn't help but stare at him in a daze.
Zhou Yu did not notice Qiao Meng's abnormality, and continued to talk to himself with great interest, "In fact, according to what Xu Jiacheng said, face-to-face communication is also good! After all, many things are still limited on the phone. Face-to-face offline communication can still allow parents to fully understand the student's own problems, so that the school and parents can reasonably arrange and solve the student's daily life and study-related matters at school and at home!"
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