Chapter 24: Peaceful Years Full of Emotional Value
When they returned, the backpack was full. Zhou Yangze was carrying two bags in his hands, and Du Ningyou also carried some.
They first went home to put their things down, then took the newly bought vegetables and meat to find Sister Ai to learn how to cook. They had already contacted Sister Ai last night and would go directly there today.
When they arrived at Lao Zhao's house, they found that it had changed compared to the first day they had hot pot here. The yard was cleaned tidy, and there were several pots of golden chrysanthemums in full bloom. Strings of peppers and corn were hung under the eaves, and it was full of life at first glance.
Ai Jia and Chen Ziyou were tinkering with a water tank. Du Ningyou asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Chen Ziyou replied, "We're going to clean it up, dig some mud, and plant some water lilies. Sister Ai said we can even raise goldfish in it."
"Wow, Sister Ai really knows how to live life. Brother You, you and Sister Ai are so lucky to be together!"
"That's right, but aren't you also very happy to be in the same group with Zhou Yangze?" After accidentally ruining a good thing yesterday, he now has to work hard to improve the image of a good brother in the heart of Ning You's sister.
Du Ningyou laughed, "Hehe."
Aijia invited them into the house. The two put the food and gifts they brought on the table and then went to the kitchen.
Chen Ziyou pulled Zhou Yangze back and asked quietly, "Have you guys reconciled?"
"We never had a fight."
“…”
"Okay, then you two should..." Chen Ziyou touched his hands.
"not yet."
"But why do you seem to be in a good mood?"
Zhou Yangze chuckled and said, "We're not together yet, but we're on the verge of it."
"Oh~"
After entering the kitchen, Ai Jia looked at the ingredients they had bought. "I see you bought some meat and ribs. Today I'll teach you how to make three simple dishes: a stew, a stir-fry, and a soup. Once you learn these, you'll be able to handle basic home cooking."
"good."
Zhou Yangze took the apron and asked Du Ningyou to tie it on him, saying, "You don't have to learn, I'll learn. It only takes one of us to do it."
Du Ningyou was very touched, but still looked at him uncertainly: "Can you?"
"Of course I can. After all, my learning ability is a little better than yours."
"cut."
So Zhou Yangze started the actual sparring, and Du Ningyou also tied an apron and watched from the side, occasionally handing him some things.
Ai Jia first taught them how to stew pork ribs. "It's actually very simple. First, wash the ribs and blanch them in water. Then prepare the seasoning and side dishes, and then put them all in the casserole and stew..."
Sister Ai said it simply, but when Zhou Yangze actually put it into practice, he felt hesitant and flustered. The ribs were not washed yet, but the pot for blanching was already boiling. Sister Ai asked to pat the ginger, and then the whole kitchen was filled with "ding-ling-clang" sounds. Chen Ziyou poked his head in from the kitchen door, then retracted his neck with a "hiss", feeling that it was very dangerous inside.
Although the process was tortuous, I managed to stew the ribs on the stove, and then I started learning the second dish, stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
"I know. I need to wash and chop the meat, chili peppers, ginger, and garlic first, then put them in the pan and stir-fry them together."
"Yes, Mr. Zhou can draw inferences about other situations now."
Zhou Yangze went to see Du Ningyou happily, with an expression that looked like he was asking for praise. She did not disappoint him and immediately gave him a full emotional value: "Brother Aze is so awesome!"
Then I felt his invisible tail shaking even more vigorously.
When cutting peppers, Zhou Yangze felt a little uncomfortable in his eyes and subconsciously wanted to rub them with his hands. Du Ningyou quickly stopped him, "Wait, you just cut peppers, don't rub your eyes with your hands, I'll help you." Then she rubbed his eyes gently and blew on them.
"Are you feeling better?"
Zhou Yangze lowered his eyes and looked at her. His eyes were red and a little watery at the moment, but it couldn't hide the flickering light in them. Ai Jia, who was standing next to them, saw the two of them like this, frowned silently, and picked up a spoon to stir the ribs in the pot.
After Zhou Yangze prepared the dishes, Ai Jia took a look. She realized that her knife skills couldn't be improved in a short period of time, so she could only hold them to the lowest standard: "It doesn't matter if the cuts are uneven. The key is the taste."
"Yeah, I think so too."
So they started frying. When the oil was almost hot, Zhou Yangze stood far away, afraid that it would splash on him. At the same time, he protected Du Ningyou behind him. Ai Jia encouraged him, "It's okay, just put it down gently."
With a "sizzle" sound, the seasoning was put in, stir-fried twice and then the meat was added. Zhou Yangze turned his head to the side and stretched out his hand to barely operate the spatula. He dared to move closer only after the oil stopped splashing. However, after he stir-fried a few more times, he gradually mastered the rhythm.
The third dish was egg and spinach soup, which was not too difficult for Master Zhou, who could make fried rice with egg. The kitchen finally became much quieter. Chen Ziyou dared to walk in at this time and saw Zhou Yangze picking up a piece of lean meat and handing it to Du Ningyou's mouth, asking her to taste it.
She opened her mouth slightly and took the meat in, chewing it carefully. Then she gave a thumbs up and said with sparkling eyes, "Delicious!"
"Really? You're not trying to comfort me."
Then I tried a piece myself and found that the taste was okay except that the meat was a little dry. I immediately started to brag, "As expected of me, I made it so successfully on my first try."
Seeing that they were both fine after eating, Chen Ziyou also picked up his chopsticks and took a little to taste...
Well...how should I put it, it feels neither good nor bad. He has been spoiled by Sister Ai recently. Looking at the two people who seemed quite happy, he suddenly sighed in his heart that these two people were too easily satisfied.
After two or three hours of stumbling and struggling, lunch prepared by Chef Zhou was finally ready. In addition to the three dishes he made, Ai Jia also made a few side dishes and asked Lao Zhao to join in the meal.
Du Ningyou ate a big bowl of rice out of respect. Although Chen Ziyou thought it was just average, since it was made by Young Master Zhou himself, he had to order two bowls at least, and then show off to Song Mingyuan when he returned to Huaicheng.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a dark-skinned man, who looked no more than 26 or 27, walked into the yard, dragging a suitcase. He observed the flowers and plants in the yard for a while, then turned his gaze to the house. A light flickered in his originally calm eyes. He looked at Lao Zhao and said, "Dad, I'm home."
Ai Jia and Chen Ziyou didn't know this person, but they heard Lao Zhao mention him. He should be his son who worked outside. Zhou Yangze and Du Ningyou already knew this person when they were planning the program, but it was the first time they met him.
Old Zhao was very happy. He stood up from his stool and went to greet him. "A-Ming is back."
Ai Jia greeted him warmly: "This is Uncle Zhao's son, right? Come in and have dinner. I'll go to the kitchen to get you some dishes and chopsticks."
"No, no, I can do it myself."
"It's okay." Then he went into the kitchen.
Zhao Ming looked at the cameras around him and asked, "Are you recording a program? Then I..."
Zhou Yangze explained, "It's okay. I'm taking a break today, so I'm collecting some relaxing material." Then he extended his hand towards him, "Hello, I'm Zhou Yangze, the person in charge of this program."
Zhao Ming politely extended his hand back and shook hands, "Hello." His palms were covered with rough calluses, but they were very strong.
After dinner, Zhou Yangze and Zhao Ming sat on the bench at the door to discuss the recording of the program. They had roughly discussed it on the phone before, but they still had to discuss the specific matters of appearing on the show.
Zhao Ming pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He was halfway through when he remembered the camera. He paused and asked uncertainly, "Should I not smoke?"
"It doesn't matter, it won't be included in the post-editing."
"Oh, okay." Then she handed him one.
Zhou Yangze waved his hand to refuse, "Thank you, but I don't smoke."
Zhao Ming withdrew his hand awkwardly, thinking, that's right, these people would never smoke such cheap cigarettes as his.
Zhou Yangze seemed to understand his thoughts and explained, "There was a girl next to me who couldn't stand the smell of cigarettes, so I didn't smoke."
"Oh, I see."
Zhou Yangze then asked, "We'll start recording the theme of the ecological farm tomorrow. You should be in a group with Sister Ai and Chen Ziyou, but it's up to you. Is there any problem with you starting the recording tomorrow?"
"No problem, I have no problem starting the recording today."
"Haha, that's good." Zhou Yangze smiled and said, "Don't worry, with our participation this time, the ecological farm will definitely be built."
"Of course I feel more at ease with you guys participating. It's better than me being alone back then."
Zhao Ming is a man with a story to tell. He was the first graduate from Shiqiaozhai to be admitted to a top university. After graduation, he returned to his hometown and enthusiastically started an eco-farm. However, his lack of experience and enthusiasm led to his first venture failing, leaving him with a mountain of debt. His family had previously been relatively well off, but after the failure of his venture, he sold everything he could to pay off his debts, but it was only a drop in the bucket, and he still owed over 500,000 yuan.
Later, he chose to go to the city to work. He was willing to do any dirty and tiring work. In order to get triple salary during the Spring Festival, he did not return to his hometown during the Spring Festival. Now, three years have passed and he finally returned. It was not until the program crew contacted him and said that he wanted to record the program that he rushed back.
After staying at Old Zhao's house for a whole morning, Zhou Yangze and Du Ningyou prepared to go back. They brought some stewed pork ribs back for Grandma and Xiaodou. In addition, Ai Jia also gave them a piece of smoked meat, which smelled very fragrant.
After returning home and putting the things in the refrigerator, Zhou Yangze took out the half-carved wooden hairpin from the room. He was going to find Carpenter Chen to continue learning, and asked Du Ningyou if he wanted to go.
"Go ahead, let's go visit Sister Qiang's house again."
When they arrived at Carpenter Chen's house, they saw Jiang Lingfei chopping wood, Su Qiang and Wen Ni learning bamboo weaving from Carpenter Chen, and a big yellow dog running around in the yard, occasionally teasing the calico cat lying in the chair, but the cat ignored it.
"Sister Qiang, we're here to visit."
"Oh, Xiao Ningyou is here." Seeing that Zhou Yangze was holding something in his hand, he stood up immediately, "You guys are really something, you just come and bring gifts." However, his hands honestly took the meat and fruit.
Du Ningyou said with a smile: "We went to town this morning and bought a lot of things, so we brought some for you."
"We also went to the market today, why didn't we run into you?"
"We left around eight and came back around ten."
"Oh, no wonder, we didn't leave until around ten."
After giving the items to Su Qiang, Zhou Yangze took out the wooden box containing the hairpin and walked over to Carpenter Chen to ask for advice on carving techniques. Du Ningyou approached the calico cat next to him, picked it up, and sat down in the chair himself. He placed the calico cat on his lap, petted its head and scratched its neck, and immediately heard a purring sound.
Wen Ni glanced at Zhou Yangze not far away. She no longer had any thoughts about him. After this period of time, she could see that she could not get involved between him and Du Ningyou. However, she still felt some natural jealousy in her heart, jealous of the confidence and brightness of being favored.
Su Qiang went into the kitchen and cut the watermelon, and pushed Carpenter Chen's wife out to bask in the sun. A group of people were eating watermelons and chatting and laughing in the yard. The warm summer sun shone through the woods, and the time was peaceful.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
