Chapter 152 No one could know the sense of redemption Xiao Hei felt the moment he lifted the pot lid; it smelled so good…
No one could know the sense of redemption Xiao Hei felt the moment it lifted the pot lid. The aroma was simply too enticing; it squatted by the door, its saliva already drooling uncontrollably. But then it remembered that it wasn't just any dog, but a descendant of the Celestial Hound—how could it do something so shameful? So Xiao Hei sucked its saliva back down.
Its tail wagged rapidly behind it, and with its bloodline as a celestial hound, it was certain that this pot of braised pork was an absolute delicacy!
He Zhao took out a disposable lunchbox. Her family had a lot of food, and today, because the toppings and noodles were served separately, she gave Xiao Hei an extra one. The food for the two of them was placed on a plate, while Xiao Hei's portion was placed separately in the disposable lunchbox.
Not a drop of the braised pork broth was wasted; a single scoop was used to coat every portion of noodles.
After doing all that, He Zhao gestured with her lips, indicating that Qiao Yanyu should take out her two portions of noodles. Then she placed a poached egg on top of Xiao Hei's noodles and carried both portions to the dining table. She first poured Xiao Hei's noodles into Xiao Hei's special dog bowl.
She knew that Xiao Hei wasn't an ordinary dog; although it looked small, it was actually quite large. So, instead of using a small dog bowl, she deliberately chose a larger one. Even the noodles in Xiao Hei's bowl were more than those in hers and Qiao Yanyu's.
Of course, this only applies to giving Xiao Hei a little more noodles; it's impossible for him to get more braised pork.
After pouring the noodles into the dog bowl and filling it to the brim, she put the braised pork down. But Xiao Hei seemed a little anxious, nudging the ground twice with its head next to the disposable lunchbox containing the braised pork. He Zhao didn't understand what it meant at first, but after watching for a while, she realized: it wanted to pour the braised pork into the dog bowl itself.
He Zhaoyi did as it asked, pouring the braised pork into the dog's bowl. The reddish-brown pork, along with more broth, entered the bowl, staining the noodles the same color. Little Black was satisfied, staring intently at the bowl, waiting to eat.
But Xiao Hei was a polite little dog; it knew that He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu hadn't started eating yet, so it couldn't start first. He Zhao watched, increasingly impressed, "What a good dog!" Hearing He Zhao's praise, Xiao Hei proudly raised its tail.
Seeing its obedient appearance, He Zhao's fear of its true form disappeared, and he even boldly reached out and stroked the puppy's head. Knowing that He Zhao was its benefactor, Xiao Hei immediately snuggled up to her and rubbed its head against her palm.
Qiao Yanyu fell silent upon seeing this.
In reality, many investigators in the Countermeasures Bureau brought things for Xiao Hei, but very few of them actually got along well with him. Some investigators who wanted to adopt Xiao Hei took good care of him for a while and bought him lots of delicious food, but Xiao Hei remained disdainful and contemptuous.
Only Wang Yu was one of the investigators who got along relatively well with Xiao Hei.
Qiao Yanyu always felt that the reason Wang Yu and Xiao Hei got along so well was because Wang Yu was also quite dog-like. It's only natural that the two dogs could play together so well.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Hei, whom everyone in the Countermeasures Bureau couldn't bribe, is now actively trying to please He Zhao. If the investigators saw this, they would probably be shocked.
After He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu sat down and started eating, Xiao Hei also began to dig in. It's a dog that doesn't like to wait, and the fact that it waited so long was entirely out of respect for He Zhao. When it was time to eat, its mouth went straight for the braised pork.
A dog's teeth are much sharper than a human's, and its mouth is quite large. It embedded a piece of meat in its teeth, then picked it up and gulped it down. Little Black didn't rush to swallow it; instead, it savored it carefully. Simply because He Zhao's braised pork was truly worthwhile.
Even a small dog like this could taste the uniqueness of He Zhao's braised pork. Take the outermost layer of skin, for example. Even though it had a hole in it from the dog's teeth, the rest of the skin wasn't damaged; instead, it was very firm. Along with the firmness, it also had a chewy texture; that bouncy feel came from the collagen in the skin.
The skin wasn't tough either; it melted in the dog's mouth with just a slight touch. The layer of fat underneath melted away too. Next came the lean meat. The lean meat wasn't dry, it had a bit of chewiness, but it wouldn't get stuck in a dog's teeth—of course, a dog's teeth are big enough that they couldn't get it stuck anyway.
Not to mention the taste. Xiao Hei is a dog, and it's hard to describe it. But if you asked Xiao Hei, it would go three days without eating just for this braised pork. Xiao Hei narrowed its eyes, clearly captivated by the aroma of the braised pork. Its eating speed slowed down considerably, as if afraid of finishing the whole thing too quickly.
After eating two pieces, it still had the leisure to move on to the noodles. Xiao Hei wasn't initially very interested in the noodles, but with the braised pork broth poured over them, it couldn't possibly be too bad. So Xiao Hei thought, it wouldn't stoop to leaving any noodles uneaten and make He Zhao think it was a picky, bad dog.
It buried its mouth directly in its rice bowl, slurping as it ate. It hadn't had high expectations for the noodles, but after taking a bite, it instantly realized they weren't like the noodles it had eaten before. The Countermeasures Bureau didn't have a canteen, so those who tried to please it bought the noodles from outside.
Even the best noodles will become mushy and lose all chewiness if they're kept simmering for too long, absorbing too much moisture. Besides, many restaurants nowadays use machines to make noodles, or even pre-cooked dishes, which means the noodles really lack soul.
Xiao Hei had only taken a few bites of noodles when he realized they were quite different; none of the noodles he'd eaten before could compare. The flour, thoroughly kneaded, released an irresistible aroma of rice and wheat upon entering his mouth. There was also a hint of egg flavor, and the simple yet flavorful broth, infused with braised pork, made Xiao Hei utterly irresistible.
It ate the noodles much faster than the braised pork, because there were clearly a lot of noodles—a whole big bowl—while there were only a few pieces of braised pork. So, with the thought that "there are plenty of noodles," Little Black ate for a long time, slurping and puffing.
When the noodles were almost gone, Little Black suddenly realized that even noodles would be finished quickly if it ate them at this pace. Towards the end, Little Black switched to a slow, chewing motion. Unfortunately, no matter how slowly it ate, it still finished them all.
Oh, not all of them, there are still some left.
Xiao Hei is a picky eater. It finished all the braised pork, noodles, eggs, and even the noodle soup, but left only the side dishes of greens and a few scallions. It thought it had done a great job; before, when others gave it food, it would only eat a few bites and then stop. But now, it was such a good boy, leaving only some of the unappetizing greens.
Little Black wagged its tail and trotted over to He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu. It plopped down in front of He Zhao, tilted its head back, and looked at him with starry eyes. Its little tail swayed back and forth, as if trying to show He Zhao how well-behaved it was.
He Zhao noticed that Xiao Hei had come over, looked down at its bowl, and found that it was being picky about food.
This family cannot tolerate picky eaters! One picky eater like myself is enough! He Zhao said coldly, "Go and eat your vegetables. Don't leave any leftovers." Afraid that her simple words wouldn't be threatening enough, she added, "If you don't eat, I won't cook you anything delicious anymore. I'll only feed you dog food."
At that moment, it was like a bolt from the blue for Xiao Hei. It whimpered, and seeing that there was no room for maneuver with He Zhao, it could only dejectedly walk back, grumbling as it ate all the vegetables. But these vegetables were much tastier than it had imagined, especially fresh, with the unique sweetness of greens.
But Xiao Hei still prefers to eat meat.
Xiao Hei licked the dog bowl again, and instantly it became so clean it was practically reflecting light, even cleaner than the bowl Wang Yu had used after eating. Clearly, a fake dog can't compare to a real one.
No matter how clean Xiao Hei licks the dog bowl, it still needs to be washed.
The task of washing the dishes naturally fell to Qiao Yanyu, even though she hadn't rested for a day and a night. He Zhao wasn't the type to sacrifice herself completely. She knew Qiao Yanyu was already very tired, but in the past, because Qiao Yanyu was busy, He Zhao had always done the cooking and washing the dishes by herself.
Having finally caught Qiao Yanyu at home, there was no way she could escape this opportunity.
He Zhao has always believed that if only one person is making sacrifices in a relationship, the relationship won't last, and he has always taken this very seriously. If he really can't find the time, He Zhao is willing to take on more, but he won't roll up his sleeves and tell Qiao Yanyu to go rest just because she feels tired, even when Qiao Yanyu is clearly present.
Qiao Yanyu understood this principle, and she also felt sorry for He Zhao always doing these housework by himself, so she took the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen.
He Zhao was still a little worried that Qiao Yanyu might be overworked, so he followed behind her, leaning against the door frame, and asked some small questions to distract her: "Sister Qiao, when you asked those ghosts today, did you get the same answers as Grandma?"
Qiao Yanyu was rolling up her sleeves, running water, cleaning up the leftover food from the dishes, and putting them into the dishwasher. Hearing He Zhao's question, she nodded: "Yes, it's the same as what Grandma said."
The answer we have now is that only the Mud Ghost and the Child Ghost are somewhat different. They may have already made contact with the Tonghuan Society without even realizing it.
Putting the dishes and utensils in the dishwasher doesn't mean the work is done; there's still a lot to do in the kitchen, especially the food preparation area and the stove area. Qiao Yanyu was wiping things down with a rag. He Zhao watched for a while, making sure Qiao Yanyu was in good spirits, before turning around, leaving the kitchen, and taking Xiao Hei directly into the living room.
He Zhao found a place to sit, pulled over a small cart of pet supplies, and took out some wet wipes from it.
Xiao Hei instinctively tucked its tail between its legs and looked at He Zhao with a pitiful expression.
It is more intelligent than other dogs; you can tell what it means just by looking at its eyes: What do you want to do?
"Of course, I'll clean you up!"
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