Regardless of what Aunt Liu thought, Bai Nuo kicked her out without saying a word. After kicking her out, Bai Nuo started making dinner.
There were plenty of mushrooms at home, so Bai Nuo used all the chicken she bought to make chicken soup. The mushroom chicken soup simmered for about half an hour before the chicken was taken out, chopped into pieces, and minced with garlic and scallions to make garlic and scallion oil, which she then used to dip the chicken in.
The fish was steamed, and the spare ribs were braised.
Because Hu Mingmei is an asthma patient, and he had invited people over for dinner, he couldn't cook anything too stimulating, so the few meat dishes he made were all mild.
Bai Nuo still planned to steam the remaining egg and eggplant.
Take out five eggs, add warm water and beat them. After adding salt and oil, Bai Nuo skimmed off the foam from the egg mixture and put it in a pot to steam over high heat. Once the egg mixture solidified, the steamed egg custard was ready.
Wash the eggplant, cut it in half, put it in a large plate, steam it until it softens, then set it aside to cool. Tear it into small strips by hand, mince the garlic and the chili peppers that have been dried for two days, put them in the eggplant strips, drizzle in soy sauce and oil, add salt and mix well. The cold eggplant salad is ready.
After Bai Nuo finished preparing all the dishes, she called Bai Yu over and brought them over one by one. When she first arrived, Aunt Liu was sitting behind the old woman with her head down, and the two of them were talking about something.
"Dinner's ready!" Bai Nuo said calmly. "A Yu, come help serve the dishes!"
Bai Nuo and Bai Yu together brought all the food to the table. When they sat down, Aunt Liu was still sitting on the side and didn't dare to sit at the table.
Bai Nuo remained silent, and Hu Mingmei, as a guest, was even less likely to speak. The old woman and Bai Yu looked at Aunt Liu strangely, "Auntie, come and eat!"
Bai Yu spoke first, and the old woman also looked at Aunt Liu, then noticed that Aunt Liu was carefully watching Bai Nuo's expression.
"Hey! Let's talk about it after dinner!" the old woman said immediately upon seeing the situation. "Nono, don't you think so?"
"Of course!" Bai Nuo said calmly, looking at Aunt Liu, and said slowly and deliberately, "Auntie, come and eat. We can talk about anything after dinner. Don't be afraid, we can handle anything."
"Come and eat!" the old woman nudged Aunt Liu and said with a smile, "At your age, are you still too shy to ask for food?"
Aunt Liu smiled sheepishly and then leaned closer.
"This is mushroom chicken soup!" Seeing that everyone was seated, Bai Nuo filled a bowl with soup for Hu Mingmei and said politely, "I picked the mushrooms myself, then dried them for two days until they were half-dried before cooking them. Try it, I don't know what you like to eat!"
Then Bai Nuo filled a bowl for Bai Yu and the old woman, and also filled one for Aunt Liu, saying, "Auntie, here you go!"
Aunt Liu nervously accepted the chicken soup and thanked her softly, "Thank you, young lady!"
After everyone had a bowl of chicken soup, Hu Mingmei took a spoonful and said politely, "It's delicious!"
Bai Nuo felt Hu Mingmei's sincere gaze and heard Hu Mingmei say, "The chicken soup is sweet and not greasy, and the mushrooms are very fragrant. It must have been a lot of trouble for you to make such delicious chicken soup."
This wave of commercial hype made Bai Nuo very satisfied.
After dinner, Aunt Liu took the initiative to clear the dishes, and Bai Nuo didn't stop her. Only after Aunt Liu had disappeared from sight did the old woman ask, "Nuo Nuo, what happened to Aunt Liu? Did you quarrel with her?"
"No, she stole an egg and I saw her. She said she didn't eat lunch and was so hungry that she did it!" Bai Nuo said casually, her eyes fixed on Bai Yu. "Did you spill all the porridge at lunchtime today?"
"It was knocked over by accident!" Bai Nuo's gaze was stern. Bai Yu dared not lie and had no choice but to say directly, "We all ate it, except for Aunt Liu."
"Maybe she was really too hungry to stand it anymore?" the old woman said calmly. "It's all my fault. I made A-Yu pour me water, so A-Yu accidentally knocked the bowl over. Sigh, Nuonuo, if what she said is true, then she really wasn't lying. Just think about it, she's such a big person, she'd be starving if she didn't eat a meal. Why don't you just not punish her?"
"I didn't punish her!" Bai Nuo said with a faint smile. "She was probably frightened by me. I'll talk to her about it later!"
Seeing that Bai Nuo didn't say anything, Bai Yu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Hu Mingmei was still sitting on the side, he immediately ran over and leaned on Hu Mingmei's shoulder, "Brother, are you spending the night here tonight? Will Brother Lu Ying come tomorrow?"
Oh no!
Hu Mingmei is also here!
Bai Nuo has completely forgotten about them! He invited them over for dinner, and it's so late now, he still hasn't taken them home.
"No, thank you!" Hu Mingmei said calmly. "I have matters to attend to at home and need to return. Miss Bai, thank you for your hospitality! I might need to borrow your carriage!"
"No problem!" Bai Nuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and said sheepishly, "I'll take you home with Aunt Liu later."
Hu Mingmei then said to Bai Yu, "Brother Lu Ying won't be coming tomorrow, but I can ask him to come see you when he gets back!"
Bai Yu then reluctantly got up.
"Oh, right!" Hu Mingmei said to Bai Nuo with a smile, "Miss Bai, here's a picture book for you. I think you might need it."
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