After Ye Qing got to work, he told Xiao Mei and the other two about the dinner treat. They all agreed with a smile, and Changlin's five colleagues and leaders also said they would come.
After work in the afternoon, Xiang Changlin went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two bottles of white wine, then went home and reported the number of people to Ye Qing and confirmed the people who would be having dinner. After dinner, the two began to discuss the menu. It didn't have to be too elaborate, just whatever was available would do. These days, the greatest sincerity when entertaining guests is to be able to fill their stomachs.
The next morning, Xiang Changlin went to work and Ye Qing started preparing food at home.
For meat dishes, we make braised potatoes and meat, and pork and sauerkraut stewed with vermicelli. For vegetarian dishes, we make spicy and sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried beans, stir-fried celery, and three fresh vegetables, with a smashed cucumber to relieve the greasiness. The soup is the seaweed egg drop soup that we ordered the night before.
Xiao Qingyun only left them a stove with a pot. It would definitely take too long to cook so many dishes, so the meat dishes and soup were all cooked directly in the space. They only started to stir-fry the dishes in the earthen pot at home when they saw that the time was almost up.
Afraid that he couldn't hear them knocking on the door, Ye Qing left a crack in the door so that they could just push the door open and come in.
“It smells so good!”
Xu Xiaomei and the other three arrived first. They smelled the fragrance before they even entered the door. Seeing that the door was not closed, they walked straight in.
Ye Qing was cooking the last dish. When he heard Xu Xiaomei's voice, he quickly stuck his head out and said, "You are here. Come in and sit down. There is only one dish left. We can't leave. Please don't be polite. I have poured water on the table."
"We're here to help."
The three of them did not sit and wait for the food. They found a place to put the food in their hands, washed their hands, and then started to help serve the dishes. They usually got along well with each other, so Ye Qing did not argue with them over such a small matter.
"Why do you bring food when I invite you to come over for dinner?"
Ye Qing felt a little embarrassed looking at the things they brought. He wanted to take this opportunity to express his gratitude to them for taking care of him for such a long time by inviting them to dinner.
"How can you come to your house empty-handed for the first time? This can be considered as your housewarming party. This is our housewarming gift."
Sun Dawei laughed and said, "Sister, your cooking skills are really good. They are even more delicious than those made by the chef in our cafeteria!"
No one would be unhappy to be praised. Ye Qing laughed twice, "Then you should eat more later. I also steamed a lot of buns."
"Okay, then I won't be polite with you. Your dish looks so good!"
Soon the last dish came out of the pot, and all eight dishes were served. Ye Qing had just set the table when Xiang Changlin walked in with his colleagues and leaders.
Ye Qing looked at them, each of them holding something in their hands, and thanked them again.
"Oh, what a coincidence?"
Xiao Mei didn't expect to meet her former blind date here.
"It's quite a coincidence."
Ma Guoqiang scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. This is the bad thing about going on too many blind dates. It is easy to run into acquaintances everywhere.
"Do you know each other?"
Ye Qing didn't expect it to be such a coincidence, but since they were both in the county, it was very likely that they knew each other.
Xiao Mei was very generous, "We have been on a blind date before."
"Really? That's quite a coincidence."
When the others heard that the two had been blind, they looked at them with mocking eyes.
"Sister-in-law, you made it too rich!"
Ma Guoqiang felt the gazes and quickly changed the subject. Looking at the huge table of food, his envy of Xiang Changlin increased even more. How could he have ended up with such a good wife?
"These are all home-cooked dishes. Don't be disgusted. Please take a seat."
"How can I dislike it? They are all delicious dishes. My mother usually doesn't even want to put this old meat in her sauerkraut stew."
Although the quantity of these eight dishes is not much for more than ten people, the portions are large enough to fill them up.
"Captain, please take a seat."
Among them, Xu Yingda was the oldest and held a higher position, so Xiang Changlin invited him to sit on the kang in the middle, while Xiang Changlin sat on the side to keep them company. The remaining male comrades including Ma Guoqiang and Sun Dawei sat on one side to drink, while the three female comrades including Ye Qing sat on the other side.
"Everyone, please start eating. Don't be shy and try my cooking."
Ye Qing smiled and asked everyone to eat. Xu Yingda took a bite of the spicy and sour potato shreds and nodded with a smile, "Xiao Ye, these potato shreds are well made. They are sour and spicy and very appetizing. The key is that they are crispy but not raw. They are delicious!"
"If you like, eat more. Come often in the future. Changlin can also drink a few cups with you."
“That’s a great feeling, hahaha!”
"Captain, I'll fill it up for you."
Xiang Changlin opened the bottle of wine and filled Xu Yingda's glass first, and then poured wine for Sun Dawei and others in turn.
With the wine, the atmosphere quickly became lively, but considering the presence of ladies, they didn't dare to chat too freely.
Ye Qing opened a bottle of soda for Xu Xiaomei and Xiao Mei respectively. It was specially bought for them to drink. Men drink, and women also have to drink something, otherwise it would feel like there is no atmosphere.
"They drink alcohol, we drink soda, let's have a drink!"
Ye Qing raised the bottle and clinked it with them, and the three of them drank happily.
"Qingqing, your cooking is so delicious, even better than my mom's. Please teach me how to make this stir-fried beans. It's spicy and numbing. I love it so much!"
It was the first time for Xu Xiaomei to eat stir-fried green beans. She usually eats fried or stewed ones and has never tasted this kind of flavor.
"I want it too! I also want to learn how to make spicy and sour potato shreds. My mom and I have tried it a few times but it was always overcooked. It's not as delicious as yours, and to save time, we usually just stew it."
"Okay, this is easy, but the dry-fried beans I made were fried in oil beforehand, which is quite oil-intensive. But I can teach you a version that saves oil."
"Yes, yes."
If frying is required, I guess my family wouldn’t be willing to let them make this dish. It’s better to save oil and not delay eating.
The three of them discussed cooking while eating, and the men also chatted and boasted.
Ye Qing and the other three were full, but the men hadn't finished drinking yet, so she just said hello and took them back to the east room to chat and talk about some private matters between women.
"Come, have some more snacks."
Ye Qing put the sunflower seeds on the table, and Xiao Mei said hurriedly, "Don't bother. You just had a full meal, so how can you have room for more?"
"Yeah, sit down and take a rest. It must be tiring for you to prepare so many dishes by yourself. I really can't do it."
Xu Xiaomei said this and gave her a thumbs up.
"I am a little tired, but I am happy to see you enjoying your meal."
Everyone said that the dishes he cooked were delicious, so Ye Qing felt that the hard work was worth it.
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