Chapter 28 Breakfast
The next morning, just after daybreak, wisps of smoke began to rise from the chimney of the kitchen in the courtyard. The aroma of food quietly spread and penetrated into the two silent bedrooms on the first floor like a hook.
After a while, a chicken coop hair and a...boiled egg hair appeared.
Qi Xiaopang and Ai Chan opened the door sleepily, and like zombies, they dragged their feet and sniffed their way towards the source of the fragrance.
In the kitchen, Qing Bai sat behind the brick stove that had never been used since he moved here. From time to time, he stuffed a few dry branches that he had found from somewhere into the stove. The fire burned very brightly, the flames flickered, and occasionally two crackling sounds of burning branches came from the stove. A large old-fashioned steamer was placed on the stove, and the tempting aroma was emanating from the steamer.
Qing Bai turned around and glanced at the two people slovenly crowding around the kitchen door, craning their necks to peer inside. He frowned and said, "Why don't you go wash up? I've steamed some buns and porridge. Breakfast will be in ten minutes."
It was such a peaceful and homely morning... Fat Qi rubbed his puffy eyes in disbelief and said in a shocked voice, "Brother, can you light a fire? Can you cook?"
"Yes, I can burn and cook." Qing Bai answered perfunctorily, because the back of his hand was gently tapped by a hairy paw - this was reminding him that the firewood in the stove was about to burn to the stove mouth, and he had to quickly push the firewood inside.
Qing Bai was sitting on a long bench with low legs. Although his long legs felt a little cramped, it was long enough to accommodate a person and a cat who had to sit in a row because it was inconvenient to hold the cat while cooking and adding firewood. Mainly people.
The black cat had been squatting on the stool, staring at the knife when Qing Bai was cutting vegetables, and staring at the fire when he was lighting the fire. Now, when he heard someone talking, he didn't turn around, but stared at the stove intently. As long as the firewood inside showed the slightest sign of falling out, he would meow or raise his paw to pat Qing Bai's hand. He didn't look like a kitten accompanying humans, but more like a serious supervisor... or a cat that was worried about the child getting hurt and didn't dare to miss a moment of its supervision...
It was so obvious, so unconcealed, even if Qing Bai was blind he could have noticed that the cat was overly worried about him. What's more, he was not blind, not only that he was not blind, but he also had a good memory. Considering the word "cub" last night, what else was there that he didn't understand?
He is being looked after like a little kid.
After figuring it out, Qing Bai was no longer annoyed, but his hands became more and more clumsy and careless in their work - they did not rinse or wipe the used kitchen knives, nor put them back into the knife holder, but just left them on the edge of the table with the blade facing outwards.
The porcelain bowls used to mix the dough and put the dishes were washed in time, but they were stacked crookedly like a tall tower, which would collapse completely if touched lightly.
The firewood in the stove would not be pushed in until it reached the stove mouth, leaving the firelight dim and the firewood hanging precariously at the stove mouth...
So the person who cooked this meal was Qing Bai, but the one who was the busiest and most worried was the black cat, who didn't dare to look away for a moment.
…
"Is it really that surprising that Qing Bai can cook?" Ai Chan held a gift wash cup with a toothpaste brand logo on it in one hand, and patted Qi Xiaopang's back with the other hand, as he brushed himself to death because he was so engrossed in his thoughts.
Qi Xiaopang's mouth was full of toothpaste foam. He was burping violently and rolling his eyes. It was unclear whether the two physiological tears on his face were burped or rolled out.
After stopping his dry heaves, Qi Xiaopang managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You don't understand..."
Qi Xiaopang wasn't surprised that Qing Bai could cook, even though he hadn't known about it before. After all, there was a cafeteria inside the school, takeout restaurants outside, and even fast food. So even though they had known each other for four years, there was no way or need to know that Qing Bai had this skill that was essential for home and travel.
But what a talent his brother Qing is! Even if he pulled out a chef's certificate from his pocket, Fatty Qi would just clap his hands and yell "Awesome!" and would never doubt its authenticity.
He was surprised that Qing Bai would get up so early in the morning, starting from before daybreak, kneading the dough, letting it rest, mixing the stuffing, boiling water, and cooking the porridge... just for a few buns and a few bowls of porridge?
His brother Qing is not the kind of person who is suitable for family life!
Alumni who were not familiar with Qing Bai said that he was aloof and aloof male god. Only those in their dormitory 444 knew that he was not "aloof" because he was aloof, but because he was "lazy", not "lazy" in the conventional sense.
I don’t sign up for any clubs and I’m too lazy to participate in activities.
Don't participate in the competition and don't bother to compete.
I don’t take the initiative to make friends with people other than roommates and I’m too lazy to socialize.
He doesn't accept any requests from girls or boys to communicate privately, and is too lazy to refuse confessions of love.
…
The members of dormitory 444 once secretly discussed this when Qing Bai was not in the dormitory. If Qing Bai was given a choice between the fasting pills that tasted bland but could satisfy hunger and the full banquet that was colorful, fragrant and you could eat it with ease, Qing Bai would definitely choose the fasting pills without hesitation. The reason was that the fasting pills could be eaten in one bite, while the full banquet, although fragrant, had to be eaten bite by bite, which was troublesome.
His brother Qing is just like that. He would never write down his thoughts in detail if he could just write down the answer to a problem. He would never queue up for delicious food if he could finish his meal as quickly as possible. He would rather lie in bed for one more minute in the morning than go to the classroom on time every day than set the alarm clock a little earlier. The words "eat and wait for death, muddle through" are written all over his body. He is an indifferent young man without any interest in life.
Qi Xiaopang dared to bet that after so many days of moving here, his brother Qing's room upstairs must still be the same as it was at the beginning... at most he had made a bed, and maybe he hadn't even taken out all the things in the suitcase.
"Does keeping a pet change a person so much..." Qi Xiaopang looked across the dining table at Qing Bai, who was holding a cat in one hand and feeding the cat the boiled egg yolks that he had broken into small pieces with the other hand, without any bother. His voice was as low as a mosquito, and his expression was indescribable.
Qing Bai raised his eyes in the midst of his busy schedule and glanced at Qi Xiaopang, who hadn't touched his chopsticks. "Not to your liking?"
"No, no! It's perfect! It's especially delicious!" Afraid that Qing Bai would misunderstand, Fat Qi quickly explained, "It's just a little hot. I'll let it cool down before eating."
The buns are made with mushrooms and vegetables, and the porridge is pumpkin porridge. The vegetables and pumpkin were both sent by Uncle Li. They are fresh and sweet. Just a little seasoning makes them fragrant enough to pull people out of bed. How can they not suit your appetite?
Hearing Qi Xiaopang say this, Qing Bai said nothing more. He lowered his eyes and prepared to peel the third boiled egg. The black cat on his lap, which had been feeding him the egg yolk and eating it without dropping any food residue on Qing Bai, suddenly raised its paw and gently pressed Qing Bai's hand.
"Don't you want to eat the egg yolk?" Qing Bai put down the boiled egg and asked softly, "Do you want to have another bun?"
The black cat didn't make a sound, it just jumped lightly from Qing Bai's lap to the chair next to it without making any noise.
After jumping out, she stared at him motionlessly with the same look she had used when she was staring at Qing Bai cooking and lighting the fire in the kitchen.
Are you supervising him while he eats?
Qing Bai smiled, poured himself a bowl of pumpkin porridge, and poured all the remaining egg whites from feeding the cat into it. He said in a light tone, "It just so happens that I don't like egg yolks... Let's keep it this way from now on. You eat the egg yolks and I'll eat the egg whites. Happy cooperation."
Qi Xiaopang: "..." Brother Qing, you actually have something you don't like to eat? Then every time you ordered food out or brought food from the cafeteria and were asked about dietary restrictions and what you wanted to eat, who was it that said 'whatever'?
The black cat swung its tail modestly, its light golden eyes still staring at Qing Bai.
Qing Bai finished eating the egg whites under the black cat's focused gaze and couldn't help but ask again, "Are you really not going to eat another bun? Are two egg yolks enough?"
Qi Xiaopang had a slight toothache. It was clearly breakfast for three people, but Brother Qing was so close to his cat, as if no one was around... He even wanted to ask Zhiliao if there was any mention in the legends about creatures like Lingxi, and whether they had cat tendencies.
"Cats can't eat buns, right? It seems that if there are too many seasonings, they will lose their hair." Qi Xiaopang couldn't help but say it.
Qing Bai glanced at Qi Xiaopang and said nothing.
Qi Xiaopang thought his brother's eyes looked odd, but he couldn't put his finger on what. Since he'd already started, he just kept rambling, "Speaking of which, this cat is really beautiful. It's big, and its fur is so smooth. It should be a purebred cat, right? It looks a bit like a Maine Coon or a Norwegian Forest Cat? But neither of those seem to be pure black. Could it be..."
"Isn't it a string?"
cat:"……"
Qing Bai: “…”
I haven't really thought about this question.
The more Qi Xiaopang thought about it, the more it made sense. Although he had never raised a cat, he often watched cats online, and had watched all kinds of beautiful and handsome cats. Although the shape and fluffy long hair of this black cat were somewhat similar to those of Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat, he remembered that the long hair of Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat would have some gray in it, and he had never seen a pure black one... Fortunately, this cat had long hair. If it had short hair, he wouldn't have to worry so much and could just treat it as a black panther.
However... although I don't think Brother Qing is the type of person who would be obsessed with whether a cat is purebred or not, what if he would mind after awakening his 'cat slave' attribute?
Thinking of this, Qi Xiaopang suddenly felt that his words had been hasty, and quickly made amends, "But Chuan Chuan cats don't have any genetic diseases! They don't get sick easily! They're easy to raise!"
While the two were feeding the cat and arguing with each other, Ai Chan, who had finished four steamed buns and two bowls of pumpkin porridge in one breath, finally put down his bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction and said, "This cat is not a Chuan Er, and it is certainly not a Maine Coon or a Norwegian Forest Cat."
"You know him?" Fat Qi was a little surprised.
Qing Bai also looked at Ai Chan, wanting to see what the monk would say.
Ai Chan smiled and said, "I know a few legends about cats."
Qi Xiaopang became interested and urged, "What legend?"
Ai Chan lowered her voice in a mysterious tone, "If we talk about the most famous and powerful cats in our country, they would definitely be the Jinhua cat and the Jianzhou cat..."
As he was listening, his knees suddenly felt warm. Qing Bai looked back and saw the big fluffy and soft tail covering his knees, and the black cat was tilting its head and looking at him with its beautiful light golden eyes. When their eyes met, the black cat meowed softly.
"Hurry up and eat, the porridge is getting cold."
Qing Baitou lowered his head even lower, leaned close to Black Cat's ear, and whispered, "Okay...we won't listen to this monk's nonsense."
No matter how famous and powerful the Jinhua cat or the Jianzhou cat is, it cannot compare to this fake cat.
The black cat sat there motionless, but its ears, which had been standing upright for a long time, slowly lowered... and became the legendary airplane ears.
Qing Bai didn't listen, but Qi Xiaopang listened intently, and even after listening, he was genuinely worried: "...Brother Qing, how about we take the cat to the veterinary hospital?"
"What are you looking at?"
Qi Xiaopang chuckled and said, "Go see a doctor. Let's check what breed this cat is. Then, deworm it and vaccinate it...it's good for the cat!"
Be nicer to others...
Since there are ghosts in this world, isn't it normal for cats to become spirits? The key is that this cat is not simple at first glance. If it is a Jianzhou cat, it's nothing, but if it is a Jinhua cat...
Qi Xiaopang unconsciously looked at the well in the yard, thinking that it would be better to find a larger stone slab to cover the well mouth later... After all, 'Every time I go to someone's house, I first drown in the water. If someone accidentally drinks this water, I will disappear...'
He didn't want to drink cat urine.
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