Jiang Yuan stopped washing the vegetables, tossed them to Jiang Zhiyuan, then moved a stool and sat at the kitchen doorway, gazing longingly inside, swallowing her saliva repeatedly.
Her hands are capable of using the fastest knife to cut the thickest skin and tying the most skillful knots, but they can't cook.
Before, when I was at Gujia, I ate in the canteen most of the time, either the compound canteen or the hospital canteen.
When Fang Dani and her family first arrived at the Gu family's house, Fang Dani was the one who cooked. Later, they asked a distant relative of Fang Dani's to cook.
Fang Dani and her relative cooked in a way that suited Gu Yong and the rest of the Gu family, but not her or her two sons' tastes.
Despite Jiang Yuan's gentle and mild-mannered nature, typical of a southern woman, she is still a remarkable woman.
When I was a military doctor, I traveled all over the country with the army. I spent a few years in Sichuan Province and I can eat a lot of spicy food.
However, after leaving Sichuan Province, I rarely had the chance to eat spicy food.
The spicy flavor of Xu Ningyan's food today awakened the craving for spicy food that had been dormant in her stomach for decades.
Although eating hot pot was a hasty decision, and resources were not so abundant in those days.
Xu Ningyan searched through the kitchen's stock, but in the end she could only gather two plates of sliced mutton, one plate of cured meat, one plate of soaked daylily, and one plate of soaked vermicelli, shiitake mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, potato slices, winter melon slices, green vegetables, and radishes.
Two condiment dishes were also prepared: one with sesame paste and the other with garlic and sesame oil.
However, Jiang Zhixing returned not long after, with a snakeskin bag tied to the back of his bicycle. He opened it like a treasure, and inside was a piece of beef and a piece of pork belly, weighing about one or two pounds each.
Jiang Zhixing presented the meat to Xu Ningyan like a precious treasure: "Sister-in-law, how can we have hot pot without meat! Is this enough?"
Xu Ningyan was surprised that Jiang Zhixing had this skill. She gave him a thumbs up, then took the meat and went into the kitchen. Not long after, she sliced it into thin slices and brought it out.
A coal stove and a small red clay charcoal stove were set up, and soon the hot pot broth was bubbling away, filling the entire courtyard with its aroma.
The four of them sat around the table. Only Xu Ningyan, who was not fully recovered, could eat mushroom soup. The other three went to eat spicy hot pot.
Dip beef, lamb, and pork belly into the bubbling, bright red spicy broth for a quick dip, then take them out and dip them in a sesame sauce or garlic oil sauce. The spicy, numbing, and fragrant flavor is simply irresistible.
Jiang Yuan, in particular, seemed to be the weakest of the three, but she turned out to be the one who could eat the spiciest food.
Towards the end, both Jiang Zhiyuan and his brother couldn't take it anymore and switched to eating mushroom soup, while Jiang Yuan only ate spicy soup from beginning to end.
All the dishes prepared were eaten by the four of us. Finally, we added two handfuls of noodles to the mushroom soup pot before we were all satisfied.
They rubbed their bellies, leaned back in their chairs, and didn't want to move.
Once Jiang Yuan calmed down a bit, she kicked her two sons to clean up the mess.
The brothers Jiang Zhiyuan and Jiang Zhixing dared not utter a word of dissent and obediently tidied up the mess.
Jiang Zhixing couldn't help but pull Jiang Zhiyuan to wash the dishes in the cement sink by the kitchen door, and whispered, "Brother, why do I feel like my sister-in-law is my mother's biological daughter, and you're just a live-in son-in-law?"
If the two brothers didn't look alike, Jiang Zhixing would have seriously doubted that Xu Ningyan was actually Jiang Yuan's son.
Jiang Zhiyuan ignored him and stood firmly to the side, carefully washing the pots and pans.
Jiang Yuan, with her sharp ears, heard this and glared at him: "Second brother, you're right! What's the use of having a son? I've raised you for over twenty years, and who has ever cooked me a single meal? Who has ever gone shopping with me? Besides making me angry and causing trouble that makes me worry, what good things have you ever done?"
"Your brother is one thing, at least he found Mom a beautiful and lovable daughter-in-law like Xiaoyan! And you? You're almost thirty and still don't have a girlfriend! You—"
Jiang Zhixing said with a bitter face, "Mom, I'm only twenty-one this year, how come I'm almost thirty? My brother is almost thirty, okay?"
Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow: "You're almost thirty now that you're over twenty, right? So what if your brother's thirty? He has a wife! What do you have?"
Jiang Zhixing grinned and said, "Do I have the nerve to stand here?"
Jiang Yuan laughed in anger: "Get out of here! Just looking at you makes me angry! With your character, I don't know which girl is unlucky enough to fall for you!"
Jiang Zhixing chuckled: "It's best if no one takes a liking to me! I don't want to find a partner anyway! I have my older brother and sister-in-law, they'll give me two nephews and nieces in the future, and they can take care of me in my old age too!"
These words were half true and half false. Although it sounded like a joke, Xu Ningyan didn't think Jiang Zhixing was joking.
She couldn't help but glance at Jiang Zhixing again.
Jiang Yuan, however, didn't notice. Perhaps she had heard Jiang Zhixing make such jokes too many times, because she spat out, "You wish!"
When the mother and son start arguing, no one else can get a word in edgewise.
Xu Ningyan suppressed her initial discovery and watched with a smile from the side.
After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, and cleaning up the mess, we brewed a pot of chrysanthemum tea.
Everyone sat in the courtyard, drinking tea and chatting, enjoying a rare moment of leisure and comfort.
It took Jiang Yuan a while to remember: "Boss, Xiao Yan has suffered so much because of you this time, and her health is also compromised. She shouldn't go to work in Jingshan County. She should stay in Beijing to fully recover first. Then she can go back and take care of her work! I'm already looking for a job for her here. I'll find her a relaxed job in Beijing. Wouldn't it be better if our family were together? Otherwise, what if something happens to Xiao Yan alone in Jingshan County?"
Then she looked at Xu Ningyan and said, "Xiaoyan! Just listen to your aunt this time! You'll be eighteen next year, and then you can get your marriage certificate with the eldest brother! It's already October, and there are only a few months left, so why bother going back? You'll be all alone in Jingshan County, who will take care of you? Just stay in Beijing. Your health is the most important thing. Don't think that just because you're young, you can take it for granted."
"Old Yu is an expert in recuperating, so we can rest assured with him taking care of you! Work is work, isn't it? Anyway, you don't have any relatives in Jingshan County, and we'd worry if you were far away. How about we just not go back?"
Jiang Zhixing chimed in, "That's right, sister-in-law! You don't need to worry about work. We're all worried about your health, especially my older brother. Don't let his seemingly calm demeanor fool you! When he received the call about your poisoning, he almost went crazy! Please, have some compassion for my brother! He's so old, and he's still living apart from his wife, constantly on edge. It's so pitiful, isn't it?"
"And sister-in-law, I'm also reluctant to see you leave! If you were in Beijing, I could always come over for a meal! Poor me, growing up like this, my own mother can't cook, and it's only at your place that I can taste the flavors of home, sister-in-law—"
He looked pitifully at Xu Ningyan, and then frantically kicked Jiang Zhiyuan under the table.
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