【024】 Good at both the living room and the kitchen
In the afternoon, a heavy downpour began, the patter of water accompanied by rumbles of summer thunder. The sky was thick with dark clouds, and the sky and earth were hazy. As night fell, the rain intensified, pouring down like a bucket. Standing by the window, I could hear no sound outside except the rain and thunder.
Gu Juan was extremely disappointed, thinking that Xi Lang would not come. When he heard the doorbell ring, he looked at the video doorbell screen and saw that it was Xi Lang standing outside the glass door of the first floor lobby. He hurriedly opened the door for him. Not long after, there was a knock on the door.
He opened the door and saw Xi Lang holding a fruit basket. Inside was a brown cushion with a puppy sprawled on it. The puppy was probably only a month or two old, not much longer than the palm of a hand. Its fur was all gray-black except for two willow-leaf-shaped brown hairs above its eyes, like human eyebrows. It was very rare. The fluffy ball was spinning around on the cushion, wagging its tail, very lively.
"Come in. Is this a blackback?"
"Yeah." Xi Lang held out his hand. "Do you want it?"
Gu Juan picked up the puppy without hesitation. The little black dog looked at him curiously, stretched out its pink tongue to lick the palm of his hand, and wagged its tail even more happily, barking softly, "Woof woof..."
Gu Juan liked dogs to begin with, so it was even harder for him to refuse. "Yes." He was the only one at home, so a pet would be a good companion.
Xi Lang put down his fruit basket and changed his shoes. This residential complex was very user-friendly, with a rain corridor connecting the parking lot to the first-floor entrance. Otherwise, he would have been in a mess in today's heavy rain.
"It seems that Congzhou University has a rule that freshmen must live on campus in their first year. If you don't mind, you can leave it with me and pick it up on weekends."
There was a pet boarding center in the neighborhood, and Gu Juan thought he could use it as a cover to keep the puppy in the space. However, if Xi Lang suddenly decided to go to the boarding center to inquire about it, he would be easily exposed. So he nodded and said, "Okay. I'll go get some milk to feed it. The kitchen is on the left, I've already prepared all the ingredients."
Since there was no dog food bowl, he took a small bowl for the little black back.
Xi Lang watched him squatting there watching Xiao Heibei drink milk with a smile on his face. He stood for a while, took off his suit jacket and put it on the sofa, rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen.
Hanging on the wall was a row of kitchen utensils: pots, spatulas, spoons, knives, and more—all pristine. On the counter, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, cooking wine, and other condiments were readily available. Chicken, duck, and fish were cleaned and placed on white porcelain plates with blue patterns. Two round fruit and vegetable sieves held purple-skinned eggplant, peeled lotus roots, emerald green celery, lush green bok choy, tender lettuce, and cilantro. Even the scallions, ginger, garlic, and chilies were chopped and placed in small glass bowls.
Xi Lang's first reaction was that there were too many dishes. Remembering that Gu Juan had a big appetite, he decided to cook everything. He looked around and found the pressure cooker. The keep-warm light was on, indicating that Gu Juan had cooked the rice in advance.
Gu Juan poked his head out of the kitchen door and said, "If there's not enough food, there's more in the refrigerator."
"That's enough." Xi Lang took down the kitchen knife and chopping board and cut the lotus root into cubes first.
"Do you need my help?" Gu Juan asked.
"No need, go out and play." Xi Lang didn't look back. The sound of the kitchen knife hitting the chopping board was very rhythmic.
Gu Juan took a look and found that the lotus root pieces were almost the same size. He was very impressed and looked forward to Xi Lang's craftsmanship even more.
"Then I'm out."
Back in the living room, the little black dog named "Erjianmei" had finished drinking the milk and was wandering around the new home curiously.
Gu Juan sat cross-legged on the sofa, looking around. Just a coat, a pair of shoes, and a dog were all there, but the living room felt less empty, and the emptiness in his heart seemed to have been filled. He turned on the TV, listening to the bangs coming from the kitchen, his mind wandering, completely oblivious to what was playing.
At this moment, a cell phone ringing sounded from inside Xi Lang's suit jacket.
"Xi Lang, your phone is ringing."
Xi Lang turned around and saw him holding his coat. He raised his wet hands and said, "Please connect me."
Gu Juan took out his cell phone from his pocket, answered the call, and put it to his ear.
"Alang, it's Mom, have you had dinner yet?"
The name "Alang"... Gu Juan's lips curled up into a faint smile, which Xi Lang glanced at. He whispered, "How about I turn on the speaker for you so I can go out?"
Xi Lang shook his head nonchalantly, "Mom, I'm cooking."
"Who was talking just now?" Xi's mother asked.
Gu Juan didn't expect that Gu's mother had such sharp ears. He turned on the speaker, put the phone on the counter, and closed the kitchen door after going out.
Xi Lang glanced at the closed door and cut the eggplant into rolling pins. "A friend. Mom, what can I do for you?"
"It's your mom's birthday in a few days. When are you planning to come back?"
Xi Lang thought for a moment and said, "I have something to do on the 1st. I'll be back on the morning of the 2nd."
Gu Juan was in the living room holding a notebook and searching the Internet for precautions on raising German Shepherds. He copied and pasted the main content into a document, preparing to print it out when he had time.
Erjianmei was tired from playing, so he crawled back into the fruit basket and fell into a deep sleep.
"Gu Juan, come and serve the dishes."
"I'm here." Gu Juan put his notebook on the coffee table, walked into the kitchen, and saw a row of dishes on the counter. He swallowed his saliva secretly. Sweet and sour fish, Kung Pao chicken, braised spareribs, minced meat and eggplant casserole, boiled pork slices, celery and pork shreds, hot and sour lotus root cubes, stir-fried bok choy and garlic lettuce were not only tempting with their rich aroma, but also looked first-class. Even the stir-fried bok choy and garlic lettuce were delicious in color, aroma and taste.
Xi Lang wiped his hands and said, "Just bring out whatever dishes you want. Put the rest in the refrigerator later. You can save them for tomorrow."
Gu Juan hurriedly said, "Bring them all out, I like them all."
Xi Lang was speechless for a while, then nodded.
After the dishes were served, Gu Juan asked Xi Lang, "Would you like some wine?"
Xi Lang shook his head, "No."
Gu Juan was only thinking about the delicious food on the table. He didn't plan to drink and filled two bowls of rice. After sitting down at the table, he couldn't wait to say, "Let's eat."
He first tried the braised spareribs closest to him. The fragrant and tender texture instantly captivated his taste buds. He couldn't help but give Xi Lang a thumbs-up. "It's delicious! Mr. Xi is truly a man who can handle both the formal and the professional kitchen."
Xi Lang's forehead twitched, and he asked calmly, "Can't you shut up while eating?"
"It can be blocked." Gu Juan kept silent, his chopsticks flying.
Xi Lang shook his head in amusement, took a bite of lettuce, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Today's lettuce was stir-fried successfully, even more delicious than any other time.
He had just taken two bites of the food when Gu Juan stood up and walked quickly to the kitchen. After a while, he came out with a bowl full of rice.
Xi Lang had seen how much he ate last time, so he calmly looked away.
After Gu Juan sat down, he noticed that Xi Lang hadn't touched any of the dishes with chili peppers. "You don't eat chili peppers?"
Xi Lang said calmly: "Well, my stomach is not feeling well."
Gu Juan was stunned, "Why didn't you tell me last time?"
Xi Lang said, "Nothing, not a big deal."
Gu Juan said nothing more. After dinner, he made Xi Lang a cup of hot tea, quietly adding some spiritual spring water to it, and asked Xi Lang to sit down and rest while he cleared the dishes.
Xi Lang looked at the table and saw that only some sweet and sour fish and spicy and sour lotus root were left. The rest of the dishes had been eaten. The surprise in his eyes had not yet subsided. He couldn't help but say, "Try to eat less for dinner in the future."
Gu Juan said nonchalantly, "There's nothing wrong with my health. It's a rare treat, so it's okay to eat a little more."
The rain outside the window was a little lighter, and the lights in the distance shone through the mist, creating an illusion of turbulence, which merged with the lights in the room to form a soft painting.
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