Shen Qingqing raised her chin with a touch of smugness: "Guess what ranking I was admitted?"
Without a second thought, Chen Man exclaimed, "It's definitely number one!"
The arrogant Shen Qingqing was satisfied and laughed: "Who was so worried just now?"
"I believe it, but I'll still worry until the results are in, and I'll be worried about you! Otherwise, I wouldn't be worried at all!" Chen Man gently punched Shen Qingqing's shoulder.
Shen Qingqing habitually shook her head and asked, "So, to celebrate, what do you want to eat for lunch?"
"Raw pickled cucumbers!" Ever since Chen Man tasted Shen Qingqing's raw pickled cucumbers, she has been captivated by their sweet and sour, refreshing flavor.
Shen Qingqing nodded in agreement, then looked at Shen Yangyang: "Yangyang, what about you?"
"I want fried rice! Sausage, ham, eggs..." Shen Yangyang started counting the side dishes.
"Stop, stop, stop. Sausage, ham, and egg fried rice is fine, but no more." Shen Qingqing interrupted her. "I'll also make you a separate soup with shrimp and tofu."
Shen Yangyang and Chen Man raised their hands high: "Yay!"
Shen Qingqing sent Shen Yangyang inside to continue writing her test paper, and then sent Chen Man inside to watch Shen Yangyang do her test paper.
She called both Shen Rongzhou and Li Xunli to tell them the good news that she had been accepted.
Shen Rongzhou and Li Xunli were both very pleased with their reactions.
After saying a few more words, Shen Qingqing went to the kitchen to cook.
First, I washed the rice, then I put a steamer basket on top of the inner pot, put two sausages inside, and set it to the 45-minute cooking time.
Shen Rongzhou bought a full two jin of shrimp. Shen Qingqing caught twelve of them, cut off their heads, removed their veins, and peeled off their shells bit by bit.
Shen Qingqing neatly arranged the twelve shrimp, which were initially lively and jumping around, into a plate, separating them by their heads and meat.
Then Shen Qingqing scooped up the remaining shrimp that were jumping around in the basin, drained them, heated a large pot, put a steaming plate on it, poured the shrimp directly onto the pot, added seven or eight slices of ginger, and then covered the pot with the lid. Even if the live shrimp wanted to jump, they couldn't get out.
Next up are raw pickled cucumbers.
The raw pickled cucumbers made by the Shen family are not the kind where a whole cucumber or a piece is pickled. Instead, they are sliced, mixed with vinegar and brown sugar, and pickled for about ten minutes before they are ready to eat.
If you want it to be more flavorful, you can marinate it for a little longer.
This dish is usually only made in the summer when cucumbers are in season; it's refreshing, helps cut through greasiness, and the cucumber flavor is especially fresh.
After stirring the cucumbers, Shen Qingqing placed them in the dining room. She also picked out a bag of mushrooms from the ingredients Shen Rongzhou had bought that morning, washed them, and took the tofu out of the bag to drain.
On the stove, a pot was steaming prawns. Shen Qingqing took out a clay pot, washed it clean, heated oil in another pot, and then cracked three eggs into it to fry sunny-side up. However, it wasn't very successful, as the yolk of one of the eggs was showing.
After frying three eggs, Shen Qingqing didn't wash the pan. She poured in more oil, and when it was hot, she threw in the shrimp heads she had cut off earlier and two slices of ginger.
"Sizzle—" Shen Qingqing skillfully stir-fried the shrimp heads in the casserole, frying out the shrimp oil. Seeing that it was almost done, she poured in a large pot of water to make soup.
When it's almost done, add three fried eggs, mushrooms, twelve prepared shrimp, and tofu in that order, then cover the pot and wait for it to simmer until you hear a bubbling sound.
The aroma of ginger slices and steamed prawns wafted out. Shen Qingqing opened the lid, glanced at the prawns, and after turning over a few to make sure they were all cooked, she used chopsticks to remove the steaming plate and placed it on the dining table to cool.
However, to avoid attracting flies, Shen Qingqing still found a perforated lid to cover it.
The aroma of rice and sausage wafted out, and Shen Qingqing walked out of the kitchen just in time to see that the rice was cooked.
Shen Qingqing put on gloves and took out the steamer basket and inner pot together, placing them on the dining table.
The beaten eggs were prepared before I made the fried eggs, but my hand got sore from beating them that I broke one of the eggs when I flipped it later.
As Shen Qingqing tore at the sausage casing, she thought to herself that she would give the broken fried egg to Shen Yangyang later.
There were only two sausages in total. Tearing off the casings was quick. After tearing off the casings, Shen Qingqing took two more sausages, cut them into long, diagonal slices, and put them together.
The three-delicacy soup in the casserole was ready. Shen Qingqing sprinkled some salt and pepper, tore a head of lettuce into it, stirred it a few times, and then brought it to the dining room.
It's hot in the middle of summer, but it's perfectly fine to let it cool down before drinking.
Shen Qingqing poured out the water from the large pot of steamed shrimp, wiped it dry with a piece of paper, then heated oil in a new pot. Once the oil was hot, she added white rice and fried it slightly before adding beaten eggs and scrambling them. When the eggs were slightly set, she added sliced ham and Chinese sausage, then stirred them repeatedly until they were broken up. After that, she added soy sauce and stirred them again.
The rice is ready! Take it out of the pot!
The aroma of soup and fried rice grew stronger and stronger. After finishing their exams, Shen Yangyang and Chen Man, who were in the room, both abandoned the grading process and ran out.
"Wow--"
When Shen Yangyang and Chen Man saw the golden-brown fried rice and the orange-white soup, the two distinct aromas wafted into their noses, making their stomachs immediately rumble.
"Go, get some bowls and chopsticks to eat." Shen Qingqing sat down right next to the table; she was tired from cooking.
Shen Yangyang understood her well and immediately ran to wash her hands and get the bowls and chopsticks.
After washing up, he made a point of serving Shen Qingqing the first bowl of rice.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com