How did you learn it?
She can talk about cooking fluently because after she went to the South in her previous life, she spent most of her time in the kitchen, practicing diligently day after day.
In her previous life, when Wang Yao first arrived in the South, she knew nothing and couldn't even understand the local dialect. She rented a small single room in a dilapidated urban village.
Seeing that she was all alone, the landlord "kindly" introduced her to a job as a caregiver for an elderly person.
Wang Yao thought she had met a kind person, but after working at the old man's house for a month, she was almost sexually assaulted in order to get her wages.
The intelligent and strong Wang Yao was not defeated by this incident. Instead, she took it as an experience, and her previous experience as a nanny made it easier for her to find a job.
She found an agency and actually became a nanny.
Over the course of more than ten years, she traveled to many cities and served many families through introductions from clients. At first, she could only clean, but after learning, she gradually learned to cook local dishes, but that was still far from enough.
Later, through her previous employer's introduction, Wang Yao took care of a retired master chef who had no children and only possessed exceptional cooking skills.
Perhaps it was an itch to show off his skills, or perhaps he saw that Wang Yao had some potential for teaching, but the master chef always stood by and gave guidance while Wang Yao cooked. Seeing how seriously Wang Yao was learning, the master chef taught her even more carefully.
The master craftsman often had friends visiting his home. Many of these friends were his colleagues, and as they visited more often, they gradually passed on some of his techniques to Wang Yao.
Over the course of more than ten years serving the master craftsmen, Wang Yao learned from their strengths and gradually became proficient in her skills.
However, Wang Yao is not very familiar with the kitchen in this life, and those techniques are something she could never master now, so Wang Yao has to pretend that she doesn't know how.
Liu Xiangmei thought Wang Yao was too clumsy at cutting meat, so she took the knife and cut it in a few strokes, then watched Wang Yao's movements.
While stir-frying, Wang Yao pointed out the key points to pay attention to.
Everyone frowned slightly. To put it simply, it seemed like Wang Yao wasn't very skilled with the spatula, and her movements were a bit strange when she was stir-frying. But it has to be said, the flavor was incredibly strong.
Stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork is a delicious dish in itself, but Wang Yao's cooking brought out the fragrance of the garlic sprouts and the salty aroma of the cured pork. She also added fermented black beans to enhance the aroma and a little sugar to enhance the flavor, making everyone feel like they could finish a bowl of rice just by smelling it.
Liu Xiangmei originally planned to sell all the boxed meals before going home for lunch, but now she couldn't resist and had to try them right away.
Everyone else shared the same thought, and they all spontaneously scooped a large bowl of rice from the pot next to them, then scooped vegetables from the bowl on top, and sat down to eat without waiting.
Yes, it tasted just as they imagined—no, even better than they expected.
They smelled the aroma and took a bite, but downstairs, the landlord and others who were gossiping were still sniffing the air, finally confirming that it was Liu Xiangmei's house on the third floor.
The landlord initially intended to bear it, but he couldn't stand it for more than three minutes. Holding a large palm-leaf fan, he stomped up to the third floor in his slippers.
Hearing the knock, Wang Yao opened the door and saw her landlord, who looked a little embarrassed.
"Hello, Auntie, is there anything I can help you with?"
The landlord regretted it as soon as he raised his hand to knock on the door. He was such a grown man, and he was still greedy. How could he be considered respectable?
But the door was already open, so she could only chuckle awkwardly, "Well, you guys are eating."
Upon hearing that it was the landlord, Liu Xiangmei put down her bowl, stood up, and invited the landlord to come in and have some tea.
As soon as you enter, the aroma becomes even more pronounced, especially the stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork that was served last, making your stomach rumble.
To cover up the rumbling in his stomach, the landlord coughed lightly, "I, I came to tell you that the tricycle you bought can be parked in the hallway on the first floor. There's plenty of space there, and it's not safe to leave it outside."
However, Liu Xiangmei and Wang Yao, who were closest to the landlord, heard it. Liu Xiangmei saw that the landlord's ears were a little red, and without caring about the tricycle, she pulled the landlord to sit down at the dining table.
As she walked toward the kitchen, she said, "Thank you so much! I was worried last night that someone would steal my tricycle. I couldn't even sleep peacefully. You've done us such a great favor. I don't have much to thank you for. Please don't mind the simple meal!"
When the food was placed in front of the landlord, the landlord said, "I didn't come here to freeload, it's just, it's just..."
Liu Xiangmei smiled and said, "You've eaten all sorts of good food, what do you have to offer me? I just wanted to thank you, please don't mind."
These words were so comforting that the landlord quickly waved his hand and said, "No problem, no problem," as he looked down at the food in front of him.
The three dishes for the landlord were served on separate plates, along with a large bowl of rice.
The landlord said, "You're too honest. How can I finish all this food by myself?" but his hands didn't stop moving as he kept putting food into his mouth.
In less than ten minutes, the landlord let out a burp, and the plates and bowls in front of him were empty.
Good heavens! It was my first time eating at their place, and I ate like a starving ghost! When did my appetite get so big? How embarrassing!
The landlord was shocked inside, but also felt embarrassed on the surface.
Liu Xiangmei noticed this and told her that she wanted to set up a stall to sell boxed lunches. "You have seen a lot of things, so we would like to ask you for your advice on how to improve things."
Hearing Liu Xiangmei's words, the landlord felt much better. He stood up and walked towards the kitchen, pretending to check on the food, but actually because he was too full to sit still.
The landlord was even more satisfied to see that the kitchen was clean and tidy, and that it was not messy even though they had just finished cooking.
"Everything is fine, everything is fine. I'm not exaggerating, but even though it was just one meal, the food was really good, no worse than a big restaurant."
Liu Xiangmei replied, "Then you should come and eat here often. From now on, whenever you're home at noon, I'll bring you a portion so you can try it."
Landlord: "That's not what I meant..."
Liu Xiangmei interrupted, "I know, I sincerely want to ask you for your advice. This is our first time doing this, and we're not sure what to do!"
The landlord nodded and started reaching into his pocket. "Alright, don't worry, I'll pay you. How much do you sell a boxed lunch for?"
The two argued for a long time about whether or not to pay, and in the end the landlord won. However, Liu Xiangmei resolutely refused to accept payment for today's meal.
The landlord had no choice but to give up, and then praised the meal for a long time before going downstairs, fanning himself with a fan.
Although she already knew the food would be delicious, Liu Xiangmei felt even more confident after hearing the praise from the landlord, an outsider. She quickly packed the food into boxes before setting off with Wang Yao and Sun Min.
Let's get back to the present.
Hearing Liu Xiangqiu's words, Liu Xiangmei nodded, "It shows that people still need to read and learn. I'll go buy a book on cooking to read tomorrow."
Wang Yao: ...
You'd better not buy it. If it doesn't work for cooking, it'll be even more discouraging!
The three of them sat in the living room talking about going to buy books, while Sun Min was in the bedroom holding clothes in her arms.
Various scenes kept flashing through her mind: covering her books before school started, turning off the lights for her before bed, picking her up from school by bicycle in the rain... The people who cared about whether she had lost weight, was hungry, or was sick... were all her mothers.
She can no longer understand herself from just a few days ago. How could she feel like an orphan living in this world when her mother is everywhere in her life?
Looking at the clothes in her arms, she realized that her mother never spoke of her love and care for her; she was someone who listened to love with her ears.
Auntie is right. She can blame anyone but her mother. On the contrary, she must grow up and become her mother's support, just like her auntie.
Imagine if her aunt hadn't come to the county, where would she and her mother have gone to stay that night? If they couldn't stay with her aunt, would her father have coaxed them back home with just a few words, making them pretend nothing had happened, and they would have continued to suffer her grandmother's temper?
Now that I have my aunt, everything is different!
But now she and her mother can come to her aunt's house, but what about in the future? If Yao Yao goes to university and her aunt goes with her, where will she and her mother go after her mother and father have a fight?
I spread my hands, and I have nothing.
Suddenly, a sense of urgency welled up in Sun Min's heart.
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