The next day, Erhua had nothing to do and nothing to eat, so he followed Sha Jianhua to Wang Laohu's house to have a meal.
Logically, Erhua wouldn't do such a thing, but from last night till afternoon, he hadn't eaten a single meal, and only sipped a few sips of water from the river beside the bridge. His heart was burning with anxiety, he was so hungry. Silly Jianhua hadn't eaten either, but he didn't look hungry at all.
The two of them arrived early and sat there without any awkwardness. They knew the people who came and went to help, and there was no need to chase them away on such a happy occasion. Knowing that they must not have eaten, the cook took two bowls of leftover lunch, covered them with a thick layer of braised meat, poured sauce on them and served them to them.
"You must be hungry, eat!"
But silly Jianhua pushed it out, tilted his head and said, "I don't want to eat this, I want to eat the feast."
The implication was that this bowl of rice was shabby and he wanted to wait for the meal to start before eating the delicious food. The cook was both angry and amused, but did not argue with him.
"You fool, you know what's good and what's bad!"
Erhua was different. He was already seeing stars, and he could finish even a bowl of bran. He reached out to take both bowls of rice, picked up his chopsticks and shoveled them into his mouth. It was so delicious. He had never tasted such delicious braised pork before, and the rice was also more delicious than he had ever tasted. After two mouthfuls of rice, Erhua was refreshed. Unfortunately, his throat couldn't keep up with his mouth, and the rice was stuck in his throat.
He suddenly stood up, still holding the chopsticks in his right hand, and pounded his chest hard with his left fist, his face suddenly turning red.
"Oh, that's it, I'm choking, hurry up!"
The cook turned around and scooped a large bowl of water. Erhua took it and swallowed the rice in two gulps.
“…I almost confessed…”
After taking two deep breaths, Erhua sat back down and was about to pick up the bowl to eat, but Silly Jianhua took both bowls away.
"Hey, what are you doing? I still want to eat!"
"What are you eating? I'm not eating anymore!" Silly Jianhua stuffed the bowl into the cook's hands and said, "It's just to fill your stomach. We'll have the feast later!"
Erhua originally wanted to leave after eating two bowls of rice, so he didn't have the nerve to actually sit here and have a meal.
But it’s still early and my stomach is still rumbling. My bowl has already been taken away, so I have no choice but to wait here for the meal.
After Wang Lao Hu brought the mistress over, he bowed to the heaven and earth, his parents, and the couple. Then he placed two stools in the middle of the room, and a pair of relatives sat on them. The newlyweds bowed, then left, and the next couple bowed again. After all this operation, it was already dark.
After waiting for a long time, the men serving the dishes finally started to prepare next to the chef. Everyone found their seats and sat down. The hot dishes came out of the pot one after another. Silly Jianhua excitedly picked up two chopsticks and kept clinking them.
He is indeed a fool!
Erhua muttered to himself that he had already forgotten about this matter and thought that he was no different from a normal person. Only now did he remember that he was a fool. It would be really embarrassing to sit with him.
What he didn't know was that everyone else was looking at him like he was a strange creature, because he and Silly Jianhua were sitting together. They were the only two sitting at the white eight-immortal table, with no one else to join them.
Three hot dishes were served at once. As soon as the pork skin, pork balls, and dried bamboo shoot soup arrived, Silly Jianhua clutched the bowl to his chest, leaving Erhua with no time to even get a sip.
"You idiot, you're such a poor eater, not even leaving a bite for me? Here you go!"
Silly Jianhua was even more unwilling and could only use chopsticks to put two meatballs into his bowl.
Erhua rolled his eyes at him and stuffed two meatballs into his mouth. The meatballs were made by mincing fat and lean pork and then kneading them with flour. The sizzling aroma and fresh taste of the pork oil immediately filled his mouth. Erhua licked his lips, obviously not having eaten enough.
Silly Jianhua held on to the bowl tightly, so Erhua had to reach for the other two bowls with his chopsticks.
One is eight-treasure rice pudding, and the other is cabbage and pork slices. It turns out that Silly Jianhua is not really stupid. He can see clearly when eating the dishes and only picks meat dishes!
Erhua picked up a piece of eight-treasure rice with his chopsticks. It was glutinous rice with candied winter melon, drizzled with lard, and filled with a dense red bean paste. His chopsticks only touched the glutinous rice and candied winter melon, not too sweet, just right for his taste. Erhua scooped out the red bean paste, mixed it thoroughly, and then scooped a small half bowl of eight-treasure rice into his own bowl.
It's as sweet as honey! Thinking about how hard my life is, it's a good idea to eat more sweets today.
Before he could finish, another large dish arrived: braised yellow eel! Erhua quickly scooped up half the bowl, fearing that Silly Jianhua would hug him with the bowl. He was overthinking it. Silly Jianhua, like a wild boar, couldn't eat fine bran and didn't understand the delicious taste of yellow eel.
The more common dishes in weddings in this area are braised pork knuckle, braised yellow eel, three-fresh soup, and chicken, duck, and goose. If the yellow eel is not cooked well, it will have a strong fishy smell, so eel segments and garlic heads are put in equal parts when cooking, and then seasoned with ginger, rice wine, and soy sauce. Cook until the meat is soft and tender, and you can just put it in your mouth and the meat will fall apart with a sip.
After finishing a few dishes, Erhua felt full and thought that the embarrassing thing about eating at the table for free was almost over.
"I'm full. I'm leaving. Take your time eating." Erhua wiped his mouth, and his shiny lips darkened a little.
"Why are you leaving? The pork trotters haven't arrived yet!" Silly Jianhua was anxious when he saw Erhua was about to leave. He put down the bowl in his arms and held him and said, "Eat the pork trotters before you leave. I haven't told you how to find the mistress of the house who doesn't care about the beams."
Erhua thought about it and sat down again. Indeed, he hadn’t found out about the real business yet!
As a result, by the time Silly Jianhua finished his bowl of three fresh dishes and the braised pork trotters were served, he still couldn't explain what was going on.
"How exactly did you find it? Explain it clearly!"
"That's it. Look at how red the pork trotter is. Have some..."
Silly Jianhua stared at the braised pork knuckle in front of him, saliva flowing down the corners of his mouth. He sucked it all back into his mouth.
Erhua slapped his head and finally realized how he could have believed what Silly Jianhua said. He was a fool, and whoever believed him would be a fool too!
He was so angry that he slammed the table and was about to leave, but he happened to meet Wang Lao Hu who was coming over with chopsticks. He greeted him warmly, saying "Eat the pig's trotter, eat the pig's trotter" over and over again. He stretched out his hand and poked the shiny red pig's trotter with his chopsticks. Only then could his relatives and neighbors pick up their chopsticks and eat this delicious dish.
"Wang Lao Hu, you came at the right time. He wants to find the mistress of the house who doesn't look at the beams. Can you teach him?"
Unexpectedly, Silly Jianhua was so direct that Erhua blushed. Wang Laohu's face changed for a moment, then he immediately returned to normal and said, "This is easy. I have an introducer. Give him some money and go find one. I guarantee you'll find someone you're satisfied with!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
