Chapter Thirty-Seven: Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce (1)
Grandma Chen also ordered a taro and pork rib stew. When she learned that Yu Miaoyin had made it with the taro she had given her, she was a little shocked. She took a bite, then another, and exclaimed repeatedly, "This taro is so soft and fragrant!"
It has a touch of its own sweetness, and it also absorbs the meaty aroma of the ribs and the savory flavor of the broth, resulting in a soft and tender texture. The taro cake I made yesterday already amazed her; it turns out that people who know how to cook can really make ordinary food taste exceptionally delicious.
Grandma Chen noticed the salted duck eggs in the corner and asked curiously, "Xiaoyin, are you preparing to make mooncakes?"
"Yes," Grandma Chen smiled and offered, "Let me help you. I see you have a lot of pre-orders, and I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."
"How could I possibly let you come? I'll pay you a salary," Yu Miaoyin said, already thinking about how much to pay her.
“Oh, I already told you I’m your grandma, it’s no trouble for me to help you out. If you really feel bad about it, just treat me to a couple of meals.” Grandma Chen said, “Your aunt used to help me a lot, bringing me delicious food, and when you came back from working away from home, you would bring me clothes too, I remember all of that.”
"Okay, thank you, Grandma." Yu Miaoyin didn't know what else to say; she knew her grandmother would insist.
Since the Mid-Autumn Festival is just two days away, there isn't much time left. Yu Miaoyin needs to prepare early to ensure everything goes smoothly. She plans to go to the supermarket to prepare materials after closing the shop in the afternoon.
...
With only five minutes left before the afternoon's English exam, the alarm bell startled some students who hadn't finished. Xu Jiajia looked at her continuation of the story and her composition with satisfaction, nodding approvingly. Her handwriting was neat, and she had used all the template sentences and universal phrases she'd memorized; at least, it was better than anything she'd made up herself.
She tidied up the things on the table in advance, waiting for the end bell to ring.
"Though we are far apart, we share this moment"—the students at the affiliated high school are also taking an exam, specifically an English exam. Xu Yuejia checked whether she had filled in the answer sheet correctly, and then checked whether she had filled in the grammar blanks in the correct positions. After confirming that everything was in order, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Yuejia packed her things and waited for the exam to end. She took her things outside and squatted under a tree to wait for her good friend Zhou Ningxiang.
The two were in exam rooms far apart, and Zhou Ningxiang appeared after about five minutes. However, her eyes were red, and she looked somewhat unhappy.
Xu Yuejia asked with some concern, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Ningxiang sniffed softly and said in a low voice, "I didn't finish my English writing, and the continuation is way off..."
Xu Yuejia was somewhat shocked, "Are you not feeling well, that's why you didn't finish writing?"
After all, her good friend Zhou Ningxiang is a top student, so how could she not have finished writing?
"Hmm..." she responded softly. She hadn't eaten lunch today, just drank a bottle of milk to have more time to study. Unexpectedly, she suffered from low blood sugar; her hands trembled and her heart raced. It took her a while to recover, which wasted a lot of time.
While it's common to not finish a question, and Zhou Ningxiang only missed half of it, which would only cost her a maximum of ten points—not a serious offense—she scored 145 on her final English exam, and those ten points were very important to her.
The scary thing isn't the lost points, but Zhou Ningxiang's family's high expectations of her, who judges everything by grades. If she slips this time, Xu Yuejia doesn't know what kind of scolding Zhou Ningxiang will face at the dinner table; it will be tears mixing with rice again…
Xu Yuejia went up and hugged her, asking with concern, "Is it a stomach problem? I'll go to the hospital with you, let's go."
"I'm fine now, no need to go to the hospital. I had low blood sugar during the exam, so I didn't finish writing." Zhou Ningxiang slowly calmed herself down, not wanting to affect her friend.
"Alright, alright, this was a mistake. Our Zhou Xue is amazing, the whole school admires you. This mistake was just to give those who can only look up to you a chance to see you on equal footing!" Xu Yuejia knew that she didn't want to be number one, it was just that her family's emphasis on grades put a lot of pressure on her.
Xu Yuejia thought for a moment, then took her hand. "How about I take you to eat something delicious?"
Perhaps delicious food can temporarily soothe her wounded heart?
"Okay, let's go, I'm so hungry." She hadn't eaten much all day, so she was really hungry. Plus, the low blood sugar she experienced during the exam made her quite nervous.
Xu Yuejia quickly took out her phone to find a good restaurant. If time allowed, she would definitely take Zhou Ningxiang out for hot pot, a combination of mushroom and tomato broth.
"Let's go to this little restaurant, it's near No. 1 Middle School. My friend from No. 1 Middle School said it's really good, I'll take you to try it." Xu Yuejia said as she led Zhou Ningxiang toward the electric scooter parking area.
The two put on their helmets, and as Xu Yuejia drove, she hoped her friend from No. 1 High School wasn't joking. Her friend had said this was a "kids-picky-eating expert" treatment, effective after just one meal—it was definitely exaggerated.
The distance between No. 1 Middle School and its affiliated middle school is not far. Eight minutes later, Xu Yuejia and Zhou Ningxiang arrived at Yu's Restaurant.
Two students in the affiliated high school uniforms appeared at the entrance of No. 1 High School, attracting attention and drawing glances from onlookers. Zhou Ningxiang remained somewhat dejected and seemed uninterested.
Xu Yuejia sighed inwardly. In her mother's words, even dragon meat tasted bland.
Little Tangbao was pleasantly surprised to see two pretty older girls. However, she noticed that one of the girls seemed unhappy. Had she also been "bullied" by the exam?
Just then, someone left, so Xu Yuejia quickly took the spot and then joined the queue.
As Xu Yuejia smelled the delicious aroma in the air, she thought to herself, "Zhou Ningxiang must eat a few more bites!"
She brought over a taro and pork rib stew and shredded pork with garlic sauce, while Zhou Ningxiang was still in a daze.
"The food at this restaurant smells delicious, and it's still hot. Come on, eat up!" Xu Yuejia said, handing the rice and chopsticks to Zhou Ningxiang.
Zhou Ningxiang nodded. It would be a lie to say she didn't care. From kindergarten to high school, her family had put a lot of pressure on her, and she had developed a mental block. She lost her appetite whenever there was an exam.
But since Xu Yuejia was coaxing her so earnestly, she didn't want her friend to worry, so she forced a smile and said, "Thank you, you should eat too."
While mentally rehearsing her family's scolding, Zhou Ningxiang casually picked up a piece of spare rib and put it in her mouth.
The ribs were very tender and soft, coated with some sweet and glutinous taro. The aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of taro made her momentarily stunned.
Xu Yuejia stared at her with bright eyes; she thought the taro and pork rib stew the owner made smelled amazing. Unfortunately, Zhou Ningxiang was sad, and for a sad person, even the most delicious food tastes bland.
Unexpectedly, the next second, Zhou Ningxiang said, "This taro and pork rib stew is so delicious, Xu Yuejia, you should eat more."
Xu Yuejia smiled happily and pointed to the shredded pork with garlic sauce, "This shredded pork with garlic sauce must be especially delicious, you should try it."
Zhou Ningxiang looked down at the plate of Yu Xiang Rou (fish-fragrant pork). The dark brown pork shreds, blackish-brown wood ear mushroom shreds, orange-red carrot shreds, and light green bell pepper shreds were intertwined. The rich, dark brown broth coated every shred of meat and side dishes, giving it an enticing bright red color.
Xu Yuejia picked up a large mouthful of shredded pork with garlic sauce and gave it to her, saying, "Eat up."
"Okay." Zhou Ningxiang was already hungry, and the aroma made her even hungrier. She picked up a mouthful of rice and put it in her mouth. The sauce from the shredded pork with garlic sauce was absorbed by the rice, giving it a salty, slightly sweet and sour flavor. Ningxiang chewed slowly, and suddenly felt her sadness disappear.
Seeing that the food really did have a miraculous effect, Xu Yuejia felt relieved.
Xu Yuejia also took a big bite. The rice was soft, sticky, and chewy, the shredded pork tenderloin was crispy on the edges, tender and flavorful, and the carrot, wood ear mushroom, and green pepper strips were exceptionally crisp and refreshing. Every bite allowed her to clearly taste the saltiness, sweetness, sourness, as well as the aroma of soy sauce and a hint of spiciness, with layers upon layers of flavor.
"Isn't it delicious?" Xu Yuejia didn't mention the exam.
"Mmm." Zhou Ningxiang seemed to have forgotten about that incident as well, and she ate very attentively.
“Call me 'sister,' and I’ll bring you here to eat every day from now on,” Xu Yuejia said, pretending to cough twice.
“Sister,” Zhou Ningxiang said, going along with her words, “From now on, I’ll be your little sister. Just bring me here to eat, and I promise you’ll be my only sister!” Zhou Ningxiang was in the mood to joke with her.
Her lively and playful Zhou Ningxiang is finally back! Xu Yuejia shouted in her heart,
The food from the small restaurant really does have amazing effects!
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