Chapter 103 102. Can’t even kiss
Spent the afternoon in the chili garden.
Xiang Chong found out all the secrets of the chili pepper business, but Lei Li and Zhou Yi were open and honest and were not afraid of his questions. Good students are even afraid that he won't ask.
Xiang Chong is an easy person to get along with.
Although he looked serious and stern, which made people subconsciously hold their breath, after chatting with him for a while, you would find that he was very approachable and did not have the airs or pampering of a rich young man at all.
The hot afternoon sun made him sweat, and his silk boots and long gown were covered with mud and dirt, but Xiang Chong didn't care. When a child handed him a small cucumber, he thanked him in a serious manner.
Lei Li's evaluation——
The eldest son of a landlord who is not easy to fool but has a kind heart.
He is called the landlord's son because Xiang Chong is rich. He seems to be much more powerful and wealthy than Meng Luo, but he is not a stupid son. Therefore, he is the calm and steady eldest son. It can be seen at a glance that he is favored and respected by the landlord.
Zhou Yi didn't know that Lei Li had also given Xiang Chong a nickname, otherwise he would definitely talk about Lei Li's bad habit again.
Not only did they always call him "the prodigal playboy", but they also called Meng Luo "the rich naive bastard" and the shopkeeper with a mustache "the mean rat".
Even Chen Xiangrang was nicknamed "Zhongcheng" by him, because Chen Xiangrang was a middle-aged man who did things fairly and justly, just like a scale.
——Brother Qing'er, who used to ask Zhou Yi to pick plums, was also fooled by Lei Li and given the nickname "Brother Plum".
"I suspect that when you named Heisha and Baisha, you wanted to call them Heisha and Baisha, but they didn't sound good, so you changed them to Sha. It sounds cooler."
Zhou Yi realized it belatedly and told Lei Li.
Lei Li grinned upon hearing this, "They're pretty silly when they're little. Besides, don't you think the Black and White Devils are pretty cool?"
“…”
Zhou Yi didn't think so.
He felt a little bit second-rate.
But he did not undermine Lei Li's self-confidence, but only strengthened his determination not to let Lei Li name his own child. A person's name is like the bark of a tree. If the name is ugly, it will be ugly for life.
Let’s get to the present.
Lei Li always looks serious when doing his work. He may be complaining in his heart, but he answers every question of Xiang Chong in detail.
Xiang Chong was obviously very satisfied, and his expression became a little gentler.
The sun sets.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they were about to finish their work accompanying the leader on the inspection tour, when they heard Xiang Chong say, "I've heard that Brother Zhou's cooking skills are superb, and all the business in Qingmi County depends on them. I wonder if I could come to your house tonight to bother you?"
"nature."
Lei Li smiled and said, "That's what we were thinking. We're just worried that our humble home, with its simple meals, might be a disservice to Master Xiang Chong. If you don't mind, please try my husband's cooking tonight."
"Thank you."
He bowed to Chong.
Lei Li quickly returned the greeting and led the way, introducing the village's customs and practices with a smile on his face, but in his heart he was wondering when he could get off work.
He also wanted to go back to the county town tomorrow to take care of his pregnancy.
—
Seeing a group of people coming to their house, Lei Dashan and Liu Ye'er were still confused.
But he was surrounded by a stranger wearing a jade crown and gorgeous clothes, and Li Ge'er and his son-in-law were waiting beside him. Even if they didn't know who he was, they knew he was an important person.
The two of them hurried to the door to greet him, but they were too shy to know what to say.
Seeing this, Lei Li smiled and said to Xiang Chong, "This is my home, and these are my parents." He then said to his parents, "This is Master Xiang Chong, Master Mengluo's cousin, and the boss of our chili pepper business."
fortunately.
After the spring came and it got warmer, Lei Li had a new house built. If it was the old shabby house made of tiles and mud bricks, even if Xiang Chong didn't mind, he would not have been embarrassed to have anyone visit.
"Uncle, aunt."
Xiang Chong saluted Lei Dashan and Liu Ye'er and said, "I am Xiang Chong. I am sorry to bother you by coming here uninvited."
"It's okay, it's okay..."
Lei Dashan waved his hands repeatedly, and said with an awkward smile, "But my family doesn't have anything good to offer you. These are just some farm supplies. Please forgive me for not taking good care of them..."
Xiang Chong said with a pleasant expression, "Uncle is the elder, just call me Xiang Chong."
"Let's go in and talk first."
Lei Li welcomed Xiang Chong, Chen Xiangrang and others in.
After the renovation, the Lei family's house became the best courtyard in Sanlihe Village, with green tiles and red bricks, tinkling wooden bells, and bacon, sausages, and strings of bright red dried chilies and dried mushrooms hanging under the eaves.
The yard has no brick walls but is surrounded by bamboo fences, making it look open and spacious.
Mountain cucumber vines were climbing up the bamboo fence. Their branches and leaves were fresh and green, with small tender yellow flowers and a few small green cucumbers.
There are hornberry trees and five-color peppers in the yard, as well as two tall kumquat trees, and several vegetable plots planted with Chinese cabbage and eggplant, and some onion, ginger and garlic sprouts.
Xiang Chong had never seen ox horn and five-colored pepper before, so he noticed this new thing as soon as he came in, "What kind of fruit tree is this?"
"This is a wild lemon, also called a cow horn, and the shorter plant is a five-color pepper."
Zhou Yi explained, "The former is sour and astringent, while the latter is spicy and pungent, making them difficult to eat directly. However, after being pickled, they have an excellent flavor and many layers of flavor, making them excellent dips and condiments."
A gleam flashed in Chen Xiangrang's eyes.
He was from Nakagawa Prefecture and was knowledgeable, but he had never heard of or seen these two things. He guessed that their cultivation and use were not widespread.
I can earn so much money from the same kind of pepper. These local lemons and five-color peppers can also be used to make dishes. If I open a restaurant specializing in these, wouldn’t it be a huge profit?
But Xiang Chong was there, so Chen Xiangrang didn't speak rashly. Instead, he asked Xiang Chong, "Is this also the material needed for a 'Sichuan restaurant'? Why can't I see it in the fields?"
"They are not."
Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "Currently, my family is probably the only one that can pickle ox horns and five-colored peppers for cooking, so we are the only one that grows them. These local lemons were transplanted from the mountains, and the quantity is very small."
"I remember now!"
Meng Luo suddenly exclaimed, surprised and puzzled, "I've eaten lemon duck made here at fast food restaurants. The meat is fragrant, not smelly or greasy, and sour and fresh, which is appetizing. Why don't they add this dish to Sichuan restaurants?"
“Because it’s not spicy.”
Zhou Yi took it for granted, but was also a little puzzled. "Why would you put non-spicy dishes in a Sichuan restaurant? And you didn't even mention adding it."
Everyone: “…”
I was speechless.
Xiang Chong coughed and looked at the earthen fort in the backyard. Seeing that there was some smoke and fire around it, he asked, "What is that?"
"Bakery."
Zhou Yi said, "Bread is a type of wheaten food that needs to be baked after fermentation. The heat is locked in the earthenware, and the dough is baked inside and then expands. Is it also considered a kind of... snack?"
“You can make it both sweet and savory, the dough can be made into a variety of shapes, and the exteriors and fillings are also varied, large or small.”
Chen Xiangrang's eyes lit up.
"That's right."
Zhou Yi added, "You can also make more for afternoon tea, which is even better with black tea, fruit tea, or milk. It's suitable for reading, listening to opera, or chatting with friends."
Chen Xiangrang's eyes lit up again and again, and this time he couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
Zhou Yi looked righteous and innocent.
Several people: "..."
Lei Li thought Zhou Yi looked so cute and funny that he couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing Chen Xiangrang and the others looking at him, he said seriously for a second, "Come into the house first. Let Zhou Yi make some bread and snacks. Let's try how they taste."
As he spoke, Lei Li invited the guests in, and after falling behind the crowd, he quietly took Zhou Yi's hand, scratched his palm with his fingertips, and smiled brightly and cunningly.
Zhou Yi didn't know what he was laughing at.
But when he tickled his palm, he felt itchy inside, and suddenly he wanted to kiss those upturned lips.
—
Inside the hall.
Chen Xiangrang and Lei Li accompanied Xiang Chong to talk. Lei Dashan and Liu Ye'er felt uncomfortable in the main room, so they followed Zhou Yi to the kitchen, and Meng Luo also followed them out.
Zhou Yi was a little surprised, "Why don't you talk to your cousin more?"
"I'm not very familiar with cousin Xiang Chong. I've only met him twice. I don't know what to say to him."
Meng Luo said with a bitter face, "Cousin Xiang Chong is a distant cousin from my mother's side. I only met him for the first time last year. I don't know why I was a little scared of him. I felt that he was just like a school teacher, no, even stricter than a school teacher."
"I don't know why he came to Qingmi County this time. Could it be that something went wrong with the chili pepper business that we haven't noticed?"
"It's fine."
Zhou Yi comforted him, saying, "Isn't business booming now? Even if there are problems, they are minor ones. We can just actively rectify them."
Meng Luo felt that this was true and felt relieved. "You're right. It's not possible that my parents are worried about me being so far away from home, so they asked my cousin to come and see me."
—
Zhou Yi was very efficient, and with the help of Lei Dashan and three others, it didn't take long for them to prepare a large table of dishes.
Lemon duck, braised pork, chicken stewed with mushrooms, sweet and sour pork ribs, scrambled eggs with wild onions, stir-fried vegetables, and wolfberry leaf and lean meat soup.
And bread.
Xiang Chong was used to eating delicacies from land and sea, but he was also amazed by Zhou Yi's cooking, especially the lemon duck and bread. The former was indeed sour, fresh and appetizing as Meng Luo said, while the latter was very different from traditional pasta, each with its own merits.
The group ate until nightfall.
Xiang Chong, Meng Luo and Chen Xiangrang left. Their accommodation had already been arranged, so Lei Li didn't have to worry about it.
Lei Li was drying her hair with a towel after taking a shower. When she saw Zhou Yi coming back from the shower, she gave him the towel to help her dry her hair, and then tilted her head to give him a long kiss.
Panting slightly, he said, "I've been talking all day and my mouth is almost dry. With Xiang Chong and Chen Xiang here, I can't even kiss. I'm suffocating."
"Now that there's no one around, I want to kiss you as much as I can. Don't hold it back. Aunt Fang said you have a baby, so everything has to go your way. You can't hold it back."
Zhou Yi smoothed his hair with his hand.
Lei Li's hair used to be very rough due to wind and sun, but after all this time of care, it has become smooth and shiny, and feels great.
Lei Li suddenly asked, "What do you think of Xiang Chong?"
"fine."
Zhou Yi thought for a moment and said, "He's not a bad person, he's kind-hearted, he speaks his mind, he asks questions when he doesn't understand, and he's very patient, no matter how big or small."
"Don't you think he looks a bit like you?"
"Like me?"
"Um"
Lei Li nodded and said, "His aura is somewhat similar to yours, that is... he is very disciplined. Whether he is standing or sitting, he is very straight, like a tree."
Zhou Yi suddenly had an idea. "You mean, he was also a soldier?"
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