Chapter 61: That Courtyard, That Night, That Bowl of Soup
The clay pot kept the heat well.
Even after sitting for quite a while, it was still steaming when the lid was lifted.
The pot was full of bubbling soup.
The long-haired beauty raised a slender hand, lifted the lid, and then tossed the plate of pickled vegetables and the plate of dried meat into the clay pot.
Then, he stirred it once with a long ladle.
Next, he scattered the plate of wild scallions into the pot as well.
A rich, fragrant aroma drifted out.
This was a new cooking method the family had recently discovered.
Whether it was wild vegetable soup or any other kind, even just a mouthful of boiling water would become incredibly fragrant with a sprinkle of wild scallions.
Watching Father’s movements, Jiang Yu held her chopsticks with both hands pressed together, so excited she felt like she could take flight. The smile on her face was impossible to hide; she was overjoyed.
Jiang Feng also wore a smile, feeling very happy. His smile at this moment wasn’t silly, but hearty and bright.
Watching her husband’s actions, Qin Luoxia couldn’t hide the adoration in her eyes; everything her husband did was wonderful.
Jiang Mianmian was simply happy. The whole family was together, and she loved this feeling.
Every evening was happier than the day, because the whole family was together.
She was in her brother’s arms, happily playing with her little toes.
And Meng Shaoxia felt a bit restrained, and Young Master He Chen felt a bit restrained as well.
Meng Shaoxia had just stood up to offer his seat; originally, he and Young Master He Chen had been sitting in the seats of honor.
In truth, the shabby table in the small courtyard didn’t really have any distinction of status, but they had still hurriedly vacated them.
As it turned out, Father did not sit there; he sat at the end of the table, beside Mother.
Young Master He Chen’s family was an old aristocratic clan that followed the path of civil officials; in short, he was a beauty-chaser. (This was mentioned earlier, so it’s a repeat.)
Today, he first saw the dusty gem that was Miss Wan’er, appearing unexpectedly in the small county town, so refined and extraordinary.
Then, he saw an infant in the deep village who looked just like a precious gem, untarnished.
Next, he witnessed Jiang Feng, who was skilled in both literature and martial arts—able to knock away Meng Shaoxia’s sword with a firewood stick, and able to write deafeningly powerful poetry with that same stick.
And now, now, he saw the beauty under the moonlight, stirring the clay pot with a long ladle.
When it comes to extreme beauty, there is no distinction between men and women.
So, all of this had a source.
The infant who was like a precious gem existed in this deep village because she looked like her Father.
Jiang Feng, who was skilled in both literature and martial arts, was that way because his Father was the beautiful man before him.
The man had merely stirred a pot of food.
Yet, it stirred Young Master He Chen’s heart and mind.
His silence was deafening.
At this moment, he felt a bit like the shy Aunt Qin, not daring to meet the other person’s eyes, feeling as though he wasn’t worthy of speaking.
He suddenly became introverted.
As for Meng Shaoxia, he wasn’t a beauty-chaser; he didn’t have much pursuit of beauty, as there were too many female relatives on his Mother’s side. He simply felt that this excessively handsome man before him had an imposing aura, and was perhaps even dangerous. (Meng Shaoxia’s maternal grandfather was in charge of criminal investigation and public security.)
When a person reaches the extreme in any aspect, they are bound to be extraordinary.
He hadn’t expected that the Father of the simple-minded and silly Jiang Yu would look like this.
That such a man was actually a county yamen assistant seemed a bit laughable.
If he were a physician, he would surely be able to cure the illnesses of countless women.
Jiang Changtian stirred the clay pot, then ladled out a generous bowl for everyone and said, “Eat.”
Jiang Yu immediately took a big mouthful of rice with a big mouthful of soup and stuffed it into her mouth.
Delicious!
Jiang Feng also ate with big mouthfuls. Dry rice paired with meat soup—how could it not be delicious?
Moreover, eating at home with Father, Mother, and his sister was even more delicious than anything at Qingfeng Restaurant.
Qin Luoxia ate with a rare touch of refinement since there were outsiders present, but she still took big bites.
Jiang Changtian ate as he usually did—neither slow nor fast. His sitting posture was graceful, and the temperament carved into his very bones was on full display at this small dining table.
Meng Shaoxia’s attention had originally been on the beautiful Father across from him.
But when he inadvertently saw Jiang Mianmian eating, he couldn’t help but be attracted.
Watching her eat was just so appetizing and satisfying, so he learned to eat like that too.
Meng Shaoxia was not a person who prioritized gluttony, and he didn’t live as refined a life as Young Master He Chen, but this mouthful of food was truly unexpectedly delicious.
It wasn’t because he was hungry; it was genuinely delicious.
He didn’t mind food being refined or finely prepared. He had been to every kind of restaurant in the capital, eaten imperial banquets, and had famous chefs at his uncle’s and aunt’s houses. In terms of eating, although he had no particular demands, he was a man of the world.
When the food went down his throat, there was a strange sense of satisfaction.
His mind went blank for a brief moment; he didn’t think about anything else, just the act of eating.
He even felt that his recent travels across the world had been exhausting, but as he ate, he felt all his fatigue dissipate.
It felt as if his wrist didn’t hurt as much anymore.
He buried his head and started eating.
Young Master He Chen watched Meng Shaoxia bury his head in his meal and thought he was truly carefree.
With such a great beauty sitting across from you, how could you eat?
He couldn’t stop himself from looking at the beauty at the end of the table.
He and Meng Shaoxia were sitting in the seats of honor, facing the end of the table, so he could see him whenever he looked up.
He was very distracted while eating.
He felt it was rude of him to look at the other person, and even if the other person were to glance back at him, he would feel somewhat flustered.
However, this was his own illusion; Father was not looking at him, but simply eating earnestly.
Originally, he had been a bit apprehensive about eating at Jiang Feng’s house, worried about chipping his teeth again. If a refined, dashing scholar smiled and revealed a gold tooth…
But at this moment, his thoughts were entirely not on the food.
Seeing that everyone else had started using their chopsticks, he followed suit.
As the rice entered his mouth, his throat felt a bit tight, and the coarse grains were a bit rough.
He didn’t care.
He continued to eat, still somewhat distracted.
He continued to eat a dry mouthful of rice and choked…
“Cough!” He quickly covered his mouth.
He was even embarrassed to cough, feeling he had been rude in front of the beauty, so he quickly picked up the bowl in front of him and took a sip of soup.
The warm, thick soup rolled down his throat, and Young Master He Chen was stunned again.
He suddenly felt that the rough brown rice he had just eaten was worth it.
It was as if those two mouthfuls of brown rice had been just to prepare his throat.
It seemed as if the whole day of busyness, the whole day of rushing about, the physical fatigue and hunger, had all been in preparation for this mouthful of soup.
This mouthful of hot soup rolled down his throat and settled into his stomach.
In an instant, his whole body felt warm, and there was a sensation of trembling.
He didn’t have time to look at the beauty and took another sip of soup; his hand holding the bowl was even trembling slightly.
He suddenly became excited.
Scholars of the world gather in Qingzhou; Qingzhou alone claims eighty percent of the world’s literary spirit.
The same is true for Qingzhou’s cuisine.
Part of it might be because there are many scholars in Qingzhou; scholars always have poems to chant, and various poems and essays related to food have also been passed down.
Another reason is that because there are many scholars, there is a cluster effect, and all kinds of delicacies converge in Qingzhou.
Young Master He Chen had received invitations to various gourmet banquets, just hoping he would offer a word of critique.
He had also eaten very delicious food.
He could list a few reasons why.
But none were like this bowl of soup before him.
The wild vegetables were slightly bitter, the herbs were also slightly bitter, the eagle meat was fresh and sweet, there was the smoky aroma of dried meat, the salty taste of pickled vegetables, and the fragrance of wild scallions.
In the end, it mixed into an incredible delicacy.
It gave him a feeling of comfort from head to toe.
He even felt his pores open up, and his whole body was sweating slightly.
He thought the food of this poor family would be hard to swallow, because he had seen Jiang Mianmian eat everything with such relish. The pastries they brought were just bought in the county town, with mediocre taste and not even freshly made, yet Jiang Mianmian ate them as if they were a delicacy of the world.
Therefore, he had no expectations for dinner.
Even because a beauty was present, he hadn’t cared at all about what he was eating.
But…
He also buried his head and started eating.
It turns out that when faced with delicious food, there is no time to critique it, because if your hands are slow, it’s gone.
Young Master He Chen ate quickly and urgently.
He even chewed the aroma out of the brown rice.
He had no decorum; he didn’t have time to look at the beauty. While eating, he suddenly understood Jiang Mianmian—he understood what that happy feeling was, with her eyes curved and squinting.
The eagle meat was extremely smooth, the wild vegetables had a fresh fragrance, the tough dried meat had been soaked just right to have a good chew, the pickled vegetables were very crisp, and even the wild scallions were incredibly delicious.
Those wild scallions, seen everywhere on the roadside, he wouldn’t have eaten before; they were just for garnishing, and if he ever ate one, he would avoid it and spit it out.
But when he ate them in big mouthfuls along with the soup, the wild scallions were actually incredibly delicious, and there was even an indescribable feeling of freshness.
He felt as if his senses had suddenly sharpened, and he was one step closer to becoming a top scholar.
He could cry; he had been dazed for so long before, just focused on looking at the beauty.
By the time he realized it, there wasn’t much meat soup or wild vegetables left in the clay pot.
Jiang Mianmian drooled while watching everyone eat. Well, she wasn’t envious at all; she was drinking Mother’s milk, which was the same thing.
Since Mother had eaten these things, rounding it up, it was equivalent to her having eaten them too.
Besides, she had just peed on the wild scallions in there this afternoon, so she didn’t want to eat them (￣.￣).
