Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Considering that girls’ appetites were not very big, Qin Ze did not buy too many ingredients. This was the list of dishes he was going to make tonight: vegetable bean curd, steamed yellow croaker, chicken mushroom stew, sour pig trotters, and carrot pork bone stew.
For this, he had specifically gone to buy two clay pots.
After rushing home, Qin Ze started busying himself with washing the ingredients and cutting them. Chu, chu, chu! The cutting board sounded, and his knife skills were so good to the point they did not have friends. Qin Ze’s brain was filled with culinary experience as if he had been a top professional chef for twenty years. In his eyes, the system’s strongest gift was ‘enlightening people with perfect wisdom’. In front of this ability of the system, talent and hard work meant nothing.
As long as he kept continuing to exchange for new skills, he could climb up to the pinnacle of life.
The condition was that he had to do countless missions.
At 8:30, Qin Ze had already prepared all the ingredients and was going to show off his new top-grade culinary skills. The sound of the key twisting in the keyhole sounded and was followed by his sister’s voice. “Qin Ze, you haven’t cooked dinner yet right?”
‘Haven’t. I’m going to cook it now,” Qin Ze replied loudly from the kitchen.
“Then, don’t do it. We’ve eaten already.” Qin Baobao chirped.
Looking at the mashed bean curd, minced meat, gutted croaker, and nicely cut carrots… he suddenly had the urge to rush out and beat Qin Baobao up.
“Then, I’ll eat by myself. There’s no big deal…” Of course, Qin Ze would not throw a tantrum at his sister, at least not during their cold war. He walked out of the kitchen. His gaze swept past Qin Baobao and landed on the beauty near the entrance.
Wang Zijin had a goddess-like straight, black hair; light blue short-sleeved shirt; and off-white culottes. Her figure was well-proportioned, and her bottom was voluptuous. She had a pretty goose-egg face; her gaze was warm and clear. She had the aura of an elegant lady from a prominent family.
What a beautiful sister.
Qin Baobao seemed to be upset with Qin Ze’s shocked expression and said in a bad manner, “This is my best friend, Wang Zijin. Her nickname is Tissue. From now on, she’ll stay in my house; but we’re not sure for how long.”
Wang Zijin stood at the entrance and changed her white canvas shoes into thin cotton sandals. She smiled and said, “Hello, Brother, please take care of me.”
When she smiled, she looked especially warm and proper; her aura was outstanding.
“Hello, Sister.” Qin Ze revealed a warm and respectful smile. In his brain, he searched through Qin Baobao’s best friend circle; but he could not remember someone called Wang Zijin. “I have never seen Sister before.”
Qin Baobao explained, “She’s my best friend from high school. After graduation, she returned to Beijing. I haven’t seen her in a long time. Okay, okay, go do your own things. Zijin, let’s go to the room.”
Originally, Qin Baobao wanted to give cordial hospitality to Wang Zijin at home, but she had gastric problems and could not stay hungry. On the way home, they got off the highway and bought fruit pancakes by the road. Qin Baobao was greedy and bought one for herself. In the end, she realized that it was pretty good so both of them ate their own fruit pancake and settled their dinner.
As the best friends had just met again after a long time, they had to catch up properly so they shut themselves in the room and talked.
From simple to complicated, the first dish that Qin Ze made was vegetable bean curd; he chopped the vegetables and heated it in the boiling oil. Then, he added some condiments and stir-fried for two minutes before pouring it and the boiling oil onto the bean curd, making a sizzling noise. Qin Ze picked up his chopsticks and stirred it to make it even. After trying one mouth, he was touched by his own cooking.
The sour pig trotters and steamed yellow croakers were done together—one in a pressure cooker and another in a steamer. He had finished all the preparatory work like making the sauce and removing the fishiness. Fifteen minutes later, the steamed yellow croaker was done; and the fragrance of the fish filled the entire kitchen.
Opening the steamer, the yellow croakers were lying neatly in the wine-red sauce. Qin Ze scattered the shallots and garlic on top. Then, he carefully picked one up with his chopsticks; and with a light suck, the croaker was only left with its bones. The freshness and thinness of the fish spread throughout his mouth while the soy sauce and cooking wine removed the fishy taste. It was delicious.
Qin Ze opened the steamer and placed the chicken mushroom stew in it. This was one of the dishes that Qin Ze was better at as Qin Baobao loved to eat it so he would make it for her every other day. However, comparing the past chicken mushroom stews with today’s one, Qin Ze felt that the one he did in the past was not even a dish; it was rubbish.
The chicken meat was stewed until it was fall-of-the-bone tender while the mushroom sucked up all the delicious soup; the sauce color was warm and bright. With the richness of the chicken meat coupled with the freshness of the mushroom—not only the meat was tasty, but even the bone was, too. Qin Ze had even bit the bone until it started to rot a little.
At this time, the sour pig trotters were done; and hot air was escaping from the pressure cooker. He removed the cover and poured the contents into the newly-bought clay pot. The pig trotters were stewed until it was tender, and the sauce had a layer of golden oil on it. The chopsticks could easily poke a hole in the pig’s skin.
Qin Ze tried one bite, and it was rich but not surfeiting and would immediately melt when it entered his mouth. He felt as if his taste buds were about to explode, especially after eating the appetizing sour vegetables which made his mouth water like crazy.
All four dishes were done, and the last was to make the carrot pork bone soup.
In the room, Qin Baobao and Wang Zijin were wearing matching bear pajamas as they lay in bed to talk and use their phones.
Wang Zijin was wearing Qin Baobao’s pajamas, and it was evidently loose for her. She was shorter than Qin Baobao by a few centimeters; it was rare to see women as tall as Qin Baobao who was 172 cm. Her chest was also not as big as Qin Baobao’s, who had 36D breasts that could kill at least ninety percent of the women in China within seconds.
“What are your plans after coming to Shanghai? How long do you want to spend getting angry with your family?” Qin Baobao was reading a romance novel.
On the other hand, Wang Zijin was watching dramas and did not even look up as she said, “I’ll stay at your place first. My family had frozen my bank and credit cards. I’ll look for a job another day. I’ll consider if I want to go home at the end of the year.”
“It’s great if you have a plan.” Qin Baobao rubbed her chest and kicked the blanket restlessly. “I’ll provide for your food and living. My brother is pretty good at cooking.”
“Did your brother graduate from New Oriental?” Wang Zijin joked.
“Your head.” Qin Baobao was annoyed. “Can we not mock my brother? His culinary skills have been built up since young, especially his chicken mushroom stew. It’s super fragrant. It’s all because his sister taught him well.”
“I’m not an expert at eating, and I’m pretty casual about food. It’s fine as long as it’s not too spicy.” Wang Zijin smiled lightly and did not focus on Qin Baobao’s words. Firstly, it was because her gastric had always been bad so her diet was pretty restricted; and second, it was because she had eaten all sorts of delicacies in the world. However, based on her etiquette quotient, she would definitely not rebut Qin Baobao’s compliments for her brother.
“You don’t have to be like this. What’s so bad about listening to your family and marrying a handsome and wealthy person?” Qin Baobao advised her best friend bitterly.
“Don’t comfort me.” Wang Zijin teased. “The pot calling the kettle black. I really have high standards so I couldn’t find a good man, but I don’t understand why you, Baobao, don’t have a boyfriend.”
“You talk as if my standards are very low.” Qin Baobao suddenly hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, “I just feel that if I find a boyfriend, I’ll regret it in the future.”
“Regret?” Wang Zijin was taken aback.
Did she mean that she had no confidence in men? Was she afraid that she would meet jerks?
“If you don’t look for one, then you’ll regret it. Do you have a fear of dating?”
“I’ve only heard of marriage phobia.” Qin Baobao shook her head. “I’m not sure why, but I just feel that I’ll lose something.”
“Aren’t you lonely on your own?”
“Not at all. I live with my brother.”
“That’s different. You know that.”
“I don’t know. Anyway, I’ll just be very happy when I live with him. I don’t need to cook, sweep the floor, or do the laundry. It’s so relaxing. When I’m upset, Ah Ze will pacify me. If I’m angry, I can also throw my tantrum on him. I just love to see his angry but helpless face.”
“Are you a brother controller?”
“Get lost.”
As she was speechless for a while, Qin Baobao started to hum the song ‘Invisible Wings’. She had a melodious voice paired with the rhythmic melody of the song. Wang Zijin listened for a while and paused the drama on her phone to quietly listen.
When Qin Baobao was done singing, she asked excitedly, “What song is this? It’s so nice, but I haven’t heard of it before.”
Once she mentioned this, Qin Baobao was delighted. She giggled, “Of course, you haven’t heard it yet. I haven’t become a star. How would you have heard it?”
“What does that mean?”
“You don’t know this, but the reason why I could sign a contract with Star Talent was all because of this song.” Qin Baobao pulled a face. “This is the song my brother wrote for me.”
“Qin Ze wrote it?” Wang Zijin was stunned.
“The lyrics and the melody.”
“Your brother is from Arts school? He has so much talent and would definitely excel in life.” Wang Zijin was half-genuine and half-currying-her-favor. It was a pity that she sucked up to the wrong part as Qin Baobao’s foot gently kicked Wang Zijin’s butt. She said unhappily, “What Arts school, New Oriental? My brother is a serious student in SUFE. Finance Faculty.”
“How can a finance student write such a good song? I don’t really believe it.” Wang Zijin was confused. “Since he has so much talent, why is he studying finance? I remember you kept telling me how weak your brother is and how much your father scolds him. I thought he didn’t even make it to university.”
“Of course, he’s weak when compared to me.” Qin Baobao sighed. “Perhaps he really has the talent in this aspect and was buried before. You know, my dad is the professor at SUFE’s finance faculty. My dad decided on his course choice. I think it’s kind of the son inheriting the father’s career.”
Wang Zijin said, “I had elders planning people’s lives, including marriage.”
Qin Baobao suddenly sniffed and sat straight. She almost drooled. “It’s so fragrant. Where did this smell come from?”
Wang Zijin also sat up and looked left and right curiously. She started to feel a little hungry because of this fragrance.
“Is it coming from your living room? Let’s go out and see.”