House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 371: Inspection Results

(Teaser)

Most of the seasonings at home were stored in large bowls, including ginger, garlic, and chili. Soy sauce, peanut oil, and the like had their own pots, but they were different from those sold in city supermarkets. The peanut oil here was freshly pressed by a machine, and there was a special workshop in the town. When the peanut oil and soy sauce were used up, they would bring their own pots to buy, hence the saying “buying soy sauce”.

But despite being obvious at a glance, Mo Fei still looked for a while before finally bringing it to Yang Yi.

Yang Yi picked up the spoon on the counter, ready to add salt. However, as he scooped some, he felt something was off. The texture was not right. Salt shouldn’t be so soft and sticky. His attention shifted from the pot to the large bowl, examining the crystal structure of this “salt”, he immediately understood.

“Cough cough!” Yang Yi calmly put it aside and pointed at the bowl containing coarse salt grains, saying, “Mo Fei, bring that one to me.”

Mo Fei wasn’t stupid. Her bright big eyes were always watching Yang Yi’s movements. Seeing that Yang Yi was about to scoop “salt” into the pot, but then took it back, she knew she had taken the wrong one.

She was so embarrassed that her face was burning hot, and her ears turned red. She pursed her lips and handed the real salt to Yang Yi.

Dong Yue’e watched for a while and gained a certain understanding of Yang Yi’s cooking skills, so she let go of her worries. However, she couldn’t idle either. The kitchen was occupied by this couple, and there was really nothing for her to do. Dong Yue’e remembered the chicken outside that she had planned to slaughter.

After Dong Yue’e went out, Mo Fei finally couldn’t help it. She pointed at the sugar bowl and asked Yang Yi in a low voice, “Yang Yi, isn’t this salt?”

Yang Yi finally couldn’t hold back, and he laughed softly.

“You’re still laughing at me. It’s not that I don’t understand!” Mo Fei complained and hammered his arm.

Yang Yi added some water, covered the pot to simmer the vegetables, then turned around, pointed at the sugar, and said with a smile, “You taste it.”

Mo Fei did as she was told, extended her finger, and lightly touched it. Since she had just washed vegetables, her fingertip was still slightly damp. Immediately, a thin layer of sugar stuck to her fingertips. She licked it and looked at Yang Yi with some surprise, saying, “It’s sweet.”

“Hmm, that’s right! This is sugar. You see, it has a somewhat crystalline and translucent appearance, and it tends to stick together.” Yang Yi taught Mo Fei how to distinguish.

“But isn’t salt also sticky?” Mo Fei asked puzzled.

“It’s different. Refined salt is powdery, a little smaller than sugar granules, and they absorb moisture from the air. The way they stick together is not the same. Sugar cubes are stickier, while salt cubes are not sticky.” Yang Yi analyzed.

He smiled and said, “Moreover, we use coarse salt at home. Look, it’s all in chunks like this. You don’t know, it’s not your fault.”

“Hey, did mom already see it just now? She must think that I, as a daughter-in-law, don’t know how to cook, and she got angry and left.” Mo Fei said self-reproachfully.

“No, how could she be angry with you? It’s just not knowing how to cook. It’s not a big deal!” Yang Yi said with a smile.

“But Yang Huan told me that your family likes a daughter-in-law who can cook.” Mo Fei didn’t relax as she furrowed her brows.

“Uh, there was indeed such a thought before. But don’t worry, isn’t there still me? I can cook, so they won’t use this to embarrass you.” Yang Yi patted Mo Fei on the back.

“Tell me, how long have you been secretly learning on your own?” In order to cheer Mo Fei up, Yang Yi also changed the topic and said with a smile.

“Not long… I didn’t learn well, I wanted to give you a surprise, but unfortunately…” Mo Fei felt a bit sad.

“The surprise is there, but more than that, I’m touched.” Yang Yi hugged Mo Fei, kissed her on the head, and said with a smile, “You silly woman, you’ve endured so much for me!”

“You’ve been giving so much for me, it’s time for me to give something back!” Mo Fei felt sweet in her heart, but still playfully thumped Yang Yi’s chest.

“No, you have to help me probe your mom’s thoughts. If she thinks it’s not good, you have to keep teaching me until I can do it!” Mo Fei was still worried.

“Okay, okay…”

……

Yang Yi didn’t need to probe Dong Yue’e’s thoughts, because Yang Huan had already become a little spy.

“Mom, how did my sister-in-law perform?” Yang Huan was helping to hold the wings and claws of the unfortunate capon, letting Dong Yue’e cut its throat and bleed it.

This chicken blood is a good thing. Dong Yue’e collected it with salt water. When it coagulates into chunks and is cooked in soup, the cooked chicken blood will be smooth and flavorful. Dipped in soy sauce, it’s a rare delicacy.

“Your big sister-in-law, what kind of work does she do? A teacher? An official?” Dong Yue’e asked in return.

“She’s neither. She’s a big star, a singing superstar. You guys don’t like watching TV. If you did, you’d definitely see her singing on TV!” Yang Huan said with a smile.

In fact, the TV in the small shop at the east end of the village can’t receive Mo Fei’s program, because this TV can only receive a few local channels.

“Singing?” Dong Yue’e frowned, “No wonder she doesn’t know how to cook at all. But Tiezi, I don’t know when he learned some good skills. He has a knack for stir-frying.”

“Big brother said he worked outside and learned from a master. The foods he cooked are really delicious.” Yang Huan said, “Mom, actually, it doesn’t matter if sister-in-law can’t cook, right? How many girls in the city can cook? Look at my previous school, those students from the county town, where can they compare with the girls in our village? They’ve grown up without ever cooking.”

“It doesn’t matter now anyway!” Dong Yue’e had a good attitude. She smiled and said, “Those kids are all grown up. Can I still stop them from being together?”

The chicken in Yang Huan’s hands was still struggling in its death throes. Although most of the blood had already flowed out, its wings and feet were still violently shaking, especially during the last wave, which was particularly intense. But after this burst of energy, the chicken died, and a bit of warm substance trickled from its rear end and dripped onto the mud floor.

Dong Yue’e let go of the chicken’s neck and then said to Yang Huan, “Besides, although she doesn’t know how to cook, I think the wife your big brother found is quite nice.”

Yang Huan was pleasantly surprised and asked, “Really? You can tell?”

This Yang Huan had long been won over by Mo Fei’s various gifts and had decided to fully support Mo Fei.

“Yes, I won’t comment on her looks, but she’s very hardworking. When she saw me pouring tea, she came up to help. She’s not like the woman your second brother initially dated, who just sat there waiting to be served. Although she doesn’t know how to cook, at least she’s willing to squat in the kitchen with you to do things. In the middle of winter, with her hands soaking in cold water, she didn’t complain. I’ve heard that city girls are spoiled, your sister-in-law doesn’t have this bad habit. She’s a woman who can live a practical life.” Dong Yue’e said with a smile to Yang Huan.

Although Dong Yue’e was illiterate and hadn’t ventured much out of this valley, she had an extraordinary wisdom. Otherwise, how could she have tamed Yang Chonggui?

“That’s right. Anyway, Big Brother can cook, so it doesn’t matter if she can’t. As long as they can live a peaceful life, that’s enough!” Yang Huan said with a smile, “Mom, how come I didn’t know that you are so open-minded?”

“I’m not your dad, your dad has that stubborn temper, hmph…” Dong Yue’e was flattered by her daughter and hummed proudly.