Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1011 - 991. Just eat casually

Chapter 1011: 991. Just eat casually

Inside the small paper bag, there were several little cakes, each carefully wrapped in white parchment paper.

The cakes weren’t large, about the size of regular pumpkin cakes, but slightly thicker. Song Tan counted—there were eight in total.

Four of them were golden-yellow sweet potato cakes, and as soon as the bag was opened, a rich aroma of sweet potato filled the air.

The other four, with a pan-fried golden hue, seemed to be shredded radish cakes—Song Tan had sent over some radishes recently.

On the other side were two bowls, white as jade. Perhaps due to the rush, there weren’t any portable lunch containers available. The bowls were neatly sealed with cling film, inside was golden porridge sprinkled with small green scallions.

Paper napkins and exquisite bone china spoons were prepared alongside. The level of attentiveness rivaled even the standard setup of a food delivery service.

Qiaoqiao carefully picked up one of the bowls, then exclaimed in surprise: "Sis, there are flowers painted around the edges of this bowl! Soft yellow ones, and green grass!"

Song Tan picked up the other bowl and discovered it had similar decorations—delicate blue flowers and green grass, dainty enough not to steal the spotlight. Judging by the shape and size, these two bowls were likely part of a set.

How beautiful!

Qiaoqiao couldn’t help but admire them over and over, then curiously asked, "Why don’t we have bowls like these at home?"

Song Tan thought to herself: In our house, everyone eats like pigs rooting for food. Not that we’re messy, but using little bowls like these would mean running back for seconds and missing out on the dishes!

The bone china spoons, decorated with golden patterns, were almost too luxurious to use!

When the cling film was lifted, an intense aroma wafted out. Instantly, Qiaoqiao’s stomach let out a loud "grumble." "It smells so good!"

The porridge seemed to have been hastily reheated; the vibrant green of the scallions had darkened slightly, but the rich, fragrant aroma was completely unaffected.

The snow-white spoon stirred through the golden porridge, revealing diced sweet potatoes inside, along with...

Song Tan took a bite and her eyes lit up: "How creative! Salted egg yolk porridge!"

The rich, savory flavor of salted duck egg yolk merged perfectly with the thick, creamy rice, while the scattered bits of scallion added an aromatic note, and the golden sweet potato cubes dotted inside...

Say what you will, Qiaoqiao’s charming big brother truly had an exquisite sense of aesthetics when it came to cooking! This was quite rare for the Song Family—not that their chef lacked skills, but honestly, the piglets in the family were just too good at devouring food!

Qiaoqiao picked up a sweet potato cake. The parchment paper blocked the oil while the reheated cake retained its enticing sweetness. Taking a bite, the crumbly sesame filling inside revealed an even richer aroma and crisp texture!

Toasted sesame, finely ground and mixed with sugar to make the filling, along with the natural sweetness and soft chewiness of sweet potato and glutinous rice flour pan-fried and reheated, released a temptingly rich fragrance.

"Wow..." Qiaoqiao’s eyes sparkled. "Brother is so good at cooking! I want to make these cakes when I get home!"

"Sure!" Song Tan, also enjoying the taste, noted that the black sesame likely came from the batch they’d sent over in autumn—who’d have thought it was still around! This Lun Chuan sure knew how to be frugal!

She tried the shredded radish cake next, which seemed to contain pork lard residue. With one bite, the crispy, fragrant, and tender texture was simply irresistible—this easily outdid ordering takeout from a hotel by a hundredfold!

"So, so good!" Song Tan couldn’t stop praising: "Beautiful people always have good taste, and their quality of life is never lacking."

The siblings wasted no words and buried themselves in their feast.

...

Li Shifu returned from the Golden Arches ahead, afraid the clients were anxiously waiting. But when he opened the car door in the wind and snow, what greeted him wasn’t the subtle car fragrance but a mouthwatering, sweet aroma.

Instinctively, his stomach let out a loud "grumble!"

Seeing Qiaoqiao’s curious gaze, Li Shifu hurriedly raised his hands: "I’m not hungry! I’m not hungry! I just ate before seven!"

Qiaoqiao still held the bowl of porridge in her hands.

He had never used such elegant dinnerware before, yet here he was, sipping porridge with great finesse and grace, savoring every bit of its flavor.

Now, curious, he glanced at Li Shifu. "But Uncle, your eyes say: ’I really want to try it!’ Is it because our food smelled so good that it tempted you?"

Li Shifu: ... Uh, well, uh...

At his age, admitting he was greedy felt a bit embarrassing. But how could his clients suddenly have such refined food out of nowhere? Could it be they ordered from a five-star hotel?

He asked out loud, pondering.

Qiaoqiao shook her head and pointed outside. "My brother just made it and brought it over."

Oh my! Li Shifu perked up: "What does your brother do, then? Is he a private chef? If so, we can help promote him later—this culinary skill is top-notch! Even the dinnerware is this refined; this bowl of porridge must be pricey, right?"

He estimated it would definitely be around 68 or 88 yuan.

Song Tan chuckled and handed him a sweet potato cake. "Shifu, try one—this is just homemade; it’s not for sale."

Li Shifu wanted to refuse—he was their driver, after all. How could he take advantage of the client’s food?

Yet as his gaze lingered on the sweet potato cake, the words stuck in his throat drowned in saliva. In the end, all that spilled out was a bashful sentence:

"That’s too kind of you..."

Despite the shy expression on his face, his hands moved uncontrollably to accept the small sweet potato cake.

The cake was still warm, with a crisp exterior from reheating. Unable to resist, he stuffed it into his mouth in one go. Upon biting down, the crispy outer shell instantly crumbled while the soft sweetness of the sweet potato and the rich, oily sesame filling inside blossomed on his taste buds.

The intertwining textures and flavors created an incredibly satisfying sweetness with every chew.

What’s more, most of the sweetness came from the natural flavor of sweet potato, with only a hint of sugar added to the sesame filling, making it increasingly aromatic and pleasantly lingering.

Even someone who typically didn’t favor sweets couldn’t resist it one bit!

"This is too delicious..." Li Shifu swallowed the bite, his eyes practically glazed over from the joy.

Sweet potato is just... sweet potato, right? Sesame isn’t anything special either, but how could this cake taste so extraordinarily good?

Qiaoqiao grinned proudly: "The sweet potatoes and sesame are grown in our family’s fields, too!"

Thinking back to the cucumbers, radishes, and tiny watermelons they mentioned earlier, Li Shifu couldn’t help but muse—

If this is how they taste, even at 30–40 yuan a pound, they wouldn’t seem so pricey. Maybe even...

He devoured the last bite of the cake, leaving only an empty piece of parchment in his hand. Inside the car, Song Tan and Qiaoqiao had finished their dinner and were tidying up their bowls and spoons to put them back in the bag.

The car window rolled down, letting icy wind and snowflakes blow in. In the cold gusts, Li Shifu snapped out of his daydreams.

Reflecting on his own month-long struggle resulting in nothing but 250 pounds of radishes...

Sob...

The chilly truth of poverty hit him hard tonight.