Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 225 - Chapter 225 225. Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy with Potatoes_1

Chapter 225: 225. Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy with Potatoes_1 Chapter 225: 225. Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy with Potatoes_1 “Sister, is the bok choy ready yet?”

“No, let it grow a bit more.”

“Sister, is the bok choy ready yet?”

“No, let it grow a bit more.”

“Sister, why isn’t the bok choy ready yet?”

“Because Qiaoqiao has asked three times today.”

Song Tan felt tired.

“Mom! Look at you! Why did you have to tell him early?”

Now Qiaoqiao was like waiting for the stars and the moon, eagerly looking forward to visiting the amusement park; he was simply too much to handle.

Wu Lan, carrying a basket brimming with tea leaves, felt guilty but pretended not to hear, “Oh my, this tea! So good!”

Only Seventh Uncle had a trick, “Come, come, come, Qiaoqiao, you’ve been learning knowledge during this time, and I surely can’t let my cooking skills slip!”

“I haven’t, I haven’t!”

Qiaoqiao became anxious.

He now valued all his learning achievements, afraid that any shortfall would affect his plans to go to the amusement park.

“I’ve been studying seriously every day.”

Seventh Uncle nodded, “Alright then, you can make a dish at noon. If it tastes good, that’ll prove you haven’t lied.”

At those words, Wu Lan was stunned.

“Seventh Uncle, can Qiaoqiao cook now?”

Seventh Uncle nonchalantly said, “What’s so strange about that? When you were young, did you formally practice knife skills before cooking? Didn’t you start trying by stepping on a stool?”

“If he doesn’t practice, even watching a hundred times will be the same, we’re not seriously following a certification process anyway.”

That made sense.

Rural kids, once tall enough to reach the stove, would dare to step on a stool and start cooking. For people of Wu Lan’s generation, this was nothing unusual.

It was just that nowadays life was better, the pressure was not so great, and there was no need to push the children so hard, which is why everyone seemed more delicate.

Qiaoqiao, on the other hand, was quite confident, “Then what should I make?”

Seventh Uncle thought for a moment, “Aren’t you fussing over bok choy? Go to the field, grab some bok choy, and at noon make bok choy with potatoes,”

There was still a sack of potatoes left from a couple of days ago.

“We’ve made it before, only that time we used bamboo shoots with taro. This time with a change in ingredients, it’s certainly going to taste better than bamboo shoots.”

Seventh Uncle wouldn’t admit that he’d been craving the watery and tender bok choy in the field for a long time. Unfortunately, everyone was vigilant; normally, he could at most grab a handful for a quick stir-fry, and after one bite each, there was none left.

He also knew that Song Tan was saving it to sell for money to build a house, so he didn’t have the heart to ask for it.

Yet Qiaoqiao hesitated a bit, “But we have to sell those for the tickets!”

Ah, so he just can’t get the amusement park out of his head, can he?

Song Tan quickly said, “It won’t make a difference; it’s mainly for the family to eat.”

She planted the vegetables herself and wanted to eat them too!

Qiaoqiao then picked up the big basket very earnestly, “Then I’ll go see if the bok choy is big enough.”

As long as it grew leaves, it could be eaten–what else would be good or bad? It was just that Song Tan had wanted the bok choy to grow a bit bigger, being wishy-washy…

However, she had also planned to leave tomorrow; by tonight, everyone who had to work would be informed. It was only Qiaoqiao who was still in the dark.

The bok choy in the field was planted close together, densely packed, its fine roots entrenched in the soil. Holding the whole head of bok choy and gently pulling, it could be easily pulled out.

Qiaoqiao’s big basket was quickly filled to the brim.

Speaking of which, after spending every day with Seventh Uncle, he was quite aware of how much the family needed for a meal. Now returning home with excitement, he couldn’t wait to show off his skills!

–Today, Qiaoqiao is the chef!

…

Unfortunately, the head chef’s first dish sounded a bit perfunctory.

Stewed cabbage with potatoes, on the surface, seemed like a standard offering at a construction site–plain and watery. But in reality, since each person used different ingredients, it could be quite tasty indeed,

Last time, Seventh Uncle made that dish with bamboo shoots and potatoes, and everyone mixed the soup with rice and devoured it, not leaving a single drop.

Aunt Lianhua had come over early to help make a fire and boil water, so Qiaoqiao started by removing the roots from the cabbages, nearly twenty centimeters each, and washing them before blanching them in boiling water.

When the leaves turned a vibrant green, she fetched the cabbages from the water and quickly soaked them in cold water.

While blanching the cabbages, she also peeled the potatoes, and now she began dicing them.

Qiaoqiao’s knife skills weren’t great, but his patience and steady hand made up for it, without any rush or agitation.

Soon, a basin of diced potatoes was ready.

It was only at the end that he retrieved a basin of marbled braised pork and also diced it.

Aunt Lianhua wanted to lend a hand by fetching the blanched and cooled vibrant green cabbages.

But Seventh Uncle gave her a look.

She pretended not to see and obediently went back to tending the fire.

With the weather warming up, she wore a simple shirt, her cheeks reddened by the fire, watching Qiaoqiao now as if he were her own child, her face full of satisfied smiles.

Yet Qiaoqiao didn’t notice at all.

New cooks usually get flustered, but Qiaoqiao was different–it seemed as though he had a schedule in mind and was never in a hurry, no matter what.

At this moment, he squeezed the water out of the blanched cabbages a bit, then diced them as well.

Then he heated up the wok with oil, sauteed the dried chili peppers and minced garlic in it, and finally added the minced braised pork.

When the aroma was released, he immediately added the potato cubes, stirring them until they were somewhat soft and gooey, then quickly added some boiling water, sprinkled salt…

Song Tan watched in amazement as Qiaoqiao put the salt in, then stopped moving, and quickly turned to Seventh Uncle, “Qiaoqiao is so talented? He doesn’t even taste for saltiness?”

“What talent, no talent,” replied Seventh Uncle with clear sightedness, “I reckon he’s just copying the amount of salt I added last time.”

“And look at that water; he’s added about the same amount I did.”

“But still,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “the kid is down-to-earth and smart. Now he’s mimicking my cooking, but give him a few more tries and he’ll get the hang of it himself.”

Indeed!

Qiaoqiao was especially focused when cooking, paying no mind to the conversation around him.

Then he added the cabbage, stirring it just a little – the golden-brown bits of meat, the vibrant green cabbage and the white stems, the glossy yellow potato cubes, all peppered with some bright red chili.

The fresh scent of the cabbage became even more pronounced against the meat and spice.

All of a sudden, Seventh Uncle slapped his thigh:

“Oh no. It’s not time yet, and I haven’t even started cooking the rice!”

“No rush; this weather won’t cool the dishes too quickly, and besides, stew takes a while to cool, especially in a big pot–” Song Tan continued directing, “Qiaoqiao, can you handle cooking rice?”

Cooking rice was even simpler.

Rinse the rice, add to the pot, then add water–when adding water, Qiaoqiao even asked, “Sister, do we need rice soup today? If not, I’ll add less water.”

“Yes, grandfather and grandmother love drinking that.”

“Okay!”

Qiaoqiao added one more ladle of water, and as the wood-burning stove was powerful, even with the large iron pot, it didn’t take long to reach a rolling boil.

Upon lifting the lid, the white heart of the grains was almost gone.

He quickly scooped up the excess rice soup, then sweetly smiled at Aunt Lianhua:

“Auntie, just leave a little bit of fire to let it simmer.”