Aunt Wang took a bite right in front of Li Chuchu.
Her eyes widened instantly. She felt as if all the aging taste receptors on her tongue had suddenly come back to life.
The flavors were richly sweet and sour,
and the aroma of meat filled the air.
The palm - sized pork chop was incredibly tender and flavorful when bitten into.
Although there was no taste of fatty meat, the mouth was filled with the fragrance of fat. It was even more satisfying than the greasy fatty meat.
This cooking method was simply amazing and refreshing.
Aunt Wang couldn't stop praising it: "The seasoning is so good! It's on par with the braised pork you made before! I'll take some back for my old man to taste." Saying that, she scurried into the house quickly, "Old man, old man! Stop washing those two lousy vegetable leaves and come taste this meat!"
Uncle Wang had already smelled the delicious aroma in the house.
But hearing his wife's call, he felt too embarrassed to go out, afraid that others would think he was a glutton at his age.
It wasn't until his wife stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth that Uncle Wang's usually droopy eyelids suddenly rounded. He chewed the meat a couple of times before finally swallowing it reluctantly.
"How is it? Isn't it delicious?"
Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, Aunt Wang nudged his arm.
Uncle Wang took a long time to come to his senses. Looking at the bright red meat in the bowl, he sighed with emotion: "It's delicious, really delicious. And she gave us such a big piece! That Li Chuchu girl is quite generous."
Aunt Wang raised the corners of her eyes and said proudly, "Of course. Don't you know our relationship? We're friends regardless of age! Right, Chuchu?" She called out towards the window.
Li Chuchu had been laughing outside for a long time and was almost out of breath. It was Shen Yanshan who helped her calm down. "Yes, Aunt Wang. I was just about to say that."
Aunt Wang became even more proud and gave her husband a look: See, her gossip buddy is just so generous.
But since Chuchu was so generous, she couldn't lose face either.
She was thinking about what other delicious food she could make next time and invite Chuchu to taste.
Grandma Liu had been staying in the house all afternoon.
Since falling out with Luo Yingshu, the people in the yard knew about the despicable things her family had done and were reluctant to deal with them.
So she had to stay in the house alone and sometimes talk to Zhang Yu to relieve boredom.
However, the two of them couldn't really communicate well.
At this moment, she smelled the fragrance by the window, so she slowly walked out and approached Li Chuchu, deliberately or inadvertently glancing at the pot in front of her. "Oh, you're cooking here? It smells so good. The smell has even wafted into our house."
The bright red meat, covered in thick sauce, looked so appetizing.
Although Zhang Yu could cook, her cooking wasn't as delicious as Luo Yingshu's. She was stingy with oil and salt, so the dishes lacked flavor. Grandma Liu had been having a bland taste in her mouth these days and was really craving the meat.
She had just seen Li Chuchu give a large piece of meat to Aunt Wang's house.
Grandma Liu was itching with desire.
Since this little girl was distributing meat here, she shouldn't discriminate. She should at least give her a piece, right?
She shamelessly stepped forward, constantly praising Li Chuchu for being skillful and a good cook.
She showered Li Chuchu with compliments as if they were free, and her eyes were almost glued to the meat in the pot.
Her intention was as obvious as daylight.
Judging from her stance, it seemed that she was determined not to leave.
Li Chuchu felt annoyed just looking at her.
She was an old woman, and one couldn't push or drive her away. It would be really difficult for others. Li Chuchu simply covered the pot, pretending not to see her.
Aunt Wang saw her and got angry immediately.
This shameless old woman was still eyeing Chuchu's meat?
She quickly stepped down from the steps and said in a sarcastic tone, "If you want to eat meat, ask your promising son to buy some. Don't let your eyes fall into someone else's pot. It's so embarrassing for an old woman to stand in front of someone else's stove craving food."
Grandma Liu didn't expect Aunt Wang to be so sharp - tongued. She was instantly angry. "I'm not eating your family's meat! What are you blabbering about?"
Aunt Wang exaggeratedly said, "Oh my! In our yard, even a three - year - old knows to go home when others are eating. You, an old woman, are standing shamelessly beside someone else's stove, and you don't even allow others to say something?"
Grandma Liu was extremely aggrieved. She couldn't win the argument, so she could only go back with a stiff face.
Who would even want to eat their couple's meat?
Aunt Wang stood in the yard with her hands on her hips in a victorious posture. "Humph, you should scold people like this directly! Chuchu, you mustn't spoil her. The more face you give her, the more aggressive she'll be!"
She spoke loudly on purpose for Grandma Liu to hear.
Grandma Liu slammed the door shut, but the outside voices still came in through the crack of the door, which made her extremely angry. Zhang Yu quickly went over to comfort her. "Auntie, don't be angry. It's not worth getting angry with those people."
The school had been very cold towards her. Although no one had come to talk to her yet, Liu Xiaocheng told her not to go to school for the time being.
So she stayed at home, planning to wait until this period of trouble passed.
Even if she couldn't be a teacher in Ningcheng, marrying a junior high school teacher was still better than staying in the countryside. And when she really married Liu Xiaocheng, it would only be a matter of time before he arranged for her to return to school.
It was Liu Xiaocheng who had taken her out of the mountain valley.
She was determined to rely on this man for the rest of her life!
After making up her mind, she tried her best to curry favor with Grandma Liu and Liu Xiaocheng.
Grandma Liu was extremely angry. She shouted roughly towards the outside, "So what if they have some meat? Can't our family afford it? I'll ask Xiaocheng to buy two catties of meat tomorrow. We'll cook it outside! It'll make them drool!"
She was so angry but had no way to deal with the people outside.
When Luo Yingshu left, she didn't even leave an egg. There was almost nothing to eat at home these days. They had to wait for Xiaocheng to come back to figure out what to eat.
Thinking of this,
Grandma Liu could only lie dryly on the bed to sleep.
...
Aunt Wang stood outside, chatting casually with Li Chuchu. "Now I'm just looking forward to Luo Yingshu getting divorced from Liu Xiaocheng quickly and getting the current house back. I can't stand seeing them acting like robbers, occupying someone else's nest."
It had been a long time, and there was still no news from Luo Yingshu.
This really worried Aunt Wang a bit.
She was afraid that if too much time passed, the old woman would hold on stubbornly and it would be over.
To be honest, Li Chuchu was also a bit worried.
But they couldn't even see Luo Yingshu's shadow, so they had no idea what was going on with her. Let alone being able to help.
"Judging from her mother, she's not a pushover. Don't worry. She should have a way."
Li Chuchu comforted Aunt Wang.
By the time Li Chuchu finished cooking, Uncle Wang was almost done frying the dishes.
The two families went back to their own houses to eat.
The dishes on the table today were a complete set of meat, eggs, and vegetables, looking delicious and smelling wonderful. Li Chuchu happily picked up a piece of pork chop for Shen Yanshan. "Hurry up and taste it. See if it's delicious."
Under her expectant gaze, Shen Yanshan took a big bite.
Then, as expected, he nodded heavily. "It's delicious."
Unfortunately, Shen Yanshan had the same reaction when he ate the salted egg yolk pumpkin Li Chuchu made last time.
Wasn't there another step that went wrong?
Then her reputation would be completely ruined.
Li Chuchu took a bite with a nervous heart.
The taste was really good.
She had finally succeeded!