Chapter 8 – Strawberries
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and said, “If we really cooked instant noodles and held a vote on Weibo, we would undoubtedly be last.”
While other families had all sorts of exquisite dishes, they only prepared two bowls of instant noodles.
The contrast was too stark.
Barrages refuted, [“No, that’s not possible! Qiao Qiao, don’t worry. Even if it’s instant, as long as you personally prepare it, my whole family will vote for you guys.”]
[“Is my attention only on money? Bai Jinyan hasn’t kept a single penny of the money we earned. Although a few hundred yuan might not mean much to Bai Jinyan, during the recording of the variety show, he doesn’t have a single cent in his pocket!”]
[“Tsk tsk, giving away all the money he earned. Bai Jinyan, you deserve to have a wife!”]
[“CP fans, please pay attention to the boundaries. Don’t randomly ship CP. Qiao Qiao is my wife, what does he, Bai Jinyan, have to do with her?”]
…
Qiao Huaiyao declined the money won from the ring-toss game and said, “You take it.”
He still had the fifty yuan he earned from work earlier.
Seeing this, Bai Jinyan directly folded the money and put it in Qiao Huaiyao’s coat pocket, asking, “Do you want to check inside as well?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head. It was still early, and going inside the amusement park was just killing time. They had spent quite some time at the ring-toss stall, and it was about time to go back.
He said, “Let’s go to the supermarket first.”
They were going to buy some ingredients for dinner.
“Sure,” Bai Jinyan replied.
Qiao Huaiyao found a nearby supermarket on the map that wasn’t too far from home.
It was a large supermarket where they could find a wide variety of items, so they wouldn’t have to go to another store if they couldn’t find something.
At this time, the supermarket still had many people.
Some large supermarkets would discount vegetables after 8 PM. Although they looked fresh, they would be labeled with reduced prices according to the supermarket’s rules.
Qiao Huaiyao rested his hand on Bai Jinyan’s shoulder and pointed at the vegetable section, saying, “Pick the vegetables you like, and tonight you can show off your cooking skills.”
Thinking of Qiao Huaiyao’s previous kitchen disaster, Bai Jinyan wanted to tease him, but then he realized that he had misspoken. He looked calmly at Qiao Huaiyao and said, “Did you say it the wrong way?”
Qiao Huaiyao coughed lightly and shrugged, saying, “If I show off my skills, tomorrow’s hot search might be ‘Popular top star suffering from food poisoning rushed to the hospital overnight.'”
He was well aware of his cooking skills.
Bai Jinyan raised his hand and ruffled Qiao Huaiyao’s hair. “Buy just a few, enough for one meal. Vegetables can’t be stored for too long.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
After choosing the vegetables, they went to the meat section.
Since vegetables were relatively inexpensive, most of their budget went to buying meat. They got some lamb chops and beef. They still had money left, and whatever they didn’t use today could be used for tomorrow’s task. The money they saved today would still be theirs tomorrow and couldn’t be used in the game, so there was no need to be frugal.
Even so, they didn’t choose randomly but bought everything they needed.
After the shopping, they had exactly 100 yuan left.
While washing their hands and preparing to cook dinner, they received a text message on the phone provided by the program.
[Good evening, everyone! You’ve all worked hard throughout the day, and now, are you preparing dinner for your family? To promote family harmony, we are announcing a task: Every family member must personally prepare a dish for this dinner.]
[Let’s work together and score points for tonight’s challenge!]
Seeing this message, Qiao Huaiyao said, “… Are they doing this on purpose?”
“Brother…” Qiao Huaiyao read the message out loud to Bai Jinyan, asking, “What should we do?”
“Let’s make something simple,” Bai Jinyan selected the dishes that might be difficult to cook perfectly and picked a box of green beans. After briefly stir-frying them, they turned a vibrant green. Regardless of the taste, they looked appealing.
Bai Jinyan said, “Let’s go with this stir-fried green beans.”
“Alright.”
Qiao Huaiyao rolled up his sleeves to wash the vegetables and, just to be safe, looked up an online tutorial for stir-frying green beans.
After preparing the lamb chops and putting them in the oven, Bai Jinyan said, “I’ll go buy some spices.”
Qiao Huaiyao earnestly watched the tutorial and nodded, saying, “The money is on the table.”
“Take a hundred yuan.” Qiao Huaiyao turned to look at him and, remembering how he used to help buy groceries for his family when he was younger, jokingly said, “You can keep the change as pocket money.”
Bai Jinyan took off the oven gloves, faintly said, “Come here.”
“Huh?” Qiao Huaiyao thought something was wrong and obediently walked over.
Then he saw Bai Jinyan raise his hand, curl his fingers, and flick his forehead playfully.
“Ouch!”
Seeing him touch his forehead, Bai Jinyan chuckled and pinched his cheek before turning to leave the kitchen. He still remembered to say, “I’m going.”
Qiao Huaiyao covered his forehead, feeling a bit embarrassed that his face was turning red. He used the back of his hand to cool the area that was pinched and turned around to take the blanched green beans out of the water.
But accidentally, some water splashed onto the phone’s screen.
Qiao Huaiyao reached out to wipe it but happened to notice the barrage filling the screen.
[“Ah, ah, finally cooking! Finally cooking!”]
[“Reach out and press, then wall and kiss, got it?”]
[“Blushing wife looks so adorable, screen-licking.”]
[“Hello? Are you really not considering becoming a couple? I even came up with a name for the couple, let’s call it ‘YaoYan’.”]
[“Hmm? The order seems reversed.”]
Reversed?
What’s reversed?
Qiao Huaiyao wiped the phone screen, still not fully comprehending.
When he realized what they were talking about, Qiao Huaiyao immediately coughed lightly and turned the phone upside down.
What are they talking about?
Qiao Huaiyao closed his eyes, trying to push those words out of his mind. However, sometimes the more one tries to forget, the clearer they remember.
He decided not to dwell on these confusing remarks.
He heated up the wok and poured in the oil, focusing on stir-frying the vegetables first.
He poured the blanched green beans into the hot oil, listening to the sizzling sound. Qiao Huaiyao immediately retreated to the wall near the gas stove.
Squinting his eyes, he observed the splattering water droplets in the wok from a distance.
To avoid burning the wok, he started with low heat.
When he thought the sound was about right, Qiao Huaiyao used a spatula to flip the green beans a few times, feeling satisfied that nothing went wrong.
After the stir-fry, he didn’t touch it anymore but turned to prepare the seasoning.
Qiao Huaiyao measured the salt and other seasonings carefully with a scale before sprinkling them into the wok.
Finally, he evenly stirred the seasoning and let it simmer on low heat for a while until the beans were cooked but still slightly crisp.
While waiting for the green beans to be done, his phone vibrated.
Qiao Huaiyao picked it up and saw a countdown timer sent by the program team as a reminder one hour before the upload of the photos.
There was still time.
When the timer ended, Qiao Huaiyao lifted the lid.
The green beans were still vibrant and glossy, and he added some fried garlic on top.
Just as he was about to use a spatula to scoop them onto the plate, Qiao Huaiyao suddenly had a bad feeling.
He clenched the spatula tightly and slowly flipped over one of the green beans.
The other side, dark and black, lay flat against the plate.
Qiao Huaiyao: “…”
The live camera in the house was close to the gas stove, capturing this scene very clearly.
Barrage: [“??? What kind of disappearing magic is this with the green beans?”]
[“Hahahaha, not that extreme, not that extreme. Bai Jinyan is not guilty to that extent.”]
[“I thought Qiao Qiao was joking about food poisoning for dramatic effect. Humble self-deprecation about his cooking skills. Who knew? Qiao Qiao really didn’t lie at all.”]
[“Qiao Qiao is indeed humble. Eating this dish won’t require an emergency rescue; it can be buried on the spot.”]
When Bai Jinyan returned, Qiao Huaiyao was sitting at the dining table with a plate of stir-fried green beans in front of him.
As soon as he entered, Bai Jinyan noticed Qiao Huaiyao’s lack of enthusiasm and sensed that he was in a bad mood.
Hanging the groceries on the front door handle, he approached Qiao Huaiyao and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips and said, “I messed up.”
He added, “For the voting, let’s use the photo of the one you cooked.”
“Hmm?” Bai Jinyan looked at the plate of bright green stir-fried beans adorned with golden garlic and said, “It looks good.”
Qiao Huaiyao silently picked up his chopsticks, picked up a green bean, and turned it over.
The darkened side stood out against the porcelain plate.
Bai Jinyan: “…”
Qiao Huaiyao sighed. He couldn’t figure it out. “I followed the recipe, even measured the salt with a kitchen scale, stir-fried it, and simmered it for the same amount of time.”
But the result turned out like this.
Qiao Huaiyao wasn’t good at cooking, but he earnestly followed the tutorial. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed with himself when he made such a mistake.
Bai Jinyan picked up a green bean with his chopsticks. He wiped away the dark part, leaving the inside completely dried out.
Without changing his expression, he said, “It must be an issue with the wok1“
“Huh?” Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback.
Bai Jinyan moved the plate of green beans aside and considered, “Your control of cooking temperature is good; let’s try a different wok next time.”
Barrage: [“…”]
[“‘Control of cooking temperature is good.'”]
[“Bai Jinyan, you really dare to say that.”]
[“‘Control of cooking temperature is good’; one side is black, the other is normal. Ordinary people can’t achieve this dog emoji.“]
[“The wok: You’re amazing, you’re arrogant, you’re using my life to please your wife!”]
Initially feeling gloomy, Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t help but smile at Bai Jinyan’s response. He could tell that Bai Jinyan was trying to cheer him up.
He squinted his eyes and said, “The wok is too innocent.”
While grilling the lamb chops outside before the oil fumes overpowered the slight burnt smell, the aroma of the lamb diffused.
Before the lamb chops were done, Bai Jinyan washed some rosemary and added it in.
Qiao Huaiyao disposed of the ruined green beans and turned back to the kitchen. “Is there anything I can help with?”
He might not want to cook anymore, but he could assist by doing some prep work, like washing vegetables.
Bai Jinyan put the washed strawberries in a salad bowl and handed it to him, saying, “The kitchen is filled with oil fumes. Let’s eat outside.”
Qiao Huaiyao held the glass bowl with large strawberries inside. They looked so sweet and red. “We still have strawberries at home? If we eat them now, will it count as ruining the task?”
“It won’t count. They are not the strawberries from home. I just bought them,” Bai Jinyan paused and added, “With my own pocket money.”
Note :
- “wok” refers to the cooking pan used to prepare the dish.. ↩︎