Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Chapter 268 Chef Wu's New Year's Greeting

One o'clock in the afternoon.

After Wang Feng had eaten and drunk his fill, he left the Lou family with Lou Xiao'e.

At noon, he and Lou Bancheng each drank half a bottle of Moutai and ate quite a lot of food.

After such a long period of practice, Lou Xiao'e's cooking skills have reached 70% of Qin Jingru's level. Her cooking skills have surpassed those of the head chef at Fengzeyuan, and that's no exaggeration.

Wang Feng and Lou Xiao'e returned to courtyard number 28. Lou Xiao'e asked, "Brother Feng, are you and Sister Jingru having dinner here tonight?"

Wang Feng thought for a moment and said, "Son, today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. There might still be things to do at No. 95 Courtyard, so we won't have dinner here. Tomorrow at noon, Jingru and I have to go to her master's house to pay our respects. We'll come over to have dinner with you in the evening."

"Um."

Lou Xiao'e wasn't angry. After she made up her mind to follow Wang Feng, she knew that Wang Feng didn't belong to her alone. Now that there were only three days off for the New Year, it was normal that he didn't have time to spend with her.

Wang Feng returned to his room and took out an exquisite wooden box from his spatial storage. This was a New Year's gift prepared for Lou Xiao'e, and the contents were the same as those for Qin Jingru.

"Son, this is a gift for you. I've already given Jingru hers. Open it and take a look."

Lou Xiao'e was delighted to see that Wang Feng had prepared a New Year's gift for her. As a daughter of a wealthy capitalist, what kind of gift hadn't she seen? The key was Wang Feng's thoughtfulness.

Upon opening the box, she found several pieces of gold jewelry, including a top-grade imperial green jade bracelet, which filled her with joy.

After trying on all the jewelry, Lou Xiao'e said happily, "Brother Feng, you're so kind."

Wang Feng laughed and waved his hand, saying, "If you like it, that's good. You and Jingru are both my women. What's hers will naturally be yours too."

Wang Feng's meaning was very clear: the two of them held equal importance in his heart.

"Okay, thank you, Brother Feng."

Lou Xiao'e smiled sweetly; she understood what Wang Feng meant, and this was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Son, rest well at home. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, so I'm going back to No. 95 Courtyard now."

Lou Xiao'e nodded her head: "Brother Feng, you go ahead, I won't be angry."

Seeing that Lou Xiao'e wasn't really angry, Wang Feng secretly left some ingredients in the kitchen, then pushed his bicycle back to courtyard number 95.

As soon as Wang Feng stepped into the front yard, he heard the sound of firecrackers going off continuously. Yan Jiekuang was playing with firecrackers with several children younger than him.

"Brother Wang Feng, you're back?"

Qin Jingru was sitting in the doorway basking in the sun when she spotted Wang Feng from afar.

"You're back, Jingru. Go brew some tea, let's drink tea and soak up the sun," Wang Feng said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Qin Jingru brewed some tea, and the two of them sat in front of their house, basking in the sun, drinking tea, and watching the children in the yard playing with firecrackers and having snowball fights. The whole yard was very lively.

Wang Feng and Qin Jingru sunbathed at the door for three hours. During that time, Ya Ya and He Yushui came over to play with them, ate some snacks, and then went back.

Around 4 PM, Qin Jingru went to cook.

We ate leftovers from last night for dinner, and we'll finish them off with one more meal tonight.

......

The next day, early in the morning.

Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and Wang Feng and Qin Jingru got up early.

After setting off firecrackers and having breakfast, Wang Feng and Qin Jingru sat at home drinking tea and eating snacks.

Today is the last day of the holiday, and many people in the courtyard went to visit relatives and offer New Year's greetings.

However, Wang Feng didn't want to go that early. Leaving at ten o'clock was just right, neither too early nor too late.

At 10 a.m., Wang Feng and Qin Jingru set off on time.

Just like yesterday, Wang Feng took a leg of lamb, three catties of pork, and two bottles of Moutai, and rode his bicycle with Qin Jingru to Chef Wu's house.

As for the finest tea leaves, let's forget about it. There's a risk that this information might leak out. Chef Wu has many friends and apprentices, and he wouldn't dare gamble with human nature.

When Wang Feng and Qin Jingru arrived, Qin Jingru's master and mistress were overjoyed, and Wu Yun was even happier, pulling Qin Jingru aside to whisper secrets.

Wu Jing gestured for Wang Feng to sit down and smiled with satisfaction.

"Wang Feng, why are you only arriving today? If you had come yesterday, I would have introduced you to my other apprentices."

"Hehe, Uncle Wu, Jingru and I both work at the steel rolling mill. We only have three days off, and we have to go back to work tomorrow. We went to my father-in-law's house yesterday, didn't we?" Wang Feng explained with a smile.

"Alright, Wang Feng, please sit down and have some tea. I'd like to see if Jingru's cooking skills have improved recently."

"Jingru, Jingru, come to the kitchen and cook!"

"Master, you're here."

Qin Jingru agreed, left Wu Yun's room, and went to the kitchen.

At noon, Wu Jing asked Qin Jingru to cook six dishes: stir-fried mutton with scallions, braised pork belly, Kung Pao chicken, braised pork intestines, chicken stew with mushrooms, and hot and sour shredded potatoes.

Wu Jing didn't lift a finger for lunch; Wu Yun helped wash and chop the vegetables, while Qin Jingru was in charge of cooking.

The two were fairly fast; by noon, all six dishes were ready, though the braised pork and chicken stew with mushrooms took longer.

At the dinner table, looking at the six dishes that looked and smelled delicious, Chef Wu nodded in satisfaction.

He picked up a piece of stir-fried mutton with scallions, put it in his mouth, savored it, and then burst into laughter.

"Haha, Jingru, your cooking skills will soon surpass mine. This stir-fried mutton with scallions is already 93% of my level. I believe it won't be long before you surpass me. My culinary skills will finally have a successor."

Hearing her master praise her like this, Qin Jingru was very happy and obediently said, "Master, thank you for your guidance. I am still far from being as good as you."

Wu Yun rolled her eyes and said, "Dad, the food I'm making now is delicious too, okay?"

"You? You? You're nowhere near as good as Jingru. Jingru is a culinary genius, one in a million. I've never seen anyone with such talent in cooking. Don't even try to compare yourself to Jingru. I'm not trying to discourage you, but even if you practice your cooking your whole life, you'll never be as good as Jingru," Chef Wu said, exasperated.

Zhang Jing rolled her eyes at Wu Jing: "Old Wu, how can you talk so badly about your own daughter? Anyway, I think Xiaoyun's cooking is pretty good."

"Dad, did you hear me?"

Wu Yun glared at her father, took out a bottle of Moutai, opened it, poured a glass for Wang Feng, and then poured a glass for everyone else.

"Hehe, Uncle Wu, Aunt Wu, let me toast you. Thank you, Uncle Wu, for generously sharing your culinary skills with Jingru. I wish you both good health, happiness, and all the best in the new year."

With that, Wang Feng downed the drink in one gulp.

"Hahaha, good, good, good, Wang Feng, you're so lucky to have married Jingru."

Wu Jing laughed loudly, then looked at Qin Jingru and asked, "Jingru, did Wang Feng bully you? If that brat Wang Feng dares to bully you, tell your master, and your master will stand up for you."

"Master, Brother Wang Feng is so good to me, thank you Master," Qin Jingru said sweetly.

"That's good then, Wang Feng, let's drink."

As he spoke, Wu Jing also downed his drink in one gulp, and Zhang Jing and Wu Yun followed suit.

Qin Jingru doesn't like drinking, but since she's visiting her master's house for the New Year, she has to drink the first cup of wine.

She downed the wine in one gulp, the spiciness making her face flush red and causing her to cough repeatedly. Fortunately, Wu Yun poured her a glass of cool boiled water, which made her feel a little better.

"Jingru, if you don't drink, then don't drink," Zhang Jing said with concern.

"Yes, thank you, Master's wife."