22 Chapter 21 – Yan Du Xian Salted Pork Soup 6 (1/2)
Yan du xian. Toupai. Toupai. Yan du xian…
Even after the dish was brought out and served up onto the table, Gu Sheng was still feeling like she was in a fantasy. She, here alone, and Toupai, also alone, sitting face to face, having yan du xian soup... T T. She wanted to be calm and dignified and not allow her mind to wander, but this was simply, totally their first meeting, ah… Obviously, that night in the grocery store when she had been holding her dog and watching him pay definitely could not be counted as a ”real” encounter.
Yan du xian was her favourite dish, and she had to wait every year for the cold weather to come before she could have it. Positively one of the most wonderful things Gu Sheng looked forward to.
And then…
Well. The most wonderful food coupled with the most beautiful voice. Sitting together…
She used her chopsticks to stab at a bamboo shoot in front of her. Her first time having dinner with a boy that was neither a schoolmate nor a relative. What should she say? T T
She lifted her gaze.
At the same moment, Toupai happened to be reaching for food with his chopsticks and glanced at her. ”What's the matter?”
Nothing. T T Just that, Toupai, do you really think that such a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere without any speaking is a good thing for the first time having dinner together? You're honestly not feeling awkward at all?... Gu Sheng blurted out, ”The food is delicious here.”
Mo Qingcheng chuckled, ”It is indeed delicious here.”
It was a simple and clean place and was also near the recording studio, less than a ten minute walk away … It must be a place that Mo Qingcheng and the others frequented?
”I really like yan du xian,” Mo Qingcheng suddenly told her.
”Me too,” Gu Sheng echoed. ”But most of the time, my dad and mom just make it at home for me to eat. We rarely go out to have it.”
”My parents are very busy with their work,” he said casually. ”It seems I've always cooked for myself. After I graduated and lived with Jue Mei, when I was too lazy to cook, we would go out together to eat.”
Poor guy. T T
But he's so much taller than you, even when he's sitting… Gu Sheng, what's up with this mood of yours, like you're looking at a stray, unwanted cat? … She lowered her head. Keep eating, keep eating.
”Have you tried to make it before?” Mo Qingcheng's voice was warm and gentle, as if he was having a casual conversation at the dinner table with an old friend… Wait, no, it really was a casual conversation at the dinner table. Just unfortunately, not with an old friend.
Gu Sheng shook her head in reply.
”It's really simple.” He very naturally started to go over the recipe with her, and Gu Sheng also very naturally listened to him. ”First, you blanch fresh bamboo shoot slices in hot water. Then you use cold water and briefly soak salted pork meat and cured bamboo shoots in it to remove some of the saltiness.”
Nodding, she listened carefully to him, for the recipe itself but also for his ridiculously beautiful voice.
Mo Qingcheng picked out some of the more tender bamboo shoot tips and placed them in her bowl. Unhurriedly, he continued, ”Next, put some scallions and ginger in cold water and bring it to a boil. Then add the salt-cured meat and some spare ribs. I also like to add salted pigs feet. When everything comes to a boil over high heat, skim off the foamy scum on top, and then cook it for twenty minutes to half an hour.” He was recalling the recipe in his mind while saying, ”After, you add both the cured and fresh bamboo shoots. When the soup becomes a milky white, you turn the heat down to low and stew it for about an hour or so.”
”What about the dried bean curd knots[1]?” Gu Sheng asked.
He laughed, ”Don't be so anxious.”
...
I'm not anxious…
Mo Qingcheng carried on, ”Lastly, add the bean curd knots. Simmer it on low for about fifteen minutes before you sprinkle some chopped scallions on top. Then it can come out of the pot.”
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She gave an ”mm” in response.
She spooned some soup to drink. Delicious food paired with a beautiful voice. Such an indulgence…
When she was full and her entire body felt warm, Mo Qingcheng waved down the server for the bill. The server came over with a smile and handed the bill to him while asking, ”Is she a voice actor as well, like you? She looks so young.”
Pulling out some money and placing it into the folder she was holding, Mo Qingcheng answered, ”No, she is still a student.”
Gu Sheng smiled at the server.
From the looks of it, he was such a frequent customer that he and the restaurant staff could not get any more familiar than this. Probably the takeout that Toupai ordered when he was doing dubbing came from this restaurant, too?
”Oh,” the server said knowingly, like she understood something.
Mo Qingcheng smiled, tacitly affirming what the server had implied.
Amid this silent exchange, Gu Sheng felt genuinely embarrassed.
”Get dressed.” Mo Qingcheng had already risen to his feet and was holding his jacket as he explained, ”It's still quite a ways to your school. We might need to hurry up a bit.” When he was finished speaking, he once again picked up her heavy and bulging backpack as if it was perfectly normal and expected.
Gu Sheng quickly stood up, wanting to tell him that she could carry it herself.
Her words had reached the tip of her tongue and she was just about to say them when a burst of gleeful laughter was heard coming from the doorway…
Without even needing to turn around to look, she broke out in cold sweat. Such a familiar sound, you know? T T
All you DaRens, do you really need to treat this like the local cafeteria? You know, you can occasionally have a change in tastes, k?…
”MO! QING! CHENG!” Fei Shao chortled loudly, ”Weren't you accompanying someone back to school? How come you've been 'accompanying' for 45 minutes now, and you're still hanging around the recording studio, huh?”
”Don't expose our Unrivalled Allure Toupai DaRen.” Dou Dou Dou Bing pulled off her scarf with a grin. ”Was it tasty, Sheng Sheng? The food here is not bad, is it?”
Gu Sheng did not even dare open her mouth to speak, so she simply squeaked out an ”mm” in reply.
”Yan du xian?” Wwwwk sauntered over, his eyes sweeping over the table. ”Toupai, you are such a disloyal friend… I've been saying for the last two days now that I wanted to have yan du xian, but you refused to go eat it with me …”
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With a show of seriousness, Jue Mei placed a hand on his shoulder and told him, ”There's Sheng Sheng now. Who'd still want to eat with you?”