Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 23 My Sister's Delicious Farmhouse Meal

Seeing her third brother standing there motionless with his lips pursed, the eldest sister knew that he obviously hadn't heard what she had just said. Seeing that his gaze hadn't left the freshly cooked stir-fried cured pork, she used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and put it to her third brother's mouth.

"Ah—, after you've eaten, go put down your bowls and chopsticks, and set out the stools. You can eat at the table later."

Xu Sandi chewed on the cured meat in his mouth, his eyes stinging, and nodded heavily. He then turned around, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and went to the main room.

When Tang Changping entered the main room, he saw three dishes and a soup neatly arranged on the mottled solid wood square table (Eight Immortals Table).

A dish of stir-fried cured pork with shredded cabbage, a plate of scrambled eggs with toon sprouts, a bowl of boiled bok choy, and a side of cold mixed houttuynia cordata.

Apart from the white cabbage sprouts and houttuynia cordata, the other two dishes are rarely seen at this time, because meat is usually only served during festivals.

This made Tang Changping feel somewhat uneasy.

Although his family often ate meat because his father and brother worked at their respective workplaces, he knew that these dishes were not something that could be easily found on a rural table. And because he thought of what Xu Yaomei had said earlier, he couldn't help but glance at Xu Chunsheng.

Seeing Tang Changping standing there, Xu Chunsheng grabbed him and pressed him down onto a bench, then took a bowl of rice from Xu Sandi and placed it in front of Tang Changping.

"Teacher Tang, please don't be shy, come and eat."

Snapped!

The normal sound of a bowl being placed down, and a bowl of perfectly ordinary sweet potato rice, made Tang Changping feel unprecedented pressure.

Tang Changping remembers that when he was a child, his mother steamed sweet potato rice once. He had only taken two bites when he choked and kept hiccuping, almost unable to breathe. This scared his whole family. After that, Tang Changping only dared to eat plain rice.

So Tang Changping looked at the sweet potato rice in front of him with some trepidation. He was too embarrassed to pick out the sweet potatoes, so he took a deep breath and carefully picked up a mouthful of rice and put it in his mouth.

"Um?"

Tang Changping was puzzled, as this tasted completely different from the sweet potato rice he remembered, which was so choking that it could kill someone.

"How is it? Delicious, isn't it!"

Xu Chunsheng asked with a hint of pride.

joke!

My eldest sister has been steaming rice for so many years. She has her own techniques for every step, from blanching and draining the water to steaming the rice. Every time she steams rice, the grains are naturally distinct and the rice is fragrant and sweet.

What's more, this time they used red sweet potatoes, so it tastes even sweeter!

"tasty."

Tang Changping picked up an even larger mouthful of sweet potato rice and put it in his mouth.

"Why was Teacher Tang staring blankly at the food just now?"

Xu Yaomei's sudden words made Tang Changping slow down his chewing, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "Because, because I choked on something when I was little, I haven't dared to eat since."

Tang Changping seems to communicate more naturally and easily with children.

"Choked? It must be from steamed sweet potatoes with white flesh, right?" the older sister asked upon hearing this.

Xu Chunsheng also said with a smile:

"Only white-fleshed sweet potatoes are like this; one bite of sweet potato, two sips of water, and three slaps are needed to get it down smoothly."

This made everyone burst into laughter.

Tang Changping thought about it for a moment and it seemed to be true. However, he was too embarrassed to talk to Sister Xu, so he could only nod awkwardly and keep putting food into his mouth.

"Teacher Tang, don't just eat rice, eat some meat too."

After saying that, Xu Chunsheng picked up a piece of cured meat with shredded cabbage and put it into Tang Changping's bowl. He then put a piece of cured meat into Tang Changping's bowl for his younger brother and sister as well.

At the same time, Tang Changping seemed to hear two small exhalations.

Although the Xu family was poor and had a relaxed family atmosphere, they placed great importance on their children's manners. For example:

Habits such as greeting elders proactively, waiting for elders or guests to start eating first, and not wasting food are cultivated from a young age.

Seeing that Tang Changping was only focused on eating the rice in his bowl and not picking up any other dishes, Xu Yaomei became very anxious and kept looking at her older brother and sister.

Xu San Di performed slightly better than his sister, but only in terms of facial expression control; his eyes still betrayed his anxiety.

Xu Chunsheng looked at his younger siblings' expressions, then at Tang Changping who was only focused on eating, and that's when Xu Chunsheng put food on Tang Changping's plate.

This made the younger siblings look at Xu Chunsheng with starry eyes: Second brother is really too good.

Tang Changping, perhaps because of the earlier words "one sweet potato, two sips of water, three slaps," relaxed and became less awkward, and tasted the food that Xu Chunsheng had put on his plate.

The moment the dish enters your mouth, the aroma of the cured pork stimulates your taste buds, and as you chew, you can taste the sweetness of the cabbage, which neutralizes the heavy saltiness of the cured pork. The more you eat, the more addictive it becomes.

Tang Changping's eyes lit up immediately, and even his stomach began to rumble with delight.

For a moment, he couldn't help but reach out with his chopsticks and take one bite after another.

After several attempts, Tang Changping realized he had been a bit rash. Looking up, he awkwardly put down his chopsticks and said, embarrassed and embarrassed:

"I'm so sorry, this dish was so delicious that I couldn't resist and lost my temper."

"It's nothing, eat more if you like it, and try the other dishes too."

Xu Chunsheng said this, but his actions showed no sign of it. While talking, he put more meat on his younger siblings' plates and even put a piece on his older sister's plate.

The older sister glared at Xu Chunsheng, as if to say: There are guests here, so be mindful.

However, Xu Chun didn't see it. He was busy adding rice to Tang Changping's bowl. He held the wooden steamer under his arm and took a wooden spoon in his other hand. He walked to Tang Changping's side and scooped a large spoonful of rice into his bowl.

After the meal, Tang Changping sat under the eaves at the entrance of the main room, turning his head to look at the eldest sister who was tidying up the dining table inside.

Tang Changping felt from the bottom of his heart that the food cooked by the eldest sister of the Xu family was indeed delicious, and it was the first time that he had not tasted "sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty" in a single dish.

Because his mother had no talent for cooking, when he was a child he would refuse to eat, his mother would go to learn to cook from relatives in order to get him to eat a few more bites, but she didn't make much progress.

"Teacher Tang, how was lunch?"

Xu Chunsheng brought out a cup of hot water from inside the house and handed it to Tang Changping, interrupting his thoughts.

Tang Changping thanked him and answered Xu Chunsheng's question seriously.

"It's delicious, with a 'pot-cooked' flavor, and it's also very generous. Even the sweet potato rice is different from what I used to think of as sweet potato rice; it's fragrant, sweet, and soft."

Tang Changping felt from the bottom of his heart that this meal at the Xu family's house was unlike his mother's "casual cooking" or the monotonous meals at restaurants. This lunch allowed him to experience the true "flavor of the pot" and felt like a feast for his taste buds.

This made him steal a few more glances at his older sister. He saw her quickly and neatly tidying up the bowls, chopsticks, and table. Looking up from her hands, he saw her delicate and graceful oval face, her bright and clear eyes, and her pleasing appearance. The more he looked at her, the more attractive she became.

……

Shortly after the meal, the rain gradually stopped, and Tang Changping left the Xu family home to go to the primary school to tidy up the dormitory.

After Tang Changping left, Xu Sandi avoided his sisters and pulled his older brother Xu Chunsheng into the back room, asking seriously, "Second brother, I heard someone in town today saying that eldest sister likes Qian Junwei and wants to marry him?"