Making money, taking exams and supporting the family

chapter 17: Moving

Regarding the matter of Lin Ze cooking in the kitchen, Zheng and He, the engaged couple, were skeptical at first.

However, when they saw Lin Ze skillfully wielding the spatula on the stove, their doubts vanished. Their mouths dropped open in astonishment. They never imagined that Lin Ze could really cook!

Moreover, watching him expertly chop ginger and garlic and handle oil and salt, they realized he knew what he was doing.

Apart from using a bit too much oil and salt… Well, it was a bit wasteful, but they could not find any other faults. His smooth and graceful movements were pleasing to the eye. It was no wonder he was an educated person; even his cooking looks so good.

Originally, Zheng Xiaoluo and He Xiangfeng were ready to take over if Lin Ze did not do well, but they consciously kept their mouths shut and decided to assist instead.

As they smelled the aroma, they could not deny it—Lin Ze’s culinary skills seemed to be quite good. However, who could put half a spoonful of oil in every meat dish they cooked? The resulting dishes must surely be delicious.

“Due to the lack of ingredients and cooking utensils at home, I can only make a few stir-fried dishes. Let’s just make do with what we have. Once we settle in, I’ll invite you, Brother He, to have a proper meal to celebrate our move and to thank you for taking care of Ah Xiu…”

As the dishes were served, Lin Ze greeted them warmly.

In this old house, there were very few cooking utensils. They only had an old worn-out iron pot and a few other things that the Lin family did not take with them when they moved, considering them too old. The iron pot would probably be unusable after a few more stir-fries.

With inadequate tools, Lin Ze only prepared some simple home-cooked dishes. Fortunately, Zheng and He had brought seasoning ingredients, showing their thoughtfulness.

However, nobody in the house understood what he was saying at all. They all stared, all dumbfounded, their eyes fixed on the dishes on the table, drooling uncontrollably.

When Lin Ze was stir-frying earlier, everyone could already smell the delicious aroma. But when the finished dishes came out, they were left speechless. Not only did Lin Ze’s cooking smell great, but it also looked good. Even the messy stir-fry looked exquisite.

If they had served it on a nice-looking plate, people would believe it was sold in a restaurant!

“Not at all, not at all! Let’s dig in!”

Zheng and He, the couple, swallowed their saliva and very naturally sat down, picking up their chopsticks without being too concerned about being too polite.

Seasonings in this world were plentiful. After all, they had all the basic things that one would expect in modern times. However, for people living in the countryside, where their livelihoods teetered on the line of basic subsistence, just being able to eat their fill was already good enough. Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar—all were consumables, and they were reluctant to use them.

So, with generous amounts of oil and salt, plus Lin Ze’s skillful cooking, the dishes he made today were undoubtedly delicious for the villagers.

Not to mention the substantial servings of white rice. That was something they could only taste after a good harvest and paying their taxes, something they could not eat more than a few times throughout the year.

The rice and flour they had given as a gift to Xiu Ger, Lin Ze had used them to cook a large pot. It could not go to waste; they had to make sure to eat their money’s worth!

Not only Zheng Xiaoluo and He Xiangfeng were devouring their food, but Zhang Xiu also stuffed his cheeks, unable to lift his head while eating.

“Eat slowly. From now on, let me take care of cooking at home. I’ll cook for you every day.”