Food: The super chef just wants to set up a stall leisurely

Looking at the task given by the system, Zhao Xiaojing's silence was deafening.

"System, why do you tailor this task?"

[The system is very smart. As long as it serves the food itself, you can raise any reasonable request. The system will customize corresponding reward tasks. The tasks are usually challenges centered around you.]

"What happens if the mission is not completed?"

[If the task is not completed, the system will deduct half of the reward for the next task. If the next task is still not completed, the entire reward for the next task will be deducted.]

[Friendly reminder: You have chosen to accept this task before it was issued]

"Hiss..." Zhao Xiaojing's scalp felt numb.

In the system interface, that row of tasks is particularly eye-catching.

[Reward task: Make a delicious meal for Dong Mei]

[Task progress: 0/1]

Cooking is not difficult, and it’s not that she doesn’t want to do it, but she is really scared.

After I sent Dong Mei a short essay with deep emotion yesterday, Dong Mei only replied with three words: It’s up to you!

The reason why she was able to compromise and get married twice in her previous life was that she was really incompetent and couldn't pay back the money. She didn't know what to do except get married. The second reason was that Dong Mei had a strong personality. If she didn't agree with her, she would lose her temper and lecture her. If that didn't work, she would cry and use moral blackmail while crying. Zhao Xiaojing couldn't stand her.

But she has goals in this life and her own career, even though it is just a small stall now.

She admitted that she was still cowardly. When she encountered problems she didn't want to face, she wanted to bypass them directly, such as turning on airplane mode or going out to avoid Dong Mei.

But it was too difficult to face the problem! She might never be good at rejecting strong elders who were so kind to her. If she rejected them forcefully, she would only mess it up, just like now.

After much hesitation, Zhao Xiaojing finally came to the vegetable market and quickly picked out some fresh chicken wings, some green peppers, two eggplants, half a pound of cherry tomatoes and some plums, as well as other side dishes such as onions, ginger, and garlic.

There is still time. Dong Mei gets off work at six o'clock and will be home around half past six.

After carrying a bunch of vegetables to Dong Mei's house, I waited at the door for ten minutes before she came back from get off work.

"Aren't you already strong enough? Why are you here?"

"What's the point of bringing all this? I haven't given you any food yet, right?"

"You didn't even call ahead when you came?"

Before Zhao Xiaojing could speak, Dong Mei had already said a series of things with a frown on her face.

"Third Aunt." After Zhao Xiaojing called out, she didn't know what to say and followed Dong Mei.

As soon as I entered the house and took the things to the kitchen, Dong Mei followed me in and put on an apron.

Then he took an ice cream from the refrigerator and stuffed it into Zhao Xiaojing's hand. He pointed outside and told her to turn on the TV. Then he opened the plastic bag that Zhao Xiaojing had put the vegetables in and started taking the vegetables out.

"Aunt San, I'll cook today. You take a break." Zhao Xiaojing spoke quickly. Dong Mei had already started getting the chopping board.

"Go ahead and have fun. If you have the heart to cook, why don't you just be obedient and get married!"

Seeing that Dong Mei had no intention of stopping, Zhao Xiaojing hurriedly put the ice cream into the refrigerator, picked up the chicken wings in the bag and started washing them.

"Hey, put it here, put it here! I still want you to cook here? Go away!" Dong Mei was busy trying to snatch the dish from Zhao Xiaojing's hand again.

"I've already got my hands dirty, so don't get your hands dirty!"

"I've never cooked for you, you should at least try my cooking."

Zhao Xiaojing finally said the lines she had been thinking about all the way.

After arguing for a while, Dong Mei saw that Zhao Xiaojing insisted, so she didn't go out or say anything else. She just stood in the kitchen and watched her cook.

Zhao Xiaojing chose dishes that are quick to prepare today. She planned to make pan-fried chicken wings, chopped eggs with green peppers, cold-mixed eggplant, and pickled cherry tomatoes for her third aunt to eat after dinner.

First wash two eggplants, then steam them whole and turn off the heat after about ten minutes.

After steaming, pick up the chicken wings and cut all the wings in the middle.

Then add black pepper, a little salt, cooking wine and ginger slices and marinate.

While pickling, wash and chop the green peppers, pour a little oil into the pan and fry until soft.

Then beat three eggs, pour the fried green pepper into the egg liquid, add a small spoonful of salt, and stir well.

Open the steamer during the break and let the eggplant cool down.

Pour enough water into the pot to cover the bottom of the pot and boil the cherry tomatoes.

Chop garlic, green onion, and chili pepper, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, balsamic vinegar, and sugar, then pour hot oil to mix the sauce.

Take out the cherry tomatoes, replace with cold water, add plum sugar and boil. Peel the cherry tomatoes one by one, put them in a bowl, then pour in the plum water, cover with a lid and refrigerate.

Wash the pan, dry it, and turn on the fire. Heat the pan with cold oil (add a little more oil), pour in the evenly stirred green pepper and egg mixture, turn the pan around to spread the egg mixture and solidify, then use a spatula to spread it and turn it over, fry it until it looks nicely browned, and serve.

At this time, the chicken wings have been marinated. Add a little oil to the frying pan, turn on low heat, place the chicken wings with the fat side facing down, lay them flat in the pan, and cover the pan.

After about two or three minutes, the chicken skin on one side is set, and when it is charred and fragrant, turn it over and cover the pot. After that, turn it over several times, the chicken wings are almost cooked, then turn on high heat and fry until both sides are golden brown before serving.

The surface of the chicken wings is fried until golden and shiny, and then sprinkled with the non-spicy fried skewers dipping sauce in a small bottle. With the secret dipping sauce to enhance the flavor, Zhao Xiaojing is very confident about this fried chicken wings.

Then tear the cooled eggplant into finger-width strips and pour the prepared sauce on them.

All four dishes are ready.

Dong Mei remained silent. She watched Zhao Xiaojing skillfully and methodically prepare four delicious dishes and bring them to the table. She then looked up and stared at her for a long while.

"Aunt, try this." Zhao Xiaojing nervously picked up a chicken wing and put it in Dong Mei's bowl.

Dong Mei sighed, picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. She was stunned for a while, then tried the cold eggplant and green pepper and egg.

"I thought you only knew how to cook porridge, but it turns out you can do so much more. Did you learn all that at that time?" Dong Mei was a little surprised.

Zhao Xiaojing was stunned, then nodded hesitantly. The time Dong Mei was talking about was when Zhao Xiaojing's mother was sick. At that time, her mother couldn't eat, so she cooked porridge in different ways every day, adding different side dishes to the porridge and simmering it into a mushy porridge, so that her mother could eat a little.

In fact, Zhao Xiaojing learned how to cook after she got married in her previous life. She was not very proficient in these things before that, but she couldn't explain the fact that she was reborn, so she could only deal with it vaguely.

Dong Mei took another bite of the chicken wing. She could taste the crispy fried chicken skin and the tender chicken meat inside. The cooking time was very good, and the dipping sauce was not spicy but very fragrant, which was especially delicious when eaten with the chicken wings.

"What kind of seasoning did you put on the chicken wings? I saw you just took out a small bottle and sprinkled it there."

"I made this non-spicy dipping sauce myself and thought of bringing it over for you to try. If you like it, Third Aunt, I'll bring you more next time." Zhao Xiaojing spoke quickly when she saw that Third Aunt was interested in the dipping sauce.

"It's not necessary. Everything I eat will be delicious when you get married. You can worry more about your own life in your spare time.

If you don't like what I found for you, you can find one yourself. I won't force you to marry Zhang Guodong, but you are already so old, and you still don't find one. You can't not get married, right? What a shame!"

When this was brought up, Dong Mei put down her chopsticks in anger again, and instantly became displeased with the food on the table.

"You should focus on something useful. You even brought me some non-spicy dipping sauce. If you care about me and your mom, don't let us worry about them!"

Zhao Xiaojing glanced at Dong Mei and silently put down her chopsticks.

I knew that no matter what we talked about, we would have to talk about this topic. Zhao Xiaojing sighed in her heart.

"Third Aunt, I didn't say I won't get married, nor did I want to worry you, but what can I do if I get married now? I have nothing, no job, no education, and if I get married, I can only be a housewife..."

"So if you don't get married, you can be successful and become a high-ranking official? So many people are married, and others are married because they have jobs and education, and others just want to be housewives?

If you say so, most people in the country won’t be able to get married, so just don’t get married!” Dong Mei quickly counterattacked.

"Third Aunt, that's not what I meant. I didn't say I would never get married, but I at least have to be an excellent person before I can find an excellent person."

In fact, Zhao Xiaojing had experienced two rotten marriages in her previous life, and she no longer had any expectations for marriage. She believed that love existed, but it would not happen to her, so she was not prepared to enter into marriage again and repeat the old path of destroying her life. But she couldn't say this to Dong Mei, or she would explode, so she could only take a neutral approach.

"You mean the one I found for you isn't good enough? You didn't like the previous boss of the Wang family, and his mother was indeed a troublemaker. But what about Zhang Guodong? He has a stable job, his parents have income, and he bought a big house. What's there to dislike about him?"

"But as I said earlier, I have nothing myself. What can I change by marrying her? I can only be a housewife."

"What's wrong with being a housewife? Your mother used to be a housewife too. Why do people say that you have to have everything before you can get married..."

The topic returned to the starting point. Zhao Xiaojing was unable to defeat the bandit-like logical consistency of her elders.

In the past, she had always compromised, but after two lives, she found that compromise could not solve the problem. Confrontation was even more ineffective, especially in Dong Mei's case.

"Third Aunt, you just said that my mother used to be a housewife, but how did she live? My father passed away so early, and she had to work and take care of me all by herself. You have seen how hard she worked for so many years. She wore several pairs of socks that were torn for several years, and she also paid for my education, hoping that I would be knowledgeable and promising. Did she really want to see me become a housewife again?

During the most difficult time, she washed dishes in the cafeteria during the day, and stayed up late with me to do homework at night. She would make me something to eat when I was hungry after studying until 12 o'clock. She also got up at 6:30 in the morning. She used to say that she didn't ask for anything else, didn't ask me to be rich, but only asked me to have a decent job to support myself after graduation, and not be like her.

Third Aunt, you said she would not feel at ease if I did not get married, but will she feel at ease if I become a housewife?"

After talking for a long time and mentioning her mother, Zhao Xiaojing became excited.

"My mother was speaking incoherently until she passed away. She kept holding me and crying, saying she was sorry for delaying my studies and that I shouldn't have dropped out of school."

Zhao Xiaojing choked up as she spoke, unable to continue, and just kept wiping away the tears that were falling. Dong Mei on the side also fell silent, with red eyes and a stubborn look up.

No one spoke anymore and the room suddenly became quiet, with only the occasional sound of Zhao Xiaojing's suppressed sobs and nose wiping being heard.

"Auntie San, I'm going to go home first. The pickled plum tomatoes in the refrigerator should be frozen for two hours. They will be perfect for you while you watch TV. Remember to eat them."

Zhao Xiaojing stood up to say goodbye, then took out a tissue and pressed her eyes. She couldn't calm down for a long time and couldn't stay here any longer.

"Okay." Dong Mei responded in a hoarse voice.