The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

When the two entered the main room, the others were already seated.

Grand Tutor Zhou remained seated in the main seat. After the two of them were seated, Grand Tutor Zhou smiled and said to Shen Cao, "Miss Shen Cao, I'm so sorry to trouble you again this time. You've prepared such a large table of delicious food to entertain this old man."

Shen Cao quickly stood up, raised her teacup, and said, "Grand Tutor Zhou, this is what a junior should do, especially since you are my elder brother's future teacher."

"As the saying goes, 'A teacher for a day is a father for life,' what I have done are just trivial matters."

"I respect you and wish you a safe journey back to Beijing."

She tilted her head back and drank the tea in one gulp instead of wine.

Grand Tutor Zhou nodded. Since taking Shen Chen as his last disciple, he had become increasingly satisfied with this student. This was not only because Shen Chen himself was very outstanding, but also partly because of Shen Chen's family, especially his younger sister.

Shen Chen's family members are knowledgeable and reasonable, which will help him in his future career in officialdom.

What's more, his younger sister is not only intelligent, but also an excellent cook.

If he had to say what he would miss most about leaving Xin'an County this time, it would be the food made by Shen Chen's sister.

He won't have the chance to eat this again when he returns to the capital, so he'd better eat a lot today.

As soon as he came in, he glanced around at the food on the table. Some of the dishes were ones he had eaten before, while many others were ones he had never tried before.

"Grand Tutor Zhou, I saw that you really enjoyed this boiled pork slices before, so I made it again."

"The chili powder this time was picked and dried today. I also specially made it into chili powder paste, which will taste even better than the one I had before. Please try it."

Shen Cao pointed to the boiled pork slices in the middle and introduced them.

Grand Tutor Zhou's gaze immediately shifted to the boiled pork slices. Indeed, this dish looked slightly different from the one he had eaten before.

This one is a bit dark in color, probably because of the burnt chili peppers that Shen Cao just mentioned.

He picked up a slice of pork from the boiled pork slices with his chopsticks. The pork slice was coated with some burnt chili powder, and the chili peppers were burnt and black.

It does smell like a burnt aroma.

He put it in his mouth, tasted it, and found it slightly spicy. The meat slices were as smooth and tender as ever.

The spiciness was a bit lower than before, and the aroma was a bit stronger. The burnt chili peppers looked dark, but they didn't taste very burnt; instead, they added a bit of chili flavor.

He nodded with satisfaction.

Ye Shu, who was standing to the side, had been burned by the spiciness last time, so he didn't dare to try it easily this time. However, when he heard Shen Cao say that this time it tasted even better than before, he couldn't resist giving it a try.

Seeing Ye Shu's hesitation, Shen Cao knew that he was still bothered by the spiciness of the boiled pork slices from last time.

"Uncle Ye, you can try this. It's a new chili pepper this time, and it's been roasted. It's not spicy."

When Shen Qing heard his sister say it wasn't spicy, he was the first to pick up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Last time, he was also burned by the spiciness. Although it tasted good, he only took one bite.

After Shen Qing swallowed the boiled pork slices, the familiar burning sensation did not occur.

His sister hadn't lied to him; it really wasn't spicy.

Seeing that Shen Qing had finished eating without getting any spiciness, Ye Shu tried a bite herself.

It was indeed delicious, and it wasn't spicy at all.

Grand Tutor Zhou mocked him, "You're not even as good as a five-year-old child. What's wrong with being spicy once in the face of delicious food?"

Ye Shu was speechless. "Grand Tutor Zhou, there are so many people here. Please give him some face."

The Shen family members pretended not to hear Grand Tutor Zhou's words and continued eating their own food.

After making his joke, Grand Tutor Zhou ladled himself a bowl of porcini mushroom rice. Just as he was about to pick up the bowl and start eating, Shen Cao gave him another recommendation.

"Grand Tutor Zhou, would you like to try this new way of eating?"

Grand Tutor Zhou looked at Shen Cao with suspicion.

"The village chief came again a couple of days ago and brought two big bags full of crabs."

“I steamed them all at once and made them into crab roe sauce.”

"This crab roe sauce is delicious whether you mix it with rice or noodles."

"You can scoop a spoonful and mix it with the porcini mushroom rice to try first."

"I really like eating it this way. Although it will overpower some of the umami flavor of the porcini mushrooms, it will also blend with the umami flavor of the crab roe, making it unique."

"If it's a bit too greasy, you can add a couple of drops of aged vinegar."

"Try it."

Shen Cao picked up the plate of crab roe sauce and handed it to Grand Tutor Zhou.

Grand Tutor Zhou scooped a spoonful of the golden, oily crab roe sauce into the bowl.

Stir thoroughly with chopsticks, and the dark brown rice will turn orange-yellow. It certainly looks tempting.

He scooped up a large spoonful of the mixed rice and put it in his mouth; the taste of crab roe immediately filled his entire mouth.

He could still clearly taste the texture of the crab meat.

It's obvious that this crab roe sauce still contains crab meat, but the overall flavor has turned into that of crab roe.

The flavors of crab roe blend with those of porcini mushrooms, along with the seasonings, creating a rich and complex flavor profile.

However, while it tastes delicious, it is indeed a bit greasy.

He picked up the vinegar prepared on the table and dripped two drops onto it.

I took another bite, and immediately after it entered my mouth, I noticed a slight sourness.

However, when you taste it again, in addition to the original salty and savory flavor, there is also a hint of the unique sweetness of crab meat.

Previously, because no vinegar was added, the sweetness was not obvious.

With the initial impact of the vinegar, the sweet aftertaste becomes much more pronounced.

It tastes even better now, and the greasiness from before is gone.

He finished eating with satisfaction, then picked up the vinegar and added two drops.

In no time, the bowl of rice was finished.

Seeing that Grand Tutor Zhou was enjoying his meal, Shen Chen raised his teacup and walked over to his parents.

"Father, Mother, I'd like to offer you this first cup of wine today."

He then turned and bowed to Grand Tutor Zhou, saying, "Grand Tutor Zhou, I was rude this time."

Grand Tutor Zhou personally helped him up, and gently tapped his arm with the hand that was supporting him, saying, "We're family, your teacher understands your heart."

Shen Chen then turned around and continued to pay respects to his parents.

"You have worked so hard all these years to support my education."

After saying that, he finished the wine in his glass and filled it up for himself.

"Your unfilial son is leaving tomorrow to study far away."

"As the saying goes, 'While parents are alive, one should not travel far,' yet I have gone to the capital so far away and have not been able to take good care of you."

After saying this, he finished his drink and knelt down, kowtowing several times to Mr. and Mrs. Shen.

Shen's mother was already in tears, and Shen's father's eyes were also red.

They helped their son up, saying, "Chen'er, just focus on your studies. You don't need to worry about things at home."

“Your mother and I are still young, we don’t need you to take care of us in our old age.”

“The child will definitely come back to pick you up in the future, so that our family will never be separated.”

He then downed his third glass of wine in one gulp.

"Good boy, take good care of yourself and study hard with Grand Tutor Zhou."

Shen Chen nodded heavily.

After sitting down, he wiped away his tears.

Men don't easily shed tears, but when they are heartbroken, they can't help but cry.

"I wish you a bright future, brother."

Everyone raised their glasses to bid farewell to Shen Chen and Grand Tutor Zhou.