A stunning beauty arrived on the island; she invented everything from childcare to babysitting.

The young men Yan Fei had called over were quite efficient. They quickly cleared all the weeds in the backyard and even turned over the soil. They all joined the team building the pavilion.

Seeing this, An Ning immediately began preparing dinner for everyone.

"Hey girl, I'm here to help you."

Zhao Xuemei came to help; An Ning had already told her before Yan Fei and the others arrived.

There are only four sets of bowls and chopsticks at home, and a few more plates, but only five in total, so we have to borrow the missing tableware from Zhao Xuemei.

An Ning said without any hesitation, "Then, sister-in-law, could you help me wash the vegetables first?"

Watch as she demonstrates how to cook ten dishes and a soup in one pot!

Anning reheated the pork belly skin she bought, briefly blanched it in water, then changed the water and boiled it again, while also throwing in five eggs.

After the meat is cooked, remove the eggs and rinse them with cold water, then set the broth aside.

Wipe the water out of the pot, put the whole piece of pork belly directly into the pot and fry until golden brown on all six sides. Put in the green peppers, hard-boiled eggs and a cleaned sea bass and fry until they develop a tiger skin. Take them out and set them aside.

Sauté scallions and ginger in the rendered oil until fragrant, then add potatoes, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, clams, and winter melon to the pot. Pour in the broth from cooking the meat, add salt and MSG, and simmer.

A few minutes later, the lettuce was taken out and arranged on a plate, then topped with the garlic sauce made last time. The first dish of garlic lettuce was ready.

Next, take the clams and winter melon out and put them in a bowl, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and the clam and winter melon soup is ready.

Then add the previously fried fish, tiger-skin eggs, and green peppers to the pot, along with garlic, cooking wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and thirteen-spice powder, and continue simmering.

When the time is almost up, put the flavorful tiger-skin eggs and green peppers into a bowl, cut them into pieces with scissors, and the tiger-skin eggs and green peppers are ready.

The eggplant, green beans, and potatoes are almost done by now; take them out and you have eggplant, potato, and green bean stew.

At this point, only a piece of pork belly and a fish remain in the pot. Add a small amount of star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and dried chili pepper pieces to the pot. Remove the fish, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and pour hot oil over it. The braised fish is now ready.

The braised pork still needed to simmer for a while, so Anning used a spatula to cut the meat into chunks and started processing the remaining ingredients.

There was one sea bass left, which was scored, and scallions and ginger were placed on the bottom of the plate; ten oysters had already been pried open by Zhao Xuemei and were topped with a generous amount of garlic sauce.

Place a rack in the pot, put the plate containing the sea bass and garlic sauce inside, add a diced potato to the pot, and continue to simmer for fifteen minutes.

Place fresh shredded scallions and chili peppers on the sea bass, pour hot oil over it, and drizzle with prepared steamed fish soy sauce. The steamed sea bass is now ready.

Garlic oysters don't need any preparation; they can be served directly from the pan.

The braised pork and potatoes have been stewed until tender and flavorful. After reducing the sauce over high heat, the dish is served with a vibrant color that whets the appetite.

The remaining broth wasn't wasted either. Anning added boiling water, then threw in the prepared cabbage and glass noodles to cook. She added some seasonings, and the cabbage and glass noodle stew was ready.

For the last cold dish, Anning swiftly smashed two cucumbers, chopped them into sections, and mixed them with a spicy and delicious dipping sauce, thus completing the ten dishes and one soup.

Zhao Xuemei watched in stunned silence.

I thought it would take a whole afternoon to prepare ten dishes and a soup, but Anning managed to cook them all in one pot. Moreover, the dishes looked quite presentable after being plated, and they even looked better than the food in state-run restaurants.

"Girl, won't the flavors mix if you do it like this?"

"No, it won't. Clams can enhance the flavor, so the flavors of the earlier dishes won't mix. The fish is added later, and I've cleaned the black membrane inside its belly, so it won't be too fishy. The braised pork has a strong flavor, which can directly mask the taste of the fish."

In the apocalypse, even the slightest noise can attract zombies, so everyone has developed the habit of quickly starting a fire to cook.

Anning has high standards for food, so she created her own one-pot meal. As long as the ingredients are not particularly fishy, ​​it will not be affected.

“Then I’ll learn it too. When there are more people, I’ll do it like you do. It’s so much easier!” Zhao Xuemei looked quite interested in this approach.

Anning looked at the water in the bucket; it was almost empty.

Zhao Xuemei had just brought water from her own home, and used it just as thoroughly.

"I'll have to trouble you to come with me to fetch water later."

"No need! No need!" Yan Fei, who came from the yard after smelling the aroma, immediately said, "Sisters, don't bother. We'll help you get the water before we leave, once we're done."

"There aren't that many convenient routes; they're not even on the same road!"

"We have plenty of strength!"

An Ning suddenly remembered that internet meme from later generations and burst out laughing.

She quickly set out the bowls and chopsticks, leaving some food for Xiao Ni'er and Xu Pengfei who hadn't returned yet, and called out to the back, "Comrades, stop working for now, eat first, or the food will get cold."

Someone shouted, "Sister-in-law, we'll be done here soon!"

"It'll be ready soon, we'll continue later. Yan Fei, go and call them all in. These dishes should be eaten while they're hot."

Yan Fei called the young soldiers into the house, but since they had turned over the soil in the yard and their shoes were covered in mud, they were a little lost when they stepped into the house and retreated.

Anning hadn't noticed at first, but when she saw everyone gathered at the doorway, she hurriedly invited them in.

"Everyone, just come in. I'll just drag things out a bit later."

The six young soldiers, feeling embarrassed, pushed each other until they finally all got into the house.

Anning had been cooking the whole time and had no idea what the backyard looked like. But when she looked out the door, it had changed drastically.

The lower half of the gazebo she wanted had already been erected, and the roof had been installed; all that was left was to paint it and nail it on.

There's a bag of cement next to it. Once the roof is installed, we'll build a platform underneath to make cleaning easier.

Everyone's eyes lit up when they saw the table laden with food, and their mouths watered, but no one dared to make the first move.

Anning brought over the last of the water in the bucket: "Wash your hands first, then we'll eat."

Finally, someone couldn't help but speak up: "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. This meal is even better than what we ate during the Chinese New Year!"

Others chimed in, "That's right, that's right! We're not picky, we'll just have something simple."

That's what they said, but after a few polite exchanges, everyone started wolfing down their food, and before long, the table was empty.

Anning was worried that everyone wouldn't have enough to eat, so she cooked rice for two more people and also made a special dish of cabbage stew with glass noodles. As a result, everyone shoved rice, glass noodles, side dishes, and chili peppers into their mouths, and even slurped up the broth. They practically licked the plate clean.

The last time I saw someone eat like this was when Sun Weiguo came to their house.

But compared to this group, they are nothing but small fry.