Chapter 12: Spinach in Broth

The moment their eyes met as the two women ate the braised spinach in the broth, Grandma Song immediately concealed her guilty expression, instinctively tightening her grip on her chopsticks to prevent them from falling.

In an instant, she had figured out how to explain the situation.

Her eyes shifted from worry to tenderness as she said, "I saw you enjoying the braised pork so much, and I thought it best not to let the vegetables overpower the aroma. I'll just eat it myself."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Liu felt his eyelids twitch violently.

His wife's expression clearly indicated something was wrong; he always ended up losing out in situations like this.

And what did she mean by "I'll just eat it myself"? His bowl of stir-fried bok choy was almost empty, with only a tiny bit left at the bottom.

It seemed he had not only paid back what he had just eaten, but had actually lost out.

Recalling the delicious braised pork he had just tasted, he immediately realized something was amiss, instinctively pulling his plate closer to himself and staring at her with a wary look.

Seeing this, Grandma Song no longer tried to hide anything, looking at her husband with an attitude of "What can you do about it?"

She quickly put her chopsticks away, took another bite of the bok choy with relish, and her face was full of blissful enjoyment.

Then she glanced back at her husband across the table and snorted, "Stingy!"

Hearing this, Grandpa Liu was truly exasperated and reminded her, "Didn't the owner say that the dishes here can be sold separately? If you like them, just buy another portion."

Hearing this, Grandma Song suddenly realized that she had forgotten about this.

She abruptly stood up, startling Grandpa Liu, who couldn't help but shout, "Be careful! The dishes won't run away!"

"But others will snatch them first!"

Grandma Song replied without turning around.

Her steps were rapid, almost at the speed she used to use when queuing for eggs, and even faster as she ran.

It wasn't that she was impatient, but rather that there were too many competitors.

When she entered, she had felt sorry for Xiaoxiao, the owner and chef, wondering how the business could survive with so few customers.

But now she didn't think that way anymore.

Instead, she was thinking about how fierce the competition for food would be with Xiaoxiao's excellent cooking skills.

The thought of that scene filled her with anxiety, so she decided to eat her fill before anyone else noticed!

Suddenly, the entire cafeteria was awash with people rushing towards Qu Xiaoxiao.

Anyone who had taken a bite wanted more, making the remaining food at the counter their target.

In the end, the elderly residents, with their agile movements, prevailed.

A simple twist of their bodies while vying for a spot was enough to startle the community service center staff.

Ma Qun was one of them, his steps instinctively backing away as he watched the elderly residents.

He regretted it as soon as he realized what he had done.

But there was nothing he could do at that moment; he could only pray in his heart: beg the grandparents to leave him some food, not to buy it all.

But he underestimated the grandparents' extravagance.

"Boss, give me three bowls of braised pork, two bowls each of scrambled eggs with chives and stir-fried bok choy!"

Upon hearing this, not only Ma Qun, but even Grandma Song, following behind Grandma Yang, couldn't help but remind her.

"Xiu Mei, you're taking so much, what about the people behind you? And can you even finish all that by yourself?"

This wasn't just a question Grandma Song wanted to ask, but also Ma Qun and Qu Xiaoxiao.

Enjoying their own cooking was fine, but wasting food was another matter entirely.

Hearing this, Grandma Yang showed no remorse, instead displaying an air of righteousness, retorting, "Chun Hua, are you only taking one serving? I have other people's portions here."

Okay.

How could someone who'd tasted such delicious food be content with just one serving?

Everyone thought the same way, wanting to buy more than their stomach's maximum capacity, since the cafeteria food wasn't expensive anyway.

Therefore, those at the back of the line could only remind everyone as they got their food:

"Don't forget what the boss said, don't waste! Leave some for us!"

The first part was just an excuse; the latter part was what everyone truly felt.

The moment Grandma Yang placed her card in the card reader, the machine emitted a rapid and prolonged beep.

"Beep—"

This was the first time Qu Xiaoxiao had heard this sound. She glanced down at the display screen and reminded her, "Hello! Insufficient balance."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Yang blushed, feeling embarrassed.

When she got the card yesterday, they had underestimated Qu Xiaoxiao's age and worried that the food wouldn't be good, so they only topped it up with ten yuan, enough for one meal.

Having just tasted the delicious food, they were so focused on having more to satisfy their restless stomachs that they had completely forgotten about the lack of money on the card.

The embarrassment of not having money and the craving for delicious food collided.

In a flash, she suddenly had a perfect idea. She

turned sharply to Grandma Song behind her and said, "Chunhua, lend me some money, I'll pay you back later. If you're willing to lend us money, our senior model team will give you a chance to join."

She even used a bribe to get money for food, which made the people behind her smile knowingly.

Grandma Song thought for a moment about her balance, nodded, and handed over her meal card.

They were neighbors anyway; borrowing a little money didn't require a spot in the modeling team.

However, she'd wanted to join the modeling team for a long time, so this opportunity was good.

"Beep."

The meal card was successfully deducted. Grandma Song, enduring the envious and jealous looks from the others, quickly returned to her seat, only letting out a sigh of relief after sitting down. She couldn't help but wipe the sweat from her brow and exclaimed to the others at the table, "The cafeteria staff are crazy! If I hadn't acted quickly, I probably wouldn't have anything to eat now."

"It's all thanks to you, Captain!"

"Xiao Xiao's cooking is absolutely amazing. Whether it's braised pork, scrambled eggs with chives, or stir-fried bok choy, everything is delicious. Especially compared to my previous cooking, what was I eating?"

"Not only that, this free spinach broth is also delicious."

The team members chattered excitedly about their discoveries when they saw their captain return.

The people at the table were all members of a senior citizen modeling team organized by the community. Grandma Yang was the captain. After noticing the food was unusual, she bought several more portions at the urging of the others.

At that moment, the team members tacitly avoided mentioning the impact of overeating on their figures; with such delicious food in front of them, they couldn't care less about anything else.

Hearing this, Grandma Yang shifted her gaze to the spinach in broth beside her.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard the name, but it was the first time she was about to eat this dish.

Previously, when her son brought her granddaughter home, the granddaughter insisted on eating dishes like baby bok choy in broth or spinach in broth.

But she'd never even heard of them, let alone knew how to make them.

In the end, to fulfill her granddaughter's wish, she had to ask her husband to search online and make something haphazardly.

Sure enough, her granddaughter, who had been asking for it before dinner, only took a sip and then refused to touch it.

It was heartbreaking and worrying for her. Luckily, she had eaten other dishes; otherwise, she probably would have been heartbroken to see her granddaughter go hungry.

So, when Grandma Yang heard the name again, she couldn't help but starve.

She subconsciously let out a long breath, picked up the bowl, and stirred it gently with a spoon.

The vibrant green spinach, the purplish-red goji berries, the black and golden egg yolks, along with the red ham, swirled in the bowl.

The broth was an enticing milky yellow, and as it simmered, the aroma filled the air, quickly grabbing her nose.

Upon smelling it, she couldn't help but criticize what she had made before.

With a learning attitude, Grandma Yang carefully identified all the ingredients in the bowl.

Then, she ladled out a spoonful of soup, a mixture of various ingredients, and slowly put it in her mouth.

In that instant, she realized she had underestimated the deliciousness of the broth based solely on external observation.

The umami flavor immediately enveloped her entire mouth, stimulating and exciting the taste receptors on her tongue, quickly sending signals to her brain.

Her brain was immersed in the wonderful world created by the umami, unwilling to think of anything else.

Her teeth unconsciously bit into the spinach hidden in her mouth, and the burst of sweetness invigorated her.

Her eyes widened, unable to believe the sweetness she tasted—sweeter than any sugar.

The grainy egg yolk also joined in, a multitude of flavors attacking her tongue.

Only after reluctantly swallowing the mouthful did Grandma Yang awaken from the wonderful world created by the umami.

The next second, disregarding the still-hot temperature of the soup and spinach, she picked up the bowl and began gulping it down.

This scene stunned everyone at the table.

Who didn't know that their senior model team's captain, Ms. Yang Xiumei, was extremely health-conscious?

She'd nag all day about eating even a little extra, or anything greasy or high in additives, and increase her training intensity.

They had just assumed their captain was queuing up for food again for their sake.

Now, they suddenly realized they might have misunderstood.

And looking at Grandma Yang's expression, this spinach soup must be delicious; it would probably be a scramble for it.

While they pondered, their gaze shifted to the soup bowl.

Sure enough, they saw someone already quietly starting to eat. Now everyone was getting anxious, gulping down soup, preparing to empty their bowls for another.

While the team members were busy, Grandma Yang had already finished her bowl of spinach soup.

"Burp—"

Satisfaction made her forget table manners, and she let out a delightful burp.

But her brain immediately realized something, and she quickly closed her mouth, not wanting the delicious flavor to leak out.

It could be said that this soup was the best she had ever tasted in her life—fresh, sweet, and with a lingering aftertaste.

After finishing a bowl of hot soup, she felt a slight sweat break out all over her body, every pore radiating a comfortable aura, and all her worries vanished.

While Grandma Yang was still immersed in the aftertaste of the spinach soup, her teammates had already begun praising the deliciousness.

"The soup is so good!"

"How can spinach be so delicious! So crisp and sweet."

"Oh my god! I need to finish this quickly, I want another bowl!"

...

Hearing this, Grandma Yang realized something and, feeling a sense of urgency, quickly got up for another bowl.

By the time they finished lunch, everyone was completely sprawled out in their chairs, unable to move.

Each of them patted their bulging bellies, deeply moved.

"Xiaoxiao looks so young, but her cooking is amazing! I feel like my stomach is going to explode if I eat any more."

"Who isn't? It's been almost twenty years since I ate this much."

"What do you think Xiaoxiao will cook this afternoon?"

The question had barely left her lips when everyone started pondering.

Grandma Song, who was passing by, overheard and couldn't help but remind them:

"If you want to eat that afternoon meal, hurry up and top up your meal card. I told you we should trust the community; if I hadn't topped it up with fifty yuan, you'd only have soup to fill your stomachs."