Chapter 16: Exploding Fish

the fish-eating hand gripped her chopsticks tightly, cleverly winning the tug-of-war with the glass noodles.

A victor's smile spread across her face as she watched all the ingredients in the stir-fried mixed vegetables hang from her chopsticks.

With lightning speed, she stuffed the food into her mouth; she couldn't wait a second longer.

Slightly hot, the aroma of the various ingredients, stir-fried at high temperature, swirled around her nose and mouth with the steam. For a moment, Grandma Song felt an urge to sneeze.

But the food was already in her mouth; she didn't want to waste what she had painstakingly picked up.

Forcibly suppressing the urge, she quickly directed her teeth to chew.

The stir-fried mixed vegetables were full of wok hei (the smoky aroma imparted by a hot wok), becoming more fragrant with each chew.

The short stir-fry also kept the bean sprouts crisp, the chives tender and fragrant, and the eggs smooth and flavorful.

But what surprised her even more were the glass noodles mixed in, behaving just as they had when they had slipped from her grasp.

The noodles were incredibly elastic; you could even feel them being squeezed and deformed when you pressed them with your teeth, finally bursting open at the point of pressure.

The broken noodles immediately bounced wildly around in your mouth, like a chaotic dance of demons, a texture completely different from the other three ingredients.

It was precisely because of this uniqueness that the stir-fried mixed vegetables were so outstanding.

The various textures unfolded in one bite, leaving Grandma Song extremely satisfied, silently praising Qu Xiaoxiao's culinary skills.

She had previously considered matchmaking her grandson with Qu Xiaoxiao, but now it seemed the young woman was beautiful, skilled, and good at business; her grandson was lucky to be with her.

She needed to carefully consider her social circle to see if there was anyone worthy of her.

After the meal, everyone present was thoroughly impressed by Qu Xiaoxiao's cooking.

Because it was so delicious, everyone ate until they were stuffed and sat down, waiting for their stomachs to work and digest before leaving.

With nothing else to do, the group immediately engaged in what they were good at—gossiping.

Many people lamented that they hadn't topped up their accounts enough; the food wouldn't last more than a few days.

Looking at the time, they realized they couldn't top up their accounts again until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Qu Xiaoxiao observed that everyone had finished eating and went to the recycling area to collect their used plates for the dishwasher.

Every time this happened, she felt her father was somewhat considerate, having equipped the kitchen with many modern appliances; otherwise, she would have been exhausted.

"Achoo—"

Qu Tao, whom she was nagging, suddenly sneezed.

She Yunying couldn't help but tease, "Is Xiaoxiao complaining about you again?"

"How could I? I'm doing this to train Xiaoxiao. What future can she have if she just stays at home after graduating from university?

Hurry up! Come over here, I'll take some more pictures of you as a souvenir,"

Qu Tao retorted, outwardly strong but inwardly weak, guilty of considering the possibility his wife was talking about.

At the same time, he prayed in his heart that his daughter would understand his good intentions.

The father and daughter had a moment of perfect understanding, but it wasn't a long time.

Just as Qu Xiaoxiao was pushing a cart full of tableware towards the kitchen, the residents who were discussing something heard the commotion, and some immediately started asking questions.

"Xiaoxiao! Are you busy? Can I ask you something?"

"Grandma, sure, please ask."

Hearing the voice, Qu Xiaoxiao immediately stopped what she was doing and turned to look in the direction of the voice.

"Is it about the sudden purchase limit implemented today, and whether it will be like this from now on?"

This question was indeed difficult to answer, since no one was sure how business would be each day.

But she also thought about the bustling scene at the two meals today; if she didn't control it, some people would probably really not be able to get a meal.

The purpose of the community canteen is to satisfy the needs of the community residents, and it would be disheartening if someone came specifically to queue up but couldn't get a meal.

So she could only temporarily satisfy the wishes of most people; if they wanted to eat more, she would have to find other solutions.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Qu Xiaoxiao nodded solemnly and explained, "This rule will be in effect in the cafeteria for a while. Otherwise, with my small arms and legs, I wouldn't be able to handle making more dishes, especially with the increasing number of diners."

As she spoke, she even smiled and showed off her limbs to reassure everyone.

She then added, "But this is only temporary. I'll find a solution as soon as possible. Grandpas and grandmas, just wait a bit.

Also, for now, you can only buy one set meal per queue. If the first group buys, those queuing later can get a free meal."

This answer satisfied everyone present.

Some even felt a little sorry for Qu Xiaoxiao, a young girl doing so much work.

They began to reassure themselves that overeating wasn't good for their health, and the portion size of the set meal was enough for one person.

After the topic was turned over, someone immediately suggested, "Xiaoxiao, I see you're almost hoarse from talking so much while introducing today's dishes. Why don't you just hang a sign in a prominent place? That would make things easier."

Grandma Song, who spoke, felt sorry for the young girl's busy work and wanted to reduce her workload.

Upon hearing this, Qu Xiaoxiao immediately had a look of realization. She explained that she had forgotten something.

She had already prepared a blackboard at the entrance with the daily menu, but today, being the first day of business, she had been so busy that she had forgotten everything.

Therefore, hearing Grandma Song's words, she smiled apologetically and explained,

"I was prepared, but I forgot today. Everyone can see it at the entrance tomorrow."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in understanding.

Tang Wenhua, after listening to all this, suddenly realized he also had something to ask.

He had been so captivated by the aroma while topping up his card that he wanted to sit in the cafeteria and wait for food to be served. He wondered if the cafeteria could open early.

They weren't doing anything special; they just wanted to wait for food to be served.

After a moment's thought, he stood up and said, "Boss, I just wanted to ask if the cafeteria could open a little earlier each day? I'm not eating, I just want to find a place to sit."

"Hey! Old Tang, you're right. I wanted to sit down and wait for the food to open after topping up my card today. But the cafeteria is closed, so I had to walk home."

"Yeah, with so many of us watching over it, no one would dare to cause trouble while we're just sitting around."

...

The crowd discussed animatedly, occasionally making promises.

This was the first time Qu Xiaoxiao had noticed such a request from everyone.

She thought to herself: The area from the window to the back of the cafeteria is completely under lockdown; non-staff members can't get in at all.

She recalled the layout of the school cafeteria; it was open from morning to night, and students could freely come and go.

Besides, there weren't any valuables in the dining area.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, she spoke up:

"This is something I hadn't thought of. Opening shouldn't be a problem; it's just that I need to think about the specific hours.

Tomorrow, I'll post the menu and other information on the blackboard at the entrance so everyone can take a look when they pass by."

"Great!"

Receiving the approving looks, Qu Xiaoxiao's smile grew even brighter.

After waiting a while and seeing that no one had any further questions, she pushed her cart towards the kitchen.

Late at night, after a tiring day, Qu Xiaoxiao turned on her computer and checked the system data.

Adding and subtracting a couple of yuan from the payments on her phone that day, and deducting utilities like water, electricity, and gas, she had earned a total of 376 yuan.

It was about what she had expected that afternoon, but this was all under the condition that she was working independently and there were no rent costs for the shop.

Of all the costs, ingredients accounted for the largest proportion.

If someone on the market dared to choose the same ingredients as her, they would probably lose everything.

In summary, today started off well.

Lost in her anticipation for the future, Qu Xiaoxiao fell asleep with a smile.

The next day, as dawn broke, the red convertible had already left the Minsheng Road residential area.

Having driven a few times before, Qu Xiaoxiao knew there were practically no people or cars on the road at this time, so she drove at the maximum speed limit.

Therefore, when she arrived at Grandpa Song's door, it was a full ten minutes earlier than yesterday.

Song Guoqiang was still exercising in the yard; old people don't sleep much anymore.

Getting up early to stretch his body and breathe fresh air was much more comfortable than lying in bed.

When he saw the familiar figure on the road, his eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately stopped what he was doing, his old legs kicking as he sped closer.

Qu Xiaoxiao was already familiar with Grandpa Song's methods; after getting out of the car, she smiled, nodded at him, and opened the gate.

"Good morning, Grandpa Song!"

"Good morning, have you had breakfast? If not, there's some left at home."

"I ate before coming. My mind isn't clear without breakfast."

"Right! You should be like me. How can you not eat breakfast?"

Qu Xiaoxiao was confused by this. What did he mean by "like me"? But seeing that Grandpa Song didn't intend to elaborate, she didn't continue the conversation.

Instead, she picked up the bamboo basket in her hand, shook it slightly to show it off, and joked, "Then I'll start picking vegetables."

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Song Guoqiang waved his hand, indicating that Qu Xiaoxiao should do it herself.

However, when Qu Xiaoxiao glanced at the vegetable patch, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What vegetables are you going to pick today? What are you going to make?"

Qu Xiaoxiao didn't answer immediately. She planned to make an extra small meat dish today, to give everyone more choices and increase the variety of dishes so that everyone could eat more.

This was also one of her solutions to the purchase restriction policy yesterday.

At this moment, the lush green vegetable patch looked like delicious dishes to her, but she needed to think about how to combine them.

"Garlic scapes, lettuce, bok choy, and wormwood."

As he listed each vegetable, Song Guoqiang began to imagine what delicious dishes they would be made into.

However, Xiaoxiao's cooking skills were so good that everything she made would be equally delicious.

And he, he hadn't even had the chance to taste them yet.

The thought of this made him feel quite down.

He immediately made a decision: as soon as Qu Xiaoxiao left, he would call his irresponsible grandson to urge him to hurry up.

Meanwhile, Qu Xiaoxiao had already begun harvesting, taking out her prepared tool to pull the scapes from the thick garlic shoots.

Holding the scape in one hand, she used the other to make a cut from the outside, then cut it off at the bottom, and the tender scape was immediately pulled out.

Song Guoqiang nodded repeatedly in approval at her smooth movements.

Remembering the vegetables Qu Xiaoxiao had mentioned, he immediately called on the others in the yard to help.

In no time, all the necessary vegetables had been harvested.

Qu Xiaoxiao was so grateful she didn't know how to express it, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Grandpa Song, I really benefited from you. The vegetables were good and the price was reasonable, and you even helped with the picking. Thank you so much."

"Haha! It's nothing, just a helping hand. It's getting late, you still have to prepare lunch, go back now."

"Thank you, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

The two said goodbye in very good spirits.

Outside the door, Qu Xiaoxiao had just put down the brake when the system impatiently urged in her mind:

"Still don't know how to express your gratitude? Isn't your cooking the best thank you gift? I think you can make some spleen-strengthening eight-treasure cake, or water chestnut cake as a thank you gift. If you don't like..."

Qu Xiaoxiao didn't need to hear the rest; she knew what the system was thinking. She sighed ,

"You really went to great lengths to collect more vegetables."

"For the main brain, this is my honor."

The system suddenly shouted, startling Qu Xiaoxiao. She accidentally squeezed the brake, almost flying out of the car.

He quickly warned, "Don't talk to me in the car next time."

"Well... okay then."

Even the system was startled. If its host died and the mission wasn't completed, it would also be destroyed.

For the sake of both sides, it would have to endure it for now.

Meanwhile, inside the gate, as soon as Qu Xiaoxiao's figure disappeared onto the road, Song Guoqiang couldn't wait to call his grandson.

"Hey, Xiaohan, have you had breakfast?"

"Yes."

Song Han glanced at the half-eaten breakfast beside him and answered without changing his tone.

"That's good!"

Now, Song Guoqiang was relieved. He knew his grandson wouldn't lie to him, so he quickly explained the purpose of his call.

"By the way, I called to ask you about the house you promised to buy me in the old machinery factory's residential compound. How far have you gotten?"

Song Han, on the other end of the line, hadn't expected his grandfather to call so early in the morning for this.

His rapidly working brain paused for a moment, but he quickly recovered and explained, "I've already arranged for Zhao Xu to handle this; we should have results by this morning."

"Oh, then hurry up. I'm thinking of going to the community cafeteria at noon today. If you have time, come and take a look too."

"My schedule is very tight today; I probably won't have time."

Song Han glanced at the day's schedule on the table and declined his grandfather's suggestion.

Song Guoqiang felt a little uneasy about this, but he couldn't do anything about his grandson's personality, so he could only remind him before hanging up:

"Money can't be earned forever, think more about your health."

"I understand."

As soon as the call ended, Song Han immediately called his assistant and instructed him to expedite the house purchase.

"Mr. Song, I'll go and oversee it personally right away."

After leaving the house, Zhao Xu was covered in a cold sweat. He hadn't expected the house purchase to be so urgent. Yesterday, he had only found a seller and hadn't even arranged a specific time to view the property.

Now it seemed he had to call the seller to view the property and sign the contract immediately.

If Qu Xiaoxiao knew that someone had specifically bought a house in the Minsheng Road community for her cooking skills, she would probably be shocked.

"Ah!"

Qu Xiaoxiao screamed and quickly backed away.

With the sound of water hitting the ground, she truly felt the "freshness" mentioned by the system. She had almost been given a foot bath by the fish in the pond as soon as she got close.

The boss found Qu Xiaoxiao's frightened appearance amusing.

But for the sake of business, he suppressed his laughter and greeted her, "What kind of fish would you like, young lady?"

"Give me five grass carp, each about four pounds," Qu Xiaoxiao said tentatively, approaching the fish tank and pointing to the leisurely grass carp inside.

This size of grass carp had thick, tender flesh, making it the perfect weight for making braised fish.

Besides, the other party had just startled her, so she would be the one to end their lives.

"Hahaha! You want to kill them?"

This time, the owner couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing, his body trembling violently, yet he still didn't forget his service rules.

"Kill them all, no innards, no heads or tails."

"Okay!"

The owner then demonstrated his skillful fish-killing techniques to Qu Xiaoxiao, and in just three minutes, the cleaned grass carp were handed to her.

Qu Xiaoxiao didn't want to stay there any longer and turned to buy other ingredients.

This time, she was determined to buy enough.

When she returned to the cafeteria, it was just past eight o'clock, giving her ample time to prepare lunch.

Thinking about today's main dish—fried fish—she didn't have time for anything else right now. First, she needed to cut the cleaned

fish into pieces and marinate it; that was the most urgent thing to do. Going to the kitchen, Qu Xiaoxiao rinsed the fish again with clean water.

Then she cut the middle part of the fish into pieces about a finger's width and marinated it with scallions, ginger, salt, and cooking wine for an hour.

During that hour, she could prepare other things.

First, she took out the small blackboard with the menu that customers had mentioned yesterday and wrote down today's lunch dishes:

fried fish, stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, garlic-flavored rape sprouts, and three-delicacy mushroom soup.

She also decided on the canteen's opening hours.

These past two days, she had been returning around 8 a.m. and closing around 7 p.m. last night. Therefore, she stipulated that residents could freely enter and exit the canteen from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Whether they wanted to come early or rest before leaving, there was plenty of time.

After writing it down, she placed the small blackboard to one side of the entrance and turned back to the kitchen to begin preparing today's lunch.

This was also the most tedious part of cooking – washing and preparing the vegetables.

Midway through, Qu Xiaoxiao took out the marinated fish pieces and placed them on a draining rack to dry.

Then, she immersed herself in the endless preparation of the vegetables.

When she finally looked up from the lush green vegetables, glanced at the time, and touched the fish pieces, she knew it was time to make the sauce for the braised fish.

The sauce ingredients were common, but the specific proportions varied from household to household.

Following the recipe's instructions, Qu Xiaoxiao poured cold water into a pot, added star anise and cinnamon, and simmered them together.

After boiling, she turned to a simmer, allowing the spices to fully release their flavor and permeate every part of the pot.

After ten minutes, she quickly added sugar and soy sauce, stirring constantly with a spatula to prevent burning.

When she could no longer feel the sugar granules swirling with her movements, she immediately stopped and turned off the heat.

At the same time, she added five-spice powder and vinegar to enhance the aroma.

The moment the vinegar mixed with the sauce, countless bubbles rapidly rose to the surface.

As the bubbles rapidly appeared and disappeared, the aroma of the sauce immediately filled the kitchen, a symphony of salty and sweet, rich and fragrant.

Qu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath with satisfaction and quickly set it aside to cool.

To ensure the fried fish had the crispiest texture when eaten, she decided to prepare it last.

Now, she should make the Three Delicacies Mushroom Soup.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the eggs.

Then, using the remaining oil, fry the shrimp heads over low heat until they release their rich, flavorful shrimp oil.

Watching the oil in the wok deepen in color and the shrimp heads turn red, Qu Xiaoxiao immediately removed the shrimp heads and added fresh shrimp meat to stir-fry.

When the shrimp meat changed color, she immediately added the prepared fried eggs, white jade mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms, and continued to stir-fry.

She cooked until all the flavors of the shrimp, eggs, and mushrooms were released.

Feeling the increasingly rich aroma, her smile deepened.

When the edges of the ingredients in the wok were slightly browned, she immediately poured in boiling water.

"Whoosh—"

Boiling water hit the hot pot, instantly releasing a hazy cloud of steam, and the aroma spread far and wide.

When Qu Xiaoxiao looked closely, the originally clear water transformed into an appetizing milky white upon contact with the ingredients.

As the broth boiled, red, yellow, and brown ingredients swirled in the milky white liquid.

She knew it was time to add the silken tofu.

Tofu could be eaten directly anyway; a simple two-minute boil, then quickly turning off the heat and sprinkling in chopped green onions.

She then poured it into a soup pot, placed it on a trolley, and waited for dinner to begin.

Afterward, Qu Xiaoxiao began preparing the other three dishes.

For vegetables, the key was to preserve the original flavor of the ingredients; a simple stir-fry was all it took to create delicious dishes.

Especially with the help of the kitchen stove, the process was incredibly fast.

In just twenty minutes, the three dishes, steaming hot, appeared on the long T-shaped table in the kitchen.

Qu Xiaoxiao looked at the scene with delight, stretched her arms, and prepared to start preparing the last dish.

The dried fish pieces have a dry skin, and the flesh is clearly taut and slightly sticky to the touch.

Now it's time to fry the fish pieces.

Heat oil in a wok. Qu Xiaoxiao pokes the hot oil with chopsticks; if bubbles appear around the chopsticks, the oil temperature has reached about 60% of its maximum heat.

She immediately used a slotted spoon to scoop up a large spoonful of fish pieces and gently sprinkled them into the pot. The hot oil quickly penetrated the pores of the fish, squeezing out the moisture.

She stood in front of the pot, watching carefully as the fish set before turning it.

As the hot oil continued to penetrate, the color of the fish pieces gradually changed from white to yellow, finally turning into an enticing deep golden yellow.

Qu Xiaoxiao immediately scooped out all the fish pieces at once to prevent them from being fried for too long and ruining their flavor.

As soon as they were out, she poured them into the cooled sauce.

"Sizzle—"

The scalding hot fish pieces fell into the sauce, quickly covered and soaked, making a struggling roar.

While the fish absorbed the sauce, she quickly started frying the next batch.

When the second batch was done, the first batch had also absorbed the aroma of the sauce and was ready to be taken out and eaten.

For the next few days, Qu Xiaoxiao kept repeating this process.

Just as she was immersed in the process of making delicious food, Chu Mingheng finally finished his work at the company and left everyone behind to rush to the Minsheng Road community.

Logically, he should have offered his blessings to Qu Xiaoxiao on the first day of business yesterday.

He should have also checked if there was any missing equipment or if there was anything he could help with.

But plans change; the partner suddenly ran into problems, and the chairman was absent, so he had to deal with those first.

Today, everything was resolved, and he could finally come to Minsheng Road for a look.

While pondering, Chu Mingheng weighed the congratulatory flower basket in his hand, and, ignoring the curious gazes of others, slowly entered the community gate.

Just as he was about to head towards the community canteen, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

"Assistant Zhao!"

Hearing someone call his name, Zhao Xu looked in surprise in the direction of the voice.

When he recognized him as Chu Mingheng, the assistant to the chairman of Yuntao Group, a partner of his company, his surprise deepened.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder: What is the charm of this Minsheng Road community? It's one thing to attract his boss to buy a house here, but the assistant to the chairman of Yuntao Group even showed up with a flower basket.

Could there be some important person here that I don't know about?

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu suddenly seemed to understand something.

Clutching the contract tightly, Zhao Xu gave Chu Mingheng a grateful look and a knowing smile.

Chu Mingheng was completely baffled.

He was simply thinking of them as business partners, with the possibility of deeper cooperation in the future, and was just exchanging pleasantries.

Why did it seem like he'd stumbled upon something extraordinary?

And that wasn't all. Zhao Xu approached and said gratefully, "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Chu! I have other things to attend to, so I'll be going now."

"Goodbye,"

Chu Mingheng waved, turning and walking towards the cafeteria with deep confusion.

As he walked, he couldn't understand the other man's sudden change, feeling utterly bewildered.

Finally, he decided that if he couldn't understand, he couldn't understand; if there was anything, it would be explained later.

He quickened his pace, arriving at the cafeteria entrance two minutes later.

The most eye-catching thing was a large basket of barley flowers displayed to the side.

Seeing this, Chu Mingheng subconsciously glanced at the basket in his hand, thinking: My taste in choosing these flowers isn't bad, is it?

He then placed the flower basket he was carrying next to the barley basket; one was colorful, the other simple and pure. He nodded in satisfaction.

His gaze then fell on the small blackboard opposite, scribbled with colorful chalk. It seemed to list today's lunch menu and the hours the canteen was open to the public.

"Open to the public?"

Chu Mingheng asked instinctively, a hint of doubt in his voice.

Without further thought, he stepped into the community canteen.

Instantly, the elderly people waiting inside scrutinized Chu Mingheng from head to toe like searchlights.

His approach to the door and placement of the flower basket had been clearly seen by the residents who had been waiting.

There were few young people in their community, and even fewer as outstanding as Chu Mingheng.

Therefore, when he appeared, many assumed he was Qu Xiaoxiao's boyfriend.

Otherwise, how could they explain that Qu Xiaoxiao, a young woman, had opened a shop in their dilapidated old community, and not a single friend or relative had come to congratulate her?

Furthermore, Chu Mingheng's appearance and demeanor were both impressive; in the eyes of the older generation, he was an excellent match.

The moment Grandma Song saw it, she instantly overturned all her previous plans.

She thought: Thank goodness I didn't say anything rashly! Otherwise, it would have caused a misunderstanding with the young man.

Besides, she really didn't have any young men with comparable talent to the one before her.

But Chu Mingheng, under the intense scrutiny of everyone's gazes, felt as if his mind had been struck by a heavy object.

His mind instantly connected the intense stares with the content on the blackboard.

He was filled with remorse, feeling he had been too careless.

Not everyone could withstand the gazes of grandparents. Chu Mingheng forced himself not to care, but his steps faltered, and he even started to walk in unison.

He approached the kitchen in a panic, wanting Qu Xiaoxiao to find him a place to hide.

At this moment, the grandparents, who had been waiting for a long time, finally couldn't hold back any longer and called out to stop him.

"Hey! Young man, Xiaoxiao is cooking in the kitchen, she won't be out for a while."

"Dinner starts at 11:30 every day, it'll only be a few minutes. Come sit and wait with us. By the way, what's your relationship with Xiaoxiao? You seem quite close."

"Oh dear! Xiumei, you really have bad eyesight, they look like a young couple."

"Really? This young man looks a bit older, he doesn't seem to match Xiaoxiao."

...

Hearing these words, Chu Mingheng broke out in a cold sweat. Mistaking him and Xiaoxiao for a couple was bad enough, but they even commented on his age! Did he really look that old?

He subconsciously touched his face; it was a bit rough. Looks like he needed to do some skincare

when he got back. Realizing what a stupid thing he'd done, he immediately withdrew his hand.

Under the scrutinizing gazes from behind, he felt utterly embarrassed, his mind incessantly pleading with Xiaoxiao to come out of the kitchen quickly. The moment the door clicked open, he cried out anxiously, as if he had finally grasped a last straw in the water, " Xiaoxiao!"

"Brother Chu!" Qu Xiaoxiao looked at the newcomer with surprise. "Why are you here?"

"It's your first time opening a shop, as your older brother, I had to come and congratulate you." With that, Chu Mingheng quickened his pace, snatched the cart from Qu Xiaoxiao's hands, and asked, "Where are you taking all this?"

"It's over there, around those two tables,"

Qu Xiaoxiao pointed to the area where soup and rice were placed.

Chu Mingheng immediately pushed the cart in his hand; it was quite heavy. He couldn't help but look at the slender Qu Xiaoxiao beside him and said with concern, "Xiaoxiao, you've worked hard."

"It's alright, there are many tools, but not many places where I have to do physical labor. And look at my muscles, hmm?"

As she spoke, Qu Xiaoxiao grinned and raised her arm, showing off her biceps.

She knew that her year-long stay at the community canteen was something that couldn't be changed no matter what.

So, facing Chu Mingheng, who genuinely cared about her, she didn't want him to worry too much.

"That's good."

Obviously, Chu Mingheng had also thought of the key point and didn't say anything more.

In the following time, following Qu Xiaoxiao's instructions, he put on his sanitary suit and began to help in the kitchen.

The two of them worked quickly, and five minutes in advance, they had already divided and packed all the dishes and placed them in the window, waiting for the diners to enjoy them.

As soon as the dishes were ready, the grandparents didn't care about the opening hours and hurriedly approached the window to line up for their food.

Seeing this, Qu Xiaoxiao didn't dare let them stand there any longer and immediately started serving.

With Chu Mingheng joining, Qu Xiaoxiao was in charge of the card reader and the two dishes: fried fish and garlic-flavored rapeseed.

Chu Mingheng, following his grandparents' instructions, chose between stir-fried garlic-flavored rapeseed with pork and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Upon entering, everyone could clearly see what the lunch menu was.

However, when they saw that the main dish was fried fish, a staple of every household during the Lunar New Year, they couldn't help but show expressions of surprise.

"I didn't expect the cafeteria to serve fried fish today!"

"My family made it during the Lunar New Year and ate it for several days. Seeing the cafeteria's version makes me crave it again."

"How can homemade food compare to Xiaoxiao's cooking? If it weren't for the purchase limit, I'd really like to buy several portions at once. Anyway, the fried fish doesn't taste bad even when it's cold."

"Hehe."

Hearing someone trying to grab a share while waiting in line, the people at the back of the line immediately expressed their dissatisfaction.

At the same time, they inwardly praised the owner's advance arrangements; otherwise, whether they could even get fried fish was a question.

After the line quieted down, Qu Xiaoxiao began her introduction.

"You've all seen the notice outside. The set meal includes fried fish and garlic chives, plus a choice between garlic chives stir-fried with pork and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Okay, start swiping your cards!"

"Beep—"

Tang Wenhua, first in line, eagerly swiped his card, carrying his fragrant fried fish and garlic chives to the next window.

He glanced at the garlic chives stir-fried with pork and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, ultimately deciding on the freshest garlic chives of the season.

"I'll have a bowl of garlic chives stir-fried with pork."

"Okay."

Hearing this, Chu Mingheng immediately picked up a bowl of garlic chives stir-fried with pork and placed it on the extended plate.

Lin Xiaohui, following closely behind, couldn't help but show a disdainful expression when she saw her husband had ordered garlic chives stir-fried with pork.

She truly couldn't understand why a meticulous intellectual would prefer such strongly flavored foods.

She had a bad feeling when she saw that garlic chives stir-fried with pork was on the menu.

Now it seems she was truly prescient; she'll definitely make him wash himself thoroughly when they get home.

Tang Wenhua, engrossed in the aroma of the food, had no idea what awaited him after the meal.

Because of yesterday's experience, this time he first arranged the dishes on his plate, then carried it to the rice station, getting rice and soup for himself and his wife.

As soon as he sat down, he was met with his wife's angry glare.

Tang Wenhua immediately sensed something was wrong and asked, bewildered, "What's wrong?"

"If you don't wash your mouth thoroughly after lunch, you can forget about staying home for a nap today."

Upon hearing this, Tang Wenhua's gaze instantly fell on the stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts in front of him.

Then, with a fawning smile, he defied his wife's angry gaze and quickly assured her,

"Of course, I'll definitely wash it clean. Eat up, the fried fish won't taste good if it sits too long."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaohui's gaze immediately shifted to the fried fish on the table; with such delicious food before her, nothing else mattered.

She moved her rice and soup in front of her, picked up her chopsticks, and prepared to dig into the fried fish.

The originally deep golden-yellow fish pieces, after being soaked in the sauce, had turned a striking reddish-brown, while the skin remained golden.

The two pieces clung together, captivating the eye.

The sweet aroma wafting through the air made her unable to resist her urge to eat, and she quickly brought her chopsticks closer to the fried fish.

The firm texture of the fish when the chopsticks touched it filled her with anticipation, and she began to imagine how crispy it would be when it entered her mouth.

But when the fish entered her mouth, Lin Xiaohui realized her imagination was far too limited.

The fried fish pieces had a crispy outer shell, and with one bite, the fish immediately exploded in her mouth.

"Crack—"

The sound of the explosion vibrated between her lips and teeth, as if her soul itself was swaying along with it.

At the same time, the sauce absorbed by the fried fish splashed out with the explosion.

The splashing sauce not only washed over her mouth but also reshaped Lin Xiaohui's understanding of fried fish.

This was the first time she had ever tasted such breathtaking fried fish.

Freshly cooked, the fish was still warm to the touch, its outer shell crispy, its inside sweet and juicy, bursting with flavor – no one could resist such deliciousness.

For a moment, she suddenly wondered what she had been eating before. Was that really fried fish?

Her teeth chewed faster, savoring the aroma of the fish pieces in her mouth.

One piece wasn't enough.

Lin Xiaohui quickly grabbed the next piece; only by keeping her mouth busy could her stomach remain calm.

Before she knew it, she had devoured all the fried fish that evening.

Seeing the empty bowl, she felt a profound sense of loss, her very being still yearning for more.

Looking up, she suddenly saw her husband enjoying his stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts. A thought suddenly popped into her head: would it be okay for her to take a tiny bit?

Even as she contemplated the possibility of taking food from him, her chopsticks were already reaching for her husband's bowl.

"What are you doing!"

Unexpectedly, Tang Wenhua caught her movement.

He quickly used his chopsticks to block his wife's chopsticks, adopting a posture of emergency readiness, which made Lin Xiaohui feel extremely guilty.

But how could she reveal her true intentions? She pretended to be well-intentioned and said:

"I noticed you've been eating stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts the whole time, and I thought you didn't like braised fish, so I wanted to get you some."

Hearing this, Tang Wenhua was genuinely amused by his wife's unreasonable argument.