Chapter 35 – 32 Stir-Fried Dishes and Plans
In the Lu Family’s kitchen,
Lu Qing was tending to the fire, a brand-new iron pot perched atop the stove.
He had originally planned to carry the pot back home discreetly once night fell.
But then he pondered, everyone was from the same village, how low-profile could he get?
Even if he managed to sneak the pot home, the secret would come out as soon as he started cooking.
After all, the aroma of stir-frying is far different from that of steaming or boiling, and he couldn’t just block off the kitchen to prevent the smell from spreading.
So, he decided to just carry the pot back openly and uprightly.
This naturally caused a small commotion in the village.
An iron pot, for them, was certainly a luxury item.
Even now, some households in the village couldn’t afford an iron pot.
That Lu Qing shouldered such a large pot back home was bound to attract everyone’s attention.
Regarding this, Lu Qing simply claimed that the pot was a gift from Old Doctor Chen, which once again made the villagers envious and jealous.
They were also amazed at the elder doctor’s generosity.
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An iron pot could be worth several silver taels, yet Elder Chen gave it away so readily, showing great kindness to Lu Qing.
This also convinced everyone that Elder Chen truly regarded Lu Qing as his disciple, and a highly valued one at that.
Otherwise, why would he give such a large iron pot to Lu Qing?
It was always said that disciples should honor their teacher, not the other way around with the teacher giving such valuable gifts to their disciple.
Unless, of course, the teacher held immense affection for the disciple.
Especially when they later saw that the iron pot had already been seasoned, everyone became even more sure of their speculations.
Thinking back on the villagers’ onlooking, Lu Qing felt a bit fortunate.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to leave the silver taels with Elder Chen, only carrying a couple of pieces of broken silver back home with him.
Otherwise, that big bundle of silver would definitely not escape the villagers’ eyes.
If someone, out of curiosity, opened his bag when he was not paying attention, that would be troublesome.
The fire had started, and soon the pot began to smoke.
Lu Qing grabbed the oil jar and scooped out a large spoonful of lard into it.
Watching the lard melt in the pot, his heart welled up with a sense of satisfaction.
He had money now, no longer needing to scrimp and scrape on oil.
In the past, each time he cooked, he had to figure out how to use the least amount of oil to make dishes that weren’t too bad, which was quite difficult for him.
With his heart filled with happiness, Lu Qing quickly prepared two dishes and one soup.
Pan-fried Green Armored Fish, a fish soup, and a serving of stir-fried greens.
Even with limited seasonings, these three dishes still seemed simple.
But when Lu Qing tasted the first bite of the greens, he was so moved that he almost wanted to cry.
It was not easy. This taste was the one he had dreamed of for so long.
“Brother, the dishes cooked in the big iron pot are so delicious!”
On the other side, Little Yan also ate with great relish.
Even she, who usually didn’t like greens much, now found them extraordinarily tasty.
“Of course, this big iron pot is a great asset for cooking. Otherwise, why do you think your brother has always wanted one?”
“The big iron pot is so nice~”
That meal, the siblings ate with exceptional sweetness.
All the food was polished off, not a trace of soup left.
After eating their fill, Little Yan rubbed her slightly swollen belly, her face brimming with contentment.
“Brother, shall we cook with the big iron pot from now on?”
“Yes.”
Lu Qing nodded without hesitation.
The reason he insisted on buying the pot was just this.
However, there was no need to eat stir-fried dishes every meal, for even the tastiest food can grow tiresome over time.
Trying other styles of cuisine occasionally wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
After dinner, Lu Qing looked at his books for a while.