Transported Into The Book, She Thrives In The 80s Chapter 17: Can She Cook? - Novel Cool

Chapter 17: Can She Cook?

Chapter 17: Can She Cook?

Jiang Xia shot Tian Caihua a glance. "If you like this house better, I can trade with you, Sister-in-law."

Tian Caihua was speechless.

At that moment, Zhou Mother walked in carrying a red, white, and blue bag. "What are you trading with your sister-in-law?"

Tian Caihua quickly replied, "Nothing, Jiang Xia was just joking. Mom, is there anything else to move? I'll go get it!" She then ran out.

Zhou Mother was confused but didn't pay much attention. She handed the red, white, and blue bag to Jiang Xia. "These are Ailei's clothes. You can put them in your room."

"Okay," Jiang Xia hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Earlier, Zhou Chenglei had told her that he was worried his parents might not agree to a separation. So, he hadn't mentioned the divorce and only said they were separating, asking her to keep it quiet for now.

Jiang Xia had no choice but to take the bag and carry it into her room. She thought for a moment but decided not to organize his clothes.

Her room was new, with a new bed and wardrobe. Zhou Mother had even cut out various sizes of red "xi" (double happiness) characters from leftover wedding paper and stuck them on the walls, windows, and doors, making it look like a newlyweds' room.

Jiang Xia's dowry was impressive: thirty-six items, including a pair of Phoenix brand bicycles, a Huannan brand sewing machine, a Shanghai brand watch, and a Hongxing brand radio. It was the early 1980s, and such a dowry was considered quite prestigious, especially in the countryside. In the city, some dowries already included televisions instead of radios.

In a few years, washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions would become the standard for weddings.

Jiang Xia took her clothes out of the red leather suitcase and put them in the wardrobe.

Zhou Mother then came in carrying a black plastic bucket with a long wooden lid. She said to Jiang Xia, "Xiaxia, take out Ailei's clothes and give me the bag. I'll use it to store the quilts."

Jiang Xia opened the bag and took out Zhou Chenglei's clothes. Most were white shirts and military uniforms, along with undergarments. She quickly stuffed these into the wardrobe, as if they were burning her hands.

After taking everything out, she handed the bag to Zhou Mother, her face a bit red. She noticed Zhou Mother placing the black bucket behind the door and asked curiously, "Why do you put the bucket there?"

Zhou Mother explained, "It's a urine bucket for the night. The urine can be used to water the vegetables."

Jiang Xia was speechless. "Won't it smell in the room?"

Zhou Mother, seeing Jiang Xia's surprised expression, thought about her being from the city and asked, "Do you want to put one in your room?"

Jiang Xia shook her head quickly. "No, thank you."

Just then, Zhou Chenglei walked in.

Jiang Xia quickly changed the subject. "Grandma and the others worked hard for us today. Why don't you buy some seafood, and I'll cook a couple of dishes to thank them and celebrate our move to the new house?"

Even if Jiang Xia hadn't suggested it, Zhou Chenglei had the same idea. He had come in to tell his mother he was going to buy seafood and ask her to pick some vegetables from the garden.

Jiang Xia's suggestion caught him a bit off guard.

Zhou Mother was also surprised that Jiang Xia had thought of this. As for cooking two tables of dishes, she didn't take it seriously.

She smiled. "I'll go to the garden to pick some vegetables, and Ailei, you go buy the seafood."

Zhou Chenglei nodded. "I was just about to go."

He then said to Jiang Xia, "Let Mom do the cooking. Don't get your hands wet."

Jiang Xia nodded. "I understand."

Zhou Mother glanced at Jiang Xia, then took the urine bucket and left. Her son was being kind to her, but she wondered if his kindness would be misplaced.

As for cooking? Zhou Mother didn't dare to hope Jiang Xia could do it. Just helping with small tasks and not causing trouble was enough for her to be grateful.

If Zhou Mother had known Jiang Xia had helped clean the yard, she might have thought differently.

Zhou Chenglei went to buy seafood, Zhou Mother went to the garden, and Jiang Xia started cleaning the pot and stove. She then washed the rice and started cooking. Tian Caihua cleaned the dishes, which had been unused and dusty for a long time.

Grandma brought over a piece of marbled pork, weighing more than six pounds, and a few fresh cucumbers. Jiang Xia felt a bit embarrassed.

Grandma chuckled and said, "Here, tonight make some braised pork for everyone. It's a new home, and we want it to be prosperous and lively."

Since Grandma had spoken, it wouldn't be polite to refuse. Jiang Xia gratefully accepted the ingredients, smiling. "Thank you, Grandma. I'll make the braised pork for you."

Grandma smiled, "My teeth aren't as good as they used to be, but I love braised pork that melts in your mouth."

"Guaranteed to melt in your mouth!" Jiang Xia laughed.

Grandma happily went to start the fire.

Making braised pork that melts in your mouth isn't difficult, but it does take time.

Zhou Chengxin came home and brought over a large iron pot. With two iron pots, they could cook much faster.

Each family got one large iron pot when they divided the household.

Tian Caihua was worried that Jiang Xia wouldn't know how to cook, so she said, "I'll do the cooking, and you can wash the vegetables and dishes!"

Jiang Xia smiled, "No problem, Big Sister, you've worked hard today. I'll do the cooking, and you can help me."

Tian Caihua didn't insist. After all, it wasn't her family hosting the dinner, and if the food wasn't good, it would be embarrassing for her.

Besides, cooking for so many people meant a lot of smoke and oil, which would make it hard to eat.

Zhou's mother had just come back with two large baskets of vegetables—green beans, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, and Chinese cabbage.

Tian Caihua went out to wash the vegetables.

Seeing Jiang Xia taking charge in the kitchen, Zhou's mother looked at Tian Caihua, "Why did you let her cook? Is the food going to be edible?"

Tian Caihua replied, "She insisted on doing it herself and didn't need my help."

Tian Caihua felt that her mother-in-law was favoring Jiang Xia, so she sulked while washing the vegetables. Grandma's daughter-in-law also helped, and she didn't want to show her displeasure in front of others.

Zhou's mother quickly went in to help.

Jiang Xia was making a cucumber salad. She had already cut the marbled pork into uniform pieces and soaked them in lightly salted water. Soaking the meat in salt water makes it softer and easier to cook, improving the texture and removing the blood to reduce the fishy smell.

While the meat was soaking, she prepared a cold cucumber salad.

Zhou's mother watched Jiang Xia, surprised that she knew exactly what to do. She didn't mix up the salt and sugar, or the wine and vinegar. Feeling reassured, Zhou's mother went back to washing the vegetables.

Once the pork was done soaking and the water was drained, Jiang Xia put the meat into a heated iron pot and started frying it without any oil. She slowly cooked it over low heat to release the fat, until the surface of the meat turned golden brown.

Jiang Xia scooped out the excess oil, which she planned to use later for frying eggplants or stir-frying vegetables.

Next, she added ginger, scallions, dried chili peppers, sugar, salt, and soy sauce to the braised pork, and continued to stir-fry until the sugar had completely melted and the pork was well-coated. She then added water and wine, brought it to a boil, and transferred it to a clay pot to simmer over a low flame by the stove.

Jiang Xia washed the large iron pot and then fried the eggplants. She combined them with green beans and perilla leaves to make a delicious dish.

Tian Caihua brought in the washed vegetables and was surprised to see how much oil Jiang Xia used for frying the eggplants. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh my, are we eating eggplants or oil?"

Luckily, they had already divided the household, or she wouldn't have let Jiang Xia cook at all.

But, it smelled so good! So incredibly good!

The glossy purple eggplants and green beans looked so appetizing.

Zhou Chenglei had also come back with some seafood—bamboo shrimp, blue crabs, tiger grouper, mudfish, small red squids, and white clams.

Seeing Jiang Xia in the kitchen, he was surprised. His gaze fell on her small, fair hands, and he remembered the blisters on them. He walked over and reached for the handle of the spatula in her hand, "Let me do it."

As the tall figure approached, Jiang Xia instinctively turned to look back. Her elbow accidentally bumped into his waist, and due to the sudden turn, Zhou Chenglei's large hand caught hers.

(End of Chapter)

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