Chapter 37
Seeing that she was about to cook he kept the back and offered assistance. Not being the coy type she unhesitatingly gave out tasks to them. The boys would get the firewood while Xiao Shan lit the fire and she peeled the sweet potatoes. After lighting a fire he got a knife and joined her to peel the sweet potatoes and soon she was done.
There was no shredder so she got a wooden board and began cutting with a knife. She wanted to make sweet potato pancakes so the potatoes needed to be cut thinly to taste good. Everyone watched her amazed at her knife skills which was not inferior to imperial chef. Feeling an intense gaze she turned to meet Xiao Shan's gaze which was hypnotic and her heart trembled.
"Why..why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm surprised at your knife skills wife"
"How would you know when you didn't pay attention to me. Back when I was at my father's house I was tasked with cooking since young so I naturally developed my knife skills"
A perfect excuse but not enough to fool Xiao Shan who didn't inquire further. The children were amazed and looked at her with fervent admiration and praised.
"Mother is amazing"
"Yes, mother is the best. She is so smart".
Su Ying chuckled at their praise before concentrating on cooking. After washing the sweet potatoes she poured it into a bowl and salted them evenly before stirring them. Then she cracked three eggs into another bowl and folded it then added flour and stirred. She got some scallions and chopped then added it into it.
She then heated a pot and poured oil into it and spread the sweet potatoes mixture into it. When the sweet potatoes turned golden brown she flipped it and fried the other side and only took it out when it was all sides were completely golden brown.
A delectable fragrance spread throughout house enticing everyone's appetite. She took out a piece and blew on it before giving it to the kids and saying.
"Try it out. Be careful cause it's hot".
She started her next dish with peeling the potatoes and slicing into thin pieces then washed to remove excess starch. She poured oil into the pot bringing it to a boil and then put the potatoes into the boiling oils to fry it and then removed it from the pot. She splashed some water and sprinkled some sugar into the pot which melted and started making bubbles then changing colors.
She put the fried sweet potatoes back into the pot, stirred it well and removed them once again when they were nearly done cooking. It was a straight forward method which appeared strange to the kids who haven't seen anyone using sugar as a cooking ingredient. The sweet potatoes pancakes was done and she began serving.
Xiao Shan helped her carry the food to the dinning area and placed it on the table. She washed her hands and urged the kids to do so before everyone began eating. The kids exclaimed.
"It's so delicious mother".
Xiao Shan nodded in agreement as the devoured the new food which they didn't know could be prepared in such a way. Soon they were done eating and leaned on the chair to digest the dish while Xiao Ming smacked his lips still savouring the taste of the food. Su Ying couldn't help but laugh at his silliness which made him blush.
They volunteered to wash the dishes telling her to rest which made her happy. After doing the dishes the sat in the dinning area quietly the air silent but harmonious. Su Ying thought of adding this dish to the restaurant but she was limited so she needed to hire a chef as soon as possible to help out. After a while everyone retired to their room and Xiao Ming fell asleep immediately giving Su Ying the opportunity to enter her space.
There was another upgrade in the space. Not far from the spring was a land with black soil suitable for planting. Understanding the use she decided to experiment. Taking the licorice she planted one in the soil to observe the growth process. She remembered the garlic, ginger and scallions she planted in the backyard and made a metal note to check on it. After sorting her thoughts she fell asleep.
Xiao Shan waited for a while to make sure everyone was asleep before going out the window into the mountains. His silhouette disappeared into the mountains where he met with two people dressed in black cloak making it difficult to distinguish their features. On seeing him the kneeled and said.
"My Lord"
"Hm. Get up"
They stood up and handed a note to him. He opened and read the content his expression still blank but the people who were with him knew he was angry as the dangerous aura spread out and they held their breath.
"Ha"
It was only a word but it made them shiver. He remained silent for a while before uttering one word.
"Prepare"
Understanding, they nodded before disappearing into the depths of the mountain blending into the dark. Xiao Shan stood there for almost an hour his face unreadable nobody knew what he was thinking before he finally moved. Carefully making his way back into the house he confirmed everyone was still asleep before lying down and closing his eyes. As soon as he breathing became stable, Su Ying eyes flew open with no trace of sleepiness.
She was awake when he had sneaked out but kept quiet. As expected he was not an ordinary person. She had cultivated the habit of waking up at the slightest noise and this world was no difference. She closed her eyes and slept deeply this time. The moonlight streamed into the house as if unveiling the secret of both people as the kids slept peacefully completely unaware of the same event.
Su Ying woke up much more earlier to prepare the Fairy tofu since she didn't do it yesterday. Her movement woke Xiao Shan and he came into the kitchen and joined her. Together they cooperated and she completed her preparation earlier. She told him how to boil the sweet potatoes for breakfast before leaving in a hurry to avoid missing the cart.