Ye Zhinan's heart sank. Her plum blossom had just been tossed away like that. Didn't this guy know how to cherish such beauty?
She looked up, concealing the disappointment and sadness in her eyes. A forced smile appeared on her lips. "Then I'll make one for you as compensation."
"Two!" Qin Yihuai's voice left no room for refusal. "They must be exactly the same."
What a blatant attempt to take advantage of the situation!
Although Ye Zhinan was angry, somehow a small flame ignited in her heart, warming her from the inside.
"That'll take me some time."
"I'm in no hurry."
After saying that, Qin Yihuai sat down at the desk on his own and continued to study the official documents. But when he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye that Ye Zhinan hadn't left yet, he said coldly, "Do you have something else to say?"
"If you're free, come to my place and have Maoxuewang. You also deserve credit for the wild boar."
Qin Yihuai grunted in response and said nothing more.
Ye Zhinan felt rather out of place and quietly backed out.
This guy was as dull as a log. Was he happy or what? She wasn't a worm in his belly to know.
But Qin Yihuai seemed to think she was. When Chen Zhenhai entered the room, he noticed a faint smile on the boss's face. But the moment the boss noticed him, all the tenderness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold and emotionless look.
A man's heart was as hard to fathom as a needle at the bottom of the sea. Only Miss Ye could be the thimble to hold the needle in place.
Chen Zhenhai murmured as he backed out of the room. Looking at the cooking smoke rising from the village, his stomach growled.
Ye Yingfeng's stomach was also growling. He'd gone up the mountain, carried back a wild boar, but it was already dark and he still hadn't had his dinner. If there was anyone who could be called the world's biggest sucker, it was definitely him.
When Ye Zhinan got home, she rushed straight into the kitchen. Han Xiangmei couldn't wait any longer and had already started cooking.
"I saw you leave in a hurry just now. Your brother was so hungry, so I started making some simple dishes. We can have Maoxuewang and other things tomorrow."
"Okay. It was my oversight. Qin, the inspector, saved me when we were hunting the wild boar, so I rushed over to thank him."
When Ye Yingfeng got home, he'd only briefly mentioned that Qin Yihuai had helped, fearing that Han Xiangmei would worry. Now hearing it from Ye Zhinan, Han Xiangmei broke out in a cold sweat and quickly pulled Ye Zhinan over to check her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just that Qin Yihuai ruined one of his clothes."
Han Xiangmei looked puzzled and was about to ask when Ye Zhinan pushed her back in front of the stove.
"Mom, hurry up and finish cooking. Brother is starving."
Hearing the word "dinner", Ye Yingfeng rushed to the door and leaned against the doorframe, whining, "Can we start eating now?"
"Yes. You're like a starving ghost reincarnated. Hurry up and take these out."
Han Xiangmei said as she stuffed a big plate of vegetable buns into his hands and then carried out a pot of porridge.
Ye Zhinan watched them leave. Looking at the just-cleaned wild boar on the ground, she started to drain its blood.
After all the blood had drained out and was wrapped up, she put the pig's blood into the cellar for storage.
After the blood had coagulated, she boiled a pot of water, added three spoons of salt to it, and then when the water boiled, she put the coagulated blood into the pot and cooked it until the color deepened.
"All done!" Ye Zhinan poked the blood tofu with chopsticks and smiled contentedly.
Han Xiangmei frowned at the pile of red tofu-like chunks. "Can these really be eaten?"
She came from a well-off family and had always thrown away pig's blood. She never thought it could be made into a dish.
"Of course. They're delicious."
Ye Zhinan said as she carefully observed her mother. "I've also invited Qin Yihuai. I want to thank him for saving my life."
She knew her mother didn't like her getting too close to him, but this time she'd already promised and had a good reason.
Han Xiangmei's face darkened, but she didn't refuse. It was a silent approval.
Seeing this, Ye Zhinan let out a sigh of relief and fished out two pieces of blood tofu. "Today, I'll show off my skills and make stir-fried blood tofu with Chinese chives. How about that?"
Saying that, she picked some Chinese chives from the vegetable garden in the backyard. First, she stir-fried scallions, ginger, and garlic in the pan, then poured in the pig's blood, added some salt, and cooked it for a few minutes. When the time was right, she poured in the Chinese chives and stir-fried them together. Soon, the pan was filled with a delicious aroma.
Han Xiangmei leaned over and sniffed. She couldn't smell the slightest bit of the pig's blood's fishy smell.
"Your cooking skills are getting better and better."
She said with a look of pride in her eyes.
A look of pride flashed across Ye Zhinan's eyes.
She also felt that she was getting more and more interested in cooking. Maybe besides saving people with medicine, she could start a second career.
Thinking about it, a plate of the dish was ready. When she brought it to the table, Ye Yingfeng's eyes widened.
"What's this? It smells good!"
"Stir-fried pig's blood with Chinese chives!"
Ye Zhinan said loudly without hesitation. Even Ye Shenyan, who had been silent all this time, was surprised. "Pig's blood?"
He leaned over and sniffed. All he could smell was the delicious aroma.
"Our daughter's cooking skills are really improving. I'm starting to look forward to the Maoxuewang."
The pride in Han Xiangmei's eyes was almost overflowing. As she said this, she served everyone some rice.
Although the Ye family's meals were simple, the aroma was irresistible and always whetted people's appetites.
Especially the neighbors. They were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Wei Shishi was currently lying in the duck shed, feeding the ducks. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, bringing with it a delicious aroma.
Her stomach couldn't help but growl.
"Damn Ye Zhinan. It's all your stupid idea."
That day, one of the Wei family's concubines had gone to Ye Zhinan to ask for ways to make money and had been told to raise ducks. Concubine Shi had immediately made arrangements in front of the mistress of the Wei family as soon as she got back so that they could sell marinated duck products. Naturally, Wei Shishi was the first one to be put to work. So she had to feed the ducks before dawn and after it got completely dark. Not only did she smell of duck all over, but she also didn't get any credit.
"Quack!"
Wei Shishi got angry as she thought about it. She tightened her grip on the duck in her hand. The duck was in pain and bit her.
"Ouch! Damn it. I'll stew you today."
Saying that, Wei Shishi threw the duck to the ground violently. The duck didn't even have time to struggle before it died.
"Ah! What's going on?"
Concubine Liu happened to pass by the duck shed. Seeing the pool of duck blood on the ground, she let out a scream.
"It's just a dead duck. Please stew it for dinner tonight."
After saying that, Wei Shishi walked away without looking back.
Concubine Liu watched her leave with a horrified look in her eyes. Gradually, her eyes turned cold. When she was sure that Wei Shishi was completely out of sight, she kicked the duck on the ground contemptuously.
"If you want to eat duck, why don't you do it yourself!"
Saying that, she picked up the duck and walked to the kitchen. She threw the duck into a pot of boiling water.
"Ouch!"
When the duck was thrown into the pot, a splash of hot water hit Concubine Liu's hand. She quickly rushed to the water bucket in the yard and plunged her hand into the water.
Just then, Concubine Shi passed by. She gave a cold look at Concubine Liu's red and swollen hand in the water and said indifferently, "If you dirty the water, what will the master and the mistress drink? If your hand is injured, go to your good niece!"
Hearing this, Concubine Liu subconsciously pulled out her still-swollen hand. She grunted and walked out of the door.