After admiring for quite some time, she finally rolled up her sleeves. "I’ll do it. You’ve been running around with me all day, sit down and rest for a while. I’ll let you taste my cooking in a bit."
Haoming was taken aback, then he looked at her steadily for a long while, but he didn’t vie with her for the work. Instead, he moved a little stool and obediently sat under the eaves, watching her wash and chop the vegetables.
"Meow-wow—" A filthy little kitten scrambled up the wall, and Dong Huiying glanced at it, feeling that it seemed... somewhat familiar?
The kitten meowed again and then lightly leapt down from the wall, charging towards Haoming, who was sitting on the stool, and directly jumped into his arms, affectionately rubbing its little head against him.
Haoming awkwardly smiled. He held the kitten and looked at Dong Huiying with some concern.
He really did like these little critters. Just like the bunny before, this kitten behaved the same way around him.
Last time in town, she had seen Haoming playing with a kitten. At that time, Haoming looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy, as if he was afraid he might hurt the little cat.
Haoming slowly nodded his head.
Mu Leng’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh, a chubby white bunny peeked out from behind Haoming. Those innocent little eyes seemed to ask, have you forgotten me?
"Yep, and this little fellow too."
One person, one cat, one rabbit.
Haoming blinked, then blinked hard again, and after that, he quietly lowered his head, his eyelashes trembled lightly, and a faint blush crept up his neck. He couldn’t help but hug the kitten tighter into his arms.
Previously, due to lack of money and poor living conditions, Dong Huiying had to endure her own craving for good food. She ate the same unappetizing and throat-scratching coarse millet buns as the Liang Family Brothers, and even then, she rarely had those. Most of the time, it was just watery wheat bran porridge, at most paired with a dish of cabbage and potatoes stir-fried by Yixuan.
She struggled to swallow her food, mainly because her previous life’s wealth had left her with a deep-seated penchant for luxury. But today, having bought plenty of rice, flour, and pork, she decided to cook a meaty dish first.
Since it was just Haoming and her, and they were going back to the village early the next day, she didn’t make too much. She stewed a pot of fragrant rice. When the white rice went into the pot, she deliberately added a bit of oil to make the rice come out more shiny and glossy.
She cut some meat, sliced it, and marinated it briefly before rendering some lard from the pork fat. It was her first time using such a large iron pot to cook, and she was a bit overwhelmed.
Haoming put down the kitten and slowly walked over, squatting at the mouth of the stove, helping her with the fire.
She was surprised for a moment, then pursed her lips and smiled, saying, "Thank you."
Haoming felt a bit embarrassed, turned his head away, but his movements weren’t slow at all. He added firewood to the stove, and the flames blazed vigorously.
When she cooked, the heat was steaming, making her face warm. After the stir-fried pork slices came out of the wok, she caught Haoming swallowing his saliva with a serious expression, and the smile in her eyes deepened.
Next, she cleaned the wok, added water, and boiled a pot of green vegetable soup. The soup was clear and thick; with one soup and one dish, the color, fragrance, and taste were all there. Even the nearby households periodically stretched their necks out, wondering where such a delicious aroma came from.
It was so fragrant, so delightful, and it made their mouths water!!
"All right, let’s eat!"
After washing her hands, Dong Huiying called Haoming over. She served up a big bowl of rice for each of them, and then they sat down to eat facing each other.