Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Where Did You Buy This Eggplant?

Jiang Liu couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

’Jun Qingmeng is pretty cute,’ he thought, ’with a bit of a romantic streak.’

"It’s not bad. In fact, you make my heart flutter just a little more than the three-delicacy buns from our shop."

"How much more? How much does a three-delicacy bun make your heart flutter?"

"I don’t know." Jiang Liu shook his head.

Sometimes, he didn’t even know what he was thinking himself.

Jun Qingmeng still smiled expectantly. "So, does your heart flutter for me enough for me to be your girlfriend?"

Wiping the glass, Jiang Liu shook his head. "It’s not at that level yet. Don’t overthink it. We can talk about ’us’ some other time."

He wasn’t the type to rush into things. His marriage of several years had taught him to see through a lot.

Jun Qingmeng bit her lip and said earnestly, "I’m willing to wait for you, and I’ll do my best to make you like me. But I have two rules. If one day, you disappoint me, I will leave you. Or if you find someone else you like, I will also leave you."

She cared deeply for Jiang Liu, but she also had her principles. Besides, she was the type to get jealous easily.

So, she wouldn’t tolerate her partner being even the slightest bit ambiguous with other women.

Zero tolerance!

Jiang Liu nodded. "We’ll see. It’s still a long way off."

"Mhm!"

Seeing that Jiang Liu wasn’t angry, Jun Qingmeng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jiang Liu, I just asked you how much your heart flutters for me. But do you know how much *my* heart flutters for you?"

"I don’t know," Jiang Liu replied frankly.

The two of them had finished cleaning the glass and were now sitting on chairs.

Jun Qingmeng looked into Jiang Liu’s eyes and said softly, "It’s like this: you’re trekking through the frigid Arctic, starving and cold, when you suddenly stumble upon a small cabin glowing with the warm light of a fire. Inside, there’s a soft, velvet cot, a stove for cooking and roasting corn, and a library in the basement."

"You are that cabin, and I am that starving, freezing person."

She still remembered the first time she met Jiang Liu in college. He wore a smile as warm and gentle as spring, full of confidence, while she was just a pitiful, malnourished, skinny little girl.

Afterward, Jun Qingmeng kept following Jiang Liu from afar, secretly gathering information about him.

She discovered more and more just how outstanding this upperclassman was.

Her feelings evolved from admiration to a secret crush.

And now, to a deep and profound affection.

She was satisfied with every single thing about Jiang Liu.

If Jun Qingmeng had to choose between the cabin and Jiang Liu, she would choose Jiang Liu.

"Ah... I see..." Jiang Liu was visibly moved.

The atmosphere grew charged with unspoken feelings.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Jun Qingmeng blinked, resting her chin in her hands as she watched Jiang Liu’s inner turmoil play out on his face.

’Is this my future husband?’

’He’s handsome, and so cute!’

’I wonder if he would be shy if we... did *that*.’

’I’d definitely be shy...’

And so it went.

One pretended to be looking down at non-existent content on his phone.

The other simply watched him in silence.

Not long after,

Lin Qiu returned to the shop with Jiang Dahai and Tongtong.

Once everything was packed up,

The five of them got into the car and set off for home.

On the way, Jun Qingmeng’s phone rang.

Guo Jia: "Are you back? I mean, did you bring the food back?"

Jun Qingmeng smiled and replied, "You’re on your own for dinner tonight."

Guo Jia: "??? You’ve changed, you traitor. I treat you like my one true love, and you just kick me to the curb?? Spill. Are you and Jiang Liu going somewhere nice to eat?"

Tapping out her reply, Jun Qingmeng wrote, "Jiang Liu’s parents are here, so we’re having a family gathering tonight. Don’t worry, I’ll bring you some leftovers!"

Guo Jia was stunned and shocked. "You guys are moving that fast? Did Jiang Liu agree to it? HOLY SHIT! You’ve already won over his mom? This is all so sudden."

"Don’t forget to bring me some food! Hope you two get married soon, so I’ll have a good excuse to come freeload meals!"

Jun Qingmeng didn’t reply, instead glancing happily at Jiang Liu, who was driving beside her.

’This is wonderful!’

「Back at home.」

The ever-hospitable Tongtong immediately began pulling out slippers.

"Don’t worry, everyone! There are slippers for all of you! Wait for Tongtong to get them. Sit, sit!"

After they changed into slippers, Father Jiang and Mrs. Jiang walked into the living room and looked around.

"This place looks so clean." Lin Qiu sat on the sofa, very satisfied.

"Mom, I have all the groceries. I’m going to go prep the ingredients," Jiang Liu called out.

"Daddy, let Tongtong help you!"

Jiang Tongtong loved all the hustle and bustle.

"Okay, come on. You can wash the vegetables for me."

Jiang Liu planned to make stir-fried tuna with chili, stir-fried suckling pig with chili, and a classic Di San Xian—his mother’s favorite.

He had learned to make Di San Xian specifically for his mother.

Today, his wish was finally coming true.

First, he started cooking the rice porridge. How could one eat stir-fry without rice porridge?

Jiang Liu placed the buns he’d brought back in a steamer basket over the porridge to heat up.

Then, he began to stir-fry the dishes.

Jiang Dahai and Lin Qiu rushed into the kitchen to help.

The small kitchen was now packed to the brim.

"Oh, Liu’er," Lin Qiu exclaimed, "where did you buy this eggplant? I’ve never seen this variety before."

Surprised, Lin Qiu picked up a small eggplant to examine it closely, even taking a bite of it raw.

Jiang Dahai took the eggplant from her and began studying it in amazement.

"I’ve never seen this variety before. This is good stuff!"

Jiang Liu just smiled without saying a word.

’It’s from the Gourmet Album’s space,’ he thought.

It was a foraged product from the mountains. While not priceless, it was a high-quality ingredient that was difficult to find in the city.

「A little after eight.」

Thanks to the whole family’s efforts,

six large dishes were neatly arranged on the table.

The spread included stir-fried wild tuna with chili, stir-fried suckling pig with chili, Di San Xian, stir-fried shredded potato with tomato, scrambled eggs with green pepper, and wild tuna sashimi.

Worried there wouldn’t be enough tuna sashimi, Jiang Liu had prepared a full three pounds of it.

Enough for everyone to eat their fill and then some!

"The porridge is ready. I’ll go dish it out. You all go ahead and eat."

Jiang Liu went into the kitchen to bring out the porridge.

Jiang Tongtong pointed to the sashimi as if presenting a treasure. "Grandma, Grandpa, you have to try this! It’s super yummy!"

She loved hearing other people praise her daddy.

It was a small point of pride for her.

Jiang Dahai glanced over. "So this is the tuna sashimi Liu’er sells at his shop? It looks very high-end."

"Can’t you just eat without running your mouth? Hurry up and try our son’s handiwork," Lin Qiu chided.

The two elders picked up a piece of sashimi and dipped it in the special soy sauce and wasabi.

The moment the fresh, tender, and subtly sweet sashimi entered their mouths,

the old couple’s eyes widened.

They were stunned.

"How can it be this delicious?!" Lin Qiu said in disbelief.

The flavor was beautiful beyond description.

Jiang Dahai was just as shocked. "This is no ordinary fish!!"

"No wonder my captain is always hanging around here."

He finally understood the real reason for the drastic change in Liu Honglei’s attitude toward him.

His son’s buns and juice were one-of-a-kind, and now he saw that even his sashimi was unbelievably fresh, sweet, and clean-tasting.

It was pure bliss on the tongue!

An excited grin spread across Tongtong’s face. She was happier when people praised her father than when they praised her.

Tongtong then pushed the dish of stir-fried suckling pig with chili forward. "Grandma, please, you have to eat this! It’s delicious, Daddy made it too!"

"Alright, I’ll listen to Tongtong. Grandma will have a taste."

"Ooh! Dahai, you have to try this stir-fried suckling pig with chili! It’s so spicy it’s killing me, but how is the pork so fragrant? It’s incredibly tender!"

Lin Qiu was astonished all over again.

No wonder there were always so many people lining up outside her son’s shop. She felt like getting in line herself.

Jiang Dahai took a bite, then another, and then another, eating five or six pieces of the chili pork in a row while fanning his mouth from the heat.

"It’s so fragrant and spicy! Seriously, forget comparing it to commercially farmed pork. Even the pigs we used to raise ourselves in the village never tasted this good."

The old couple didn’t usually pay much attention to gourmet food.

But today felt like it had opened the door to a whole new world.

Lin Qiu didn’t forget to put some food on Jun Qingmeng’s plate. "Here, Qingmeng, eat up. A girl needs some meat on her bones."

’I have to take good care of my future daughter-in-law.’

’I can’t let my son mess this up and lose her.’

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Jun Qingmeng smiled, then turned and placed a perfectly marbled piece of red pork on Jiang Liu’s plate.

"Jiang Liu, you eat more meat too. So you can grow big and strong!"

Jiang Dahai and Lin Qiu exchanged a look and smiled.

’How nice.’

’What a warm little family.’

Their minds were at ease.

’That girl Qingmeng seems so considerate.’