Chapter 2142: Chapter 1831: Gathering of Green Beans

Tonight is not just about stewing old green beans, it’s practically a gathering of heroes, a green bean conference.

Vice President Chen is quite pleased with the guesthouse—its aesthetics, the quality of the furniture, and the comfort level of the bedding are all perfect.

It’s hard to imagine that a guesthouse in such a remote village could have such quality.

Because of this, he washed up quickly, but hesitated to move upon receiving a message from Secretary Xiaozu on his phone.

What’s the rush!

Right now, he just wants to order takeout to make up for the instant breakdown he felt upon hearing about the old green beans. Unfortunately, the roads are long and winding, and there’s nowhere to spend money in this poor rural area.

By the way, I am a vice president, after all. These town leaders are so manipulative, talking grandly during negotiations, but treating me like this when I’m here!

President Chen comes from an ordinary family; when he was young, in summer, they had endless green beans to eat. He’s long tired of them, and hasn’t seen them on the table for years now during summer.

But Secretary Xiaozu is eager for a taste.

Now, seeing no reply for a long time, he directly came to wait downstairs at the guesthouse.

President Chen forced a smile, watching the guesthouse owner also holding an umbrella and joining them, feeling less hopeful.

...

Lao Song’s family didn’t specifically plan to entertain Vice President Chen—that was Secretary Xiaozu’s business. So, the routine remained four big dishes.

They only provided a free meal, as Seventh Uncle skillfully flipped and stir-fried in the pot.

Lun Chuan was helping serve food.

If there’s one appliance in this house he hasn’t managed to upgrade, it’s these stainless steel basins used for serving food.

They’re neither elegant nor attractive and don’t stimulate any appetite.

But, they sure can hold a lot! When there are ten to twenty people, it’s just four dishes and a soup; switching to others would be too hefty, right?

Plus, when they clash around during cleaning, they’re durable and don’t chip easily.

So no matter how ugly they are, he grits his teeth and bears it, just hoping to find some enamel ones to improve the aesthetics here.

Now, he’s bringing over a basin filled with fragrant, tenderly stewed old green bean and twice-cooked pork.

Another plate is served, made with oil, cornmeal, along with spices and sliced old green beans, all steamed to perfection—steamed green beans!

With the spices already prepared, just the scent itself offers a spicy, fresh aroma, along with the unique dense flavor of old green beans. Steamed young green beans can’t match this.

Another basin of clear-stewed old green beans, without any meat, but the opened green beans spill forth plump cowpea seeds, also cooked tender, perfect for soaking in soup with rice, offering a rich flavor.

Placed there, they’re quite astonishing, but—

"Why is everything old green beans?"

Wu Lan muttered.

Their family’s green beans are tasty, and the family isn’t particularly picky, but in the summer, with so many dishes, do they just eat one?

The only dish not made from green beans was the small fish picked when they caught fish for Boss Chang this morning, stir-fried hot with pickled vegetables and chili peppers, the sauce especially good with rice.

Seventh Uncle was boiling fresh soup using the stripped corn sprouts, and upon hearing this, he raised his voice amid the crackling fire:

"You tell me!"

Asked to pick some old green beans, they picked a whole basket!

A basket is fine, but they can’t eat it all, so they bundled it into the refrigerator.

What happened? Could be foolish or silly, they broke the whole basket!

The broken old green beans, if saved, what will they look like tomorrow?

Wu Lan:...

She didn’t know; she was chatting with Lun Jing. As she looked at Song Sancheng, he mumbled:

"Picked a whole basket; I thought it should all be broken, saving you some work..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Paused, then added: "Doesn’t it smell delicious? Just eat it once; the cowpeas age quickly, there will be more in a few days."

No one spoke.

It’s tasty indeed, but with three dishes of green beans, tomorrow no one will want this anymore.

Secretary Xiaozu brought Vice President Chen into this strange atmosphere.

But she didn’t notice and couldn’t help but express excitement while gathering her umbrella in the porch:

"With heavy rain, the fragrance wasn’t detectable outside the yard. Now it smells great! President Chen, you might eat two large bowls tonight."

She smiled again: "Don’t worry, we have specialized stomach digestion pills."

President Chen couldn’t quite get the joke; he awkwardly tugged at his mouth.

But the tight-fisted secretary did have a point: it really does smell good.

With this in mind, his previously faded appetite slightly revived.

Seventh Uncle almost watched Xiaozu’s face grow fuller day by day, now round and looking very fortunate.

He laughed: "Eat more, eat more. If you’re worried about gaining weight, eat more of the steamed green beans; the flavor is toned down, and you can eat less rice."

He can, but Secretary Xiaozu can’t!

This is Lao Song’s fragrant rice.

So she smiled again and asked: "Any crispy rice crusts? I’d like to take one with fermented tofu before going home tonight as a snack."

A whole large crispy rice crust, selecting a piece of fermented tofu and spreading it evenly on top, then sandwiching between two slices!

That’s a real food connoisseur!

Seventh Uncle beamed: "Sure! I’ll save you one."

He looked at Vice President Chen, young and elegantly handsome, enthusiastically asked:

"Should we save one for the guest too?"

"Thank you, but I won’t—"

"Save one!" Secretary Xiaozu interrupted him!

Not that she’s being domineering, but the village is poor; if you want someone to put in effort, shouldn’t you make them satisfied with small details first?

No matter if Vice President Chen eats it or not now, at night he’ll surely eat it.

To say nothing of this, without reserving the crispy rice crust, it definitely wouldn’t be his turn.

Vice President Chen:...

Alright.

Exiled to the village, what else can be done?

Whose bowl you carry, whose rules you follow.

Moreover, authentic farmhouse food does smell quite nice; eat it, eat it.

He was warmly invited to sit at the main seat—a table with four large stainless steel basins, plus the newly added soup basin making five.

Five large basins filling up a table, it’s hard to say which seat is the main one.

Raising his head—wow!

How can this village still have such a family? That Teacher Qiaoqiao’s sister, and her boyfriend—

Watching them, his heart felt sour.

Such upright like poplar figures, such graceful demeanors, and the lovely Teacher Qiaoqiao’s sister.

She’s so good-looking; Qiaoqiao must be beautiful in real life.

No wonder the wife sweetly calls Qiao Bao; if he gets jealous, she thinks he’s being unreasonable.

He was once a "little treasure" too when young! Sadly, unrequited young love...