Chapter 268: Chapter 159: Su Liyan Is About to Give Birth!!

On his second day back at the Zhao Mansion, Lu Yuan was already busy in the kitchen.

Song Meiqin didn’t go to the factory either, choosing to stay at the Zhao Mansion instead.

Her nephew had just returned, after all. She had to dote on him a little.

Song Meiqin was also in the kitchen, watching from the sidelines as Lu Yuan prepared the Snow Clams.

There was no way Song Meiqin was going to kill those Snow Clams.

Even though the Snow Clams were small, in Song Meiqin’s eyes, they were no different from toads.

’Compared to a toad, what’s the difference? Other than their skin being a bit smoother and their color a bit whiter, there isn’t one!’

Lu Yuan plucked a Snow Clam from the basket and waved it playfully in front of Aunt Song.

Song Meiqin was from a wealthy family; she had never encountered anything like this in her life.

This stunt sent Aunt Song stumbling backward with a shriek. "My dear nephew, don’t you scare me with that thing! I’m terrified just looking at it."

Lu Yuan roared with laughter.

Seeing her nephew’s mischievous grin, Aunt Song secretly resolved to teach him a lesson later. ’How dare he scare me like that!’

Lu Yuan asked Song Meiqin, "Aunt Song, what do you think? How should we cook these three Snow Clams?"

Song Meiqin watched as Lu Yuan decapitated and skinned the creatures, occasionally scalding them with hot water.

A wave of nausea washed over Song Meiqin, and she fought the urge to vomit.

But what could she do? She was so fond of her nephew that she insisted on sticking by his side.

After calming her stomach, Song Meiqin said, "Why don’t we make a soup? Frying or stir-frying it would probably destroy its beneficial properties."

Lu Yuan replied, "Hey, Aunt Song’s right! Let’s make a soup. We’ll make Snow Clam, Lotus Seed, Red Date, Goji Berry, Ginseng, and Papaya Chicken Soup."

"Just the name alone sounds incredibly nourishing," Song Meiqin said from two meters away as she tidied up the stove.

’That name is a bit of a mouthful, though.’

"You know it! Snow Clams have to be paired with these ingredients. Don’t worry, none of them clash. At worst, you could just call it a hodgepodge stew," Lu Yuan said as he began preparing the ingredients.

The Zhao Mansion’s kitchen was stocked with every ingredient one could possibly need.

In front of Lu Yuan were jars filled with all sorts of ingredients.

Lu Yuan grabbed a handful each from the jars of dried black goji berries, fresh large red dates, and lotus seeds, tossing them into a bowl.

After rinsing the ingredients, he placed them in the bowl and added water to let them soak.

Lu Yuan then found a ginseng root in a kitchen cabinet and handed it to Aunt Song to slice.

After Song Meiqin finished slicing the ginseng, she began to prepare a small chicken that the servants had already plucked and cleaned.

Song Meiqin set to work on the chicken at the cutting board—washing it, cutting it in half, and blanching it. She also chopped some papaya and set it aside.

Her movements were practiced, showing that Song Meiqin was no stranger to the kitchen.

Once Lu Yuan brought a pot of water to a boil, he added all the ingredients and cooked them on high heat for a little over fifteen minutes, then on low heat for another fifteen-plus minutes.

Now that all the ingredients were in the pot, Song Meiqin decided it was time to get revenge on Lu Yuan for scaring her with the Snow Clam.

She went straight for her ultimate move, grabbing Lu Yuan’s "family jewels" and threatening, "That’s what you get for scaring me, my dear nephew. I’m going to snap it right off."

Caught completely off guard, Lu Yuan froze, not daring to move an inch for fear of things getting... damaged.

Lu Yuan never expected Aunt Song to have such skills—to get such a precise grip, even through his pants.

But then again, it was a hot day, so Lu Yuan wasn’t wearing many layers. His clothes were thin, and he was... well-endowed. It was hardly surprising that Aunt Song had managed to get a hold of it.

Lu Yuan immediately begged for mercy. "Aunt Song, please don’t! That’s the family heirloom! You can’t go and break it!"

"Aunt Song, you already butchered one chicken this morning. Can’t you spare this one?"

Aunt Song tightened her grip, saying relentlessly, "Are you ever going to do that again?"

"Never again, never again!"

...

In the kitchen, Lu Yuan and Aunt Song continued to horse around while they waited for the soup to finish cooking.

When the soup was nearly done, they added a few last seasonings before taking it off the heat. Not many spices were suitable for this kind of soup.

The most important thing was not to forget the salt; the rest of the flavor would come from the ingredients themselves.

Lu Yuan took the remaining Snow Clams out to the courtyard, strung them on a line, and left them to dry in the sun.

Once dried, the Snow Clams could be brewed into a medicinal tonic with a few mild Chinese herbs.

If his wife and Aunt Zhao drank a few bowls of that, it would help ensure a smooth delivery for their babies.

Lu Yuan even arranged for two Mansion Guards to stand watch in shifts, guarding the Snow Clams as they dried in the courtyard.

These Snow Clams were simply too precious, far more valuable than any Ginseng and Deer Antler.

For lunch, Lu Yuan served the "Snow Clam, Lotus Seed, Red Date, Goji Berry, Ginseng, and Papaya Chicken Soup."

Remembering the scene of Lu Yuan preparing the Snow Clams that morning, Song Meiqin had no appetite for the soup.

Seeing that Aunt Song had no appetite, Lu Yuan didn’t press the issue.

Other than Song Meiqin, Lu Yuan didn’t tell anyone else what went into the soup.

He simply ladled out a bowl for everyone, leaving the rest for his wife and Aunt Zhao.

Zhao Qiao’Er didn’t know what kind of soup it was, but she thought it tasted quite good.

Su Liyan, however, loved it, especially the chopped pieces of Snow Clam.

Su Liyan polished off several pieces in one go.

At the dining table, Aunt Song praised her nephew for all to hear. "Our nephew here really knows how to dote on people. He spent the entire morning stewing this soup for you all."

Gu Ziye heard this and chimed in, "Well now, Yuan~ you’re not bad at all. A real man who knows how to pamper his women~"

Everyone showered Lu Yuan with praise.

"But of course, that’s a given," Lu Yuan said, feeling a bit smug from all the compliments.

’Damn right,’ he thought. ’In this day and age, what man other than a professional chef would cook a meal himself?’

’Compared to other men, the fact that I cook myself puts me a hundred times ahead of them.’

Aunt Zhao, in particular, was so moved she was at a loss for words. She thought to herself, ’I didn’t dote on this precious sweetheart for nothing. If I were just a bit younger, I’d give Lu Yuan eight or ten babies myself.’