Chapter 116: Turning grief into appetite

"How is it? Are you admiring me?"

Qin Tian glanced at Xia Nuannuan beside him, a smug smile on his handsome profile.

Xia Nuannuan pouted and said, "So narcissistic, wait until you make something delicious before you talk!"

Although she said that, she was indeed very surprised in her heart and even more eager to learn how to cook from her mother.

"Wow, Qin Tian, it seems you really have a knack for this!"

The Class Monitor, passing by, saw the crucian carp he had processed and said with a surprised face.

"That's right, if you don't have the diamond drill, how can you take on the porcelain work?"

Qin Tian grinned.

"Not bad, keep it up, I'm counting on you."

Mu Nan patted him on the shoulder and carried a basket of sweet peas to the living room to shell them.

"Nuan Nuan, you should learn from the Class Monitor and be more honest!"

Qin Tian said with a bright smile, continuing to chat with Xia Nuannuan.

Xia Nuannuan rolled her eyes speechlessly: "Yes, yes, yes, you're the best, I admire you so much!"

"Mm, that's more like it!"

Qin Tian nodded with satisfaction.

"Qin Tian, why didn't I notice before that you were so narcissistic!"

"Hehe... that just means you need to get to know me better."

Xia Nuannuan rolled her eyes and placed the peeled potatoes on the cutting board.

"Stop smiling so lecherously, just like Old Man Zhang, here are the potatoes!"

"Haha... Old Man Zhang is really miserable."

Qin Tian laughed heartily.

In the living room, Zhang Peng, who was sitting with his legs crossed, watching TV and eating shrimp chips, suddenly sneezed.

Mu Nan and Cui Ying, who were sitting together shelling peas, looked at him with confusion.

"Strange, who's thinking of me!"

Zhang Peng rubbed his nose and muttered in a low voice.

The two girls looked at each other upon hearing this, both showing expressions of being unable to laugh or cry.

Before long, the enticing aroma wafting from the kitchen filled the entire room.

"So fragrant!"

"I didn't expect Qin Tian's cooking to be really good!"

"What dish is this? It's too fragrant, let's go take a look!"

Zhang Peng also stood up and walked to the kitchen door.

In front of the kitchen stove, Qin Tian was wearing an apron given to him by the Class Monitor, skillfully tossing the wok.

"Light soy sauce!"

He called out.

"Here!"

Xia Nuannuan immediately handed over the bottle of light soy sauce.

"Add some dark soy sauce!"

"Mm, here you go."

The way the two cooperated tacitly, in the eyes of Zhang Peng and the others standing at the door, looked just like a married couple who had been together for many years.

The few looked at each other, all feeling a sense of sourness rising in their hearts.

"Brother Tian, what are you stir-frying?"

Zhang Peng walked a few steps closer, peering eagerly into the wok.

"Twice-cooked beef!"

Qin Tian answered casually.

"So fragrant, it's almost done, right? Give me a piece of beef to taste!"

Zhang Peng said with a longing expression.

"Get lost, you're dreaming!"

Qin Tian refused without mercy.

The girls couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

"Brother Tian, how come I feel like you've changed? You weren't like this before."

Zhang Peng pretended to look pitiful and glanced meaningfully at Xia Nuannuan beside him.

Xia Nuannuan's pretty face flushed slightly, and she pretended not to understand the implication of his words.

Qin Tian ignored the guy, took a pair of chopsticks from the side, picked up a piece of beef, and handed it to Xia Nuannuan's mouth.

"Huh?"

Xia Nuannuan looked at him with a confused expression.

"Huh what? Let you taste how it is, blow on it, it's a bit hot!"

Qin Tian said with a smile.

"Oh, oh!"

Xia Nuannuan nodded with a beaming smile, blew on the beef until it was a bit cooler, and opened her mouth wide to eat it.

Zhang Peng, standing on the other side of Qin Tian, was dumbfounded.

Mu Nan and the others also looked at each other.

"Hoo hoo... delicious, it's too delicious!"

Xia Nuannuan covered her mouth with her hand, chewing the spicy, fresh, and fragrant beef in her mouth, praising it repeatedly with excitement.

"Mm, then it should be ready."

Qin Tian nodded, calmly took a plate, and took the twice-cooked beef out of the wok.

"Brother Tian, you're too blinded by beauty to care about righteousness!"

Zhang Peng complained with a face full of resentment.

The other girls didn't say anything, but they all felt the same way, looking at Xia Nuannuan with eyes full of envy.

Xia Nuannuan blushed, chose to be selectively deaf, and carefully took the plate of food handed to her by Qin Tian with both hands, placing it on the kitchen counter.

"Those who don't work don't eat, don't make noise here, if you keep making noise, you won't get to eat later."

Qin Tian said indifferently.

"What 'those who don't work don't eat,' then I'll help serve the dishes!"

Zhang Peng said, making a move to serve the plate of twice-cooked beef.

Xia Nuannuan immediately blocked the plate, raising her arms in a protective gesture.

Zhang Peng was instantly stunned.

"Old Man Zhang, you'd better go sit in the living room, you don't need to help, I'm afraid the dish will be gone before you even get it to the table."

Xia Nuannuan said with a sweet smile.

"You, you guys..."

Zhang Peng's resentful gaze wandered between the two, wanting to cry but having no tears.

"Let's go, let's go, Zhang Peng, don't disturb Chef Qin here."

Mu Nan couldn't help but grab the back of his collar and drag him away.

"Damn it, you two just bully me as much as you want, later I'm going to turn grief into appetite, I'm going to eat three bowls of rice!"

Zhang Peng walked backward, shouting angrily at the two.

"Quick, quick, come and taste it."

Xia Nuannuan waved at Liao Juan and the other two, smiling like a little fox.

The three girls were delighted and immediately gathered around.

None of them ate much, just tasted a piece of beef each.

"My god, this is too delicious, even better than what my mom makes."

"Really delicious, Qin Tian, how did you do it?"

"This is only the first dish, I'm already looking forward to this lunch."

The three girls were all shocked and full of praise.

Xia Nuannuan felt honored, her small face beaming with a bright smile, even happier than when her own cooking was praised.

With the division of labor and cooperation among the girls, the ingredients were almost ready.

All Qin Tian had to do was the stir-frying process, which was naturally much easier and simpler.

Dish after dish, with great color, aroma, and taste, were served to the dining table by the girls one after another.

Zhang Peng sat in the living room, watching TV absent-mindedly, naturally not eating snacks anymore, just saving his stomach for the meal.

Several times he tried to sneak a taste of the dishes on the table, but was discovered by the girls, who used their eyes to make him give up the idea.

"Almost there, this last soup of mine will finish it."

Qin Tian shouted loudly.

The girls were instantly overjoyed.

"Then let's clear the table and set the tableware. Juan Juan, check how the rice in the rice cooker is. If it's done, take the rice cooker out so we can serve the rice later!"

Class Monitor Mu Nan organized with a beaming smile.

"Okay!"

Liao Juan responded.

The girls immediately got busy again.

On Qin Tian's side, the pot of crucian carp and tofu soup that had been stewing for a long time had already turned milky white.

After the lid was lifted, the fragrance hit them in the face; finally, he added an appropriate amount of salt and chicken essence to season it, and sprinkled some cilantro for garnish.

All done! ===== CHAPTER 117 =====