HLnovel Chapter 207 Passing Chapter
Chapter 207 Passing Chapter
An An carefully stroked Pudding, who was lying on the ground, with her hands, her face full of childlike smiles.
Pudding wagged its tail listlessly, squinting its eyes and resting its head on its front paws, letting the little girl stroke its fur.
Ye Jingmo took out the smoked pork from the bag, washed it, cut it into large pieces, and put it into a pot to stew.
Seeing this, Qin Yu took out the dried mushrooms he had brought, soaked them in water, and waited to add them to the stewed pork.
Liangzi found the fresh rabbit meat buried in the snow and cut it into small pieces on the stove with a cleaver so it would be easier to fry later.
Instantly, the small kitchen space was filled with three men.
Lin Panpan wanted to go into the kitchen to help, but Jiang Li stopped her.
"There's no room in the kitchen now, so let the three men do their thing in there."
The three of us went outside to play cards for a while to kill some time.
Qin Yue was initially bewildered, but then became excited.
"Sister Jiang Li, did you bring playing cards?"
Since the apocalypse began, Qin Yue had never played any casual games. When she heard that she could play cards, she was immediately itching to play.
Seeing Qin Yue's anxious expression, Jiang Li burst into laughter and immediately pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket.
"I bought this a while ago, but I haven't used it. I thought since it's Chinese New Year today, this could be a form of entertainment, so I brought it with me."
The three of them cleared a space at the tea table and started playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game).
After several rounds, Qin Yue, for some reason, let out a sigh:
"This is what Chinese New Year should feel like: everyone gathered together playing and preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner."
It's a pity there was no Spring Festival Gala or fireworks; otherwise, it would have been much more lively.
The streets outside remained quiet, without a trace of festive atmosphere.
Only this villa was filled with the festive atmosphere and laughter.
"During the Spring Festival and other holidays, it's definitely more festive when there are many people gathered together. If it's just me and Mo Ge at home, it might feel very lonely."
Jiang Li held the cards, laughing as she played them.
Indeed, but we don’t know when this extreme cold will end.
The weather is inconvenient for getting around; even going to the night market at the base is a hassle.
Lin Panpan couldn't help but complain about the extreme cold, hoping that this cold weather would end soon.
Only when the weather warms up will the plants and animals on the mountain grow, so that their family will have a source of food.
Only then can people live better lives.
Jiang Li knew that the extreme cold would disappear in a few days, but even then, everyone's wish to travel would still not be fulfilled.
Everyone still needs to stay home and not go out.
Suddenly, a strong aroma of dry pot wafted out from the kitchen.
Ye Jingmo opened the pot lid and added the soaked mushrooms and washed greens.
He added a lot of spices to this broth, so it's absolutely impossible to say it's not delicious.
Pudding, lying on the ground, twitched its nose and couldn't help but lick its lips to stop the drool from dripping.
The two dogs stared wide-eyed, eagerly anticipating their food.
An'an couldn't resist the delicious temptation. She took small steps to the kitchen door, her big eyes staring intently inside, swallowing her saliva every now and then.
She hadn't smelled such a fragrant scent in a long time since the apocalypse began.
It made her want to take a bite.
Liangzi heated oil in a wok and then stir-fried the diced rabbit.
He took out some pickled chili peppers from his home and added them to the rabbit meat.
This was pickled by their family before the apocalypse; you could say that every time they eat it, it's one less time they'll have.
Rabbit meat with pickled chili peppers has a wonderfully fresh, spicy flavor.
The pungent smell makes you sneeze, yet it's also tempting, making your mouth water and wanting to try the taste of this rabbit meat.
Liangzi added some water to the pot and put the lid on. When he turned around, he found An'an standing motionless at the door.
A fatherly smile crept across his tough-guy face as he stepped forward and picked An'an up.
"What's wrong, An'an?"
No longer playing outside with Pudding?
Did you miss your dad? Did you come all the way to the kitchen?
An'an patted her tummy without any hesitation.
"An'an came to the kitchen because she smelled the delicious aroma."
"Haha, so it's because An'an is hungry."
"But the food isn't ready yet, An'an, please wait a little longer."
Liangzi patted An'an's head, put her down, and told her to go play on the side first, and that dinner would be served soon.
An'an stubbornly stayed at the kitchen door, afraid that the food would run away and she wouldn't get a single bite.
Qin Yu ladled the mushroom and pork stew out of the pot, otherwise there wouldn't be a pot to cook the next dish.
Ye Jingmo, who was standing next to him, cut the cooked blood sausage into slices and added it to the pickled cabbage to cook together, making it a dish that was a staple of D Province.
Smelling the delicious aroma, Jiang Li and the other two lost their appetite for playing cards and went to the kitchen to help bring out the dishes.
"Brother Mo, don't forget to cook some sweet potato noodles in the sauerkraut."
Jiang Li, carrying the dishes, reminded Ye Jingmo.
"understood."
Ye Jingmo nodded upon hearing this and soaked the sweet potato noodles in water to prevent them from being undercooked later.
Soon, a whole table of dishes was served.
Six adults and one child sat on the stools, while a dog lay on the floor.
Jiang Li took Pudding out with her, leaving Jelly at the villa.
Jelly is a cat after all, and Jiang Li was afraid that taking it out would make it uncomfortable, so she simply stopped touching it.
She prepared a full bowl of cat food for Jelly, and wasn't worried that it would go hungry.
"Let's eat! Everyone, please don't be shy."
Seeing everyone swallowing hard, Ye Jingmo spoke up.
Everyone immediately started waving their chopsticks.
Jiang Li placed a large piece of smoked pork into An'an's bowl, saying, "An'an, eat first."
"Thank you sister."
An'an thanked Jiang Li in her childish voice, then grabbed a piece of pork with her long chopsticks and took a big bite, leaving a ring of oil around her mouth.
Ye Jingmo picked up a piece of rabbit meat and gave it to Jiang Li, saying, "You eat some too."
The rabbit was actually chopped into very small pieces by Liangzi, and stewed with pickled chili peppers, making it very flavorful.
Jiang Li felt a burning sensation in her mouth as she ate, and she couldn't help but gasp for breath. But after finishing one piece, she couldn't resist eating another.
Ye Jingmo poured Jiang Li a glass of cold water so that she wouldn't be unable to handle the spiciness of the food later.
Pudding buried its face in the dog bowl, eating the pork and rabbit meat that Ye Jingmo had specially cooked for it.
This was intentionally made without any seasoning.
"These dishes taste absolutely amazing."
As Qin Yue ate, she couldn't help but praise it aloud.
"Yes, I didn't expect the three of you to be such good cooks. Making the New Year's Eve dinner for the three of you this year is really putting your talents to good use."
Lin Panpan smiled as well.
Jiang Li originally thought that a table full of food would be left uneaten, but to her surprise, not a single dish was left.
This is not surprising, though. People who usually lack oil and food are trying to save money and live frugally.
It's a rare occasion to have a feast on New Year's Day, so we're definitely going to eat our fill.