Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 64

“But aren’t you the one who refuses to let Sun Junwei’s mom take care of the kid?”

“Yes, because she’s unhygienic! She comes back from working in the fields, digs at her feet, and then without even washing her hands, she cuts up watermelon and serves it to me! How could I possibly let her take care of Hanhang?”

Zhou Chuyan made an exaggerated face full of disgust, painting a vivid picture that made Zhao Xiaojing almost choke on her laughter.

“But you’re the one refusing her help, so why complain that she’s staying home farming?”

“Well, she is staying home farming, isn’t she?” Zhou Chuyan emphasized each word as if daring Zhao Xiaojing to argue. Zhao was left speechless.

“So… is there anyone on the construction site who’s young and catches your eye?” Zhou Chuyan swiftly shifted the conversation back to gossiping about Zhao Xiaojing, her tone playful.

Zhao Xiaojing couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m so busy every day—where would I find the time to notice that? You’ve got quite the imagination!”

“What imagination? My mom says you make some good points—people can’t stay single forever. If you wait too long, you might miss out on a good one! Even if you just want to have fun, having someone to enjoy life with would be nice. Let’s be real—if you’re sticking to the construction site, you might as well find someone there. You carry bricks, he hauls sand—you’ll at least have company!”

Zhou Chuyan’s eyes widened as she lectured Zhao Xiaojing with the stern expression of a neighborhood auntie giving life advice.

“I enjoy the freedom of doing whatever I want on my own. You wouldn’t understand.”

With Dong Mei not around, Zhao Xiaojing felt much more relaxed discussing the topic of marriage and responded casually.

“How long do you think you can enjoy that freedom? You can’t be free forever. Having someone by your side is better—you can still do everything you want, but you’ll have someone to share it with. I’m not saying you need to get married right now, but at least start dating! If you start now, you’ll be 25 or 26 when you get married. Why aren’t you worried at all?”

“I’ll worry about that once I’ve got my life sorted. Right now, I don’t have anything—no house, no degree, no stable job. How can I even think about marriage?”

Zhao Xiaojing repeated what she had told Dong Mei earlier, trying to explain her point of view to Zhou Chuyan.

“Why do you need all of that? Once you’re married, you’ll have everything. Doesn’t the guy usually prepare the house? And after getting married, you can still take your time finding a job.”

“Uh… Yanyan, maybe you should focus on whether you should consider getting a job first?”

Zhao Xiaojing had already experienced Dong Mei’s illogical arguments, so she didn’t want to keep circling around the issue of marriage. She opted to change the subject instead.

“I never said I wouldn’t find a job. I’ll look for one once Hanhang is older…”

“And maybe you could consider being a little less harsh with Sun Junwei? Look how nicely we’re chatting right now.”

Zhao Xiaojing cautiously tried to steer the conversation back toward addressing Zhou Chuyan’s temper.

“Why is everyone always telling me to change? Why doesn’t anyone tell him to change? What did I ever do wrong to him?”

And with that, the conversation came full circle. The entire afternoon had been spent talking in circles, with no progress made.

Zhao Xiaojing sighed quietly, giving up on trying to intervene.

She and Zhou Chuyan had grown up in completely different environments. While Zhou had lived a relatively comfortable life, Zhao Xiaojing had been struggling to make ends meet from a young age. Adding to that, Zhao had experienced a difficult past life, which shaped her current outlook. It wasn’t surprising that their perspectives were worlds apart.

Neither of them could change the other’s mind. So be it.

—

Four o’clock in the afternoon.

Zhao Xiaojing retrieved the frozen red beans and mung beans from the fridge.

The fried food she had prepared for the Wen family had been cooked earlier in the morning and stored in the fridge. Now, she just needed to make some sweet soup to go along with it.

Initially, she had thought about preparing some for Dong Mei’s household as well, but since Dong Mei never ate such things, and Zhou Chuyan didn’t let Hanhang eat anything cold (and avoided it herself), Zhao decided against it.

After spending some time making the sweet soups, Zhao packed two small pots—one filled with red bean milk shaved ice and the other with mung bean milk shaved ice—into the foam cooler inside her stall cart.

By 5:30 PM, Zhao Xiaojing arrived at the Wen family’s home with bags of fried skewers and sweet soup.

The front gate was open, and as soon as Zhao approached, Aunt Niu came out with a big smile on her face. She helped Zhao park her cart and carried in the large bags of food.

“Not an inch of land belongs to others The clowns are not worth mentioning But with one sword! I~~ can~~ stop~~ a million soldiers~~!”

As soon as Zhao entered the house, she saw Grandpa Wen singing opera passionately while gesturing dramatically in front of the TV. Zhao couldn’t help but giggle—the old man was always so full of life.

On the couch nearby, Grandma Fan sat with her glasses on, carefully inspecting a small medicine bottle. Yunyun stood next to her grandfather, recording his performance on her phone.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Sister Yunyun—I’m here!”

At the sound of her voice, all three turned their heads toward her.

“Oh, Jingjing! Come in, come in!”

“Ah, the girl’s here! Have a seat!”

The elderly couple beamed at her, and Yunyun’s eyes lit up as well. Seeing how warm and close-knit the family was made Zhao Xiaojing feel at ease, and her smile grew even wider.

“Did you come alone? Didn’t you run into your aunt?”

As soon as she sat down, Grandma Fan asked.

“No, I didn’t see her. Did Auntie just leave?”

“She went out to pick you up. Maybe you missed each other? Yunyun, call your mom and check.”

Grandpa Wen pointed at the phone on the table, motioning for Yunyun to make the call.

“I’ll call her.” Zhao Xiaojing quickly pulled out her phone and saw two missed calls from Wen Yulan. The wind must have drowned out the sound while she was riding her bike.

She immediately called back.

“Hello? Jingjing, where are you? We were coming to pick you up.”

“Auntie, I’m already here—I’m with Grandpa and Grandma now. Sorry about that! I didn’t hear my phone ring while I was biking.”

“No worries at all. We weren’t just picking up you anyway. Since you’re there already, we’ll head back shortly.”

Wen Yulan’s gentle voice came through the receiver. After exchanging a few more words, Zhao Xiaojing hung up.

“Grandpa, Grandma—Auntie says they’re heading back soon. Oh, Auntie mentioned that Yunyun’s uncle is coming over today as well?”

“Yeah, but don’t pay him any mind!” Grandpa Wen waved dismissively. “No one cares if he comes or not—we’re happy because you came.”

“You’d better not say that once he gets here!” Grandma Fan gave Grandpa Wen a playful smack on the arm.

Yunyun chuckled softly before turning to Zhao Xiaojing with a grin. “Jingjing, I saw Aunt Niu carrying several bags into the kitchen again. What delicious treats did you bring this time?”

Yunyun’s face lit up with excitement.

She had loved the fried skewers Zhao had brought last time! The whole family had restrained themselves from eating too much because they wanted to save some for her mom. But when her mom returned, they fried up the remaining skewers and devoured every last bite.

As soon as she heard that Zhao Xiaojing was visiting again, Yunyun started dreaming about those skewers. She even turned down plans with friends just to stay home.

“You glutton! No shame at all! Don’t bother Jingjing with your cravings—have some fruit instead!”

As soon as Yunyun asked about the food, Grandma Fan pretended to scold her playfully before placing a plate of grapes in front of Zhao Xiaojing with a smile.