Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 141.2

If even the dogs were this energetic, the family certainly wasn’t stingy with their food.

He turned around and saw the half-peeled bamboo shoots that Wu Lan had tossed aside. He couldn’t resist picking them up, turning them over in his hands, and peeling off a couple of outer layers. He then popped a piece into his mouth.

After chewing for a moment, he silently broke off another small piece of bamboo shoot.

Then, with a serious expression, he began examining all the vegetables in the yard.

At that moment, the two women helping with the chores entered. They were stunned when they saw Seventh Granduncle, then they finally realized—

“Oh my, isn’t this our former Chef Song?”

Years ago, Seventh Granduncle had wielded a big ladle and commanded the respect of the entire village. Any family that managed to hire him for their banquet showed great sincerity! He was quite a well-known figure back then.

The two women became instantly excited. What was this? Was Chef Song going to cook lunch today? They were in for a treat!

Seventh Granduncle nodded in greeting. He then leaned closer to inspect the fresh locust blossoms in their basket. The greenish-white buds were tender and fragrant, exuding a distinct aroma of the wild mountains.

There was no need to taste them; Seventh Granduncle could tell these locust blossoms were just like the ones Song Hongmei had sent to his house. He turned and noticed a basin of freshly washed romaine lettuce in another woman’s hands, his brows immediately furrowing.

This romaine lettuce was indeed green and crisp, but as soon as he smelled it, he could tell it was just like the ordinary vegetables sold in the market.

When he was a chef before, these vegetables wouldn’t have been a problem.

But now, after the bamboo shoots and the locust blossoms, it felt like comparing an imperial Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup with beggar’s leftovers…

The difference was too stark!

He continued to scrutinize the prepared vegetables in the yard—spinach, black cabbage, garlic sprouts, scallions, cilantro, chives, carrots, garlic stems, asparagus…

“Why is there Chinese milk vetch here?”

In the past, wasn’t this usually fed to pigs and cattle? Only when times were tough did people eat this, back when he had just finished his apprenticeship.

What was happening? Not only were city people craving wild vegetables, but were the villagers now reminiscing about tough times too?

Just then, Song Tan was unloading things from the truck and casually replied, “This year, the Chinese milk vetch in the fields is particularly delicious. But since we need to plant vegetables, all of it has been plowed over. There are just a few left on the field edges, which my mom went to pick this morning.”

Vegetables are so expensive these days!

Seventh Granduncle didn’t respond, only tasted a bit from each pile, then pointed to all the vegetables:

“The carrots and garlic sprouts were bought, right? They taste like greenhouse-grown vegetables.”

“The rest were not grown in the same plot. Also, who owns the field that produced the Chinese milk vetch and chives?”

The two women looked at each other in surprise:

“Chef Song, no wonder your cooking is so good—your taste is unmatched! Even after all these years, it’s still so sharp!”

“You guessed right. The Chinese milk vetch and chives are from Wu Lan’s field, while the rest are a mix from the village garden plots.”

Wu Lan came out of the house, carrying bedding, and when she heard this, her eyes were practically glowing as she looked at Seventh Granduncle!

What was this called? This was called true skill!

Her son was learning to cook from such a master. Even if he could only learn half of his abilities, he could still make a living!