Chapter 32: Stir-frying and Plans

In the Lu family’s kitchen.

Lu Qing was lighting a fire. A brand new iron pot was placed on the stove.

Lu Qing had originally planned to carry this iron pot home discreetly after dark.

But then he thought about it. They were all in the same village, so how discreet could he be?

Even if he secretly brought the pot home, he wouldn’t be able to hide it when he cooked.

After all, the aroma of stir-frying was very different from the smell of steaming or boiling, and he couldn’t block the kitchen to prevent the smell from getting out.

So he simply carried the pot back openly.

This, of course, caused another small sensation in the village.

This was an iron pot! To the villagers, it was a complete luxury.

Even now, there were still some families in the village who couldn’t afford an iron pot.

How could Lu Qing carrying back such a large iron pot not attract everyone’s attention?
In response, Lu Qing directly claimed that the iron pot was a gift from Old Doctor Chen, which once again made the villagers envious and jealous.

At the same time, they were amazed at the old doctor’s generosity.

An iron pot was worth several taels of silver, yet the old doctor gave it away just like that. He was really good to Lu Qing.

However, this also convinced everyone that the old doctor really regarded Lu Qing as his disciple, and a very important one at that.

Otherwise, why would he give such a large iron pot to Lu Qing?
They had only ever heard of disciples showing filial piety to their masters; where had they ever heard of a master giving such a precious gift to a disciple?
Unless the master was really very fond of that disciple.

Especially later, when they saw that the iron pot had even been seasoned, everyone became even more convinced of their speculation.

Recalling the villagers’圍觀, Lu Qing also felt a little fortunate in his heart.

Fortunately, he had the foresight to temporarily leave the silver with Old Doctor Chen and only brought back two pieces of broken silver.

Otherwise, such a large bag of silver would definitely not have escaped everyone’s eyes.

If some busybody, out of curiosity, opened the cloth bag while he wasn’t paying attention, it would be troublesome.

The fire started, and soon, the pot began to smoke.

Lu Qing took the oil jar and scooped a large spoonful of lard into it.

Watching the lard melt in the pot, a sense of exhilaration rose in his heart.

Now that he had money, he no longer had to be so stingy with oil.

Before, every time he cooked, he had to figure out how to use the least amount of oil to make dishes that were not unpalatable. It was really too difficult for him.

With a happy mood, Lu Qing quickly made two dishes and one soup.

A pan-fried fish, a fish soup, and a stir-fried green vegetable.

Although limited by seasonings, these three dishes still seemed simple.

But when Lu Qing took the first bite of the stir-fried dish, he was so moved that he almost wanted to cry.

It wasn’t easy. This taste was the taste he had dreamed of for a long time.

“Brother, the dishes made with the big iron pot are so delicious!”

On the other side, Xiao Yan was also eating with great relish.

Even she, who usually didn’t like to eat green vegetables, now found the green vegetables to be exceptionally delicious.

“Of course, this big iron pot is a sharp tool for cooking. Otherwise, why would brother always be thinking about having a big iron pot?”

“The big iron pot is so good~”

The two siblings ate this meal with extra fragrance and sweetness.

All the food was eaten clean, not even a drop of soup was left.

After eating her fill, Xiao Yan rubbed her slightly bulging little belly with a satisfied look on her face.

“Brother, can we use the big iron pot to cook every day from now on?”

“Okay.”

Lu Qing nodded without hesitation.

Wasn’t this the reason why he insisted on buying an iron pot?
However, it was not necessary to eat stir-fried dishes every meal. Even the most delicious food would become tiresome after a long time.

It was also good to try other dishes occasionally.

After eating, Lu Qing read for a while longer.

When the sky was a little dark, he put away the book.

He moved the old recliner out into the courtyard, lay on it, and looked at the sunset clouds in the distant sky.

He seemed to be in a daze, but he was actually thinking.

He was thinking about what Big Brother An had said before about the big market.

After his extravagance tonight, the oil at home was truly running out and needed to be replenished.

There were also some things that he didn’t feel comfortable asking the old doctor to help him buy, and he wanted to purchase them himself.

In addition, it was time to return the things he had borrowed from the villagers.

So this trip to the big market was imperative for him.

“Then I’ll go tomorrow. Big Brother An said there are some rules to follow when going to the big market. I can go and ask him for advice tomorrow.”

Lu Qing quickly made a decision.

“Brother, will the little beast come to our house again tonight?”

At this moment, Xiao Yan suddenly asked.

“It probably will,” Lu Qing was not sure.

“Then I’ll wait for it tonight.”

The little girl was extremely curious about the little beast her brother had mentioned and really wanted to know what it looked like.

“Alright, but if it’s late and it still doesn’t come, you have to be good and go to sleep,” Lu Qing said.

“Okay~”

Xiao Yan immediately decided that she would cheer up tonight and definitely wait for the little beast to arrive.

Unfortunately, a child’s willpower was still a bit lacking.

Xiao Yan, who was used to sleeping early, started to feel her eyelids getting heavy as soon as it was time.

In addition, with the presence of the Green Armored Fish Stone, in the end, although the little girl persisted for a while, she still fell asleep not long after.

And not long after Xiao Yan fell asleep, Lu Qing heard the familiar scratching sound from outside.

He couldn’t help but be stunned.

Could this little thing really have deliberately waited until Xiao Yan fell asleep before appearing?
Carrying the prepared fish, Lu Qing opened the door.

Sure enough, he saw the figure of the small black beast.

This time, the little thing still retreated to the middle of the courtyard, but its appearance was obviously much more relaxed.

It was no longer the wary look from before.

Lu Qing even thought he saw a hint of anticipation in the little thing’s eyes when it saw him come out, though he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination.

Could this fellow have really become a spirit?
Lu Qing muttered in his heart, placed the fish on the ground, and then retreated.

As soon as he retreated to the door, the small black beast immediately went forward, picked up a fish, and ran away.

Alright, although its vigilance had decreased a little, it was only a little.

Watching the small black beast start the mode of eating one and running one trip, running back and forth like last night, Lu Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

He was too lazy to bother with this fellow. He closed the door, yawned, and walked towards the room.

He had a lot of things to do tomorrow, so he didn’t have time to play with this little thing.

A night without words.

When Lu Qing got up early the next morning, he saw that the wooden basin was empty again.

He didn’t know how that little thing digested it. It didn’t look big, but its appetite was a bit amazing.

Two or three catties of fish were eaten up casually, and its appetite was bigger than an adult’s.

“Brother, did the little beast come last night?”

Xiao Yan also woke up and ran out of the room to ask the first thing.

“It came. Look, the fish in the basin are all gone.”

Lu Qing pointed to the wooden basin.

“Ah! Brother, why didn’t you wake me up!” the little girl was very annoyed.

“I said, if you fall asleep, I won’t call you.”

“Brother, I’ve decided. I won’t sleep tonight. I must wait for the little beast to come!” the little girl said with a serious face.

“Okay, go for it,” Lu Qing said without a care.

He was now sure that the Green Armored Fish Stone was indeed magical.

With it, even if Xiao Yan wanted to stay up late, she couldn’t.

As soon as it was time, she would definitely get sleepy and go to sleep obediently.

It really saved him a lot of trouble.

“Xiao Yan, can you go to Grandpa Zhang’s house to play today? Brother has something to do and needs to go out.”

“Where are you going, brother?”

“You’ll know when I get back.”

After asking Grandpa Zhang next door to help look after Xiao Yan, Lu Qing pocketed a piece of broken silver and walked towards Wang Da’an’s house.

(End of this chapter)