Qin Ze's Cooking Skills

When Qin Baobao and Wang Zijing excitedly ran to the living room, Qin Ze was sitting at the dining table, feasting. In front of him was Soy Braised Pork Knuckle, Vegetable Tofu, Steamed Yellow Croaker, and Chicken Stew with Mushrooms, all steaming hot, the rich aroma of the dishes stirring up the glutton in their bellies.

Qin Baobao's first reaction was, Damn, this kid is secretly eating all the good stuff.

"Where did you order takeout from? It smells so good," Qin Baobao's index finger twitched. She kicked Qin Ze's calf. "Is there any rice left? Get me a bowl."

Qin Ze chewed the food in his mouth, not really wanting to serve his sister, and retorted, "Didn't you already eat?"

"Just go when I tell you to, stop with the nonsense." Qin Baobao reached out, grabbed a piece of chicken, and stuffed it into her mouth. The tender chicken instantly filled her mouth, activating her taste buds. She closed her eyes in delight.

This is Chicken Stew with Mushrooms?

This taste, this texture, it's simply amazing.

Was the Chicken Stew with Mushrooms I ate before fake...?

Qin Ze reluctantly got up and went to the kitchen to get her rice.

"Qin Ze, get me a bowl too, no, half a bowl is enough." Wang Zijing sat down naturally, but her upbringing was obviously eighteen streets ahead of Qin Baobao's. Although her eyes were glued to the dishes, she controlled herself and didn't imitate Qin Baobao.

While Qin Ze was getting rice, Qin Baobao kept picking up pieces of chicken to eat, one after another. Wang Zijing slapped her hand away, "Baobao, you haven't even washed your hands."

Wang Zijing was mainly afraid that she would eat all the dishes.

Qin Ze brought over two bowls of rice, and the three of them gathered around the dishes, eating heartily. Qin Baobao loved the Chicken Stew with Mushrooms the most, wishing she could hug it to herself. Besides that, her favorite was the Sauerkraut Stewed Pork Knuckle.

The pork knuckle melted in her mouth, rich but not greasy, tender, but the flavor wasn't lost, especially the pig skin, rich in collagen. Sucking it into her mouth, it immediately slid into her stomach. Eating it was simply a pleasure.

"Hoo, ha..."

Qin Baobao was so hot that she kept breathing out and fanning her mouth.

Wang Zijing had a stomach problem and didn't like rich, fatty foods, but the sauerkraut was appetizing. After eating a chopstick of pork knuckle, she couldn't stop herself, and her chopsticks moved like lightning. This caused a conflict with Qin Baobao.

"Baobao, it's fine if you move the Chicken Stew with Mushrooms closer to you, but don't take over the pork knuckle too."

"Pork knuckle is rich in collagen, perfect for my beauty."

"I want to be beautiful too."

"You're naturally beautiful, you don't need it."

"Then what if I have a stomach problem? I just like to eat appetizing dishes."

"Then have Qin Ze order you another serving."

Wang Zijing thought about it and felt it made sense, smiling as she said to Qin Ze, "Little brother, get your sister another serving."

Qin Ze was stunned, "What do you mean, order another serving? I only bought this much, and what time is it now? The market is closed."

Wang Zijing blinked, very surprised. Qin Ze made all the food on the table? Qin Baobao said he was good at cooking, and she wasn't exaggerating?

Qin Baobao raised her head from her rice bowl and chuckled, "Stop joking, which restaurant did you order takeout from? It's so delicious. We'll order from this place from now on and treat it like our cafeteria."

Qin Ze picked up a Steamed Yellow Croaker, slurped it, and sucked the fish meat clean. "I'm too lazy to talk to you."

Qin Baobao made a face.

The three continued their battle with the delicacies. Before long, the table was wiped clean. Qin Baobao leaned back in her chair, stroking her bulging belly, and sighed, pretending to be aggrieved, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault. I'm practicing dancing and need to maintain my figure."

Wang Zijing teased, "If you want to practice dancing, shouldn't you be on a diet? You have no self-control at all... hic!"

She laughed happily because it had been a long time since she had eaten so heartily.

"Qin Ze, which restaurant is this food from? Let's go check it out tomorrow and order something else to try." Wang Zijing handed Qin Ze a tissue, gesturing for him to wipe the grease from his mouth.

"I made it," Qin Ze said seriously.

"How stingy, what's wrong with telling us?" Qin Baobao complained.

Wang Zijing smiled without speaking; her relationship with Qin Ze hadn't reached the point of playful banter.

At that moment, a clear "whistle" came from the kitchen, the sound of steam escaping from the vent due to the pressure in the pot.

Qin Ze gestured towards the kitchen with his mouth, "There's one last soup, want to try it?"

"You really made the dishes?" Wang Zijing was starting to believe it a little.

"Hey, don't be fooled by him, I bet he only made this soup." Qin Baobao curled her lip, "Do I not know how many pounds he weighs? If you want to drink it, go ahead, I can't drink anymore anyway."

Hearing this, Wang Zijing also shook her head and smiled, "Then I won't drink it either, I'm stuffed."

Drink it or don't, whatever.

Qin Ze put on heat-resistant gloves and brought out the Radish Bone Soup, placing it in front of himself. The radish had been stewed until it was mushy, the bones were connected to the meat, the soup was milky white, and a layer of glistening oil floated on top.

Qin Ze ignored his two sisters, ladled a bowl for himself. He only added a little salt to the soup, making it very light, but it was especially palatable after the heavy meat dishes. Moreover, it was fragrant and smooth, with the refreshing taste of radish and the rich aroma of bone. As an after-dinner soup, Qin Ze would give it ninety-nine points, deducting one point to avoid being arrogant...

Wang Zijing smelled the rich aroma and couldn't resist ladling half a bowl for herself, holding the bowl and blowing on it before taking a small sip.

In that instant, she felt her calmed taste buds come alive again. The fresh fragrance of radish and the rich aroma of bone were perfectly intertwined. It was clearly very light, but it gave a feeling of a grand meal. The key was that it came at the perfect time, just in time to wash away the greasiness left in the mouth and stomach. She couldn't help but take a few more sips.

Wang Zijing burped unladylike, and said in surprise, "I want another bowl."

"Is it that good? Qin Ze's soup-making skills are just so-so, not even half as good as my mom's." Qin Baobao had a face that said, "I may not have read much, but you can't fool me," and also ladled half a bowl for herself, taking a small sip. Her phoenix eyes suddenly lit up: "Qin Ze, you ordered takeout again, didn't you?"

"Crazy," Qin Ze muttered, burying his head in the soup.

Qin Baobao gulped it down in one go, "I'll have another bowl too."

There wasn't much soup, only about four or five bowls' worth. With three people having one bowl each, it was almost gone.

Wang Zijing smiled and said, "Qin Ze, I'm a guest, why don't you let me have the rest of the soup?"

Qin Ze was about to add soup for himself with a spoon, and glanced unhappily at his sister's beautiful bestie.

He had only had one bowl.

"Your stomach isn't good, eat less." Qin Baobao snatched the spoon from his hand, scooped the last bowl of soup into her own bowl, and drank it with a smile.

Wang Zijing pursed her lips, glaring at her, looking very unhappy.

Qin Baobao completely ignored her bestie's little look, and reached out to pinch Qin Ze's ear with a fake smile: "A'Ze, I believe you cooked all these dishes, are you happy?"

Qin Ze dodged to the side: "Happy."

"Stick your head over here."

"Whoever sticks their head over is an idiot."

"Qin Baobao was furious, baring her fangs and brandishing her claws as she pounced over: 'I suspect you, you dog of a servant, of secretly hoarding culinary skills, a heinous crime! I'm going to twist off your ears to make a snack with alcohol!'"

As soon as Qin Baobao finished speaking, she let out a miserable cry. Qin Ze had pinned her hands behind her back, flipped her over, and held her down on his lap, unable to move.

"Qin Baobao, have I given you too much sunshine and too much river water these past few days? You're shining so brightly you're about to spontaneously combust, overflowing so much you're about to wash away the Oriental Pearl Tower."

"Qin Ze, let me go! My stomach is full, it's killing me."

"Quickly say you're wrong."

"I would rather die than submit!"

"Spit out what you ate from me, quickly."

"Good little brother, Zijing is watching from the side, save me some face."

Wang Zijing watched the siblings bickering and making a scene, her smile gentle and her eyes warm.

At 10:30 in the evening, Qin Baobao was wandering around the living room, taking a walk to aid digestion. Qin Ze sat on the sofa with his computer, looking at the class notes sent by the Old Man to his email, all of which were knowledge points that might be tested.

Inside the bathroom, Wang Zijing was taking a shower, the sound of rushing water filling the air.

Qin Baobao walked while doing high leg lifts, "What do you think of my Bestie?"

Qin Ze asked in return, "Which aspect are you talking about?"

"All aspects."

Qin Ze commented, "Her external beauty is impeccable, her internal beauty remains to be examined. To be honest, it's rare to see such a beauty."

After saying that, he saw Qin Baobao glaring at him with her hands on her hips, and quickly added, "Besides you, of course."

Qin Baobao did some waist twisting exercises and asked, "How about I introduce her to you as your girlfriend?"

Qin Ze's little hand trembled in shock: "Are you testing me? I swear, I absolutely have no ulterior motives towards her."

Qin Ze thought, she's probably afraid I'll use her underwear to do unspeakable things again.

Qin Baobao said seriously, "Don't you like this kind of gentle and generous girl? And she doesn't have a boyfriend yet." She paused, a look of disdain appearing on her face: "I'm diverting the disaster eastward, so you don't use mine to do that again."

Qin Ze was powerless to argue, and too lazy to argue.

Qin Baobao changed the subject: "However, Zijing might not look up to you. There are many people pursuing her, but she hasn't even given those admirers a proper look."

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, in your eyes, I'm a useless younger brother who can't possibly get a wife." Qin Ze was used to being mocked by her.

Qin Baobao was repeatedly defeated in their verbal sparring, and angrily trotted over to kick Qin Ze, quickly retreating to a safe distance, looking at him provocatively.

"What's the background of your Bestie?" Qin Ze closed the stock trading software, ignoring his sister's provocation, and instead discussed Wang Zijing. Qin Baobao was very familiar with him; a gentle and generous girl was Qin Ze's ideal partner.

Qin Baobao tilted her head, pondering, "She's from the Capital City, her parents seem to be civil servants. That's all I know. Why, can't wait to learn more about her?"

"I think your Bestie's family must be pretty well-off. Her speech and manners are impeccable. The key thing is that she just asked me to get her rice."

"What can getting rice represent?"

"Use your vaunted intelligence to think about it. When you go to someone else's house, would you feel comfortable asking them to get you rice?" Qin Ze analyzed, "That's completely a habitual 'open your mouth and the food comes'. What does that mean? It means there must be a nanny at home."

"That makes sense," Qin Baobao chuckled, "Then she's even less likely to look up to you. Quickly beg me, beg me to help you two tie the knot."

To be honest, Qin Ze was tempted, but considering that his sister would only hold him back in this regard, and with past experiences to learn from, he silently dismissed the idea of bringing Qin Baobao on board.

Besides, Wang Zijing was indeed beautiful, but Qin Ze had been greatly immune to beautiful women since childhood, so there was no possibility of love at first sight. He still needed to observe and assess what kind of person this beautiful older sister from the Capital City was.