After finishing his disciples' training on Sunday afternoon, Mu Yue went to the Main City Area. Instead of going home, he headed straight to Minato's house.
When Kushina and Minato had dinner at Mu Yue's place last night, they told him they had practiced Braised Pork Belly enough and planned to officially make it tomorrow afternoon. They invited Mu Yue to come by if he had time.
By the time Mu Yue arrived, the two had just finished boiling the pork belly and were preparing to coat it with soy sauce for coloring.
Mu Yue was about to step forward and help when Kushina stopped him.
"Mu Yue, just watch. If any of the steps are wrong, you can point them out. You don't need to help," Kushina said.
Tenten often came to Mu Yue's house for free meals, so Kushina felt too embarrassed to make Mu Yue help.
Minato brought Mu Yue a fruit platter and poured him a glass of water, then smiled gently.
"Mu Yue, you don't need to help today. Be a proctor for once."
Minato and Kushina shared the same thought. They felt they should handle this one themselves.
"Then I'll be lazy for once," Mu Yue said with a smile.
"You can poke some small holes in the pork skin with a skewer before pouring on the soy sauce. That will help the Braised Pork Belly absorb more flavor, and it'll puff up better when fried later," Mu Yue reminded them.
Only then did Kushina and Minato realize they had forgotten that little detail.
With Mu Yue's reminders, Kushina and Minato completed each step in an orderly manner—frying, slicing, preparing the sauce, steaming...
By the time they finished, it was already dark.
"This Braised Pork Belly is delicious, but it's really troublesome to make.