Women Looking at Women

Liu Chang'an stood aside watching Qin Yanan prepare the pig's trotters. He planned to make them into a cold dish called "Ban Ta" (缠蹄), as a cold dish was always necessary at the banquet.

After cleaning and removing the hair from fresh pig's trotters, split them open, remove the bones, and marinate them with salt for a while. When you want to eat them, roll up the trotters, wrap them in a clean cloth, and then tie them with straw rope from head to tail. Boil them in a pot until cooked, then remove the rope and cloth wrapping, slice them, and serve as a cold dish.

You can also put various meat fillings, sausages, etc. inside and then roll it up. There are many ways to make it, but Liu Chang'an chose the simplest one: pork filling.

"These days, very few people cook bear paws," Liu Chang'an said regretfully. "But cooking bear paws is quite troublesome, and the smell is too strong."

"The nutritional content of one bear paw is exactly the same as that of thirty duck feet, so what's so delicious about it?" Qin Yanan said dismissively. "When they hunt black bears in Russia, I'll have someone bring you a few bear paws."

"Bringing it here would be smuggling, and eating bear paws in China would be illegal. Do I look like someone who would break the law?" Liu Chang'an is a person who strictly abides by the law.

Qin Yanan rolled her eyes at him.

Liu Chang'an didn't press Qin Yanan about her "seeing ghosts." He wasn't an impatient person to begin with, and even with matters he cared about, he had plenty of patience. He believed that Qin Yanan would go back and ask Qin Peng, and eventually, after going around in circles, Qin Yanan would find him again.

Because there are many things that Qin Peng cannot answer for Qin Yanan, knowing the "what" but not the "why," but Liu Chang'an can help her analyze and find the real answers they both want to know.

The girl in the coffin might be able to give Liu Chang'an some clues, so Liu Chang'an strolled towards the transport vehicle.

"Where are you going? Come back. I can't be the one doing the work while you're just sitting around doing nothing." Qin Yanan called out to Liu Chang'an.

So Liu Chang'an abandoned his previous plan and came back. Besides, Shangguan Dandan still harbored resentment towards him, and even if he went to ask her something, she might not answer.

I just gave her a pack of sanitary napkins. Will that make her like me more and be easier to talk to? As the saying goes, "He who takes a gift is bound to be obligated to give it to him."

It's hard to say.

Liu Chang'an shook his head. He was curious to know what Qin Yanan could see if what he sensed through the coffin was a memory, a scene from over two thousand years ago.

Logically speaking, since one has experienced something similar, one should be able to see scenes related to oneself. If Qin Yanan did not share any era, events, or magnetic fields with this coffin, she should not be able to sense anything.

But she sensed it, which means that the coffin is indeed related to her in some way. Shangguan Dandan probably knows this, since she has been lying in the coffin all along.

However, it's also possible that she's been in a dormant state and may not be aware of it... Liu Chang'an suspects that while Shangguan Dandan can control this coffin, it also possesses autonomy at times, like a coffin with AI intelligence.

That's really advanced. So many people like smart daily necessities these days, but it seems like no one is starting a business in the direction of AI coffins. I wonder if Zhu Juntang would be interested in investing. Didn't she invest in Ma Weiming before? If Liu Chang'an were to come up with the concept of an AI coffin, Zhu Juntang would definitely be interested. Liu Chang'an is very confident.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Qin Yanan nudged Liu Chang'an.

"I'm thinking about the AI coffin issue. Are there any preferential policies to support it?" Liu Chang'an asked.

"Neuropathy."

Liu Chang'an was very disappointed; Qin Yanan showed absolutely no interest.

After working until 10:30 a. m., Zhou Shuling packed up her breakfast stall. She still wanted to help out, feeling that Liu Chang'an had helped her family a lot. It would be unreasonable for her not to help with such a big event as his banquet, so she came anyway.

"And this is..." Zhou Shuling had actually heard gossip from people in the neighborhood that Liu Chang'an had a cousin who was as beautiful as a fairy and often brought Liu Chang'an food. Looking at it this way, someone who could be called a fairy couldn't be so common, so it must be this one.

The "fairy" in the eyes of middle-aged and elderly people refers to those truly exceptionally beautiful women, the kind of rare beauty in everyday life, like those portrayed on television. It does not mean foolish, ignorant, self-righteous, or silly.

"Hello, Qin Yanan, Liu Chang'an's cousin." Qin Yanan smiled. The young woman in front of her had curly hair hanging down on both sides of her face, giving her a slightly charming look. Her simple attire revealed the shrewdness she had gained through life experiences. She wore a kitchen skirt and old-fashioned red arm sleeves, but she was clean and neat. Her body was slender but also contained a stubbornness. She was obviously a hardworking and independent woman.

"This is my mom!" Zhou Dongdong ran over as soon as she saw her mother, tilted her head up, and affectionately touched Zhou Shuling's bottom.

Zhou Shuling pushed Zhou Dongdong's hand away. It wasn't that Zhou Dongdong was particularly fond of Zhou Shuling's buttocks; it was just that she couldn't reach any higher positions anymore.

"My name is Zhou Shuling, and I'm Liu Chang'an's tenant. I'm still renting his apartment." Zhou Shuling was also sizing up Qin Yanan. Women are always more likely to be amazed when they look at other women, because men simply admire, while women think to themselves, "Wow, how did she grow up like that? Is she hiding a rabbit?", "Wow, how come she's so tall? She must have the figure of a supermodel.", "Wow, how come her legs are so long? I'd have to wear 20-centimeter heels to keep up with her.", "Wow, how come her face is so beautiful? Tsk tsk, are celestial fairies really that beautiful?"

While marveling at the beauty, she compared herself to the other woman, and became even more amazed by the gap between herself and the other woman in reality. She experienced that feeling of amazement more deeply. Only then did the woman realize how rare and precious it was for another woman to be so beautiful.

"We'll sell rice noodles together," Liu Chang'an introduced Zhou Shuling's other identity. "Those who can partner with me in business have always been renowned and powerful merchants throughout history."

"Your business must be really big now." Qin Yanan said gently, not wanting to appear too harsh in front of outsiders.

"I'm not very interested in doing business now. Maybe I'll be interested or have a need for it in the future, but for now, it's enough to sell rice noodles well." Liu Chang'an didn't care about Qin Yanan's sarcasm.

"Let me do something... Liu Chang'an, you just prepare the stir-fry, we'll do the heavy lifting." Zhou Shuling herself can cook, and of course she knows that Liu Chang'an is the best when it comes to culinary skills.

Liu Chang'an nodded, thought for a moment and decided not to move the gas stove from home. Instead, he tidied up the old earthen stove he used to cook geese, and then went downstairs to bring out firewood. Ever since he had Zhou Dongdong light the fire that time, Zhou Dongdong would often leave a couple of pieces of wood or branches piled up downstairs. He even carried back a broken wooden stool from the kindergarten.

I'm in a bad mood today, but I'll be updating later, so I'm just letting it all out.