"Why didn't Qingqing and Xiaoxiao come over?"
"Hey! Do you really think they're orphans with no parents? They have a mom and dad too, you know!" Chen Shu rolled his eyes.
"I even bought Qingqing some hand-peeled bamboo shoots and Xiaoxiao some chips."
"What did you buy me?"
"A few pounds of beef."
"Braised, tossed in sauce, or simmered?"
"Raw."
"Well, thank you so much..."
"No need to thank me. It's beef brisket. We'll cook it tomorrow."
"..."
"What did you buy me?" Chen Banxia came over too.
"I bought you a fart!" Lawyer Wei replied in dialect, meaning roughly the same thing as "I bought you squat." But as she looked at her daughter, her expression softened after all. "There's a watermelon in the fridge. Cut it yourselves if you want some."
"You got it!"
Chen Banxia immediately ran to the fridge.
She cut the watermelon in half, grabbed two spoons, kept one half for herself, and brought the other to her little brother.
How touching...
Chen Banxia thought to herself.
"Put it there. I'll eat it in a bit." Chen Shu pointed casually, his manner cool. Right now, he was more interested in the hand-peeled bamboo shoots Lawyer Wei had bought Ning Qing.
He picked up a packet, looked it over, and tore it open.
The packaging was much like that of pickled chicken feet. Inside were three whole young bamboo shoots, husks still on, plenty of brine, and one pickled chili. Chen Shu got up and poured the brine into the kitchen sink. After looking around, he found a pair of disposable gloves and put them on.
He peeled away the husks layer by layer, revealing the crisp shoot beneath.
Was it ready to eat?
Chen Shu took a tentative bite.
It tasted pretty good.
The young