Chapter 24 (continued)

Ming Chunxi said, "They've made this their territory."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "I think so too. As long as they don't damage anything, we can just leave them be."

Once inside, Ming Chunxi took the small bag he had brought into his room with practiced ease, then came back out to chat.

Both had things to do, so after a brief conversation, they each returned to their rooms to work.

Qing Mengzhu sat down at his desk and suddenly remembered their youth.

When they were young, they would often chat for a bit before heading back to their rooms with their schoolbags to do homework-though Qing Mengzhu had still been doing regular school assignments then, while Ming Chunxi had already been reading all kinds of advanced mathematics monographs.

The next morning, Qing Mengzhu got up quietly, planning to pick vegetables.

A door creaked open on Ming Chunxi's side. He came out and said, "I'll go with you."

Qing Mengzhu asked, "Did I wake you?"

Ming Chunxi shook his head. "I usually get up around this time anyway."

Seeing that he was ready, Qing Mengzhu agreed. "Then I'll get you some gloves."

When Qing Mengzhu went to pick vegetables, he took a sealed jar of sun-dried tomatoes for Di Caiyong. Di Caiyong had been the one to remind him that tomatoes could be dried, so now that they were ready, he had to thank him somehow.

Di Caiyong was delighted to receive them when he came to collect the vegetables, and repeatedly praised Qing Mengzhu's initiative and aptitude.

Qing Mengzhu took the opportunity to ask for detailed instructions on making tomato seafood soup, and Di Caiyong shared everything he knew.

After handing over the vegetables to Di Caiyong, Qing Mengzhu discussed going to town for wontons with Ming Chunxi on the way home. They had talked about eating fish-tail wontons last time but hadn't gotten around to it, so this was a good chance to make up for it. After breakfast, they could also shop for the ingredients they needed for lunch.

Ming Chunxi had no objections.

The two walked home, and when they reached the gate, they saw an additional car outside the yard.

Qing Mengzhu instinctively looked at the license plate, but before he could make it out, a head appeared from the driver's seat.

"You told me not to rush and to come on Saturday instead," the person in the car said plaintively.

Qing Mengzhu said, "..."

"So it just wasn't convenient for you to have me over," the person added.

Qing Mengzhu said, "...Weren't you the one who said you'd been working so much overtime lately that you were dizzy and seeing things?"

Zhao Hexi snorted. "That's no reason to turn me down!"

With that, Zhao Hexi turned to Ming Chunxi. "God Ming!"

In high school, Ming Chunxi had won several gold medals in domestic and international mathematics and physics competitions. Back then, everyone liked to call students like him study gods, and Ming Chunxi had acquired the title God Ming. Even now, some people still called him that.

Ming Chunxi nodded in greeting. "Long time no see."

Zhao Hexi beamed. "Long time no see! Where are you going? Did you just say you were going for wontons? Want to take my car?"

Ming Chunxi said, "Sure."

So Ming Chunxi and Qing Mengzhu got into the car, and their trip to town for wontons became an outing for three.

Fortunately, the town's wonton shop had maintained the standards of a time-honored establishment. The wontons were fresh and delicious, and everyone was pleased with the meal.

Afterward, the three bought the ingredients for lunch and went home to prepare them.

A little after ten, Qing Guozhi arrived as well.

Qing Mengzhu introduced them to one another, then got ready to make lunch.

Besides the seafood soup, Qing Mengzhu planned to make tomato fish and stir-fried beef with lotus shoots, along with water spinach with minced garlic and eggplant with ground pork.

He had picked the lotus shoots, eggplant, and water spinach that morning, but the fish for the tomato fish were being kept in the mountain spring behind the house, so he still had to go and get them.

Zhao Hexi exclaimed, "The fish in your pond are already so fresh, and you still have to keep them for a while before eating them?"

Qing Mengzhu said, "You can eat them right away too, but if you keep them for a while, the fish will empty their bellies of excess fat and fat-soluble fishy substances. They'll taste a little better."

Zhao Hexi asked, "Does that work?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "You'll know when you try it later."

There were quite a few ingredients to prepare for lunch, so everyone pitched in.

When the old man saw Qing Mengzhu take out the sun-dried tomatoes, he couldn't help taking over the other odd jobs and urging him to make the seafood soup first.

Qing Mengzhu said, "There's no rush. None of the dishes need to simmer for long. Once the ingredients are ready, the cooking itself will only take a little while."

The old man said, "That works too. Ah, the ingredients we've prepared today are wonderful. Just looking at them makes me hungry."

Zhao Hexi leaned over. "I think so too. The ingredients we've prepared today are wonderful. If anyone else saw them, they'd definitely be envious."

The old man remarked, "Good ingredients are hard to find. With good ingredients, a dish is already seventy percent of the way to success."

Zhao Hexi said, "Then we've got nothing to worry about. Whatever else you say, the vegetables Mengzhu grows really are excellent."

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi faced each other as they gutted the small fish, wearing identical expressions of calm.

It was as though Zhao Hexi and the old man were in one world, and the two of them were in another.

Before long, all the ingredients had been prepared and arranged on plates.

Qing Mengzhu told the others to take a break. "I can handle the rest myself."

Ming Chunxi asked, "You really don't need me to help?"

Qing Mengzhu said, "I won't be used to having someone watching me. Besides, the kitchen isn't big enough. Too many people would get in my way."

Hearing him say that, the others had no choice but to leave.

Once they were gone, Qing Mengzhu began making the seafood soup.

He heated an iron wok over high heat, then poured in cold oil, added the shrimp heads, and slowly fried them over low heat.

Once the shrimp oil had rendered out, he added sliced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and diced fresh tomatoes and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then he added a knob of butter and chunks of onion, stir-frying until the onion turned translucent, before adding mussels and pouring in dry white wine to simmer.

When the wine had reduced, he added clams, fresh shrimp, and boiling water, then transferred everything to a stewing pot to simmer over low heat.

With the large iron wok free, Qing Mengzhu began making the tomato fish.

First, he fried the prepared fish in oil until golden on both sides. Then he added diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, and green peppers to the wok, followed by doubanjiang and soy sauce, and let everything braise. Once the sauce had reduced and thickened, he sprinkled in a handful of green garlic leaves from his own fields.

The remaining dishes-eggplant with ground pork, stir-fried beef with lotus shoots, and water spinach with minced garlic-were all quick to make, and Qing Mengzhu finished them in a few minutes.

Once he had served the dishes on clean, dry, snow-white plates, Qing Mengzhu turned to ask someone to carry them out. He saw the old man and Zhao Hexi standing on either side of the doorway, their necks stretched out farther than those of the fox and otter that watched the hazel grouse every day.

Even after being caught, neither of them was embarrassed.

Zhao Hexi took a deep sniff and said excitedly to Qing Mengzhu, "It smells so good we couldn't sit still."

The old man nodded in emphatic agreement. "That aroma—it steals your soul."

Qing Mengzhu said, "Wash your hands and carry the dishes out. We're ready to eat."

At that, Zhao Hexi and the old man immediately filed into the kitchen to wash their hands, eager to carry out the dishes.

Qing Mengzhu opened the lid of the stewing pot and added salt and pepper to the seafood soup, along with a small pinch of fresh rosemary. Instantly, the already rich aroma became even fuller and more complex.

When he turned around, Zhao Hexi and the old man had finished carrying out the other dishes and were staring intently at the pot of seafood soup like two meerkats standing on their hind legs.

Qing Mengzhu jumped. "It's ready."

Zhao Hexi and the old man immediately beamed. "We'll carry it."

Once all the dishes were finally on the table, Zhao Hexi ladled a bowl of seafood soup for each person, then took a sip while it was hot.

The soup had clearly defined primary and secondary flavors. The layered tart fragrance of the tomatoes entered the mouth along with the savory freshness of the seafood, passed down the throat, and reached the stomach, bringing out a sweat.

After his first sip, Zhao Hexi's attention was completely captured by the soup.

He suddenly recalled a scene of snow-white waves crashing against the shore, warm sea breezes surrounding him, and seabirds calling in the sky.

It was as though he had returned to the seaside trip he had taken after graduating from university, with no worries weighing on his mind and nothing to do but enjoy life.

Qing Mengzhu took a sip as well. For the first time, he couldn't taste the slightest fishiness from the seafood, only its full, savory freshness.