Chapter 100 - 97: Dark Cuisine? So Good!

Chapter 100: Chapter 97: Dark Cuisine? So Good!

"Why would you look down on them?" Li Beixing didn’t understand.

Jiang Ziqin smiled. "I said ’if’."

"Even if it were a hypothetical, I wouldn’t."

Li Beixing blinked, beginning to utilize her language organization skills as a language teacher. "The law doesn’t stipulate that everyone must have a house and a car. Even if it did, the law also stipulates that wages shouldn’t be withheld in arrears.

"Nowadays, it’s very normal to not have a house or a car; the key is the specific reason. Normally, as long as the salary isn’t too low, over a few years, one can basically save up a sum of money—it’s just a matter of how much. Unless the family is in particular difficulty and has a massive financial hole to fill, such as being impoverished by illness. That belongs to a special case scenario.

"Not having a house and car doesn’t mean they don’t even have savings. Because a house and car are not necessities of life, and not everyone is willing to spend money on them. However, I think it’s best to have some savings for emergencies. If someone doesn’t even have savings, then it’s time to consider if there’s a problem with their ability to save.

"But no matter what, there’s no need to think highly or poorly of someone just because they do or don’t have money."

Nowadays, many people’s criteria for judging whether someone is successful or not is to see if they have money or can make money. She didn’t like that.

Hearing her say this, Jiang Ziqin smiled with gratification. "You’re right. Back then, your dad had nothing but a broken-down bicycle. Many people called me foolish, saying that marrying him would only lead to a life of hardship. But I had seen him working hard in the North Transport Team. I saw him with his arms around the shoulders of master workers and peasant brothers, offering them cigarettes. He could talk and laugh with anyone. A man like that couldn’t possibly spend his whole life selling his brute strength in the North Transport Team."

"Who called you foolish?" Li Beixing frowned, a bit angry.

Jiang Ziqin shook her head. "Some unimportant people. Pay them no mind, it’s all in the past anyway. Facts proved I was right. Although the family had it a bit rough in the early days with your dad, things got better and better later on. Those who initially said I’d suffer with your dad turned around and praised me for having a good fate by being with him, completely forgetting what they had said back then. In this day and age, who would dare say someone will be poor their whole life?"

Li Beixing recalled her childhood. Their family’s conditions indeed weren’t very good back then. It wasn’t until she was about to enter middle school that the family slowly came into some money, and things only improved from there. However, her childhood experiences and her parents’ excellent teaching by example meant that even when her family became wealthy, she never developed a habit of spending extravagantly.

During her school days and after graduating to start working, most people around her actually didn’t know her family was very rich. At most, they thought her family’s conditions were decent—that she didn’t have to worry about food or clothing and had what she needed. In reality, in all of Jiangbei, there weren’t many people wealthier than her family today.

Jiang Ziqin continued, "I’m quite satisfied with our family’s current situation. Even if it declines in the future, as long as we don’t mess around blindly, the cash left behind will be enough for the family to live comfortably. Therefore, I don’t expect you to take over your dad’s position—you don’t have the capability anyway—and I certainly don’t expect to recruit a live-in son-in-law to inherit the family business.

"Besides, what family business is there? It was all built up by your dad’s own two hands. If the descendants don’t have the ability to keep it, then they just lose it. Forget about ’family business.’ So many ultra-wealthy families can’t maintain their riches for more than three generations. It’s already good enough if our family can live without worry for two or three generations.

"Your dad and I were both born as peasants, and in your early years, your household registration was also in the countryside. So, if you’re looking for a partner, you don’t need to look at their family background. We might not be able to marry into better ones, and you shouldn’t look down on worse ones either. As long as you like him, and as long as his family is clean and his character is reliable, that’s enough. Worst comes to worst, your parents will support you two for a lifetime. The family has enough money to spend anyway."

Li Beixing’s expression was a little unnatural. "Why bring this up out of nowhere? I’m not that old. I’m not in a rush at all."

Jiang Ziqin smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I’m not rushing you. I’m just telling you my thoughts, so that if you meet someone you like and who is suitable, you won’t have to worry about your dad and me disagreeing. Alright, I know you don’t like hearing this. Go back to your room first, I’ll call you when it’s time to eat."

Li Beixing gave an "oh" and went upstairs to her room.

Jiang Ziqin, however, didn’t mention wanting to introduce Chen Jingle to her daughter. Although she somewhat admired that young man, it was only their first meeting after all, and she didn’t know his background. What if he turned out to be a massive pitfall? Wouldn’t that harm her own daughter? She would observe first.

Besides, she didn’t even know if her daughter would be willing, and her daughter’s thoughts were very important. She had no desire to play the feudal patriarchal role and arrange a marriage.

When Li Beixing came down to eat, she found that today’s lunch once again featured the Jade Pearl Fish Flower, and it was a bit better than last night’s. It seemed Auntie Wang had studied the dish again last night, hoping to perfect it. In truth, it was already very good—at least not inferior to the squirrel fish served in high-end restaurants.

For lunch, Chen Jingle had mango black pepper beef.

The name of this dish sounded a bit like a bizarre culinary disaster, but it was actually quite delicious to eat. There was a similar dish in Cantonese Cuisine: pineapple sweet and sour pork.

The key was to select good quality beef, and the techniques used during the cooking process were crucial. Furthermore, the diced mango wouldn’t be stir-fried for long; it only needed to be poured in and mixed just before the beef was taken out of the pan. When eating, one would first eat the beef cubes, then the diced mango.

This way, the texture and taste would be more complex and unique, possessing both the savory aroma of meat and the fragrance of fruit. It wasn’t quite the same as the sweet and sour taste of sweet and sour pork. If placed in a large hotel or grand restaurant, it would be considered a high-end dish.

The only thing to note was that one couldn’t eat the mango first, otherwise it would affect the taste of the beef.

When Chen Qiyun first saw it, she frowned deeply, looking at Chen Jingle with suspicious eyes, wanting to question him on why he had made such a bizarre dish today.

"How is this any different from stir-fried meat with tangerines? Ew!" she thought.

But after she tasted it...

It was incredibly delicious!

The texture of the beef was absolutely fantastic, and the diced mango was sweet, refreshing, and cut through the grease. It wasn’t unpalatable in the slightest; on the contrary, it was highly delicious. She asked to be allowed to retract her previous thoughts. This dish wasn’t a culinary disaster at all. It was just her being short-sighted.

"Oh right, the results for last week’s pop quiz are out!" After finishing her meal, Chen Qiyun pulled out a stack of test papers from her schoolbag.

Chen Jingle took them and took a look. "Not bad, that’s quite a big improvement."

At the very least, it was a significant increase compared to last time. English and Math inherently had a lot of room for improvement, so they saw the biggest leap this time, both hitting passing grades. The other subjects also showed varying degrees of improvement. As long as she could maintain this rhythm, basic middle school knowledge wouldn’t pose any difficulty for her. Testing into Jiangbei First Middle School for the high school entrance exam shouldn’t be a big problem.

Little Douding immediately put her hands on her hips, the corners of her mouth turning up. She was incredibly pleased with herself.

Chen Jingle decided to give her a little reward. "I’ll make you a dessert to try tonight!"

"Why not now?"

"Because I don’t have time right now."

"You’d better not just fob me off with something random!"

"Don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."

Only then did Chen Qiyun head back, full of anticipation.

Meanwhile, on WeChat, he received a message from Liang City. "I heard from Teacher Zhong that your luck is absolutely invincible!"

Chen Jingle replied, "It was just a chance encounter. It has nothing to do with being invincible."

"It’s still not too late for you to take the civil service exam. As long as it’s not in a township, you’d basically have smooth sailing."

"I’m not taking it. I don’t want to have to read other people’s moods."

"Fuck! Your words pierce right through my heart. Right now, not only do I have to read the leaders’ moods, but I also have to read the masses’ moods. Damn it, I just want to finish this handover quickly. I don’t want to stay in this crappy township for another second!" Liang City was full of resentment.

Chen Jingle asked with a smile, "Haven’t you sorted it out yet?"

Liang City said helplessly, "It’s dragging on. There are quite a few things to do, and I don’t want to leave a mess for my colleagues to clean up. I figure I won’t be able to report to my new unit until the beginning of October."

"I don’t understand that stuff, but just say the word if there’s anything you need my help with."

"As long as I don’t want to climb the ladder, I don’t need to beg anyone for favors. By the way, Teacher Zhong has been researching flower cultivation lately. She’s quite interested in it, so give her some pointers later if there’s anything she doesn’t understand."

"Simple!" Tending to one sheep was the same as tending to a whole flock.

In the afternoon, he spent some time pruning the new seedlings he had bought that morning.

Considering that these pots would most likely be given away as gifts, he pruned them towards a spherical shape. The floral sphere was the most classic and versatile style; it wouldn’t look out of place no matter where it was placed.

"I’ll nurture them first. When the time comes, whoever wants them can come and carry them away," he thought.

The house didn’t lack bougainvilleas. It was enough to just appropriately embellish the courtyard. If they were planted too densely, it would easily attract mosquitoes.

Actually, Chen Jingle’s favorite was the climbing rose.

Unfortunately, Jiangbei’s climate simply wasn’t suitable for planting roses. There was no winter to speak of, and without sufficiently low temperatures, the roses would only grow branches and leaves the following year, but wouldn’t bloom. Furthermore, roses suffered from too many pests and required a lot of time to manage.

Therefore, Jiangbei people were simply born with the destiny to plant bougainvilleas.

Li Beixing had taught four consecutive language classes in the morning. Even with a portable voice amplifier, she couldn’t handle it. Fortunately, she only had one class in the afternoon.

This way, after finishing her class, she could get off work immediately. Then she would go to Huang Huanwen’s place, pick up the calligraphy and painting she had dropped off last time, and deliver them to her dad’s company office.

With just one phone call from Li Qiguang, Fatty Liu hurried over eagerly from next door.

"Good, good, good!" Seeing the calligraphy and painting, Fatty Liu was overjoyed, repeating the word "good" three times.

The physical objects were obviously far more shocking than the photos.

Holding that piece of calligraphy in his hands, one could clearly perceive the calligrapher’s brush intent. Even though Fatty Liu’s own educational level wasn’t high, he had been exposed to many works by famous masters, and he found it absolutely astonishing. To reach such a level, it was only a matter of time before the artist’s reputation soared.

In short, he had made an absolute killing!

He decided to hang this calligraphy in the most conspicuous place in his company, so that everyone who visited would be able to see it.

As for that small painting, he would place it on his desk as an ornament. He would wipe it from time to time so that his career would be as booming and prosperous as this big red rooster!

Seeing that Liu Deqiang was deeply satisfied, Li Beixing also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As the middleman, she had even accepted tickets to the Crocodile Ecological Park for two classes from him. If she hadn’t handled this matter properly, she would have always felt uneasy. Now she could finally rest assured.

"As for the autumn field trip to the Crocodile Ecological Park, I’ll see if I can arrange it for Saturday," she thought.

This event wasn’t organized by the school, so she still had to inform the administration and then communicate and discuss it with the parents. If it wasn’t arranged well and something went wrong, she would have to take responsibility.

She was quite afraid of organizing this kind of collective activity. However, since the tickets were given for free this time, she had asked the other teachers in the office, and everyone had said they could go. So, they might as well go.

When the time came, she would just keep a closer eye on them and not let the students run around wildly.

As long as they didn’t jump into the crocodile pool, everything would be fine.