Chapter 91: Strictly Investigate Li Beixing!

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Strictly Investigate Li Beixing!

Chen Jingle hurried home to tutor Chen Qiyun.

"Where is the second paragraph of this text?"

"Here?"

"Good, so why were you looking at the third paragraph? Even though the first paragraph only has one sentence, it still counts as a paragraph. Now let’s look at the question. It asks, ’What rhetorical devices are used in the first and second sentences of the second paragraph, respectively?’ Let’s start with the first sentence. Read it and tell me, what device is it?"

"Um, a simile?"

"Be confident. It is a simile. Isn’t this easy? Now, what about the second sentence?"

"Hyperbole?"

"Correct. So all you have to do is clearly write that the first sentence uses a simile and the second uses hyperbole, and you’ll get the points. Pay attention to what the question is asking, and learn to look for the answers with the question in mind."

"..."

Chen Jingle didn’t think Chen Qiyun was stupid. At the very least, she could understand his words, think critically, and grasp the concepts. He wasn’t like those parents online who tutored their kids to the point of a mental breakdown. Honestly, yelling didn’t solve anything; it was just an emotional outburst. To put it bluntly, if a parent’s teaching method was flawless but the child still couldn’t understand, it was best to discover the child’s other talents as early as possible. Not everyone was cut out for academics.

He knew very well that he wasn’t a particularly patient person. However, when he decided to do something, he would at least try his best from every angle to reach the optimal solution. Even if his enthusiasm was short-lived, during that brief window, Chen Qiyun could receive positive feedback from him, and he could receive the same from her. Coupled with the class rewards provided by the system, it formed a virtuous cycle that kept him interested in continuing the tutoring sessions.

Fortunately, none of the kids in their family were stupid. If their grades were poor, it was mostly an issue of focus and learning efficiency, often because they were easily distracted by various outside temptations. Take Chen Qiyun, for example. She was simply lazy and loved to play. She had been like this since elementary school—the first thing she did when she got home for the holidays was turn on the TV to watch cartoons, completely ignoring her grandparents’ scoldings. Later on, it evolved into grabbing her parents’ phones to play games and scroll through short videos. If students from rural areas saw their grades drop off a cliff during middle or high school, it was usually for this exact reason.

Li Beixing had mentioned that Chen Qiyun made significant progress recently, and Chen Jingle could feel it.

"Looks like you’ve been studying hard on your own," he praised.

As long as she took it seriously, there was a chance. Chen Jingle hoped she could test into a good school and choose a good major in the future, so that at the very least, she wouldn’t have to stress about finding a decent job after graduation. She was born in 2009. The number of births that year was at a relatively low point—15.9 million. Assuming half were filtered out during the high school entrance exam and another half during the college entrance exam, she would have about four million competitors in her cohort. This was already much better than recent years, where graduates easily numbered in the tens of millions. However, considering all this now was too far into the future. First, she needed to master her middle school knowledge.

After going through the language arts paper, it was time for English. Compared to her native language, Chen Qiyun’s progress in English was slower, but it was still progress nonetheless. Chen Jingle offered her some more praise, reminded her to continue memorizing vocabulary, and promised to keep playing foreign travel vlogs for her later. Little Douding was secretly pleased but tried to act nonchalant. The irrepressible smile twitching at the corners of her mouth, however, was quite an amusing sight.

At noon, Chen Jingle took the lazy route and made a simple pea and chicken stew.

He had learned the recipe online from a state banquet chef. He happened to see peas for sale at the supermarket that morning and had thought, "Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten peas in years." The stir-fried peas he ate as a child had been incredibly fragrant. He felt that peas were like potatoes and peanuts—no matter how you cooked them, they wouldn’t taste too bad, so he bought some.

For the pea and chicken stew, the master chef had used a slightly innovative method that incorporated Western culinary elements. Chen Jingle’s version was a bit different; his exact method depended on the ingredients he had on hand at home. He would just make do with whatever was available.

First, he quickly deboned the chicken and marinated it, then blanched the peas and shocked them in cold water. For speed, the chicken could be deep-fried, but Chen Jingle didn’t like deep-frying. Instead, he simply pan-fried it until both sides were slightly browned, then scooped it out and set it aside. This was a method to save oil.

He then used the leftover oil in the pan to sauté some onions, followed immediately by tomato paste. Here, he needed to use lard. Whether lard was healthy or not was up for debate, but it certainly made stir-fried dishes incredibly fragrant, especially vegetable ones. Once the tomato paste was cooked, he added the sautéed onions back in. The flavors of the two slowly melded together as they were tossed. He added various seasonings midway through, creating a rich and complex flavor and aroma.

After stir-frying, he poured in boiling water, returned the chicken to the pot, and covered it to braise over high heat. This step was for both infusing flavor and adding color. Three minutes later, he turned the heat down to medium-low, added the peas, and continued braising. Right before serving, he added a bit of sesame oil and salt to finalize the seasoning, and it was ready.

In Chinese culinary techniques, this was considered a braised stew. Compared to typical rice toppings, the sauce wasn’t thickened with a starch slurry, but the texture and aroma were much more complex. It was just as appetizing and paired perfectly with rice, yet the spices didn’t overpower the original flavor of the chicken. It was fantastic!

Seeing how Chen Qiyun went back for seconds and thirds of rice, the taste was clearly a hit. In the end, the plate was scraped completely clean. Responding to the national "Clean Plate" campaign—not bad at all.

"Is it good?"

"Mhm, mhm!"

"How about we eat this again for dinner?"

Chen Qiyun froze, tilting her little head. "Are there any other options?"

Tsk! Little Douding was quite picky.

Chen Jingle shot her a look, leaving her to figure it out for herself. It was like the old saying goes: who cares what cuisine it is, as long as it tastes good!