I used rebirth to bury his captivating gaze.

Chapter 22 The Letter Paper Scandal

More than an hour later, Xu Fengying finally finished preparing a pot of soybean sprout soup in the kitchen, following the old lady's six-dish recipe.

At the dinner table, the old lady's favorite dish, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, was being served. She had just picked up a bite with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth when she cried out and immediately spat it out. Then, she put on a sullen face and was about to throw down her chopsticks and grab Xu Fengying, who was cooking.

The old man sitting next to her quickly grabbed the hand that was about to throw the chopsticks, thus stopping her bad behavior.

Xu Fengying's face filled with panic. She hurriedly stood up and bowed to the old lady, "Grandma, I'm so sorry. I haven't cooked for over half a year. I went to my parents' house in the countryside to take care of my bedridden younger brother for half a year. My mother did all the cooking, and I only... Later, my only brother still died. My mother couldn't bear the thought of a white-haired person burying a black-haired one, and soon after..."

"Fengying is fine, Grandma didn't say anything to you. Please sit down." Yang Chong put down his chopsticks and said gently.

Someone tried to comfort her, but she couldn't hold back her tears. Then, her tears flowed like a broken string of pearls, "Waaah..."

"Fengying, don't cry. When you cry, my heart softens, and I'm about to cry too. It's normal that you didn't cook well as a junior. If we, who are a generation older than you, made a mistake while cooking, we might get a beating or a few words of scolding."

"Diao Yan, are you trying to persuade me or just making sarcastic remarks? You're really good at taking advantage of this opportunity to vent your resentment about not wanting to cook," Yang Zhanxi scolded.

"Oh dear, you ungrateful man, you're actually playing the good cop now..."

"Alright, let's not eat this meal anymore. What a spoilsport! We had new guests over, thank goodness they didn't eat at this table, or they'd be laughed at." The old lady said resentfully, then stood up and prepared to leave the kitchen and dining room.

"Grandma, please sit down. Don't rush. You and Grandpa can have your own side dish of steamed egg custard first. I'll go make you your favorite dish that you love so much!"

"What dishes can you cook? You're so unsophisticated, like me!" The old lady ignored her and continued walking.

"Can't you wait a moment? You're not your own steamed egg custard or malted milk powder. What's the rush? You're not giving Yuhan even the slightest chance," the old man said.

"Grandma, just wait a moment. What if Yuhan has cooking skills?" Yang Zhi said with a smile.

Yang Yumei sat to one side, slowly feeding herself with a piece of wood, glancing sideways at Yu Han who was standing there motionless, and rolling her eyes at her.

"Yang Musheng, quickly ask Great-Grandma to sit down." Yu Qiu held the two little hands of Yang Chong and Xu Fengying's son, glanced at the children, and then looked at the old lady who was still standing there angrily, and said with a smile.

“Yes! Chunsheng, quickly call her Great-Grandma. Musheng, don’t you recognize your Great-Grandma? Have you forgotten how Great-Grandma held you and played with you half a year ago?” Yang Chong said.

Yang Musheng was still unfamiliar with the old woman in front of him. He just looked around without saying a word, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Alright, stop pressuring the child. He’s too young and has been away from the compound for more than half a year. How could he possibly remember his family?” Yang Zhanxi said.

Mu Sheng remained silent, but his sister stood up readily and said gracefully,

"Great-Grandma, please don't be angry. It was my mother's fault. The cabbage she made was too salty. I took a bite and my throat felt sore. I almost felt nauseous and wanted to throw up. Then I remembered a saying my maternal grandmother taught me before she died: 'Sweat drips onto the soil. Who knows the food on the plate?' So I forced myself to swallow it."

"Ha ha!"

At this moment, Musheng wiped away the few tears that had not yet fallen from his eyes and finally spoke, "Great-Grandma, I want to eat something delicious, okay? Great-Grandma, please sit down. I've missed you so much, Great-Grandma."

"Good child, Musheng recognizes me. Let me sit, let me sit." The old lady's anger turned to laughter as she sat down and took Musheng's two little hands beside her, continuing, "Musheng, this is your great-grandfather. Quickly call him, do you still recognize your great-grandfather?"

Everyone saw Mu Sheng staring blankly at the old man, remaining silent. "Chun Sheng, call him that! He's your great-grandfather. Don't you really recognize him?"

After a short while, Mu Sheng blinked and said softly, "How would I know who Great-Grandma is? I just want to eat the pretty young lady standing there, making delicious food."

“Emma! This child, how old is he, can already play with wheels.” Diao Yan said with a sidelong glance.

"Musheng, the pretty young lady you mentioned, is that me?" Yang Yu asked with a smug look on her face.

Chunsheng shook his head. Then he raised an arm. "It's her."

Yang Yumei was frustrated.

"Yu Han, hurry up and go to the stove to cook."

Upon hearing the old lady's order, Yang Yuhan smiled and quickly ran to Yantai. Yuqiu put down her chopsticks and came over to help.

Yu Han washed five or six yellow potatoes, peeled them, and cut them into small pieces so they would cook easily when deep-fried and wouldn't waste oil.

Yuqiu was responsible for dissolving the brown sugar that her fourth uncle had brought in warm water and setting it aside to prepare.

Then, Yuqiu was in charge of tending the fire at the stove.

First, in the first round, Yu Han puts the potato chunks into the pot when the oil temperature is 80% hot and frys them until they turn slightly yellow. Second, in the second round, fry the potatoes in the oil when the temperature is 60% hot until they turn golden yellow.

The second step is to start making the ginger syrup. After removing the used oil, pour the brown sugar water that Yuqiu had prepared beforehand into the pot, stirring constantly to make the brown sugar water thick. Quickly pour in the fried potato chunks, stir-fry, and then remove from the pot.

Soon, Yu Han served two vegetarian dishes: stir-fried cabbage with vinegar and potatoes with ginger.

Then I made another dish, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar.

Yuqiu washed the Chinese cabbage from the cellar, and Yuhan chopped it into small pieces. Luckily, they had scallions, ginger, garlic, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and MSG at home, so they mixed them together.

Heat oil in a pan, add scallions, ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the cabbage stalks and stir-fry until softened. Then add the cabbage leaves and stir-fry. Pour in the sauce and stir-fry briefly.

After cooking two dishes and preparing to serve them, Yuqiu brought them to the table. Everyone ate with great enjoyment, and the last two bowls weren't enough; they were all snatched up in a rush.

The old lady scolded them, calling them all unfilial sons for trying to take food from her. She then ordered that Yang Yuhan could freely enter the kitchen to cook from now on.

Yang Yuhan was happy that the old lady had made this decision. She thought to herself, how could she be so free as to cook for everyone? She wanted to eat more food to make up for not taking food and drink seriously in her previous life. If she thought about food now, she would have a chance to be reborn!

In her excitement, she went to Yantai and made two more plates of the same dish of pickled ginger and potato chunks.

When the food was served, this time we gave the old lady a plate for herself and the rest for everyone else.

This time, for some reason, the old lady had a sticky potato piece stuck to her upper teeth and she couldn't get it off. Yuqiu stepped forward to help.

As everyone was busy removing the old lady's last upper molar stuck in her mouth, a woman suddenly walked in. "Oh my, what's wrong with the old lady? Don't delay, Dazhi, quickly tell Lao Niu to bring the white horse-drawn carriage to take your grandma to the hospital."

The woman added, "You all move aside, let me take a look."

"Get out!" The old woman spat out a mouthful of bright red blood onto the hooked nose of Zou Laqian, who was standing in front of her, which had enraged her.

"Oh my! What a spoilsport! My second aunt sent me to ask about that love letter your fourth uncle wrote to Yuqiu."