Chapter 95

"Really, I didn't expect your cooking to be so delicious!" Tang Zhendong had initially wanted to change the subject, but now he was genuinely praising her.

If cooking seafood were easy, it wouldn't be hard, but it does require controlling the heat. How to turn off the stove at the exact moment when the mussels and scallops are at their tenderest and fullest, this absolutely requires long-term practice.

If you turn off the stove too early, the inside won't be cooked. If you turn it off too late, it will be overcooked.

However, the seafood Yu Qingying cooked came out just right, neither too early nor too late.

"This feels so warm and cozy!" Yu Qingying's expression was filled with nostalgia. She had only taken a couple of bites and then focused on watching Tang Zhendong wolf down his food.

"Eat, don't just watch me!" Tang Zhendong looked up to see Yu Qingying looking at him with teary eyes, like a disobedient child who hadn't been fed.

Yu Qingying chuckled, "Stop it, I'm not hungry. When I was a child, my parents were always busy. The happiest thing for me was watching them come home and eat the meals I had prepared. They always came home very late, and I never experienced the joy of childhood. Many of my classmates would talk about where their parents took them on weekends, but I never enjoyed such treatment. They always had endless work and social engagements."

As Yu Qingying spoke, tears began to fall. "Actually, many people envied my family's good conditions, allowing me to wear many brand-name clothes, but who could understand the loneliness in my heart? So, I studied hard, using the fulfillment of learning to fill the emptiness of my home after school. I studied hard and was always the top of my class. It seemed that only in this way could I feel less lonely."

"You still had it better, at least you didn't have to worry about food and clothing. When I was a child, I played in the mountains, or followed my parents to farm, or played with my friends in the West River of our village. In spring and autumn, we would go fishing and catching shrimp right after school. In summer, we spent the whole day in the river, and that's when I learned to swim. In winter, there was a large shallow bay by the reservoir in our village, with very thick ice. We would use stones to make a small hole in the ice, reach in, and catch clams. There were so many clams in that bay, and we would usually catch some to keep in water or cook right away. Our village was very, very poor when I was a child, and we didn't have meat every day, so we used these clams to treat ourselves." Tang Zhendong made a circle with his thumb and index finger, "The clams were this big, and the meat was also this big. They tasted good, but they got stuck in your teeth. Haha."

As Tang Zhendong talked about the interesting things from his home, Yu Qingying listened with a sense of nostalgia. Her thoughts involuntarily followed Tang Zhendong to the small mountain village where he lived.

"Your place sounds so fun, I want to go and play too." Yu Qingying was very interested in the various fun things Tang Zhendong described and couldn't help but want to go and see for herself.

"That's not even the most fun. The best time is in late spring and early summer when we go to the back mountain to catch scorpions. We use a jar and a large pair of tweezers. When we lift a stone and see a big scorpion, the sense of satisfaction is huge, especially when some stones reveal a whole nest. You can't stop using the tweezers and have to quickly pick them up and put them down."

"What do you do with the scorpions you catch?"

"They have many uses. Soaking them in alcohol can help with blood circulation and relieve pain. Cooking them is also a very valuable and nutritious meal."

"Oh, you make me hungry just hearing you talk." Yu Qingying smiled shyly, but her face still showed great anticipation. "Is there anything else interesting?"

"There are too many. If I were to tell you, it would take three days and three nights. Playing in the mountains, when you get tired, you can pick fruits to eat, both wild and cultivated. It's usually not a problem to pick a few. In winter, you can catch wild rabbits and pheasants in the mountains. Especially when there's a lot of snow, the rabbits can't run, and the pheasants can't fly. If you follow an experienced hunter, you can catch a lot of game. Hunting in the mountains is the most interesting. In the past, every household had a gun, but now they've all been confiscated. However, an experienced hunter can catch rabbits with a thin wire on the rabbit's path. You set it up in the morning and collect it the next morning."

Yu Qingying clapped her hands excitedly, "Your home is so fun. When are you going back? I want to go with you."

"I haven't been back for a long time." Tang Zhendong couldn't help but think about the strange looks from the villagers when he returned, and the gossip behind his parents' backs. Although Tang Zhendong didn't care, his parents always spoke with a tone of deep-seated inferiority.

"Why don't you go back to see them often?"

Tang Zhendong sighed, "I want to go back, but every time I do, they have to endure the cold looks from the villagers. I can't bear to do that."

Yu Qingying finally understood the root of Tang Zhendong's problem. Although she chose to ignore the fact that Tang Zhendong had been in prison, there were still people in the world who couldn't ignore it, especially in a place like the countryside where people's minds are more closed. Gossip and rumors about families are easily amplified in the village.

"Actually, what I want to say is that we already have our own troubles in this world. Why should we care so much about others' opinions? It's too tiring. You have your troubles, and I have mine. Let go of all the mental burdens and live a carefree life. Isn't that great?"

"Right, I suddenly feel like having a drink. Do you mind?"

"Ah? You have alcohol here? I was just thinking about having a drink too." Yu Qingying was also moved by Tang Zhendong's words, which reminded her of her own sorrows. Although her troubles were different from Tang Zhendong's, they were still troubles. When she talked about her parents, Yu Qingying looked very aggrieved. She wished her parents were ordinary people, so she could also go for a walk and talk with them on weekends. But her mental health seemed to be something she had to regulate herself, and as Yu Zhenhua's daughter, doing well was expected, and doing poorly was wrong. It seemed that leaders' children were born to be more far-sighted than others.

Tang Zhendong didn't expect Yu Qingying to agree to drinking. His original intention was to ask if she minded him drinking, but he didn't expect her to want a drink too.

Tang Zhendong took a bottle of Hai Cheng old wine from the cabinet and poured a glass for Yu Qingying and himself. "I'll drink it all, you can take it easy."

Tang Zhendong tilted his head and drank the entire glass. After trying it, Yu Qingying also drank the glass in one go, but the spiciness made her eyes tear up and her expression strange. As soon as the alcohol went down, two red patches appeared on her face.

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