Chapter 847: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 847: Spring Outing and Jealousy (4)
Mo Yan shook her head as she placed a small amount of peanut oil on the hot griddle, explaining, "This is called an iron griddle, it's perfect for grilling meat or making pancakes. As long as you coat it with oil and control the heat, it won't burn the food."
As she spoke, she used chopsticks to place small pieces of sliced pork belly on the griddle. Immediately, a sizzling sound filled the air, and the unique aroma of roasting meat began to spread, irresistible to everyone.
Though they had already eaten breakfast and weren’t hungry, as soon as the smell of the meat wafted through the air, everyone couldn’t help but swallow, their eyes fixed on the meat on the griddle. They completely forgot to ask how the idea of the iron griddle came about.
The pork belly was cut evenly, and the meat was tender. The first batch was quickly cooked. Mo Yan used a spatula to transfer the golden-brown pieces of meat onto a white porcelain plate and had Li Xiu take it to the long table beside them. On the table, Mo Yan had placed a variety of specially made sauces, so they could either eat the grilled meat plain or dip it according to their taste.
Without Mo Yan needing to say anything, several men eagerly rushed to the table, grabbed chopsticks, and tossed a piece of meat into their mouths after only a quick blow to cool it. The taste was amazing—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with a satisfying chew, and not at all greasy.
Zhen’er and the other children, seeing this, quickly picked up their chopsticks and mimicked the adults. To their surprise, the fatty meat they usually disliked was delicious when grilled this way!
Without swallowing the first bite, they were already reaching for another piece. Fortunately, the children had good table manners, so despite their eagerness, there were no arguments over the meat.
Madam Liu and Madam Han, still hesitant, saw the children, who were usually picky eaters, enjoying the fatty meat, and decided to try a small piece themselves. After dipping it in the sweet and sour sauce, they were pleasantly surprised by the delicious flavor. They were completely won over by that small piece of grilled meat.
As they all exclaimed how delicious it was, Mo Yan’s face broke into a satisfied smile. She moved with increasing lightness, grilling not only pork belly but also pig’s feet tendons, small ribs, and some vegetables. Everything, whether meat or vegetable, was taken from her space, carrying a unique fragrance that made the grilled flavors even better.
There were so many people that grilling one batch at a time was rather slow. Fortunately, Mo Yan had prepared three sets of grilling equipment. Li Xiu and her niece were both excellent in the kitchen, and after watching Mo Yan grill two batches, they took over and managed to serve a large table of eager eaters.
In fact, grilling together like this was much more enjoyable, but since the equipment was relatively simple, it was easy to get burned, especially for the children, so Mo Yan never mentioned it.
Seeing this, Xiao Ruiyuan grew increasingly anxious. He was worried that Mo Yan might burn herself, so he stood beside her, watching carefully, ready to step in if anything went wrong.
Mo Yan told him several times to go eat, but Xiao Ruiyuan stubbornly ignored her and continued to stand still. Unable to persuade him, Mo Yan secretly took a piece of grilled meat with her chopsticks, dipped it in sauce, and held it out to his mouth.
Xiao Ruiyuan didn’t refuse, enjoying the juicy, tender meat from the hand of the woman he cherished. His eyes were filled with tenderness that seemed ready to spill over.
More than one person saw this scene, but they all pretended not to notice, not wanting to spoil such a warm, harmonious moment. Who hadn’t been young? Who hadn’t felt the innocence of youthful affection?
Mo Yan didn’t bring up the matter of grilling together, but Liu Tinglan quickly saw the playful side of it. After wiping her hands, she grabbed a small wicker chair and sat down across from Mo Yan, picking up a clean pair of chopsticks to add raw meat to the griddle. Once the meat was half-cooked, she added salt and seasoning, and after it was fully cooked, she placed it in a bowl and happily began to eat.
“Not bad, really delicious! There’s something special about grilling it yourself!” Liu Tinglan said after swallowing a bite of the grilled meat, then, without missing a beat, used her chopsticks to feed a piece of meat to Mo Yan’s mouth. “Yan Yan, try my cooking! See if I’m good at it.”
Mo Yan didn’t mind that it was Liu Tinglan’s used chopsticks. She leaned forward to take the piece, but halfway through, another piece of grilled meat “stole” it away.
Surprised, Mo Yan swallowed the bite of sweet-sauced meat and realized that it was Xiao Ruiyuan who had fed it to her.
Xiao Ruiyuan seemed satisfied, glancing at Liu Tinglan with a pointed look. Without saying a word, he poured Mo Yan a glass of wine.
Liu Tinglan, seeing the look in his eyes, suddenly understood what he meant. Rolling her eyes, she muttered to herself, Hmph, such jealousy—how can I not be driven crazy by this? I’ll let it go this time, but sooner or later, I’ll think of a way to get back at you...
(End of Chapter)
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