Originally, Zhenzhen planned to roast all three ducks, giving one to Xi Junjie as a thank-you gift, sharing one with her family, and taking the remaining one to school to share with her roommates. But now that Xi Junjie's family is visiting, there's no need to roast so many ducks.
Zhenzhen went to the oven that was burning brightly, and while Mingxi and Mingbei were away, she quickly took out the two roast ducks that had been placed in the space in advance, smeared with honey and cooking wine five times, and dried repeatedly, and put them directly into the oven. She used the remaining duck to make nourishing old duck soup.
As for the big rooster bought from the market, Zhenzhen made chicken stewed with mushrooms with hazel mushrooms and vermicelli from her hometown. There were all kinds of fresh vegetables in the garden. Xie Yanan and Wang Xinwen picked a lot of each and washed them one by one while sitting next to the faucet.
Zhenzhen walked around the kitchen and saw the carp she caught yesterday still alive and kicking in the basin. After hesitating for a moment, Zhenzhen gave up the idea of cooking carp. After all, carp meat is ordinary and has many bones. Although it grows big, it is not very delicious. Zhenzhen asked her two sisters-in-law to help watch the duck soup and chicken stewing in the pot, and she ran to the garden with the net bag and fishing rod.
After running a few steps, Zhen Zhen saw Xi Junjie running towards her in a panic behind Ming Bei. She immediately smiled and said, "You're out too?"
"Yes." Xi Junjie recalled the expressions of the two adults just now, and looked at Zhenzhen apologetically: "It seems that I have caused you trouble."
"What's the problem?" Zhenzhen laughed dumbly: "We just went out for a run together to practice French. This is a normal interaction between classmates."
Hearing Zhenzhen say this, Xi Junjie felt somewhat disappointed, but this emotion was soon replaced by the joy of not causing trouble for Zhenzhen. He looked at Zhenzhen with tenderness in his eyes: "As long as you are okay."
Zhenzhen looked at Xi Junjie with a smile, and shook the net bag and fishing rod in her hand: "I want to make a shrimp dish for lunch, do you want to go to the pond with me to catch some?"
"Okay." Xi Junjie agreed quickly, and took the net bag and fishing rod from Zhenzhen. He walked into the garden while looking at Zhenzhen sideways: "Are there a lot of fish and shrimp in your pond?"
"There are quite a lot, and there are many kinds." Zhenzhen thought of Li Muwu's skills in the lake outside, which made him unable to catch a single fish for several days, and said with a hint of sarcasm: "I think if my dad fished in the pond at home, he would be able to catch a fish a day."
Xi Junjie recalled that his father asked him to go fishing to save face yesterday, and he said with lingering fear: "My father also asked me to practice fishing well and try to surpass you one day soon."
Zhen Zhen blinked at Xi Junjie: "I think this matter is not easy to handle."
When Zhenzhen blinked her eyes, she was not only very cute and playful but also had some spirit. Xi Junjie was stunned for a moment. He even forgot how to walk while carrying the fishing rod and almost tripped over himself.
After stumbling for a while, Xi Junjie quickly stood up. He turned his head to look at Zhenzhen with a bit of embarrassment on his face. Zhenzhen had turned her head away immediately when Xi Junjie was about to stumble, pretending that she didn't see anything at all. Seeing that Zhenzhen didn't notice his embarrassment, Xi Junjie slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Boys of this age are most concerned about their face, not to mention that in front of the girl they like, they just want to show their perfect side.
The two walked into the garden one after the other, and Xi Junjie was immediately attracted by the vitality here. There was only a narrow stone brick path in Zhenzhen's garden, and the green grass around it seemed to be half-trimmed, short but extremely lush, and you could feel its softness even through your shoes, as if it was a green blanket.
The garden is divided into two parts by the pond. On one side are clusters of blooming flowers. More than a dozen varieties of flowers are distributed in different corners. Instead of feeling messy, it has a harmonious and natural beauty. On the other side is the vegetable garden taken care of by Grandma Li and Wang Sufen. There are bunches of red tomatoes, green cucumbers, rows of fresh green vegetables, purple eggplants, and tender corn with brown ears, a scene of harvest.
The hens were leisurely pecking at the food on the grass. In order to prevent the chicken coop from ruining the beauty of the garden, Zhenzhen even built an exquisite wooden hut for the laying hens at home, which looked a bit like the house where elves live in European mythology.
Looking at the flourishing scene in the garden, Xi Junjie couldn't help but praise: "Your garden is really unique."
"Some people say it's too chaotic." Zhenzhen smiled nonchalantly, "But everything here can be used." Zhenzhen pointed to the flowers and said, "Most of the flowers are edible. They can be used to make flower cakes, flower jam, pancakes, or dishes." She pointed to the rows of orchids with different postures and said, "Although these can't be eaten, if they are sold, I guess many people will come to ask for the price."
Xi Junjie smiled knowingly: "Orchids have been a symbol of noble character since ancient times, and many people like them."
They walked to a small pavilion in the middle of the pond. Inside was a bucket and a small box of fish food. It seemed that people often fished here. Zhenzhen took the fishing rod from Xi Junjie, put on some specially prepared bait, and soon caught seven or eight crucian carps that were slightly longer than the man's palm.
Xi Junjie was stunned watching from the side. Recalling the agony of not having any fish bite for half a day yesterday, he began to doubt his life: "Is this fish so easy to catch?"
Zhenzhen handed him the fishing rod that had just been baited: "Try fishing."
Nowadays, Zhenzhen no longer needs her supernatural powers to go fishing, but because of her natural physique, she finds fishing and catching shrimps easier than others.
Seeing Xi Junjie sitting on a small round stool and staring at the fishing rod nervously, Zhenzhen smiled and shook her head, put the shrimp net into the water, and waited quietly for the shrimp in the water to jump into the shrimp cage. After about ten minutes, Xi Junjie saw that the fishing line, which had been motionless, suddenly trembled, and the water surface also rippled. This means that a fish has taken the bait. Xi Junjie immediately pulled up the fishing rod anxiously, but as soon as he dragged a fish out of the water, he saw that the fish struggled hard, quickly got rid of the hook and fell into the water again.
Xi Junjie couldn't hide his disappointment and sighed. Zhenzhen smiled and shook her head: "You are too impatient." She handed the fish food box to Xi Junjie, and while instructing him how to pack the fish food, she started by talking about what fish like to eat what food, and told him the key points of fishing in detail.
***
In the room, Li Muwu was speechless because of Xi Changbo and almost suffocated to death.
Li Muwu and Xi Changbo often quarreled with each other, but the difference between them in eloquence was huge. Xi Changbo had been a diplomat for many years, and even ten Li Muwus could not beat one Xi Changbo. Basically, if Li Muwu wanted to win Xi Changbo, he had to show off his daughter, but who would have thought that today, he not only failed to win but was blocked by showing off his daughter. Li Muwu was so angry that he didn't want to talk to Xi Changbo anymore.
Old Lady Li looked at Li Muwu's pitiful appearance, and patted him in anger and amusement: "You are so old, why are you really angry? I am fine with the two children, just let them take their own course."
Li Muwu sighed and shook his head: "My daughter is still a child, she doesn't understand anything." He glared at Xi Changbo with dissatisfaction, and asked Mrs. Li worriedly: "Mom, will our Zhenzhen be bewitched by his son?"
Old Lady Li glanced at him unhappily: "Our Zhenzhen has always been very opinionated. If she doesn't like something, it's useless to give her poison/drugs." Seeing that Li Muwu looked like he had no desire to live, Old Lady Li smiled and apologized to Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan: "Don't pay attention to him. He keeps saying things that make people laugh." After a pause, Old Lady Li tried to make up for Li Muwu's image: "He just can't bear to part with his daughter. After all, he only has this one daughter."
Ling Xiulan covered her mouth and smiled, "Auntie, you are so polite. We are close friends. If I had a beautiful daughter like this, I would be like Brother Li. I would want all the boys in the world to stay away from her and think that no one looks good to me."
Old Mrs. Li smiled and then sighed deeply: "To be honest, Zhenzhen has been raised like a treasure in our family since she was a child. Our family has had boys for several generations. I wanted a girl at the beginning, but I ended up having four sons after a lot of effort. By the time of Zhenzhen's generation, I have a total of eleven grandsons and only her as a granddaughter. Do you think our family would not love her?"
Ling Xiulan nodded in agreement as soon as she heard this: "I also wanted a girl back then, to raise her with all my love and to dress her up like a princess. But I got hurt when I gave birth to Junjie, and I haven't been able to have a child in all these years, so my dream of raising a daughter has fallen through. I've always thought that when Junjie marries a beautiful girl, I will definitely treat her like my own daughter and spoil her like a princess."
Mrs. Li smiled and waved her hands: "Now we have no say, we have to listen to the children. Besides, they still have two or three years to graduate, so there is no rush for this matter." After taking a sip of water, Mrs. Li stood up: "The sun is shining today, let's not stay indoors, let's go to my vegetable garden, we can pick whatever vegetables we want to eat, they are all fresh and juicy."
This season is when the sun is warm and the temperature is comfortable. It is slightly cooler than inside the house, and it is much more comfortable outside than inside. Several people walked along the corridor into the garden gate. When Ling Xiulan saw the various flowers, her eyes lit up immediately. Just as she was about to walk closer to take a look, she heard a series of crisp laughter coming from the center of the lake.
Following the sound, everyone looked towards the middle of the pond and saw Xi Junjie fishing with a fishing rod. Zhenzhen stood beside him, half bent over, with one hand on Xi Junjie's shoulder and one hand pointing into the water, as if she was saying something. Even though they were a little far away, everyone could imagine the excitement on Zhenzhen's face just by looking at her smile.
Xi Junjie turned his head to look at Zhenzhen, smelling the faint fragrance of her body after bathing, with a warm smile on his face. Zhenzhen turned around and saw him staring at her, so she slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Why are you looking at me? Look at the fish! If you look at me again, I'm afraid the fish will eat the hook into its stomach."
Xi Junjie came back to his senses and frantically tried to reel in his fishing rod. As the fishing line was being reeled in, a large black fish weighing three or four pounds jumped out of the water. Xi Junjie immediately smiled, "Look, I really caught a fish."
Zhen Zhen nodded and praised him generously: "Not bad, not bad, you are still very talented."
Several people watched Xi Junjie and Zhenzhen take the black fish apart and throw it into the bucket, and they all wanted to come and watch the fun. Xi Changbo pulled Li Muwu's arm and walked in front, grinning excitedly: "Did you see that? My son is also very good at fishing. You have never caught such a big black fish before."
Li Muwu snorted coldly: "If my daughter wasn't there to teach him, do you think he could catch it?"
Xi Changbo smiled at him and said, "So that's why my son has good taste."
Zhenzhen's five senses are more sensitive than those of ordinary people, and she has been used to using her consciousness to observe her surroundings at any time for so many years. Therefore, as soon as Mrs. Li and the others came over, Zhenzhen noticed it. She naturally took her hand off Xi Junjie's shoulder and waved to Mrs. Li: "Grandma, look, we caught a lot of fish again."
Xi Changbo came over and looked at the full bucket of fish next to the two men. His hands suddenly itched. He reached out and snatched the fishing rod from Xi Junjie and waved it at Li Muwu: "There are not many fish outside. How about we have a fishing competition in your pond?"
Li Muwu took back the fishing rod, put some fish food on it and sat on a round stool: "I only have this one fishing rod at home. If you want to compete with me, go home and get a fishing rod yourself."
"Hey, you're such a petty person." Xi Changbo reached out to ask Ling Xiulan for the key, and as he ran out quickly, he didn't forget to provoke her: "I'll give you ten minutes first, just fish slowly, and when I come back I'll show you what a fishing master is."
Seeing that the two fathers were about to fight again, Zhenzhen immediately picked up a full bucket of fish and prepared to run away. Xi Junjie accidentally discovered that Zhenzhen had already run more than 20 meters away, so he had to quickly chase after her.
Although the bucket of fish weighed more than ten pounds, Zhenzhen carried it as if it were a game and ran very fast. Xi Junjie chased Zhenzhen all the way to the moon gate of the garden before calling her.
Zhenzhen turned around holding the bucket, and Xi Junjie stepped forward and grasped the handle of the bucket. Because the handle of the bucket was not very big, the palms of their hands were only one centimeter apart.
Zhen Zhen looked down at Xi Junjie's big hand, then raised her head and looked into his eyes: "Actually, it's not heavy at all."
Xi Junjie and Zhenzhen looked at each other, with a tone of helplessness and doting: "Li Mingzhen, don't you want to give me a chance to perform?"
The author has something to say: Today a relative of mine had surgery at Tianjin Cancer Hospital. I took the high-speed train to Tianjin early in the morning and rushed back in the evening. It is too late to update 6,000 words, so I only have 4,000 words left.