“…E43?”
Xu Huo withdrew his hand, “You’re just going to steam it like that?”
“Otherwise?”
“I’m afraid you’d be too disgusted to eat it.”
Xu Huo took the crabs from her hand and scooped some crushed ice from the fridge.
The old man also smiled and chimed in, “The brat is right. You can cook most crabs any way you want, but not butter crabs. You have to freeze them stiff with ice water. Otherwise, if they struggle even a little, the butter will spill everywhere. Tying them up won’t help.”
“Oh, I see…”
Han Xiao looked thoughtful; she really didn’t have much experience.
Once Xu Huo had frozen all the butter crabs solid, he carefully scooped them out of the ice water.
As he turned, from an angle Han Xiao couldn’t see, the old man subtly gave Xu Huo a look that said, “Go for it, kid, the early bird gets the worm.”
He genuinely wanted to find Xu Huo a girlfriend; such a beautiful girl was a rare find.
Xu Huo pretended not to notice.
“Is this good enough?”
“Yeah.”
“Shall I start then?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is this much water okay?”
“Enough.”
“Uh… how do I turn on the fire?”
“Twist it while pressing down.”
“I see.”
As flames rose, Han Xiao snapped her fingers.
“Bingo!!”
As if she’d accomplished something amazing.
Xu Huo found this girl truly amusing.
Why do influencer faces get so much criticism?
Their identical appearances, no matter how refined, easily lead to aesthetic fatigue.
“Old man, the garlic’s peeled. Anything else?”
“No, no, there’s not enough room for you two in here. Go chat outside.”
“Should I help you?”
“Who needs your help?”
The old man pushed and shoved them both out.
Xu Huo couldn’t find an opportunity to refuse, so he just looked for a topic to chat about, “Are you very close with the old man?”
“Yeah, I happened to pass by when I was filming before.”
“And then you decided to show kindness?”
“Is there a problem?”
Seeing Xu Huo’s curious gaze, Han Xiao adorably rolled her eyes.
Xu Huo put on an “innocent” expression, “No… At your age, what are you after?”
“Is it illegal?”
“No.”
“Then there you go.”
How to put it?
It was similar to the nature of boys standing side-by-side at a urinal.
You might not find one in ten.
Han Xiao was even more impressive.
Most kindness at her age remains on the lips.
Someone like her… you could almost see wings behind her.
“Have you been here many times?”
“Not many times. It’s just that whenever I came, you were probably at school, so we didn’t run into each other.”
“I see.”
They were silent for a while.
Han Xiao pondered Xu Huo’s way of addressing Grandpa Chen and asked, “What about you, you seem to have a good relationship with Grandpa Chen?”
“If we had a good relationship, would he boss me around to peel garlic as soon as I got here?”
“You better not eat tonight!” the old man yelled from the kitchen.
Xu Huo brazenly retorted, “Fine, go tell Granny Qin.”
The old man was instantly silenced, grumbling as he flipped the wok.
Giggles.
Han Xiao was amused by their interaction and chuckled continuously.
The old man in the kitchen saw this scene and secretly gave Xu Huo a thumbs-up.
Isn’t he good at making girls happy?
Xu Huo couldn’t be bothered with the old man’s “encouragement” and casually leaned against the doorframe.
But as soon as he put his weight on it, the entire door creaked non-stop, startling Han Xiao beside him.
She walked over and poked the wooden door, saying with some concern, “Grandpa Chen… this door is a bit loose. You should find someone to fix it, or it’ll be trouble if it hits someone.”
“Why would I need to find someone for this? I’ll just go get a hammer and hit it a few times.”
Xu Huo shook it hard, then went back to the room to get a hammer.
“Can you do it?”
“Of course.”
Xu Huo returned with a hammer and a box of nails, squatted by the wooden door, and began working.
Han Xiao helped hold the wooden door steady so it wouldn’t move.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Xu Huo quickly secured the wooden door.
“Not bad! An artisan.”
“These are just simple, essential life skills. If you didn’t have parents at home, and you had a mentally challenged sister who only calls for her brother when something happens, you’d be able to do it too.”
Xu Huo put away the hammer and nails, complaining.
Han Xiao bit back a smile, her skin relaxed, revealing two cute dimples.
The old man, however, heard this, smiled cheerfully at Xu Huo, and in an irritating way, as if wanting to stir up trouble, said, “Talking bad about Ranran behind her back, are we? How can a boy do such a thing…”
Exasperated.
Then his gaze shifted to Han Xiao, and he said, “Xiao Yatou, if I hit him, it’s bullying. You hit him for me, get some revenge for Ranran.”
Hearing this, Han Xiao turned slightly, lifted her delicate, flawless little face to Xu Huo, and asked, “Grandpa Chen wants me to hit you, what should I do?”
Xu Huo pouted, “Listen to his nonsense. I even dare to call Ranran an idiot right to her face.”
“And then get chased and beaten by Ranran, only to humbly apologize afterwards?”
The old man shook his head, looking disappointed, “Alright, stop chatting there. Come help me wash the dishes.”
He originally wanted to create a space for them to chat, but it seemed it wasn’t working.
Neither of them was the “naturally friendly” type.
They were just idly chatting, so he had to find something for them to do.
Xu Huo washed his hands and came in to help.
Han Xiao wasn’t used to just watching when everyone else was busy, so she also squeezed in to help.
Although the old man was a self-taught cook, after so many years, he was better than a professional chef, single-handedly managing the “family’s” meals.
When waves of fragrant aroma wafted over, Han Xiao circled behind the old man like a greedy kitten, lavishing praise, “Grandpa Chen, it smells so good!”
“It smells good now? If you’re coming over sometime, call me in advance, and I’ll make you some of my specialty dishes.”
“No need, this is already great.”
“Hey! Far from it. Old Qin and I both like spicy food, but those little rascals can’t handle it, so I’ve been holding back all these years.”
Pfft…
Xu Huo let out a laugh.
The old man almost lost his composure and exploded on the spot.
After finally stir-frying a dish, this guy even dared to pick up a piece of meat with his hand and pop it into his mouth.
After chewing, he had an expression of both pity and anger, saying, “It’s a little bland, but for kids, it’s alright.”
The old man raised an eyebrow and slapped Xu Huo on the back of the head, “Brat! If you don’t take that back today, you’ll never eat my cooking again.”
“Alright, you’re old enough now, can you still stand in such a hot kitchen?”
Xu Huo ignored him and continued to himself, “Move aside, move aside. It’s rare for me to come here. Leave the rest to me. You go sit for a bit. Later, when I earn money, I’ll help you all get air conditioning.”
“Show-off!”
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Then, neat, uniform chopping sounds rang out, with continuous flashes of the knife.
Even the old man had to admit defeat, sitting on a small stool to do chores like washing vegetables and scrubbing dishes.
Han Xiao, however, couldn’t remain calm.
Her small mouth slightly agape, she watched the scene before her.
Xu Huo stood in front of the wok, skillfully stir-frying, occasionally tossing the vegetables up to show off his moves.
What’s going on?
Is this the culinary skill a high school student can have? What else can’t this person do?
At this moment, the old man nudged Han Xiao with his elbow and asked with a smile, “How is it?”
“…14?”
“Is the brat doing alright?”
“Very… very impressive… I’ll go check on the crabs.”
Han Xiao walked to the steamer, about to poke the crabs with her fingernail, when she suddenly frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
The old man asked when he saw.
Han Xiao pondered for a moment, then turned, her smile a bit awkward, her voice even tinged with a cry, “…My… my hand got caught by the pincers.”