Chapter 328: Culinary Master Zhu Niao

If this were anywhere else, for someone who had never stepped into a kitchen to cook personally to say this to someone who was about to teach them, they’d only be judged as aiming too high, trying to fly before they’ve even learned to walk.

But Zhu Niao was different—when she said it, it was only taken as her being eager to do something for Xun Yu.

Which was why when she shrank her neck and looked up, she found both their eyes carrying a hint of being moved.

It left her feeling somewhat bewildered.

“Alright, let’s start by trying the Scallion Ginger Stir-Fried Crab.” Mai Che Xiaozi picked out two swimming crabs.

“First, we need to prepare the crabs—remove the gills and white fuzz, wash them clean, then chop them into pieces.” Mai Che Xiaozi deliberately slowed his movements and processed one crab right in front of Zhu Niao. “See how it’s done?”

Zhu Niao stared wide-eyed, wondering if all chefs had knife skills like Mai Che Xiaozi’s.

If so, those chefs should go film Demon Slayer.

Noticing the conflicted look on Zhu Niao’s face, Mai Che Xiaozi simply turned the knife slightly and offered her the handle. “You give it a try.”

Then, amid Zhu Niao’s yelps and the Store Manager Lady’s worried panic beside them, the knife in Zhu Niao’s hand got stuck inside the crab.

Suddenly, the whole scene went quiet, and even the Store Manager Lady’s concerned fussing and Mai Che Xiaozi’s instructions came to a halt.

Zhu Niao tried pulling, but couldn’t get the knife out, so she looked to the two behind her with pleading eyes.

Honestly, if Xun Yu had come today saying he wanted to learn to cook for Zhu Niao, the Store Manager Lady and Mai Che Xiaozi would have both unhesitatingly agreed and been touched—and then, when Xun Yu got the knife stuck, they’d have unhesitatingly started cursing him out.

But it was Zhu Niao who came, so that wasn’t an option.

Besides, Xun Yu could cook. In all the time the two had lived together, Zhu Niao’s meals had always been handled by Xun Yu.

Basically, Zhu Niao bought the groceries and Xun Yu did the cooking.

“I think we can skip this part entirely—after all, you can buy pre-prepared ingredients.” The Store Manager Lady suddenly waved her hand grandly, telling Mai Che Xiaozi, the instructor, to skip this whole step.

Mai Che Xiaozi let out a small sigh. He naturally understood what this red-brown long-haired beauty meant.

In the worst-case scenario, let Zhu Niao take home the pre-processed, dismembered crabs to cook.

Actually, that wasn’t a bad option either.

Mai Che Xiaozi, still holding the knife, processed a few more crabs, then divided them into three plates, placing two dismembered crabs on each plate.

Then he picked up one of them.

“Here, the ingredients are prepared. Next, we pour a little oil into the wok and sauté the garlic cloves, ginger, and dried chilies until fragrant.”

Zhu Niao nodded along.

“Then add the base seasoning—you can use hotpot base—and toss in the crabs. Stir-fry for two minutes, then add light soy sauce or seafood sauce and mix well.”

Zhu Niao couldn’t stop nodding.

“Then add one spoon of salt, half a spoon of sugar, a splash of cooking wine, and stir-fry for another three minutes. Finally, add chopped scallions and mix well—done.”

As Mai Che Xiaozi moved, the aroma wafted out.

Then he turned to look at Zhu Niao, who was still nodding. “Got it?”

“Huh?” Zhu Niao felt like she was in math class, having bent down to pick up a pen and looked up to find the board had gone from one plus one to the Riemann Hypothesis.

Seeing Zhu Niao’s dazed expression, Mai Che Xiaozi, being a qualified teacher, naturally grabbed a fresh spatula and handed it over.

“You’ll learn by trying.”

Zhu Niao nervously lit the flame, and only when smoke started rising did she frantically recall the steps and begin pouring oil.

Too much.

Then she tossed in the scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chilies.

Too little.

Staring at the charred mess, Zhu Niao seemed to remember something and dumped the dismembered crabs from the plate in.

To her surprise, there was no sudden crackling burst of oil splattering everywhere.

Because Mai Che Xiaozi had noticed something was wrong from the very first step and had already turned the fire down.

A sizzling sound came from the wok, and Zhu Niao racked her brain for the next step.

Then she remembered.

She started adding light soy sauce and seafood sauce.

The seafood sauce was right, but she grabbed dark soy sauce instead of light.

Now the entire wok of crabs was black.

After stir-frying diligently for a while, Zhu Niao had no idea if she’d hit the standard two minutes.

Then, then what came next?

Zhu Niao was at a loss.

The Store Manager Lady beside her gently reminded, “One spoon of salt, half a spoon of sugar, a splash of cooking wine.”

Zhu Niao’s eyes lit up. “Right, one spoon of salt, half a spoon of sugar, a splash of cooking wine.”

Then she muttered to herself, “Salt, sugar, cooking wine…” while adding them in.

The ingredients she added were all correct.

“One spoon of salt, half a spoon of sugar, a splash of cooking wine.”

“Wait.” Mai Che Xiaozi called out to stop Zhu Niao. “You might want to fish the spoon out first.”

Good thing he’d sensed something off at the second step and simply turned off the fire.

In his eyes now, there was even less of the anxiety over failing to teach Zhu Niao, and more of the relief that he still had his life to keep.

Zhu Niao just held the spatula aloft, looking at the two of them pitifully.

The smile on the Store Manager Lady’s face was a bit forced, and Mai Che Xiaozi simply pressed his hand to his forehead.

Then, the Store Manager Lady held up one finger. “How about… we try steaming instead?”

Zhu Niao pursed her lips, as if making a difficult decision.

There was no helping it. Sometimes, you just had to admit that some things were like math problems—if you didn’t get it, you didn’t get it.

Steaming, unlike stir-frying, didn’t have such a complicated process. After watching Mai Che Xiaozi demonstrate once, Zhu Niao said she had it.

Though Mai Che Xiaozi still seemed doubtful, the Store Manager Lady beside him glared him into silence.

She believed that at least this much trust should be given to her sister-in-law.

“So, besides crab, what else are you planning to make?” Mai Che Xiaozi tidied up the kitchen battlefield a bit and asked Zhu Niao.

It was a very good question—Zhu Niao herself had no idea.

This was where the Store Manager Lady’s role came in handy.

“Hey, since crab has such a strong fishy taste, why not go for something refreshing and learn a Smashed Cucumber as well?” She winked at Zhu Niao.

After the ordeal just now, Zhu Niao had lost all trace of aiming too high.

“I actually think Smashed Cucumber sounds pretty good.”

Zhu Niao agreed wholeheartedly.

Mai Che Xiaozi frowned slightly and was about to speak when the Store Manager Lady stomped on his foot.

He closed his mouth without changing expression.

As it turned out, Zhu Niao couldn’t smash cucumbers, so she could only slice them into uneven pieces and drizzle the mixed sauce over them.

“At least… it counts as making some progress, doesn’t it?” The Store Manager Lady still smiled with difficulty.

Mai Che Xiaozi crouched down pitifully, pretending to tie his shoe, but was actually rubbing the top of his foot that had just been stepped on by a high heel.