Her cooking skills were really something!
Wasn’t this at the level of Chushen already?!
If her future daughter-in-law ever came over, with skills like this, she’d make sure her daughter-in-law would never want to break up with her son, just for the sake of this Chushen mother-in-law!
But when would her useless son finally bring a girlfriend home?!
Lin Yirui had no idea what his mom was thinking.
He quickly put down his things, grabbed chopsticks, and scooped up a clump from the bowl that was now only a third full.
The meat pieces coated in oil, mixed with mushroom bits and thick sauce, went straight into his mouth.
Wow!
Just as he’d imagined—delicious!!!
Savory, spicy, and numbing, with each chew he could clearly taste the different textures of the meat and the mushrooms’ ever-tender smoothness.
All he wanted was a big bowl of white rice—one bite of sauce, one bite of rice!
Fortunately, he knew how to restrain himself.
After sampling… one, two, three, four… seven, eight bites, he finally put down his chopsticks. “Mom, your cooking keeps getting better!”
His mom replied modestly, “It’s alright, your mushrooms really made it taste better.”
Lin Yirui laughed, “Oh right, Mom, I also bought fish and Mulberry Fruit. I’ll—”
His mom finally noticed the new items on the table.
When she saw the Mulberry Fruit, she frowned in mock annoyance. “Oh, come on, haven’t you grown up yet? We have Mulberry Fruit in our own village. If you wanted some, I could’ve just brought it over!”
His dad added, “Yeah, and didn’t you use to hate eating fish? Said there were too many bones.”
Opening the bag and seeing the whole fish, he frowned even more. “You didn’t even have it cleaned?”
“The boss isn’t very old, and she doesn’t specialize in selling fish, so no cleaning service,” Lin Yirui explained with a dry laugh.
His mom immediately picked up on something. “Oh~~~ so it’s a girl, huh?”
Lin Yirui panicked, quickly carrying the bag to the kitchen. “I’ll wash them first and you’ll see. If she’s selling it, it must be really different!”
His mom followed expectantly. “Son, how old is that girl? Where’s she from? And…”
Before she could finish, Lin Yirui stuffed some freshly rinsed Mulberry Fruit into her mouth. “Mom, try it—how does it taste?”
Then he rinsed two more and popped them into his own mouth.
They hadn’t been chilled, so the sweetness was even more pronounced—maybe it was the heavy rain, but the fruit was riper, with a lingering tartness at the end, overall sweet and juicy.
After eating Mushroom Meat Sauce for half a day, his tongue was salty, but now it felt like a desert meeting an oasis—so refreshing!
His mom hadn’t expected it and was about to frown—she’d eaten too much of this as a kid.
Back then, food was scarce, and when Mulberry Fruit was in season, they ate it every day.
She’d long since grown tired of it.
But as soon as she chewed, the sweet, juicy flavor and faint tartness filled her mouth.
Her mouth made the decision before her brain—eat!
After finishing, she understood—just this flavor, just that mushroom taste, her son really was just buying it for the food. So she reached out, “Give me some more.”
Lin Yirui immediately handed over another freshly rinsed handful, then kept washing more.
His mom left the kitchen, split the Mulberry Fruit with his dad, and urged, “Go clean the fish, stop watching the show!”
His dad grinned, stuffed half a handful of Mulberry Fruit into his mouth, and raised his brows in surprise. “Mmm, this is good! The kid was right—what you buy from a stall is just different from what we have in our village.”
Then he took the still-flapping fish into the kitchen.
Lin Yirui finished washing the Mulberry Fruit. He wasn’t fussy—just rinsed them a few times, put them in a bowl, and brought them out to eat with his mom.
Then he watched his dad in the kitchen, knife flashing, and the fish was cleaned in no time. His mom rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
This Wild Crucian Carp was perfect for making Chicken Mushroom Soup with some leftover mushrooms.
Lin Yirui left half the Mulberry Fruit for his parents.
While his mom made soup, he got out the chicken he’d prepped and thawed, gave it a quick wash, and started making Mushroom Stewed Chicken.
He needed to show his mom his Chushen-level skills.
Mother and son worked in the kitchen together.
With nothing else to do, his dad grabbed a mop and cleaned the floor. The son could cook now, but housework was still lacking. Good thing they lived in the city and didn’t have to work the fields, or it would be a mess.
After an hour of busy work, night had fallen, and dinner was finally ready.
With the dishes and soup on the table, all three swallowed hard.
No other reason—just too fragrant.
At first, his parents thought if Lin Yirui’s cooking wasn’t good, at least the Mushroom Meat Sauce would help them get through a bowl of rice. But after seeing the spread… Good grief, both mother and son were Chushen-level cooks now?!
The mushroom aroma was bearable—they’d been smelling it all afternoon.
But who would’ve thought the fish soup would be so fragrant too!
All three immediately served themselves a bowl of soup.
They blew on it and took a careful sip.
“Wow~”
A breathy exclamation.
Lin Yirui took another sip, savoring it.
The mushrooms’ umami, combined with the freshwater fish’s sweetness—it was umami on top of umami!
Most importantly, there wasn’t a hint of fishiness. Simple seasonings made for an incredibly delicious soup, even better than the Mushroom Soup from the other day!!!
He looked at his parents—both silent, heads down, drinking soup.
Lin Yirui grinned foolishly and joined in.
This time, he scooped up a piece of fish—the kind with bones he usually hated.
He thought about spitting it out, but with just a little pressure from his teeth, the tender fish meat fell apart in his mouth, the sweetness even more intense.
He couldn’t bear to spit it out.
Bones? He’d show the bones who’s boss!
Chew, chew, spit out the bones, chew some more, make sure there were none left, then swallow carefully.
Lin Yirui ate with gusto, even sharing more fish with his parents. “Mom, Dad, you have to try this fish. It’s really sweet, totally different from the fish we usually buy!”
They both nodded and handed over their bowls, still wanting more. “You’re right, this fish is really good. Is it wild?”
“Shouldn’t be? When I was cleaning it, it was so clean! Wild fish aren’t that clean, but it was really lively, just like wild ones.”
Lin Yirui filled both their bowls and said, “I don’t know. The boss said it was wild, but who cares—as long as it tastes good, we’ll keep buying!”
His parents both agreed, “Exactly. By the way, son, where does the boss set up her stall? When we leave later, let’s buy some mushrooms and fish to take home.”
Lin Yirui paused, feeling guilty. He quickly said, “Her business is really good—she’s probably gone by now. How about you wait until tomorrow? I’ll bring some after work tomorrow.”
They didn’t think much of it and said, “Alright, then bring us five jin of those mushrooms next time. We’ll dry them and share with the relatives. Also, get three fish…”
Forget the Mulberry Fruit.
Even though it was tasty, fruit like that wasn’t for older people—they’d eat less.
Lin Yirui: “…Okay.”
He wanted to wipe his sweat, wanted to beg for mercy, wanted to show them the price.
But he didn’t dare.
His parents were too frugal. If they knew, they’d never eat it, and he probably wouldn’t get any either.
In the end, for the sake of future meals, Lin Yirui steeled himself to bear it all alone.
Meanwhile—
The middle-aged woman, Gao Xiuling, brought the mushrooms and fish home. Even before she opened the door, she could hear her child wailing and her husband trying to soothe him.
When Gao Xiuling went in, she saw her husband trying to feed the baby with a bottle.
But their little one, only a few days old, was already picky—only liked breast milk, not formula. But her daughter didn’t have enough milk, and the baby wouldn’t give in unless he was really starving.
Right now, he still had energy, so when the bottle came close, he tasted it, turned away, and started wailing again.
The crying was enough to give anyone a headache.
“He hasn’t drunk any?” Gao Xiuling glanced at the bottle.
Her husband, who looked twenty years older after just ten days of this, sighed and whispered, “No. Shi Shi tried to nurse him, but he didn’t get enough. As soon as I pick him up, he cries even harder. Shi Shi said I should take him in, but I didn’t agree.”
“Let him cry for now,” Gao Xiuling said, helpless. Her daughter was still in Yuesao, and she couldn’t bear to have her hold the baby when her body wasn’t healed.
She’d suffered herself during her own Yuesao, so when her daughter gave birth, she insisted on taking care of her personally, worried her mother-in-law wouldn’t do a good job.
As for her grandson, well, there was a layer of separation. She cared, but her daughter came first.
Her husband nodded and kept trying to coax the baby to drink a little formula.
Gao Xiuling put her things down and went to her daughter’s room.
She found her daughter staring at the ceiling, not even playing on her phone, eyes red. Gao Xiuling’s heart ached. “Hey, don’t cry. Mom bought mushrooms—didn’t you love them the other day? Tonight I’ll make Mushroom Stewed Chicken for you!”
Qin Shi snapped out of it, forcing a smile. “Mom, that’s Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms! I love it. I’ll eat extra tonight!”
Gao Xiuling relaxed a little and comforted her, “Don’t be too upset. It’s not your fault, and you didn’t want this either. In a few days, the baby will get used to it and realize he has to eat.”
Qin Shi lowered her eyes and gave a bitter smile. “I know. It’s just hearing him cry makes me feel bad.”
She wasn’t one to wallow in self-pity, but with only a door between her and her crying child, she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.
Gao Xiuling wanted to mention she’d bought Wild Crucian Carp—definitely wild, so lively! Crucian Carp Soup was good for milk, surely it would help. But she was afraid of disappointment; they’d already had so much chicken and Crucian Carp Soup, and nothing had worked.
So she said, “Don’t listen to it. It takes time. Don’t you love watching TV? Today’s Thursday, I think your favorite variety show updates at noon. Remember to watch? Is it too tiring holding your phone or tablet? I saw online there’s something called a Girlfriend Machine—want me to buy you one?”
Qin Shi’s eyes widened, amused. “Mom, no need! Don’t waste money. My phone’s fine, and I have a Lazy Bracket.”
Gao Xiuling: “Alright, I’ll go cook.”
Seeing her daughter pick up her phone, she felt relieved and left.
After a while, the baby’s crying stopped. She turned to see him holding the bottle, tears still in his eyes but finally drinking.
Finally hungry enough.
Gao Xiuling let out a sigh of relief and rushed to the kitchen.
She started prepping and found the fish was still lively. Expertly, she knocked the fish’s head with the back of a knife. The fish, which had been flopping around, immediately stopped moving. She quickly cleaned it—scales, guts, everything spotless.
Her daughter was picky—if it wasn’t cleaned properly, she could always tell.
Sometimes Gao Xiuling wondered if her daughter took after her. Back then, she never had to worry about milk—couldn’t afford formula anyway.
First, she fried the Crucian Carp until both sides were golden.
She had to be patient and let one side cook fully before flipping, or it would taste fishy.
Once done, she added ginger slices, sautéed until fragrant, then poured in a pot of boiling water, added scallion knots, covered it, and simmered on high for five minutes, then medium for ten.
The broth turned milky white.
Then she added the tofu.
She’d even gone to the market to get the freshest tofu—told the Boss she needed it for a pregnant woman, and as a regular, the Boss always messaged her when it was ready so she could pick it up at the right time.
She also added some mushrooms—these mushrooms were great, just a little bit made everything taste better, no need for MSG or chicken essence.
Mushrooms and tofu simmered for another ten minutes. Three minutes before serving, she added salt, removed the scallion knots, and sprinkled chopped scallions on top. The Fish Tofu Soup was done.
The moment she lifted the lid, a wave of rich, umami aroma hit her.
Oh wow.
So fresh!
She was practically drooling.
Her daughter would love this!
Gao Xiuling poured a bowl for her daughter, picked out the fish belly meat, added two pieces of tofu, scooped in some mushrooms, and made a big bowl of soup. She brought it to her daughter’s room.
Inside, Qin Shi was watching her show, no longer hearing the baby cry, fully absorbed. She didn’t even hear the door, but soon her nose twitched. “Smells so good…”
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