My Husband, a Marshal: Conquering the Stars with My Culinary Arts
Chapter 48 - 18 Banquet_3

Chapter 48: Chapter 18 Banquet_3

Fortunately, the household robot 2569 is quite useful, coming over now and then to tidy up the kitchen, and it’s not hard to find the neatly organized seasonings.

Green onions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon sticks, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and bay leaves were added to the pot on a low flame, releasing a fragrant aroma; light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and vinegar were added and stir-fried until cooked; an appropriate amount of water was poured in, and once it boiled, the duck intestines were uniformly placed inside, covered with a lid, and simmered on low heat.

Du Xixi wiped the thin sweat from her forehead and began preparing the next dish, leaving the braised duck intestines to time.

Glossy and red in color, thick with sauce—this is braised pork.

Savory and delicious, oily but not greasy—this is minced pork with eggplant.

Three parts fat, seven parts lean, wealth, longevity, happiness—these are Four Happiness Meatballs.

Spicy and fragrant, crispy and tender—this is Mapo Tofu.

Bright and colorful, sour and spicy—this is hot and sour shredded potatoes.

Crisp and tender, appetizing and perfect with rice—this is stir-fried yuba with wood ear mushrooms.

Spicy and fragrant, green, red, and yellow lights—this is sour soup with beef slices.

Soft and sweet, flavorful and delicious—this is tomato egg drop soup.

Besides the braised duck intestines that were served as snacks, Du Xixi also made eight other dishes—three meat, three vegetarian, and two soups, with sweet and salty, sour and spicy flavors, all home-style and presentable dishes.

Of course, much of the chopping and frying work was done by 2569, since Du Xixi really couldn’t handle these tasks, but she kept a close eye on the cooking, making sure the flavors wouldn’t differ too much.

At 4:30 in the evening, Ke Xing bid farewell to his old friends, and as soon as he got home, he found a few familiar youngsters there. A closer look revealed they were actually his son’s good buddies, and surprisingly, Du Xixi had personally cooked, looking somewhat displeased with Ke Lian.

Why wasn’t Du Xixi allowed to cook a few days ago, but it’s okay today? Could it be to put on a show of being the head of the family in front of the brothers?

Ke Lian was well aware of what the reproach in his own father’s eyes meant, promptly waving his hand. Just then, Du Xixi came out of the kitchen, planning to call everyone to dinner.

She knew Ke Xing would be home in the evening, so she considered him when cooking. However, she didn’t expect to see the scene where her husband was silently reprimanded by her father-in-law as soon as she came out.

"Dad?" Du Xixi stepped forward, holding Ke Lian’s hand as he looked over, "What’s up?"

"Xixi, don’t be afraid. If this kid forced you to cook, Dad definitely won’t let him off!" The Du’s father and mother had a good relationship with Ke Xing, and the time when the marriage was set was when the families were closest. Du Xixi lost her parents when she just came of age, and naturally, Ke Xing treated this daughter-in-law as his own daughter, even more than the cold-hearted Ke Lian.

Ke Xing: What’s a brat? A well-behaved daughter is the real treasure!

Du Xixi wasn’t foolish; she understood immediately upon hearing this, quickly waving her hand and laughing with tears in her eyes: "No, Ah Lan wouldn’t force me, I wanted to cook for Fengzi and the others to try."

Du Xixi was already familiar with Mo Feng and the others and naturally used their nicknames, even though she personally found these nicknames odd. Lively Mo Feng being called Crazy? Pale and delicate Bai Zhan being called Black Face? Really strange!

Ke Xing felt reassured after hearing Du Xixi’s explanation, especially seeing her happy with the cooking. But his eyes occasionally glared at Ke Lian. These glances no longer carried the previous reproach but rather a warning.

Warning of what? Warning Ke Lian not to really make Du Xixi do something she doesn’t want to do.

Mo Feng and the others were obviously amused by Ke Xing siding with his daughter-in-law and bullying his own son. Only when invited to sit did they calm down and focus on the novel dishes they had never seen before.

Because Du Xixi was familiar with Mo Ying, Mo Feng took the lead at the Ke Family, and naturally, he was the first to inquire at the table: "Sister-in-law, we seem to have never seen these dishes before."

Chen Yin knew about Du Xixi coming from Blue Star, Ke Lian knew, and some high-ranking, trustworthy officials knew, but evidently, Mo Feng and the others weren’t qualified to know, so Du Xixi just smiled and didn’t give the real story: "I saw these in some obscure book and just tried them out, hope you all enjoy them."

This was the cover story agreed upon by Du Xixi, Ke Lian, and Chen Yin; when not facing insiders, they all uniformly used the excuse Du Xixi previously used to brush off Ke Lian and Mo Ying—learned from some obscure book. Obscure book? Can’t find it.

And not only did they say this same thing to Mo Feng and the others, but Du Xixi and Ke Lian also didn’t tell Ke Xing’s biological father the truth.

It wasn’t because they doubted or didn’t trust Ke Xing, but because Ke Xing could be quite open-hearted and had too many old companions, knowing too much could be detrimental to him. Plus, as Ke Lian, being the biological son, revealed, Ke Xing talked in his sleep, and if he accidentally revealed Du Xixi’s true identity through sleep-talking, it wouldn’t be a small matter.

So, Ke Xing was kept in the dark.