The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 170 A smirk on the face, affection in the eyes!_1

Chapter 170: Chapter 170 A smirk on the face, affection in the eyes!_1

Today was a day for joyous family gathering, and Huo Yingjie didn’t force himself to remember if he couldn’t. After resting up, he would think it through more carefully.

No sooner had Huo Yingjie sat down than He Tiantian brought over a bowl of ginger soup for him, which also contained brown sugar water.

Wang Shuping felt reassured to see her daughter being so thoughtful, Tiantian had really grown up, speaking and acting with such grace.

"Yingjie, on such a cold day, you’d better drink some ginger soup quickly to ward off the chill, so you don’t catch a cold during the New Year festivities, which would make everything taste bland," Wang Shuping reminded him, urging Yingjie to drink the ginger soup promptly to avoid a cold.

Jiang Lifang saw her son staring blankly at the bowl of ginger soup, lost in thought, and thought he might still, like when he was a child, dislike ginger. But now, they were at He Tiantian’s home, in front of his future mother-in-law. Being so picky seemed like a bad habit.

"You child, you mustn’t be picky. Ginger isn’t tasty, but it has brown sugar in it," Jiang Lifang chided her son with a slap, "quickly drink up, you mustn’t waste food or take Tiantian’s kindness for granted."

Huo Yingjie swallowed hard, and bracing himself, picked up the bowl and gulped it down.

In fact, it wasn’t as his mother and Aunt Wang had said. Indeed, he didn’t like the pungent smell of raw ginger, but it wasn’t that he couldn’t eat it.

The way he was acting was entirely due to his own body’s condition; even though the wind outside was bitterly cold, his body was unusually hot, not cold at all.

After drinking the ginger soup, Huo Yingjie felt even hotter, his forehead beaded with sweat, and his cheeks flushed with two adorable little red clouds.

Seeing her son’s rosy complexion made Jiang Lifang happy.

But this made Huo Yingjie suffer.

The internal heat, coupled with the heat from the outside, made him very uncomfortable!

In front of his elders, what could he do that wouldn’t be inappropriate?

When Huo Yingjie was brought into the room by his mother, He Tiantian didn’t follow them in, out of politeness, but went to the kitchen instead.

One reason was to cook for Yingjie, to make him delicious meals that would impress him; the other reason was to avoid the adults, as her face was very red, her lips tightly shut, presumably slightly swollen, which would be embarrassing if the adults noticed.

After sending the ginger soup, He Tiantian poured a small amount of green onion, ginger, and garlic into the pot to fry until fragrant, then added some cabbage leaves and stir-fried them a bit before pouring in three bowls of water and covering the pot with the lid. Meanwhile, He Tiantian whisked two eggs in a bowl until evenly mixed, ready to be used.

Soon, the water boiled.

He Tiantian added a handful of dry noodles to the pot, stirred them until they were even, and then covered the pot with the lid again.

Meanwhile, she prepared some dried radish and pickles on the side.

Once the noodles in the pot began to boil, she poured the whisked eggs into the pot, stirring them to form a circle in the water, making the eggs scatter throughout the pot and seem more abundant.

When the noodles became soft and cooked through, it was time to season. She added a bit of salt and a sprinkle of five-spice powder along with other seasonings, then tossed in some green cilantro for color. A fragrant bowl of egg noodles, full of flavor, was now ready.

He Tiantian used a large soup bowl from home, ladling out a full, overflowing bowl of broth and noodles.

Carrying the bowl of noodles to the dining room table, He Tiantian called out from the doorway of the living room, "Brother Yingjie, dinner is ready."

Seeing her daughter carrying the noodles to the dining room, Wang Shuping quickly said, "You child, don’t be so thoughtless. It’s so cold in there; quickly bring the noodles over here."

Huo Yingjie felt a burning in his heart and quickly stood up, saying, "Aunt Wang, don’t bother, I should go out to eat instead, to prevent filling the house with the smell of food. It would be uncomfortable for everyone to smell it inside."

"Shuping, let Yingjie go out to eat and come back in after he’s finished." Even though the two families got along well, Jiang Lifang still felt a bit embarrassed about the situation and insisted that her son go out to eat.

Huo Yingjie didn’t wait for Wang Shuping’s response and had already left the living room for the kitchen.

Wang Shuping wanted to call out to him, but it was already too late.

Upon entering the kitchen, Huo Yingjie found a large bowl of steaming noodles on the table. Light green cabbage and pieces of egg white and yolk were scattered in the broth, topped with vibrant green coriander. The presentation looked good. Now, he wondered about the taste?

Huo Yingjie’s standards were low; as long as it was edible, he would give it full marks.

Looking at the petite figure busily moving about before him, Huo Yingjie’s heart grew even more delighted.

A mischievous smile on his face, his eyes filled with tenderness!

He Tiantian noticed that Huo Yingjie was sweating and, fearing that he would catch a cold from the draft, went to the bathroom next door to fetch her own towel and handed it to him, saying, "What are you spacing out for? Hurry and wipe your sweat and eat!"

"Okay," Huo Yingjie took the towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The towel carried a faint fragrance, the same scent that emanated from He Tiantian, particularly pleasant.

Huo Yingjie almost didn’t want to put the towel down, wiping his sweat while watching He Tiantian.

"What are you staring at? Eat!" He Tiantian, feeling her face heat up under Huo Yingjie’s gaze, was quite shy and even playfully rolled her eyes at him.

Just before, at the entrance of the alley, in the darkness, he could only imagine He Tiantian’s appearance in his mind, unable to help himself. But now, with He Tiantian standing under the light, her clear eyes shining bright, her glances full of life, and her fair little face with big twinkling eyes—even her rolling eyes seemed adorable!

"Okay," Huo Yingjie felt an overwhelming excitement and happiness, and a thousand words coalesced into one "okay."

With a small spoon in his left hand and chopsticks in his right, Huo Yingjie scooped up some soup first, finding the saltiness just right, the flavor light, which he liked. Tasting the egg, he liked that too. The cabbage was crispy with a hint of sweetness, the noodles had the perfect texture, and the radish greens and pickled vegetables were absolutely delicious.

Half a year ago, if he’d been told that He Tiantian could make such a fragrant and flavorful bowl of noodles six months later, Huo Yingjie wouldn’t have believed it. But now, seeing it with his own eyes and tasting it for himself, Huo Yingjie believed it. Along with his relief, he also felt more heartache, like He Tiantian’s parents; he lamented that He Tiantian must have endured many hardships in the countryside to develop her culinary skills.

Huo Yingjie had started out happily eating the delicious noodles, but suddenly he tasted a hint of sorrow.

He Tiantian, seeing that Huo Yingjie was no longer eating as enthusiastically as at first, tentatively asked while sitting beside him, "Brother Yingjie, does it not taste good?"

Her cooking should be alright. Dad, Mom, and the other elders all said it was very good. It couldn’t possibly taste bad just because it was Huo Yingjie eating it.

Could it be that the salt was overdone?

Beyond that, He Tiantian couldn’t think of anything else that might be wrong!

Huo Yingjie shook his head, took He Tiantian’s hand gently, and said softly, "It’s my incompetence that has caused you to suffer out there."

He Tiantian smiled. So he was feeling sorry for her.

In her past life, she cooked for the heartless Qi family for thirty years, but nobody ever felt sorry for her!