House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 370: He Is There in Time of Difficulties

In the kitchen, Mo Fei washed the radishes and laboriously brought over the chopping board. Holding the knife, she was somewhat at a loss, not knowing where to start.

“Mo Fei, come here and help me pick the vegetables. I’m old and my waist isn’t so good, I can’t bend over for too long!” Dong Yue’e timely spoke up, smiling at Mo Fei. She had already sorted and stacked the vegetables in the basket, saving Mo Fei from being flustered.

“Hmm, okay!” Mo Fei obediently followed the instructions.

However, when Mo Fei sat on the small stool and looked at the vegetables such as cowpeas, asparagus, etc. on the ground, she became worried. She had eaten all these vegetables, but taken out individually, she didn’t know how to handle them!

But the work still needed to be done. Mo Fei picked up a bunch of amaranths, hesitated for a moment, and began to pick out the leaves that had been bitten by insects and had small holes. Then she picked out a few leaves that looked wilted. All of this was correct.

However, Mo Fei continued and picked out a few intact leaves. She thought the other leaves were purple-red with a ring of green around the outside, while these few were completely purple-red, as if they had rotted.

It seemed that in Mo Fei’s impression, picking vegetables was just about picking out rotten leaves. So, after she finished, she directly put down the amaranth and picked up the cowpeas.

“This is really hard… This is called a cowpea, right? How do I handle it?” Mo Fei looked at the cowpeas in a daze. She wanted to use her usual method of picking out the bad ones and throwing them away, but it seemed tricky because each one looked the same.

Just as Mo Fei was having trouble, Yang Yi’s voice suddenly sounded behind her, “Mom, Mo Fei, are you cooking?”

Mo Fei turned her head in surprise and saw Yang Yi standing at the kitchen door.

“Have you finished your work?” Dong Yue’e glanced at Yang Yi, somewhat puzzled as to why he was there. Was he worried about his wife?

“Yes, Junzi and the others have gone back.” Yang Yi smiled and said, “I came to help too.”

“You’re a grown man, what are you doing in the kitchen? Can you cook?” Dong Yue’e scolded, “Or are you worried that I’m mistreating your wife? Don’t worry, I’m just letting Mo Fei assist.”

As Dong Yue’e spoke, her hands didn’t stop. The radish, which had just been peeled, was chopped into pieces with a few “chop chop chop” sounds.

“It’s not like that, Mom. Why are you looking down on me? Wait a bit, I’ll help you stir-fry a couple of dishes and let you see my skills.” Yang Yi smiled and sat down next to Mo Fei, reaching out to take the cowpeas from Mo Fei’s hand.

“Watch!” Yang Yi signaled Mo Fei with his eyes, then slowed down his movements, removed the old tough strings from the cowpeas, and threw them into the basin next to him.

Mo Fei immediately understood. She imitated Yang Yi’s movements, picking the cowpeas one by one. Of course, Yang Yi’s movements were a bit faster, and he quickly finished sorting out the cowpeas in his hand.

Dong Yue’e was actually not at ease. She had already seen how much “cooking skill” Mo Fei had, and her own son, Yang Yi, had never cooked at home before, just like his father. It seemed unlikely that he would be of much help. Therefore, Dong Yue’e couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

But Yang Yi’s movements were so skillful that she stared at him in surprise.

When did this little rascal learn this?

When Dong Yue’e added firewood to the stove for cooking, she turned her head again and saw Yang Yi rolling up Mo Fei’s sleeves. Mo Fei raised her hand and let Yang Yi roll up her sleeves. She looked at Yang Yi and smiled happily.

These two kids…

Dong Yue’e’s mouth curled up slightly, but she still turned her head and continued poking the stove, leaving an opening in the middle for ventilation.

Yang Yi continued to teach Mo Fei how to pick vegetables while completing most of the work. While he was at it, he also picked up the good vegetable leaves that Mo Fei had thrown away earlier, and instructed her to pinch off the roots of the amaranth.

Seeing that his mother wasn’t paying attention to them, Yang Yi couldn’t help but move his stool and sit next to Mo Fei. He leaned into her ear and whispered, “Why did you suddenly want to cook? Haven’t you never cooked before?”

Perhaps because of Yang Yi’s slightly teasing and reproachful tone, Mo Fei pouted with a hint of grievance. She shifted her knees and bumped against Yang Yi’s leg, saying, “Isn’t it all because of you!”

“What?”

“In order to give your mom a good impression!” Mo Fei kept her attention on Dong Yue’e, afraid that she would see her whispering with Yang Yi, just like the fear of being caught by the class teacher, and scolded in a low voice.

After saying that, Mo Fei herself felt a bit embarrassed.

Yang Yi couldn’t help but laugh. He turned his head to look at his mother, then reached out to grab Mo Fei’s hand. In the middle of winter, her fair jade-like hand was a bit blue from the cold water. He intertwined his fingers with Mo Fei’s, held them tightly, and said softly, “You’re so cute!”

Mo Fei looked at the deep love in Yang Yi’s eyes and felt happy in her heart. The previous nervousness, self-blame, and embarrassment from feeling too awkward were all swept away.

With Yang Yi’s guidance and help, the “assistant” work progressed quickly. In no time, all the vegetables were picked, even the cowpeas were washed clean, and Yang Yi cut them into sections on the chopping board.

During this time, Dong Yue’e also prepared the meat ingredients.

“Mom, you just stand by the side and supervise us. I’m back now, so you can enjoy some leisure!” Yang Yi smiled and began to “seize power”.

Dong Yue’e was now more interested in Yang Yi than in Mo Fei. She simply stopped and stood aside with a smile, as if she was really going to let Yang Yi and his wife take over.

Before stir-frying, one needed to start a fire. This was not a problem for Yang Yi. In his previous life, his survival skills in the wild were even better than Bear Grylls’. With a simple wood-burning stove and the charcoal fire from the cooking stove next to him, Yang Yi started the fire in no time.

“What should I do?” Mo Fei tugged at Yang Yi’s sleeve and asked in a low voice.

“Help me get the seasoning.” Yang Yi patted Mo Fei’s waist and said gently.

He didn’t dare let Mo Fei take control of the cooking spoon. Judging from the smell of charcoal when she came home before, the cooking skills she learned on her own probably meant that no one could eat the dishes she cooked!

“Okay then!” Mo Fei nodded obediently.

Heat the wok, pour in oil, and sauté the garlic until fragrant. The entire kitchen was filled with a strong aroma.

Mo Fei couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose and sniff. This aroma was really irresistible, too tempting!

The large iron pot used in the rural household could stir-fry food for about ten people. It had a “large capacity” and ample room for cooking, which Yang Yi liked very much. He skillfully tossed the pan while stir-frying the ingredients, displaying the style of a skilled chef!

Dong Yue’e watched from the side. At first, she was a bit worried, but now seeing Yang Yi’s posture, she truly understood that her son had learned good cooking skills at some point!

“Mo Fei, can you bring me the salt?” Yang Yi said with a smile.

Actually, he could have gotten it himself, it was just next to him. But Yang Yi had to give Mo Fei something to do, as Mo Fei wanted to perform well!

“Mm-hmm!” Mo Fei was stunned just now, but she didn’t forget her responsibility and quickly started looking for the salt.