Li Shuchen's jet black hair was half-tied and half-draped behind his head, long eyebrows framing his deep-set eyes. His faintly colored phoenix eyes appeared cool and distant, yet a warm glint flickered in them when he looked at Qi Huan.
The sky-blue down jacket fitted him perfectly, making him look just like a male celebrity resting in modern clothes between takes of an ancient costume drama.
"Li Shuchen, you look so handsome!" Qi Huan exclaimed with genuine admiration, giving him a thumbs up.
Flattered by her praise, the warmth in Li Shuchen's eyes deepened.
Yan Qinghe circled around him a few times, then glanced at Qi Huan, cupping his chin in thought. "Your clothes look so strange together!"
Qi Huan teased seriously, "Because these are the robes of the Heavenly Court!...Don't I look like a Little fairy?"
Yan Qinghe scratched his head, grinning. "Ah Huan has always been a Little fairy!"
"I love hearing such honest words!" Qi Huan said with a smile crinkling her eyes.
Suddenly praised, Yan Qinghe felt he could say a few more words.
"Are the clothes Ah Shu is wearing also from the Heavenly Court? You two standing together look like a divine couple."
Without realizing it, a single remark pleased two people.
Yan Qinghe suddenly noticed Ah Huan smiling even more happily, while Ah Shu also looked at him with "kind and benevolent" eyes!
Seizing the chance, he said, "...I want to wear new clothes too!"
Before Qi Huan could respond, Li Shuchen took out a silver note and sent Yan Qinghe away with it.
...To prevent him from asking Qi Huan for identical clothes.
As they chatted and laughed, time slipped away quietly.
Before they knew it, evening had arrived.
Yan Wu and Yan Qinghe were chopping firewood in the yard, Xiu Wen was pasting couplets with starch, while Qi Huan busied herself in the kitchen, calling Li Shuchen over to tend the fire...
She trimmed the pork belly into long strips, mixed them with Sichuan peppercorn powder, black pepper, salt, sugar, and cooking wine, letting the marinade soak in before coating the meat with egg and cornstarch.
Heating oil in an iron wok, Qi Huan waited until it reached about 60% of the smoking point, then dropped the meat strips one by one into the oil with chopsticks, frying them to a golden brown before scooping them out.
The aroma of fried pork wafted through every corner of the kitchen. At the doorway, Heizi crouched, drooling while staring at the stove.
Its drooling expression made Qi Huan chuckle.
"The seasoning for the crispy pork is too much for dogs. I've boiled you some bone broth in another pot. Wait till it's done and you can have the meat and bones."
Heizi fixed its large, moist eyes on her longingly.
Finally, she picked up a small piece of crispy pork and tossed it into Heizi's bowl. "Only this one bite, okay?"
Immediately after, she sensed another gaze that could not be ignored.
"Host! Feed him! Satisfy him!"
The words sounded both serious and naughty.
"Host, what are you thinking? Just who is being naughty? I merely suggest you give him a piece of crispy pork to earn a hundred points."
Qi Huan blushed, furious with embarrassment. "...On this festive day, don't make me block you."
Ending the exchange with the system, Qi Huan asked Li Shuchen, "Would you like to try some too?"
After he nodded, she fed him three pieces in succession!
A reward for her point-earning assistant.
From an angle unseen by her, Li Shuchen shot Heizi a triumphant glance.
After feeding the man and the dog, she moved on to the next dish.
Using the pork skin trimmed from the crispy pork, she planned to make a pork jelly. After washing the skin, she boiled it in a pot with some of the yellow wine from Yan Wu's steamed buns until it changed color.
She scooped it out, scraped off the surface oil, patiently cut it into small strips, and soaked them in clean water, repeatedly washing with food-grade lye and salt until the water turned clear.
Qi Huan boiled a new pot of water, adding the pork skin along with star anise, scallions, and ginger. After simmering for nearly an hour, she removed the aromatics, poured the pork skin and soup into a basin, and set it on a bench in the yard to cool and set.
Once set, she unmolded it, sliced it thinly, and dressed it with garlic, sesame oil, light soy sauce, and vinegar to make a chilled pork jelly salad.
Qi Huan also made several meat dishes: braised pork belly, lion's head meatballs, stewed chicken with mushrooms, and a clay pot braised goose.
Adding a stir-fry of pickled mustard greens, a three-fresh delight, and stir-fried water spinach, she figured that would be enough for five people and didn't cook any more, to avoid leftovers.
She would cook more as they ate.
The crispy pork had cooled, so she re-fried it.
Nine dishes filled the table to the brim, with even Heizi getting its own pot of bone broth.
As night fell, a few more lamps were lit in the main hall, brightening the room.
Qi Huan followed their custom of eating in silence, focused on her meal.
Two quarters of an hour later, all the dishes were cleaned out.
After Yan Qinghe and the others cleared the bowls and chopsticks, Xiu Wen took over dishwashing duty.
While they were busy, Qi Huan returned to her room and dragged out the wine box, fireworks box, and mahjong set leaning against the wall.
She grabbed some bowls from the kitchen, filled them with red wine, and invited the four men over. "Come, let's drink!"
The alcohol-loving Yan Wu flashed to the table and downed his bowl in one gulp. "This wine tastes sweet, with a tart aftertaste?"
"Heheh, this is grape wine. You don't have that here?"
"No."
"Oh, this is the jade nectar of the Heavenly Court." Since they didn't have it, Qi Huan decided to make something up.
Successfully fooling Xiu Wen and Yan Qinghe.
"Then I must try it!"
"Down the hatch!"
The two drank heartily.
Only Li Shuchen sipped slowly.
In Ling Kingdom, it was customary to stay up all night on New Year's Eve. For this long night, aside from drinking, playing mahjong could pass the time.
Seeing everyone had tasted the red wine, Qi Huan threw the mahjong set onto the table. "Come on, let's play mahjong!"
Toying with the dice cup, Yan Qinghe frankly said, "...I don't have any money."
The Lu Mansion had rescued them from the logging camp - they were already immensely grateful, let alone being fed such lavish meals. They didn't ask for any monthly allowance.
"Didn't Li Shuchen just give you a silver note today?"
"That's for buying new clothes."
"Alright then." Qi Huan compromised, "Let's not play for money, let's play Truth or Dare instead."
After explaining the rules of mahjong and Truth or Dare in detail, Qi Huan faced another issue.
There were five of them in total, but mahjong only required four players.
At that moment, the wine-drinking Yan Wu suddenly loosened his grip, slumping face-down onto the table with a thud.
"Didn't he say he could drink endlessly? How did he pass out?" Yan Qinghe prodded his shoulder, but he lay motionless.
He and Xiu Wen each draped one of Yan Wu's arms over their shoulders, dragging him to his room and tossing him onto the kang bed. They hastily removed his shoes, covered him with a blanket, and returned.
Now with four people, they had just enough for a mahjong table.
"Four bamboos!"
As soon as Xiu Wen discarded a tile, Qi Huan snatched it up triumphantly. "I got a hu! Xiu Wen, you drew the winning tile, so choose - truth or dare?"
A dare sounded dangerous.
Xiu Wen promptly chose truth.
