Chapter 491 - 390: Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallion

Chapter 491: Chapter 390: Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallion

The phone rang.

Qingmeng glanced at the caller ID and casually tossed the phone to Jiang Liu.

"Who is it?"

"Jun Xinghe!"

"That’s not nice. He’s your father," Jiang Liu said, pinching Qingmeng’s little nose.

"He is not!" Qingmeng huffed, turning her head away proudly.

"Alright, you’re in for it later."

"Okay, I know~," Qingmeng surrendered meekly.

Jiang Liu took the phone and answered the call.

On the other end, Jun Xinghe asked if he needed anything else, particularly in the way of ingredients.

They talked for a few minutes.

Qingmeng snuggled into Jiang Liu’s embrace, her hand gently stroking his stomach.

He hung up the phone.

The three of them got up and got ready for the day.

Jiang Liu took Tongtong to the bathroom to wash up.

Qingmeng made the bed in the bedroom before heading home to get dressed.

Today, Qingmeng was dressed in a relaxed style: loose, tan, elastic-waist pants, a white tank top, and a light pink button-up shirt that gave her a youthful look.

Jiang Tongtong and Jiang Liu were wearing matching jeans and simple short-sleeved shirts.

They headed out the door.

Jiang Liu went straight to the seafood market.

He planned to make a classic Shandong dish today: braised sea cucumber with scallions.

For braised sea cucumber with scallions, the choice of scallion is just as important as the sea cucumber itself. Poor-quality scallions won’t properly infuse the sea cucumber with flavor, ruining the final dish.

Fortunately, Jiang Liu could purchase Wanshou Scallions from the Gourmet Album. This variety was perfect for the Shandong-style braised sea cucumber.

*

Meanwhile, in Jing City.

The talk of high society was the upcoming competition between Jiang Liu and Fu Yuan.

No one wanted to see a foreigner trample on the honor of the nation’s Sichuan cuisine.

Basically, everyone was supporting Jiang Liu.

They were hoping he could pull off a miracle.

In a spacious and elegant walk-in closet.

Jun Xinghe straightened his tie in the mirror.

BUZZ.

A message arrived from Secretary Wang: "President Jun, I gave your daughter and son-in-law’s birth details to Master Liang last night. He has chosen a date: November 30th."

Secretary Wang: [Image]

Secretary Wang: "What do you think, President Jun?"

Master Liang’s full name was Liang Yingtang. His ancestors had been associated with legendary figures such as Yang Gongxian and Lai Buyi.

He was considered a true master of his craft, and Liang Yingtang’s name was well-known throughout Hua Country.

Even Jun Xinghe had to make an appointment if he wanted a feng shui consultation from the man.

Jun Xinghe had only been trying his luck, so he was surprised when Master Liang agreed immediately, mentioning that his family loved Boss Jiang’s food.

The unspoken request was clear: he was hoping for an invitation to a private dinner.

Jun Xinghe frowned as he finished reading the message.

He wanted Jiang Liu to marry his daughter sooner.

But then he thought, ’They’ve already registered their marriage. What’s the rush for the ceremony?’

He tapped on the image to take a look.

The image was filled with instructions: things for the bride to avoid when getting in and out of the car, which zodiac signs to steer clear of, various taboos, and a whole slew of obscure, complicated characters related to the day.

Jun Xinghe zoomed in and skimmed through it... He didn’t really understand any of it.

After a moment’s thought, he forwarded the image to Jiang Dahai.

Jun Xinghe carefully composed a message in a consultative tone: "Old Jiang, I had a master do a reading for our kids. Take a look at this. Do you think it’s okay?"

Jun Xinghe: "If you’re not happy with it, I can find someone else to do another reading for them."

He was afraid Jiang Dahai would think he was being difficult and overly fastidious.

Jiang Dahai, who had just woken up, discussed the picture with Lin Qiu. Neither of them saw any issues. The wedding date was good, leaving plenty of time to prepare.

Jiang Dahai: "Looks good to me, Old Jun. No issues here. I don’t understand it either, so let’s just go with what you’ve arranged."

Jiang Dahai: "You should also ask Jiang Liu and Xiao Meng later and discuss with them what kind of ceremony they want."

Jun Xinghe was still a bit nervous. "Okay, Old Jiang, but I haven’t mentioned this to Xiao Jiang. What if he doesn’t like this sort of feng shui business?"

Jiang Dahai: "Don’t worry. If his old man doesn’t have a problem with it, what right does he have? If he dares to object, I’ll have his mother break his legs!"

Lin Qiu, who was listening nearby, frowned.

’How can he show off like that at our son’s expense?’ she thought. ’The way he acts as a father is just embarrassing.’

Jun Xinghe’s expression was a mixture of amusement and pity. ’This old brother is hopelessly henpecked,’ he thought. "But what if Xiao Jiang really doesn’t like it? He’s the type to keep it to himself. I don’t want us, as the elders, to make the kids unhappy."

Jiang Dahai: "Relax. These customs are common back in my hometown. My son grew up around this sort of thing, and he turned out fine. Don’t worry."

The two men chatted for a while longer about the wedding arrangements.

*

Early in the morning, the seafood market was already bustling with seniors picking out fish.

The ground was covered in puddles that reeked of fish.

Jiang Liu selected twenty-two pounds of high-quality sea cucumbers.

Shandong cookbooks recommended using spiny sea cucumbers, which have a superior texture and higher nutritional value.

The cookbooks also provided selection criteria: first, inspect the appearance; second, feel the texture; third, smell it—a high-quality sea cucumber has a scent of the ocean with only a very faint fishy odor; and fourth, check that it is plump.

"Daddy, what a big caterpillar!"

Jiang Tongtong instinctively recoiled from the bag in Jiang Liu’s hands.

The little darling was scared.

"It’s not a caterpillar. You can eat this. It’s a sea cucumber."

"Sea cucumber? Oh, so it’s a sea cucumber."

Tongtong pretended to understand and breathed a sigh of relief.

The phone rang.

Jiang Liu checked his phone. It was a message from Jun Xinghe, asking if the wedding arrangements were acceptable to him.

Jiang Liu handed the phone to Qingmeng.

"Honey, take a look. See what you think of these wedding plans."

"Let me see."

"Mama, Tongtong wants to see too!" Jiang Tongtong cried, hopping up and down.

"Alright."

Qingmeng squatted down and held Tongtong, and the two of them, mother and daughter, looked at the phone together.

Jiang Tongtong stared at the phone intently. Even though she couldn’t read a single word, she nodded with great seriousness, as if she understood everything perfectly.

A faint pink blush slowly spread across Qingmeng’s exquisite face. She looked up at Jiang Liu. "Darling, this is fine."

"Is it really?" Jiang Liu asked, taking the phone. "Qingmeng, isn’t a wedding like this a bit too plain? Your friends all seem pretty well-off. I’m sure their weddings were grander than this, weren’t they?"

"We can spend more money and have a nicer one."

Jiang Liu wasn’t a vain person who cared about keeping up appearances.

He was just thinking that for someone like Qingmeng, a famous heiress from Jing City, such a simple wedding might not be fitting.

’What if her friends make fun of her?’

’He didn’t mind for himself, but his wife and child had to be properly taken care of.’

A sweet smile bloomed in Qingmeng’s beautiful eyes.

’She loved this feeling, of being so cherished by Jiang Liu.’

"It’s fine. I don’t really care about those things. If I did, I wouldn’t have left everything behind and run away from home."

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes gazed directly at Jiang Liu. "Darling, as long as I get to marry you, I’d be happy even if all you gave me was a single flower."

What mattered to Qingmeng was the goal, the final result.

Jiang Liu smiled. "Alright, then we’ll listen to our elders and have a standard ceremony. But you’re not allowed to complain that it’s too plain later, you hear?"

"I won’t," Qingmeng said, shaking her head with a gentle smile.

Tongtong tugged on Jiang Liu’s pant leg. "Daddy, hungry."

Jiang Liu burst out laughing.

The warm, earnest moment was shattered.

Jiang Liu scooped his daughter into his arms and pinched her little nose.

"Hungry again? You little foodie, all you ever think about is eating."

Tongtong frowned.