Chapter 194: Hands-on Tutorial (2)

Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Hands-on Tutorial (2)

"Come on, I’ll take you upstairs. I’ll show you how to pick out meat."

This time, it was Jiang Fan’s turn to hold her hand, and Li Muwan didn’t resist.

"Young man, you two are such a lovely couple."

"I’ve been watching you ever since you came in."

"Such a handsome couple, a perfect match. You make everyone so envious."

The chili pepper vendor watched them with a wide smile, his expression showing just how much he was enjoying their dynamic. It made Jiang Fan feel an urge to scratch his head.

"Hey, no misunderstanding here. We’re definitely a couple, not friends."

Jiang Fan said, turning his head back.

"Huh?"

The chubby vendor was clearly taken aback for a moment before he caught on and burst out laughing.

"You’ve got a sense of humor, kid."

However, Jiang Fan didn’t banter with him any further and led Li Muwan to the butcher stalls upstairs.

"Remember, with vegetables and things, it’s okay if they’re a little less than fresh. But if meat isn’t fresh, it can make people sick."

"So you always have to buy fresh meat. For pork like this, a deeper color is better. When it looks pale, it’s likely been frozen or has been sitting out for a long time."

Li Muwan nodded, her eyes quickly scanning the cuts of meat.

"Don’t you worry, young man. Our meat is absolutely the freshest. It’s all brought over from the slaughterhouse every morning."

"I never sell day-old meat. I wouldn’t make a single cent from dishonest business."

"Unlike some people, whose damn meat has been sitting around for three days in the fridge, and they still sell it as fresh pork."

The butcher said loudly, patting his chest.

He paid no mind to the glares from the other vendors nearby.

As for who his last, thinly-veiled insult was aimed at, everyone knew perfectly well.

Jiang Fan was a bit curious. This burly man really wasn’t afraid of offending people.

Just as he was about to speak, he felt Li Muwan suddenly squeeze his palm.

He turned his head and saw Li Muwan secretly winking at him.

He instantly understood what she meant. Jiang Fan casually picked a piece of lean meat, paid for it, and left.

They had just left the market when, before he could speak, Li Muwan spoke first. "Are you dense? In a situation like that, were you really going to ask who he was talking about?"

"He was obviously talking about the vendor next to him. That guy had his hand on his knife. If you had asked and provoked them into a fight, who would be to blame?"

"Whoa, I didn’t notice."

Jiang Fan was startled.

Butchers like them always have knives at hand. If they got heated and really started hacking at each other...

The mental image was just too much.

"Let’s go, let’s go. We should hurry back."

The two of them walked home, hand in hand.

"Should we rest for a bit before we start, or get right to it?"

Jiang Fan asked, sitting on the sofa.

"Let’s start now. I refuse to believe I can’t learn this."

Jiang Fan noticed a rare quality in Li Muwan—stubbornness. You could also call it persistence.

Once she set her mind to something, she would do whatever it took to succeed.

This was probably a major reason why she had been able to make her business division so successful.

"Alright, let’s get started then."

Jiang Fan stood up from the sofa, rolled up his sleeves, and tied an apron on Li Muwan.

"First, step one. To make a meal, we need to cook rice."

"Do you know how to wash and cook rice?"

Blinking, Li Muwan didn’t say a word, just looked at him.

"Right. I see you don’t."

Then, Jiang Fan picked up the inner pot of the rice cooker and put a bowl of rice in it.

"For two people, one bowl of rice is about right. The rice will expand by about two-thirds."

"Rinse it once with clean water, then pour the water out."

"The second time, you just add the water for cooking."

Seeing her still-confused expression, Jiang Fan pulled her over. He stood behind her and took her right hand. "For one bowl of rice, the water should come up to just a little below the second knuckle of your index finger."

He held up her index finger, marked a spot just below the knuckle, and dipped it into the water to check the level.

After confirming it was correct, Jiang Fan poured the water out. "Here, you try adding it yourself."

"Like this with my index finger?"

Li Muwan added the water and measured it all in one smooth motion.

"That’s right! Just like that."

"Next, just put the pot in and press the cook button. I don’t need to explain that part."

"Which dish do you want to make first?"

Jiang Fan asked.

"Let’s stir-fry some shredded potatoes first."

"Okay, hot and sour shredded potatoes."

"Do you know how to peel a potato?"

Li Muwan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. ’Peeling a potato... something so simple can’t be that hard, right?’ she thought.

She grabbed a potato, washed it, and picked up the peeler... Five minutes later, more than half of the potato was gone, while the skin on the other side was still intact.

The sight left Jiang Fan stunned.

"What are you doing?"

"Peeling the potato. It has some black stuff inside, and didn’t you say you can’t eat that?"

"So I was trying to peel it all off."

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes. "Watch me. This is the trash can. Squat here and peel."

Li Muwan said, "Oh," and obediently squatted down.

Jiang Fan stood behind her, bent over, and took both her hands. "This is how you peel a potato."

Jiang Fan’s large hands covered Li Muwan’s small ones, helping her hold the peeler and shave off the potato skin bit by bit.

"When you find a black spot like this, you can just use a knife to dig it out."

"You don’t have to keep peeling like that."

"Got it now?"

Jiang Fan’s head was resting on her right shoulder. If either of them turned their head, they would kiss.

But right now, he hadn’t noticed this unusual proximity.

Li Muwan, however, nodded with a hint of shyness.

"Okay, you finish peeling the potatoes then. I’ll cut the meat and prepare the chili peppers."

"Wait for me. After I finish peeling this, let me do it."

Seeing her volunteer so eagerly, Jiang Fan didn’t hesitate to agree.

He was teaching Li Muwan how to cook, after all.

"First, slice off a piece from the side of the potato. Then, turn it over so the flat, cut side is on the cutting board."

"This way, you won’t cut your hand, and it won’t roll around. After you slice it into thin pieces, you turn them and cut them into shreds."

He let her try cutting it herself. Looking at the potato strips of all different sizes, Jiang Fan completely gave up.

Once again, he stood behind her, pressed close, and taught her hand-over-hand how to cut the potato into shreds.

But throughout the process, Jiang Fan noticed that Li Muwan’s body felt very hot, and her face was constantly flushed.

"Are you not feeling well? Why is your face so hot?"

He asked out of concern.

But Li Muwan didn’t answer him, simply putting the shredded potatoes on a plate quickly.

"Let’s cut the meat."

"Good meat is actually easy to cut. First, cut it into chunks, then into slices."

"There are no strict requirements, since we’re just eating at home anyway."

He spent over two hours teaching her hand-over-hand, until all the side ingredients were cut, prepped, and set aside on plates.

He didn’t know if Li Muwan was tired, but he knew he was exhausted.

This was so much more tiring than just cooking a meal by himself.

"Alright, we’re done cutting everything. Let’s rest for a bit, then get ready to start stir-frying."

"Jiang Fan, we’re finally done!"

Jiang Fan turned his head to the right to speak to her, but at that exact moment, Li Muwan also happened to be turning her head to the right.

Their lips touched. Both of them froze.