The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 155 Pleasure
Thinking that he had never seen Shang Wan cook while working here for so long, He Sizhi asked, "Why isn't Miss Xiao Huan cooking today?"

Shang Wan pointed to the wooden shed, "The three of them were arguing while I was away. The argument escalated into a fight, and they even used knives. They were all badly injured and are resting inside. Right now, only I and the two kids can move around."

We can't let two kids who are less than ten years old combined cook, can we?
The kitchen must not be blown up.

Even if she's a terrible cook, she can still manage to make a couple of dishes.

Upon hearing this compelling reason, He Sizhi swallowed hard.

What grudge could this family possibly have? Arguing is one thing, but to beat someone so badly into serious injury is just ridiculous. Are they enemies?

"Madam Shang, these dishes you made may not be suitable for them."

Shang Wan clicked her tongue lightly, "I know I have to make meals for patients. I'm just trying it out. I've used four different cooking methods for rabbit meat alone. You guys help me choose which one tastes best."

He Sizhi finally understood where this huge table of dark, unappetizing dishes came from. If you can't cook, don't even try! Isn't this just a waste of food?
He's not going to do any food tasting; he's not ready to die yet.

He Sizhi pointed to his apprentice, "Gao Yan once worked as an apprentice in a restaurant for a month and knows how to cook some home-style dishes."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Shang Wan beckoned to Gao Yan and pointed to the kitchen. "It's yours now. Use whatever's in there."

In order to avoid being poisoned by the huge pile of food-like things on the table, Gao Yan resolutely took on the arduous task of cooking.

Ma Jieyong has only just recovered; he almost choked on that bowl of soup.

Liangliang considerately brought him some water, but Ma Jieyong only remembered to ask after drinking half of it, "Where did this water come from?"

Liangliang pointed to the well.

Ma Jieyong: ...He shouldn't have asked!

Ma Jieyong had made quite a commotion, waking Lu Chengjing up. He put on his coat and came out to see what was going on.

As soon as he appeared, the three members of the He family all turned their attention to him, looking him up and down. His arm was in a sling, so it seemed that the injury was indeed quite serious.

Shang Wan walked over quickly, reached out and touched his forehead; the fever had subsided.

"We still have a while before dinner, go back and lie down."

Lu Chengjing shook his head, "If I sleep any longer, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

He saw the huge pile of dishes on the table, calculated the time, and looked down at Shang Wan, "Did you make this?"

Shang Wan nodded.

"Let me try it." Lu Chengjing stepped over, picked up a pair of clean chopsticks, took a black cube from the nearest plate, and put it in his mouth without hesitation.

The raw material was supposed to be meat, but it was burnt and tough, with an excessive amount of saltiness mixed with a hint of sweetness and a touch of bitterness, making for a really strange taste.

He calmly put down his chopsticks, took a sip of water, and continued to taste the next dish.

Eat a bite of food and drink a sip of water, at a leisurely pace.

Shang Wan was certain that she had washed the vegetables very clean and hadn't put anything strange in them, but given the way Lu Chengjing ate them, she was really worried that he would get diarrhea later.

"Alright, stop eating." She reached out and snatched Lu Chengjing's chopsticks.

"It's edible, but it's overcooked and too salty. Some dishes don't need sugar."

Lu Chengjing took another sip of water and pointed out the dishes that had sugar in them. "If you don't add sugar and just a little less salt, they should taste really good."

"These dishes are too oily and greasy. Just use less oil."

"The chicken was overcooked and burnt; it was too tough to chew."

Lu Chengjing had just tasted most of the dishes on the table and carefully pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of each dish.

Shang Wan had mixed feelings. She couldn't say she was unhappy, but she also couldn't say she was happy.

It's like opening a bottle of soda, with bubbles constantly rising to the top.

Her gaze swept over Lu Chengjing's profile, still bearing two fine scars, and Shang Wan tentatively defined this feeling as pleasure. She coughed lightly, "Next time, you're only allowed to praise him."

"Good." Lu Chengjing smiled and pointed to the dragon carved from a radish in the middle. "My wife's knife skills are superb."

Shang Wan: If your cooking skills aren't great, make up for it with plating.

Thanks to Gao Yan's efforts, dinner was served.

The taste wasn't particularly good or bad, but it was just so-so and edible.

After witnessing Shang Wan's culinary skills, no one dared to ask for more; as long as they could eat and stay alive, that was enough.

After the meal, the four members of the He family washed up and went to rest early, while the Shang family, because the wounded had slept for too long in the afternoon, were not sleepy.

Xiao Huan woke up once, drank the medicine in a daze, and then fell asleep again.

Stone sat at the table, and after learning from Shang Wan that the peddler's body had been buried, he silently looked up at the stars in the sky.

Yuanyuan held the milk bottle and, imitating him, tilted her little head back to look at the stars.

After watching for a while, the little guy realized that the stars he saw from this position were different from those seen from Uncle Stone. So he climbed into Uncle Stone's arms and sat down, tilting his head back with him to look at the same stars.

Feeling a soft little bundle on his leg, Stone gently pinched her round little face, pointed to the stars, and taught her all the ones he knew.

Yuan Yuan listened attentively with her big eyes wide open, occasionally taking a sip of milk, and then nodding her little head earnestly.

Chu Xu kept stealing glances at Lu Chengjing while holding his teacup. Every time Lu Chengjing looked over, he would immediately turn away. After this happened three or four times, when he looked over again, Lu Chengjing asked him directly, "What do you want to say?"

Chu Xu blurted out, "Is your leg alright or bad?"

His gaze shifted from Lu Chengjing's wheelchair to his legs. This man had clearly stood up that afternoon and was walking briskly, so why was he in a wheelchair again now?

Lu Chengjing said, "I was injured before and couldn't stand up, but I've just recovered."

Chu Xu nodded and muttered softly, "No wonder you want places at the Imperial Academy."

"You saved me again today. Don't worry, even if I throw a tantrum and get a spanking, I will still get you a spot at the Imperial Academy."

Lu Chengjing: "..."

Chu Xu glanced at him, his cat-like eyes filled with a hint of dissatisfaction. "Do you also think I'm a child and look down on me?"

Lu Chengjing: "No."

Chu Xu didn't understand. "Then why are you unhappy? Don't all scholars want to enter the Imperial Academy?"

Instead of answering, Lu Chengjing asked, "Have you finished writing your letter?"

"I wrote it before dinner." Chu Xu took the envelope out of his pocket and pushed it to Lu Chengjing's side so he could see it.

The envelope was thick, bulging out.

Lu Chengjing didn't open it; he simply pushed the envelope back as it was.

Chu Xu couldn't help but mutter, "Aren't you just worried that I'll write things I shouldn't in the letter? I showed it to you but you won't read it. Why are you being so strange?"

Lu Chengjing took a sip of water, glanced at him, and said, "You wrote a secret letter."

Chu Xu: "..."

Oh right, he forgot about that.

The child blushed, tucked the envelope into his pocket, and went to listen to Stone talk about the stars in the sky.

Unfortunately, the two disagreed on their views about stars, and they started arguing as they talked.

Despite being ten years apart, they argued back and forth, evenly matched.

Yuanyuan held her little hands, looked left and right with her little head, puffed out her cheeks in a puzzled manner, and decided not to help anyone. She climbed up the stool to find her father to listen to a story.