Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 252 The Old Gentleman's Honorable Name

Seeing that Li Ruru was somewhat embarrassed, Magistrate Chu said, "I heard that the Li family has built a workshop that can turn sprouted wheat into maltose."

"I wish to go and see; if this method can be promoted, it would be a great achievement."

The magistrate of Chu County finally remembered what his son had said: the Li family had a way to relieve the disaster.

Under the guise of inspecting the workshop, Li Ruru would certainly not stop him anymore.

Sure enough, Li Ruru smiled and agreed, "In that case, please go ahead, Magistrate."

Master Bai also wanted to go and see where his daughter had lived, and also to thank Li Ruru.

The group left the prison and boarded a carriage, arriving at Li Ruru's house in a grand procession.

"Your Excellency hasn't had lunch yet, has he? How about..." Li Ruru wanted to invite the magistrate to lunch, but she was afraid that he would look down on her simple meal.

"Good!" Magistrate Chu had eaten many of Li Ruru's cookings, and they tasted absolutely delicious.

Seeing his eagerness to agree, Shen Kuo also became interested: "Can I join you? I haven't eaten either!"

Fang Xingzhi said with dissatisfaction, "You haven't eaten. Go home and eat. You're such a troublemaker."

With so many people eager to eat, how long will Li Ruru be busy?

Fang Xingzhi felt sorry for her, but he didn't stop there. "Aru, I'll help you cook."

In front of so many people, and with such an intimate address, Li Ruru looked embarrassed and said, "Um, why don't you talk to everyone? We don't need your help in the kitchen."

"How can you not use it? I'll peel the garlic for you."

"You really don't need to, we have maids now." Chu Xiu came forward and pointed to the four maids standing behind him.

The maid was bought a couple of days ago; she had been staying at Lü Da's house and was only sent back today.

"Mom, Mom, you're finally back!" Yinyin ran over happily and jumped into Li Ruru's arms.

She looked up and asked, "Mother, has the magistrate caught the bad guys?"

Yinyin didn't know exactly what had happened, but she felt that her mother had been wronged.

The fact that we can go home now means the county magistrate must have caught the real bad guy.

Li Ruru pointed to Magistrate Chu and said, "Yes, he is the magistrate."

Yinyin let go of Li Ruru's hand, stared at Magistrate Chu for a while, and said, "How come you look just like an ordinary person?"

She had never met the county magistrate, only an actor dressed as him.

His face was dark, his beard long, and his hair was unkempt and unattractive.

"Hahaha, this child is so cute." Magistrate Chu laughed so hard that the flesh on his stomach jiggled.

"Greetings, Your Excellency." Nie Tianlei stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Bai Lu said to Master Bai, "This is Doctor Nie."

Master Bai carefully examined Nie Tianlei, then turned to his daughter and whispered, "This young man looks promising."

Bai Lu glanced at Xiao Yishan, who was standing at the back of the crowd with his head down and not saying a word, and said awkwardly, "Hehehe, it's pretty good."

Fang Xingzhi pulled Nie Tianlei aside and introduced him, saying, "This is Master Bai, and that is one of my students, Shen Kuo."

They all nodded slightly, as if to say hello.

After a pause, Fang Xingzhi patted Nie Tianlei on the shoulder and said, "You've worked hard these past two days, you've done a good job."

He knew everything that happened yesterday. If Nie Tianlei hadn't stabilized the situation, the workshop would probably have had a hard time starting operations today.

Four maids were led into the kitchen to help, and the men in the room also went into the kitchen on their own initiative.

Li Ruru and her three daughters sat steadily in their chairs, chatting and eating sunflower seeds.

Bai Lu chattered away with Li Ruru for a long time, then suddenly turned her head and found three men staring at them.

Neither Magistrate Chu, Master Bai, nor Shen Kuo had ever seen a household where the man cooked and the woman was so elegant.

But for Li Ruru, all of this seemed quite natural. "Well, you two talk," Magistrate Chu said, wanting to have a good talk with his son and clear up the misunderstanding, so he went to the kitchen to find Chu Xiu.

Shen Kuo also went to find Fang Xingzhi.

Only Master Bai sat beside Bai Lu, smiling as he watched his daughter chatter incessantly.

He was even a little relieved that his daughter didn't have to work in the kitchen, otherwise he would have had to go there to find her.

The men are all busy in the kitchen; if he goes there, he'll have to cook too.

In Bai Yuanwai's view, cooking was something women should do, and had nothing to do with him, a grown man.

The men in the kitchen had clear divisions of labor: some peeled garlic, some washed vegetables, some chopped vegetables, and some tended the pots. Everything was busy yet well-organized.

Today, Chu Xiu is in charge of cooking. He has learned to cook simple dishes by following Li Ruru's example.

He tied himself to the wall, holding a shovel in one hand and pouring shredded potatoes into the pot with the other, constantly stirring them.

The magistrate of Chu County walked into the kitchen and saw this scene. He was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of his head.

"You...you can actually cook?"

Chu Xiu was busy and didn't have time to pay attention to him, so he said indifferently, "Is this difficult?"

Seeing that his father was standing still, he said irritably, "Don't just stand there, go pick some scallions from the yard."

Knowing that he had arrested Li Ruru and that his son harbored a grudge, Magistrate Chu eagerly offered to help.

He walked around the yard, looking at the lush green vegetable patch, but couldn't tell which ones were scallions.

Finally, he picked some chives and came back. "Is this it?"

Xiao Yishan took the chives from his hand, then silently put them aside and said, "I'll go instead."

Soon, Xiao Yishan returned with scallions, quickly washed them, cut them into sections, and sprinkled them into the pot.

Chu Xiu quickly stir-fried the food a few times, and Nie Tianlei casually placed a pink carved plate next to him.

The three worked together seamlessly, clearly indicating they had done this kind of work quite often.

The steaming hot shredded potatoes were ready, leaving Magistrate Chu dumbfounded.

Shen Kuo was assigned to peel garlic. He used a knife for a while and his teeth for a while before he was able to peel out two cloves.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said embarrassedly, "This...this garlic is quite hard to peel."

The four maids, having nothing to do but assist on the side, secretly chuckled upon hearing Shen Kuo's words.

Chu Xiu's second dish was also ready. The blanched lotus root slices were rinsed in cold water, drizzled with vinegar, sugar and salt, and then sprinkled with chopped green onions and sesame oil. It looked both green and tender.

Seeing that the maids were idle, he said, "You girls teach these two idiots a lesson."

The magistrate of Chu County and Prefect Shen were called idiots, but instead of getting angry, they started to study them seriously.

A maid said, "You have to use your fingernails to peel garlic. Just pry it off like this, then pry it off again, and it's done."

Shen Kuo studied diligently and quickly peeled several cloves of garlic.

Looking at the white and tender garlic in his hand, a sense of pride welled up within him.

Hehe, he learned how to peel garlic today. He bet no one can learn it faster than him.

In the courtyard, another maid was teaching Magistrate Chu to identify vegetables: "This hollow one is a scallion, the one with thick, flat leaves is chives, and that one over there is garlic sprouts..."

Magistrate Chu took it to heart. Fang Xingzhi walked in carrying a bucket of water in his left hand and a large piece of pork on his right shoulder.

The pig had just been slaughtered by Chen, the butcher in the village, and hadn't been processed yet; it was still dripping blood.

Shen Kuo hurriedly came forward, "Master, let me do it, how can you do these things?"

He remembered that his master loved cleanliness and couldn't stand these oil stains and bloodstains.

When Magistrate Chu saw that Prefect Shen was actually calling a little old man "Master," he couldn't help but ask tentatively, "May I ask this old gentleman's name?"