Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 118 Invitation to dinner

I visited the supply and marketing cooperative and didn't see any special dishes besides some common agricultural products.

Shaking his head slightly, since he couldn't work on the ingredients, Wang Chengpeng could only focus on cooking techniques.

Making delicious dishes with simple ingredients is a real challenge for him.

Fortunately, he had the skill he had accumulated from cooking before, so even if Wang Chengpeng's dishes were not very good, they were still somewhat decent.

After buying some pork, some beef, a fish, some vegetables, and some mushrooms at the town market, Wang Chengpeng finished his shopping for the day.

Then we can go to the village to buy an old hen and some eggs, and easily make a delicious meal.

Of course, he couldn't forget about work, so he went to the scrap yard to get some products that needed repair before riding his bicycle home.

Although he gained nothing today, barely making a few dozen yuan, Wang Chengpeng still felt very fulfilled.
Perhaps he will find a solution to this problem tomorrow.

……

The next day at noon, while taking the time to deliver lunch to her parents, Wang Meiyan rode her bicycle to find An Qiuyun.

With a sweet smile, Wang Meiyan said obediently, "Hello, Sister An."

"My brother said he needs your help with a small thing, so he'd like to invite you to his house for dinner tonight."

"He cooked himself and prepared a lot of delicious food. Just smelling it made my mouth water."

At this point, Wang Meiyan seemed to have thought of something and said:
"Oh, right, Sister Xia, my brother said he wants you to come along too."

The difference between inviting An Qiuyun and making a request to Xia Mingyue is like night and day.

The perfunctory tone of the conversation infuriated Xia Mingyue. What kind of help could An Qiuyun provide, but Xia Mingyue couldn't?

Thinking of this, she looked at An Qiuyun and asked:

"Qiuyun, are you going or not?"

Although somewhat unconvinced, Xia Mingyue was, after all, a well-mannered educated youth. Knowing that the main guest of this invitation was An Qiuyun, she asked for her opinion.

If An Qiuyun doesn't go, then naturally she can't go either.

Cooking it yourself? Lots of delicious food!

Just hearing those two words made An Qiuyun's mouth water.

Those educated youth who were sent down to the countryside knew to keep a low profile, and their meals were only very basic.

Even if they occasionally indulged in some meat, it was always done secretly.

This kind of food was so unbearable for An Qiuyun, a foodie, that she offered Wang Chengpeng a job to cook for her every day.

Now that she heard Wang Chengpeng was going to personally cook lots of delicious food for her, how could she possibly refuse? She immediately patted her chest and said:
"Tell your brother I'll definitely be there on time."

As for offering help, An Qiuyun said that would be something to consider after the meal.

If she really can't help, she can just compensate Wang Chengpeng with some money, as a way to cover his food expenses.

Seeing that An Qiuyun had accepted Wang Chengpeng's invitation, Xia Mingyue naturally wouldn't refuse and readily agreed as well.

That's how easily we decided to have dinner together that evening.

Only after Wang Meiyan's bicycle disappeared from sight did An Qiuyun belatedly realize what was happening and say:

"Mingyue, what do you think Comrade Wang wants to ask me for help with by inviting us over for dinner?"

"Could it be that he regrets it and is now thinking about the job I promised to introduce to him?"

"That's great! I don't have to eat those unpalatable coarse grain buns, cornbread, and pickled vegetables at the educated youth settlement every day anymore." Rolling her eyes, Xia Mingyue said irritably, "Now you're worried about what Comrade Wang needs your help with?"

"You were quicker than anyone else to agree to go out for dinner."

"Based on my understanding of Comrade Wang, it shouldn't be this matter."

"He loves reading so much, his vision can't be limited to being a chef. I guess it must be something else."

"Serves you right for being so talkative. Now look what's happened, others are eyeing your territory!"

Although An Qiuyun and Xia Mingyue did not keep a low profile in Wangjia Village, they were not high-profile either; they seemed to be just average educated youth.

Unfortunately, under the urging of her foodie spirit, An Qiuyun still let it slip.

An Qiuyun pouted and said nonchalantly:
"So what if I'm exposed? I'm not stupid enough to help you with anything just for a meal."

"We'll see what happens when night falls."

Although she spoke lightly, judging from An Qiuyun's performance in the afternoon, she was clearly somewhat distracted.

She wasn't thinking about what to do if Wang Chengpeng made things difficult for her; instead, she was wondering what delicious food she could have for dinner tonight.

Soft, tender, and sweet braised pork?

Sweet and sour scrambled eggs with tomatoes?

Or perhaps a tangy and appetizing stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar?
……

Wiping away the tears that had betrayed her, An Qiuyun felt that even if hell lay ahead, she had to go.

With the blessing of some unknown force, the two felt more energetic while working and quickly finished their work for the day.

Since it was a meal at someone else's house, unlike the sharing during lunch break, the two decided to go home and change their clothes before going.

The educated youth settlement wasn't very close to where the two worked, and they also had to go to Wang Chengpeng's house. By the time they saw Wang's courtyard, it was already getting dark.

However, even the approaching darkness could not stop the fragrance from spreading.

Even from a distance, the two could see the smoke rising from Wang Chengpeng's house and the extremely enticing aroma.

An Qiuyun's discerning palate allowed her to quickly pinpoint the source of the aroma, prompting her to exclaim in surprise:
"This aroma is something only a fully cooked old hen can have; it's just too fragrant and too rich."

"Not only that, there was also a strong pork aroma, which clearly showed that Comrade Wang had prepared quite a lot of dishes."

In the countryside, slaughtering a chicken is considered a great honor, and with so much meat and vegetables to go, An Qiuyun hesitated, muttering to herself:

"Such a lavish feast, could this be a trap? Will Comrade Wang make some unreasonable demands of me later?"

After only a moment's hesitation, An Qiuyun made up her mind and said, "Even if this is a trap, I have to go."

"I absolutely cannot tolerate running away when I'm about to get such a delicious meal. That's not me, that's definitely not me!"

Looking at the unruly An Qiuyun, Xia Mingyue subconsciously rubbed her forehead.

My best friend, who went to the countryside with me, is great in every way, except that she easily loses control when it comes to food.

It would be fine if it were just ordinary food, but when she encounters a master chef like Wang Chengpeng, she easily loses her temper.

Fortunately, the person I'm about to face is Wang Chengpeng. As a fellow book lover, he probably wouldn't do anything to take advantage of my kindness.

Thinking this, Xia Mingyue followed An Qiuyun's steps and decisively walked towards the Wang family's courtyard.

(End of this chapter)