America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

At noon, he met Stan Lee, who chuckled and put his sunglasses on Li Qun's face.

With the addition of sunglasses, Stan Lee was very satisfied with Li Qun's portrayal of the assassin Leon.

"Here you go, Stan Lee."

“I have a lot of sunglasses at home, and I think I can give you a pair of round-framed sunglasses,” Stan Lee said.

Round-framed sunglasses?

Li Qun imagined himself wearing round-framed sunglasses, looking like a blind artist playing the erhu under a pedestrian bridge, waiting for tips.

"No need, Stan Lee, thank you for your kindness."

"Don't reject me, you'll like me." Stan Lee simply smiled and walked away.

Li Qun, Peter, and Gwen met at a table in the corner of the dining hall, as always.

"Wow, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now, but so many people have tried to talk to you today."

Gwen opened her insulated lunchbox and spread the food and rice on the table.

The three of them set off in their lunchboxes, making lunchtime in the school cafeteria look like a lavish banquet.

"I've brought the horror movie I'm going to watch tonight; it's in my closet."

“I bet there’s a movie in it called ‘Léon: The Professional’,” Gwen joked.

"No, it's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street,' have you guys seen it?"

Peter moved his mouth and shook his head.

“I think I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t seen it,” Gwen said.

“That’s great, we all have a brand new brain that we’ve never seen before,” Li Qun said.

"Leon, why did you bring this pot of mint to school?" Gwen asked curiously.

"I'm going to your house tonight, so I won't go home after school. I'll go straight to your house and prepare dinner for you while I'm at it."

"Leon, you can cook?" Gwen asked, somewhat surprised.

“This might sound like racist, but in Aurora, most boys and adult men can cook; we are the head chefs in our families,” Li Qun told Gwen.

"Wow, my dad started cooking for me after my mother passed away."

"The taste... isn't as good as what I make myself," Gwen remarked softly.

"Peter, can you cook?"

“I’m… learning,” Peter Parker replied, swallowing the food in his mouth.

"What are you going to cook for us tonight?" Gwen asked.

"Just some ordinary home-style dishes from Zhen Dan," Li Qun replied.

"I'll wait and see."

George Stacy was very supportive of Gwen inviting Peter and Lillian over to their home. He was also looking forward to watching a horror movie with the children and had bought lots of snacks to keep at home.

Gwen and her father George lived in a small apartment, which was small but fully equipped and decorated very warmly.

"Do I need to take off my shoes before entering?" Li Qun asked, standing at the door of Gwen's house.

“Take off your shoes? We don’t need to take off our shoes in our house. Please come in.” Gwen invited Li Qun and Peter into the house.

“At Li Qun’s house, you have to take off your shoes. I felt a little uncomfortable when I went to their house. When Li Qun came to my house, he asked Aunt Mei the same question. Aunt Mei thought it was a very good habit, and now Uncle Ben and I change into slippers as soon as we get home,” Peter told Gwen.

“Only when you get home and take off your shoes can you truly relax,” Li Qun explained to Gwen.

“That makes me want to try it too,” Gwen smiled.

"Gwen, you really need to give it a try."

Where is the kitchen?

"Over there."

Li Qun entered the kitchen carrying her handbag, and Gwen tried it on, taking off her shoes and putting on her bunny slippers.

Peter stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Li Qun work inside.

Li Qun studied the equipment in Gwen's kitchen and quickly got the hang of using it.

The ingredients for dinner were prepared in advance; entering Gwen's kitchen only required a few final steps.

Heat the pan, put the food in, remove it from the pan, plate it, and serve.

The potted mint was naturally intended for cooking, and Liqun used scissors to cut off two-thirds of it.

Cola chicken wings, mint fried pork ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

"Why did you bring a rice cooker with you?" Gwen was surprised. She didn't expect that Li Qun's handbag contained a small 2L rice cooker.

"Is Uncle George almost home?" Li Qun asked.

"almost."

They had just finished asking the question when they heard the door open; George Stacy had come home.

Sheriff George was a little unaccustomed to seeing so many people suddenly in his house.

Chapter 33 The Ultimate Essence of Chinese Cuisine

"Dad, you've come back just in time!"

"Uncle George, look at the camera!"

Standing at her doorstep, George Stacy was caught off guard by Peter's flash of light. Peter Parker was quite pleased with the photo he had just taken.

"I almost thought I was being attacked."

"Remember to turn off the flash next time."

George smiled and pointed at Peter from a distance, and Peter quickly apologized.

The lighting in the small apartment was poor, so Peter had to turn on the camera's flash when taking pictures.

Gwen led George to the dining table and showed him several home-style dishes that Li Qun had prepared.

"Clang clang~!"

Wow, you ordered takeout?

The plating, reminiscent of Michelin-starred restaurant dishes, made each dish look beautiful on the porcelain plate. The Maillard reaction aromas were intoxicating, and the warm yellow lighting filled them with anticipation for dinner.

"I'll take the picture!"

Peter flashed the camera a few more times at the dining table, preserving Li Qun's work on film as if it were a work of art.

Liqun offers two options for dinner: hot rice and toast.

Anyone want a drink?

George opened the refrigerator and saw that the three children were nodding. He gave each of them a can of Coke and chose a can of wheat juice for himself.

The four of them sat down at the table, and George began the pre-meal prayer ritual. Liqun, imitating Peter and Gwen, bowed his head and listened to George's prayer.

"Alright, let's start eating."

George noticed a pair of chopsticks next to his plate and smiled at Li Qun.

There was a pair of chopsticks next to each person's plate; what a thoughtful person.

George hadn't even considered the problem of not having enough tableware at home.

"I'm pretty good with chopsticks, aren't I?" George picked up his chopsticks and demonstrated his chopstick skills to Li Qun.

“Great,” Li Qun replied with a smile.

George's first bite was of the mint-fried pork ribs he had been eyeing for a long time, and he easily picked up the ribs and placed them on his plate.

"Let me try this whole new way of eating it."

Gwen picked up a slice of bread and spooned the scrambled eggs with tomatoes onto it.

Li Qun's scrambled eggs with tomatoes are sour and salty, and Gwen's first bite opened up a whole new world for her.

"Peter, you guys have to try this, it's so delicious!"

"Really?" Peter copied Gwen's actions and made one for himself.

"It's really delicious, Liqun!"

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Li Qun had already anticipated this scene while baking bread in the kitchen, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Sheriff George abandoned chopsticks and started gnawing on the fried pork ribs like a squirrel. Just as Li Qun was trying out an innovative fusion dish, George had already eaten his third fried pork rib.

George curiously picked up a crispy, fried mint leaf, and without much effort, the mint leaf turned into tiny crumbs on his fingertips.

Spearmint is a plant in the mint genus and has a very refreshing minty aroma, but its taste is not as strong as that of real mint, which puzzled George.

This wasn't the mint he knew.

George put some rice into his plate, then shoveled two spoonfuls of scrambled eggs with tomatoes on top of the rice. Liqun immediately gave Uncle George an approving look when he saw this.

"Gwen, Peter, why don't you try my cola chicken wings?"

"I want to eat this dish one last time."

"Me too."

"What? This pot of chicken wings was made with cola?" George was also a little surprised, interrupting his eating.

Coca-Cola boiled with fried chicken wings—Gwen Peter and Uncle George instinctively thought it was a culinary disaster.

Although cola chicken wings are like the American Chinese food they know, covered with a layer of glistening sauce and sprinkled with white sesame seeds, they are made with cola.

"Peter, if Coke loses its carbonation and bubbles, it's just sweet water. Do you agree?" Li Qun asked Peter.

"Agreed."

"Gwen, what happens to sugar water when it's heated?"

“The caramelization process produces a slightly bitter and nutty sweetness,” Gwen replied.