Chapter 113: Eat, Sleep, and Beat the Beans

Ke Zhuila led everyone into the house.

“No need to change shoes. You’ve all had a tiring day—come in and sit down.”

The room was lit by bright lights, with simple yet exquisite renovations. A long row of photo frames hung on the living room wall, filled with countless people and scenes. Without thinking too closely, one might mistake it for a photo studio.

“Can I ask… was that mountain we went to today also part of your family’s land?” Gu Yue asked. She had spotted someone herding cattle to graze in the photos on the wall, though she wasn’t entirely sure.

Ke Zhuila nodded. “It is. We’ve even planted fruit trees and vegetables up there, and we stocked that stream with fish fry.”

Tang Qi chimed in, “No wonder there were cabbages on that mountain. I was wondering how there could be wild cabbages to pick.”

“What? That whole mountain is basically your family’s super-sized vegetable garden? So we’ve been busting our asses in a veggie patch all day!” You Hui exclaimed.

Ke Zhuila scratched her head sheepishly.

Hearing this, Lu Nan felt relieved that she had released the small fish instead of catching them and gone for the bigger ones instead. Those little fish were the family’s fry, after all.

Just imagine bringing back a basket of fish fry—the hosts might faint on the spot.

That had been a close call.

…

After chatting for a while, it was time for dinner. Ke Zhuila stood up.

“I’ll go make dinner then? Is there anything anyone doesn’t eat?”

“I’ll do it!”

“Me too…”

Everyone started vying with Ke Zhuila for the kitchen.

Ke Zhuila said helplessly, “Let me…”

Xia Zhengyun declared, “I’ll do it.”

The people nearby headed straight for the kitchen. Gu Yue called out, “You sit down.”

The others chimed in one after another, all saying more or less the same thing: “We’ll handle it. How could we let you cook for all of us alone?”

The scene turned into a deadlock for a moment.

Lu Nan and Song Wenwei exchanged a glance and squeezed into the kitchen first. The kids had sorted the ingredients: seafood was in the kitchen, while vegetables and fruits were in the yard.

“I’ll handle the fish—one half for fish soup, the other half for braised fish,” Lu Nan said.

“Then I’ll take the shrimp and crabs outside.”

“Sounds good.”

Song Wenwei scooped up the seafood already in basins and weaved through the crowd, stooping low.

“Don’t push me—I’ve got stuff in my hands.”

“Let me, let me.”

Tang Qi’s slender frame was squeezed in the middle of the group, unable to get a word in.

“I want in too,” Gu Yue said.

Song Wenwei shot back, “Go to the side. There are veggies over there—go pick them.”

Gu Yue nodded. Nearby, Mo Zhiting promptly dragged over a small stool, placed it by the vegetable basket, and sat quietly picking greens. Xia Yubing followed suit, picking vegetables too.

No longer needed here, Gu Yue turned around to find the spot next to Song Wenwei—where she’d just been told to go—suddenly occupied by two people.

Damn it!

Gu Yue could only grudgingly haul the bucket of dates by the door.

As she bent to lift it, she locked eyes with the bewildered Tang Qi.

Tang Qi caught on immediately and hurried over. “I’ll help you!”

…

Lu Nan tapped along the wall, where a row of hooks held four aprons. She picked one—a light pink one with some oil stains. Staring at the deadly color scheme, she fell into thought.

She shook out the apron. This pairing should be fine, right?

It’d look good, wouldn’t it? Fashion was all about the face carrying it, after all. Lu Nan nodded to herself. Definitely good-looking. There was that saying about a beauty in the eye of the beholder.

Even stiff, drab clothes on her gained a splash of eye-catching color, bright yet oddly off-putting.

Tang Qi passed behind her to grab a basin for washing dates. Her eyes caught a pink figure, and she paused. What was that?

A big pink rat scurried by?

She turned back— it was Lu Nan. She looked again.

So weird. One more glance.

Tang Qi thought to herself: What was this? Ugly but kinda good-looking. What was Ice Cube doing with her face? Some new outfit trend…?

Her sense of style was seriously lacking.

Gu Yue stood at the door, shaking her head. She said bluntly, “Eye-searing. Truly eye-searing. Weren’t there other aprons? Why’d you pick this one?”

“Because it looks good, of course.” Under her increasingly puzzled gaze, Lu Nan asked weakly, “Does this pairing really look that bad?”

Everyone: “???”

Why don’t you look at yourself?

“You think it looks good?” Gu Yue’s expression turned panicked as she waved her hands. “Promise me—don’t style your own clothes anymore, okay?”

Tang Qi nodded silently behind them, thinking: +1, say more.

Lu Nan nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely keep styling my own outfits.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask—you wore these same pants yesterday too, right? You…”

Lu Nan tugged at her pants. “They’re not the same. Can’t you tell? I have five pairs like this. This is the second one, and I’ve got another in my bag. Want to see?”

Gu Yue: “…No need.”

“No taste.”

Song Wenwei’s hands trembled as she deveined shrimp. She ducked her head, stifling a laugh. Lu Nan was the same as ever—her fashion sense needed work.

Fish scales flew everywhere in the kitchen.

Lu Nan channeled her fashion failure into cooking motivation.

Ke Zhuila asked from the doorway, “Can you handle it? There are so many fish. I know how to gut them too—let me help.”

Gu Yue glanced inside, blocking the eager Ke Zhuila. “Don’t worry, she can manage alone. Lu Nan’s been gutting fish at the big supermarket for over a decade—her heart’s as cold as her knife.”

Lu Nan held up a fish and asked her, “Does Lu Nan herself know about this?”

Ke Zhuila’s lips curved. Their group interactions were so fun.

While fish were being gutted here, Song Wenwei, Xia Zhengyun, and Ren Bahai deveined shrimp and cleaned crabs over there. Mo Zhiting and Xia Yubing silently squatted by the kitchen door, picking vegetables.

“I didn’t expect you to pitch in voluntarily. Your germaphobia cured?” Xia Yubing asked.

She’d always clashed with the Mo family and seized every chance to poke at him.

Mo Zhiting glanced at her. “I didn’t expect you’d chase all the way here either. How’s it taste?”

“You talk more now. You looked better before.”

“You too.”

Xia Yubing nodded. “Same to you.”

Mo Zhiting: “You’re more long-winded. Picked up something new?”

He’d heard she had strong learning ability but poor social skills—except with her stepsister Xia Zhengyun, of course.

“Yeah, learned something new.” Xia Yubing narrowed her eyes.

Only love lasts forever. What was love? Song Wenwei had said even momentary mutual liking counted.

Mo Zhiting sneered coldly but said no more.

Something new?

More like new ways to torment people.

He glanced up subtly at the woman deveining shrimp nearby. She looked nothing like the deranged figure locked in the hospital.

He recalled how Xia Yubing had overruled everyone to commit her, citing sudden mental illness.

She’d been confined there for years, force-fed meds annually. She only emerged for New Year; at school, she was lively, but post-hospital, her banquet-ready personality vanished, leaving her wooden.

Fresh out, she barely lasted months in entertainment before getting entangled again.

He stared a bit too long, and Xia Zhengyun—sensitive to gazes—grew inexplicably irritated.

She looked up, their eyes meeting. It wasn’t Xia Yubing’s loathsome face, but another.

Xia Zhengyun didn’t remember much from before. She just felt Mo Zhiting was familiar, yet couldn’t place him.

Seeing her look over, Mo Zhiting nodded at her. As kids, they were both proud; fights ended without apologies, just nods like this—though he knew she no longer remembered.

As long as his friend lived safely, memories didn’t matter.

Xia Zhengyun nodded lightly back.

…

Everyone prepped the ingredients, and ten people worked much faster than one. Soon, tasks were done.

They discussed the menu.

Song Wenwei: “Lu Nan said half the fish braised, half in soup—so those two dishes are set?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Tang Qi raised her hand. “I’ll stir-fry. I saw lean pork in the fridge—cabbage with pork stir-fry.”

Gu Yue chimed in too. She and Tang Qi had tidied the area earlier; now she wanted to contribute, terrified of those online haters.

“I’ll make spicy sour crabs—super tasty, goes with two bowls of rice.”

“I’ll do lotus root boxes,” Ren Bahai volunteered.

Yi Xiao wasn’t outdone. “Green beans with ribs.”

Xia Zhengyun: “Eggplant with ground pork.”

“White blanched shrimp,” Mo Zhiting said.

Everyone called out dishes, assigning tasks in a flash.

The two who hadn’t spoken yet watched as ingredients vanished.

Xia Yubing couldn’t think of any dish—she’d never cooked; home had maids.

You Hui was still pondering when he realized nothing was left.

“Huh???”

Yi Xiao patted his shoulder. “Easy—wash dishes.”

You Hui wailed to the heavens: “Nooo!”

Ke Zhuila pointed around, counting heads, then scooped rice into the cooker—one scoop after another.

“A bit more rice… over ten people, this rice isn’t enough…” She added another scoop.

Tasks assigned, they waited for Lu Nan to finish. The kitchen had two stoves for simultaneous cooking. Song Wenwei entered first—soup took time; veggies would finish just right.

Song Wenwei stepped into the kitchen.

Lu Nan had finished gutting; clean fish lay still in the sink.

Lu Nan lifted two fish into hot oil, which crackled loudly.

She wielded the spatula, waiting for them to set, then glanced up as someone entered.

“Perfect timing—taste my handiwork later,” Lu Nan said.

This was her specialty; it’d have people craving seconds.

Song Wenwei turned on the range hood and looked around—no prepped sides.

“Have you cut the chilies and ginger threads yet?” she asked.

No chopping sounds from outside.

“I totally forgot…”

Busy with fish, she’d blanked on it.

Lu Nan fanned the fumes. “How many dishes decided? I’ll do the braised fish first—these are big and tasty.”

Song Wenwei said: “Braised fish, tofu fish soup, blanched shrimp, spicy sour crab, cabbage pork stir-fry, green beans with ribs, lotus root boxes, eggplant with ground pork.”

She paused. “Once you’re done, get out.”

The fish browned crisply. Lu Nan flipped them and asked, spatula raised, “Why? You got a problem with me?”

“One dish per person.”

Lu Nan fell silent. She’d planned to do all the fish, but that’d leave others out.

On a variety show, doing too much or too little drew fire—especially nothing. Others needed to contribute to avoid backlash.

Song Wenwei started chopping the missing sides. Their movements synced; soon, the first dish emerged.

Then another person entered. In less than half an hour, all dishes were ready.

Song Wenwei and Lu Nan—the idlers—joined You Hui and Xia Yubing to serve rice and set tableware.

The scene evoked New Year’s Eve: family gathered for reunion dinner. It had been ages since eating with so many.

At the table, they devoured everything—a rare feast. Otherwise they had to control weight and body fat rate; even sneaking a bite would earn a scolding from the broker if discovered.

Now, no brokers—eat freely, multiple bowls.

“So good…”

“Seconds!”

“Me too—wait!”

“Don’t shove—who pushed me?!”

Ke Zhuila stood stunned, marveling, “Good thing I cooked extra rice.”

After, You Hui and Xia Yubing handled cleanup.

The remaining people went to wash up. There were plenty of bathrooms—excluding the undeveloped fifth floor, there were exactly ten.

Everyone’s backpacks had been placed on the second floor. The second floor had two very long rooms: one for the girls to rest in, the other for the boys.

It was said that this arrangement existed because during family gatherings for the New Year, there weren’t enough beds for all the uncles, aunts, and older sisters who returned home. With so many people and too few rooms, they had no choice but to expand the second-floor rooms so that everyone could sleep together.

Lu Nan pulled out a change of clothes from her bag. She had already taken off her windbreaker. With a hook of her finger, she picked up the bag containing yesterday’s clean clothes.

Everything was ready. The second-floor bathrooms were already occupied, but the first floor was empty, so she could head there to wash up.

Ke Zhuila was folding clothes in one of the first-floor rooms. When Lu Nan saw the clothes, she suddenly remembered that she didn’t have a cloth to wipe her body with—hers had been used at noon to cover the fish and prevent them from escaping, and now it was probably sitting in some trash bin.

Lu Nan approached her and asked, “Do you have any spare cloths? Mine got used to cover the fish…”

Ke Zhuila immediately understood that she needed a cloth to dry off after bathing. She hurriedly said, “Yes, I’ll get one for you. Does anyone else need a cloth?”

The others on the first floor shook their heads.