Zhenzhen glanced at the vegetables she had planted earlier, feeling satisfied as she left the space, hugging her little brother for a good night's dream.
The next day, she got up early to cook some plain porridge and eggs, then took two potatoes and a Chinese cabbage from the space, intending to stir-fry them for breakfast.
Her brother loved stir-fried shredded potatoes, and Chinese cabbage—well, that was just because she thought it was easy to cook.
At seventeen, Zhenzhen definitely wouldn't know how to cook, but at thirty-one, she could make a few home-style dishes—though as for taste, it was edible, anything more she wouldn't even think about.
Zhenzhen was busy in the kitchen, chopping, washing, tossing the veggies into the pot, when Mengchen came running downstairs, craning his little neck to peek curiously into the kitchen from outside. "Sis, are you cooking?"
"Yep, hurry up and wash up. Breakfast's ready soon."
Mengchen responded, "Okay." Then he left the kitchen to wash up in the restroom by himself.
Zhenzhen added a spoonful of salt to the cabbage, then yelled, "Can you manage on your own?"
Of course he could. Whether now or before, their parents never had much patience—once Mengchen could do things by himself, he always did. He was only three, but he could handle these things completely, just a bit slow. Zhenzhen could understand—kids, after all, their hands and feet are short, everything takes longer.
"I can!" She got Mengchen's reply almost immediately.
Zhenzhen stirred the cabbage in the pot a few times, mixing in the salt, then just took it out—who cares if it's cooked, cabbage can be eaten raw anyway.
The shredded potatoes were the same, add oil, stir-fry a bit, sprinkle some seasoning, splash in some vinegar before serving—done.
Once both dishes were done, Mengchen was still dawdling in the restroom. Zhenzhen carried the food to the living room table and called, "The dishes are ready, how much longer are you going to be?"
"I'm washing my face, almost done." Mengchen's soft and mushy voice sounded a little spoiled.
"Alright, I'll dish out the porridge now." The porridge was still hot, so dishing it out and letting it cool for a bit made it just right.
"Okay."
Zhenzhen, a little worried, planned to check on him in the restroom, but before she could reach it, there was a knock at the gate outside the yard. "Zhenzhen, Chenchen, are you up yet?"
"Auntie, what brings you here?" Zhenzhen quickly ran out to open the gate.
Auntie stepped in almost as soon as Zhenzhen opened the door. "You're all still not up? Have you had breakfast? If not, I'll go buy some for you."
"We're up, I've just finished making breakfast and was about to eat. Auntie, did you have breakfast yet?"
Auntie Mei Yinan paused for a moment, then asked, "You made it? You can cook?"
"Oh Auntie, what are you saying? It's just porridge and two stir-fried dishes, of course I can cook." Zhenzhen sounded relaxed, but Yinan wasn't so convinced—her own kids were a few years older than Zhenzhen, and not only did they refuse to cook, they didn't even like going into the kitchen. Heck, they left their cups for her to wash.
The two went to the living room, and Yinan instantly spotted the two dishes on the table—neither burnt nor mushy, actually looking quite normal.
Zhenzhen asked, "It's still early. Auntie, you probably haven't eaten yet, let's eat together."
"Okay, I haven't eaten yet. Originally I was going to take you out for breakfast anyway, so I'll have some here. Hey, is there enough porridge? If not I'll skip it, I can eat out too."
Zhenzhen went to the kitchen and washed three bowls, answering, "There's plenty—I cooked a big pot." She'd just checked and was worrying about not finishing it herself; porridge wasn't like rice, leftover rice could still be eaten, but leftover porridge was really unappetizing.
Just as she finished, Auntie put down her bag, followed her into the kitchen, and grabbed the job of serving porridge. Zhenzhen had no choice but to wash chopsticks, then started carrying the served porridge out, one bowl at a time.
After the three bowls were set on the table, Mengchen finally shuffled out of the restroom, and seeing Yinan, called out, "Auntie!"
"I was just looking for you, where were you?"
"Washing my face."
"Oh, you did it yourself?" Yinan turned to look at Zhenzhen, who explained, "He won't let me help, insists on doing it himself."
Mengchen nodded, "Yeah, I've grown up, I can do it myself, I've always done it myself before too."
Yinan gazed at the two sensible kids in front of her, feeling a surge of relief—they'd lost their parents, and overnight, they'd grown up.
...
Their breakfast was simple, and Mengchen wasn't picky. He picked up some shredded potatoes and popped them into his mouth, but as soon as he tasted it, his eyes went wide in surprise. Grinning exaggeratedly, he said, "Sis, this is really delicious!"
Yinan was watching Mengchen, worried he'd be picky and refuse to eat, but who'd have thought—even just shredded potatoes could taste this good. Knowing Zhenzhen made it herself and seeing Mengchen's reaction, she realized—this kid sure knew how to sweet-talk.
Yinan casually tried some shredded potatoes herself, and her face immediately mirrored Mengchen's—what's going on, these potatoes tasted incredible! "This is actually really good!"
Yinan tasted some cabbage, then more potatoes. She looked at the dishes—both seemed bland, nothing that would spark appetite, yet they tasted unexpectedly nice. She couldn't believe Zhenzhen was so skilled, though the dishes themselves didn't show much technique—so maybe it was the ingredients themselves. She asked, "Where did you buy these vegetables?"
Zhenzhen hadn't expected Auntie to stay for breakfast, so she hadn't thought up any excuse. But vegetables—well, it's the Market, right? "Just the Vegetable Market next door."
Speaking of the Vegetable Market, Zhenzhen realized another issue—they lived too close to relatives. If she sold vegetables nearby, she'd surely bump into them, and then how would she explain? Looks like selling veggies would need more planning—at least, it definitely couldn't be at the Market next to home.
"These taste great. What does that vendor look like? I'll go buy some later too."
"Just an old grandma, but she doesn't have much on her stand. When I left, she'd nearly sold out. If you go now, probably nothing left."
So, no point trying your luck. Better to just enjoy breakfast.
The three of them were stuffed from breakfast, even knowing the vegetables would taste good ahead of time, Zhenzhen hadn't expected them to taste this amazing. Heaven knows she'd only used the most basic seasonings; with flavors like these, the price of the vegetables would definitely go up.
The three lounged on the couch, rubbing their bellies. After a long while, Auntie finally voiced her real purpose for visiting.
Actually, Auntie just wanted to ask early about their arrangements, which unexpectedly pulled Zhenzhen's thoughts back to the past.
Auntie had also come early that year, but back then, Zhenzhen hadn't felt like making breakfast, and went out with Auntie and her brother for breakfast instead.
Back then, Auntie brought it up while they ate at a breakfast stand—she only remembered her brother cried the whole time; any more details, she couldn't recall.