Zhen Jili could no longer be bothered with idle chatter. Clutching his rumbling stomach, he reached for the food, giving the fine-sounding excuse of helping her "test the seasoning."
Ji Huan moved the plate directly to the chopping block behind her and gestured for him to keep stoking the fire.
Unable to reach it, Zhen Jili stared longingly at the plate.
The pot Dabao was watching contained rice. It had just come to a boil for the third time and was still the consistency of porridge. Ji Huan used a ladle to skim off a container of the starchy rice water, then replaced the lid and told Dabao to keep the fire going.
She washed the wok, added two ladles of water and a spoonful of salt, and brought it to a boil. She cut the soft tofu into thumb-sized strips, blanched them in the boiling water, and removed them. Then, she finely minced the green vegetables.
