Chapter 12: Roast Pig
As a regular customer of this restaurant, Qiao Rubai’s timing was indeed “good.” The food arrived just as they did. It was just a little too precise… Qiao Rubai glanced at Ji Junxin, whose face was getting redder and redder, and sighed slightly. As expected, even back at this point in time, this person’s mind was still so pure. It was just being overheard talking about someone behind their back, and it was even praise, what was the big deal? If it were Yang Lianyi, after being overheard by the person in question, she might even tease them a few more times, making them blush and want to find a hole to hide in before possibly letting them go. It wouldn’t be like this person beside her.
“You’re here, come in and sit down. The food just arrived, it’s the best time to eat. Where are Director Pan and Xiaoxiang?” Had those two spaced out long enough… Qiao Rubai couldn’t bear to watch any longer and had to speak up to break the awkward atmosphere.
Mi Hongdou was the first to recover. She cleared her throat, “It wasn’t easy to park downstairs, so they dropped me off and asked me to come up and let you know. They’ll be here soon.” As she spoke, she stepped inside, but soon, her legs felt as heavy as lead.
Qiao Rubai had booked a private room with a large round table that could comfortably seat eight people. Qiao Rubai and Ji Junxin were sitting together, occupying the two seats facing the door. There were six seats left… Should she sit near the door or further inside? Theoretically, she wasn’t very familiar with Qiao Rubai yet. Mi Hongdou involuntarily drifted towards Ji Junxin’s direction. No, wait, she shouldn’t be considered acquainted with Ji Junxin yet. It wouldn’t be good to sit so close, especially after that awkward incident just now… Mi Hongdou awkwardly turned her toes towards Qiao Rubai, but she really wanted to sit next to Ji Junxin, so her body turned in the opposite direction… It was only a short distance from the door to the round table, so Mi Hongdou had to sit down quickly no matter how conflicted she was.
“Oh, the food is here! Hello, President Qiao, hello, Sister Ji, what are we eating today?” Pan Xiang sniffed the air and squeezed in through the door, taking the lead and sitting next to Ji Junxin. “Oh, salted pork and vegetable rice, looks delicious! Xiaomi, come and eat! If Grandpa gets here first, he can eat five bowls by himself, and you won’t get any.”
The seat she wanted the most but couldn’t sit in was taken. Mi Hongdou was relieved and sat down next to Pan Xiang. But why was Ji Junxin “Sister Ji,” and she was “Xiaomi”? Even though you’re the Fragrance Master, you’re still younger than me! Call me Sister Mi! Sister Mi, okay! Mi Hongdou complained silently and saw that Ji Junxin, who had been blushing and embarrassed, had recovered after Pan Xiang’s interruption. She was now smiling and patting the little girl’s head: “You, talking about your grandfather behind his back again. When he comes, I’ll tell him and let him eat your share.”
As Ji Junxin was speaking, she caught Mi Hongdou looking at her from the corner of her eye and immediately remembered that she had also been talking about someone behind their back and had been caught red-handed. The blush that had just faded crept back onto her cheeks…
“Aiya, President Qiao is treating us, so there’s definitely enough. Even if Grandpa eats five bowls, we can still have the sixth bowl.” Pan Xiang was sharp-eyed after all. As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Director Pan at the door and quickly added, “Besides, being able to eat is a blessing. My grandma likes it when Grandpa eats more, it’s good to eat more!”
“Hmph.” Director Pan flicked his sleeves, came in, and randomly chose an empty seat. “Did your grandma really say that?”
Pan Xiang stuck out her tongue and stood up to distribute the food to everyone.
The most common clay pot rice dishes were preserved meat, pork ribs, and chicken. Fresher ingredients like eel and bullfrog could also be used. As for salted pork and vegetable rice, it was usually stir-fried in restaurants. Making it in a clay pot was uncommon. Moreover, clay pot rice was usually served with soup, but this was served with steamed egg, which was also rare. Mi Hongdou, even counting her previous life, had never been to this restaurant before, so she felt it was quite novel.
Diced salted pork, chopped green vegetables, and crystal-clear white rice were evenly mixed together. At first glance, it looked a lot like salted pork and vegetable fried rice, but as soon as you smelled it, the unique charred aroma of the clay pot would clearly distinguish the two. Everyone started eating. Mi Hongdou picked up her spoon and tasted a spoonful of rice. The rice had absorbed the juices of the meat and vegetables, yet it was still firm and not mushy, with a great texture. Even just the rice itself was already delicious, and combined with the savory salted pork and vegetables, it was even more fragrant and flavorful, a delightful surprise! After a spoonful of rice, she scooped from the bottom of the pot, along the sides, and dug out a spoonful of golden crispy rice. This was the essence of clay pot rice, the crispy fragrance that could only be achieved with this cooking method, simply addictive. It was incredibly delicious… Compared to the clay pot rice, the steamed egg in the small bowl next to it seemed a bit ordinary. At first glance, it was just pure steamed egg, without any minced meat or seafood. Eating clay pot rice could make you thirsty. Without soup, the steamed egg had to suffice. She took a spoonful, and as expected, it was pure egg. But when she put it in her mouth, she was stunned. There was no eggy smell, it was a little salty, and a little savory. Pressing it with her tongue, the saltiness and savoriness brought out the fragrance of the egg, not only quenching her thirst, but also relieving her fatigue. The smooth, pudding-like texture made her feel relaxed after a long day. Looking at the clay pot rice next to it, she felt like she could conquer more!
This combination of clay pot rice and steamed egg was much more delicious and satisfying than a table full of delicacies elsewhere. Qiao Rubai, who used to just wait for her and Ji Junxin to discover delicious food, had become so proactive after her rebirth. Mi Hongdou tasted the food and secretly glanced at Ji Junxin. As expected, she was eating with a look of enjoyment, a picture of happiness.
So good… Mi Hongdou’s gaze softened. This was the Ji Junxin she was familiar with. In her previous life, Ji Junxin also looked like this when she ate delicious food, but now she seemed even happier. If getting hurt would make her mature, then let her continue to have this simple and innocent happiness.
Mi Hongdou, imitating Ji Junxin, scraped all the crispy rice from the bottom of the pot and mixed it with the rice. One bite, and the soft yet firm rice mixed with the crispy rice was incredibly fragrant. This was Ji Junxin’s habit of eating clay pot rice, and Mi Hongdou also liked it very much.
The portions of both the clay pot rice and steamed egg here weren’t large, just a few bites each. Except for Director Pan, who was finishing his fourth serving, everyone else was full after two servings. Mi Hongdou noticed Ji Junxin secretly glancing at Director Pan and instinctively felt that she wasn’t full yet. It was the same in her previous life. Ji Junxin ate a lot, especially when she encountered delicious food, she would be a bit… ahem… According to Mi Hongdou’s estimation, Ji Junxin could still eat another bowl, but perhaps because there were strangers present, she didn’t let loose.
When they were leaving, Pan Xiang said that the clay pot rice wouldn’t taste good reheated the next day, so she didn’t pack any, only taking several servings of steamed egg. Qiao Rubai, however, packed a serving of clay pot rice and steamed egg. Director Pan said he would drop Mi Hongdou off first. Before getting into the car, Mi Hongdou turned around to say goodbye to Qiao Rubai and Ji Junxin, but she happened to see Qiao Rubai stuffing the packed food into Ji Junxin’s hands, giving her a “you know what I mean” smile. Mi Hongdou’s good mood, which had been lifted by the delicious food, suddenly plummeted.
In her previous life, it was always Mi Hongdou who would notice that Ji Junxin wasn’t full, secretly pack some food, and give it to her. Now that Qiao Rubai had done it, Mi Hongdou felt inexplicably unhappy… Shouldn’t this kind of thing be done by a die-hard fan? What was a childhood friend doing interfering?
So, Qiao Rubai sneezed all the way home, also feeling a little unhappy. Of course, not just because she had been sneezing inexplicably all day. She had originally planned to invite Mi Hongdou out for dinner tonight to let her and Ji Junxin get acquainted. But before they even started eating, the two of them became awkward and didn’t talk to each other during the meal. Pan Xiang chatted with them a lot, but what was the use? And what Ji Junxin said, could Mi Hongdou have a boyfriend at this time? In her previous life, it was only after Mi Hongdou was signed to Qiong Yu six years later, and Qiao Rubai discovered that she was Ji Junxin’s hidden fan, that they became close. Whether Mi Hongdou had a boyfriend now, Qiao Rubai really didn’t know. But Qiao Rubai, based on her experience in her previous life, knew that Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin would get along, so she thought that if she introduced them early, maybe Ji Junxin would be busy playing with her new friend and wouldn’t be deceived by Jiang Duo. She had originally planned that if Ji Junxin was destined to like women, Mi Hongdou might be a good choice. But now it seemed that Mi Hongdou had a boyfriend, so her feelings for Ji Junxin might just be those of a simple fan, a simple friend, with no further possibilities.
Mi Hongdou, who was unhappy because she couldn’t give her goddess extra food, didn’t know that her biggest supporter might be abandoning her.
The next day, the crew of “Imperial Secrets” didn’t have any scenes for Mi Hongdou because it was the first day of filming for “Divorce, So Be It.” Incense burning, firecrackers, unveiling the camera, group photos, and of course, the indispensable roast pig…
On the set of “Imperial Secrets,” they could faintly hear the sound of firecrackers in the distance. They knew that another crew was starting filming.
“I wonder which crew is starting filming. There should be roast pig, right?” Lu Gaoshi, nearly forty years old, was Ji Junxin’s manager. She had been with Ji Junxin since her debut, and they were very familiar with each other. Hearing the firecrackers, she couldn’t help but tease Ji Junxin, “I wonder which restaurant’s roast pig they ordered. When we started filming, the one President Qiao got was really delicious, wasn’t it?”
When “Imperial Secrets” started filming, the roast pig Qiao Rubai brought was a “crispy-skinned suckling pig,” which was crispier than the usual “smooth-skinned suckling pig.” Ji Junxin liked it very much, but there were too many people at the opening ceremony, and the pig wasn’t big, so everyone only got a small bite. Two weeks later, Ji Junxin couldn’t resist her craving for roast pig and asked Qiao Rubai to get one for her to eat at home. Now that Lu Gaoshi mentioned it, she couldn’t help but glare at her: “It’s that ‘Divorce, So Be It,’ right? Our little empress also has a role in that. You know whether that suckling pig is delicious or not. It’s not like you weren’t among those who went to my house to eat the other suckling pig…” Although she said that, hearing the firecrackers, Ji Junxin felt a craving for roast pig again.
Lu Gaoshi had been with Ji Junxin for so long, how could she miss the small action of her lightly licking her lips? Seeing that she had sufficiently teased her, Lu Gaoshi excused herself to go to the restroom and left.
Ji Junxin closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, wanting to take a nap before her scenes started. She had finished another serving of clay pot rice and steamed egg last night. Perhaps because she ate too late, she felt a little bloated and didn’t sleep well. She didn’t eat breakfast when she woke up, and now that roast pig was mentioned, she was really hungry.
Speaking of roast pig, Ji Junxin seemed to smell roast pig. She had only skipped one breakfast, could she be hallucinating from hunger? She sniffed, it smelled so good… Ji Junxin opened her eyes and saw Mi Hongdou touching the empty chair opposite her.
“You… hello, my name is Mi Hongdou, Mi as in rice, Hongdou as in red bean. Cough…” Mi Hongdou was startled by Ji Junxin’s sudden opening of her eyes and quickly straightened up, but she couldn’t even speak properly.
“Hello, we met yesterday.” Ji Junxin didn’t dare to think about the embarrassing incident of being caught talking about someone behind their back yesterday. She would blush just thinking about it, there was no helping it. “Isn’t it the first day of filming for your TV series today? What are you doing here…”
“Oh, oh, I left something yesterday, I came back to look for it.” Mi Hongdou didn’t wait for Ji Junxin to continue and quickly took out a greaseproof paper package. “They’re starting filming over there today. They cut a huge roast pig, do you want some?”
“No…” When you want a pillow, you get a pillow, and when you want roast pig, you get roast pig. It was such a coincidence that Ji Junxin was a little surprised.
Before Ji Junxin could finish her refusal, Mi Hongdou took out another greaseproof paper package of about the same size from her other hand, with a troubled look on her face: “But there weren’t many people at our opening ceremony, and I got two servings, I can’t finish them all by myself. Can you help me eat one? I heard it was ordered by President Qiao, it’s very delicious.” As she said that, she held out the first package a little further.
The unique aroma of roast pig wafted from the greaseproof paper package… Ji Junxin’s stomach growled slightly, and she lightly licked her lips.
No, I can’t. She ate two bowls of rice yesterday. She should be able to finish two servings of meat by herself. I must refuse. Ji Junxin thought this, then slowly reached out her hand…
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