Chapter 33: Rice Porridge with Eggs
“The porridge is almost ready. Go wash your hands, and we can eat soon.” Mi Hongdou stirred the porridge with a spoon, scooped some up, and slowly poured it back into the pot. The porridge was thick but not too heavy, just right.
Just porridge wasn’t enough. Mi Hongdou turned off the heat and poured the porridge into a large bowl to cool. She took two eggs, washed them, and soaked them in a bowl of cold water. Then, she quickly washed the pot she used for the porridge, filled it with cold water, and put it back on the stove. After a short while, she put the soaked eggs into the pot of cold water, turned on the heat, and started boiling them. At the same time, she inserted a wooden chopstick into the pot and slowly stirred clockwise.
“Why are you stirring it?” Ji Junxin came out after washing her hands and saw that the pot now contained something different.
“To make them look better.” Mi Hongdou said as she sprinkled a small spoonful of salt into the boiling water and continued stirring. “There’s only rice here, so we’ll have boiled eggs with porridge, is that okay?”
“Okay!” Ji Junxin looked at the large bowl, which was a little more than half full of rice porridge. “Are you having some too?”
“It’s all yours, I’ve already eaten.” Mi Hongdou’s hands didn’t stop moving. “I’m almost done here. Why don’t you take the porridge to the coffee table first? Be careful, it’s hot.”
Although the suite had an open kitchen, there was no dedicated dining area. They could only put the food on the coffee table in the living room and eat on the sofa. Naturally, it wasn’t as comfortable as eating at a proper dining table. But Ji Junxin didn’t mind such minor details.
Ji Junxin took a few tissues, wiped the already clean coffee table, folded a few more and placed them on the table as a heatproof mat, and then carried the porridge over.
While they were talking and working, the eggs in the pot were also done. She scooped them out, put them in a bowl of cold water, and after a short while, took them out, placed them on the counter, and peeled them. The aroma of eggs mingled with the scent of rice porridge in the room. Ji Junxin sniffed and quickly followed the smell from the sofa to the kitchen counter.
The peeled, white eggs nestled in Mi Hongdou’s palm. One in her hand, one on the plate. Hmm… Ji Junxin looked at the pot, which now only contained clear hot water. So, just two eggs? Her stomach growled. She felt like she could eat at least ten… The closer she got, the stronger the aroma of eggs. Ji Junxin secretly gulped, feeling both anticipation and a slight disappointment.
But soon, Ji Junxin’s attention shifted from the inadequacy of two eggs to Mi Hongdou’s hand.
Originally, a white, round, and smooth peeled egg nestled in a similarly white, slender, and delicate hand was a pleasing sight. But suddenly, a knife appeared… Before Ji Junxin could react, the knife flashed twice, and the whole egg in Mi Hongdou’s palm was cut into four even wedges.
While boiling, due to the centrifugal force created by the stirring chopstick, the yolk had solidified in the center of the egg. Now, cut like this, the aroma of eggs filled the air. The four wedges, with their slightly runny yolks and whites, were evenly distributed and looked very appealing. Normally, Ji Junxin’s attention would have been completely on the food. But today was different.
“Is your hand okay!” When she ate the egg fried rice that afternoon, Ji Junxin knew that Mi Hongdou had real culinary skills. Cutting the egg so skillfully with her bare hand now, it must not be her first time, she must be confident. But even experts make mistakes! Looking at the white hand holding the egg, Ji Junxin didn’t have time to admire the perfectly boiled egg, her attention completely focused on Mi Hongdou’s hand.
“It’s fine, I always cut them like this.” Mi Hongdou put the cut egg onto the plate, raised her hand, and waved it in front of Ji Junxin. “See, it’s fine.” Then, without waiting for Ji Junxin’s response, she picked up the other egg and cut it twice with the knife.
“…” Okay, after the initial surprise, seeing it again with preparation, the shock was much less. Even so, after Mi Hongdou put the second cut egg onto the plate, Ji Junxin still took her hand and carefully examined her palm before letting go.
Her hand was… touched by her idol? Mi Hongdou’s hand trembled slightly, and she could only use her other hand to reach for the soy sauce bottle. After a moment, she drizzled soy sauce and sesame oil over the eggs. Although her movements were a little slow, she still measured the amounts precisely. The soy sauce landed accurately on the yolks, most of it absorbed by the soft, slightly runny yolks, the rest flowing down the whites onto the plate. Then, a small drop of sesame oil on each wedge, fragrant and flavorful. A plate of still warm boiled eggs was ready.
A bowl of rice porridge with a plate of eggs. Ji Junxin gently stirred the porridge with her chopsticks and secretly glanced at Mi Hongdou, who was washing the pot, feeling a little embarrassed to eat alone. But both the porridge and the eggs smelled so good… Ji Junxin poked the eggs again and sniffed, looking a little pitiful.
When Mi Hongdou, who was focused on washing the pot and knife and quickly cleaned up the kitchen in two minutes, turned around, she saw the plate of untouched eggs, the seemingly unchanged porridge, and Ji Junxin, who looked conflicted and pitiful for some reason.
“Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?” Although the dish was simple, Mi Hongdou was quite confident in her cooking. Why wasn’t Ji Junxin even trying it?
Ji Junxin fidgeted on the sofa. “What did you eat tonight? Are you hungry now? Do you want to get a bowl and eat together?”
Looking at Ji Junxin’s uneasy demeanor, Mi Hongdou suddenly had a flash of inspiration and seemed to understand what she was struggling with. “I had… big plate chicken tonight. The chicken was very tender, and the potatoes were soft and flavorful, spicy, savory, and fragrant. Such a big plate, I ate it all by myself, and also a plate of wide noodles, I mixed them in too.” Mi Hongdou said, spreading her arms to gesture a circle the size of a washbasin. “So, I’m not hungry at all right now. You eat quickly, I’ll go… take a shower.” Mi Hongdou went to the bedroom to get her clothes. It was just right, while Ji Junxin was eating, she could take a shower, avoiding awkwardness for both of them.
Big plate chicken, did she have to describe it so deliciously! Ji Junxin gulped silently. But, you have big plate chicken, and I have big plate chicken’s eggs!
She picked up a wedge of egg, scraped it against the edge of the plate, and put it in her mouth. As expected, it smelled good and tasted even better. The savory soy sauce, the fragrant sesame oil, mixed with the tender, slightly runny egg yolk, it was delicious. The slight saltiness, followed by a mouthful of rice porridge, the two blended perfectly in her mouth, a perfect match! Ji Junxin ate a bite of egg, then a mouthful of porridge, and sighed contentedly, no longer envious of Mi Hongdou’s big plate chicken.
Although she had already showered earlier, she still needed to shower again after cooking. Mi Hongdou, coming out of the bedroom with another set of pajamas, glanced at the living room and saw Ji Junxin’s back as she ate. Only then did Mi Hongdou relax. Heh, big plate chicken… She had actually just eaten a bowl of unappetizing three-delicacy fried rice at the restaurant downstairs… But Ji Junxin was such a foodie, and the food at this hotel was terrible. She should already know that. If she had told the truth, Ji Junxin definitely wouldn’t have given up on her offer to eat together so easily. Although the three-delicacy fried rice wasn’t good, Mi Hongdou, thinking that anything would do, had still eaten quite a bit. So, when she made the late-night snack, she had only planned to make enough for Ji Junxin. Such a small portion, if shared between two people, would definitely not be enough. Mi Hongdou hadn’t expected Ji Junxin to be so considerate at this time, so embarrassed to eat alone that she repeatedly invited her, forcing her to tell a harmless little lie. Fortunately, she only started blushing after returning to the bedroom.
With Ji Junxin in the room, Mi Hongdou showered even more quickly. When she came out, Ji Junxin had just finished eating and was clearing the bowls and chopsticks from the coffee table. Mi Hongdou quickly walked over to help, but Ji Junxin, seeing her, sped up for some reason and picked up the bowls and plates, about to head to the kitchen.
“Let me wash them, you go take a shower, it’s getting late.” Mi Hongdou reached out, wanting to take the dishes.
“No… I’ll wash them.” Ji Junxin clutched the dishes tightly and stepped back.
It was just washing dishes, why was she being so polite? Mi Hongdou instinctively felt that something was wrong… She looked at the dishes in Ji Junxin’s hands. The porridge bowl was completely clean, not even a single grain of rice left. The plate that originally contained the eggs only had a thin layer of soy sauce left. Hmm… she ate very cleanly. Looking at Ji Junxin, who was trying to hide the dishes, Mi Hongdou understood.
She remembered one time in her previous life when they went to a famous restaurant in another city for food. That restaurant specialized in clay pot rice with preserved meats, which were marinated according to the restaurant’s secret recipe. Whether it was preserved chicken, preserved pork, or preserved sausage, it was all delicious. When made into clay pot rice, the oil from the preserved meats seeped into the rice, making it incredibly fragrant. And then the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot, just thinking about it made her mouth water. That day, they arrived a little late and ordered two servings of preserved meat clay pot rice. The rice was indeed delicious, and Mi Hongdou had finished most of hers, leaving only a little bit of the crispy rice that was difficult to scrape from the sides and bottom. At that restaurant, they paid first, then ate. As soon as Mi Hongdou finished eating, Ji Junxin urged her to leave quickly. Mi Hongdou didn’t understand at first and told her not to rush, slowly wiping her mouth. Then Ji Junxin became a little anxious, blushing slightly and whispering, “Let’s go quickly, I ate too cleanly, I’m afraid they’ll laugh at me when they come to collect the dishes.” Mi Hongdou looked closely and saw that Ji Junxin’s black clay pot, which had contained the rice, was completely empty, the black bottom and sides scraped clean. If it weren’t for the layer of oil, it wouldn’t even need washing. Of course, they quickly left after that.
With that experience, how could Mi Hongdou not understand what Ji Junxin was hiding now? She just hadn’t expected that their meeting would be brought forward, and she had gone from being an accomplice to the object of Ji Junxin’s embarrassment. Mi Hongdou suddenly felt a little emotional, but she quickly realized another problem. Since she had eaten so cleanly, could it be that…
Mi Hongdou hesitantly asked tentatively: “Are you… still hungry?”
Ji Junxin, her sore spot poked, froze slightly…
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