Soon, Luo Ning prepared another dish of braised green beans with cured meat and a plate of stir-fried mustard greens. Although they were simple home-cooked dishes, they were presented beautifully and looked incredibly appetizing.
Su Qinglan felt even hungrier just smelling them. "The dishes are ready. Let's take them out to eat."
"Okay," Bo Xiangxiang said, her smile somewhat forced.
Seeing that the dishes Luo Ning made looked better than her own and smelled even more fragrant, she felt upset, but she couldn't show it.
Just then, Tong Jia walked in to help.
"What are you making? We could smell the aroma from outside; it really whetted our appetites." As the host, he was quite good with words.
In truth, a fragrance had indeed drifted into the courtyard, making him feel very hungry.
Bo Xiangxiang avoided his question and replied with a smile, "The food Teacher Luo and I made is ready. You must have smelled the dishes."
Tong Jia chuckled and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
The rice Luo Ning had cooked earlier was also ready, and the group carried the dishes out.
Once the food was served, everyone washed their hands and sat down at the dining table.
Bo Xiangxiang didn't want Ji Xingheng and Lu Xun to know which dishes she had made, so she took the initiative to serve the rice.
She put on a thoughtful smile and said, "Everyone must be hungry after traveling all morning."
Seeing that the rice wasn't burnt and was cooked just right, she felt a pang of frustration.
Everyone was indeed hungry; they took their bowls, offered their thanks, and began to eat.
The aroma of the sauerkraut fish was the strongest, smelling very appetizing.
Chai Jing looked at the two large bowls of sauerkraut fish, unsure which one to start with. "Is there a difference between these two portions? I see one has more chili peppers."
Luo Ning smiled and said, "I wasn't sure if you could handle spicy food, so I made two versions. This one is mild; you can try this, Teacher Chai."
She knew that neither Chai Jing nor Su Qinglan could handle much spice.
Chai Jing felt touched by this. "Alright, I'll try this one first."
He picked up a piece, put it in his bowl, and took a bite. His eyes lit up immediately. He finished the piece, then picked up another.
"Delicious!" As he ate, he gave Luo Ning a thumbs-up. "This is the best sauerkraut fish I've ever had."
"Which other dishes did you make?" His taste buds awakened, he asked out of genuine curiosity.
Luo Ning pointed to the cured meat and the stir-fried mustard greens. "Thank you for the compliment, Teacher Chai. I made those two as well."
"Let me try." He proceeded to taste the other two dishes and then praised them endlessly. "Luo Ning, your cooking is excellent. I think it tastes even better than what you get in restaurants."
Luo Ning had pointed out her dishes, so the remaining ones were naturally Bo Xiangxiang's.
To avoid making Bo Xiangxiang lose face, Chai Jing tasted her dishes as well.
After eating a piece of the boiled meat slices, he started coughing from the spice. He hurriedly gulped down some water and shoveled in a few mouthfuls of rice before he felt better.
The spicy chicken looked very hot, so he didn't touch it. He picked at the tomato scrambled eggs and the tofu with baby cabbage, but the taste was very mediocre.
However, thinking about how the young girl had worked hard for over an hour, he still smiled and said, "Little Bo's cooking is not bad either."
Bo Xiangxiang could only smile and say, "Thank you for the compliment, Teacher Chai."
Then, she watched as Chai Jing buried his head in his bowl, only picking at the dishes Luo Ning had made.
She wasn't truly grateful for the compliment; instead, she felt Chai Jing was too talkative. Why did he have to ask which dishes Luo Ning made?
The live stream comments were very lively at this moment.
[Haha, Teacher Chai says Bo Xiangxiang's cooking is not bad, but his chopsticks are all heading toward Luo Ning's dishes. His words don't match his actions!]
[Teacher Chai got choked by the spice from the boiled meat earlier. It felt like he was struggling; Bo Xiangxiang really didn't consider others when cooking.]
[Watching him eat so happily, Luo Ning's food must taste amazing.]
[Forget Teacher Chai, even I want to eat it just by looking.]
The others also picked up their chopsticks and started eating. Wei Yao and Tong Jia tasted dishes from both, then decisively directed their chopsticks toward Luo Ning's dishes, praising, "This is too delicious!"
Lu Xun never played a persona, and his status was high enough that he didn't need to cater to anyone. Therefore, he didn't touch a single piece of Bo Xiangxiang's cooking, only eating what Luo Ning had made.
Hearing Chai Jing and the others praise Luo Ning's cooking, he felt a bit curious.
After taking a bite, he found the texture was truly excellent. He was surprised that her cooking skills were this good, and then he unconsciously joined the scramble for the food.
Ji Xingheng never hid his personality in the entertainment industry. He was only in the business for fun, so he had always been casual and willful; he wouldn't proactively cater to anyone or the audience.
Bo Xiangxiang's dishes didn't look appetizing, and Luo Ning had long since spoiled his palate, so he also only ate what Luo Ning had made.
Finding that her cooking had improved even further, he sped up his eating.
Su Qinglan only took a token bite of the tomato scrambled eggs and tofu before joining the men in fighting for Luo Ning's dishes. If she were any slower, they would likely be gone.
[These teachers are competing on speed! Watching them scramble for food is so fun; I'm hungry now too.]
[Luo Ning's dishes are so popular; they're almost bottomed out.]
[Just how bad is Bo Xiangxiang's cooking? I noticed the others haven't touched it again after the first bite.]
[This indirectly proves that Luo Ning's cooking must be delicious. I want to join the idols and fight for some too.]
[My idol looks so elegant and handsome while eating.]
[Xing-zai looks so pleasing to the eye while eating.]
[I don't know who said earlier that my Ning-bao wouldn't know how to cook and that rice cooked in a clay stove would burn. I want to ask, does your face hurt now?]
[My face hurts for them; Ning-bao is amazing!]
Watching Lu Xun and Ji Xingheng's choices, Bo Xiangxiang felt nauseated. All her opportunities to perform in front of them had been snatched away by Luo Ning.
Eating without tasting, she turned her thoughts and smiled at Luo Ning. "Teacher Luo, you're really amazing. You even know how to use this kind of old stove, and the food you make is so delicious. I'm just not used to it."
This was an indirect explanation for why her food wasn't as good as Luo Ning's.
Luo Ning knew exactly what she meant, but she had no intention of playing the "understanding big sister" persona to comfort her.
She blinked and said, "Maybe I'm just gifted in this area."
Everyone was surprised she would say that, but they didn't feel repulsed; instead, they found her straightforwardness rather cute.
"You can drop the word 'maybe'," Lu Xun looked up and smiled at her.
Luo Ning took the cue and nodded with a radiant smile: "Alright, then I'll listen to Teacher Lu and drop the 'maybe'."
[Ahhh, Ning-bao's smile is so beautiful.]
[Even though I'm not a fan, I have to say Luo Ning's smile is lethal. I've been charmed.]
[I find Luo Ning a little cute. If it were someone else, they would have pretended to be humble and comforted the other person, but she's so blunt.]
[I just love such unpretentious girls.]
[Yeah, ever since she said she wouldn't ride on Ji Xingheng's popularity, I felt she was very straightforward in her words and actions.]
[I suddenly don't understand why so many people online were calling Luo Ning pretentious before. She seems fine to me!]
[Me too, so it's better to see for yourself.]
Luo Ning's performance just now gained a wave of favor from fans and passersby.
Xing fans watched their idol bury his head in the food Luo Ning made and couldn't bring themselves to scold her, or else they would be slapping their own faces.
Anti-fans tried to stir up trouble, but they were quickly drowned out in the comments. After all, based on her performance, there wasn't much to criticize, and thus, it didn't cause much of a stir.
Today's update is finished. Thank you to the dears who tipped and voted~~
(End of chapter)