Chapter 749: I Want to Eat

Xiaochen waited for Yuan Zhou’s Soaked Rice expectingly. The wait did not last long, however, as the Soaked Rice was also known to be a dish that could be quickly prepared.

“Sister Xiaochen, your Soaked Rice is here. Please enjoy your meal,” said Zhou Jia as she arrived with a tray carrying the dish on it.

“Thank you,” Xiaochen thanked her and helped take the dish off the tray.

“You’re welcome,” Zhou Jia shook his head with a smile.

The Soaked Rice looked just like what its name implied, rice that was soaked. Xiaochen was served a bowl of white rice soaked in water that looked like a bowl of porridge. Also served to her were a glass of water and two candies.

“I’ll eat the rice first,” Xiaochen did not take the appetizing candy first like how she would usually do. Instead, she started eating the rice directly.

In truth, Soaked Rice was not as simple as plain white rice served with plain water. The rice needed to be boiled in water before it could be served.

As for the rice used, it was as Xiaochen had requested – overnight rice. Only when this dish was cooked with overnight rice would it have the taste it was supposed to have.

The water in the bowl was milky white while the grains of rice were sparkling and translucent. A thin layer of steam was floating over the bowl.

“It really looks good,” Xiaochen lamented as she picked up the spoon and started eating.

The spoon she used was a normal chinaware spoon with a purple lotus etched at the middle of the spoon, giving it a delicate and pretty appearance.

When she scooped a spoonful of rice, a gorgeous dot of blue could be seen through the rice. Of course, she did not pay any attention to this and directly stuffed the rice into her mouth.

Soaked Rice was not the same as porridge. Therefore, the grains of rice did not need to be cooked until they were mushy. Hence, the taste of this dish was merely a simple combination of boiled water and plain white rice. Simply put, it was tasteless.

However, this bowl of Soaked Rice prepared by Yuan Zhou was filled with a rich flavor of rice. When it entered one’s mouth, it would bring along a slight scent of sweetness with it.

Clearly, this was the sweetness that spread after the grains of rice were chewed on.

“Hu. Hu.” Xiaochen blew on the hot rice before she continued eating.

Yuan Zhou’s Soaked Rice was pure Soaked Rice with no additional dishes added. Normally, when one made it at home, one would have some cold dishes to go with it. However, Xiaochen did not order anything else. She continued eating. As she ate, her speed increased.

The serving of a bowl of Soaked Rice was rather tiny. Xiaochen did not take long to finish it. After finishing all her food, Xiaochen left.

Ta. Ta. Ta. Xiaochen walked towards her rented apartment. Suddenly, she rubbed her belly and muttered, “I’m still not full.”

Feeling like one hadn’t eaten anything after a meal would be absolutely fatal for a person who was trying to lose weight. As for Xiaochen, not only was she still feeling hungry. The Soaked Rice seemed to have stimulated her appetite, making her feel like having a feast.

She had been very busy at work recently. Therefore, she would be as inactive as a corpse after her working hours. Even on her days off, she would be lying on her bed all day long. The last time she had such a great appetite was when she received a bonus after completing an order.

And the other time she had such a great appetite was when she met her sister who she had not met for a long time. As for the other times… she could no longer recall them. In any case, the only thing she remembered was during the Chinese New Year. At that time, she had quite an appetite when eating the dishes prepared by her mom.

She was even nagged by her mom that that was the reason she couldn’t get a boyfriend. Her mom claimed that she ate as much as a pig, yet she was not as useful as a pig.

Yes, that was her biological mother.

As she walked, Xiaochen started missing her mother. Before she knew it, she had already taken out her mobile phone and was making a call.

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On the screen, the word “Mom” was written. After several rings, the call was answered.

“Why are you calling this late? Did you just get off work?” asked a middle-aged woman. This was Xiaochen’s mom.

“Not really. I just finished my dinner. Have you eaten, mom?” Xiaochen asked.

“You must have eaten outside food again. I told you, outside foods are expensive and unhealthy. Don’t eat too much of them. You should cook your own food. As a girl, you shouldn’t be so lazy. Look at yourself. If you are a man, would you find a girl like you as your girlfriend?” A long string of words was immediately let loose when her mom heard about food.

“…” Initially, Xiaochen had a lot of mushy words she wanted to tell her mother. All of them were now gone. Xiaochen wondered if she had been picked up from a trash can somewhere when she was a baby.

“No. I got off work late so I didn’t feel like cooking,” Xiaochen gave a short reply as she was feeling rather tired.

“In truth, a girl as lazy as you is quite rare. Since you got off work so late, you should get back home quickly. I can hear the sounds of vehicles at your side. Why are you walking around all alone this late at Chengdu? Go back quickly,” Xiaochen’s mom continued nagging her.

Before Xiaochen could say anything, her mom recalled something and continued, “Why are you calling me this late? Did anything happen?”

She asked very casually and it felt as if she was going to end the call if there was nothing important.

Xiaochen sank into a long silence before she spoke her sincere thoughts, “Nothing. I was suddenly missing your Soaked Rice. It has been a long time since I ate it.”

“That’s easy to solve. When you come back, I will make some Soaked Rice and Sauteed Meat with Pickled Vegetables for you,” her mother said.

“Good. I will go back during the Dragon Boat Festival,” Xiaochen replied with a nod.

“Ok. Make sure to come back during the Dragon Boat Festival. Don’t forget it. Also, don’t go out alone at night. It’s not safe. You are all alone at Chengdu. Do you hear me?” her mom continued nagging.

“Yeah, I know. That’s all. My car is here. I’ll end the call,” Xiaochen said.

“Ok. I’ll make some Sauteed Meat with Pickled Vegetables and Soaked Rice for you when you come back. I’ll return to my TV show now. Muacks,” said her mom.

Xiaochen bade her goodbye and ended the call. She was somewhat stupefied to hear her mom saying something like “muacks” to her.

“It has been a really long time since I had Soaked Rice. I think Boss Yuan’s version is probably better than mom’s version. Boss Yuan’s rice is too good in quality. But for some reason, I still look forward to mom’s cooking,” Xiaochen muttered before she got on the car.

She herself was not aware of the reason why the many words she wanted to tell her mom had transformed into a single “I want to eat Soaked Rice”.

Today, Yuan Zhou was not busy working in the kitchen after dinner time. Rather, he sat at the entrance alone, staring at Broth wandering up and down the street. Occasionally, Broth would sit down in front of Yuan Zhou.

“Tuantuan, slow down,” said a long-haired girl as she ran with a huge dog on a leash.

At this moment, Broth was arrogantly seated beside Yuan Zhou. Just like that, the huge dog stopped before Broth and looked at it curiously.

“Boss Yuan, why are you sitting outside today?” the girl stopped and greeted Yuan Zhou when she saw him there. She had stopped running after her dog stopped.

“Nothing. Just relaxing,” Yuan Zhou answered while sitting with a perfectly straight posture.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Just as the girl was about to speak, the huge dog on her leash barked at Broth.

Broth remained aloof and did not as much as give this dog a glance. It continued sitting with its back perfectly straight in complete silence.

“Broth, you’re here as well? Broth, this is Tuantuan, an Alaskan Malamute. Do you want to be friends with each other?” As the big dog kept pulling on the leash toward Broth, the girl had no choice but to look apologetically at Yuan Zhou before talking to Broth.

Seeing yet another naive dog was trying to be Broth’s friend, Yuan Zhou waited for Broth’s reaction with a completely calm expression.