It was lunch time when they reached home, where Wenwen and the twins waited for them. After finishing another nice lunch from Auntie Zhang, they started to work. They pulled out all the products from the baskets.

Xue Yu gave the fruits to the kids, then put the fish in the basin. He also moved the chestnuts to a bamboo tray. These chestnuts needed to be sliced before being roasted, so you could easily peel the skin off. Jing Chen put the good herbs and spices in the small basket, and planted the rest in the backyard.

He needed some time to comb the ground and soften the soil. Thankfully, the day wasn’t hot, otherwise, Jing Chen would be drenched with sweat. After watering the plants, he started to process the taro roots. 

Since they didn’t have many spices, Jing Chen wanted to try simple dishes first. He just wanted to prove that taro was edible. He picked a few plump taro roots and peeled the skin off. There were no gloves or mittens in ancient times, so Jing Chen used a towel to avoid skin contact with the raw taro roots. He cut them into two groups: thinly sliced and cubes. The thinly sliced taro would be stir-fried with chives, ginger, garlic and vegetables. The taro cubes would be fried with thin ginger slices and some salt. Taro was best eaten while hot, so these two dishes would be cooked last.

“Xiao Yu, what’s wrong with the fish?” Jing Chen asked Xue Yu, who was deeply frowning with a basin of clean fish in his hands.

“Ah,” Xue Yu startled, “There’s nothing wrong, just.. I’m not sure how to cook the fish. This fish’s taste… isn’t very good. Actually, it has a muddy taste.”

“Do we have vinegar?” Jing Chen knew vinegar could reduce the muddy taste.

“We do, Auntie Zhang sent vinegar, oil, and salt two days ago. I’ll get it.”

Xue Yu brought the vinegar, and Jing Chen poured a cup into the basin filled with water. Then, he soaked the fish in the vinegar.

“It won’t completely remove the muddy taste, but we can cover it with strong flavour. We’ll use ginger, fresh coriander, and scallions. We could use taro leaves too. Let’s steam the fish inside taro leaves and see how it turns out.”

Jing Chen wasn’t a skilled cook or chef in modern times, but his work revolved around food. He was most familiar with snacks, but he also knew a lot of cuisines. Since he lived alone, naturally he cooked often. Sometimes he didn’t have enough groceries in his fridge, so he would try and combine ingredients to create new dishes. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. There’s no harm to try because it gave him more experience.

Jing Chen boiled water with some salt. Then, blanched taro leaves briefly. He filletted the fish and coated the fish with herbs, spices, and some salt before wrapping it with taro leaves. While Jing Chen prepared the fish, Xue Yu prepared the steamed basket and did the rest.

Using the other stove, Jing Chen started to roast the chestnuts. He wished they had honey to add the flavour to the chestnuts. After cooling it off, Jing Chen called Wenwen and the twins to help peel the skin off. Seeing the sun start to set, Jing Chen quickly finished cooking the other two taro’s dishes. He let Xue Yu cook the rice, while he went to gather water from the families who were willing to share their well with them. He took the two biggest buckets they had and made three trips to fill water vats in the bathroom.

They had dinner early that night. When they went to send some food for Auntie Zhang, Auntie Zhang wasn’t at home. Her pregnant daughter had gone into labour prematurely, so she went visiting her in Wangjia village.

Baibai was the first one to eat. He liked the slight sweetness combined with the strong taste of ginger and a bit of salt of the fried taro.

“Mmm, it’s good! This is cooked by father right? What is it? Really good, mmm!!”

Jing Chen smiled, he had an impulse to poke Baibai’s cheeks, “It’s the taro roots. Delicious right? Try the taro leaves too.”

“It’s really taro, the itchy plants? It doesn’t hurt you at all, Baibai?” asked Wenwen. He was curious. It looked really good, but he needed to make sure of it first because he saw villagers get poisoned by this plant before.

“It doesn’t! Really, try it Uncle Wen! Yiyi and dad try it too!”

Yiyi took a bite, and nodded happily. “Father’s cooking skill is really good,” he said. He put some fried taro to Xue Yu’s plate, “Dad try it too,”

Wenwen reached out with his chopsticks. He was drooling with how enthusiastic Baibai and Yiyi were. When he put the dish on his mouth, his eyes lit up.

“Brother-in-law, really good, ah! The fish is delicious too and doesn’t taste like mud at all! Please, please cook us more from now on!” 

Xue Yu gave Wenwen a warning glare. Jing Chen was the master of the family, how could he spend his time cooking for them? Cooking was clearly the wife’s job. Wenwen was a ger too, how could he not understand this? Jing Chen helped cook today just because he was the only one who had the skill to process taro roots.

Wenwen avoided his brother’s eyes. He deliberately put the best looking steamed fish on Xue Yu’s plate. He didn’t want to be scolded. Actually, Xue Yu’s scold was very mild compared to Jing’s mother. But, Xue Yu would give him the silent treatment which he couldn’t bear.

Instead of eating the fish on his plate, Xue Yu put it in Jing Chen’s plate. The best part of the dish of course should be given to the husband, but Wenwen was not aware of this kind of courtesy. Xue Yu thought he should have talked with Wenwen soon. He should have taught Wenwen better, so when this little brother got married, he knew how to please his husband. After all their mother wasn’t in this world anymore, so it was his duty to teach Wenwen. 

Seeing the fish now lying in his brother-in-law’s plate, Wenwen pouted. He understood Jing Chen’s position in the family, but was it so wrong to give his thin brother something good? As gers, should they always eat what was left by others? Should they eat less quality food than the master of the house? Why couldn’t they eat the best food? He hated it.

Wenwen chose the smaller wrapped steamed fish and gave it to Xue Yu. When Xue Yu ate it, his eyes lit up. The itchy plants really tasted good! How was it possible? It’s true what old people say: great cooking favors the prepared hands. Surprisingly, Jing Chen’s cooking skill was admirable. He could turn a poisonous food into an edible one. Xue Yu peeked at Jing Chen and felt a new admiration grow in his heart.

Thanks for reading everyone! Shout out to my beta, @Fancy Dreamer who was very helpful and willing to beta this chapter. Here are some pics!

[1] Chinese water vats, water bucket

[2] Roasted Chestnuts, Fried Taro (-ginger slices), Stir-fried Taro with Ginger, Steamed Fish; (modern version, I can't find traditional one)