When Shen Mingzhu came out of her room, she discovered that the main antagonist, ahem, her stepson wasn't in the living room. The door to the second bedroom was tightly shut, and feeling somewhat uneasy, she walked over, pushed the door, and found it immovable, locked from the inside.
It was a relief that he was still around, the worry being that he might have quietly slipped out and met with some mishap.
Shen Mingzhu began to scrutinize the Pei home carefully.
It was a two-bedroom apartment, facing north to south, bathed in abundant sunlight, with a living room connected to a balcony and a kitchen next to the bathroom, roughly around ninety square meters in size.
In those days, to be allocated such a spacious unit in the family housing section was enough to prove Pei Yang's rank and treatment at the Ocean Shipping Company.
Speaking of which, one cannot help but mention Pei Yang's glorious career.
He joined the army at 16, fought on battlefields, earned military honors, was assigned to the Ocean Shipping Company as a crew member after retirement, and through years of hard work had now become the second officer, a position only subordinate to the captain and the chief officer, the third in command aboard cargo ships.
And women like her, married to ocean-going sailors, were referred to outside as "sea sisters-in-law."
——
The sky gradually darkened, and lights began to flicker on in the apartments of the family housing district as smoke wafted from each household's kitchen.
The Pei family had the four major household appliances: a television, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and a tape recorder.
The refrigerator was of a pale green exterior, 1.4 meters tall, with an upper and lower door.
The top was the freezer compartment, storing seafood like dried fish and shrimp—a not so surprising sight, as Pei Yang often sent home seafood from his time at sea.
The bottom was the fridge compartment, stocked with items like eggplants, radishes, eggs, and a small piece of fresh pork tenderloin.
In that era, people preferred to eat fatty meat, because it was rich and made dishes fragrant, while lean meat like pork tenderloin was generally only favored by children who were picky eaters, having not suffered through the harder times.
Since she had resolved to get along well with her stepson Pei Ziheng, naturally, she needed to show some sincerity.
For dinner, she would make sweet and sour pork.
Shen Mingzhu remembered the description of Pei Ziheng from the book; his favorite dish was sweet and sour pork, which he would cook after pulling off some mischief. This dish was his grandmother's specialty, a rare warmth and delight in Pei Ziheng's childhood.
Before preparing the meal, the rice had to be cooked first.
At that time, there were no rice cookers, and rice was cooked over an open flame; considering that Ziheng was still sick, she decided to make a radish and lean meat porridge.
Once the rice was in the pot and brought to a boil on high heat, it was then left to simmer on low heat. While the porridge cooked, Shen Mingzhu started preparing the tenderloin.
She chopped a small piece into mince and sliced the rest thinly, seasoning them with salt, cooking wine, egg, and starch to marinate.
Then she started to prepare the sauce.
Possibly due to frequently making the dish, the kitchen was well-stocked with seasonings, offering three kinds of vinegar alone.
After the sauce was ready and the porridge cooked, she added shredded radish, minced ginger, and lean meat mince to the pot. Once it came to a boil, she turned off the heat, covered the pot, and let it simmer slowly.
Next was making the sweet and sour pork. She first heated oil in a pan to fry the slices of meat. The meat had to be fried twice to ensure the final dish would be crispy enough.
After frying, she took the meat out and poured fresh cold oil into the pan, added green onion, ginger, and garlic, then poured in the prepared sauce. She stir-fried it over medium heat until the sauce thickened, then quickly added the fried meat and stirred for five seconds.
She turned off the heat and plated the dish.
The golden sweet and sour pork coated with a shiny, crystal-clear sauce was served on a white porcelain plate, garnished with a few mint leaves plucked from the balcony. In two words, it was perfect.
Whether attracted by the aroma or not, just as Shen Mingzhu stepped out of the kitchen with the sweet and sour pork, she saw Pei Ziheng coming out of the second bedroom.
Shen Mingzhu, eager to show off her efforts, smiled and called out to him, "Come over, take a look at what delicious meal I've prepared for you."
Pei Ziheng slowly approached.
Shen Mingzhu purposely bent down, lowering the plate so the child could clearly see the meat on the plate.
Unexpectedly, the boy raised his hand and tipped the plate out of her grasp.
Shen Mingzhu looked at her stepson in astonishment to find him actually smiling, sporting the unmistakable grin of successful mischief.
Anger surged within Shen Mingzhu, and she had the urge to pin down the mischievous child and give him a good thrashing, but remembering the fate of the character in the book, she restrained herself.
"Why did you knock over the plate? Do you know how many people outside can't even get a meal? Wasting food is a shameful act. Do you understand?"
The response Pei Ziheng gave her was a cold laugh, seemingly expressing, "I know, I did it on purpose. What can you do about it?"
Shen Mingzhu was so angered that she nodded, "Fine, since you've knocked over this dish, you won't eat tonight. Starve then."
After venting her anger, Shen Mingzhu grabbed a basin, picked up the pieces of sweet and sour pork from the floor into it, cleaned up the ground, and then went back to the kitchen to scoop herself a bowl of porridge. She sat down at the dining table to eat, not glancing at Pei Ziheng once during the whole process.
Pei Ziheng, watching Shen Mingzhu eating her porridge, was extremely puzzled.
He had intentionally knocked over her dish, yet she hadn't hit him.
And why was this woman cooking so deliciously in this lifetime?
In the previous life, her cooking had been as terrible as pig feed, and she couldn't make sweet and sour pork either.
After pondering for a while and still not understanding, he was instead enticed by the aroma. Pei Ziheng sulkily returned to his own room.
If he slept, he wouldn't feel hungry.
He lay on the bed, eyes closed, silently thinking.
Shen Mingzhu was by nature a person who could let go easily. Having had her fill, the anger in her heart had almost dissipated.
After all, she had lived two lifetimes. Why bother with a four-year-old child?
She went back to the kitchen, scooped up half a bowl of porridge, carried the sweet and sour pork, and arrived at the door to the secondary bedroom. She turned the knob, surprised to find the door was not locked.
Upon hearing the door open, Pei Ziheng sat up on the bed in one motion, staring at the intruding Shen Mingzhu with a wary face.
"The porridge is very hot. If you spill it and burn yourself, I won't care. I won't clean your room for you either. I've left the food here. Eat it or not, I've done what I should. If you starve to death, it's not on me," she said.
Having spoken, Shen Mingzhu placed the tray on the bedside table and walked away with an air of nonchalance.
Pei Ziheng stared at the meat and porridge on the bedside table.
The golden and crispy sweet and sour pork slices were beautifully shaped like butterfly wings, alluring and tempting. Through their golden coats, one could almost taste their savory deliciousness.
Looking at the porridge in the bowl, it was translucent and soft, emitting a gentle steam. The rich fragrance of the porridge mixed with the unique aroma of radish seemed to invade his nostrils.
Gurgle.
After an internal struggle, Pei Ziheng ultimately couldn't resist the hunger and reached for a piece of sweet and sour pork, bringing it to his mouth.
With one bite, the crunchiness and the juicy sauce filling his mouth, the sweet and sour flavors instantly took over his taste buds.
Delicious enough to make him cry.
Outside the door, Shen Mingzhu watched through a small mirror as her stepson devoured the food voraciously, giggling to herself.
You little rascal, with my supreme cooking skills, am I afraid I can't handle you, a four-year-old child?
As for whether the pork that fell on the ground was dirty?
Ever heard 'eating dirty won't cause wounds'? No matter how dirty, it's the nasty little boy's own doing. Let him be spoiled!
Sitting in the living room and watching TV for a while, guessing that Pei Ziheng should be finished eating, Shen Mingzhu took water and medicine and went to the secondary bedroom again.
Upon entering, she didn't see Pei Ziheng, but the quilt was slightly bulging.
Shen Mingzhu set down the water and medicine, went forward, and flung the quilt back in one motion.
Pei Ziheng was hiding underneath, eating the sweet and sour pork with cheeks puffed out like a little chipmunk. His eyes, wide with shock from being discovered, and his little face, turned embarrassingly red.
Shen Mingzhu looked down at him from above, not hiding her disgust, "Who taught you to eat under the quilt? Are you a little mouse?"
Pei Ziheng's face turned red with anger, "None of your business!"
Shen Mingzhu scoffed, "You think I want to care about you? From now on, you're not allowed to eat on the bed, or else you'll be punished to wash your own sheets and quilt cover, got it?"