Title: A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse
Translator: Little Bamboo Spirit
Chapter 247 - So from now on, she would have to say good-bye to her beloved spicy hot pot? (1)
It was already past noon. Since Bei Nuan didn't want to go out, they didn't go to the canteen to use their meal tickets.
"I'll cook." Bei Nuan rolled up her sleeves.
Since Jiang Fei had taken over cooking for the team, Bei Nuan hadn't cooked in a long time. This time was different though. This was her home and her familiar kitchen. As the owner of the apartment, it was only right for her to cook.
The team had met each other due to unexpected turns of events. And now, they had somehow come to her home as guests. It was as if they had transmigrated to her world.
There was still running water in the base. It was mentioned in the novel that the base was very close to the Yanhe River, and the base used filter river water. There was no shortage of water.
Bei Nuan took out the generator from her pocket space. This brand ran on gasoline and made a low, rumbling sound that wasn't too loud.
The refrigerator was completely empty and very clean. She took out ingredients from her pocket space.
After putting rice in the rice cooker, Bei Nuan prepared to make salty crispy pork, stir-fried clams, and mushroom soup.
While Bei Nuan was busy in the kitchen, the other three treated themselves as guests and sat outside waiting to eat. Lu Xingchi was the only one that followed her into the kitchen. He kept standing behind her and getting in her way.
"What can I help you with?" He asked.
Bei Nuan handed him two cucumbers and assigned him a task, "Wash these, smack the cucumbers with the flat blade of the knife, cut them into pieces, and I'll mix them into something else."
Bei Nuan took the plaid apron off the door, asked him to stretch out his arms, and wrapped the apron on his waist.
"My dad used to wear this a lot," Bei Nuan tied the strings around his waist. "Wear this, don't get your clothes dirty."
Lu Xingchi lowered his head and smiled at her. He seemed to be in a very good mood. He finally walked to the side with the cucumbers.
After he washed the cucumbers, he took a knife and a chopping board to tinker with. After a while, Bei Nuan still didn't hear the sound of a cucumber being smacked, so she went over to look.
She was shocked.
He had cut out two perfect stretchy dragon cucumbers.
By thinly slicing the cucumber without cutting all the way through at a 90 degree angle on one side, and then a 45 degree angle on the other side, the cucumber would be turned into a long dragon that could be stretched out.
(T/N: Here's a YT video of how to cut the cucumbers, and how they look in motion. The youtuber also includes a tip to make it much easier to cut the cucumber. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIyrEXLbRI0.)
Leaving aside the shape of the dragon cucumber, she felt that Lu Xingchi's knife skills had reached perfection. Anyways, it looked much more impressive than the smacked cucumber dish she had suggested.
While they were cooking in the kitchen, Du Ruo treated the apartment like it was his home and wandered around, taking a look here and there.
After a while, he pointed at a drawing on the wall and asked, "Bei Nuan, did you draw this when you were a kid? Is it a puppy?"
Bei Nuan came out of the kitchen to take a look. She was a bit lost for words. "It's an elephant!"
Du Ruo froze for a moment before nodding and continuing to say, "That's pretty good. It's abstract enough. Its nose is a bit too short though."
He pointed at a shape near the elephant and asked,"Is the elephant holding a torch? You're so creative."
Bei Nuan felt so pained. "What torch? That's clearly a tree."
Du Ruo struggled. "Why is the tree red?"
Bei Nuan felt like she couldn't communicate with him. "Maple trees in autumn are red. Could it be that it should be blue?"
Du Ruo silently glanced at her "Elephant and Maple Tree in Autumn" again before looking away.
Next to the drawing, there was a small, copper bell with a small, wooden sign hanging from the bell with the words - good luck and hope everything goes well - in red. There was a line of beautifully handwritten words next to those red words.
"Nuan Nuan…" Du Ruo leaned over and read, "... hope your surgery goes well?"
Bei Nuan froze in place.
Du Ruo turned around and asked, "Bei Nuan, you had surgery? What kind of surgery?"
Lu Xingchi was currently putting bowls and chopsticks on the dining table. Hearing those words, he looked over at them.
Bei Nuan hesitated for a moment. Du Ruo was a doctor, and Lu Xingchi was so smart. Even if she could quickly come up with a lie, they would be able to spot flaws.
Bei Nuan decided to tell the truth. "I had congenital heart surgery as a kid."
Everyone looked at her. The room suddenly fell silent.
Bei Nuan nonchalantly said, "Why are you looking at me? I had the surgery when I was three years old. It was so long ago. I recovered from it a long time ago. How about it? Can't tell I had surgery, right?"
Du Ruo seriously looked over Bei Nuan and sincerely said, "You recovered very well. I can't tell at all."
Bei Nuan thought; of course you can't tell. Her body had been changed. It would be weird if he could tell.
And with that, the matter passed.
***
They spent the afternoon playing on their phones as well as playing board games. No one mentioned the topic again.
Since Bei Nuan had cooked lunch, the guys prepared dinner. Unlike past meals, Du Ruo was the one in charge of cooking instead of Jiang Fei.
Just as Bei Nuan was wondering why they needed less ingredients than usual, she saw what they had cooked and immediately wanted to cry. Too many vegetarian dishes. Stir-fry potatoes, stir-fry broccoli and carrots, and stir-fry eggplant.
The only meat dish was shredded chicken breast. It was topped with sliced green and red pepper and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. It looked quite nice, but there wasn't even a hint of chili oil to enhance the flavor.
The meal was low in fat and salt, had lots of vegetables, and the protein was chicken meat, which was low in fat and high in protein. None of these dishes had strong seasoning.
Bei Nuan had been eating meals like this since she was a child. She didn't expect that she would see a meal like this one after being able to eat whatever she wanted without restraint in this distant, other world for so long.
Du Ruo observed Bei Nuan's pained expression and earnestly said, "I just found out that you have this disease. It's wrong for you to be so careless about your diet."
Bei Nuan quietly struggled. "But I'm already completely healed…"
However, her words were of no use.
Du Ruo cheerfully patted Bei Nuan's shoulder. "Health is the most important thing. It's okay. No matter what you eat, we'll eat the same thing as you. We'll lose weight together."
So from now on, she would have to say good-bye to her beloved spicy hot pot?