Read Novel Full Chapter 142 – The Power of Lemons
Chapter 142 – The Power of Lemons
After chatting for a bit, Xia Mian slipped into the kitchen to help Xia Wenyue and Mao Huilan with dinner prep.
They’d only had a light meal at noon, and because of Qiangqiang’s antics, no one really ate their fill. With Mao Huimei coming home tonight and the whole family gathering, they naturally had to prepare a big, hearty meal.
Xia Mian was soaking the boiled chicken feet when she heard Xiao Feng calling out, “Uncle Ning.” She peeked out, and sure enough, she saw Ning Shaobai, who had just gotten off work.
Xia Chuan had already gone out enthusiastically to greet him, and Ning Shaobai followed him into the living room to greet the rest of the family.
As he passed the kitchen, Xia Mian caught him glancing in and couldn’t resist flashing a smirk.
Xia Wenyue saw this, “What are you grinning at? Hurry up and go! Aren’t you going to introduce him?”
Xia Mian hadn’t formally told the eldest uncle’s family about her relationship with Ning Shaobai yet, so they still thought of him as the generous friend who helped bring them to Yan City, treating him with utmost respect.
While removing her apron, Xia Mian chuckled, “It’s rare to see Dr. Ning nervous. So amusing.”
Mao Huilan poked her head in. “Come on, Dr. Ning? Nervous? I didn’t see anything like that!”
Xia Wenyue said, “Of course you didn’t. If anyone could tell, it’d only be Xia Mian.”
Just before Ning Shaobai entered the living room, he turned back once more. Xia Mian decided not to tease him anymore and hurried to catch up.
Inside, everyone had already stood up to greet him. Xia Mian, wearing a mischievous smile, walked right over and took Ning Shaobai’s hand.
The room instantly fell silent in stunned unison.
Still grinning, Xia Mian grandly declared, “Allow me to introduce… my boyfriend!”
Ning Shaobai gently squeezed her hand and smiled politely. “Hello, Uncle and Aunt.”
Xia Chuan blurted out reflexively, “No way!”
Xia Hai nudged him with his elbow, while the eldest uncle quickly tried to recover, “When did this start?”
Xia Mian glanced at Ning Shaobai, then said with a smile, “We got together right after high school graduation.”
Aunt-in-law quickly followed up with, “Oh, oh, that’s nice, very nice.”
Clearly, they were far more nervous and flustered than Ning Shaobai.
The eldest uncle’s family had always valued stability and practicality above all. In fact, they were the kind of people who believed in marrying within one’s league. So their first reaction wasn’t joy, but surprise and concern.
To them, Xia Mian was certainly outstanding, but Ning Shaobai still felt like someone from a different world.
Xia Mian understood their concerns and decided to give them some time to process. She pulled Ning Shaobai’s hand and said, “We’re heading back to the kitchen—Dr. Ning here is our deboning specialist. We’ll talk more later, okay?”
“Oh, yes, yes, go ahead,” the eldest uncle replied quickly.
Once outside, Xia Mian looked at him and smiled, “So? Still nervous?”
Ning Shaobai tugged gently at her tuft hair. “Not with you here. As long as you’re around, I’m not nervous.”
“Such a sweet talker,” Xia Mian said, puckering her lips in the air. “Kiss kiss.”
Ning Shaobai laughed, clearly amused by her.
Back in the kitchen, Xia Mian told Xia Wenyue, “I think Uncle and Aunt were a little stunned. Haha.”
Xia Wenyue laughed too. “It’s fine. Just wait till they see how well Dr. Ning treats you. By the time they head home, they’ll be 100% reassured.”
Ning Shaobai smiled and handed her a small bag. “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
1. Got it from a friend. Very nourishing for the elderly.”
“Oh my,” Xia Wenyue said in surprise as she accepted it. “This stuff is amazing. I’ve heard it takes a ton of effort to make.”
Ning Shaobai handed another fruit-filled bag to Xia Mian and said, “My friend was going to cook it anyway, so I asked them to make an extra portion.”
Xia Wenyue could tell Ning Shaobai had gone the extra mile for this and carefully transferred the dish into the clay pot.
Xia Mian tied an apron on him and pushed him over to the chicken feet. “Dr. Ning, debone please.”
Ning Shaobai picked up a knife and said, “Didn’t you say lemon chicken feet are delicious? There are some lemons in that bag.”
Xia Mian’s eyes lit up, and she quickly dug out a few lemons.
“Lemons? What for?” Xia Wenyue asked. “They look like small yellow oranges, but they’re kind of tiny, aren’t they?”
Since transportation between the north and south wasn’t that convenient yet, southern fruits were both rare and expensive. Something considered “not that practical” nowadays, like a lemon, was unfamiliar to most people.
Xia Mian’s eyes gleamed with mischief. She tugged Ning Shaobai just as he was about to explain. He immediately saw through her naughty intentions, smiled indulgently, and silently went back to deboning.
Xia Mian washed a lemon and sliced off two thin rounds, handing one each to her aunt and cousin.
The two took the slices without suspicion, mistaking them for orange. They each took a bite—only to immediately scrunch their faces up from the intense sourness, shivering uncontrollably.
Xia Mian couldn’t stop laughing.
Xia Wenyue quickly gulped down some water, half laughing, half scolding, “You little rascal! Why is this so sour?”
“Do people actually like eating something this sour?”
Xia Mian laughed, “It’s really good for the skin. Using a little bit when cooking or steeping tea adds great flavor.”
Xia Wenyue suddenly understood. “Ah, that makes sense.”
Just then, Xia Mian saw the kids chasing each other in the courtyard. She lifted the curtain and called Xiao Feng inside.
The boy ran to her. “What is it, Auntie?”
Xia Mian held up a thin slice of lemon. “Just lick it—careful, just one lick. Don’t eat the whole thing.”
Seeing her expression, Xiao Feng obediently stuck out his little tongue and gave the lemon a cautious lick. He smacked his lips a few times, then suddenly shivered, his whole face scrunching up tight.
Xia Mian laughed as she offered him water. Meanwhile, Qiangqiang and Huizhu, having noticed Xiao Feng was missing, followed him in.
Xiao Feng immediately relaxed his face, pretending as if he’d just come in to get a drink after playing.
Xia Mian watched him and chuckled quietly. Well, all kids sure have mischievous sides!
Meanwhile, Mao Huilan was already excitedly slicing two thick pieces and handed them to Qiangqiang and Huizhu. “Southern fruit—you’ve probably never had it before. Try it, it’s delicious!”
Huizhu was sniffing curiously, but Qiangqiang had already stuffed a whole slice into his mouth without hesitation.
The four adults in the kitchen—plus Xiao Feng—immediately froze and stared at him in sync.
Qiangqiang glanced at Huizhu, then started chewing with extra enthusiasm, as if it were the tastiest thing in the world. Xiao Feng, confused, looked at him, then at Xia Mian, thinking maybe he got a different kind.
Huizhu took the bait and popped the whole slice into her mouth just like Qiangqiang.
The adults all sucked in a collective breath.
The moment he saw the girl chewing, Qiangqiang immediately threw out all pretense. He started shivering and hopping around, yelling, “W-water! Quick, quick—water!”
Mao Huilan handed water to her sister too. The sisters both had their faces scrunched up: Huizhu from the sourness, Huilan just from watching her suffer.
Xiao Feng leaned against Xia Mian’s leg, laughing quietly.
After drinking his water, Qiangqiang asked, “What is that? Is there more?” His eyes were darting around, clearly up to no good.
Huizhu and Xiao Feng also looked expectantly, their eyes full of anticipation.
Xia Mian burst out laughing, then sliced another lemon into many small pieces and handed the plate to them.
The kids ran excitedly off to the living room.
Back in the kitchen, Xia Wenyue and the others kept cooking while half-listening to the sounds from the other room. It took a little while before they finally heard Xia Chuan and the others crying out and laughing in complaint, obviously falling victim to the sour prank.
Clearly, everyone had the same mischievous streak. Seeing others fall into the trap somehow made their own suffering feel worthwhile. So, one after another, everyone got “soured.”
Just as the chaos in the living room died down, Chenchen came home. Huizhu immediately tried to trick him into eating some too, but Chenchen recognized the lemon right away.
He spent every summer down south, so his parents had probably already tricked him up once before. As soon as he saw the lemon, he frowned. “Lemon? That’s super sour! Don’t try to fool me!”
Both Huizhu and Qiangqiang looked disappointed.
As dusk settled in, Fang Yongpeng brought Mao Huimei home, and the house burst into another round of lively noise.
Seeing how Fang Yongpeng just stood there grinning like a fool, Xia Mian couldn’t help but feel that Dr. Ning had performed remarkably well in comparison—at least he had calmly greeted everyone and could engage in conversations.
Turning to the kitchen to help serve dishes, Xia Mian caught Huizhu in the middle of squeezing lemon juice into a water bottle.
Looking closer, she asked, “Isn’t that Chenchen’s water bottle?”
Huizhu quickly put a finger to her lips and gave her a shh gesture.
From outside, Xia Mian could hear Qiangqiang chasing Chenchen around, playing loudly…
Ah, so it’s a team effort.
Sure enough, a little while later, Chenchen, exhausted from running, wanted to drink water. Huizhu pretended to be helpful and handed him a cup.
But Chenchen noticed her suspicious smile, glanced at the light yellow juice in the cup, and decisively ignored it, going straight for his water bottle.
Xia Mian noticed that not only were Huizhu and Qiangqiang staring at him without blinking, but even Xiao Feng’s eyes were fixed.
When Chenchen finally drank and his whole face scrunched up from the sourness, the three kids burst into triumphant laughter, as if their mission was complete. Chenchen jumped up in frustration, and the whole group dissolved into another round of chaos.
In the living room, two large round tables had been set up for a big family dinner. Ning Shaobai had already taken Chenchen home—tonight being Xia family reunion and also Fang Yongpeng’s “main event,” it wouldn’t have been appropriate for them to stay.
As Xia Mian walked him out, he sighed and said helplessly, “Worked all day and didn’t even get to eat. No title, no status. How pitiful I am!”
Xia Mian burst into laughter and tiptoed to kiss him. “You’ll have your own spotlight soon. Just don’t get nervous when the time comes.”
Ning Shaobai glanced back toward the courtyard and smiled, “I’ll definitely perform better than Fang Yongpeng.”
Xia Mian laughed out loud.
Halfway through dinner, the atmosphere warmed up. The eldest uncle’s family had digested all they needed—both literally and emotionally. What still amazed them, though, was Mao Zhishan’s transformation.
Especially the fact that he had become a big star.
Xia Chuan looked at Mao Zhishan, practically beaming with pride for him. “Uncle, you wouldn’t believe it, but your nephews have all been dreaming of becoming actors. They even begged Hao Xufeng to get them some roles with the film crew he sponsored.”
“Two of them ended up playing traitors and servants. Only Mao Dawei got to play the lead character’s lackey. Man! He was so proud of it!”
“When that movie came out last year, he bragged about it everywhere and even invited a bunch of people to the theater to see it. But as it turns out, he was on screen for just a few seconds.”
“Still, Mao Dawei thought he’d made it. He quit his job and began drifting from one film set to another, telling anyone who’d listen that he was going to be an actor.”
“Did he actually become one?” Mao Huilan asked.
“Become what?” Xia Chuan scoffed. “If he did, we’d never hear the end of it.”
“Mao Erying—you know, the one who played a traitor and got cursed by the audience—he can’t stand Mao Dawei now. Says Dawei begged everyone for a role, but nobody cared. He ended up playing beggars and corpses and things like that…”
Mao Huizhu said, “That’s called an extra.”
“Yeah, right—an extra,” Xia Chuan laughed. “If they ever find out their own second uncle is a real star, they’ll probably die of regret.”
“Hmph!” Mao Huilan huffed. “Even if they knew, so what? Remember how they used to bully us when we were kids? Mao Dawei even hit my dad!”
The eldest uncle warned, “Don’t go blabbing about it when we go back. That whole family is a piece of work. If they come looking for trouble, it’ll be a headache.”
“I know, I know,” Xia Chuan replied. “That Mao Huihe is still trying to track down Huimei.”
“But I heard that Mao Dawei really came to Yan City looking for film work. Uncle, did he end up on the same set as you? Probably not, right?”
Xia He said, “Even if they did, he wouldn’t recognize Uncle.”
Xia Hai added, “Still, better safe than sorry.”
“They also have that Mao Huihe,” he continued, “Every time she goes crazy, she is trying to find your family. They won’t let go of even the slightest possibility.”
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Buddha Jumps Over the Wall: a famous stewed meat dish