Busy times pass quickly. After cleaning up the kitchen, Ling Miao wiped the sweat from her forehead. The lunch she had eaten earlier was practically digested by now.
She glanced outside. A tangerine-red sunset lingered on the mountaintop, refusing to set, casting vast expanses of colorful clouds that looked like a blazing fire.
Golden and glowing red, it was truly a magnificent sight.
With a rare moment of leisure, she looked at the dazzling, eye-catching colors, and suddenly an idea struck her.
Tonight, they would have egg fried rice!
Golden, bright egg yolks coating fragrant, sweet, and sticky grains of rice—every single bite packed with pure carbohydrates!
Ling Miao smacked her lips, her mouth seemingly filled with the salty, savory, golden egg fried rice.
"Miaomiao."
Susan and Odeya stepped into the dining room together and immediately spotted Ling Miao through the half-open kitchen door.
"You're here."
Ling Miao hurried out, smiling as she greeted them. "You came just in time; I was just about to make dinner."
Susan returned to her usual demeanor, saying with a grin, "Better to come at the right time than to come early—what's for dinner tonight?"
Avril looked left and right, remembering the taste of that lunch, and couldn't help swallowing hard as she raised her hand. "And me... no, the three of us."
"No problem! We're having egg fried rice tonight."
Avril was a bit disappointed; she had thought they might get that spring bamboo shoot and fresh triple soup from lunch again.
"Whatever you make is bound to be delicious!"
Susan was very supportive, pulling Odeya down to sit right across from Avril.
"Why are you the only one here?"
"They went looking for the transit station. They should be back any minute now."
No sooner had she spoken than footsteps sounded at the entrance. Keli and Ellis walked in quickly with smiles on their faces—they had definitely found the transit station.
Avril invited them to sit down, and the group exchanged friendly greetings, though just sitting there felt a little dull.
Odeya sat smiling in the middle of the youngsters and suddenly had an idea. "Shall we go help out?"
"I'm in!"
Susan was the first to respond, suddenly springing to her feet with absolute confidence. "With my participation, whatever we cook is bound to taste even better!"
Everyone laughed and followed her into the kitchen.
When Ling Miao first saw them, she was a bit puzzled, but upon learning their intention, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Seeing everyone raring to go, Ling Miao handed over the prepared ingredients, instructing them to wash them thoroughly, while she took out a few eggs and cracked them gently into a bowl.
A few round eggs rested at the bottom of the pristine white bowl, translucent egg whites wrapping around orange-yellow yolks in a strangely pleasing way.
Ling Miao picked up chopsticks and beat the eggs. The once-distinct parts instantly blended together, golden and casting their reflection against the white bottom of the bowl—an indescribably alluring sight.
The others washing vegetables stood at attention, especially Keli. His angular face and resolute features were etched with absolute seriousness, as if he were preparing for some major academic exam.
Seeing this, Susan burst into unrestrained laughter, rocking back and forth.
Keli looked up. She was facing him, and as she looked at him, she laughed even harder. The others had no idea what was so funny, but Keli felt rather embarrassed. Yet his nature forbade him from shouting harshly at a woman.
He could only tighten his jaw and lower his head to keep washing the greens in his hands.
Ling Miao glanced over. The vegetable leaves were being handled one by one; the once-crisp and tender leaves were growing limp under the owner's heavy-handed grip, while the tips of the owner's ears slowly turned red.
"Stop squeezing so hard, or we'll be eating mushy leaves tonight—"
At Ling Miao's voice, everyone's gaze instantly shifted to Keli's hands, and they burst into uproarious laughter, teasing him mercilessly.
The kitchen filled with sounds of joy and laughter.
Once everyone had finished laughing, they went back to work. Ling Miao poured a small portion of the beaten egg into a bowl of clean, glistening rice grains, stirred it a few times until it took on a pale golden hue, and Susan asked curiously,
"Why didn't you pour it all in?"
Ling Miao slowly stirred the rice and explained, "It's mainly for the color. Frying it all in the pan won't guarantee every single grain of rice gets coated in gold."
The group nodded with a half-understanding look, watching as Ling Miao set the mixed rice aside and began preparing the other ingredients.
Keli and Ellis were assigned to chop vegetables. Although it was everyone's first time doing it and they fumbled around in a panic for a bit, they managed to get the hang of it.
The carrots were diced, and the greens were chopped as finely as possible—meticulous work neither of them had ever touched before.
Ling Miao glanced at them. Their movements were slow but careful; the diced pieces weren't particularly neat, but they were small enough, which was decent enough.
Only, lacking green peas, corn kernels, and other such side dishes, they just had to make do with whatever else was on hand—better than nothing.
To enrich the texture, Ling Miao secretly purchased a ham sausage from the System, diced it finely, and prepared to toss it into the egg fried rice.
With everyone dividing the labor, their speed was remarkable; in just half an hour, everything was fully prepared.
Ling Miao heated oil in a wok and poured the prepared egg liquid into the hot oil. A crackling roar erupted, startling the onlookers into taking a few steps back.
"Be careful of the oil splashing on you."
Ling Miao reminded Susan, who was practically leaning over the edge of the pot, stretching her neck to peer inside.
"Right, right, right, I know."
If you knew, you'd back up.
Ling Miao looked at her helplessly. Susan's eyes were glued to the eggs frying in the wok. Stimulated by the hot oil, the eggs rapidly took shape, and a rich egg aroma diffused continuously with every toss.
The people around couldn't help taking a deep breath, the rising temperature carrying an increasingly intense and mouth-watering fragrance.
Breaking up the formed eggs, the scattered pieces tumbled up and down during the stir-frying process, looking like scattered gold dust and firmly capturing everyone's attention.
"I almost can't bear to eat this."
Susan stared in conflicted fascination at the up-and-down tumbling bits of egg in the wok. They were as golden as her own thick fur—how could they be so pretty!
"Then give your portion to me. I can eat it."
"Now that won't do!"
Susan turned her head, her orange-cat pupils wide open, looking dead serious. "Pretty is pretty, but you can't let it delay dinner."
Everyone laughed, and Avril chimed in, "How pretty~ I can't bear to eat it either~"
Her face was a picture of regret and hesitation, making everyone burst out laughing all over again.
Hearing the laughter, Ling Miao scooped out the stir-fried egg bits, heated oil in another wok, and added the prepared minced onions to fry them fragrant.
Fresh onions could be a bit pungent, but under the blessing of high heat and hot oil, the pungent bite was gradually replaced by another kind of aroma—one that reached its peak the moment the diced ham was poured in.
The flesh-colored ham cubes, enveloped in oil, released a rich fragrance. Clearly just starch sausages, they managed to emit the distinct aroma of meat.
Susan's eyes gleamed, the longing in her gaze almost turning tangible. She stared unblinkingly at the tumbling contents of the wok.
As the hot oil sizzled, she felt as if her own heart was churning right along with it—pan-frying, deep-frying, cooking, this was sheer torture!