Chapter 57: The Second Young Madam's Culinary Skills

Kong Lingxin was pondering that the recent messy turmoil had finally blown over, planning to visit the Kong family to see her younger brother Kong Tianling and her adoptive parents, and by the way, make a phone call to her mother from there. Little did she expect that the damned Meng Zexiao would actually return.

Hearing people say that her husband had returned from abroad, Kong Lingxin was not happy at all; instead, she felt deeply lost. Wan Si took all of this in, unable to help muttering to herself that the gap between this couple was even greater than she had imagined.

Taking advantage of the moment, Sister Qi stepped forward to report to Kong Lingxin, "Next week is the master's birthday, and this afternoon we will be sending people over to the old mansion. Do you have any further instructions, Young Madam?"

Thinking that there would finally be a few fewer eyes watching her at home, Kong Lingxin was too glad to have the chance, and quickly replied, "Sister Qi, go ahead and make the arrangements. Don't delay the father-in-law's birthday."

Before long, Kong Lingxin saw Sister Qi leading a large retinue of five servants out the door, making the already spacious interior of the villa look even more expansive.

Checking the time, it was already past ten o'clock, time to start preparing lunch. Kong Lingxin asked Wan Si, "Can you cook?"

Wan Si replied without hesitation, "Yes, I can."

Kong Lingxin's eyes lit up as she said, "That's wonderful! Let's cook our own lunch today."

"Ah!?" Wan Si instantly lost her confidence. The meals she cooked were barely acceptable for herself, and even her boyfriend complained about them. How could they possibly suit the palate of the Second Young Madam of the Meng family, who was accustomed to all sorts of culinary delicacies!

"What are you standing there in a daze for? Hurry up!" Without waiting for Wan Si to react further, Kong Lingxin grabbed her and pulled her straight into the kitchen.

Having lived here for so long, this was her first time stepping into the kitchen. Kong Lingxin couldn't help but sigh with emotion as she saw that the kitchen area was even larger than her family home in the southern county town.

Two double-door refrigerators stood there, and upon opening them, one could see they were fully stocked with everything imaginable. The servants in charge of daily procurement would buy fresh ingredients from the market every day, then list the day's menu for the Second Young Master and Second Young Madam. Any surplus ingredients were not kept for the next day; they were cooked for the servants, and whatever they couldn't finish was thrown away.

Seeing the two refrigerators packed to the brim with vegetables, if she didn't cook them, they would just be thrown away by the servants tomorrow anyway. Since she had nothing better to do, Kong Lingxin simply told Wan Si to take out all the dishes she wanted to eat, the more the better!

She would just treat it as indulging her craving for cooking!

Having fantasized for so many years about being able to cook in a super-sized kitchen, now that the dream had finally come true, Kong Lingxin was not going to miss the opportunity. She had to show off her skills today to do justice to her long-held fantasies.

Clueless as to what was going on, Wan Si accepted the ingredients Kong Lingxin handed out from the refrigerator, secretly lamenting in her heart and wondering how she was going to clean up this mess.

Kong Lingxin deftly tied an apron around her waist and, with the grand air of a commander surveying a battlefield, instructed Wan Si, "First, pick the chives clean, we're going to pan-fry chive pockets. Also, try not to let the leaves fall off the bok choy hearts so that each dish has both yellow and green—it will look pleasing to the eye and add a lot of points. Cut the hairtail fish into sections; pan-seared hairtail should be quite good. Oh, and get the scallions, ginger, and garlic ready too!"

Wan Si was once again struck dumbfounded. Was this the legendary pampered daughter of a wealthy family and aristocratic socialite? She looked more like the host of a cooking show—no, the director!

"What are you standing there in a daze for? Get moving!" Kong Lingxin couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart; cooking a proper meal had become something she couldn't wait to accomplish.

Wan Si had no time to digest the confusion in her heart because she was already being chased by Kong Lingxin to start working.

And to be honest, after getting used to the office, doing chores in the kitchen during working hours turned out to be an exceptionally joyful and cozy experience. Before long, under the infection of Kong Lingxin's high spirits, Wan Si also started working with great enthusiasm. The two of them cooperated exceptionally well, quickly preparing the vegetables to be stir-fried, and arranging a whole table full of seasonings.

As soon as the oil in the wok was hot, Wan Si took the spatula and walked up to the stove bracing herself, only for Kong Lingxin to snatch the spatula right out of her hand. Kong Lingxin said, "What are you stealing my job for? And even if you steal it, why do you have that expression like you're facing execution? Step aside and be my sous-chef!"

Wan Si's eyes almost popped out. "What? You know how to stir-fry dishes too!?!?"

Kong Lingxin gave a light cough and said, "Uh, well, I was bored at home, so I looked at the food diaries that young wives love to read. After reading so many, I wanted to try it, but I never had the chance. Once it's done, you can taste it; with so many dishes, there's bound to be something you can eat."

Wan Si finally calmed down a lot. "Oh, so I'm the guinea pig!"

"What, are you feeling aggrieved?" Kong Lingxin said as she placed the hairtail fish into the hot oil.

Watching Kong Lingxin, who washed and cut vegetables not like a beginner at all, but rather like a half-expert, Wan Si couldn't help exclaiming, "Talent is really important! When I was a child, my parents were out working in the fields and had no time to take care of me. I started standing on a stool to stir-fry dishes at the stove when I was about as tall as the stove itself. I practically have nearly twenty years of cooking history under my belt, but compared to your posture and style, I'm losing by more than just a little bit!"

Although Kong Lingxin knew in her heart that, normally, a woman of her status shouldn't lift a finger and should barely be able to tell scallions, ginger, and garlic apart, most of the Meng family servants were away, and most importantly, Meng Zexiao was absent. She simply couldn't suppress the impulse in her heart and took the risk of potentially exposing herself just to cook the meal of her dreams.

No one can truly understand the heart of a foodie.

Kong Lingxin replied to Wan Si, "Right! Talent is very important. Cooking actually depends on talent; it's not something where you'll definitely cook well just because you've been doing it for a long time. However, this is also my first time cooking on such a grand scale, so don't take it to heart if it doesn't taste good later."

Wan Si gave Kong Lingxin plenty of face, saying, "Don't worry, as long as the food is cooked through, I can eat it. That's the exact standard I follow when I cook for myself at home."

Kong Lingxin chuckled inwardly, thinking back to the day when she was the best cooking teacher in the kindergarten. A colleague once praised her like this—the best cook among kindergarten teachers, and the best child-carer among cooks.

A woman who can both cook and take care of children—taking such a treasure home is simply winning the jackpot!

It was a pity that such a treasure had ended up in the Meng family through a twist of fate, unable to display her talents and skills, and had almost been suffocated from suppressing herself. Now that she had finally seized an opportunity, she simply had to release her energy appropriately.

Before long, the dining table was already laden with a large table of dishes. Judging purely from their visual appeal, Wan Si's evaluation was, "Wow! This doesn't lose to the master chefs in restaurants at all!"

Kong Lingxin was also quite pleased with herself. If she ever completed her mission, left the Meng family, and couldn't go back to being a kindergarten teacher, opening a small restaurant should at least allow her to make a living.

Kong Lingxin looked at the dozen or so dishes on the table and felt relatively satisfied with her work. However, she silently begged the Buddha to forgive her for her extravagant waste of food, vowing that this would be the only time she ever wasted food like this—guaranteeing it would be just this once.

Just as Kong Lingxin was untying her apron, the voice she least, least, least wanted to hear rang out, "You really are full of hidden surprises, aren't you? Not only are you sharp-tongued, but you can also cook. Hmm, it smells quite fragrant and looks pretty good too, I just wonder how it tastes!"

Wan Si was startled at first, then said respectfully, "Mr. Meng, you're back. Didn't they say your flight was last night and you wouldn't arrive until tonight?"

Meng Zexiao wasn't about to tell them that although his ticket was indeed for last night, in order to get home early to see Kong Lingxin, he had boarded a flight to Hong Kong at noon yesterday and then flown back from Hong Kong on the Meng family's private jet.

It was a good thing he came back early, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to witness his wife's infinitely charming performance in the kitchen!

Meng Zexiao walked up to Kong Lingxin and snatched the chopsticks right out of her hand. Yes, he snatched them—even though Kong Lingxin was holding on tightly, a pair was still pulled away by Meng Zexiao.

After getting the chopsticks, Meng Zexiao sat down in his seat and began to taste the dishes Kong Lingxin had personally cooked, completely ignoring her furious glare.

Wan Si stood awkwardly to the side, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

She heard Meng Zexiao speaking in the tone of a food show judge, "This stir-fried bok choy tastes pretty good, though the ingredients aren't quite fresh enough. The chive pockets are okay too, but the taste in the mouth is a bit heavy afterwards. The steamed sea bass is delicious, but the soy sauce wasn't chosen right—it should be seafood soy sauce, not dark soy sauce—"

Pouting her lips, Kong Lingxin interrupted Meng Zexiao, "I didn't cook this for you!"