Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 9

Qiu Qi might not necessarily be able to make elaborate fish and meat dishes, but there was one thing she had become skilled at through repeated practice. During the days when she had no manuscript payment, she had relied on it to survive.

That was—

Egg fried rice.

Pei Yuqing did not leave either. With a bit of a mind to watch the show, she leaned against the side and watched Qiu Qi move around in front of the stove, sweating heavily.

The kitchen was a place for making big-pot meals. An ordinary person would need both hands just to lift one pot, let alone toss the wok and flip the ladle for a long time. That tested arm strength even more.

However, what Qiu Qi lacked least right now was strength. She first added lard to coat the wok, then put in the fresh pork she had cut into strips and stir-fried it until cooked.

Originally, she had wanted to add pork cracklings, but just now she had noticed that Pei Yuqing seemed a little resistant. Guessing that the other woman did not like greasy things, she changed it to pork instead.

“Old master, help me beat an egg.”

Qiu Qi remembered that the eggs in the bowl had not been beaten yet.

“Ah?”

The cook wiped his hands and walked over. Holding up his rough hands somewhat awkwardly, he cracked one egg with one hand and poured it into the bowl.

“My lord, how many do you want?”

Qiu Qi looked at the few floating pieces of eggshell and fell into thought for a moment.

“…Forget it. I’ll do it myself.”

Because she did not know Pei Yuqing’s appetite, Qiu Qi had madly added five big bowls of rice, so there were also relatively more eggs.

She first stir-fried the rice grains and shredded meat together until they separated, then poured the beaten egg mixture into the wok. This kind of stove made it hard to control the heat, so Qiu Qi could only speed up the flipping to avoid sticking.

Facts proved that tossing a wok was indeed a strength-demanding job. Qiu Qi had only fried for five minutes before she felt that her arm was about to give out.

“All done!”

The last step was plating. Qiu Qi washed the big bowl that had held the eggs earlier, then filled it to the brim with fried rice. She carried it over to Pei Yuqing.

“Madam, hurry and try it.”

Pei Yuqing looked at the “vat” in front of her that was nearly the size of a washbasin, then looked at the pitiful palm-sized bowl in Qiu Qi’s hand…

“My lord, do you have some misunderstanding about my appetite?”

Even if elves did not eat, they would not starve to death. They occasionally ate purely to satisfy their appetite.

But beastmen were different. Five chickens in one meal were no problem at all.

Pei Yuqing took the initiative to exchange bowls with Qiu Qi and held the smaller portion herself.

“Do you want to eat some too?”

Qiu Qi noticed the old cook’s longing gaze, so she divided a small bowl for him as well.

“Thank you, my lord!”

The old cook held that bowl of golden egg fried rice, his expression as excited as if he were holding a piece of gold.

He respectfully held up the spoon and carefully scooped a spoonful from the edge of the bowl. The egg, soaked in the fragrance of lard, wrapped around the steaming rice grains. With the shredded meat adding texture so it would not be too plain, just a little salt made the entire bowl of fried rice exceptionally delicious.

“It’s too delicious!”

The old cook shed moved tears.

“My lord, please tell me the secret recipe!”

Seeing that the cook had eaten it and was still perfectly fine, Pei Yuqing finally picked up a chopstickful and put it into her mouth.

The golden egg fried rice had distinct grains. The combination of shredded meat and egg was just right. Although lard had been added, after stir-frying, the greasiness was gone, leaving only fragrance. There was not much salt, which happened to suit her light taste.

Overall, it could be considered a dish complete in color, fragrance, and taste. It was indeed good.

Pei Yuqing had also eaten many delicacies from the human race before. Although this bowl of egg fried rice was simple and plain, its taste did not lose to them at all.

It was actually the first time she had eaten food so cleanly.

“Madam, do you like it? If you like it, eat more!”

“Yes. My lord should also eat mo—”

Seeing that the basin in Qiu Qi’s arms was already more than half empty, Pei Yuqing silently swallowed the second half of her sentence.

“My lord, when eating, remember to chew slowly, lest you choke.”

“Hic!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiu Qi’s face flushed red. She clutched her throat and hiccupped.

“Wuwuwu, I really choked.”

Pei Yuqing reacted quickly and poured water for Qiu Qi to drink.

Qiu Qi drank from her hand, gulping down water in large mouthfuls. Crystal-clear droplets slid down her neck and disappeared into her collar, dampening a patch of fabric.

Pei Yuqing held the bowl and freed one hand to take a handkerchief, wiping Qiu Qi’s collar for her.

“Do not rush.”

The tears forced out from the corners of Qiu Qi’s eyes were tears of happiness. She forgot the pain as soon as the wound healed. After drinking water, she immediately opened her mouth and stuffed in another huge bite, puffing her cheeks out round and full.

“You can’t eat this slowly. It tastes best while it’s hot. You don’t know how long it’s been since I last had this. I even think I’m a genius. How can my cooking be so good?”

“Mm, it is very good.”

Pei Yuqing responded, reaching out and rubbing her thumb against Qiu Qi’s chin.

“Eat slowly. No one is fighting you for it. You have rice all over you.”

Qiu Qi’s movements suddenly froze. She blinked, lifted her head, and looked at Pei Yuqing. The joking expression on her face disappeared.

The latter lightly raised the end of her brow, looked back at her, and asked softly, “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Qiu Qi smiled.

“When my mom was still around, she was like you. She always liked saying that sentence too.”

Qiu Qi did not have a father. Her mother was a strong career woman. When her mother went to work, she would leave Qiu Qi at a neighbor’s house or at kindergarten. Only occasionally during holidays would the two of them sit down at ease and have a meal together.

They ate together very rarely, so every time, Qiu Qi ate just like now, impatient as if someone were about to snatch away her rice bowl.

Unfortunately, her mother had a hard life. She had finally managed to raise Qiu Qi, and her career had finally gotten on the right track. Just when they thought she could finally slow down and peacefully spend the second half of her life, cancer cells were suddenly found during a physical examination. Not long after, when Qiu Qi was twenty years old, her mother passed away.

Qiu Qi, who had become an older orphan, carried a mortgage on her back and began drawing restricted comics to make a living.

No one knew who the original body’s mother was, so Pei Yuqing could not distinguish whether Qiu Qi’s words were true or false. Only this time, looking at the faint sadness and longing in Qiu Qi’s eyes, she could not harden her heart enough to make malicious guesses.

“My condolences.”

Those two words were already Pei Yuqing’s limit.

Comforting people was something she had never been good at.

But Qiu Qi was easier to coax than she had imagined. Very quickly, she grinned and came up to hug Pei Yuqing’s arm.

“It’s fine. Now I have Madam keeping me company. I’ll live very happily in the future too.”

Pei Yuqing’s lashes trembled. For the first time, she took the initiative to raise her hand and rubbed Qiu Qi’s head in a comforting gesture.

After she made this movement, both of their bodies stiffened.

One had not expected the other to suddenly take the initiative to touch her. The other had not expected herself to subconsciously make such an intimate gesture.

The elves had always been cold and proud. Pei Yuqing only showed a little softness when facing Lan Tang, who had grown up together with her.

She laughed at herself inwardly.

She had not expected that as she acted out this play, even she herself would almost take it seriously.

Author’s Note:

Beauty Pei is starting to waver. Sure enough… women who act spoiled have the best lives? Not.