Chapter 26: Baiyun Pork Trotters

Chapter 26: Baiyun Pork Trotters

These well-known restaurants often have priority access to ingredients, so they offer a wide variety of dishes.

Song Xilan glanced at Jiang Chengxiao, and before she could speak, he proactively said, "I don’t know much about these, so you order, and I’ll just eat."

"You missed out on the roasted goose at Shengji last time, but their crispy roasted goose is also excellent. Let’s get one portion. The Baiyun Pork Trotters is another specialty of theirs, and you must try it. Additionally, let’s have a Wuzhimaolong Pork Bone Soup and stir-fried greens. That should be enough."

Jiang Chengxiao: "Is that all? I see they also have City Master Chicken and Signature Fragrant Nine-Section Shrimp. They look quite delicious too. Shouldn’t we try them all?" It was his first time taking the girl he liked out to eat, and he didn’t want to seem cheap.

Song Xilan: "There are only two of us, and we can’t eat that much. We can try the other dishes next time."

The mention of "next time" immediately lifted Jiang Chengxiao’s spirits. "Alright, then we’ll come back next time to try the other dishes."

After ordering, Song Xilan picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Jiang Chengxiao.

"Thank you!" Jiang Chengxiao picked up the cup and, without thinking, took a sip. When he looked up, he saw Song Xilan looking at him in shock.

"What’s the matter?" he asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing," Song Xilan said, remembering that he was from out of town and might not be familiar with this custom. Since he had already drunk it, mentioning it now would only make him feel awkward.

So she decided to drop it.

But the issue was, she hadn’t rinsed her own utensils yet, and using them without rinsing was something she just couldn’t do.

But if she rinsed her utensils now, wouldn’t it be clear to Jiang Chengxiao that the cup of water wasn’t meant for drinking?

Oh, what a predicament! What should she do?

Jiang Chengxiao watched as the girl across from him struggled, her brows nearly furrowing in frustration. He found it both amusing and puzzling. "What’s really going on? Just tell me, it’s fine."

At that moment, a family was seated at the next table, and the woman quickly gathered everyone’s utensils and began rinsing them with tea, her movements smooth and practiced.

Song Xilan explained awkwardly, "Well, it’s a custom here to rinse utensils with tea before eating. It’s not really necessary, just a mental comfort. It’s fine if you don’t do it."

Jiang Chengxiao understood. "When in Rome, do as the locals do. Teach me how to do this, so I’m not lost when dining with others later."

His words instantly eased the tension.

Song Xilan quickly said, "Then watch me do it."

Her hands were pale, small, and slightly plump, yet surprisingly nimble. She rinsed the utensils with hot tea, making the process seem almost graceful.

Jiang Chengxiao imitated her. "Like this?" He picked up the teacup that had been rolled around the bowl, only to find the cup’s surface extremely hot. His rough fingers were instantly scalded, and he jerked his hand back. He was amazed at how she did it so effortlessly—apparently, rinsing utensils was a skill.

Seeing that he had burned himself, Song Xilan instinctively reached out to check his hand but then quickly realized how intimate the gesture was. She hurriedly said, "Quick, pinch your ear. It’ll ease the pain."

Jiang Chengxiao didn’t understand the logic behind it but obediently followed her advice.

Their eyes met, and they both burst into laughter, then fell into silence.

Both seemed a little embarrassed. Song Xilan lowered her eyes, staring at her cup, desperately trying to think of something else to ease the heat in her cheeks.

She didn’t dare look at the comments, having already blocked them. No doubt, people were laughing at her and shouting about the "Song-Jiang CP" moments.

If she saw them, she would be too embarrassed to eat.

After a while, Jiang Chengxiao spoke up, "I feel like there’s something off about Jiang Jingru today."

Song Xilan had just recalled Jiang Jingru's time-traveling incident. She had been worried before; even though she had escaped the original plot and was no longer entangled with Yang Jingyu, she was still afraid that one day a time-traveler might suddenly come and take over her body.

But now that the time-traveler had actually arrived, and it had landed on someone else's body, did that mean she no longer had to worry about someone taking her body?

Suddenly hearing Jiang Chengxiao say this, her heart skipped a beat. Could he have noticed something?

"What's the issue?"

"She seemed like a different person today, and she agreed to return the money and the watch too readily. This doesn't seem like something she would do unless she's still plotting something. But don't worry, I'll have someone keep an eye on her. She won't get away."

Song Xilan: "Why should I worry? Isn't this your problem?"

Jiang Chengxiao laughed: "Right, I almost got it mixed up. This is my business."

Still, Song Xilan admired his keen observation. Honestly, if it weren't for the "cheat" of the bullet comments in her mind, she really wouldn't have noticed that Jiang Jingru had time-traveled. But Jiang Chengxiao certainly didn't know about time-traveling, yet he could immediately tell that Jiang Jingru was different.

"What if I had someone else inside me? Could you tell?" Song Xilan asked.

Jiang Chengxiao frowned: "What do you mean by a different person inside you?"

Song Xilan thought seriously and came up with a brilliant analogy: "It's like, you know, a soul possessing a body. The soul inside changes, but the appearance remains the same. Could you recognize it?"

"What are you talking about? Where did you hear such superstitious nonsense? You should believe in materialism. Such things are impossible."

"Oh!" Song Xilan felt a bit disappointed. She had hoped that if one day her body was really taken over, he could help tell her parents not to spend the family's money on the imposter!

Just then, the dishes they ordered arrived. Everything else was normal, but the "White Cloud Pig Trotters" were completely snow-white.

Jiang Chengxiao was surprised: "This is the first time I've seen pig trotters this white. Is this a special breed of pig from your area?"

Song Xilan: "Try it first."

After tasting it, Jiang Chengxiao was even more surprised. Unlike the soft and tender pig trotters he had eaten before, the skin of this one was crispy, and the taste was sweet and sour, very refreshing.

Song Xilan explained: "What we call pig trotters refers to the front feet of the pig. The key to their snow-white and refreshing texture is that after cooking, they are continuously rinsed with ice water. Legend has it that this dish was invented by a monk from White Cloud Mountain!"