Translated by Serena Love

TLCed by Pure

Edited by Azure

Chapter 12: Braised Beef

"Shen Yue's paralysis is only temporary, and he will definitely stand up again in the future. But some people have all arrogance and no respect, they are just two-legged beasts in human skin."

Tang Qiaoqiao put her hands on her knees and didn't move at all, but her intense gaze stunned  Shen Liang for a while, making him unable to refute.

Hu Hong couldn't bear it. Tang Qiaoqiao scolded her son as a brute in front of her, and even scolded her as well. She frowned and said angrily, "Tang Qiaoqiao, you are too presumptuous. I am your elder, and I have not left yet. You shouldn't try to sow discord and intentionally drive a wedge between uncle and nephew. After all, blood is thicker than water—while you are merely an outsider—someone we, the Shen family, brought as a Chōngxǐ* with money. Don't overstep your boundaries; you really think you're the madam of this house?

[T/N: Chōngxǐ was a widely practiced folk marriage custom during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with origins dating back to the Song dynasty. The essence of this practice involved marrying a long-term ill patient to someone else in the hope of achieving a healing effect.]

As long as I want to, I can replace you anytime."

Hu Hong's high-pitched screech is quite annoying. It's no wonder Shen Liang is her son.

‘Replace me quickly, speed it up. I don’t care about this kind of disgusting family.' Before Tang Qiaoqiao could express her thoughts, her phone suddenly rang on the coffee table. 

Tang Qiaoqiao picked up the phone. It was actually from Shen Yue upstairs.

He calmly uttered five words: "Put the phone on speaker."

Tang Qiaoqiao glanced at Hu Hong, and then followed his instructions.

A deep voice said without any fluctuation, as cold as winter frost. "Get out!"

Hu Hong and Shen Liang were shocked. They hurriedly raised their heads and tried to find Shen Yue's figure.

Did he hear their conversation just now?

Hu Hong let out a cold sweat. Didn’t they say he was half dead, unwilling to eat or drink? Why, why was he still so full of energy?

The corner of Tang Qiaoqiao's mouth raised. "Have you heard? He asked you to leave."

Shen Yue was spoiled by his parents: his father and mother in the palm of his hand, but he was very afraid of his uncle. The two were not very different in age. He grew up in Shen Yue's shadow from childhood to adulthood.

When Hu Hong and Shen Liang heard his devilish voice, they ignored Tang Qiaoqiao's words and rushed out the door in embarrassment.

Tang Qiaoqiao smiled very happily. "My nephew, walk slowly. I won't send you off."

Just as Hu Hong and her son stepped out of the door, the door shut with a "bang!"

As Hu Hong left the villa, her beating heart gradually calmed down. "This kind of uneducated wild girl, stay away from her in the future."

Shen Liang complained to his mother, "I told you not to come, but you insisted on coming. That woman is nothing but a lunatic, and now even uncle has gone mad, completely disregarding his own family."

"You dare to say this? Let me ask you, what is going on with Tang Rou? If you two dare to lie, I will investigate it. If I find out, don't blame me for not acknowledging my six relatives."

Shen Liang defended her with a guilty heart. "She is a good woman. What trouble could she possibly cause? It's all Tang Qiaoqiao nonsense."

Hu Hong doesn't believe her son's words. People in love are all blind. It seemed she had to find someone to check. 

Hu Hong: "Then did she open a secondary account? You must ask her. I see this type of scheming woman a lot. She will use this trick just because you don't want to make the relationship public"

"Hmph!" Hu Hong opened the car door and said before getting in the car, "Make sure to tell her that if she can't behave well, then she should just leave. Originally, I didn't like the Tang family very much. Looking at Tang Qiaoqiao, we can see what kind of family they are. There are many popular ladies in Beijing. I'll introduce you to some of the beautiful ones."

Hu Hong finished speaking and drove off by herself.

Shen Liang felt that his head hurt and the doubt in his heart only grew heavier. He immediately called Tang Rou.

"Do you have a Weibo secondary account?"

Tang Rou was shocked. She didn't expect that he was calling for this.

"Why are you asking?"

Shen Liang was upset. "Just tell me if you have one."

"Who doesn't have a secondary account? It's normal."

"So you really have one. What\ did you post on your secondary account??"

Tang Rou was silent for a few seconds." I didn’t write anything. Just occasionally log in and lurk."

Shen Liang: "Did you write about our relationship or something?"

"How come?" Tang Rou's voice turned silent.

Shen Liang knew that her tone was wrong and became angry. "Do you know how serious the consequences are if fans find out about an idol’s relationship? How serious would it be for my career? You should understand."

"Who told you? Did you see me scribble on my secondary account? Do you have so little trust in me?" Tang Rou said with a choked voice.

Shen Liang paused, feeling that he had indeed said too much because he was angry with Tang Qiaoqiao.

"I was impulsive, but you have to pay attention and not write silly things. Don't think you won't be discovered. Tang Qiaoqiao knows about your secondary account; others will also find out."

"What!" How did Tang Qiaoqiao know about this? This secondary account was opened after she knew that she was not the real daughter of the Tang family.

Even if Tang's father and Tang's mother still spoiled her, she still felt uneasy, and she had to hold onto Shen Liang tightly. But as an idol, he couldn't reveal  his relationship, so she had thought of this trick.

'Tang Qiaoqiao, why are you gone but still lingering.'

After Hu Hong's mother and son left, Tang Qiaoqiao went upstairs.

"Did you hear all of it?"

His ears were fine.

Shen Yue still had an iceberg face. "Who told you to use my top-grade tea for them?"

Tang Qiaoqiao: "I am just afraid of losing your reputation. After all, they are your relatives."

"No need to entertain them next time."

"Okay, leave them cold next time." Tang Qiaoqiao nodded obediently. She had already planned on doing that, he just gave her an excuse.

"Except for the old lady, you don't have to worry about anyone else."

'Oh, there are many grievances in the big family.'

---

Tang Qiaoqiao ordered a batch of vegetable seeds online, and it was delivered soon after.

Although Shen Yue had never planted vegetables, he knew that planting vegetables was based on season and location. Different vegetables require different soil and water quality.

However, when he looked down from upstairs, Tang Qiaoqiao was wearing yellow suspender overalls and a big straw hat. Like a little bee, she was moving alone in the vegetable field back and forth, shrinking into a small ball and squatting on the ground from time to time. She turned over the ground and started watering. All of the vegetable seeds were planted by herself.

Shen Yue was even more sure that the diet therapy method she was talking about was worthless.

In the end, probably only one or two plants will survive.

Tang Qiaoqiao didn't know of Shen Yue's thoughts. Every time she planted a seed, she also transferred some spiritual qi from her body to the ground with the seed. Every piece of land in the garden now had a cloud of her qi.

Growing vegetables in the garden was the first step in her plan.

There was some mountainous land behind this villa, all belonging to Shen Yue. When the time came, as long as she could prove to him that her method was useful, she would expand her breeding program. Then she could also raise chickens and ducks in the mountains.

Finally, she would be completely self-sufficient in vegetables, meat, eggs, and poultry.

Tang Qiaoqiao had a beautiful plan for the future. She stood up and stretched her body. She had squatted for a long time, casuing her legs and feet to feel numb.

As soon as she raised her head, she saw Shen Yue looking down beside the large French window on the second floor, so she waved her hand wildly. "Hello there!"

Shen Yue stared at her blankly, turned his wheelchair, ignored her, and left.

Tang Qiaoqiao's hand froze in the air: '... what an evil capitalist.'

Tang Qiaoqiao was busy all afternoon and grew hungry. She wanted something to eat.

She remembered that fans nearly unanimously said they would like to see her live broadcast, so she tinkered and experimented for a long time and finally opened a Weibo live broadcast.

Tang Qiaoqiao did not announce the live broadcast, so there were not many viewers at first. However, the first scene that the fans saw was Tang Qiaoqiao's face.

Face value crit!

There was no powder on her face, and she was very close to the camera, but not even a pore was visible on her white skin. Her slick eyes rolled around, and her pink lips opened slightly, revealing half of her teeth.

【Ahhhhhhhhh, Qiaoqiao really made a live broadcast, she really loves her fans】

【Fuck, too beautiful. You pierced my heart】

【Qiaoqiao is worthy of her palm-size face. I can’t fit on my screen. Envy, jealousy, hate】

【Without a filter, without makeup, bye!】

After Tang Qiaoqiao adjusted the screen for a long time, she finally fixed the phone onto the tripod. She saw the message sin the live broadcast room.

"There are people so soon," she stroked her ears and smiled, "because some fans said they wanted to watch me cooking, so I am trying it today. The angle is bad. If you don't dislike it, just watch."

【Don't dislike it, don't dislike it. Just shoot it anyway】

【What kind of food will Qiaoqiao make? Chinese or Western? 】

Tang Qiaoqiao put on an apron, washed her hands, and took out the ingredients to cook tonight.

"What I am going to make today is braised beef and spicy shrimp, both of which are common for dinner."

Tang Qiaoqiao took out a good shank, the knee portion of a cow. The meat here was tender and less glutenous.

She washed the beef with water, cut the beef into thin slices according to the texture, added salt, cooking wine, and starch to make a tenderizing marinade.

Because Tang Qiaoqiao pointed the camera at the counter, the audience in the live broadcast room only saw a pair of white and slender hands massaging the beef gently and slowly. Her sleeves were rolled up, and her exposed wrists were symmetrical and dazzling.

Lettuce slices and mung bean sprouts were blanched and spread evenly on the bottom of the bowl.

She poured the hot oil onto the pan, sauteed the green onion, ginger, and garlic, and cooked the bean paste and dried chili. The aromatic taste of chili suddenly burst into the tip of her nose, and Tang Qiaoqiao felt even more hungry.

Next, she poured the boiling stock, set it to low heat, and sprinkled the marinated beef slices into the pot. The beef was extremely tender and could be taken out after a slight change of color. She placed it onto a bowl of vegetables.

Tang Qiaoqiao grabbed a few more peppercorns and chili powder and sprinkled them on the beef. Last, she poured the hot oil with a sizzle.

【The color and fragrance are delicious. I can smell the spicy taste. I really want to eat it】

【I have ordered braised beef for the first time. I will eat it with Qiaoqiao later】

【The above commenter is so smart, I still have time to order takeaway】

After Tang Qiaoqiao gave a close-up of the braised beef, she picked up a chopstick and put a slice of beef in her mouth.

"The beef is soft and tender, and the strong spicy flavor is unstoppable. This will be perfect with a bowl of rice." Tang Qiaoqiao explained to the fans in the live broadcast room while eating.

While the fans were greedy and drooling, Tang Qiaoqiao suddenly clutched her throat and coughed.

【What's wrong, are you choking?】

【Qiaoqiao eat slowly, drink water quickly】

【Quickly, Heimlich Maneuver!】

......

How embarrassing; a peppercorn shell was stuck in her throat.

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