TL: Moonlit
Tang Ran couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw Tang Ou returning with pots and pans, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, “Why did it take you so long?”
Tang Ou wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, “These things aren’t easy to find. I had to go to several places to gather them all.”
Their home on North Star couldn’t compare to the capital planet, and items like these were not readily available due to low public demand.
Fortunately, he managed to buy everything.
“Female Father, let’s start quickly. I’m starving,” Tang Ou said eagerly.
“We still have to wait. I can’t conjure everything instantly. Go to the garden and pick some vegetables. Let me wash the pot first.”
Tang Ou, who usually slacked off whenever possible, didn’t say a word this time. He eagerly took the newly purchased basin and went to the garden to pick vegetables.
Just the thought of soon enjoying a delicious stir-fry made Tang Ou coldly snort in the direction of the Lin family’s house.
Tang Ran lit the fire, poured oil, heated the pan, and tentatively threw in the freshly washed vegetables that Tang Ou had picked. It was his first time doing such a thing.
His movements were stiff and hesitant. He turned to the eagerly waiting Tang Ou and asked, “And now, do I add salt?”
Tang Ou had a somewhat uncertain expression and replied, “Should we wait a bit longer? Is it considered done when the vegetables are cooked like this?”
The green vegetables in the pan turned from bright green to dark green, lacking any appeal.
Father and son looked at each other in silence. After a while, Tang Ran decided to give up and threw the handful of salt into the pan, stirring for a while. “Let’s leave it like this.”
Now, a greasy smell filled the air, completely different from the tantalizing aroma coming from the Lin family’s house.
Tang Ou looked at the leafy vegetables in Tang Ran’s bowl with some disgust and said, “Can we eat this? It looks like it’s rotten.”
It seemed poisonous no matter how you looked at it.
Tang Ran immediately became unhappy upon hearing this and slammed the bowl in Tang Ou’s arms, saying, “You’re the one who wants to eat, and now you’re finding fault too. Eat it quickly!”
Tang Ou held the bowl, knowing his female father’s temper, and didn’t dare refuse. He could only pinch his nose and take a bite with his chopsticks.
The oil poured by Tang Ran was a bit too much, and as soon as it entered his mouth, it felt slimy and pasty. He closed his eyes and chewed for a moment, but the bitter taste exploded in his mouth. Tang Ou couldn’t hold it back any longer and turned around in a sorry state, “Ugh…”
Seeing him in such a miserable state, Tang Ran reached out and snatched the bowl from his hand, saying, “Is it really that bad?”
While saying this, Tang Ran’s actions were swift. As the greasy vegetables entered his mouth, Tang Ran furrowed his brow. The oil was indeed poured excessively. Suppressing the feeling of nausea, he chewed for a moment, but instantly a mixture of bitterness and greasiness overwhelmed him, and Tang Ran couldn’t hold it back either, “Ugh…”
For a while, the small house was filled with the sound of retching.
Finally managing to suppress the nauseating sensation, the father and son looked at each other with pale faces. Tang Ou, with a hoarse voice and tears still in his eyes, asked, “How can Lin Su’s family manage to eat this with such a disgusting taste?”
The thought of that taste made him nauseous again.
Tang Ran wiped away a tear and sniffed, “Either our cooking method is wrong, or the vegetables they grow in their yard are different from ours.”
Tang Ou got up from the ground, puzzled, and asked, “What do you mean?”
“I suspect they eat purified fruits and vegetables.”
“Purified fruits and vegetables!” Tang Ou raised his voice in disbelief, “How is that possible? The Lin family is so poor, how could they afford purified fruits and vegetables?”
Tang Ran was also just skeptical because, after all, if you were to ask whose family had the worst living conditions in the Thirteenth Farm, it was definitely the Lin family, especially with Lin Su’s debt-ridden father suffering from C-level mental disorder.
But if it’s not that, how can they swallow that bitter taste?
“Female Father, why don’t you go and ask them how they do it? We can learn from them and try again later.”
Tang Ou cautiously suggested, although he had a thousand doubts in his heart. The Lin family couldn’t afford expensive purified fruits and vegetables. If it wasn’t purified fruits and vegetables, then it must be the cooking method. Perhaps they had some incredible culinary skills!
Tang Ran gave Tang Ou an unwilling glare and said, “Why don’t you go and ask yourself? I don’t want to go to their house, it’s inauspicious!”
Tang Ou smiled and said, “Female Father, you should go, go!”
Deep down, Tang Ran also wanted to know how the Lin family managed to make something so delicious out of such unappetizing ingredients. With Tang Ou’s persuasion, he couldn’t help but give in.
“Then you tidy up here.”
Seeing Tang Ran’s agreement, Tang Ou immediately nodded and promised to behave.
Tang Ran left the house and picked a handful of vegetables from the yard before heading towards the Lin family’s house.
Coincidentally, Su Jin had just finished eating and was busy in the yard. Now that the vegetables in each household were almost ready for harvest, in a few days, the government of North Star would send people to collect them.
Noticing Tang Ran approaching, Su Jin put down what he was doing and looked up at him, asking, “What are you doing here?”
Due to the animosity between Tang Ou and the Lin family, and Tang Ran’s indulgence towards Tang Ou, Su Jin had often engaged in arguments with them in the past, resulting in minimal interaction between the two families.
Tang Ran approached with vegetables in his hands, wearing a smile on his face, which made Su Jin instinctively wary.
“Brother Su is busy, and since your family always cooks such delicious food that the aroma wafts into our house, I thought of coming over to exchange some vegetables from the garden and, by the way, ask how you do it.”
As Tang Ran spoke, he peeked into Su Jin’s house.
Su Jin wasn’t surprised by Tang Ran’s words. After all, when they cooked with the door open, the aroma could drift anywhere, so it was only a matter of time before it caught Tang Ran’s attention. “He’s just a curious child, messing around without thinking.”
Tang Ran didn’t believe that such a delicious dish could be made through mere “messing around.” He had just finished “messing around” in his own house, and the memory of that nauseating taste still made him feel queasy. “We’re neighbors, there’s no need to hide it from me. Tang Ou has been howling at the delicious aroma in our house, but he’s too embarrassed to come and ask. Where do you buy your vegetables?”
Su Jin pointed to the vegetables in the field. “It’s these vegetables. Didn’t your family also plant a bunch?”
Tang Ran glanced at the vegetables pointed out by Su Jin, which were no different from the ones in his own yard. “Then let’s exchange some and taste them.”
If the cooking method was the same, then the problem must lie with the vegetables.
Su Jin didn’t really want to make the exchange and furrowed her brows. “They’re the same as the ones you have in your hands. It won’t make a difference.”
“Just do the exchange. Your vegetables look more vibrant than ours. Let’s not worry about the details as neighbors. I can just pick a little less,” Tang Ran said, looking as if he was willing to take a loss. Su Jin watched his actions as he picked a bunch and seemed like he wanted to pick more. He immediately said, “That’s enough!”
Reluctantly, Tang Ran put down the bunch of vegetables in his hand. He held the visibly smaller portion of vegetables that he brought and asked persistently, “Just tell me how you cook these vegetables. The aroma from your house keeps drifting into ours. It’s unfair for you to say it’s just random messing around, Brother Su!”
Su Jin’s face darkened. “Don’t call me brother, I can’t afford that title. It’s just something the kids randomly came up with. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”
After saying that, Su Jin ignored him and lowered his head to continue handling the vegetables on the ground.
Unable to make any progress with Su Jin’s stubborn attitude, Tang Ran suddenly noticed a figure walking inside the house. Immediately, he called out, “Lin Su, is that you, Lin Su?”
As soon as Su Jin heard him call Lin Su, he became agitated. “What are you shouting? Why haven’t you left yet? Do I have to throw you out before you’ll go?”
Just as Su Jin was about to push Tang Ran out, he heard Lin Su’s voice saying, “Uncle Tang, what’s going on?”
When Tang Ran saw Lin Su, his pupils constricted for a moment. The young man was dressed in a simple T-shirt, with porcelain-like fair skin that seemed to radiate light. However, what surprised him the most was Lin Su’s clear and bright eyes. The pitch-black pupils looked like obsidian polished by spring water, mysterious and profound.
“This, this is Lin Su?” Tang Ran’s voice carried obvious shock. In his mind, Lin Su had always been that guy who couldn’t compare to his own child, who liked to hunch his back and never greeted anyone with a smile. He always had a gloomy expression, like a debt collector.
When did Lin Su start standing up straight, losing the shadowy look in his eyes, and wearing a faint smile on his lips? The two adorable and beautiful dimples were faintly visible, showcasing his presence.
“Uncle Tang, you didn’t recognize me so soon?” Lin Su stepped forward and discreetly stood in front of Su Jin. “What brings Uncle Tang here?”
Seeing him like this, Su Jin’s heart felt a pang. As an elder, he was being protected by Lin Su instead. He really wasn’t fulfilling his role as the father.
Tang Ran looked somewhat dazed at the approaching Lin Su. “Long time no see, you’ve changed a lot. Ah, I just came to ask how you cook the vegetables in your house. They smell so fragrant. Tang Ou was howling with desire, so I came here to ask. But your female father here didn’t want to tell me anything, just said it was random messing around. How can random messing around result in such deliciousness?”
Lin Su suddenly realized, “So that’s what it’s about.”
Tang Ran thought Lin Su would be willing to share, and his anticipation grew. “Yes, yes, that’s the matter. So, how do you make it?”
“My father has already said it, it was just curiosity and random messing around. I didn’t expect to have a talent for it,” Lin Su replied with a smile, his face adorned with two dimples, making him look obedient and beautiful.
Tang Ran was unsure whether he was joking or serious. He glanced skeptically at Su Jin, who stood behind Lin Su with a dark expression, and nodded, “Well then, I’ll go home and give it a try.”
“Mhm, take care, Uncle Tang,” Lin Su watched as Tang Ran left. In his black eyes, there flashed a hint of sharpness as he turned away from Su Jin, but it quickly returned to calmness. He then turned his head, smiling as he reached out and embraced Su Jin’s shoulder. “Is there anything else, Female Father?”
“Little Su, is it really…” Su Jin wanted to say that he was useless, that he had never properly protected Lin Su since he was young, and now Lin Su had to protect him instead. He was truly failing as a female father.
But Lin Su didn’t let Su Jin finish his words. “Female Father, I’m all grown up now and have my own family. It’s time for me to protect you.”
Su Jin couldn’t hold back anymore, his eyes turned red. Lin Su hugged him and patted his shoulder. He knew that it would take some time for Su Jin to accept all of this, and actions spoke louder than words.
Tang Ran returned home with the handful of vegetables he obtained from Lin Su. Although he didn’t get the specific cooking method, it wasn’t in vain.
Tang Ou, who had been eagerly waiting at home, greeted him eagerly. “Father, how did it go? Did you ask?”
Seeing his own child looking so anxious, Tang Ran immediately asked, thinking about the clean and refined Lin Su he had just seen, “I’m asking you, did you see Lin Su?”
Not understanding why his father suddenly asked this, Tang Ou nodded. “Yes, I did. What’s wrong?”
“Did you not notice the changes in him? Why are you still like this?” Faced with Tang Ran’s sudden disapproval, Tang Ou remained silent.
“Enough, stop standing at the doorway. Go wash the vegetables, and this time, use less oil,” Tang Ran became annoyed as well. He didn’t believe that they couldn’t figure it out!
Learning from the previous failed attempt, this time Tang Ran used less oil. After stir-frying the vegetables a few times and seeing the change in color, he added salt and served them.
With less oil, the vegetables didn’t look as greasy as the first time, but they still didn’t emit the tempting aroma like the ones from Lin Su’s house.
Tang Ou stared at the dish of vegetables and instinctively shrank his neck. He was afraid that Tang Ran would call him over to taste them.
However, Tang Ran seemed to have forgotten his existence. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. With less greasiness, he thought it might have worked. But after chewing, a bitter taste instantly exploded in his mouth.
“Ptui, ugh—” Tang Ou hurriedly ran over and patted Tang Ran’s back worriedly. “Female Father, are you okay?”
Tang Ran pushed him away and wiped his mouth. “This is ridiculous. How can something taste so bad? How can they eat this in their house, and they eat it every meal? They must be crazy poor, not afraid of death!”
Author’s Note:
Lin Su: Blame me?
This Tang father-and-son duo is so shameless! I hate them.
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