41: Nghe An Province’s specialty eel porridge

Li Qinghe walked to the living room on the second floor and turned on the lights, only to find Nguyen Thi Linh, dressed in a pink nightgown, curled up on the sofa like a kitten.

Nguyen Thi Linh curled up on the sofa like a kitten

Even the motorcycle sound just now hadn't woken her, but the moment the lights came on, she woke up on the sofa.

Seeing Li Qinghe's figure with hazy eyes, Nguyen Thi Linh jumped up, "Brother, you're back! I made eel porridge; I'll go heat it up for you now."

Li Qinghe did not stop Nguyen Thi Linh from bustling around in the kitchen, because refusing someone's kindness can sometimes hurt her feelings.

Li Qinghe placed the packed seafood on the dining table and stood at the kitchen door, watching Nguyen Thi Linh stir a thick pot of porridge over a low flame, with another small pot beside it, heating up the stir-fried eel meat.

The eel porridge in Vietnam is quite different from that in China; the meat and porridge are not cooked together.

However, the porridge base was also brown, so it seemed something had been added to it. Li Qinghe didn't think much about it, knowing he would find out when he ate it.

"A Ling, why didn't you sleep in bed? Did you sleep on the sofa last night too?"

Li Qinghe frowned slightly. If he wasn't home, Nguyen Thi Linh would sleep on the sofa, and such a habit was not good.

"Brother, I slept in my room last night. Today, I thought you would come back, so I waited on the sofa and accidentally fell asleep."

Nguyen Thi Linh didn't turn her head, but her head lowered slightly as she stirred the porridge.

At this moment, she felt very happy because Li Qinghe was concerned about her. The feeling of being cared for by her man instantly made her not sleepy anymore.

As the stove's heat gradually increased, the eel porridge was heated through a few minutes later.

Nguyen Thi Linh placed a placemat on the table, then used two towels to carry the clay pot to the table, followed by the heated eel meat, and finally a plate of raw chopped cilantro.

Li Qinghe saw green onions, chili, and ginger in the eel meat, and a spicy aroma wafted to his nose.

He couldn't help but pick up a piece and put it in his mouth, and a spicy flavor bloomed on his tongue: "This is delicious, I'll go wash the bowls and we can eat together."

Li Qinghe got up to wash the bowls in the kitchen, but Nguyen Thi Linh pushed him out of the kitchen again: "Brother, you go sit at the dining table; I'll do these things."

Looking at Nguyen Thi Linh, who was bustling around like a little wife, Li Qinghe raised his eyebrows. Had his right to enter the kitchen been stripped away?

If his old buddies back home knew, they would surely be envious to death.

Never mind, he wouldn't fight for it. Li Qinghe let Nguyen Thi Linh do these things, as he couldn't deprive her of the sense of accomplishment.

Li Qinghe sat at the dining table and opened all the seafood he had brought back, arranging them on the table.

The table was filled with a rich array of seafood and fish.

Nguyen Thi Linh went in and washed two sets of chopsticks and bowls, and a spoon, then brought them out.

"A Ling, sit next to me."

Li Qinghe pulled out the chair beside him.

Nguyen Thi Linh obediently sat down.

"Brother, this eel porridge is a specialty of our Nghe An Province. I'll mix it for you."

Nguyen Thi Linh first scooped a bowl of steaming hot porridge, then added a spoonful of stir-fried fragrant eel meat, grabbed a handful of cilantro, and gently stirred it with a spoon.

The delicate and thick porridge base, the fresh and spicy fish meat, and the verdant and fragrant cilantro, combined, made a very appealing bowl of eel porridge.

"Brother, quickly try it. I know you like spicy food, so I specially added more chili."

Nguyen Thi Linh placed the mixed porridge in front of Li Qinghe, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Li Qinghe scooped up a spoonful of porridge with eel meat, blew on it slightly, and after it cooled, he put it into his mouth.

The thick porridge mixed with the fresh and fragrant eel meat, plus the sweet taste of cilantro, greatly whetted Li Qinghe's appetite.

"The porridge is delicious, A Ling, you eat too."

Seeing that Li Qinghe really liked the porridge she cooked, a sweet smile appeared on Nguyen Thi Linh's face.

"A Ling, why is the porridge base brown?" Li Qinghe took the opportunity to ask about something that had puzzled him earlier.

"Because the deboned eel bones and some of the eel blood were added to it and simmered, and then the bones were removed after simmering."

Nguyen Thi Linh replied as she also served herself half a bowl of porridge.

Li Qinghe only stopped after eating one bowl in one go.

Nguyen Thi Linh had only eaten a small half bowl of porridge and was already peeling shrimp shells.

Seeing that Li Qinghe had finished his porridge, she quickly picked up two peeled shrimp from in front of her and fed them to him.

"Mmm!"

Li Qinghe only bit half of the shrimp and pursed his lips, motioning to Nguyen Thi Linh.

The girl was still shy and dodged bashfully, but Li Qinghe hooked her neck and pulled her into his arms.

It was Nguyen Thi Linh's first time being fed food in this manner, and her face was as red as if on fire.

Li Qinghe held her tight, not letting go. The scallops were shared half and half, and the cheese oysters were also half and half.

As for the prawns, he simply opened his mouth and waited for Nguyen Thi Linh to peel them and put them in, then shared them half and half with Nguyen Thi Linh.

After the late-night snack, Nguyen Thi Linh was already soft in Li Qinghe's arms.

Li Qinghe directly picked her up in a princess carry and walked upstairs.

"Brother, I haven't washed the dishes yet." Nguyen Thi Linh's face was flushed as she leaned against Li Qinghe's chest.

"We'll wash that tomorrow."

The atmosphere had reached this point; how could the big bad wolf let the little white rabbit leave? Naturally, he considered all sorts of cooking methods—frying, deep-frying, stir-frying, stewing—all at once.

A nightgown fluttered lightly to the floor, followed by a large T-shirt falling heavily on top of it.

"Brother..."

The next morning, when Nguyen Thi Linh opened her eyes, she saw Li Qinghe looking at her tenderly.

"Brother, it feels so good to wake up every morning and see you."

Nguyen Thi Linh pressed her face against Li Qinghe's chest. She felt as if she had a sweet dream, moving from the factory into a beautiful house with an exquisite rooftop garden.

This house was also right next to the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake.

Whenever she felt that her current life was a bit surreal, Li Qinghe's strong body and fervent affection made her feel alive, confirming that her current life was real.

Yesterday, when she went to the market to buy groceries, she brought a million in cash, which used to be one-fifth of her monthly salary, but now it was just one day's living expenses.

She made a video call to her mother, who was far away in the mountainous region of Nghe An Province.

She reassured her mother about her current situation and also talked about Li Qinghe taking her to film videos.

When she showed her mother the new clothes Li Qinghe bought her, her mother, being an experienced woman, immediately noticed the changes in her body.

Under her mother's questioning, Nguyen Thi Linh admitted her relationship with Li Qinghe. Her mother didn't say anything, just let out a long sigh.

But when Nguyen Thi Linh happily told her that she was Li Qinghe's Da Mi Fan and took her on a tour of the beautiful house from downstairs to upstairs.

Upon hearing that Nguyen Thi Linh's daily living expenses were 1 million, her mother's face finally broke into a smile, repeatedly saying that Nguyen Thi Linh was lucky and telling her to cherish her current life.

She also told her to buy some more nourishing dishes for Li Qinghe to eat.

The eel porridge was made under her guidance.

However, when Nguyen Thi Linh said that she was always tired and couldn't win against Li Qinghe in a fight, a flicker of surprise crossed her mother's eyes. After a moment of silence, she taught her a method.

Nguyen Thi Linh actually used it last night, but she was too weak and ended up getting several more beatings, without even a chance to fight back.

It seemed she could only secretly call her mother today to report the results.

But now... Nguyen Thi Linh wanted to try if this morning method was effective.

An hour later, Nguyen Thi Linh cried; it still didn't work.

She sniffled, got up to take a shower, and obediently went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

There were no outsiders at home, so Li Qinghe went straight to his studio in just his shorts to edit videos. The video from the SPA shop had not yet been edited, and this was related to the element of desire in his account.