CHAPTER 283: CHAPTER 280: XIAO CHONG THE DIVINE PREDICTOR

"Such big crabs." Xiao Chong smiled and took the crab from Lin Wanwan’s hand, "Let me untie them."

Lin Wanwan shook her head and said, "No need, just steam them with the rope later, it won’t matter."

Xiao Chong released his grip obligingly: "Alright, should I put them together with these oysters?"

Lin Wanwan nodded: "No, but these oysters are all wild, not suitable for eating raw, they need to be cooked. Cousin, in the future, I’ll raise some myself, so you can have some fresh oysters, it’s delicious, and also nutritious."

Xiao Chong said seriously, "I don’t need any nourishment."

Lin Wanwan deliberately looked him up and down: "That may not be certain. As an older unmarried gentleman like you, you definitely need it."

Xiao Chong: "..."

Seeing Xiao Chong’s speechless expression, Lin Wanwan burst into laughter; when it comes to cheekiness, ancient people just can’t compare to her modern self.

"Cousin, you’re becoming more and more like the princesses of Chang’an, aye, I’m afraid of you. Is there anything else you need my help with? If not, I’ll get back to work." The conversation hit a dead end, and Xiao Chong intended to escape.

Lin Wanwan waved her hand: "Go on, go on, get to your work. I didn’t ask you for help anyway; you wanted to stay here."

Seeing Lin Wanwan say so, Xiao Chong happily left the kitchen and headed straight to the study to handle official duties.

Being a County Magistrate in the Great Tang is not an easy life! Recently, aside from the incident where he encountered assassins, another matter is giving him a headache.

That is, three children have consecutively disappeared in the county, causing panic among the people. It’s unclear where the kidnappers are from. This matter naturally is entrusted to the County Magistrate to handle, but they haven’t caught the kidnappers yet, and progress is very slow.

Because Mao County hasn’t built city walls, their control over flowing populations isn’t as tight as Xiong City, making it easy for wrongdoers to exploit the situation.

Lin Wanwan, living in the countryside, hadn’t noticed this news, as she was focused on preparing seafood in the back kitchen.

Seeing Xiao Chong run off, she told the cookmaid, "I’ll go to the carriage to get some spices, keep an eye on the fire."

"Yes, ma’am."

Claiming to fetch from the carriage was, of course, a ruse to find a secluded spot to return to the modern world and retrieve items from her small villa’s kitchen.

Though she rarely cooked in the villa, Lin Wanwan had prepared a lot of essentials like oil, rice, salt, sauces, and vinegar. The modern kitchen’s fridge stored various types from the Great Tang that needed refrigeration, there wasn’t enough space, so Lin Wanwan specifically bought a large Haier freezer.

This time, upon returning to the modern world, she not only took oil, salt, sauces, and vinegar but also a piece of ice and some Atlantic salmon she had air-shipped yesterday to prepare for sashimi later.

Back in the Great Tang County Government’s kitchen, Lin Wanwan set to work vigorously.

Seafood inherently has a fresh flavor, even when cooked plainly; but today, Lin Wanwan intended to create a dish bursting with color, aroma, and taste.

First, she put the clams in a pot, filled it with water, and added some salt to let them expel sand. The water she used was the modern Nongfu Spring water, which was far better than the well water Xiao Chong used.

The County Government did have spring water, but Xiao Chong only used it for tea, while cooking with regular well water.

Then, Lin Wanwan began with the crabs.

Despite the limited resources, after fishing out the crabs, she carefully cleaned them and steamed them in a large pot. Ideally, steaming over water yields the best flavor, but the County Government didn’t have a steamer, so she had to make do.

Once steamed, Lin Wanwan took the crabs out and placed them in a large bowl.

First, she cracked the crab shells open, set them aside, then removed the gills, and chopped the crabs into four pieces each on the cutting board, making eight pieces total. She brought out a porcelain platter, arranging them neatly.

Then, she began slicing garlic sprouts and scallion, which she had brought from the modern era, sprinkling them over the arranged crab pieces.

Lin Wanwan signaled the cookmaid to keep the fire going.

After the water in the pot dried up, Lin Wanwan poured in some oil, heated it slightly, and once it started to smoke, scooped it up with a spatula and drizzled it over the scallion-covered crabs.

Instantly, a delicious aroma wafted into the air, and the beautifully colored, fragrant, and flavorful scallion oil crab was ready!

With the first dish done, Lin Wanwan started on the oyster pancakes.

After blanching the oysters in hot water and draining them, she cracked an egg into a porcelain bowl, added an appropriate amount of flour, chicken essence, and salt, poured in some cold water, and mixed it into a lump-free batter with chopsticks. She then added chopped spring onions and oysters.

Once the oyster batter was ready, she heated the pan, added some oil, and poured the batter in, gently moving it around with a spatula to form a large pancake shape, preventing it from burning.

"Lower the heat, this dish needs to be pan-fried over low heat."

"Yes, ma’am." The cookmaid responded, lowering the heat. Having spent a lifetime tending fires, she was quite skilled at controlling the heat.

Lin Wanwan slowly pan-fried the oyster batter over low heat until the surface turned golden brown.

Once it was almost done, she quickly flipped it and continued frying, adding a splash of rice wine, and a fragrant oyster pancake was ready.

After a while, Lin Wanwan, busy with preparations, suddenly heard a thunderous "boom" from the sky. She looked out the door to see it had become very dark outside, with strong winds picking up — a thunderstorm was indeed coming.

Xiao Chong, that guy, is more accurate than a weather forecast, he’s a genius, he could set up a stall.

Soon, torrential rain poured down, and raindrops hit the tiles with a pitter-patter, creating a melodious tune of natural music.

The thunderstorm had only been going for a short time when Xiao Chong entered the kitchen with a child in his arms, wet from the rain, accompanied by a Hong Yan trailing behind.

"This little one is afraid of thunder, crying and fussing to find you." Xiao Chong looked at Lin Wanwan helplessly.

"Mommy, I’m scared." Little Qingyu opened his arms pitifully toward Lin Wanwan, with long eyelashes still carrying teardrops, clearly having just cried.

With everything almost ready, Lin Wanwan quickly put down her work, wiped her hands clean, and came to hold little Qingyu.

Little Qingyu flung himself into her arms, hugging her neck as he nestled his head against her shoulder.

"His clothes got a bit wet in the wind and rain on the way over, cousin, quickly take the little one to get changed, so he doesn’t catch a cold."

Lin Wanwan agreed promptly: "Okay."

This spring thunderstorm lasted for a long time without stopping; seeing the sky getting darker, Lin Wanwan completely gave up the thought of going home.

Xiao Ce, who also lived in the County Government, was so busy today that he didn’t even have time for dinner, hurriedly eating a quick meal with the County Magistrate and others in the cafeteria before continuing work.

As for Xiao Chong, being a food lover, he would absolutely not neglect meals for work; to him, enjoying food was equally important.

Once the rain eased up a bit, Lin Wanwan planned to return to the house she had bought, just two streets away from the County Government.

Though it’s not fully renovated yet, it’s better than staying overnight at the County Government. She hadn’t thought of it until now.

Lin Wanwan now sat dining with Xiao Chong, watching him praise her cooking as he ate, his peach blossom eyes shining captivatingly, suddenly making her want to leave.

Although there were many residents at the County Government, without elders from both sides overseeing, it wasn’t very convenient, and Lin Wanwan suddenly became mindful of her reputation.

She was impulsive after all—truthfully, the key issue was the incident in the cave where she removed clothing to treat bones, making her feel somewhat awkward in solitude, though little Qingyu eating alongside was a relief.