The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

Chapter 109 Learning to Cook Also Has a Historical Background

Zhou Zihang carried a steaming plate of stir-fried jade shrimp out of the kitchen. As he placed it on the table of delicacies, he greeted everyone, "Come on, everyone, please sit down. This is the last dish. Now everyone is here."

Ding Jiajia, who was chatting with Jian Zheng in the living room, jumped up from the sofa, was the first to walk over, and found a seat near the door.

Jian Zheng then walked towards the restaurant and asked, "Aren't you going to invite Shang Yibo?"

Ding Jiajia replied, "He's on the balcony making a phone call."

Zhou Yanruo was helping Zhou Zihang distribute plates and chopsticks when she noticed that Shang Yibo hadn't come over yet. "I'll go call him; he should be almost done."

Before he could finish speaking, Shang Yibo had already walked in from the balcony.

Zhou Zihang sat in the host's seat facing the door, with Zhou Yanruo to his left and Jian Zheng to his right. Next to Zhou Yanruo sat Shang Yibo, and next to Jian Zheng sat Ding Jiajia.

Jian Zheng picked up the glass in front of him, about to speak, when he noticed that it contained grape juice instead of red wine. He asked, "Isn't there any wine?"

Zhou Yanruo explained on behalf of Zhou Zihang: "Zihang is allergic to alcohol, so we usually don't keep any alcohol at home."

Shang Yibo glanced at Zhou Yanruo and thought to himself, "She already knows this, does she need to tell me?"

Zhou Zihang looked slightly embarrassed and explained, "I don't drink alcohol, so I don't usually keep any at home. Should I go downstairs and buy some now?"

Ding Jiajia immediately stood up and said, "I'll go buy it."

Jian Zheng quickly waved his hand: "No need to trouble yourself, we'll just use water instead of wine, that's enough. It's no fun drinking in the middle of the day."

Shang Yibo raised his glass first and said, "Congratulations to Dr. Zhou on your new home!" Everyone responded by raising their glasses in celebration.

Zhou Zihang smiled happily, his heart filled with joy.

"Everyone, please try my cooking," he warmly invited.

Jian Zheng picked up a piece of jade shrimp with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and after savoring it, said, "This tastes absolutely amazing! I heard from Zhou Yanruo that Dr. Zhou studies biology? In my opinion, you are a top-notch chef whose talent was wasted on biology."

Zhou Zihang responded with a smile: "It won't be a delay. Many of my innovative dishes and ingredient inspirations come from biological experiments."

Ding Jiajia asked curiously, "This is indeed very special. What kind of biological experiments can teach you to cook, and cook so deliciously?"

Zhou Zihang explained, "Biological experiments are basically nothing more than giving animals injections, dissecting them, and conducting in vitro cell culture. The main experimental subjects are mice, and sometimes rabbits are also included."

Just as Shang Yibo was about to pick up a piece of chicken to taste, he heard Zhou Zihang mention "mouse" and "rabbit," as well as words like "dissection" and "cell culture." He couldn't help but frown, quickly put down his chopsticks, and joked, "Dr. Zhou, the source of your culinary inspiration is really peculiar. It's making me a little hesitant to pick up my chopsticks."

Zhou Yanruo laughed and said, "Zihang, I'm used to hearing you talk about things in the lab, but others might not be able to listen while eating. Don't talk about your biology lab stuff at the dinner table. If you don't have a big appetite, you'll be wasting all this delicious food."

“If you agree with Ruoruo, then I won’t delve any further into this discussion.” Zhou Zihang stood up and began serving soup to everyone, while sharing his cooking tips: “Today I’ve prepared clear soup lion’s head meatballs for everyone. Considering the hot weather these past few days, I’ve cleverly incorporated diced winter melon into the soup, which can both cool you down and relieve the summer heat without compromising the freshness of the lion’s head meatballs.”

Everyone looked at Zhou Zihang with smiles, their eyes full of curiosity. This PhD graduate from the United States not only cooked himself, but also treated each dish with the rigorous attitude of a scholar. He not only pursued innovation that made the dish look and smell delicious, but also paid great attention to the selection of ingredients, truly achieving a perfect combination of deliciousness and nutrition.

As Zhou Zihang reached for the vinegar bottle, Shang Yibo did so almost simultaneously. Because of their closer proximity, Shang Yibo grabbed the bottle first, which was placed in the center of the table. He naturally poured some vinegar into the lion's head meatball and winter melon soup in front of Zhou Yanruo.

Zhou Zihang was somewhat surprised: "Shang Yibo, do you also know that Ruoruo likes to add vinegar to winter melon soup?"

Shang Yibo appeared nonchalant, but he felt uneasy inside.

Ding Jiajia asked curiously, "Vinegar in winter melon soup? How can that taste good? Is this some kind of weird dish?"

As she spoke, she picked up the vinegar bottle, intending to add vinegar to her soup, but when she looked up, she met Shang Yibo's glare. Ding Jiajia then noticed that the expressions on the faces of the people at the table were varied, as if concealing complex emotions. She put down the vinegar bottle, wondering to herself, "Is adding vinegar to soup someone's exclusive right? Their serious expressions are almost ridiculous."

When Zhou Yanruo saw Shang Yibo pouring vinegar into the soup bowl in front of her, her heart stirred slightly, and her eyes became a little dazed.

At this moment, another person who was lost in thought was Jian Zheng, who was sitting opposite Shang Yibo and Zhou Yanruo, silently observing this scene.

A moment of silence fell over the table.

After a moment, Ding Jiajia spoke up: "Dr. Zhou, let's get serious. How did you start learning to cook? These dishes are so delicious. It seems you have a lot of talent. You could totally open a shop right away."

Jian Zheng smiled first, then said sarcastically, "Do you want a PhD in biology from the US to open a restaurant?"

Ding Jiajia retorted, "So what? What's wrong with that? It's all about creating value, isn't it great!"

Zhou Zihang said, "I was just joking when I said the lab gave me inspiration for cooking. Nobody took it seriously. Actually, I was forced into learning to cook."

Shang Yibo was very interested in knowing how Zhou Yanruo was doing abroad. Since Zhou Zihang had been with Zhou Yanruo all along, could knowing about Zhou Zihang's life abroad indirectly reveal Zhou Yanruo's situation?

Shang Yibo couldn't help but interject, "How so?"

"The first time I cooked was at Ruoruo's house." Zhou Zihang looked at Zhou Yanruo, who was looking down and drinking soup attentively.

He then asked Zhou Yanruo, "Ruoruo, can we talk about what happened the year we first met?"

Zhou Yanruo raised her head and replied with a smile, "Say what you want to say, it's been more than ten years anyway."

"Yes, now that you mention it, time really flies. It's been more than ten years since then."

After a clichéd opening, Zhou Zihang began to recall his first encounter with Ruoruo: "I met Ruoruo at a New Year's gathering for international students. That year was Zhou Yanruo's fifth year in New York, a crucial time for her to prepare her dissertation for graduation. At that time, I had just finished my doctoral studies and had some free time, so I accepted a fellow countryman's request to help Ruoruo prepare her graduation thesis."

Jian Zheng interjected, "Zhou Yanruo, what did you study? I've never asked you before. I only found out yesterday that you're the chairman's assistant at Rushang Group. How did you end up working as a manager in a company? I always thought you should be a big star by now."

Jian Zheng asked Zhou Yanruo a question, but his eyes glanced at Shang Yibo.

Zhou Yanruo raised her head and said calmly, "Stop teasing me. Let's hear how Zihang learned to cook."

Shang Yibo, however, had been listening attentively to Zhou Zihang. When Jian Zheng interrupted Zhou Zihang, he glared at Jian Zheng with displeasure and said, "Don't interrupt, Dr. Zhou, please continue."

Perhaps because she had just drunk a bowl of hot soup, Zhou Yanruo's cheeks were slightly flushed, and she opened her thin lips and said slowly, "Let me tell you."