novelBarbecue, wine, and winter (1)
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Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir
Chapter: 058 out of 513 - Barbecue, wine, and winter (1)
Ning Errong's idea of barbecue was just directly roasting chicken, duck, or fish near a fire. But, Sangyu had said they needed fine wire mesh and also high quality charcoal.
Anyways, her entire family had come here as guests, so Steward Qian would provide anything she requested. Ning Errong didn't find this bothersome either and ordered the servants to bring the items that Nie Sangyu wanted.
Winter's atmosphere had become more intense. At night, the sound of the chilly wind passing by could be heard from inside. It was so cold that it made people unwilling to go outside. But, Ji Man still said, "Let's go grilling in the courtyard's pavilion."
"Why, ah? Wouldn't it be good to stay inside and be warm?" Ning Errong knitted her brow as she look at the outside weather condition. She wasn't very willing.
"When we're grilling, there'll be a charcoal fire. There's no reason to fear being cold." Ji Man rolled her eyes and said, "When you're grilling food, it'll taste better the colder the temperature is. Once you sprinkle spicy powder over the food brushed with oil, it won't be necessary to say how delicious the food will be."
Ning Errong swallowed her saliva. There was a slight amount of struggle in her eyes."Won't it be the same thing to have it grilled outside and eat it inside..."
"Don't you know that difficult to come by things are more precious?" Ji Man seriously said."If you have someone else prepare it and bring it to you, it won't taste as good."
The pampered and spoiled since childhood little princess was silent for a long time before she finally reluctantly said, "Okay."
Baizhi had servants place the items needed for grilling in the pavilion and also added two more braziers in the passing. It was better than not having any other heat sources.
Ji Man looked around. Since it was currently dinnertime, there was naturally no one else coming to the southern courtyard. She had also obtained old madame's approval to come here and wasn't worried about causing any disaster. And so, she tied up her sleeves and ordered Muxu to cut up the meat and vegetables and skewer them while she organized the various bottles of condiments.
Not long after the charcoal fire was ignited, Ji Man placed the meat skewers on top of the wire mesh first, then she brushed the meat with oil and cumin and sprinkled salt and spices on top. It didn't take long before there was a delicious smell.
Sitting on the side, Ning Errong watched Nie Sangyu with her hands unwilling to leave her sleeves that were lined with rabbit fur. But, this fragrance was truly tempting. Hearing the sizzling sound of the skewered meat, she couldn't resist deeply inhaling.
As Ji Man grilled the food, she reminisced and accidentally blurted out, "Doesn't it smell tasty? In the place that I'm from, there's nothing better than drinking beer and hanging out with friends while wandering from street stall to street stall eating this type of food, whether it's winter or summer."
"The place that you're from?" Ning Errong curiously looked at her, "Isn't your home in the capital?"
The capital didn't have this type of food, ah. And, what was beer?
Ji Man realized that she had blurted out a secret and hurriedly handed over a recently finished cooking meat skewer to distract her."Let's not talk about that for now. How about trying this first?"
The kitchen servants had brought over large pieces of lamb, beef, and pork. The quality of the meat was very good. It was fatty without being greasy. The taste and smell was worth of poetry.
It only took a short period of time for Ning Errong to finish eating the other cooked skewers of mouthwatering meat. She eagerly looked at Nie Sangyu once she was done.
"Come over here and help me grill. You can't just sit there and do nothing." Ji Man called out and handed her a cotton cloth."If you're worried about your hands, use this to cover your hands while you're grilling. Grill some vegetables to eat next so that you won't get sick of just eating meat."
Ning Errong really wanted to say, how could she be sick of it. She wanted to eat more meat... But Nie Sangyu had already placed leeks into her hands, so she could only helplessly mimic Nie Sangyu's earlier action by placing the vegetables on top of the wire mesh and brushing them with oil and spices.
The fragrant smell drifted far away. Ning Mingjie had just finished eating dinner and had been planning on taking a stroll in the garden. But, after getting a sniff of this smell, he followed it all the way to the pavilion.
"What are you two doing?"
He saw two girls that were bustling with activity in the pavilion. The servants near them were each holding a food skewer. The stronger smell in the pavilion made it even more tempting to come closer.
"Older brother, " Ning Errong turned her head and saw him. She showed off by saying, "You're always saying that I can't cook. Come here and try the food that I grilled." She handed him a lamb skewer.
Ning Mingjie stared at the fragrant, black thing in front of him and was very hesitant.
Ji Man hurriedly took another skewer to give to him and said, "Eat this one first. The skewer that Errong gave you was a failed one."
"How is it a failure? It's just slightly black!" Ning Errong wasn't reconciled to defeat. She ate a bite of the meat and licked her lips. Looking rather unpresentable, she said, "It's much tastier than the food cooked in the kitchen."
Ning Mingjie had frozen when that clean hand brought a meat skewer to him. He finally looked up and saw the person in front of him. She had red lips and a mark between her eyebrows. Who else could this person be other than Nie Sangyu?
Why was she here? And, why was she grilling meat?
Seeing that he had accepted the grilled meat, Ji Man didn't say anything else. She went back with her head lowered and continued grilling. As she was grilling the meat, she finally consciously responded to Ning Mingjie's presence. Eh? Why was he here?
She raised her head and saw that he was quietly eating the lamb skewer. She couldn't see the expression on the part of his face that was hidden by the silver mask, but his eyes seemed bright. He seemed as if he was really enjoying this food's flavor.
According to the original novel, shouldn't this person have gone to the garden at this time? Then, he would happen to meet female lead in the garden and secretly fall in love with her after discovering that she was a wonderful and beautiful person. Why had he come here to eat lamb skewers?
Noticing Nie Sangyu's gaze, Ning Mingjie tilted his head and lightly smiled at her, "I didn't expect that you would have this skill."
His smile was very beautiful. It looked much better than Ning Yuxuan's always complicated and secretive smile. Ji Man slightly lost her senses from seeing this sight. And then, she finally realized what was wrong.
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