Chapter 84: You Glutton, How Can You Still Show Off?

In a run-down apartment building in the southern part of Jiang City.

Wang Yong’s wife, Zhang Yongxia, was making lunch.

She and Wang Yong had been married for over three years.

Both of them had come to Jiang City from small towns nearby to work.

Before moving to the city, they were full of ambition, convinced that the streets were paved with gold. As long as they worked hard, they believed they could make money, return home in glory, buy a house and a car, and amaze their families.

But reality proved otherwise. After the pandemic, the economy took a downturn. People like them, with no special skills or trades, could only take on hard labor jobs in the city.

And the money wasn’t nearly as much as they had imagined.

What did shock them, however, were the outrageous living expenses in the city.

She found a job as a waitress at a restaurant, earning less than four thousand yuan a month.

Her husband, Wang Yong, registered as a food delivery rider and spent his days rushing around delivering orders.

But delivering food wasn’t a long-term plan, so after discussing it with her, Wang Yong decided to look for a sales job.

They’d heard that in sales, as long as you had thick skin, a silver tongue, and were sincere, you could earn over ten thousand a month if your performance was good.

Wang Yong sent out many resumes and finally, just over a month ago, received an interview invitation from a company in the western part of the city.

On the day of the interview, he ran into a mentally unstable man attacking people on the street with a knife.

With his speed, he could have easily run away.

But he had a good heart.

When he saw what was happening, he couldn’t just stand by and watch innocent bystanders get hurt.

So he bravely rushed in, trying to subdue the attacker.

In the end, the man was too deranged, and Wang Yong got injured while trying to save people. He was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Among all the injured, his wounds weren’t the worst.

He told her that people from the nearby Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage had provided emergency first aid on the scene.

He assured Zhang Yongxia that he was fine and told her not to worry.

But as his wife, how could she not worry or feel scared seeing her husband lying in a hospital bed, bruised and bandaged?

Thankfully, Wang Yong recovered fairly quickly and had no lasting effects from the injury.

Only then did Zhang Yongxia finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Wang Yong even made the news because of the incident and received praise from the media.

But what good was verbal praise?

It couldn’t heal his wounds any faster.

Wang Yong still hadn’t found a suitable job.

Because of his injury, he had taken a leave from food delivery and hadn’t returned to work.

Today, Wang Yong and a group of people who had received emergency aid from the orphanage planned to visit and express their gratitude.

Everyone agreed to bring some items to donate to the children at the orphanage.

Since their family’s financial situation was modest, Zhang Yongxia had Wang Yong bring a custom-made banner as a gift.

Wang Yong had originally wanted her to go with him.

But she had to work, so she declined.

It was already 12:50.

She wondered if Wang Yong was done over there and when he’d be back.

Did the orphanage provide them with a meal?

Zhang Yongxia had a fairly long lunch break, and her workplace was close to home.

To save money, she usually came home to cook.

This afternoon, she had bought some noodles, bean sprouts, and leafy greens, planning to make a simple bowl of noodles.

As soon as the water in the pot boiled, she quickly tossed in half the bag of noodles.

While the noodles were cooking, Wang Yong came home.

“Wife, you haven’t eaten yet?”

“Look what I brought for you!”

“Oh, you were planning to have noodles?”

“Perfect! I brought back a super delicious hot and sour soup to go with the noodles. It’s gonna be amazing.”

“Wife, go rest in the room. I’ll take care of the cooking.”

Without giving her a chance to argue, Wang Yong gently pushed Zhang Yongxia into the room.

He kept an eye on the boiling noodles while turning on the other burner to heat the soup he’d brought back in a separate pot.

While that was warming up, he also pulled out the electric stove and began reheating the stir-fried green pepper pork and sweet and sour pork he had packed.

Soon, the noodles were done.

The big poached egg he had added was also cooked through.

He poured the hot and sour soup into a large bowl, then scooped in the noodles and egg.

He washed and chopped some scallions he had brought back and sprinkled them on top.

“Here, wife, hot and sour noodles, fresh and steaming. Eat while it’s hot.”

“The other two dishes will be ready in a minute.”

“Mm.” Zhang Yongxia nodded, took the chopsticks, and began slurping the noodles.

The first bite stunned her.

The noodles were just the usual kind—three yuan a bag, machine-pressed handmade noodles.

But paired with the hot and sour soup Wang Yong had brought back, they were unexpectedly delicious.

The chopped scallions on top added a unique flavor.

A bit spicy, a bit refreshing.

Soon, Wang Yong brought over the two hot meat dishes.

Zhang Yongxia picked up a piece of the stir-fried green pepper pork.

Even though it had been reheated, the flavor was still rich and savory.

The tender meat and crisp green peppers combined into a delightful aroma.

It was as if the flavor was dancing in her mouth, lighting up every taste bud.

Why… why was it so good?

Stir-fried green pepper pork was a common dish.

She had made it before too.

But compared to this, hers wasn’t even in the same league.

“Wife, try the sweet and sour pork. This one’s even better.”

Zhang Yongxia took a bite of the sweet and sour pork—and was once again blown away by the taste.

“Where did you get these dishes?”

“Someone treated you to a fancy restaurant?” she asked.

“No, no. I went to the orphanage today, remember? The food’s from the orphanage cafeteria.”

“Pretty amazing, right? I thought it was incredible too.”

“You won’t believe it—I had twelve bowls of those hot and sour noodles!”

“…” Zhang Yongxia.

You glutton, and you’re actually proud of that?

“The orphanage cafeteria is that good?”

“I always thought orphanages had terrible food. Just cabbage and potatoes every day.” Zhang Yongxia sighed.

She suddenly felt a bit of regret.

If she had known, she would’ve gone to the orphanage too.

Food that’s been packed and reheated usually doesn’t taste as good as when it’s freshly made.

If even the reheated food was this delicious, how amazing must the fresh dishes have been?

“No way.”

“Let me tell you, the director of Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage is wonderful.”

“She makes sure the cafeteria uses all organic ingredients. The meat is super fresh and high quality.”

“The chefs were specially hired from other places.”

“All so the kids at the orphanage can eat well, drink well, and grow up strong.”

“I brought a banner, right? As a thank-you, they even let me dig up a bunch of fresh vegetables from their backyard garden.”

“And the best part… guess what?”

Wang Yong, wearing an apron and preparing to make scallion pancakes, suddenly turned around with a wide grin, unable to hide his excitement as he looked at Zhang Yongxia.

“Hm? The pancakes haven’t been in the griddle for long. Why do they already smell so good?”

But Zhang Yongxia didn’t respond. Instead, she took a deep breath, sniffing the air.

She had prepared the dough earlier.

Her plan was to eat a bowl of noodles first, then make some pancakes to take with her for the afternoon.

But once Wang Yong got home, he couldn’t sit still. First, he served the noodles and reheated the dishes.

Then, without missing a beat, he started making scallion pancakes.

Besides that, Wang Yong had also washed and chopped the spinach he brought back, mixed it with beaten eggs, and was preparing to make a batch of spinach and egg pancakes next.