In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

As they were talking, a little boy with a round head ran over and buried his head in Lin Xiaoyan's arms.

The boy had a wheatish complexion, wore a tank top and light blue shorts, and had a ring of white marks on the back of his neck that weren't covered by his collar, mottled from the sun.

She had a buzz cut, and her eyes looked very much like Lin Xiaoyan's, dark and bright with a clever look.

"You little rascal! You don't even greet the guests!" Lin Xiaoyan pulled the boy out of her arms, tapped his head, and introduced him to Chen Wei, "This is my brother, Lin Xiaohu!"

The boy peeked half his head out from beside Lin Xiaoyan, looked Chen Wei up and down, and then, with his hands on his hips, spoke to Chen Wei in a menacing manner, like a teenager.

"You're my sister's boyfriend? Then you're not allowed to bully her!"

This kid! He's so young, yet he's already learned to threaten people!

However, Chen Wei also saw the little boy's protectiveness towards his sister, so he just raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't bully your sister even if I don't have a boyfriend!"

Chen Wei didn't care about what she said, but Lin Xiaoyan immediately turned fierce and slapped Lin Xiaohu on the back of the head.

"What are you saying! I asked you to say hello, and you're threatening me instead!"

The sudden slap made Lin Xiaohu's face fall, and Chen Wei shrank back in fear.

Goodness, this girl is fierce!

Lin Xiaoyan turned around and beckoned Chen Wei into the house, telling him not to hold a grudge against Lin Xiaohu.

Chen Wei followed behind and couldn't help but nudge Lin Xiaohu beside him, whispering something.

"Your sister... is fierce..."

"You're not allowed to talk about my sister like that!" Lin Xiaohu glared at Chen Wei, but then his tone softened instantly as he nodded, saying, "She is a bit fierce... but you're not allowed to say it!"

Hey! He's pretty protective of his sister.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Chen Wei grinned so hard he couldn't stop, and quickly carried the pig's trotters into the house.

As soon as he entered the house, a beautiful middle-aged woman in her forties came out to greet him warmly.

"This must be Chef Chen! Please come in! My daughter Yan Yan always talks about you!"

Chef Chen...

The way he was addressed sounded a bit strange, so Chen Wei gave an awkward smile and nodded quickly.

"Hello, Auntie!"

Lin Xiaoyan's mother, Zhao Lanzhi, was once a drama troupe actress. She had an outstanding temperament and a tall figure. Although she was quite old, she looked even more beautiful than Lin Xiaoyan.

Lin Xiaoyan's father wasn't home; I wonder if he went to work.

Only Zhao Lanzhi warmly invited Chen Wei to come in and sit down, while Lin Xiaoyan acted as if she were not at all at ease.

"Mom, haven't I told you for ages that Chef Chen's cooking is amazing! He came to our house today specifically to stew pig's trotters! Look, we even bought pig's trotters!"

"You silly girl! How can you let guests cook!" Zhao Lanzhi slapped Lin Xiaoyan lightly in anger before quickly smiling at Chen Wei.

"Xiao Chen, please have a seat. Auntie will start cooking right away! Don't be shy!"

Chen Wei smiled to himself, thinking to himself, "Lin Xiaoyan is indeed a glutton. She really doesn't stand on ceremony with me at all for this pig's trotter soup."

Since he had already agreed to her request, Chen Wei simply pretended to be a fake son-in-law.

"Auntie, we've already agreed to come to your house and have your mom's pig's trotter soup made! Why don't you take this opportunity to try my cooking?"

"I can't accept this..."

Zhao Lanzhi smiled somewhat awkwardly, probably knowing her daughter's greedy nature.

In the end, I couldn't persuade Chen Wei otherwise, so I had to busy myself preparing all the ingredients for him.

The Lin family's small kitchen was a communal kitchen in the hallway. It was much larger than Chen Jianguo's kitchen, but the stove was a communal one, so people had to queue to use it.

Fortunately, it wasn't mealtime yet. Chen Wei and Lin Xiaoyan each carried half of the ingredients over, while Lin Xiaohu followed behind, carrying an enamel pot. The group headed towards the stove outside.

Put the pig's trotters in a pot of cold water, add scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, and bring to a boil over high heat. While the trotters are blanching, Chen Wei washes the kidney beans, soaks them in water, and grabs a handful of angelica and astragalus left over from the competition for later use.

Lin Xiaohu, who was sitting to the side, had already come over, leaning against the stove with eyes full of curiosity.

Why add wine when cooking meat?

"To remove the raw meat's fishy smell, boiling the pig's trotters like this beforehand will make the soup taste even better," Chen Wei replied with a smile.

"Will it taste even better than my mom's?" Lin Xiaohu blinked and asked.

"You'll see when you try it!"

Chen Wei didn't know how good Zhao Lanzhi's cooking skills were, but he was very confident in his own.

After blanching, Chen Wei took the pig's trotters out and placed them in a large bowl to drain. Then he started a new pot, adding the pig's trotters, water, kidney beans, angelica root, and astragalus root. He brought it to a boil over high heat, then turned it down to a simmer.

Lin Xiaohu, clinging to the stove, stood to the side, watching with wide eyes.

He'd never even seen stewed pork soup before!

In Jinshi, when stewing meat, people usually caramelize sugar to make it look like braised pork. This kind of stewed meat is something no one has ever seen before.

"It'll be stewing for a long time, let's make something else first!"

Chen Wei patted his head and smiled.

Speaking of which, Lin Xiaoyan's salary should not be low. When she went to the supply and marketing cooperative, she not only bought pig's trotters, but also two portions of braised tofu and shrimp paste.

Chen Wei rummaged through Lin Xiaoyan's vegetable basket and found that there were carrots, potatoes, and white radishes inside. He decided to make a hot and sour shredded vegetable dish and also make a shredded radish salad.

Lin Xiaoyan has eaten both of these dishes before and likes them very much, so they are quite suitable for today's occasion.

Four hours later, Mom's pig's trotter soup was finally ready.

Just then, Chenwei's other two dishes were also ready.

Chen Wei brought them all to the Lin family's dining table, which amazed Zhao Lanzhi.

"Wow, Xiao Chen, your cooking skills are amazing! I'd only heard Yan Yan mention it before, but I didn't believe it. Seeing it today, it's truly well-deserved!"

"Auntie, you flatter me. These are just some simple home-cooked dishes," Chen Wei said modestly with a smile.

As Chen Wei said this, he lifted the enamel pot that was stewing his mother's pig's trotter soup.

When the lid was lifted, the soup inside was milky white and rich, the pig's trotters were tender and falling off the bone, and the kidney beans were soft and blooming.

The soup is garnished with bright green scallions, and the red chili oil in the side dish contrasts sharply with the rich soup in the bowl, creating an irresistible aroma.

"It smells so good!"

Lin Xiaohu was the first to rush forward, almost knocking over the enamel pot.

Naturally, he was met with a cold glare from Zhao Lanzhi, which frightened him so much that he shrank back and stood obediently.

But his eyes remained fixed on the enamel pot in front of him.

Turning to look at Lin Xiaoyan, he too looked like he couldn't help but swallow hard.

Chen Wei was both amused and exasperated; the two siblings really did look exactly alike.

"Alright, everyone, let's eat! Don't be shy!"