Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

When Li Xiangqian brought the chicken home, Runye had already gone to work.

The kitchen was empty, with the enamel bowl from yesterday on the stove, the porridge residue at the bottom of the bowl dried into a hard crust.

Li Xiangqian washed the dishes and began to prepare the chicken.

Killing the chicken, plucking its feathers, gutting it, and cleaning it. In his previous life, he had worked in Guangzhou's vegetable markets for decades; he could kill a chicken with his eyes closed.

The problem is the clay pot.

If the soup cooked in an iron pot turns black and cloudy, it's not chicken soup; it's rusty water.

Li Xiangqian searched the kitchen and finally found a dusty earthenware jar at the bottom of the cupboard. It had a crack, but it wasn't completely broken and was still usable.

I rinsed it three times inside and out, and it's good enough to be used as a clay pot.

Chop the chicken into pieces and blanch it in cold water to remove the blood and foam. Add fresh water to the earthenware pot, along with the chicken pieces, ginger slices, red dates, and goji berries. Bring it to a boil over high heat, skim off any foam, and then turn the fire in the stove down to the lowest setting, leaving only a small flame.

Close the lid.

When it comes to Cantonese soup making, there's only one word: slow.

It takes at least two hours, without opening the lid, adding water, or stirring during the process.

Li Xiangqian set up a small stool at the kitchen doorway and sat down, flipping through an old copy of "Huangyuan Literature" to pass the time.

An hour later, the aroma of chicken soup began to waft out from the cracks in the lid of the earthenware pot.

It starts with a light flavor, with hints of ginger and jujube.

Then it grew stronger and stronger, seeping into the living room through the crack in the door, slipping into the hallway, and spreading down the stairs.

Two hours later, the entire apartment building was filled with this smell.

……

The first person to get restless was Aunt Liu downstairs.

"Xiangqian! What are you up to today?"

Before she even stepped inside, she had already stretched her neck and stuck her head into the room.

Li Xiangqian lifted the lid of the jar, revealing a layer of oil floating on the golden soup noodles, plump red dates, and bright red goji berries scattered among them.

Aunt Liu swallowed hard.

"Chicken soup? Where did you get the chicken?"

"A friend gave it to me. Would you like to try it?"

Li Xiangqian served her a bowl.

Aunt Liu held the enamel bowl in both hands, smelled it first, and then carefully took a sip.

"Delicious!"

Aunt Liu uttered two words from her throat.

"This chicken soup tastes so good! What did you put in it?"

"Nothing special, just chicken, ginger, red dates, and goji berries."

"You're kidding! You can't make this flavor with just these few ingredients!"

"It's a matter of timing."

Aunt Liu didn't bother to ask any more questions. She took two big gulps of the drink, emptied the bowl, and licked her lips with a lingering sense of satisfaction.

"Would you like another half bowl?" Li Xiangqian asked tentatively, feeling a little reluctant.

"No, no... I'm not pregnant and don't need to do postpartum confinement, so I'll just have a taste. Let's leave it for Runye." Aunt Liu rubbed her hands together, a hint of envy in her eyes.

"Xiangqian, you've really changed a lot. You're always washing clothes, changing sheets, and making chicken soup. Look at my old man..."

She gets angry whenever Lao Hou is mentioned.

"When I was pregnant with my first child, he had never even cooked a bowl of noodles, let alone made chicken soup. I was squatting in front of the stove heating up steamed buns while he was snoring on the kang (a heated brick bed)."

Aunt Liu's voice grew louder and louder as she spoke.

"Hey, this chicken soup... I just had a craving..."

Li Xiangqian took the initiative to explain.

"Alright, it's not a bad thing to dote on your wife. Don't always imitate my husband. A man's pride isn't about showing off in front of his wife. You're doing just fine."

Li Xiangqian listened without saying a word, thinking to himself that his original "simp" persona was incredibly solid. A pot of chicken soup for the soul wouldn't even make a sound in Guangzhou, but here it became ironclad proof of being a model husband.

Seeing that Li Xiangqian didn't say anything or make any further conversation, Aunt Liu got up and left.

……

As evening fell, the sun had just set, and the lingering aroma of chicken soup still filled the air.

Runye pushed her bicycle into the family compound. As soon as she entered the gate, she felt something was wrong. Several neighbors who often saw her either smiled for no reason, or looked her up and down while smiling, or whispered to each other while looking her up and down.

What's wrong?

Runye carefully propped up the car, and Aunt Liu was the first to rush out.

Runye! Congratulations!

Runye was taken aback.

"What's the congratulations? Li Xiangqian's dad got a promotion?"

Runye thought to herself, waiting for Aunt Liu to continue. Suddenly, Sister Zhang, who was leaning against the wall knitting a sweater with bamboo sticks, came over.

"Runye, when did this happen? Why didn't you say anything?"

Another woman, whose name Runye couldn't recall, clapped her hands and said, "Tell Xiangqian to stew it a few more times; this is the time when it's most nourishing!"

Runye stood at the entrance of the building, her mind buzzing.

"Aunt Liu, what's wrong? Why is everyone...?" Runye asked Aunt Liu in a low voice.

Aunt Liu tugged at Runye's sleeve and looked her up and down. "She's really pretty, with such a slender figure. No wonder Xiangqian put so much effort into her."

Runye was a little embarrassed; the answer was completely irrelevant.

"Runye, if you ask me, you're pregnant now, so you should stay home and rest. The first three months are the most important."

Runye...

"Who said I'm pregnant?"

"Xiangqian was making chicken soup at home today, and the whole yard smelled wonderful, need I say more?" another woman said as she gathered around.

Runye sniffed; there was indeed a faint smell of chicken soup in the air.

"What is Li Xiangqian up to now?!"

Runye gritted her teeth and squeezed through the crowd, then stomped upstairs.

"Runye, you're pregnant, slow down."

Hearing Aunt Liu's warning from behind, Runye lowered her head and walked even faster.

"Tsk tsk tsk, she's got such a temper now that she's pregnant."

"That's normal, especially for the first pregnancy."

……

As Runye listened, she almost missed a step on the stairs and nearly fell.

What exactly is Li Xiangqian trying to do?

Runye stormed in, pushing the door open.

The living room was filled with the rich aroma of chicken soup. On the table was an earthenware jar, next to which was a clean enamel bowl with a plate on top.

Li Xiangqian was not in the living room.

The sound of water running and the crackling of burning firewood came from the direction of the kitchen.

Is this person going to boil water to take a bath again?

Runye stood in the middle of the living room, her anger choking her, unable to vent it.

"You, come out here!"

Runye stood at the kitchen doorway and called out to Li Xiangqian, who was squatting in front of the stove.

"What's wrong? Do you need me to boil some water?"

Li Xiangqian didn't look up and continued adding firewood to the fire.

Seeing that Li Xiangqian did not move, Runye could only move to stand in front of Li Xiangqian and look down at him.

"What exactly do you want?"

"I'm boiling water, what's wrong?"

"No, that's not it. I was asking about them. They said I... why were you making chicken soup?"

Runye swallowed half of what she was about to say.

"Life is incomplete without nourishing soups. I can't just drink egg drop soup every day, can I? I feel like my sweat smells like eggs now."

As Li Xiangqian spoke, he raised his arm, sniffed himself, and showed a look of disdain.

"Life is short, so enjoy it while you can. Don't look at me with such a bitter expression; I won't budge on this point."

Seeing Runye's hesitant expression, Li Xiangqian didn't indulge her. He could compromise on anything, but when it came to eating, Li Xiangqian was stubborn and unwavering.

When Runye heard the words "life is short" and remembered Liu Zhiying's instructions, she could only quietly suppress her displeasure.