NOVPUBChapter 1094: Chapter 1094: There Was Before?
_1 Chapter 1094 -1094: There Was Before?
_1 “This is absolutely delicious,” Mrs.
Lewis remarked.
There were so many people that just a few bites depleted one fish.
By the time everyone realised it was gone, they hadn’t even begun to touch the other dishes yet.
“Ah, I should have bought a bigger fish.
...
This one wasn’t enough,” Mrs.
Lewis regretted and clapped her hands.
“Don’t worry about it, the best part is craving for it next time.
Imagine getting tired of it after one meal and never wanting it again – it would be a pity!” Cindy Clarke said with a laugh.
“Absolutely,” Mr.
Lewis nodded, eyeing the plate of ribs.
“This is salted egg yolk volcano ribs,” Cindy introduced.
Mr.
Lewis was the first to grab a piece.
As the name implies, the ribs are stacked to resemble a volcano.
For this, long pieces of rib meat are chosen and stacked together.
The ribs are a little larger than what one normally prepares at home, making them easier to stack up.
Golden salted egg yolk rests atop the pile of ribs.
The yolk offers a gritty texture in the mouth.
Meat from the ribs near the bone is especially tender and juicy, unlike the slightly tougher meat from elsewhere.
With each bite, juices from the meat combined with the sandy texture of the egg yolk to create a salty and savoury flavour explosion.
Next to the volcano ribs was the Crispy Chicken with Apple Sauce.
The chicken was first fried before being baked, resulting in an exceptionally crispy surface.
The chicken skin was so crispy that a single bite could cause crumbles.
While the skin was crispy, the meat underneath was tender and juicy.
“How is this made?” Mrs.
Lewis was curious to learn, “The skin is so thin and crispy, yet how can the meat inside stay so tender and juicy?”
Cindy explained, “At first, I fried it but didn’t cook the inside.
I only made the skin crispy to lock in the juices.
Then, I put it in the oven.”
“The oven is different from a microwave; it heats from the outside in,” Cindy further explained.
“This way, the skin gets even crispier, the meat inside stays tender, and the juices are locked in, enhancing the overall mouthfeel.”
Mrs.
Lewis was left in awe and thought it was too much of a hassle.
However, Cindy was meticulous with her cooking and didn’t mind the effort.
If it were to be made at home, who would be willing to go through such an intricate process?
After all, this was not the only dish to prepare.
Mrs.
Lewis gave up as soon as she heard the explanation.
Since it was a homecooked meal, Cindy didn’t deep-fry the dishes.
She used the typical amount of oil used at home for frying.
As a result, the fried dishes were slightly imperfect.
If she had used more oil, the result would have been better.
The dinner prepared by Peggy Lewis and Cindy was well-received.
To Mr.
and Mrs.
Lewis, the fact that Peggy could create these four dishes made them feel extremely fortunate.
After dinner, Mrs.
Lewis insisted on not letting Cindy and Peggy do the clean up.
Truth be told, doing the dishes was the most bothersome task.
The kitchen could not accommodate a dishwasher.
If it could, Peggy would have already installed one.
Moreover, Cindy frequently received dishwashers as gifts from brands she worked with in her ads.
Therefore, Mrs.
Lewis would have plenty of options to choose from.
However, the issue was that there was simply no space in the kitchen.
With more dishes than usual today, how could Peggy allow Mrs.
Lewis to do them all?
No matter what, she had to follow Mrs.
Lewis to the kitchen.
Seeing this, Cindy also went into the kitchen.
“Oh my!” Mrs.
Lewis said helplessly, “Our kitchen is already small.
With all of you in here, it’s cramped!
There’s barely any room to move around!
Please, everyone, leave the kitchen to me.”
“Actually,” Peggy suggested, “why don’t you let me handle this?
I haven’t done any housework ever since I was young.
Allow yourselves to rest today and leave everything to me.”
Mrs.
Lewis was reluctant.
Initially, she wanted to object, but then she thought it would be a perfect opportunity to inquire about something regarding Peggy and Lyke Zhekova from Cindy while Peggy wasn’t around.
After all, she didn’t need to hold back with her own daughter.
Eagerly, Mrs.
Lewis accepted Peggy’s offer and said, “Fine.
Today, I shall treat myself to the benefits of my daughter doing the chores for me.”
Mrs.
Lewis put her arm around Cindy’s shoulder, saying, “Let’s go, we should move outside and chat.”
“I should stay and help Peggy,” Cindy chimed in.
It wouldn’t be fair to leave this mess for Peggy alone.
Just by looking at the mess, Cindy felt a headache coming on.
“Don’t worry about it,” Peggy reassured, “Leave it to me.”
“Exactly, just leave it to her,” Mrs.
Lewis suddenly reversed her stance from doting on her daughter to being dismissive about her doing housework.
In front of a potential coupling, having Peggy do some chores didn’t seem to faze or distress Mrs.
Lewis anymore.
Cindy wanted to stay, but Mrs.
Lewis gave her a meaningful look.
Cindy then understood that Mrs.
Lewis probably had something to ask her, and reluctantly agreed to leave.
Instead of going back to the living room, they headed to the bedroom after leaving the kitchen.
Once inside and with the door closed, Mrs.
Lewis leaned in closer to Cindy and asked in a soft voice, “Cindy, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Cindy answered, guessing that Mrs.
Lewis had a question for her.
She also speculated that it was most likely related to (Peggy and Lyke).
“What exactly is going on between Peggy and your Fourth Uncle?” Mrs.
Lewis questioned, “Peggy said they are just friends, but there seems to be more to it than just that.”
“Peggy is incredibly sharp when it comes to work, but I don’t know why she becomes oblivious when it comes to matters of the heart.
It’s like she’s missing a screw,” Mrs.
Lewis sighed, exasperated.
“I trust your judgement,” Mrs.
Lewis stated.
Especially since Lyke was Cindy’s relative.
Cindy must know a lot more.
“Fourth Uncle does have feelings for Peggy and is pursuing her,” Cindy confessed without a second thought.
Upon hearing this, Mrs.
Lewis immediately felt that Peggy really was oblivious.
“I knew it.
I could tell there was more between them than they wanted to admit.
Comically oblivious, isn’t she?” Mrs.
Lewis couldn’t help but complain to Cindy, “I haven’t even met your Fourth Uncle before today, yet I sensed something was up.
How could she be so oblivious?”
Cindy laughed and said, “If she were a little more sensitive in this aspect, do you think she would still be single?
There have been many people interested in her before, but she never noticed.”
“There were others in the past?” Mrs.
Lewis immediately asked.
Now that Lyke was in the picture, Cindy didn’t worry that Mrs.
Lewis would hold this against Peggy.
That’s why she brought it up.
“I never met them, but when Peggy and I chat, we share stories about things happening around us.
Based on what she has described, it can be deduced that quite a number of people have shown an interest in her,” Cindy revealed.
“But because Peggy never noticed any of it, those people misunderstood and assumed her nonchalance as rejection.
Therefore, they never formally pursued her and withdrew before anything started,” Cindy elaborated.
