[BBGCD] Chapter 9

 Gu Lingye was quite cooperative. Su Jiao skillfully cut the potatoes into pieces and chopped the ribs into small chunks, each about the length of a knuckle.

Once he was done, Su Jiao glanced at the dough by the fire and reached out to take the bowl containing it.

Gu Lingye noticed what he was doing. Afraid that the steam might burn Su Jiao, he quickly reached over and took the bowl out first.

The steam was indeed a little hot, but the dough inside was only slightly warm. Holding the bowl, Gu Lingye felt safe enough to hand it to Su Jiao.

Seeing how considerate he was, Su Jiao's thoughts shifted slightly. He said, "Clean this pot for me. We'll use it for stir-frying later."

Gu Lingye nodded. Seeing that the water in the pot was still clean, he poured it into the sink.

He went into the kitchen to find a dishcloth and a wire scrubber. Using the water in the sink, he washed the bottom of the basin before putting everything back on the shelf.

Su Jiao took out the dough, which had finished rising, and kneaded it until smooth. He covered it with plastic wrap again, placed it beside the fire pit to continue rising, then got up and went to the room where the ingredients were stored.

He had forgotten to take out the seasonings. It would be difficult to bring them out in front of Gu Lingye now, so he went into the room to get them.

Several boxes of ingredients were stored inside. Su Jiao took out a box containing various seasonings from his space, selected one of each, and placed them in a basket.

Gu Lingye looked up from his phone and saw Su Jiao carrying a large basket. He immediately stood up and took it from him.

As he took the basket, Gu Lingye's eyes inadvertently swept over the room. He was slightly stunned.

"Brother Gu?" Su Jiao waved a hand in front of him, looking puzzled.

Gu Lingye snapped out of it, his doubts fading before they could fully form.

He walked back beside Su Jiao, carrying the basket of seasonings. The veins on the back of his large hand stood out, while the well-defined muscles along his arm disappeared beneath his sleeve.

The temperature was too low, so the dough was rising more slowly than usual. Su Jiao poked a small hole in it with his finger. Feeling that it was almost ready, he took it out and placed it on the kneading mat on the table.

He divided the dough into ten equal portions. After adding soybean oil and salt, he pinched each piece closed, rolled it up, and then twisted it into a long strip.

Afraid that the low temperature would cause the flower rolls to freeze, Su Jiao placed them back in the bowl, covered it with plastic wrap, and set it on the large square section of the fire pit.

Seeing that Su Jiao had finished shaping the flower rolls, Gu Lingye placed the iron pot beside him on the rack and obediently returned to his seat, watching Su Jiao work.

The temperature was low, and the iron pot, which had only just been placed over the fire, would take some time to heat up. Su Jiao put away the oil and salt containers, then picked up a spatula to check the pot.

He dipped a little water into it with his fingers. The droplets rolled down the sides of the pot, and a sizzling sound filled the air.

Seeing that the pot was almost hot enough, Su Jiao poured in some water and blanched the ribs.

In weather this cold, even with a fire burning, cooking still took time.

Noticing that Gu Lingye had been looking at his phone, Su Jiao asked curiously, "Has the signal come back?"

"Mobile data is working." Gu Lingye handed his phone to Su Jiao. "It's just a little slow."

The phone was still on the trending topics page. Almost every headline was related to the sudden extreme cold.

Su Jiao was about to return the phone so he could check the situation on his own device when a notification suddenly appeared on the screen.

Junyan: Brother, where are you? Come and pick me up?

Gu Junyan was Gu Lingye's half-brother. The two had shared a good relationship before the apocalypse. In his previous life, Gu Lingye had hesitated for a long time before finally finding a way to help him after Gu Junyan repeatedly pleaded for help.

Unfortunately, a person did not become an ungrateful wolf overnight.

Gu Junyan had probably never truly regarded Gu Lingye as his brother. Before the apocalypse, he had coaxed him into giving him money. After the apocalypse, he had continued to manipulate him into handing over supplies and even damaging his reputation.

If Gu Lingye hadn't awakened his ability early and suffered serious physical discomfort as a result, Gu Junyan might never have shown his true colors. He had simply thought Gu Lingye was no longer useful to him...

Gu Junyan's face appeared in Su Jiao's mind. He had to admit that the man was a natural actor. Every performance came back to him seamlessly.

Su Jiao's hand slipped directly into the chat window. The conversation history was filled with short voice calls and money transfers.

"I'm sorry, Brother Gu. I just wanted to check the trending topics and accidentally opened your messages. Do you owe someone money?"

The blond young man's face was full of apology. Gu Lingye glanced at the phone and realized it was his brother. He shook his head.

"It's okay. That's my younger brother. He must be having trouble at school because of the cold."

"Ah..." Su Jiao drew out the sound. Touching his nose, he said, "I thought you owed someone money. Every message is either a short voice call or a money transfer."

Gu Lingye hadn't thought there was anything unusual about his chat history with his brother. But after hearing Su Jiao's words, he frowned. For some reason, he suddenly felt irritated with Gu Junyan, who was still in school.

He put down his phone and said, "I've probably spoiled him too much."

Seeing Gu Lingye's reaction, Su Jiao's lips curled up happily.

He lowered his head to retrieve the blanched ribs from the pot, hiding his smile. In a gentle voice, he said, "So he's your younger brother. It's really not good to spoil him too much. But it's so cold now, and he's still a student. The money your parents give him might not be enough. Should you transfer him some more?"

Su Jiao's words were like oil being poured into a fire, quickly stirring up Gu Lingye's thoughts.

Ever since Gu Junyan started college, Gu Lingye had privately given him nearly 500,000 yuan.

Now that the couple in that family didn't welcome him, what was wrong with spending a little more money on his future wife instead?!

Gu Lingye narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "My brother is an adult. I have no obligation to support him."

Su Jiao nearly burst out laughing at his words. He poured the bean sprouts and potatoes into the pot and stir-fried them.

"Brother Gu, you're so good to your younger brother. He must respect and love you very much, right?"

Gu Lingye's expression froze. His eyes settled on Gu Junyan's messages. There was not a trace of love or respect in any of them.

He sneered. "Perhaps."

Seeing that Gu Lingye was clearly annoyed with the person on the other end of the phone, Su Jiao restrained himself from provoking him any further and asked, "Brother Gu, do you like spicy food?"

Gu Lingye shifted his attention away from the person who had upset him and answered honestly, "I like it, but I can't handle too much."

"I forgot to get the scallions, ginger, and garlic ready. Brother Gu, could you go into the room I just visited and get some scallions, ginger, garlic, rock sugar, dried chilies, cinnamon, star anise, and peppercorns? Put them in a box near the door."

Cutting the potatoes and bean sprouts had taken some time. Gu Lingye, however, was very quick. After hearing Su Jiao's instructions, he immediately got up and headed toward the room.

When he opened the door, he was momentarily stunned by the room full of supplies. The questions that arose in his mind were quickly suppressed by instinct before they could fully register.

He quickly picked out everything Su Jiao had asked for. As he walked back, he began peeling the garlic.

Hearing the movement behind him, Su Jiao served the nearly finished stir-fried potatoes and bean sprouts. When he turned around and saw Gu Lingye peeling garlic, he said, "Brother Gu, give me the garlic. Could you help me wash the other ingredients?"

Gu Lingye handed the garlic to Su Jiao without hesitation, then took a small basin and began washing the rest.

Su Jiao usually worked slowly, but when he was in a hurry, he could be quite efficient. He flattened the garlic with the knife, removed the crushed skin, and chopped it up in just a few strokes.

The first things Gu Lingye washed were the scallions and ginger that needed to be cut. Almost as soon as Su Jiao put down his knife, Gu Lingye handed them over.

Su Jiao cut the scallions into sections and sliced the ginger.

Once those were ready, he turned around and poured oil into the hot pan. He added the scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fried them a couple of times. Gu Lingye had finished washing the remaining ingredients, so Su Jiao added the rock sugar as well.

After the rock sugar melted, Su Jiao added the ribs and stir-fried them until they turned brown. He added soybean paste and light soy sauce, mixed everything evenly, then poured in enough water to fill half the pot and let it simmer.

The aroma had already begun to spread while he was stir-frying, making both of their stomachs growl.

As soon as Su Jiao added the water, he got up and headed toward the ingredient room. Once inside, he walked to a corner where Gu Lingye couldn't see him.

Su Jiao took out boxes of instant food and snacks one by one, placing them near the doorway. Then he filled a suitcase to the brim.

"Brother Gu, people get hungry much faster in this damn weather. The meat will take a while to cook, so let's eat something else first."

Gu Lingye had been so distracted by the thought of tasting Su Jiao's cooking that he hadn't realized how unusually hungry he was.

The two of them ate two pieces of bread by the fire. The hunger gradually subsided.

Su Jiao touched his stomach. He still didn't feel full. He rummaged through the boxes and found two packages of bowl balls, then handed one to Gu Lingye.

"I found these online. They're apparently a Shanxi specialty. If they taste good, we have some buckwheat at home. We can try making them ourselves and have the authentic version."

The thin bowl-shaped bites didn't look particularly filling. After Su Jiao tore open the package, he began to wonder whether they had been placed in the snack section simply because they were made from buckwheat.

Once he opened the package, Su Jiao cut the bowl-shaped bites apart with the knife provided, poured in the vinegar and seasoning packets, and mixed everything together.

Gu Lingye was used to eating instant food like this. After eating a couple of pieces, he noticed that Su Jiao was still clumsily mixing his portion. He handed his own bowl to him.

"Eat mine. Don't go hungry."

They had obviously just eaten two pieces of bread, yet hunger had returned so quickly.

At first, Gu Lingye had thought it was ordinary hunger. But seeing how quickly it came back, he also began to realize that something was wrong.

Su Jiao didn't stand on ceremony. He took the bowl Gu Lingye offered, picked up one of the pieces with the small fork, and put it in his mouth.

The bowl-shaped bites were pleasantly chewy, and the combination of vinegar and chili oil was delicious. The taste was so good that it was hard to stop eating.

There were so few pieces in the bowl that Su Jiao instinctively slowed down, afraid he would finish them all at once.

However, they were so smooth and easy to swallow that he soon found himself eating them without realizing it.

Author's Note:

I used to eat bowl balls for a while when I was trying to lose weight. It was probably because I was hungry back then, but anyway, I still miss the taste very much.

However, every time I go shopping, I forget to buy snacks. And by the time I remember, I don't have time to go out and buy them. QAQ