About fifteen minutes after Xinxiu sat in the living room, he heard the bathroom door open. Yingyue had finished bathing. Three or four seconds later, Xinxiu listened to the sound of the door opening. The girl went back into Shanquan's room. Less than five minutes later, Yingyue had already appeared in the living room.

"Who was the call from?" Yingyue opened her mouth with a very bright face.

Why does this girl look so happy?

"Probably just the wrong number. Nobody's talking from the other end."

The girl's face changed. "It wasn't a wrong number."

"We can't draw any conclusions from that phone call."

"Does something like this happen often?"

Xinxiu shook his head.

"Then what should we do now?" Yingyue asked.

"Don't worry too much about it. Maybe it was just a prank."

Yingyue still looked doubtful.

"Are you ready?" Xinxiu smiled. He promptly shifted the conversation to something else.

The girl nodded. "Let's start cooking now."

Xinxiu got up from the sofa and immediately walked towards the kitchen. Yingyue followed him while humming. Xinxiu didn't know what song the girl was singing.

Arriving in the kitchen, Xinxiu opened the refrigerator. He looked at the ingredients in the fridge. Quickly, he took the frozen condiments out of the refrigerator. He then took a giant wok. Xinxiu placed the large skillet on the stove. After turning on the stove, he began to grease the wok's surface with butter.

"Wow! That's a huge wok." Yingyue exclaimed in admiration.

"There are six of us in all. So we have to use a big wok."

Yingyue nodded. "What are we going to cook this morning?"

"I don't know yet," answered Xinxiu.

"You don't know yet?" The girl laughed.

"I'll see what ingredients we still have. I should have gone shopping yesterday."

"About the frozen condiment that Xiuge just took out of the fridge. Isn't that the condiment for making fried rice?" Yingyue asked.

Xinxiu smiled. "Right, this is indeed the seasoning for making fried rice. But I haven't decided what kind of fried rice yet."

"Then let's just cook simple fried rice. The important thing is that we have food to eat," Yingyue said. She didn't sound disappointed at all.

"You can fry the spices or not?" Xinxiu asked.

"Of course, I can," Yingyue said.

Xinxiu then set the stove to let out a big fire. "Then, please fry this seasoning first. Don't put the seasoning in the pan before the wok is really hot. A very important thing in frying, it needs constant heat. So, don't let the flames diminish."

Yingyue nodded.

Xinxiu smiled. "Be careful. The seasoning should be saute to dry, but don't let it scorch."

"Okay! I'll try!"

"Don't fry all the seasonings. Use only about sixty percent."

"Sixty percent? All right!"

Xinxiu then opened a drawer there. He took a pair of cloth masks and a pair of face shields. He gave a cloth mask and a face shield to Yingyue. "Before adding the spices, you must wear a mask and a face shield."

"Is this stove dangerous?"

"Of course not. However, there is a lot of spice in this spice mix. When this spice mixture has entered the pan, there will be a lot of spice particles flying up because of the heat. I'm afraid you'll sneeze if you directly inhale the particles of this spice-laden spice. In addition, because I had previously put it in the freezer, this seasoning mixture contains a very high water content. If we stir-fry, it will explode. If it hits the face, it will be uncomfortable." While answering Yingyue's question, Xinxiu put a cloth mask and a face shield on his own face.

Yingyue seemed to understand Xinxiu's point. She must have also realized that the long-sleeved shirt she was wearing was also to protect her hands from the explosion of water vapor or oil ejected from the wok. Yingyue then added a little butter to the wok. After the pan was already hot enough, Yingyue immediately put the frozen spices into the pan. Exactly as Xinxiu said. There were big explosions. Luckily, Yingyue was ready.

"What kind of food restrictions do you have?" Xinxiu suddenly asked that question. He just remembered that he should have asked that long before they started cooking.

"Hah?"

"Are there certain foods you shouldn't eat?" Xinxiu corrected the words in his sentence. He realized, for some people, such a thing was something sensitive.

Yingyue frowned upon hearing Xinxiu's unexpected question. But in an instant, she nodded. She seemed to understand what Xinxiu meant. In contrast to the people in the city where they were currently located, who tend to be very liberal when it comes to food, most of the people in Yeuandong enforce restrictions on certain types of food.

"I think the food I am allowed to eat is the same as people in Yeuandong usually eat. Of course, there are certain types of food that I am not allowed to eat. Some of those types of food are foods that people in Yeuandong usually avoid. So, the food that I may or may not eat is the same as what uncles and brothers here may or may not eat."

"Not necessarily," Xinxiu said seriously. He realized that for some people, such rules were essential. It could not be contested. "Our taboos here are not the same. For example, Dage and Xiongge are exactly the same in terms of what they can and can't eat. But Yige, Renge, and I differ from the two of them. Even the three of us differ from each other. So sometimes the food thing is a bit tricky for us here."

What Xinxiu had just said was actually not unusual either. The Yeuandong region was indeed famous for its diversity of cultures and customs. So it was not a unique thing if there was such a difference between close friends. Even within a family, there were sometimes such differences.

"I didn't expect that the uncles and brothers here still hold so strongly to the traditions and culture of our place of origin." Yingyue chuckled.

"Actually, we are not people who are very obedient to such rules. But you know, in our hometown, things like this went into the bones. From birth, we are used to situations like that. So even though we are now far from our hometown, we have continued to stick with this habit. It's very difficult to let go. And yes, we really don't want to let go of those things."

This is a highly complex matter. There's no way I can explain in just an hour or two.

Yingyue nodded. "Things like that are not simple things. It all comes down to each person's personal choice. We must respect everyone's rights."

"Right!" Xinxiu smiled. "Then what about you?"

"Yeah, I still hold on to such things, too. Although I have to admit, sometimes I have to break some rules. I live in a strange way. Move from one place to another. From one family to another. So sometimes I run into situations where I have little choice."

"So, what kind of food are you not allowed to eat?" Xinxiu was still asking about it. "You haven't answered clearly before."

"I think I'm the same as Uncle Shanquan and Uncle Yihshyong," Yingyue said firmly.

Xinxiu guessed Shanquan must have told Yingyue about his family background. Maybe the background and culture of the Yingyue's family were similar to that of the Shanquan's family. Xinxiu felt he had asked enough. He didn't want to make Yingyue feel uncomfortable. So he went back to talking about what they were doing.

"I see. Then how about this time we cook young lamb fried rice with a side dish of turkey eggs and a sauce made from boiled green mussels?" Xinxiu chirped.

Yingyue was wide-eyed at Xinxiu's proposal. Amazingly, her face looked so funny. She seemed delighted to hear that.

"Lamb fried rice is Uncle Shanquan's favorite. So it's only natural that there is a stock of lamb in this house. But turkey eggs and green mussel sauce are costly. Aren't the uncles and brothers here trying to be frugal?"

Xinxiu laughed at Yingyue's words. Indeed, at times like that, they had to be frugal. For other things, they had been frugal, but it seemed a bit difficult in terms of food. The five residents here were people who really liked the food. So they didn't feel sorry at all if they had to spend more money to get the food they wanted.

"Don't worry. We've calculated everything. We get many of the food ingredients we have here at a relatively low price. You won't believe me when I say that Yige and Renge are superb at finding places selling excellent quality groceries at a hefty discount. They know which markets are offering discounts this week for the groceries we need."

After that, they began to process the food ingredients. Yesterday afternoon, Xinxiu had already cooked quite a bit of rice, so they still had an abundant supply of rice.