Chapter 1347: Mayor Dong’s cooking

Evening.

Yao Cui’s house courtyard.

The kitchen was smoky.

Dong Xuebing held the ladle and cooked. He decided to cook because he had not treated his colleagues to dinner since he came. Having a meal with colleagues would improve their relationship. It was inconvenient to go to a restaurant, and he would cook for them. Cooking himself would be more effective than going to a restaurant. He was confident his food would be excellent because of Jiang Fangfang’s pointers yesterday. The fire must be intense. He discovered why his food was not as delicious as his mother’s. It was the fire.

Dong Xuebing was treated and wanted to try cooking.

Dong Xuebing put his heart into every dish and took care of controlling the fire.

But Yao Cui’s house was not using piped natural gas. They were using gas cylinders, and the fire was not very intense. Dong Xuebing could only make do with it.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Dong Xuebing worked hard.

Yao Cui, Li Xiaona, and Chen Xiaomei came in to bring out the dishes. Over ten dishes were brought out of the kitchen.

“How many dishes is it now?” Dong Xuebing asked.

Chen Xiaomei replied. “I think it is over ten dishes.”

Dong Xuebing blinked. “How many exactly?”

Li Xiaona remembered. “Eleven dishes, including the appetizers.”

Dong Xuebing looked around and could not find any more ingredients. He took a few eggs. “I will make one more dish.”

“It’s enough, Mayor Dong. We got more than enough food. We might not finish them.” Chen Xiaomei was afraid he would get tired.

“Let’s make twelve dishes. Even number is better.” Dong Xuebing was raised in Beijing and was more particular with these customs. It might be fine if it was a few people. His family had never served an odd number of dishes at dinner with many people or during festivals. Even eggs must be even numbers. It would be considered rude if an odd number of dishes were served. This was not superstitious. He wants to treat everybody and must do a good job.

The eggs were fried.

All the dishes were cooked.

Dong Xuebing wiped his hands and walked towards the northern room. He entered and saw everybody sitting at the table. But they had not started eating.

Pu An waved. “Sit, Mayor Dong.”

Lu Zhi added. “You should take a break.”

Dong Xuebing laughed. “Why haven’t you all started eating?”

“We are waiting for you.” Jiang Fangfang waved. “Take your seat. We can start eating.”

Dong Xuebing sat down. “You all should start first. The food tastes best when it’s hot.” They should wait for him if it were Yan Yizhi, Lu Zhi, and the rest. But Mayor Jiang and two Party Committee members were there. He did not expect them to wait for him. “Let’s eat, let’s eat while it’s hot. My cooking is not very good, and it will taste weird if it gets cold.”

Jiang Fangfang started first. “Haha… let me taste it.” She took a small bite and nodded. “Not bad.”

Pu An, Jian Xiangrong, and the rest started eating.

“Delicious.”

“I didn’t know you can cook so well.”

“Although it is different from the local way of cooking, it is delicious.”

Dong Xuebing was on cloud nine, but he knew they would still say the food was delicious even when it was not. After all, he spent so much time in the kitchen. He ate some.

Eh?

It’s delicious.

Dong Xuebing was surprised by his cooking. Although two dishes were not as good, and one was a bit salty, the rest were delicious.

Everybody started eating.

Yao Cui suddenly said. “Oh, I got alcohol at home.”

Jian Xiangrong loves to drink. “Is it Erguotou?”

“Yes. Baijiu.” This was a gift from her neighbors when she was promoted to Dong Xuebing’s secretary. Her family seldom drank, and no one touched them.

Jian Xiangrong said. “Then let’s drink.”

Pu An laughed. “Sure. Give me one glass.”

“Old Lu, you must drink too.” Jian Xiangrong said.

Lu Zhi replied. “I am not good at drinking. But I will drink some.”

Dong Xuebing cleared his throat. “Err… I am driving. I will not drink with you all.”

Jiang Fangfang replied. “Xiao Li will not drink. She can send us back later. Give me half a glass.”

Yao Cui took out three bottles of Baijiu. Li Xiaona and Chen Xiaomei helped to pour.

Jiang Fangfang said. “Xiao Li, Xiao Yao, Old Chen, you don’t need to pour for us. We will pour ourselves. Sit. We will not talk about work and put aside our positions. Just treat this as a friends' gathering.”

Dong Xuebing opened a bottle and poured it for himself. “Yes. We will pour the amount we want to drink. I can only drink one glass. Don’t laugh at me.”

Lu Zhi laughed. “I can only drink half a glass.”

Pu An added. “Just drink enough will do. We don’t need to drink a lot.”

Jian Xiangrong poured a full glass for himself. He can drink a lot and loves to drink. “This is good alcohol.”

Dong Xuebing said. “Minister Jian. I will bring some pure Erguotou back from Beijing if you like to drink. It’s strong, and we call them Jing Liu Er in Beijing.”

Jiang Xiangrong’s eyes sparkled. “Sure. Thank you. Pure Erguotou is rare.”

Dong Xuebing said. “It should not be a problem. When I return to Beijing, I will ask my friends to help me get it.”

The alcohol was poured.

Chen Xiaomei poured a glass for herself. Only Li Xiaona and Yao Cui did not drink.

Dong Xuebing looked at Jiang Fangfang. “Mayor Jiang, say something.”

Jiang Fangfang smiled. “This is a friends’ gathering. I will not say anything.” She stood up and raised her glass. “Let’s have a toast. You all don’t need to bottom up. Just drink whichever amount you can.”

Clink!

Everybody knocked on their glasses.

Everybody could tell Jiang Fangfang did not like such get-togethers with her character. This was the first Jiang Faction’s leaders gathering. Although they knew each other and had meals together before, they had never sat together and drank. Everybody knew this was Dong Xuebing’s credit. It was not because he organized this gathering. He helped the Jiang Faction win at the Party Committee meeting today.

This was a day worth remembering.

The Jiang Faction had an overwhelming victory, and it’s worth celebrating.