Chapter 191: Teaching and Learning

Chapter 191

Grace's home was on the 32nd floor of the apartment building, almost at the top floor.

Xiao Qi and the others arrived around 3 o'clock, worried that it might be too early and disturb Grace, but also worried that arriving too late would be problematic since Xiao Qi had offered to teach cooking.

When they arrived, there were already several guests present.

Xiao Qi also saw the familiar old man Garen. At the Mid-Autumn Festival party that night, he had sung "A Fire in Winter" and brought down the house. Garen was dancing and singing along, completely immersed in the song.

When Grace saw Xiao Qi arrive, she took off the gloves she was wearing to prepare food for baking and came over to give Xiao Qi a hug. Fortunately, there was no cheek-kissing or anything like that, otherwise Xiao Qi wouldn't have known how to respond.

Foreigners are very enthusiastic.

As soon as Grace opened her mouth, she said, "Sue, I wasn't there in person that night, what a pity! Garen showed us your singing video, you were amazing. Many of the friends who have come today are your fans."

After Garen's explanation, Xiao Qi realized that Garen had recorded a video of her singing that night and often played it at their hangout spot, the book bar. The song Xiao Qi sang was especially popular. Foreigners probably can't tell the difference between Peking opera and other singing styles, so they just thought the way she sang in the long robe with that intonation was particularly cool.

Xiao Qi introduced her roommates to Grace and also brought gifts.

Grace was very happy and hugged each of them in turn. Her expressions were very exaggerated.

When she received the scarf from Honey, and learned it was produced in Honey's family factory, she exclaimed again about how much she loved the silk from this country, calling it too beautiful and a work of art.

When she got the dried mushrooms from Wei Cheng, she smelled it blissfully and was told it was handmade by Wei Cheng's family. She kept saying how awesome it was and that she really needed this ingredient. She also complimented Wei Cheng for being very pretty.

Seeing the flower arrangement Yun Shu had brought that she had put together herself, Grace made an effort to praise her again, saying Yun Shu was a sweet girl with a sweet heart.

Xiao Qi really admired the way these foreigners lavished sincere and unaffected praise without pretense.

It was as if they were just naturally very happy.

She also gave Grace the bamboo gift box she had made. Seeing the bamboo box made Grace even more exaggerated in her reaction. She said it was the most thoughtful gift she had ever received and that it was beautiful. When she learned that Xiao Qi had made it herself, she was even more amazed. Điscover new chapters at novelhall.com

She gave Xiao Qi another hug. Fortunately, Grace was also flat-chested, so there was no stifling feeling from the embrace.

Afterwards, Xiao Qi went to help Grace in the kitchen while Honey and the others played outside.

The foreigners meant business when they talked about cooking. They didn't stand on ceremony but had already prepared an apron for Xiao Qi.

It was a nice white apron with blue trim that matched well with the black dress Xiao Qi was wearing.

Grace's apartment was very nice. Upon entering, there was a bathroom to the left and a kitchen to the right. Directly opposite was an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto a balcony living room.

It directly overlooked lake and ocean views because this stretch of lake flowed right into the sea, so the lake seemed to extend endlessly and the scenery was beautiful.

The kitchen here had extremely complete cooking ware. Grace said the school staff had prepared everything, and there was much that she didn't even know the use for.

What Xiao Qi needed was a large sandpot, and amazingly there actually was one here.

She had thought a stainless steel pot would have to substitute, but the flavor would be different. Stewing meat in a sandpot made it soft and tender but still chewy, while stainless steel pots often ended up hardening the meat the longer it stewed.

Plus, the beef Grace bought was on the lean side, so the sandpot was perfect.

Xiao Qi first added the beef to the pot. Once the water started boiling, she skimmed off the blood foam layer and stewed for another half hour.

In the meantime, Xiao Qi began teaching Grace how to make shredded yam strips.

Indeed, foreigners liked sweet food. When the first fried piece was done, Grace took a bite and her reaction was simply spectacular as she started bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Sue! I thought potatoes could only be used to make french fries. I didn't expect they could be turned into such a magical dessert." She pointed eagerly at the big pot of oil, waiting for Xiao Qi to fry up the next piece.

Xiao Qi fried several pieces and let Grace try her hand at it too. Grace didn't quite grasp the temperature and ended up slightly scorching it, but she was still extremely thrilled since this was made by her own hand. She kept shouting "Perfect!"

After frying up a batch of shredded yams, Xiao Qi checked on the meat stewing in the sandpot. The aroma was already wafting up in the bubbling pot by now.

Grace also had a wide variety of seasonings and ingredients here. She was very curious about the seasonings and food ingredients from this Eastern country and had even procured things like star anise, cassia bark and wolfberries, as well as what looked to be beautiful bunches of fresh green Sichuan peppercorns.

Xiao Qi added the spices one by one as Grace took notes. She had even set up a video camera to record it for easy future reference when learning.

Xiao Qi felt great that she had taught Grace some cooking skills, while also getting to practice her English. After all, opportunities to directly interact with foreigners like this didn't come by often. As they chatted, Xiao Qi realized there was still a gap between the English she had studied and actually speaking the language.

Although her vocabulary was extensive, she felt like she was using formal, written language to talk with Grace, while Grace was just conversing in casual, spoken English. In reality, people don't usually speak with formal language in everyday conversation, except maybe politicians.

Xiao Qi figured it was probably because most of her English learning had focused on reading and writing rather than speaking and interacting. By chatting with Grace, she found herself unconsciously picking up many useful expressions.

Grace commented that even English has different accents and she considered the London accent to be the most sophisticated and elegant.

The two taught each other, and time flew by quickly.

Xiao Qi also showed Grace how to make stretched sweet potatoes, bananas, strawberries, and many other foods. Grace gradually got the hang of it and felt these dishes would definitely be the most popular ones at parties.

The two busied themselves in the kitchen while guests gradually arrived, mostly foreign teachers. Far from their home countries, they seemed to form a small, close-knit community that often gathered together.

Xiao Qi also noticed a young man that she originally mistook for a fellow Chinese. But it turned out he was not Chinese but rather a Korean who spoke no Chinese. His English and Korean were very fluent. Xiao Qi later realized the "young man" was actually a Korean woman who simply looked boyish.

As the evening sun shone through the window onto the simmering claypot, Xiao Qi removed the lid. The meat and potatoes continued to bubble away inside, the beef now fall-apart tender and the potatoes slightly crumbling. The broth had reduced to a rich, thick sauce, ready to be served.

By now, the beefy aroma had wafted through the entire house, even drawing those upstairs back down. Grace was astonished, suspecting Su must have used some magic in cooking this dish. She had watched the entire process yet the finished product now seemed totally transformed, utterly perfect.

Grace had originally asked a few people to help carry the heavy claypot to the table as the centerpiece main dish. But Xiao Qi simply wrapped a towel around the pot and carried it over herself...