The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 523: Chapter 523: New Project

Sweet and sour pork ribs, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and scrambled eggs with tomato.

Three dishes and a soup. Though it wasn’t a large meal, the food tasted incredible.

Almost no foreigner could resist scrambled eggs with tomato or sweet and sour pork ribs.

The hot and sour shredded potatoes were appetizing and went especially well with rice.

Paired with a baby bok choy and beef meatball soup, the flavor was simply divine.

”Time to eat!” Han Xiaoqing went to the backyard to call Chen Wenxuan and Dean Hans.

The four dishes were placed in the middle of the table, and each serving dish and the soup bowl had its own spoon.

Westerners typically eat from their own plates, so Han Xiaoqing followed the local custom.

It was actually better this way—more hygienic.

When you know the other person doesn’t have any contagious diseases, eating family-style isn’t a problem.

But eating with people you don’t know well could be a bit problematic.

Besides, some people have poor table manners and like to pick through the serving dishes.

Foreigners like to eat from large plates, so Han Xiaoqing took out three.

She packed rice into a bowl, then inverted it onto the side of each plate. She then arranged a little of each dish around it, as if plating a fancy meal.

Hearing this, Dean Hans quickly put down his tools. ”I can’t wait to try those shredded potatoes!”

Chen Wenxuan watched Dean Hans drop his tools and hurry inside, shaking his head with a smile.

’Is this still the same dean known for being so serious?’

’To have such a personality change over some shredded potatoes... how unusual.’

After washing his hands, Dean Hans sat at the table to enjoy the delicious meal.

Han Xiaoqing reminded him, ”These are pork ribs, so there are bones inside. Be careful when you eat them! You don’t want to bite down on a bone!”

Dean Hans was just about to try a rib. Hearing her, he chuckled. ”Good thing you told me. A moment later, and I might have chipped my dentures!”

”Then be careful!” Han Xiaoqing smiled and took a sip of soup first.

After that, Dean Hans ate without saying a word, but judging from his ever-quickening pace of chewing, he was extremely satisfied with the lunch.

After a satisfying meal, Dean Hans exclaimed in amazement, ”Good heavens, I never knew tomatoes and eggs could be so delicious together! Especially when mixed with rice—it instantly gives the bland rice a soul!”

Han Xiaoqing was quite surprised to hear this. ”Dean Hans, I must say, you’re a true gourmet! You immediately grasped the essence of scrambled eggs with tomato—it has to be eaten with rice.”

”Hahaha!” Dean Hans was delighted by Han Xiaoqing’s compliment. ”That combination was indeed fantastic! Can you tell me how to make it?”

Han Xiaoqing nodded. ”Of course!”

”Han, and the pork ribs, the hot and sour shredded potatoes, and of course the beef meatball soup—I need those recipes too! It’s just that I’ve never seen the vegetable in the soup before. It was my first time eating it! Where can I buy it?”

Han Xiaoqing smiled. ”You can either buy it at an Asian supermarket, but that’s quite far from here. Or, when you want some, you can just let me or Chen know, and I can pull some up for you!”

Dean Hans was taken aback. ”Wouldn’t that be too much trouble? For example, if I wanted to buy some vegetable seeds to plant in my backyard, could you tell me how to grow them?”

Han Xiaoqing nodded. ”Of course!”

Through gardening and good food, Dean Hans’s relationship with Han Xiaoqing and Chen Wenxuan grew closer and closer.

Not only that, but the professors and friends who often visited Dean Hans’s home also came to know that he had a very impressive Chinese couple as neighbors.

They could make delicious food and also knew how to garden.

When Chen Wenxuan saw that their home was often full of guests on weekends, he scratched his head.

”Xiao Jing, you’re amazing! I’ve been in Germany for so long, and I only have a decent relationship with my advisor and my group members.”

”But to be honest, I don’t have many friends here in Germany. And now, look at us—we’re having a party at our house every weekend.”

Han Xiaoqing smiled. ”Since they’ve come, we can’t just turn them away! Honestly, these people... they bring gifts and ingredients and praise my cooking. I really like the gifts they bring, so I just end up cooking more and more.”

”But this is a good thing, too. You’ve gotten a lot of help from these professors. Some of the difficult problems that were bothering you have been solved just by chatting with them. That’s much better than formally asking them for help.”

Chen Wenxuan nodded. ”That’s true. For some issues, if I ask too many questions in other settings, people get defensive. But when I ask during a meal, they seem to let their guard down.”

”Maybe it’s because it’s hard to say no to someone who’s fed you well?” Han Xiaoqing wondered. ”I guess so. We have to eat anyway. Normally, for the two of us, I’d just make two dishes, and that’s enough. Now that there are more people, I make more, which means I get to eat more dishes too.”

Chen Wenxuan laughed. ”Yes, more people means more variety. I think I’ve gained a little weight recently. I’m going to go running at night. Do you want to come?”

”Okay!” Han Xiaoqing nodded. ”I need to exercise too. I can’t just indulge in food and not move. By the way, I’ve noticed the neighbor’s child on the other side is interested in my little vegetable garden. Every time they see me, they ask a lot of questions.”

”Do you think I could propose an academic research project on leading special needs children in gardening? We could guide the children through every step, from tilling the soil and fertilizing to planting, nurturing, and harvesting. This process brings joy to neurotypical people, and I want to see what kind of effect it would have on special needs children.”

Hearing this, Chen Wenxuan was fully supportive. ”We have a saying in Hua Country: ’Nature brings forth life in spring and yields fruit in autumn.’ It’s the law of nature, and it applies to people too.”

”When spring comes, I think you should propose a project like this to your professor and research the joy of reaping what you sow.”

Han Xiaoqing nodded. ”Then I’ll give it a bold try.”

Han Xiaoqing wrote home almost every week, telling her sister about her life there.

Sometimes she sent photos, other times thick letters, carrying her longing all the way back to her home country.

From these letters, Han Xiaorui could tell that her younger sister was living well in Germany.

Not only was she making progress in her studies, but her relationship with Chen Wenxuan was also becoming more and more stable.

Although there was a winter break in Germany, Han Xiaoqing didn’t want to waste time. She applied for an internship at an institution to learn from the best intervention teachers.

The research project she proposed was accepted by her advisor and the corresponding intervention institution.

They gave Han Xiaoqing a plot of land, about one mu in size, to carry out her project when planting season arrived the following spring.

There would be funding, but not much.

Han Xiaoqing had to do all the work herself; she couldn’t spend money to hire help.

She couldn’t hire help, but she had Chen Wenxuan, a free source of labor. The two of them were more than enough.

Han Xiaoqing’s advisor was also very much looking forward to her project.

Having gone abroad, Han Xiaoqing and Chen Wenxuan were like sponges, absorbing all sorts of knowledge and experience to strengthen themselves.