booktalesy Chapter 266 The Teacher's Wife Acts as Matchmaker
Chapter 266 The Teacher's Wife Acts as Matchmaker
It's summer, but the temperature in Qingshan County hasn't been high these past few days, staying below 30 degrees Celsius.
It's a weekend.
Wu Zhiyuan personally drove to the train station to pick up Liu Qingqing and her group of four and bring them to Xindian Town.
It was already noon when Wu Zhiyuan entered a local specialty restaurant in town.
Liu Qingqing wore a beige silk shirt paired with navy blue wide-leg pants, her hair loosely tied up, and sunglasses, exuding an artistic aura.
Xu Yunxi looked very casual, wearing a pink short-sleeved T-shirt and a denim mini skirt, her long legs were dazzlingly white.
Xu Yunxi's two classmates, one wearing a sundress and the other wearing a light blue dress.
The one in the sundress is called Wei Wei, and the one in the dress is called Su Banxia.
Both girls were very beautiful. Wei Wei was shy, while Su Banxia was very outgoing.
Su Banxia chuckled and said, "Secretary Wu, Yunxi talks about you to us every day, saying how outstanding, capable, and handsome you are. After seeing you today, I can confirm that you truly live up to the hype. I'm even thinking of poaching Yunxi's boyfriend."
Wei Wei covered her mouth and laughed.
Xu Yunxi's face flushed instantly. She glared at Su Banxia and scolded, "Banxia, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Su Banxia chuckled, "Look, he's getting impatient! Just kidding, Secretary Wu is so outstanding, can't others even admire him?"
She turned to Wei Wei, who had been sitting quietly, and said, "Weiwei, don't you think so?"
Wei Wei smiled but remained silent.
"Alright, alright, you two girls, stop joking with Yunxi." Liu Qingqing took off her sunglasses, a faint smile on her face.
Xu Yunxi had sensed Wu Zhiyuan's secret crush on her several years ago.
Even if she weren't Xu Yunxi's stepmother, or even her biological mother, she wouldn't interfere with Xu Yunxi's relationships.
She is very open-minded. Xu Yunxi is an adult and has the ability to judge feelings on her own. And Wu Zhiyuan is so outstanding.
She even thought that if Wu Zhiyuan and Xu Yunxi really got together, it would be a good match.
"By the way, Zhiyuan, what are the specialties of this local restaurant?" Liu Qingqing asked, looking at the menu.
"The specialty of this restaurant is that it uses local ingredients, all of which are fresh and seasonal wild vegetables from Qingshan." Wu Zhiyuan took the menu and started ordering skillfully. "It's hot in the summer, so I suggest ordering something light and appetizing."
The signature dish is stone pot spring water tofu, made with mountain spring water and local soybeans, with a strong bean flavor.
There was also steamed whitefish, which was freshly caught from Qingshan Reservoir that morning and was especially tender.
There's also stewed bullfrog, whose meat is firm and sweet. It's stewed with spring water, with only a few slices of ginger and a little salt, preserving its original flavor.
Let's also have some stir-fried sweet potato leaves with garlic, and a pork rib and winter melon soup simmered on a traditional earthen stove—it'll cool you down and boost your energy. How about that?
Su Banxia opened her mouth wide: "Bullfrog? I've never eaten one before! I'm a little scared."
Xu Yunxi laughed loudly: "You were just saying you wanted to poach someone's boyfriend, and now you're too scared to even eat a frog? Is that all the courage you have?"
Su Banxia made a face: "How can that be the same?"
Wu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Don't worry, it's been cleaned very thoroughly. It tastes like tender chicken, I guarantee you'll like it."
He added a dish of steamed river shrimp. The river shrimp from the stream were small but translucent, with their shells gleaming with a bluish-green luster. They were steamed with just a few shredded ginger and chopped green onions to preserve the unique freshness of the mountains and fields.
Before long, the proprietress brought out several steaming dishes on a wooden tray, instantly filling the small private room with a rich aroma.
The stone pot spring water tofu was served first. In the rough earthenware stone pot, the milky white tofu was bubbling slightly, with a fragrant aroma of soybeans, and was sprinkled with chopped green onions and minced ginger.
Su Banxia tentatively scooped up a spoonful; the tofu was so tender that it trembled slightly in the spoon, melting in her mouth with a sweet and refreshing bean flavor.
"Wow! This is delicious!" she exclaimed, clicking her tongue in admiration. "It's a hundred times better than the tofu in our school cafeteria!"
Wei Wei nodded and took a small sip: "It really does have a very pure bean flavor."
The steamed white fish is served on a long plate. The fish is silvery white and the flesh is as tender as garlic cloves. It is drizzled with only a little steamed fish soy sauce and hot oil, and sprinkled with shredded green onions and ginger.
Liu Qingqing picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and savored it carefully: "This fish is good. It's cooked to perfection. Any more and it would be overcooked, any less and it would be raw. The quality of the fish is also very good, with absolutely no muddy taste."
Wu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "The owner of this shop is a master chef who is best at cooking fish."
He said that when steaming fish, the water must be boiling before putting it in the pot, and it must be taken out of the pot precisely seven minutes later—not a second more.
"Yes, it's delicious!" Xu Yunxi also picked up a piece, carefully removed the fish bones, and then naturally placed it on the plate in front of Wu Zhiyuan. "Brother Zhiyuan, working in the township is busy and tiring, you should eat more."
Su Banxia noticed this subtle gesture, winked at Wei Wei, and sighed dramatically, "Sigh, someone is so considerate. We don't have anyone to pick out fish bones for us."
Xu Yunxi blushed and secretly kicked Su Banxia lightly under the table.
"Stop fooling around, Banxia, quickly try this spring water tofu." Wu Zhiyuan smiled and smoothed things over, using a spoon to scoop a piece of tofu into each person's bowl.
Next up is stewed bullfrog.
In the white porcelain soup bowl, the soup was clear, and you could see the milky white frog meat, a few bright red goji berries, and emerald green scallions.
Su Banxia stared at it for a long time before finally mustering up the courage to pick up a piece of frog leg meat, close her eyes, and put it in her mouth.
The next second, she opened her eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "It really tastes like chicken! But it's more tender and smoother, and it even has a little bit of sweetness."
Xu Yunxi teased her, "Who just said they weren't going to eat?"
"Can't I change my mind!" Su Banxia said matter-of-factly, picking up another piece. "What does saving face matter when there's such delicious food!"
After lunch and a short rest, the group headed to Qingshan Gorge.
Unlike in spring, the canyon is more vibrant in the height of summer.
The stream was much fuller because of the rainy season, flowing gurglingly. The trees were lush and green, and the cicadas chirped incessantly, which further accentuated the deep tranquility of the valley.
Wu Zhiyuan acted as the tour guide, and we visited all the scenic spots, including the canyon, Peach Blossom Stream, Green Dragon Pool, and Thousand-Foot Cliff.
"It's so beautiful! It's like stepping into a painting!" Su Banxia exclaimed in admiration.
Three girls set up their art supplies, mixed paints, and began to paint not far below the Thousand-Foot Cliff Waterfall.
Xu Yunxi's gaze kept falling on Wu Zhiyuan.
Su Banxia, ever observant, gently nudged Xu Yunxi with her paintbrush handle, lowered her voice, and said with a mischievous grin, "Are you mesmerized? Want me to paint Secretary Wu into your landscape? I guarantee it'll be just like him!"
"Get lost! Just focus on your drawing!" Xu Yunxi's face flushed red as she pretended to hit her.
Wei Wei smiled slightly to herself, already sketching the outline of the distant waterfall on the paper.
Wu Zhiyuan accompanied Liu Qingqing as they slowly walked upstream along the stream.
Liu Qingqing strolled along, stopping occasionally, listening as she walked, appreciating the wonders of nature.
Liu Qingqing exclaimed, "Zhiyuan, look at that waterfall. The water flows down from a great height, crashing against the rocks, splashing everywhere. The explosive force of that moment and the subsequent continuous flow are just like the emotional release in the climax of a drama."
And these rocks, sculpted by millions of years of water erosion, have taken on various shapes, their sharp edges worn away, becoming rounded, yet retaining their inner strength—much like life itself, undergoing transformation and metamorphosis through the passage of time and experience.
Wu Zhiyuan nodded: "Teacher Liu is absolutely right. Isn't the same true for grassroots work?"
As grassroots cadres, we must not only be energetic at critical moments, but also have the explosive power of a waterfall to meet the urgent and difficult tasks such as flood control and drought relief and project breakthroughs, so that we can stand up and bear the burden.
On ordinary days, one must have the perseverance of a flowing stream, going from village to village to listen to the people’s opinions and understand their feelings, working step by step and doing things little by little, without being hasty or lax.
Just like the rocks by the stream, only by withstanding the erosion and preserving their true nature can they stand firm and perform their duties effectively.
"It's commendable that you think this way. It's not easy to do practical things, be persistent, and yet remain flexible and compassionate."
Liu Qingqing suddenly changed the subject, "Zhiyuan, if I'm not mistaken, you're twenty-eight this year, right?"
"Isn't your family pressuring you about your personal life?"
Wu Zhiyuan was taken aback when the topic turned to this, then smiled frankly: "My elders at home are naturally concerned, and they mention it on the phone."
But matters of the heart ultimately depend on fate and the right timing. You can't force it, and you can't rush it.
"Zhiyuan, fate and timing are indeed important. But sometimes, fate is right in front of you, and timing isn't something you wait for; it's something two people create together."
Liu Qingqing paused for a moment, then said, "Zhiyuan, there's something I don't know if I should say."
"Teacher Liu, please speak frankly." Wu Zhiyuan had already roughly guessed what Liu Qingqing wanted to say.
Liu Qingqing sat down on a rock: "Zhiyuan, her father and I can both see that Yunxi has feelings for you."
Liu Qingqing didn't give Wu Zhiyuan a chance to speak, and continued, "Zhiyuan, I know you have concerns."
You are older than Yunxi, have experienced setbacks in relationships, and carry some burdens from the past.
You feel she is still young, you are afraid that she is acting on impulse, and you are afraid that you cannot give her the best.
But I want to tell you that Yunxi is no longer a child.
She'll be a junior in college after the semester starts, and she'll know what she wants.
She chose to study art not because it was an easy path, but because she genuinely loved it.
Her liking for you isn't just a passing fancy.
Over the years, she has had no shortage of outstanding young men pursuing her, but she has never wavered.