In the ordinary life of Crayon Shin-chan

Chapter 1374 Mengya Comes to Cook (Part 2)

"Forget it." Mengya waved her hands repeatedly. She didn't even want to cook for herself, so how could she possibly make such complicated dishes?

"Then let's make a lazy meal with leftovers: rice balls made with canned mackerel and mayonnaise," Shin-chan continued.

"..." Mengya was completely speechless. She decided to figure it out herself.

Just then, Shin-chan spotted the cookies and his eyes widened immediately: "They're limited-edition seasonal cookies! I really want to eat them!"

"Wow, it looks delicious!" Mengya was immediately tempted.

"Mom, she doesn't understand how kids feel, so she doesn't buy me any of these things to eat!" Xiaoxin was setting a trap for Mengya.

“That’s right, my older sister really doesn’t understand kids’ feelings at all!” Mengya looked at Xiaoxin and laughed. This little guy, well, “Come on, put that in.” Pushing the stroller over, Mengya looked at Xiaoxin and smiled, “You and Xiaoxu can each take one.”

"Wow! Mengya's belly is so big!" Xiaoxin immediately became happy. After he and Xiaoxu each took a box, Xiaoxin suddenly saw the Action Kamen snacks and reached out to take some more. Mengya immediately stopped him: "You can only buy one kind."

"...You really are a stingy mom's sister!" Xiaoxin said to Mengya.

"Okay, I'll choose this one. We can switch them up later." Mingxu took out the cookies and a bag of Action Kamen snacks.

"Okay~ Xiao Xu is the best~" Xiao Xin immediately beamed with joy.

Just then, an older man next to us called out, "Welcome! Would you like to buy a stewed beef packet? Just put beef and vegetables in and cook, it's easy to make and delicious!"

"Oh, this is great! It's stewed beef. My older sister shouldn't have any complaints now!" So, Mengya went up and bought it without hesitation. All she had to do was put the ingredients in and cook it.

"Next, all I need to do is buy meat. Which kind should I choose? The prices are so different..."

"I'd rather have some good-tasting meat!" Shin-chan said without hesitation.

“Good meat is never cheap, and anyway, my sister can’t tell the difference between expensive and cheap meat, so let’s just choose the cheaper one.” Mengya said, casually grabbing a few kinds and putting them in the cart. However, when she turned around to pay, the cart was suddenly filled with expensive meat. She was shocked: “Ah, how could this be? I clearly put in the cheap meat!”

"Uh~" Shin-chan turned around.

"You switched them, didn't you?!" Mengya looked at Xiaoxin with annoyance.

"Um~ because I just want to eat something delicious~" Shin-chan blinked at Mengya.

"Sigh~ I just can't do anything with you." Mengya sighed, touching her wallet, tears welling up inside. She was really going to be broke now.

Holding the groceries, Xiaoxin walked to the car and looked at Mengya; "Is Mengya's wallet empty?"

"Sigh, I'm so poor I don't even have a penny left," Mengya sighed.

Just then, a crow flew down from the sky and swooped towards the meat. Mingxu reacted quickly and threw a pebble. The crow was hit in the wing and fell to the ground, cawing loudly.

"Let's go." Mingxu ignored them and calmly said, looking at the two stunned people.

"Okay..." The two were taken aback for a moment, then nodded and followed Mingxu's footsteps.

Back home, Mengya took these ingredients and started making stewed beef.

In the kitchen, Mengya poured the sauce from the stewed beef packet into the pot, then threw in the chopped carrot and potato chunks all at once. Finally, she reluctantly tore open the packaging of the expensive beef slices she had been "forced" to buy and carefully laid them on top. "Glug glug," the broth quickly began to boil, and the rich aroma of meat mixed with the sweetness of vegetables wafted through the air.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Xiaoxin had somehow wandered to the kitchen doorway, sniffing intently with his little nose and wide eyes, staring intently at the bubbling stewed beef in the pot. "Mengya, when can we eat?"

"What's the rush?" Mengya stirred the ingredients in the pot with a spatula, giving Xiaoxin a sidelong glance. "Wait until the beef is tender. Go to the living room and wait patiently, don't make a mess here." As she said this, she couldn't help but sniffle, thinking to herself, "It seems... actually not bad?"

Mingxu leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching Mengya's flustered yet earnest movements, and couldn't help but smile. He noticed that when Mengya was chopping potatoes, she almost cut her finger instead, but luckily she reacted quickly and narrowly escaped. Now she was clumsily trying to skim off the foam with a ladle, resulting in most of the soup splashing out and making a mess all over the stove.

"Do you need any help?" Mingxu asked.

"No need, no need." Mengya waved her hand without turning her head. "I can handle this little thing! Go play with Xiaoxin." She didn't want to show weakness in front of the two kids, especially after being "coerced" into cooking by Meiya. She had to do something decent.

After a while, Mengya felt that it was almost cooked, so she picked up a spoon, scooped up a small piece of beef, blew on it, and carefully put it in her mouth to taste.

"Hmm...it actually tastes pretty good!" She opened her eyes wide in surprise. It seems she made the right choice buying this stewed beef packet; it's a lazy person's dream come true.

"Dinner's ready!" Mengya carried a large pot of steaming stewed beef out of the kitchen, a smug smile on her face.

Misae had been waiting impatiently for a while. Upon hearing this, she immediately stood up from the sofa, walked to the dining table, and peeked at the stewed beef in the pot: "Oh? It looks alright." She was actually a little surprised, not expecting that Misae could actually cook, and it even smelled quite delicious.

"Of course!" Mengya proudly raised her chin. "Don't you even know who did it?"

Xiaoxin and Mingxu couldn't wait to pick up their bowls and chopsticks, ready to feast.

"Alright, alright, sit down and eat," Misae said, picking up a spoon and ladling herself a bowl. She tasted the beef, her eyes lighting up slightly: "Hmm, it really does taste pretty good." Although the method was simple, the ingredients were fresh, the broth was rich, and the beef was stewed until tender and flavorful.

"Right, right!" Mengya became even more smug after hearing Meiya's praise. "I told you I had some cooking skills!"

With his mouth full of beef and potatoes, Shin-chan mumbled, "Delicious! Mengya, it's even better than Mommy's!"

Upon hearing this, Misae immediately glared at Shin-chan: "Hey, Shin-chan! Can't you talk properly?!"

“That’s just how it is,” Shin-chan continued fearlessly, “Mom’s cooking is sometimes a little salty.”

Mingxu chuckled to himself, quickly picking up a piece of carrot and putting it in his mouth to avoid laughing out loud.

Mengya then fanned the flames from the side: "Did you hear that? Even Xiaoxin thinks my cooking is delicious. It seems my cooking skills have been recognized by the kids!"

Misae rolled her eyes at Mengya, but a slight smile crept onto her lips. The meal, though eventful, seemed to have turned out quite well. At least, the house rarely had such a lively atmosphere.

"Oh, right, Mengya," Meiya suddenly remembered something and looked at Mengya, asking, "How much did you spend on groceries today?"

Mengya's smile froze instantly, her eyes flickered, and she stammered, "No...not much money, just a little bit..." She dared not tell Meiya that because of Xiaoxin's switch, she had spent a lot more money, and now her wallet was emptier than her face.

"How much is 'a little bit'?" Misae pressed on relentlessly.

Mingxu noticed Mengya's embarrassment and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Mom, Mengya worked very hard cooking today, so let's not ask about the money. Besides, this stewed beef is really delicious, we should thank Mengya instead."

Xiao Xin nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right, Meng Ya's belly is so big! Oh no, I mean, Meng Ya's cooking skills are amazing!"

Mengya glanced gratefully at Mingxu and Xiaoxin, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Misae looked at the three of them and sighed helplessly, "Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore. But don't do it again!"

"I know, I know!" Mengya quickly interrupted Meiya, picked up a large piece of beef and stuffed it into her mouth, saying indistinctly, "Let's eat, let's eat, the food is getting cold."

After finishing her meal, Mengya was about to leave when Meiya called her back and handed her an envelope: "Take these for now. It seems you used up quite a bit of food today, so use them to tide you over."

"Big sister~" Mengya excitedly held the envelope and looked at Meiya.

"Alright, alright, stop being disgusting." Misae waved her hand, watched Mengya's departing figure, and sighed. This little sister of hers really is a handful.

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