Senju Tobirama Residence.
At this moment, Renye didn’t know that Hashirama had already met Madara. He tied on an apron and placed the ingredients Uzumaki Mito had bought one by one beside the cutting board.
He placed the mackerel on the cutting board, used the flat side of the knife to stun the fish, skillfully scraped off the scales, gutted it, and with the knife blade gliding along the fishbone, in a blink of an eye, he filleted two complete pieces of fish.
The snow-white fish meat was placed on a plate, sprinkled with salt and ginger slices to marinate.
Then, a spoon of rapeseed oil was poured into a red-hot iron pot. The moment blue smoke rose from the oil, the marinated fish meat was coated in cornstarch and placed into the pot.
“Sizzle——”
The golden crust quickly solidified. He gently flipped the fish with chopsticks, ensuring every piece of fish was amber-colored.
At the same time, the bone broth in another clay pot was bubbling. Renye skillfully cut the tofu into mahjong-sized cubes, blanched them in boiling water to remove the beany smell, then slid them into the rolling broth, sprinkled with chopped green onions and goji berries, and simmered over low heat.
The reason he added goji berries was that he felt Senju Tobirama was getting old and needed good nourishment to avoid accumulating illnesses in the future.
Renye began washing the eggplant, cutting it into small pieces, coating it with a thin layer of flour, and placing it into the oil pot where the fish had been fried.
When the eggplant became fluffy and golden, he quickly scooped it out to drain the oil, then started another pot, stir-fried green onions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, poured in the eggplant, drizzled with light soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled a handful of white sesame seeds.
Renye served the tofu from the clay pot, drizzled the pre-prepared sauce over the fish, and arranged the eggplant on a plate.
Tsunade, smelling the aroma, scurried into the kitchen.
She blinked her watery big eyes, gazing at Renye, and took out the pork loin her grandmother had just bought.
“Uncle Renye, I want to eat sweet and sour pork loin!”
It seemed the little girl really wanted sweet and sour pork loin; otherwise, why would she even bring her own ingredients?
“Alright, alright.” Renye smiled as he took the pork loin and began to prepare it on the cutting board.
Children just love sweets.
He cut into the meat diagonally, making shallow incisions two centimeters apart, then flipped it over and repeated the operation, before cutting it into strips two fingers wide.
He poured in half a spoon of cooking wine, a little white pepper, and a pinch of fine salt, then placed the meat strips into a bowl and kneaded them to better remove the gamey smell and allow the flavors to penetrate.
Two eggs were cracked into a bowl and mixed with cornstarch to form a thick batter.
Renye picked up the marinated meat strips, coated them with golden cornstarch, and as ripples appeared in the rapeseed oil in the pot, the meat strips were placed in, immediately causing fine oil bubbles to rise.
He gently stirred them with chopsticks, scooped them out after the surface set, and by this point, the meat strips were already covered in a light golden crispy crust.
This wasn’t all. While the oil temperature was seven-tenths hot, he put the scooped-out meat strips back into the pot for a second fry.
In just a few tens of seconds, the color became even more enticing.
Tsunade, smelling the wafting aroma of the meat, instinctively swallowed her saliva.
Renye washed the pot clean, poured in two spoons of aged vinegar, three spoons of white sugar, one spoon of light soy sauce, then added half a bowl of clear water and brought it to a boil, drizzled in water and starch to create a clear, translucent gravy, and sprinkled white sesame seeds and minced garlic.
The crispy fried pork loin was coated in the thick sauce and piled up like a small mountain on the plate.
The sweet and sour aroma permeated the kitchen, intertwining with the char of hot oil frying, making one’s mouth water.
Tsunade looked at the enticingly fragrant sweet and sour pork loin on the table and could no longer hold back.
Ignoring the heat, she picked up a piece with her hand and put it into her mouth. The sweet and sour taste and the aroma of the meat filled her mouth, making her narrow her eyes in enjoyment.
Uncle Renye’s food is the best!
Grandma’s sweet and sour pork loin isn’t good at all…
“You go ahead and take it over.” Renye said to Tsunade, who was eating with abandon.
“Mm, got it.” The little girl sucked her fingers, then carried the sweet and sour pork loin away.
Renye then brought out the prepared dishes and placed them on the dining table.
“Renye, are you done?” Uzumaki Mito asked softly.
“I’m done, Uzumaki Mito.” Renye nodded in response: “I’ll go call the Old Man back for dinner now.”
Originally, Uzumaki Mito wanted to call Tobirama home for dinner, but Renye stopped her.
Uzumaki Mito was already tired enough from cleaning the house; he should do such small things.
That Old Man was still handling documents in the Hokage Office, unaware that he was about to be urged to marry.
He really looked forward to his expression then…
…………
“Old Man, don’t handle documents anymore.”
In the Hokage Office, Renye, as usual, pushed the door open without knocking and entered the office.
In the Village, only Renye entered the Hokage Office without knocking; Senju Tobirama had long grown accustomed to it.
“Uzumaki Mito and Little Tsunade are waiting for you to come back for dinner.”
“My sister-in-law and Little Tsunade?” Senju Tobirama put down the documents in his hand and slowly stood up from his chair, “I know. It has indeed been a long time since I ate with them.”
Ever since his older brother passed away and the Ninja World war broke out, he didn’t even have time to eat by himself, let alone eat with his sister-in-law and Tsunade.
Renye looked at Senju Tobirama with a hint of schadenfreude; that Old Man hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation yet.
He would know once he returned to the dinner table…
“Boy, what’s with that expression?” Senju Tobirama looked puzzled, always feeling that this boy was happy about something?
“Nothing, Old Man.” Renye composed his expression.
It wouldn’t be interesting to let that Old Man know now; he still wanted to see the other party’s expression later.
Senju Tobirama didn’t ask further and followed Renye out of the office.
…………
At the dinner table, there was originally only the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks, until Uzumaki Mito suddenly put down her chopsticks.
Renye, who was eating, saw this and knew the main event was about to begin.
The show was about to start, and he was ready to watch.
“Tobirama.” She smiled slightly, her tone as gentle as if asking about today’s weather, “When are you planning to get married?”
“Cough—!” Senju Tobirama choked on the bone broth he had just drunk. He clutched his mouth abruptly, forcing himself to swallow the soup that was about to spray out.
As a result, he coughed violently, his stern face turning red.
Renye saw this scene and almost couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
He wanted to see what excuse that Old Man would use to fob her off?
“Sis-sister-in-law…” Tobirama managed to catch his breath, somewhat helplessly: “Why ask this so suddenly?”
This reminded him of the scene a few years ago when his older brother and sister-in-law both urged him to marry. He had managed to muddle through it before, so why was it being brought up again now?
Uzumaki Mito calmly picked up her chopsticks, picked a piece of pork loin, placed it in Tsunade’s bowl, and continued: “You’re not young anymore; it’s time to start a family.”
“Your older brother isn’t here now, so as your sister-in-law, I must help you arrange a marriage.” Her face held a firm, undeniable resolve, “The elders of the Senju clan have also started pressing.”
Senju Tobirama frowned tightly, put down his chopsticks, and said in a deep voice: “Sister-in-law, I have no intention of getting married. As for the elders, I will handle them.”
He had no interest in women; otherwise, with his status and strength, he would have married long ago.
Moreover, the Village had just ended a war, and government affairs were piled up like mountains; he barely had time to squeeze in a meal.
How could he have the thought for romance?
……
……
PS: These two days I’ve been impotent, I really can’t work hard anymore.