Sky Curtain: My Happy Daily Life Exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 23 The Bustling Night Market

Li Shimin's voice pierced through the hall, as if the sky were about to explode.

He stared intently at the chopsticks Lu Chen used to pick up the pigskin, as if it were some monstrous beast: "Pork is worthless! My son is of noble birth, how can he eat such filthy things!"

Empress Zhangsun gently stroked his arm and softly advised, "Second Brother, don't be anxious. Since the young master comes from the future, perhaps the pork will no longer be the same..."

"Even in future generations, they'll still be pigs!" Li Shimin interrupted her, pointing to the glistening pigskin on the braised pork stall in the sky, his fingers trembling. "The Book of Rites clearly states, 'A gentleman does not eat rotten pigs!' This food is foul-smelling and unclean. The young rhinoceros is weak; what if it contracts a disease because of it!"

Princess Chang Le, who was standing nearby, suddenly covered her mouth and whispered, "Father, look! Si Zi has eaten..."

The family's gazes suddenly sharpened—

Little Sizi opened its mouth and "woof" bit into the pigskin that Lu Chen offered.

A glistening drop of red braising sauce clung to her pink lips. The little one puffed out her cheeks, chewed a couple of times, and her eyes lit up: "Darling! This is so bouncy and delicious!"

"Sizi!" Li Shimin screamed and fell to the ground.

Lu Chen, oblivious to everything in the sky, smiled and wiped the grease from the baby's mouth with a tissue: "This is called braised pork skin, made with spices. Eat slowly, there's beef too."

"Brother, is this pig skin burning your tongue a little?" Little Si asked, sticking out his little red tongue.

"That's chili pepper. You don't have that where you're from. If you're afraid of spicy food, don't eat it. The chicken feet are a little spicy too. The beef isn't spicy." Lu Chen moved the bowl of braised dishes around.

"No problem! I'm not afraid of spicy food!" Little Sizi scooped up another piece of pork skin.

"Here, have some watermelon to cool down!" Lu Chen opened the watermelon.

"Wow! So sweet! And so refreshingly cool!"

"Little guy, you wouldn't get to eat such delicious food at home. Our pigs are carefully bred superior breeds, way better than your local pigs. Our pigsties are washed every day, they're cleaner than people's."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin's ears perked up, and his heart felt half relieved.

"Eat up, little one. These pork, beef, and chicken have all been inspected and stamped by the quarantine department. They're absolutely safe." Lu Chen felt a strange sense of pride. Being a modern person is a kind of luck.

"Oh, really nothing's wrong?" Li Shimin sat up straight and began to squint as he examined the person.

"Erlang, I told you everything was alright, right?" Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Shimin. "Look at the curtain over there, there are so many people queuing up to buy meat, everything's fine, everyone's eating. Many of them seem to know the owner well, they must have been eating for a long time."

Li Shimin didn't speak, but his complexion improved and his breathing gradually became more even.

"Oh, that pigskin looks delicious. How did they dye it that red color?" Li Tai pondered, stroking his chin.

Two bowls of seafood congee were served over here.

"Pot! It smells so good! It smells like shrimp!" Little Sizi has a very keen nose.

"Yes, this is seafood porridge, it has lots of ingredients in it. Does Sizi like it? If you don't like it, we won't eat it, and your brother will give you sweet pumpkin porridge instead, okay?" Lu Chen suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked Sizi if she liked it.

"Shrimp porridge!" Little Sizi licked his lips.

"Here, eat slowly, don't burn yourself." Lu Chen handed the little guy a spoon.

The two of them scooped up porridge and drank it together. Lu Chen felt that having the little guy as a companion made things much warmer.

He recommended pickled radishes, pickled cowpeas, stir-fried tofu, and fried peanuts to Sizi.

The little ox stretched out its little spoon and tasted them all one by one.

"Good, good! Better than the palace..." Little Si almost blurted out.

"Shh." Lu Chen gestured.

"These are better than the vegetables at home!" the little guy said in a clear voice.

boom!

Li Shimin was almost furious.

"Is my Great Tang Dynasty really so worthless?"

"Can't we even make a simple pickled vegetable dish properly?"

"Why are there so many kinds of side dishes nowadays? They're all such strange things!"

"Erlang, I believe that there must be many kinds of seasonings in modern times, and they must taste very good. Otherwise, Sizi wouldn't have said that," Empress Zhangsun said casually.

"Even the Sizi is eating seafood porridge." Li Tai looked up at the starry sky and couldn't help but smack his lips a few times.

"It's so nice to live by the river; you can eat fish and shrimp anytime," Chang Le said enviously.

Ming dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at what the little boy was eating, and even the eight-treasure porridge in his own hand didn't taste so good anymore.

He said to Empress Ma, "Sister, look at this! Modern people eat better than we do every day! We're emperors! We don't even know what they eat! What kind of situation is this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the table.

"Zhongba, that's from a later era, we can't compare to him. We should just compare ourselves to the present, the emperors of the Tang and Song dynasties weren't as good as us," the empress advised.

"The girl is right! Contentment brings happiness!"

The Qing Dynasty.

Emperor Qianlong stopped Heshen: "Minister He, I've seen it! Peanuts can be used as a condiment, adding a little to our daily meals—brilliant! Make a note of this!"

Heshen nodded hastily: "Your Majesty is right! I'll get right on it, fry the peanuts, mix the seasonings..."

modern.

Before we knew it, evening had fallen, and the streetlights gradually came on.

"Oh dear, eat slowly, have some porridge." Lu Chen quickly blew on the seafood porridge to cool it down before feeding it to the little one. The little one obediently swallowed it, then pointed at the beef and said, "I still need more!"

"Alright, let's have a big slice of braised beef." Lu Chen handed it to the little guy.

As night deepened, lights came on both near and far.

People outside the canopy were all drawn to the night view of the street.

Wow! Modern nights are so beautiful!

"That thing on the rooftop looks like a dazzling jewel necklace! The one on the wall looks like a piece of shimmering jade! The most amazing thing is that silver-white stake, which emits a rolling white light that dazzles the eyes!"

Looking at the bustling food street in the sky, with its stalls steaming with hot smoke and people's laughter, Liu Che was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

"When will our country achieve national stability, and will our people be able to live a stable and prosperous life?"

Li Shimin slumped back onto his couch, shaking his head and smiling bitterly: "I was... confused. The Queen Mother is now a thousand years in the future, and her eating habits and customs are completely different. As long as she is safe and happy, why should I be so fixated on this?"

Empress Zhangsun gently took his hand and said softly, "Yes, Erlang. Look how happy Sizi is; that is her greatest blessing."

Above the sky, Little Sizi, having eaten and drunk his fill, was yawning while nestled in Lu Chen's arms.

Lu Chen wiped her mouth and said softly, "Sizi, let's go home? I'll tell you a story."

Little Sizi softly replied "Okay," then wrapped her little arms tightly around her brother's neck. Soon after, her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep on her brother's shoulder.

"Let's go! Home!" Lu Chen grabbed his backpack, picked up Xiao Sizi, and crossed the road to go home.

Back home, Lu Chen settled Xiao Sizi down, put the little guy to sleep, washed up, and then threw the clothes they had worn that day into the washing machine.

Buzz—As the washing machine spun, Lu Chen wondered where he should go for fun tomorrow.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding... Lu Chen's video call rang.