Francis looked down at the vegetable in his hands. 'Did I do something wrong?'
"What's wrong?" he asked innocently.
Looking at his handsome face, Ellie couldn't find the words.
"Ellie, what's the matter?" Ashley came in from the living room. When her eyes fell on the vegetable in Francis's hands, her mouth twisted. She had been away to fetch something just for less than a minute. How could he mess up a simple job of washing vegetable?
Only the stems remained in his hands and the leaves were torn into pieces and scattered all around.
"Can you tell me what kind of vegetable you are washing?" Ashley came over and looked at the stems in the basket. She stared at his innocent face resisting the urge to punch it.
"Isn't this how you're supposed to wash it?"
"Then what is it?"
Francis looked at the pile of leaves in another basket and said, "Oh, you meant these? These can't be eaten, right? I have removed all the leaves. I will throw them away."
"Who told you those can't be eaten?" asked Ashley.
"But I have never eaten those. Can they really be eaten?"
Judging from Ashley's and Ellie's expressions, Francis could tell that he must have goofed up.
Ashley slapped her forehead. "Okay, I will take it from here. You go rest in the living room," she said in resignation.
And this time she didn't listen to Francis' explanations. She just pushed him out of the kitchen. If she allowed him to stay in the kitchen any longer, there wouldn't be any dinner today.
Francis was puzzled at being pushed out of the kitchen. He asked Ashley for the name of the vegetable and searched it online.
"Water spinach, also called water convolvulus, angiosperm, known to have hollow stems…"
There were many recipes too on the Internet. You could cook the leaves, or you could also remove the leaves and cook the stems.
Francis mumbled, "So what's the problem?"
After a short while, the food was ready. It was arranged beautifully on the dinner table and looked delicious. Francis got a whiff of the aroma, and he took a deep breath. As it was all homemade food, he had never seen these kinds of dishes before.
He picked up a small piece and tried it. His eyes lit up. He turned to Ellie and said, "Ellie, this is really yummy."
Ellie glanced at him briefly but didn't say anything.
Ashley interjected, "Eat more if you like. We have work for you to do after dinner."
But Francis didn't hear her. He was totally immersed in the food.
After stuffing himself to the gills, he spread out on the couch in the living room feeling lazy and satisfied. He had tasted all kinds of delicacies but for some reason, he still felt that the food he ate today was the most tasteful.
"So you have eaten so much for free. Are you going to do something to repay us?" asked Ashley.
Francis sat up and replied immediately, "I'm always at your disposal."
Ashley looked at the dishes on the dinner table and flashed an irresistible smile. "Do the dishes."
Francis went into the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Ashley and Ellie sat on the couch comfortably and started watching TV. Ashley stroked her stomach and said, "I think I ate too much. My stomach is feeling uncomfortable."
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