On the afternoon of the fifth day of the lunar month, around five o'clock, Feng Dabao's father called and said that their pork could not be delivered because an old neighbor of theirs died suddenly. He asked Mr. Yin Yang to check the date and said
The funeral date is scheduled from tomorrow evening to the morning after tomorrow.
He and his son were asked to cook, and his wife also wanted to help, so the pig could not be killed today, and the meat would not be delivered to the shop tomorrow. The meat would not be given to them until the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
Send it over, and it will be delivered directly to their home when the time comes.
For this reason, Xiang Jin's mother's original plan to go to the street to do business on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year was ruined. Then Xiang Jin asked her mother to tell the other party that they would deliver it tomorrow afternoon, and they would cook it tomorrow night, and then
Soak it in the marinade overnight, pick it up the morning after tomorrow and take it directly to the town to sell.
On the early morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, while Xiang Jin and his family were still cooking breakfast, two vendors collecting vegetables drove up one after another.
Xiang Jin's mother lost the tongs and asked Xiang Jin to go with her to the fields to pick vegetables, and then asked Xiang Lan to cook the pot and fry the vegetables when they came back later.
Yang Hui and Yang Zhao went to help.
Xiang Lan was playing sandbag jumping with two boys, Yang Xu and Yang Xin, in the empty small room next door. When she heard her mother's instructions, she quickly threw away the sofa in her hands and said to the two of them, "No more playing.
Stop playing, I’m going to collect the vegetables.”
She ran outside and shouted to her sister, "Sister, you stay and cook, I'll collect the vegetables."
Two boys, Yang Xu and Yang Xin, followed them out.
Xiang Jin looked sideways at Xiang Lan, "Are you sure?"
The little girl nodded vigorously, "Are you sure? Can you fry some sweet potato fries for us?"
Yang Xu and Yang Xin also nodded vigorously.
Ha, it turned out that I was thinking about this!
"Okay, then you all go and collect the vegetables for me. Three cobblers are as good as Zhuge Liang," Xiang Jin nodded, then pointed at Yang Xu and Yang Xin.
After receiving her promise, several people happily ran to get the vegetable basket.
Seeing their positive looks, Xiang Jin couldn't help but curl his lips. They are all foodies!
Today, among the two vendors collecting vegetables, neither Feng Dabao nor the owner of the Xinfu Restaurant was involved. The two of them mainly supply vegetables to schools and government agencies. These units have to wait until after the Lantern Festival.
They will start to work and open their doors one after another. One will not open for business until the eighth day of the first lunar month, so of the two vendors who came today, one is the owner of the vegetable vendor in the county town, and the other is the owner of the vegetable shop in the town.
Both of them asked for a lot of food today, so it took Xiang Jin and his family a full hour and more than half an hour to collect their food. After Xiang Jin and his family finished collecting their food, her mother called a few waiters.
She went home to have dinner, and then she went to help Aunt Liao and Grandma Mo.
As soon as several people got home, they rushed into the kitchen first, especially the little ones, who grabbed them without even washing their hands. Xiang Jin hit the backs of several people's hands with his chopsticks and said, "Wash your hands!"
Several people quickly retracted their hands and then went to wash their hands laughingly.
"Serve your own food, I'll go over and take a look," Xiang Jin told a few people, and then went directly to Aunt Liao and Grandpa Zeng with a potato chip cake.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it is the eighth day of the first lunar month. In fact, in the eyes of many Chinese people, as soon as the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is over, the New Year is basically over. People who work have to go to work, and those who do business have to open their doors for business.
Xiang Jin's house, like her uncle's house, was open for business on this day, so his grandpa and grandma came early in the morning. Her grandpa came to continue staring at his greenhouse vegetable patch, and her grandma mainly came to pick up Yang Xu.
The Yang Xin brothers returned home and said that they would be going to school in a short time and they should go back and finish their winter vacation homework.
Xiang Jin and her mother didn't hold back. Xiang Jin's mother gave each of them a hundred yuan of New Year's money and then went directly to the town to do business with her things. Xiang Jin and the others helped her grandfather cook the dishes together.
After harvesting, Xiang Jin cooked lunch for them before going back.
As soon as they left, the house suddenly became much deserted and quieter. This kind of environment is the most suitable for creation. No one disturbs you and you can think quietly. So Xiang Jin took out the outline he had written before and started writing.
Her serialized novels came.
Xiang Jin and the others started school on the 16th day of the first lunar month. Yan Chen came back on the 13th day of the first lunar month, and it was Uncle Ming Tao who sent him back.
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Xiang Jin was sitting in his room writing a manuscript, when Yan Chen led two people over with things.
"Is your sister here?" When Yan Chen arrived at their house, he saw Xiang Lan setting up a table with Zhang Xiaomei and sitting alone around the iron pot on the eaves of the street, doing homework and lighting a fire.
As soon as she heard his voice, the little girl suddenly raised her head, and then called out in surprise, "Brother Yan Chen, are you back?"
Yan Chen nodded slightly, "You are the only one at home?"
Xiang Lan said, "There is also my sister. My sister is reading and doing homework in her room. Just wait a minute. I will call you." After saying that, the little girl stood up from the bench and suddenly
He turned around and ran towards the house.
Yan Chen motioned to the two of them to put their things on the two bamboo chairs not far away, and then put down the plastic bucket he was holding. The two of them went, and then walked to Xiang Jin and the others.
In the yard of their home, they began to admire their house and the surrounding environment.
Xiang Jin came out of the room and saw that he was looking at the homework that Xiang Lan had done, so he walked over and said, "I thought you wouldn't be back for a few days?"
Yan Chen looked at her and raised the corners of his lips slightly, "It's okay. I'm just back. Isn't school about to start at the age of sixteen?"
Xiang Jin nodded, "How's it going? Did you go somewhere during the Chinese New Year?"
Yan Chen shook his head and said, "I'm basically at home. I have a few game dates with Han Che and the others. How about you, are you enjoying the Chinese New Year?"
Xiang Jin smiled and said, "It's okay. Since New Year's Eve, every day has been full of fish and meat. It was either your house, then Aunt Liao's house, and our house. Then we went to my grandma's house. Later,
My uncle and several cousins came to our house again, didn’t you see how fat I have become?”
Yan Chen looked at her carefully and said, "I don't think so, but the complexion on his face has improved a lot."
Xiang Jin said, "I've gained weight. I've really gained weight. Look, my face has become rounder," and she found that she had gained some weight on her waist.
Yan Chen was amused, "This is just right!"
"Really?" Xiang Jin looked at him with some disbelief, thinking that he was trying to comfort himself.
Yan Chen said, "Really, you were too thin before!"
Xiang Jin was about to talk to him when he suddenly saw two people in the yard walking towards the eaves of the street. They both looked at her with smiles on their faces. Xiang Jin was startled for a moment. I'm sorry, she hasn't looked yet
There were two large living people in the yard.
Ah Hua, this oblivious person, didn't even bark today, and those puppies are also white-eyed wolves. When a stranger comes, you still bark twice, but you don't even bark.
Say something, it seems like you have to give them a good scolding later. How can you treat them like a dog to guard someone's yard?
In fact, we can't blame Ahua and the puppies. Because Yan Chen came over, Hu Cai led the two puppies he brought over and followed them. When the family met, it was natural that they
They had to be intimate, so how could they care about anything else? Ah Hua and Hu Cai were intimate, and the puppies got into a ball, biting and playing with each other while holding each other, and they had such a good time.
"Who are they?" However, they still looked honest and honest. Xiang Jin looked at the two people walking towards them and asked Yan Chen in a low voice.
Yan Chen said, "The cook of our hot pot restaurant."
Xiang Jin was immediately surprised, "Have you found everyone?"
Yan Chen nodded slightly towards her, "Well, not only have I found the person, but I have also found the store. It's on the south fourth section of the First Ring Road. There are many wealthy merchants living there.
There are still some working-class people at home, and it is in the preliminary stage. The store is not very big, maybe similar to the shop in your town."
Xiang Jin was shocked and said, "Okay, when it's ready, we can expand or open a branch?"
Yan Chen nodded, "I think so too."
Xiang Jin couldn't help but praise him, "You are really fast."
Yan Chen said, "After selling the land, there was nothing else to do, so I drove around with Uncle Tao, and then I saw that there happened to be a teahouse over there that was about to be transferred, so I gave it to me.
Let it go."
Xiang Jin asked, "How much does that store cost?"
Yan Chen saw that the two people were approaching, and then said, "We will talk about this later. Let me introduce them to you first. This is Uncle Zheng, whose full name is Zheng Gang. This is Uncle Duoji, whose full name is Pema Duoji."
Xiang Jin was surprised for a moment, "Uncle Duoji is Tibetan?"
The middle-aged man named Pema Dorje was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and said in his thick Tibetan accent, "Well, I am a Tibetan, from my hometown in Litang.
.”
Xiang Jin nodded towards him, "Your Tibetan yak meat is delicious."
Uncle Duoji smiled and nodded, "Yes, yes, I brought some for you." After saying that, he walked to the bamboo chair not far away, opened the cardboard box, and took it from inside.
He took out a pack of air-dried beef jerky and handed it to Xiang Jin.
Xiang Jin took it, then took a piece from it and ate it, "Well, it's really delicious. It has more flavor than the beef we have here."
Uncle Duoji, seeing that she really liked her, said sincerely, "If you like it, I will bring you some more in the future."
Xiang Jin raised the package in her hand and said, "Thank you, that's enough, that's enough." Then she looked at Zheng Gang aside, "Where is Uncle Zheng's hometown from?"
Then Zheng Gang said, "My hometown is Dongchuan, Yunnan."
"Dongchuan?" Xiang Jin was silent for a moment, "It is rich in copper mines and is famous for its red soil."
Zheng Gang was also surprised, "You even know this?"
Xiang Jin said, "I've seen it in books, but I don't know much about the details."
Then Zheng Gang said with excitement on his face, "Our Luoxia Valley is exquisite and beautiful. You and Xiaochen are welcome to visit us then!"
As he said that, he also walked aside to get his own gift for Xiang Jin, "We don't have any special specialties there. I brought you two handfuls of our Dongchuan noodles."
Xiang Jin handed the beef jerky package in his hand to Xiang Lan, who seemed to understand. Then he stretched out his hands to take it, "Uncle Zheng, you are too polite. This is not a specialty. Your Dongchuan noodles."
It’s very famous, it won’t turn bad after being cooked for a long time, it’s fragrant and tender, thank you, thank you, I really appreciate you all!”
Both of them waved their hands and said, it's nothing, it's not really anything valuable.
Yan Chen followed and said to her, "Uncle Zheng and Uncle Duoji used to serve in the cooking squad in the army. This time I brought them here to take charge of our hot pot restaurant."
Xiang Jin was pleasantly surprised and said, "That's great. I've been in the kitchen for a long time before, so I must be very good at cooking."
Zheng Gang said with some embarrassment, "I used to be mainly responsible for cutting vegetables, making dumplings, and kneading steamed buns. Duoji and his team were responsible for the specific cooking. Duoji also learned from a Sichuan chef. In the kitchen
He is much more proficient in art than me."
"Really?" Xiang Jin nodded again.
Uncle Duoji innocently touched his head and said with a chuckle, "I learned a few dishes, but they didn't last long, but they are like twice-cooked pork, Kung Pao chicken, roasted chicken with taro, fish-flavored eggplant, hot and sour
I know how to make shredded potatoes, but I don’t know how to make hot pot. My master is just a cook who makes stir-fries, so he didn’t teach me about hot pot!”
Xiang Jin said, "Okay, okay, as long as you are a chef, that's fine. In fact, making hot pot is very simple and not difficult. How about I treat you to hot pot tomorrow, tomorrow night?"
The two of them nodded, naturally agreeing happily, because the purpose of their return was to learn how to make hot pot.
Following Yan Chen, he pulled Xiang Jin to the small plastic bucket. Xiang Jin's eyes suddenly lit up. Then she knelt down and lay beside the bucket to look, "Did you really bring live shrimps?"
Yan Chen nodded, "I will definitely do what I promised you."
Xiang Jin stood up and said, "Okay, I will do what I promised you. Wait, I will make crystal shrimp dumplings for you to eat." After saying that, she asked Xiang Lan to go to the basin in the kitchen.
Bring a few more toothpicks."
Yan Chen asked, "Is it done now?"
Xiang Jin said, "You don't need to wrap them today, but the shrimp meat must be processed as soon as possible. Let me tell you, it is best to process the shrimps while they are still alive, so that the meat will taste fresh and tender."
, with a springy feel, otherwise the shrimp meat will not taste good when it dies tomorrow, and it is easy to breed bacteria.
Because the main component of fish and shrimp is protein, and protein is easy to decompose. The decomposition of protein depends on microorganisms and bacteria. Unlike pork, its main components are fat, carbohydrates and some small amounts of protein, so fish and shrimp
The quality assurance of seafood and aquatic products is not as good as that of pork.”
Zheng Gang and Pema Duoji were both shocked after hearing what Xiang Jin said just now. At the same time, they admired Xiang Jin. They didn't expect that she knew so much at such a young age. They knew this and that.
They are still in the army, working in the cooking class for a long time, and listening to their old squad leader’s advice, this little girl is amazing!
Yan Chen nodded, "Okay, then I'll help you."
Xiang Jin looked at the huge bucket of shrimps and nodded, "That's fine!"
Seeing that Yan Chen had stayed, the other two people naturally couldn't think of leaving, so they also said to help them. Xiang Jin looked at Yan Chen, and Yan Chen nodded to her, "The purpose of their coming is to learn from you.
Make something to eat.”
Xiang Jin felt a little embarrassed, "I just want to show off my skills in front of the people in Wantou, how can I still show off my skills in front of them?" He had been a cook in the army.
The two waved their hands and said, "No, no, we usually only do those few things in the army. Compared with the chefs in real restaurants, they are far behind. They have been systematically trained.
It’s okay, we are just a small team.”
Xiang Jin absolutely believed that they were speaking modestly, but since they were talking about this, she was not a hypocritical person, so she nodded in agreement and followed her to the house to get a few small folding benches.
Come out and hand one to each of them.
Just like that, when Xiang Lan went to the kitchen to get a basin, several people each had a toothpick in hand, and then they started to deal with the live shrimps.
However, there is strength in numbers. In just over half an hour, they were able to process a bucket of live shrimps immediately. Then Xiang Jin turned his head and looked at Yan Chen's wrist, "What time is it?"
Yan Chen rolled up his sleeves, then glanced down, "It's not even four-twenty yet."
There's still time!
Xiang Jin stood up and said, "Just wait, I'll make the freshest crystal shrimp dumplings for you to eat." After saying that, she picked up the pot of shrimp meat on the floor and walked to the kitchen nearby.
When several people saw it, they all got up and followed her. Xiang Lan felt a rare moment of diligence and went straight to the pot of dried shrimps to deal with them.
"Hey, why did you come in?" Xiang Jin was cutting shrimp meat when he saw several people coming in.
Yan Chen said, "Let's see what you do?"
The other two people also started to roll up their sleeves, "Girl Jin, what else do you need? Let us help you?"
Xiang Jin said, "There are indeed some. Uncle Zheng, there are some dried bamboo shoots in the cabinet. Please take some out and soak them in boiling water in the pot. They are about the size of a handful. Uncle Duoji, there are some carrots in the dustpan over there.
Please help me take two and peel them off. Yan Chen, you can trim the green onions. I will use them later."
"good!"
So everyone collaborated separately.
After a while, everyone had finished the work at hand, and Xiang Jin also cut all the shrimp meat, and then she took a piece of fresh pork belly to cut. Uncle Zheng Gang saw that she seemed to be chopping.
It was a bit difficult, so he took the kitchen knife from her hand and said, "I'll do it? Chop it into pieces as big as your shrimp meat, right?"
Xiang Jin stepped aside and said, "A little smaller."
"Okay!" Uncle Zheng Gang nodded.
Then Uncle Duoji asked, "Shall I go make some noodles?"
Xiang Jin felt that they would be better at making noodles than him, and it would also save some time, so he said without politeness, "Okay!"
Then Xiang Jin took two kinds of flour, and then poured part of the potato starch into a basin. Then Uncle Duoji touched the flour and said, "Hey, what kind of flour is this? Isn't it wheat flour?"
"
Xiang Jin was surprised, "Uncle Duoji didn't wrap it with crystal glue?"
Then Uncle Duoji said, "No, when we were in the army, we mostly made steamed buns, made steamed buns, ordinary dumplings, and fried a few simple home-cooked dishes, and then during the New Year and festivals
I’ll give you guys some beef, mutton, etc. I’ve never made these crystal shrimp dumplings before.”
Xiang Jin nodded, "This is called potato starch, which is extracted from potatoes."
Uncle Duoji nodded, "No wonder, I mean this flour feels different from the wheat flour we commonly use. It's smooth and smooth."
Then she looked at another type of flour aside, "Is this wheat flour?"
Xiang Jin said, "This is Chengmian, which is extracted from wheat flour."
"Shen Mian?"
Xiang Jin laughed, "It's not Shen noodles, it's Cheng noodles, with a back nasal vowel. The flour we usually use to make dumplings is high-gluten flour, but this one is low-gluten flour."
Both Uncle Duoji and Uncle Zheng Gang found it strange. While chopping the meat, Uncle Zheng Gang joked to Uncle Duoji, "Douji, you haven't heard of it, have you?"
Uncle Duoji seemed to be an honest man indeed. He nodded and said, "I have never heard of it, and this is the first time I have seen it. Oh, Jin Yatou, how are these two types of flour made?"
Xiang Jin said, "It's simple," and then she told the two of them how to make potato starch and noodles. Then Uncle Duoji nodded, "I think we can add another one to our store by then."
This crystal dumpling.”
Then Uncle Zheng Gang said, "Okay, Duoji, I think your idea is a good one!"
Xiang Jin and Yan Chen looked at each other and smiled. After Xiang Jin mixed the potato starch, she asked Uncle Duoji to knead the dough. Then she went over to see how Uncle Zheng Gang chopped the pork. "Uncle Zheng
, it’s almost enough to win two more minutes.”
"Okay!" Uncle Zheng Gang responded cheerfully.
Xiang Jin went to cut the pickled bamboo shoots and carrots.
In a short while, Uncle Duoji kneaded a large smooth dough, put it in the basin and woke up. Then he walked over to look at Jin to adjust the stuffing.
During the process of mixing the stuffing, they asked questions from time to time, and Xiang Jin explained and answered them one by one.
After the filling ingredients were mixed, Xiang Jin felt that the dough was almost awake, so he asked them to help him roll out the dough.
After they rolled out the dough, Xiang Jin's filling was almost ready, so everyone started wrapping it up.
"Hey, can you make dumplings?" Xiang Jin couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw Yan Chen making a pretty good dumpling.
Yan Chen glanced at her with a proud look on his face, "Are you kidding?! I'm just not very good at cooking, okay? I can still make dumplings," he made a lot of dumplings during the Chinese New Year.
The other two people just laughed.
In a short while, they had made a sieve of dumplings, and then Xiang Jin went to wash his hands and boil water.
About twenty minutes later, several bowls of crystal clear and steaming dumplings were placed in front of a few people. Xiang Jin nodded to them and said, "Try it? See if it tastes good?"
"Oh, these dumplings are so beautiful. Look, they are crystal clear, just like the kind of warm jade," Uncle Duoji couldn't help but sigh.
"Well, it's delicious!" Uncle Zheng Gang followed suit.
Xiang Jin looked at Yan Chen, "Huh?"
The corners of Yan Chen's mouth curled up slightly, and then he lowered his head and started eating, then said, "Well, it is indeed delicious, very fresh and tender, and very fragrant! You don't want to eat it?"
Xiang Jin shook his head, "We had dumplings for lunch, and I'm not even hungry yet."
Yan Chen nodded.
Seeing that all of them were eating deliciously, Xiang Jin said, "I see that Grandma Mo and the others are starting to light up the fire to cook dinner, so I didn't give you a lot of food, lest you go back for dinner later.
I can’t eat it, but there are a lot of stuffing ingredients there. You can take a bowl back later, and then bring some flour back, and mix it with bread at home. Anyway, you have a refrigerator at home, so you can just wrap it up when the time comes.
Just put it in the refrigerator to freeze."
Uncle Zheng Gang and Uncle Duoji both waved their hands and refused, saying, "How can this be done? No, no!"
Xiang Jin looked at Yan Chen with a smile.
Yan Chen said, "Okay!"
Both of them were startled for a moment, and Xiang Jin said, "Our two families are very familiar with each other, and we often do this, so you're welcome! Besides, didn't you make so many dumpling wrappers for us? There are still some dumpling skins there.
It’s almost done after it’s wrapped, there’s so much stuffing left, and I don’t want to make the noodles.”
Then Uncle Zheng Gang and Uncle Duoji said that they would make noodles for her later, and Xiang Jin waved his hands, "We don't have a refrigerator at home, and there are too many bags to eat at once. It will be a pity if they go bad."
Yan Chen nodded towards them.
Seeing the tacit understanding between her and Yan Chen, the two of them nodded and continued to work on the dumplings in the bowl.
After the meal was over, the sky outside was getting darker, and Xiang Jin couldn't keep them for long. After covering the pot of stuffing in a large new plastic bag, he gave it to Yan Chen, and then brought it to them.
After buying some potato starch and noodles, they went back, but at the same time they also agreed to go to town together tomorrow to buy ingredients for hot pot, explaining that Uncle Tao would drive tomorrow and her mother could also ride in their car.