Chapter 2 Drop Dough Soup
"You’re not leaving?" Song Wei Ping looked at Xu Xiao Jiao, who was patting the flour on her body as if nothing had happened, and asked her.
After venting out to Xu Yan Yan and Han Guang Hui, Xu Xiao Jiao's inner fire had finally subsided a bit. Next, she had to consider her future life.
The next step was to settle this new roommate in front of her.
"No rush. Didn’t I say I’ll make you breakfast. It's not time to go to work yet. Let's go and make breakfast first."
Oh, the old life of being salted fish was gone forever. For the sake of a better life in the future, she’ll have to move her hands and mouth.
Song Wei Ping wanted to voice out but recalled that the two of them woke up in the same bed in the morning. In the end, she was the one who suffered a loss. So he followed her into the house silently, wanting to see what she was up to.
Xu Xiao Jiao entered the simple kitchen behind the curtain, looked around, and gained a deep understanding of Song Wei Ping's poor life when he was young. A few handfuls of flour, a small half-pot of cornmeal, a few pickles, and two dry-shelled eggs that one can tell by touching that it had been kept for a long time and the owner was reluctant to eat them, half a can of coarse salt and a little oil. This was everything.
Befuddled, Xu Xiao Jiao glanced at Song Wei Ping, "What are you going to make for breakfast?"
Even though he was nicknamed a wolf cub, Song Wei Ping also felt a little embarrassed at the moment. He pursed his lips, "No need to make. I still have a few corn pancakes from last night. Just cut some pickles and it’s enough."
Really able to endure hardships. Xu Xiao Jiao gave him a thumbs up in her heart. Alright. To be able to take in the bitterness of hardship, then they were the best man. Pretty good.
"Let's make soup. Try to make soup or congee in the morning. It's good for your grandmother's health."
When it came to Grandmother, Song Wei Ping couldn't say anything, "What kind of soup?"
"Dough drop soup. I speak, you make."
If she can move her mouth, then won’t move her mouth.
Xu Xiao Jiao casually took out an egg from the small box. Turning around, she saw Song Wei Ping’s disapproval. She didn't beat around the bush, "Just now you said, I can find you if I need something. Now, I'm finding you. I don't have any other request. Just follow my instructions on making dough drop soup. What I said, I meant it. Since I said I’ll be filial to Grandma, I will do it. As for whether to agree or not, you can think about it first. This doesn’t delay me from making a good impression on Grandma."
Song Wei Ping was silent for a moment before taking two steps toward her, "How to make?"
Only then was Xu Xiao Jiao satisfied. It seemed that Song Wei Ping wasn’t stubborn. Although he didn't talk much, he can be reasoned with.
"Grab a handful of flour, knead them with egg whites, add a little salt, and stir them into a thick clump. Let them sit first. Your private land is in the back? Are there any vegetables grown? I'll go look and pick them."
"Yes. There are. Go out through the door of the east room." Song Wei Ping took out a bowl from a small cabinet against the wall and replied in a low voice.
Behind the curtain, there was only a small space where one can do preparation like cutting vegetables and making dough. Xu Xiao Jiao followed the door Song Wei Ping pointed to and opened it. She discovered that the east room wasn’t very big. There was a small door facing north. She went out through the small door. As expected, it was Song Wei Ping's family's private plot.
Though the private plot wasn’t big, it was tidy. It was only early spring and there weren’t much vegetables in the plot. Only almost out of season piece of spinach and two rows of green onions were planted at the side of the plot.
Xu Xiao Jiao pulled out two green onions and pinched a handful of spinach. She sighed in her heart. For someone who opened her mouth and waited for food, she became someone who needed to pick the ingredients herself. The reason why she didn't collapse was because of her strong mentality.
Back in the east room, Song Wei Ping had cleaned the pot and was about to light the fire. Xu Xiao Jiao casually ordered, "Heat the pot, put oil in it, put green onions in the hot oil, add water, and bring to a boil."
This was the simplest dough drop soup. Forget about shrimp and Icelandic red ginseng. There wasn’t even minced meat or tomato.
Xu Xiao Jiao sighed silently. What kind of days was this?
She watched Song Wei Ping sitting down by himself, adding firewood, and pouring oil. Completely lacking the demeanor of a bigshot in the future. She cheered up, "I'll help you with the fire."
Once you get rich, don't forget me, brother!
Xu Xiao Jiao merely added a twig to the bottom of the pot. Thinking silently, she felt it was fortunate that she had a hobby of reading recipes every day. In order to be able to eat well, she dabbled in everything, from the fried rice noodles at the roadside stalls to the recipes of the national banquet. Despite never entering the kitchen, she was able to accurately give the chef at home pointers. She was awarded the title of ‘Xu Family's little glutton’.
Maybe, it is considered a talent here? She was able to instruct Song Wei Ping to cook, no? At least she can eat what she wants to eat in the future as long as there are ingredients and she can instruct others to cook it.
Crackle
"Ah!"
Startled, Xu Xiao Jiao stood up and backed away, "Song Wei Ping, what are you doing! Are you trying to blow up the kitchen?"
His approach was definitely wrong. Cooking a meal was like fighting a war!
Seeing her disgusted look, Song Wei Ping raised his eyebrows, "I'll put in green onions."
"When you put chopped green onions, put them in properly. With all that crackling, I thought you were setting off a cannon."
Song Wei Ping deeply stared at her, "You said, put chopped green onion in hot oil."
Xu Xiao Jiao noticed the speechlessness from that gaze. She was about to refute, but paused. Although she had never been in the kitchen, she had gone to school after all. The temperature of the hot oil would exceed 200 degrees. After the green onions were washed, it contained water. Once put in hot oil, en…
Alright, it was right to have ‘crackling' sounds.
Seeing Song Wei Ping's swift action of adding water, she pouted her lips and muttered, "Okay, okay, you did it right."
She touched the corner of her clothes and wanted to sit back as if nothing had happened. However, Song Wei Ping had already sat down before her, "I'll do it. For the rest, you can tell me what to do."
"En, boil the water and put small lumps in it. Once it’s cooked, stir the remaining egg yolks in. Add spinach, salt, light soy sauce; that is, soy sauce; vinegar and sesame oil," she stretched her head toward the seasoning shelf for a look, but there was nothing there. The pitch-black bottle seemed to be soy sauce. "Forget it, just add salt and a little soy sauce for taste."
Song Wei Ping glanced at her. How troublesome. He followed Xu Xiao Jiao's request in silence. He only hoped that after today was over, she would stop those messy thoughts. From then on, the two of them would be the same as before.
In less than ten minutes, the dough drop soup was almost ready. Smelling the aroma in the air, Xu Xiao Jiao's dissatisfaction quelched. After all, this was a soup made under her supervision. It smelled good. The stir-fried spinach should also be good.
"Ping boy, what are you making? It smells so good?"
Xu Xiao Jiao asked, "Grandma woke up?"
Song Wei Ping took out the heated corn pancakes in the bamboo food steamer and replied 'um'.
The voice came from the west. Grandma probably lived in the west room. Xu Xiao Jiao showed a smile on her face, got up, entered the main room, lifted the door curtain to welcome her, "Grandma, I made the dough drop soup. Elder Brother Wei Ping is scooping it now. Come, come. Let’s wash our hands first. We’ll eat it in a moment.”
Song Wei Ping: ... Just saying a few sentences is called make, then you certainly made it.
Xu Xiao Jiao had no psychological burden and was full of confidence. She picked the green onion and the spinach, lit the fire, and gave precise instructions. This soup was definitely made by her.
Grandma Song raised her head and saw a girl with picturesque eyebrows and bright smile coming out to greet her. She was dazed for a moment, "Oh, lass, who are you?"
Grandma Song was in her 60s, but she looked to be in her 70s or 80s. Her white hair was neatly combed and the wrinkles on her face displayed the evidence of suffering in her youth. Even with a cane, she can't walk steadily. Xu Xiao Jiao knew Grandma Song had a bitter life.
Her two sons married wives one after another. The second daughter-in-law gave birth to a son named Song Wei Ping, while Eldest’s wife never conceived a child. A baby was Heaven's will, so the old lady wasn’t in a hurry. Unforeseen, Eldest Son got terminally ill. All the family money was spent, but he couldn’t be saved. His wife had remarried. Second Son went to the quarry to smash rocks. One day, he lost his life. From then on, Second Daughter-in-law became mentally ill. This mental illness gradually manifested into a real illness. Sickly, she lasted until Song Wei Ping was fifteen years old and gave up and passed away.
Leaving behind a grandparent and grandson who were deeply in debt and depended on each other for life. Song Wei Ping's reputation as a calamity star was born like that.
Xu Xiao Jiao didn't dare to think about the hardships Song Wei Ping experienced when he was young. She blinked and jollily helped Grandma Song up the steps, "Grandma, my name is Xu Xiao Jiao. I'm an educated youth from the village's educated youth center. Let's talk while we eat."
A plate of stir-fried spinach, a plate of shredded pickles, a few corn pancakes, and three bowls of emerald green dough drop soup with a scatter of egg yolk.
This early in the morning, she had dismissed Xu Yan Yan and cooked. Xu Xiao Jiao was hungry. She picked up the bowl and took a sip of dough drop soup.
En, this original organic and pollution-free taste was different. The ingredients were simple, but the taste was great.
She took a sip of the soup and grinningly asked, "Grandma, how is it?"
"It's good. It's delicious. Grandma had never had such a delicious soup. It's better than Ping boy's cooking."
How can it not be good? Looking at Xu Xiao Jiao's smug expression, Song Wei Ping thought to himself. There was oil, flour, and egg. If it didn’t taste good, it would be unlogical.
He chewed a soft and fragrant dough drop in his mouth and kept silent as he listened to Xu Xiao Jiao coaxing Grandmother into a smile with a few words.
"It's a small matter. Just say one word and it’s enough. What need is there tol come to cook a meal for Grandma. Oh, these educated people are polite. Ping boy, tomorrow you will accompany Xiao Jiao to town to buy things."
Song Wei Ping kept silent. This in turn aroused Grandmother into patting the table in dissatisfaction, "Did you hear that?"
"En." Song Wei Ping acknowledge in a solemn voice.
Hearing his reluctance, Xiao Jiao wasn’t in angst. She clipped a corn pancake for Grandma and smiled brightly, "Grandmother, Elder Brother Wei Ping is being shy. What is there to be shy about? Besides, he is good-looking. The girls in our educated youth center privately say that Elder Brother Wei Ping is the most handsome person in the village. He should openly go out. Right, Grandma?"
Grandma Song grinned from ear to ear from hearing her grandson being complimented. She felt that Xu Xiao Jiao was pretty and got a sweet mouth. A good girl. Throughout the meal, it was spent in laughter.
Normally, Song Wei Ping and his grandmother would eat in silence when eating. To Song Wei Ping, this kind of relaxation and happiness seemed to never exist in his memory.
When sending Xu Xiao Jiao back to the educated youth center, Song Wei Ping hesitated even more when she asked how his considering went.
"You, you not doing this out of spite toward Han Guang Hui?"
There were only two of them. Xu Xiao Jiao withdrew the enthusiasm and sweetness toward Grandma Song. She rolled her eyes, "That kind of scum, is it worth my anger? Seriously, neither of us intends to get married. But you, you need a wife let Grandma be at ease, and I need a husband to block everyone's mouths. I also know that you owe a lot of debts, I don't mind that you are poor, you don't mind that I am lazy. How perfect it is for the two of us to live together?"
Seeing Song Wei Ping remain silent, Xu Xiao Jiao knew that his heart was moved. She patted him on the arm, "Hey, Song Wei Ping, if you don't speak, I'll take it as you agreeing by default."
"You’re not leaving?" Song Wei Ping looked at Xu Xiao Jiao, who was patting the flour on her body as if nothing had happened, and asked her.
After venting out to Xu Yan Yan and Han Guang Hui, Xu Xiao Jiao's inner fire had finally subsided a bit. Next, she had to consider her future life.
The next step was to settle this new roommate in front of her.
"No rush. Didn’t I say I’ll make you breakfast. It's not time to go to work yet. Let's go and make breakfast first."
Oh, the old life of being salted fish was gone forever. For the sake of a better life in the future, she’ll have to move her hands and mouth.
Song Wei Ping wanted to voice out but recalled that the two of them woke up in the same bed in the morning. In the end, she was the one who suffered a loss. So he followed her into the house silently, wanting to see what she was up to.
Xu Xiao Jiao entered the simple kitchen behind the curtain, looked around, and gained a deep understanding of Song Wei Ping's poor life when he was young. A few handfuls of flour, a small half-pot of cornmeal, a few pickles, and two dry-shelled eggs that one can tell by touching that it had been kept for a long time and the owner was reluctant to eat them, half a can of coarse salt and a little oil. This was everything.
Befuddled, Xu Xiao Jiao glanced at Song Wei Ping, "What are you going to make for breakfast?"
Even though he was nicknamed a wolf cub, Song Wei Ping also felt a little embarrassed at the moment. He pursed his lips, "No need to make. I still have a few corn pancakes from last night. Just cut some pickles and it’s enough."
Really able to endure hardships. Xu Xiao Jiao gave him a thumbs up in her heart. Alright. To be able to take in the bitterness of hardship, then they were the best man. Pretty good.
"Let's make soup. Try to make soup or congee in the morning. It's good for your grandmother's health."
When it came to Grandmother, Song Wei Ping couldn't say anything, "What kind of soup?"
"Dough drop soup. I speak, you make."
If she can move her mouth, then won’t move her mouth.
Xu Xiao Jiao casually took out an egg from the small box. Turning around, she saw Song Wei Ping’s disapproval. She didn't beat around the bush, "Just now you said, I can find you if I need something. Now, I'm finding you. I don't have any other request. Just follow my instructions on making dough drop soup. What I said, I meant it. Since I said I’ll be filial to Grandma, I will do it. As for whether to agree or not, you can think about it first. This doesn’t delay me from making a good impression on Grandma."
Song Wei Ping was silent for a moment before taking two steps toward her, "How to make?"
Only then was Xu Xiao Jiao satisfied. It seemed that Song Wei Ping wasn’t stubborn. Although he didn't talk much, he can be reasoned with.
"Grab a handful of flour, knead them with egg whites, add a little salt, and stir them into a thick clump. Let them sit first. Your private land is in the back? Are there any vegetables grown? I'll go look and pick them."
"Yes. There are. Go out through the door of the east room." Song Wei Ping took out a bowl from a small cabinet against the wall and replied in a low voice.
Behind the curtain, there was only a small space where one can do preparation like cutting vegetables and making dough. Xu Xiao Jiao followed the door Song Wei Ping pointed to and opened it. She discovered that the east room wasn’t very big. There was a small door facing north. She went out through the small door. As expected, it was Song Wei Ping's family's private plot.
Though the private plot wasn’t big, it was tidy. It was only early spring and there weren’t much vegetables in the plot. Only almost out of season piece of spinach and two rows of green onions were planted at the side of the plot.
Xu Xiao Jiao pulled out two green onions and pinched a handful of spinach. She sighed in her heart. For someone who opened her mouth and waited for food, she became someone who needed to pick the ingredients herself. The reason why she didn't collapse was because of her strong mentality.
Back in the east room, Song Wei Ping had cleaned the pot and was about to light the fire. Xu Xiao Jiao casually ordered, "Heat the pot, put oil in it, put green onions in the hot oil, add water, and bring to a boil."
This was the simplest dough drop soup. Forget about shrimp and Icelandic red ginseng. There wasn’t even minced meat or tomato.
Xu Xiao Jiao sighed silently. What kind of days was this?
She watched Song Wei Ping sitting down by himself, adding firewood, and pouring oil. Completely lacking the demeanor of a bigshot in the future. She cheered up, "I'll help you with the fire."
Once you get rich, don't forget me, brother!
Xu Xiao Jiao merely added a twig to the bottom of the pot. Thinking silently, she felt it was fortunate that she had a hobby of reading recipes every day. In order to be able to eat well, she dabbled in everything, from the fried rice noodles at the roadside stalls to the recipes of the national banquet. Despite never entering the kitchen, she was able to accurately give the chef at home pointers. She was awarded the title of ‘Xu Family's little glutton’.
Maybe, it is considered a talent here? She was able to instruct Song Wei Ping to cook, no? At least she can eat what she wants to eat in the future as long as there are ingredients and she can instruct others to cook it.
Crackle
"Ah!"
Startled, Xu Xiao Jiao stood up and backed away, "Song Wei Ping, what are you doing! Are you trying to blow up the kitchen?"
His approach was definitely wrong. Cooking a meal was like fighting a war!
Seeing her disgusted look, Song Wei Ping raised his eyebrows, "I'll put in green onions."
"When you put chopped green onions, put them in properly. With all that crackling, I thought you were setting off a cannon."
Song Wei Ping deeply stared at her, "You said, put chopped green onion in hot oil."
Xu Xiao Jiao noticed the speechlessness from that gaze. She was about to refute, but paused. Although she had never been in the kitchen, she had gone to school after all. The temperature of the hot oil would exceed 200 degrees. After the green onions were washed, it contained water. Once put in hot oil, en…
Alright, it was right to have ‘crackling' sounds.
Seeing Song Wei Ping's swift action of adding water, she pouted her lips and muttered, "Okay, okay, you did it right."
She touched the corner of her clothes and wanted to sit back as if nothing had happened. However, Song Wei Ping had already sat down before her, "I'll do it. For the rest, you can tell me what to do."
"En, boil the water and put small lumps in it. Once it’s cooked, stir the remaining egg yolks in. Add spinach, salt, light soy sauce; that is, soy sauce; vinegar and sesame oil," she stretched her head toward the seasoning shelf for a look, but there was nothing there. The pitch-black bottle seemed to be soy sauce. "Forget it, just add salt and a little soy sauce for taste."
Song Wei Ping glanced at her. How troublesome. He followed Xu Xiao Jiao's request in silence. He only hoped that after today was over, she would stop those messy thoughts. From then on, the two of them would be the same as before.
In less than ten minutes, the dough drop soup was almost ready. Smelling the aroma in the air, Xu Xiao Jiao's dissatisfaction quelched. After all, this was a soup made under her supervision. It smelled good. The stir-fried spinach should also be good.
"Ping boy, what are you making? It smells so good?"
Xu Xiao Jiao asked, "Grandma woke up?"
Song Wei Ping took out the heated corn pancakes in the bamboo food steamer and replied 'um'.
The voice came from the west. Grandma probably lived in the west room. Xu Xiao Jiao showed a smile on her face, got up, entered the main room, lifted the door curtain to welcome her, "Grandma, I made the dough drop soup. Elder Brother Wei Ping is scooping it now. Come, come. Let’s wash our hands first. We’ll eat it in a moment.”
Song Wei Ping: ... Just saying a few sentences is called make, then you certainly made it.
Xu Xiao Jiao had no psychological burden and was full of confidence. She picked the green onion and the spinach, lit the fire, and gave precise instructions. This soup was definitely made by her.
Grandma Song raised her head and saw a girl with picturesque eyebrows and bright smile coming out to greet her. She was dazed for a moment, "Oh, lass, who are you?"
Grandma Song was in her 60s, but she looked to be in her 70s or 80s. Her white hair was neatly combed and the wrinkles on her face displayed the evidence of suffering in her youth. Even with a cane, she can't walk steadily. Xu Xiao Jiao knew Grandma Song had a bitter life.
Her two sons married wives one after another. The second daughter-in-law gave birth to a son named Song Wei Ping, while Eldest’s wife never conceived a child. A baby was Heaven's will, so the old lady wasn’t in a hurry. Unforeseen, Eldest Son got terminally ill. All the family money was spent, but he couldn’t be saved. His wife had remarried. Second Son went to the quarry to smash rocks. One day, he lost his life. From then on, Second Daughter-in-law became mentally ill. This mental illness gradually manifested into a real illness. Sickly, she lasted until Song Wei Ping was fifteen years old and gave up and passed away.
Leaving behind a grandparent and grandson who were deeply in debt and depended on each other for life. Song Wei Ping's reputation as a calamity star was born like that.
Xu Xiao Jiao didn't dare to think about the hardships Song Wei Ping experienced when he was young. She blinked and jollily helped Grandma Song up the steps, "Grandma, my name is Xu Xiao Jiao. I'm an educated youth from the village's educated youth center. Let's talk while we eat."
A plate of stir-fried spinach, a plate of shredded pickles, a few corn pancakes, and three bowls of emerald green dough drop soup with a scatter of egg yolk.
This early in the morning, she had dismissed Xu Yan Yan and cooked. Xu Xiao Jiao was hungry. She picked up the bowl and took a sip of dough drop soup.
En, this original organic and pollution-free taste was different. The ingredients were simple, but the taste was great.
She took a sip of the soup and grinningly asked, "Grandma, how is it?"
"It's good. It's delicious. Grandma had never had such a delicious soup. It's better than Ping boy's cooking."
How can it not be good? Looking at Xu Xiao Jiao's smug expression, Song Wei Ping thought to himself. There was oil, flour, and egg. If it didn’t taste good, it would be unlogical.
He chewed a soft and fragrant dough drop in his mouth and kept silent as he listened to Xu Xiao Jiao coaxing Grandmother into a smile with a few words.
"It's a small matter. Just say one word and it’s enough. What need is there tol come to cook a meal for Grandma. Oh, these educated people are polite. Ping boy, tomorrow you will accompany Xiao Jiao to town to buy things."
Song Wei Ping kept silent. This in turn aroused Grandmother into patting the table in dissatisfaction, "Did you hear that?"
"En." Song Wei Ping acknowledge in a solemn voice.
Hearing his reluctance, Xiao Jiao wasn’t in angst. She clipped a corn pancake for Grandma and smiled brightly, "Grandmother, Elder Brother Wei Ping is being shy. What is there to be shy about? Besides, he is good-looking. The girls in our educated youth center privately say that Elder Brother Wei Ping is the most handsome person in the village. He should openly go out. Right, Grandma?"
Grandma Song grinned from ear to ear from hearing her grandson being complimented. She felt that Xu Xiao Jiao was pretty and got a sweet mouth. A good girl. Throughout the meal, it was spent in laughter.
Normally, Song Wei Ping and his grandmother would eat in silence when eating. To Song Wei Ping, this kind of relaxation and happiness seemed to never exist in his memory.
When sending Xu Xiao Jiao back to the educated youth center, Song Wei Ping hesitated even more when she asked how his considering went.
"You, you not doing this out of spite toward Han Guang Hui?"
There were only two of them. Xu Xiao Jiao withdrew the enthusiasm and sweetness toward Grandma Song. She rolled her eyes, "That kind of scum, is it worth my anger? Seriously, neither of us intends to get married. But you, you need a wife let Grandma be at ease, and I need a husband to block everyone's mouths. I also know that you owe a lot of debts, I don't mind that you are poor, you don't mind that I am lazy. How perfect it is for the two of us to live together?"
Seeing Song Wei Ping remain silent, Xu Xiao Jiao knew that his heart was moved. She patted him on the arm, "Hey, Song Wei Ping, if you don't speak, I'll take it as you agreeing by default."
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Ha! Her bandit style of getting a husband….
ReplyDeleteReally feels the salted fish spirit! A real bandit style like ^^ said
ReplyDelete