Chapter 34 Popcorn

Mrs. Wen thought about it and asked, "What do we need to do today?"

"Big bones are supposed to be used to make soup and porridge, but now pork can't be eaten, so we can only use water instead."

Ma Yinghe frowned as she listened: "Will the taste be worse this way?"

"Mom, it won't be much different. We'll have fresh porridge tomorrow."

"That's good, otherwise I'm really worried it will taste bad."

Old Lady Wen was worried that the three of them would be too busy tomorrow: "Don't you need to prepare anything in advance?"

"No, we can just soak the rice when we get up tomorrow morning to exercise. It will be ready when we get to the market. We should have porridge in less than a quarter of an hour. We just need to buy some ingredients tomorrow."

"Yi Yi, I'll go buy it now." Wen Chengwen was afraid that they would not have time tomorrow.

"Dad, no need. Fresh seafood is better."

Wen Yong's eyes lit up: "So sister wants to make seafood porridge."

Wen Zhenyi pinched his nose and said, "Look how powerful you are."

Wen Yongman chuckled, "Sister, Hu Zi loved the potato and egg pancakes you made for him last time. He even boasted about it to his friends in the village, and today when we went out, they all kept pestering me for some."

"No wonder you didn't go out today. It turns out you were being chased for food."

Wen Yong pouted and said, "It's all Hu Zi's fault for his big mouth."

Wen Zhenyi knew that children at this age rarely had anything to eat, and even a piece of candy would make them happy for a long time. "Mom, do you have any corn kernels at home?"

"Corn kernels?"

"Yeah, just old corn kernels."

"Yes, yes. I bought these to feed the pigs. Now that I don't raise pigs anymore, I have quite a few left."

"Mom, please get me some."

"What are you going to do?"

"Make some snacks."

Old Lady Wen saw that she had only been here for a short while and was busy again without taking a rest: "Sit down and have a rest. Why are you taking care of these kids?"

"Grandma, mainly because I want to eat too." Wen Zhenyi stuck out his tongue mischievously.

Seeing that she said she wanted to eat, Old Lady Wen could only shake her head helplessly.

Wen Zhenyi pulled Wen Yongman over and said, "Come on, help me light a fire."

When Wen Yongman heard that he was going to make something delicious, he immediately ran to the kitchen: "Sister, what do you want me to do?"

"Just help watch the fire for a while."

Wen Zhenyi took out the sugar jar from the cupboard, opened it and took a look. There was still a lot of sugar inside, but there were some ants. It seemed that he had to change the sugar jar next time.

Ma Yinghe brought over half a bag of corn kernels and placed it on the table beside her: "Yiyi, is that enough?"

"Mom, we won't need this much, but I can make some more so we can sell it tomorrow."

"Are you still thinking of selling it?"

"It doesn't matter if I make one or two, I might as well make more so I can sell them for money. Otherwise, the corn kernels will just be wasted at home."

"That's true. We don't have chickens or ducks at home, so we won't be able to sell this for much money."

Wen Zhenyi looked at her and said, "Mom, let me teach you how to make popcorn. It's easy."

"Can I do it?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll try." Ma Yinghe rolled up her sleeves and prepared to start: "How do you do it?"

"Clean the pot first, and when there's water in the pot, pour in some sesame oil."

Ma Yinghe did as she said and poured in the sesame oil: "And then?"

"Then pour the corn kernels into the pot, making sure every kernel is covered with oil, and then cover the pot."

Ma Yinghe put the lid on the pot and waited for the next step with a spatula in hand. However, after waiting for a long time, nothing happened. Wen Zhenyi said, "Yiyi, what's next?"

"Just wait behind."

"Huh?" Ma Yinghe looked at Wen Yongman, who was sitting next to the stove, with a confused look on her face. "Xiaoman, did Mom hear correctly?"

Wen Yongman also shook his head with a silly look on his face: "I think I heard that from my sister too."

"Bang, bang, bang, bang." The banging sound from the pot scared the two of them.

Even the people sitting outside enjoying the cool air were startled: "What's going on? Making a snack is like setting off firecrackers?"

Ma Yinghe held a spatula and looked at the people at the kitchen door, not knowing how to explain.

Wen Chengwen heard the non-stop "crackling" noise from the pot and asked, "Did you throw firecrackers into the pot?"

Wen Zhenyi burst out laughing: "Dad, who would throw firecrackers into the pot?"

"Then what's going on?" Old Man Wen was also confused.

"You'll know in a moment." Wen Zhenyi deliberately kept everyone in suspense.

The people in the Wen family looked at each other, waiting for the answer to be revealed.

Wen Zhenyi waited until there was no more noise coming from the pot before looking at Ma Yinghe: "Mom, you can lift the lid now."

Ma Yinghe was a little timid, fearing that something terrible would appear inside.

When the lid was opened, I saw a pot of white things that looked like flowers.

"What is this?" Old Man Wen walked to the stove curiously and looked at the contents. "It smells pretty good."

Wen Zhenyi asked Ma Yinghe to put all the popcorn into a large bowl: "Grandpa, this is popcorn. It's not done yet. You can eat it after a while."

Ma Yinghe looked at the bowl full of popcorn and asked, "Is this made from those corn kernels?"

"yes!"

"so much?"

"Mom, the steps are not over yet, you have to continue."

Ma Yinghe withdrew her gaze from the bowl of popcorn and asked, "What should we do next?"

"Just stir-fry the sugar." He put the appropriate amount of sugar into the pot and asked her to stir-fry.

When the sugar turns into syrup, turn off the fire on the stove, pour the popcorn into the pot, stir-fry evenly and then serve.

A group of people gathered around a bowl of popcorn, not knowing how to eat it.

"It looks pretty good." Wen Chengwen looked at the caramel-colored popcorn with some white sugar hanging on it. He had smelled the fragrance of corn kernels before, and now there was the aroma of sugar. He just didn't know if it would taste good.

Wen Zhenyi reached out and took one and put it in his mouth. It had cooled down quite a bit when he had just fried it, but now it wasn't as hot as it used to be. "Delicious."

Old Man Wen saw that she was eating with such happiness on her face: "Is that how you eat it?"

Wen Zhen nodded: "Grandpa, try it."

Everyone in the family reached out and took a pill and started eating it with a nervous mood.

"It's a bit crispy, a bit soft, and a little sweet." Old Mrs. Wen reached out and took another piece while eating.

Several people stood next to the popcorn and started eating it, one grain at a time.

Wen Chengwen's mouth was full of popcorn: "Why can't I stop eating this stuff?"

Wen Yongman's mouth is now stuffed like a hamster, and his little hands are still reaching into the basin.

Wen Yongnan looked at the popcorn: "Yi Yi, is this popcorn difficult to make?"

Before Wen Zhenyi could say anything, Ma Yinghe took over the conversation: "It's not difficult to do, it's quite simple."