Chapter 19 Spinach Dumplings She really liked her older sister.

During the Song Dynasty, people called dumplings "jiao'er" or "jiaozi". There was a very famous restaurant in Zhouqiao that served braised pork dumplings. It was always packed with customers. It was said that even the emperor once sent his eunuchs to buy some.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Jie shook her head vigorously: "I've never eaten it before, I want to eat it!"

"Alright, you two come over and help your older sister sift the wheat flour. Your older sister will prepare the filling first, and we'll be able to eat it in a little while!" Shen Miao then pinched her nose and got up to go to the kitchen to chop cabbage.

After Ji Ge'er finished putting on Xiang Jie'er's shoes, he carried over a small stool. To save money, Shen Miao always bought wheat flour that had only been ground finely with a stone mill and sifted to remove clods of earth and small stones. This kind of white flour contained a lot of wheat bran, looked dark, and didn't taste good. However, from a scientific perspective in later generations, wheat bran is actually very nutritious and helps with weight loss.

But neither Ji-ge'er nor Xiang-jie'er really need to lose weight, and Shen-miao also likes to eat foods with a good texture, otherwise it will upset her throat!

So she would have Ji Ge'er pound the wheat into a finer grind using a stone mortar and pestle, and then sift it twice. But this usually didn't filter it clean enough. The wheat flour also needed to be placed in a bamboo winnowing basket. She would pick up the basket with both hands and slowly toss it into the air. The bran was lighter than the wheat flour, so it would float away with the wind. This made the refined white flour have a delicate texture.

However, it couldn't achieve the same level of refinement as later generations. Later generations could even classify flour into different grades. If the Song Dynasty had had flour mills, the resulting noodles would have become truly delicious.

But that's just wishful thinking.

Shen Miao chuckled self-deprecatingly, washed and chopped the white cabbage, and marinated it with salt. While the cabbage was marinating, she fried the eggs until they were tender, chopped them, and then diced the carrots, scallions, and ginger together.

Then, put the white cabbage, eggs, carrots, scallions, and ginger into a large bowl, add salt, five-spice powder, oil, and soy sauce, and mix well. The dumpling filling is now ready.

Wash the spinach again, shred it, and pound it with a mortar and pestle to extract the juice.

Ji Ge'er's wheat flour was almost ready, so Shen Miao poured the bright green spinach juice into the flour. The next steps were the same as for ordinary dumplings: add water, knead the dough, let it rest, and finally roll the rested dough into long strips and cut them into small pieces.

Finally, there's her specialty: without even using a rolling pin, she sprinkles some flour to prevent sticking, then slightly flattens a dozen or so small dough balls, stacks them together, turns them with one hand and pinches them with the other, flips them over and turns them a couple more times, and in no time she rolls out a dozen round and thin dumpling wrappers at the same time.

While making dumplings, boil water at the same time. Once the dumplings are made, put them in the water before it boils.

Xiang Jie'er was stunned by Chen Miao's skillful cooking. She had recently taken to watching Chen Miao work by the stove. Chen Miao cooked quickly and well, and her movements were never sluggish. After each step, she would wipe the stove and clean up the dishes, so the countertop was always clean and tidy.

Xiangjie squinted, feeling the steam rising from the dumplings bubbling in the big iron pot. The steam warmed her face. Her older sister, taking a moment from her busy schedule, pulled out a handkerchief and bent down to wipe her face. In the warmth of the burning firewood, Xiangjie gently hugged her older sister's waist.

She really loves her older sister.

***

Boiling dumplings also requires skill. Add a little salt to the water and pay attention to the heat. The saying goes, "Cook the skin uncovered, cook the filling covered." Add cold water three times during the cooking process so that the dumpling skin won't break. In no time, a big pot of plump, round, ingot-shaped dumplings will be ready.

Shen Miao cooked quite a few dumplings this time, about sixty or seventy. Since there was no meat at home, most of the filling was carrots and cabbage. But she tasted them and found them quite delicious, so she divided half of them, put them on a plate, and sent them to Aunt Gu's house while they were still hot.

I borrowed someone's car today, so I should return the favor and express my gratitude.

Only Aunt Gu was in the backyard of the Gu family. Gu Tusu was busy in the wine shop. As for Uncle Gu, Shen Miao hadn't seen him since she returned. She heard that he spent most of his time brewing wine in the wine cellar rented by the Gu family outside the city. He was the hardest-working person in the Gu family.

Aunt Gu was heating porridge in the kitchen when she heard Shen Miao explain her purpose. She waved her hand repeatedly, saying, "It's not easy for the three of you to support the family. Don't spend money on this."

"It's no trouble at all. They're filled with cabbage and eggs, and have a light flavor. I was worried that Auntie might not like them." Shen Miao smiled as she placed the dumplings on the table in the backyard. "Since I came back, Auntie has been helping me every day. How could I not be polite? Now that things are difficult at home, the only way I can thank you is with this food. Please try my cooking."

Aunt Gu then stopped refusing, wiped her hands on her apron, came out and took a look, and laughed, "You wrapped this corner piece quite uniquely, not only is it green, but it also looks like a gold ingot!"

In the Song Dynasty, dumplings were often shaped into triangular, pointed shapes, like a crescent moon. This is the origin of the name "jiaozi" (角子). It's quite rare to find dumplings like Shenmiao's, which are plump and have upturned ends.

Shen Miao then chimed in, "This is for a good meaning, to earn gold ingots every day, don't you think?"

Aunt Gu was amused: "Your mouth has improved a lot since then!"

"Auntie, please try it. I'll head back now." Shen Miaoli said politely and then made a gesture of farewell.

After Shen Miao left, Aunt Gu picked up a plump dumpling and took a bite. The novel taste immediately surprised her: as soon as she bit into it, the dumpling skin had the aroma of spinach, the thickness was just right, the fragrance of flour, the sweetness of white cabbage and the aroma of chopped eggs mixed together, and there were also some finely chopped carrots. It was even more delicious than meat filling. It tasted very fragrant and not greasy. Aunt Gu stood by the table and finished three dumplings without realizing it.

"No wonder she's the daughter of a cook; she's a natural cook." Aunt Gu murmured to herself. In the Song Dynasty, every household would make dumplings during the Winter Solstice and the New Year. Aunt Gu naturally knew how to make them too, but she had never tasted dumplings with such a sweet and refreshing flavor. They were not only fragrant but also not filling. After eating them, you would want to eat more.

But she reluctantly stopped eating, not daring to eat more, and continued to eat her bland millet porridge. Instead, she took the whole plate of dumplings to the kitchen to keep them warm, thinking that when her husband returned from working in the wine cellar, the whole family could eat together.

Shen Miao returned to her own home. Xiang Jie'er had eaten so much that her cheeks were covered in shredded cabbage that Ji Ge'er was stopping her from eating another one. He used his chopsticks to knock the dumpling she had picked up back onto the plate and frowned, saying, "You've already eaten twelve. You can't eat anymore. Don't make your belly burst!"

Xiangjie was still unwilling. When she saw Shenmiao come back, she pouted and was about to cry. She jumped off the stool and ran over. She grabbed Shenmiao's skirt and accused Jige of not letting her eat the dumplings, calling him the worst brother in the world!

Ji Ge'er was so angry with her that he gritted his teeth.

Ever since her older sister came back, she's had someone to rely on, and she's been acting all spoiled all the time!

Shen Miao found it rather novel to watch the two siblings arguing over a dumpling! The two children had been with her for four or five days now, and apart from Ji Ge'er being a little stubborn at first, they had been constantly eager to do chores, causing no trouble and being incredibly well-behaved. It seemed she had given Ji Ge'er and Xiang Jie'er enough sense of security now; the two children had even started to act spoiled in front of her!

However, it turned out that she was throwing a tantrum because of food.

Shen Miao found both the earnest and serious Ji Ge'er and the puffed-up-faced, hands-on-hips Xiang Jie'er quite amusing.

Finally, she chose to mediate between the brother and sister: "Xiang'er, your brother is thinking of you. You can't say that to him. At your age, eating twelve big dumplings is already a lot! You'll feel the pain if you have indigestion tonight! Ji'er, your intentions are good, but your sister is still young. In the future, you should speak to her slowly. If you're always fierce and throw tantrums, no one will like that, right?"

Then he assigned them a task: "Have you eaten your fill? Go to Aunt Li's house and play with her son, Li Gou'er. While you're at it, ask Aunt Li which market has the cheapest and best chicks and ducks. We'll buy a few to raise when we go to the big market on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month."

Aunt Li's family lived two or three houses behind the Shen family. Her husband's family, Li Tiaozi, were menders of broken bowls. They would carry bellows, small stoves, stools, hammers, and other tools, clattering and calling out as they went from street to street. Their shop also sold pots, pans, and other similar items. Aunt Li was an expert at raising chickens and ducks. Her family had the most animals in their backyard, including chickens, ducks, and rabbits. During the few days that Shen Miao stayed there, she could hear her family's roosters flying up to the fence and crowing loudly every day.

Shen Miao also wanted to raise a few chickens to lay eggs and bring two puppies to guard the house. After all, her family consisted only of women and children. Although the courtyard wall and gate had been repaired, she was still afraid that someone with malicious intentions would try to take advantage of her family.

Before long, Xiangjie and Jige returned and said together, "Aunt Li said that if you don't mind, Sister, she has two broods of chicks that have just been born. Some are spotted, some are black, and some are white. They are all very healthy and can be sold to you cheaply. You won't have to buy any from outside."

Shen Miao had this in mind all along. She immediately finished the dumplings in her mouth in a few bites, wiped her mouth and stood up: "That's great, I'll go with you two to pick some."

She had already planned it out: she would set up her stall early every morning, take a nap at noon, and prepare for the next morning's business. Once the stall and the earthen kiln were built, she would be able to bake several kilns of bread and also sell them at the evening market.

Now, only the courtyard wall and kitchen of the Shen family have been cleaned up. The main house, side rooms, storeroom, and woodshed have all been burned to the ground, leaving only the frame. They demolished the wall on the day it was built, and now it's just an empty space.

She still has about twenty strings of cash left. She had asked Old Man Yang before, and he said that if she wanted to rebuild these houses, she would probably have to spend all twenty strings of cash, and even have to add another twenty strings. This is the cost of building a very ordinary wooden beam house. If she wanted to build a stone brick house or a house with blue bricks and tiles, it would cost sixty to one hundred strings of cash.

Throughout history, housing prices have always been a headache.

Shen Miao is the kind of person who panics if she doesn't have some savings, so she decided not to rush things. She would save up some more money and then repair all three rooms in the back hall at once, so the soup noodle shop could reopen.

Lost in thought, she grabbed a wicker basket and followed Ji-ge'er, who was counting his steps, and Xiang-jie'er, who was skipping and hopping, to Aunt Li's house. Aunt Li was sitting in her small courtyard sewing shoe soles. Seeing Chen Miao arrive, she gestured with her chin towards the hen leisurely strolling in the yard and the string of chicks behind her: "Choose one yourself!"