Soon, Xie Yan had no time to think about these things anymore.

Yu Yue glanced at the sky and, seeing that it was still early, announced enthusiastically, "Today we're having potato balls!"

To be honest, Xie Yan has a particular fondness for potato balls; he really enjoys eating them.

He was overjoyed to hear that he could eat it today. However, it was really complicated to make. He still remembered the stupid things he did the first time he made it.

Xie Yan touched his nose and decided it was best to forget about that matter.

To distract himself, he rolled up his sleeves and first added several thick blocks of wood to the stove, arranging them neatly. Then, he closed all the doors and windows that had been open when he left, especially carefully lowering the heavy curtain.

Before long, the room gradually warmed up, the warmth like a playful little elf leaping in every corner, dispelling the chill.

Xie Yan walked briskly to the door and called out to Yu Yue, who was busy at work, "I'll grind the potatoes today!"

Yu Yuehui, carrying a large bowl of carefully selected potatoes, looked helpless upon hearing this and said, "Forget it!"

"You must be tired from swearing all day, take a break, I'll take over."

Xie Yan shook his head, "It's alright! Not too tiring. I'll do it, you take a rest." He then reached for the potato bowl that Yu Yue was holding.

Yu Yue grabbed Xie Yan's hand and sighed helplessly, "With your speed, I can finish this in no time. If I leave it to you, we're afraid we won't be able to eat dinner until the wee hours of the morning!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yan immediately became indignant, pouted, and shouted, "It's not that exaggerated! It'll only be a little later at most!"

Yu Yuehui couldn't help but laugh, raising an eyebrow and teasingly asking, "Is that a little later?"

Xie Yan replied without changing his expression, "Yes! Just for a little while!"

Yu Yue laughed, "I can finish this pot of potatoes in half an hour. How about you? Tell me, how long will it take you?"

"Three hours or two hours?"

Xie Yan feigned heartache, clutching his chest with both hands and taking two exaggerated steps back, saying with a face full of grievance and pain, "Wife, you've changed, you don't love me anymore."

Yu Yue replied: "..."

Xie Yan continued to clutch her chest, shaking her head, looking heartbroken, and said, "You've gone too far! How could you be so blunt with the truth?"

"My heart is aching so much, it feels like it's been shattered into eight pieces!"

Yu Yuehui watched his vivid performance and couldn't help but laugh. After he had finished acting, she said, "Didn't you say it yourself? Husbands and wives should be honest with each other. I'm just honestly telling you what's on my mind!"

Xie Yan pretended to gasp and teased, "Wow! Wife, you're being way too honest!"

"That was a brutal and merciless attack!"

Do you know the word "euphemism"?

Yu Yue blinked mischievously and said with a grin, "There's nothing I can do. I haven't learned to be tactful yet, so just bear with it for now. I'll talk to you about it when I've learned."

Xie Yan leaned against a pillar, a doting smile on his face, and sighed helplessly, "Fine! Who told you to be my wife?"

"I'll just grit my teeth and take this absolutely honest blow!"

"What else can we do!"

When Yu Yue saw him still acting, she couldn't help but interrupt him with a smile: "Alright, alright! Stop being silly and go pound the garlic. Pound a lot, because we need to share some with Mother later."

Xie Yan immediately perked up, nodded vigorously like a soldier who had received an important mission, and said loudly, "Don't worry, I guarantee I'll complete the mission perfectly!"

Seeing that Yu Yuehui still wanted to say something, Xie Yan held her shoulder and pushed her back into the house, saying, "Just focus on grinding your potatoes."

After saying that, he hurriedly pulled out his own garlic and grabbed three cloves at once.

They even specifically compared and selected three large ones.

When eating potato balls, you absolutely must have plenty of minced garlic; otherwise, they'll lose their soul.

Xie Yan diligently mashed the garlic, and in no time, half a bowl of garlic paste was ready.

He shook his arms, which were a little sore from the repetitive mechanical movements, and walked into the main room. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Goodness, wife, you're amazing! You've almost finished grinding that whole pot of potatoes in such a short time!"

Yu Yue raised an eyebrow. "Of course, go and get the gauze we used before."

Xie Yan nodded. "Okay."

After the potatoes are ground, the next step is to drain them, squeezing out all the water.

This was no easy task. Xie Yan and Yu Yuehui put in a lot of effort to knead all the mashed potatoes until they were almost dry before putting them into a clean bowl that had been prepared beforehand.

After all that fuss, Xie Yan's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat.

As he washed his hands, he said, panting, "Honey, shouldn't we replace this gauze we use to filter the potato water? It doesn't look as white as it used to be."

Yu Yuehui stopped what she was doing, shook her head, and comforted her, "No need, it's alright. Look at that basin of reddish potato water, the color of the gauze was stained by it, it's nothing to worry about."

Xie Yan nodded in agreement: "Okay!"

He didn't understand this matter very well, but it's always right to listen to those who do.

The two took a sip of water, rested for a bit, and then moved on to the next step.

They added an appropriate amount of water to the freshly mashed potatoes, then poured off the red water on the surface of the filtered potato water, and added the starch that had settled at the bottom into the potato paste. This step was to make the potato balls more bouncy and chewy.

Yu Yue was worried that there wasn't enough starch in the mixture, and that the steamed meatballs wouldn't be elastic enough, so she added some potato starch.

Then, he picked up the chopsticks and stirred the mixture in the bowl continuously, his movements skillful and efficient.

After mixing well, add salt and other seasonings in sequence, then mix again. At this point, this complicated project is almost complete.

Next, it's time to roll the dumplings.

This must be done in a cold pan, and controlling the heat is crucial.

I've done this job many times before, and now I'm quite adept at it.

With practiced skill, he pinched and rolled the meatballs, making them almost exactly the same size as Yu Yuehui's. Even the arrangement of the meatballs on the steaming plate was neat and orderly, without any disorder.

In no time, a tall pile of potato balls appeared on the steaming plate, with a small space left in the middle for steam to escape, while the rest of the plate was completely filled with the balls.

Of course, these meatballs must be placed carefully, away from the edge of the pot, and as close to the center as possible, keeping a distance of about two fingers from the edge of the pot.

After making a batch of meatballs, Yu Yuehui picked them up and placed them directly on the stove to steam.

Taking advantage of the break, she didn't sit idle; she turned around and started making a second batch of meatballs with Xie Yan.