Everyone sat in the courtyard, all worried. Li Yuemei sighed, "How could your brother become addicted to gambling?"

Zhao Qiming said, "He's been a bad student since he was little. My father and I were always afraid he'd go to the gambling house. Who would have thought he'd be such a lazy bum and never been to a gambling house. I don't know what happened this time."

The family looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Yu Ge'er twisted his fingers unconsciously. Fortunately, he had been on vacation recently and could go in and out with his brother and brother-in-law. Otherwise, he would be a little scared to go to his master alone.

"Alright, alright. If an enemy comes, we'll fight him. If a flood comes, we'll block it with earth. Why should we be afraid of him?" Li Yuemei said proudly. "Besides, he's still hiding from the gambling thugs. He probably doesn't have time to pay attention to us. He must have just happened to see us and got jealous."

"Let's go, let's go do what we need to do."

The family dispersed, "Brother-in-law, do you want to make buns?" Yu Ge'er asked.

Before leaving this morning, Lin Yan had told Li Yuemei to save a plate of tofu for making dumplings. They were almost ready to start. "Well, do you want to help?"

"Okay."

Lin Yan first went to the kitchen to knead the dough and put it in a basin to let it rise. Then he cut the tofu that Yu Ge'er had brought into cubes and asked Yu Ge'er to light the fire. He put water in the pot, boiled the water, put the tofu in, and blanched it for a while before serving.

Zhao Shiyun came in at the right time and took a look. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"That's great. Help me chop the meat."

"Okay." Zhao Shiyun rolled up his sleeves, took the fat and lean pork, washed it clean, then picked up a kitchen knife and started chopping the stuffing.

Lin Yan was chopping green onions. You need a lot of green onions to make dumplings, so he picked a bunch. He also minced some garlic and ginger.

Seeing that Zhao Shiyun had almost finished chopping, Lin Yan lit the fire again and put a spoonful of lard in the pot. When the oil was hot, he poured the minced meat into the pot and stir-fried it. After it was broken up, he added the scallions, minced garlic and ginger and stir-fried until fragrant. Then he added a spoonful of hot sauce and a spoonful of chili powder and continued to stir-fry. After the oil turned red, he added salt, sugar, and soy sauce to taste. Finally, he poured in the tofu and stir-fried it for a few more times before serving.

Put the tofu filling in a large bowl, add the chopped green onion and mix well.

By now the dough had risen, Lin Yan kneaded it on the chopping board, divided it into small pieces, and rolled them into dough sheets that were thick in the middle and thin around the edges. Yu Ge'er watched Lin Yan roll out the dough sheets, picked up a sheet, and started wrapping. He scooped a spoonful of tofu filling into the middle of the sheet, then folded the sheet in half, pinched out pleats, and finally sealed it, and a beautiful bun was ready. Lin Yan praised, "Yu Ge'er, you wrap really well."

Zhao Shiyun was eager to try. Seeing him like this, Lin Yan took a piece of dough and gave it to him to wrap. Zhao Shiyun took it and imitated Lin Yan, adding a spoonful of tofu filling, but he couldn't wrap it properly. His face turned red with anxiety. Lin Yan laughed so hard that he doubled over. He held Zhao Shiyun's hand and taught him step by step: "First, fold the dough in half, then pinch out the pleats, and finally close it."

Under Lin Yan's guidance, Zhao Shiyun finally made a crooked bun. Yu Ge'er jokingly said, "Wow, this bun has quite a unique shape."

Zhao Shiyun said unconvincedly: "I will definitely wrap it better next time."

After Li Yuemei finished her work, she came in to help make dumplings. She saw Zhao Shiyun's unique dumplings at a glance and chuckled, which made Zhao Shiyun even more embarrassed.

Lin Yan simply moved everything into the yard, and the family chatted and laughed as they made dumplings. Soon, the steamer was filled with plump, white dumplings. Yu Ge'er saw that it was almost done, so he went to the kitchen to light a fire and boil water.

After wrapping the last bun, Zhao Shiyun brought the steamer back to the kitchen, placed it on the pot, covered it, and began to steam. After a while, the aroma of the buns filled the entire kitchen. Yu Ge'er sniffed, his saliva watering with greed, and waited eagerly for the buns to come out of the pot.

Lin Yan planned to cook a soup to go with it, so he washed the loofah and cut it into dice, added water to the pot, scooped a spoonful of lard into it when the water boiled, put in the loofah, and when it was almost soft, poured in a beaten egg, and finally added soy sauce and salt to taste.

The soup was ready and the buns were cooked. Yu Ge'er turned off the fire, put a cloth towel on the handle of the steamer, and brought it to the yard.

When the lid is opened, steaming white air rises up, revealing plump buns with tempting colors and red oil on the dough, making people salivate.

The family gathered around, and Yu Ge'er was the first to reach for a bun. "It's hot, hot, hot." He grimaced, but refused to put it down. Lin Yan quickly grabbed a bowl and helped him catch it. "Let it cool down before eating. It's fresh out of the pan. Be careful."

Yu Geer smiled sheepishly, blew on the buns in the bowl, and saw that they were almost done. He couldn't wait to take a bite. The filling was fresh and fragrant, the tofu was tender and smooth, and the soup spread in his mouth. His eyes lit up and he said incoherently, "It's so delicious!"

Zhao Qiming also picked up one, tasted it carefully, and nodded in praise: "Yan'er's cooking skills are getting better and better." Li Yuemei smiled and served soup to everyone, "Come, try this loofah and egg soup, it's sweet and delicious."

Everyone ate buns and drank soup, the atmosphere warm and harmonious. Zhao Shiyun looked at the crooked bun he had made, hesitated for a moment, and finally took a bite. Unexpectedly, it tasted quite good. He said proudly, "Look, mine tastes good too!" The whole family laughed at him. Yu Ge'er teased him, "This filling was made by my brother-in-law. No matter how ugly it looks, it won't taste bad."

"Tsk~" Zhao Shiyun ignored him, finished the bun in just a few bites, drank a mouthful of soup and continued to eat the next one.

In this atmosphere of fireworks, all previous worries seemed to have dissipated, leaving only full of happiness and warmth.