Chapter 77 Delicious Dumplings

Jiang Hongyu picked up the grass on the ground and took it to the backyard to continue building the cowshed.

Ye Mingzhu was beside him, chatting with him idly.

Aunt Jiang and Ye Yun'an came over from the front yard. Just as Ye Yun'an was about to speak, Aunt Jiang covered his mouth and said, "Let them stay busy here. Let's go cook."

Ye Yun'an looked at the two people who were in a good mood, nodded, and went to the kitchen with Aunt Jiang.

After spending these days together, Aunt Jiang realized that Ye Mingzhu couldn't cook at all. All the things Jiang Hongyu said about being filial to him and the men in the family cooking were just excuses for Ye Mingzhu.

But this also shows one thing, that is, Jiang Hongyu is really good to Ye Mingzhu, and it seems that she will have a chance to have a grandchild.

From the bustling capital to the remote mountain village, Aunt Jiang has suffered so much that she has become indifferent to status and fame. As long as the two of them can live a good life and have a good relationship, that is enough.

"Yun'an, let's eat dumplings tonight. The weather is starting to get cooler, and eating dumplings is comfortable."

Aunt Jiang and Ye Yun'an walked to the front yard. Aunt Jiang said, "I just brought back some leeks today, cut some bacon, and cracked a few eggs on top."

Ye Yunan smacked his lips. With both bacon and eggs, these dumplings were very greasy.

By the time Ye Yun'an had kneaded the dough, Aunt Jiang had already cut a piece of bacon, about one pound, and then cracked four eggs.

Ye Yun'an was numb. He first cut the bacon into small pieces and then put it in the pan to stir-fry. After the bacon was fried, he put it into a bowl, fried eggs with the remaining oil, and then poured the washed and chopped leeks into the pan.

Finally add the bacon, stir well and serve.

Before I even start wrapping it, I can already smell the rich aroma, the freshness of leeks and the fragrance of bacon, which makes me drool.

Ye Yun'an made dumplings much faster.

Jiang Hongyu and Ye Mingzhu built the cowshed. Jiang Hongyu went to cut some grass and put it in the cowshed, then he smelled the rich aroma of dumplings.

"Who made the dumpling filling today? It smells so good." Jiang Hongyu went back to the house, changed his clothes, washed his hands, and looked at the plump white dumplings in the pot.

"Yun'an prepared the filling. I'm not saying this, but Yun'an's cooking skills are much better than yours. You can smell the fragrance before you even eat it." Aunt Jiang kept praising Yun'an.

Ye Yun'an: ...With so much meat and eggs, how could it not smell good?

Today, they made a lot of dumplings, filling up two full lids. Jiang Hongyu looked at the sky outside which was still light, and picked up a bowl of dumplings.

"Uncle Yan helped us cut the grass today, so I brought him a bowl of dumplings."

Aunt Jiang paused holding the bowl, then nodded: "Go ahead, deliver it while it's hot, and come back quickly."

Jiang Hongyu picked up a basket, put the bowl in it, and went out.

Aunt Jiang smiled and asked Ye Mingzhu to sit down, then took a bowl to the corner of the kitchen and got a bowl of pickled vegetables.

"My cook taught me how to make this pickled vegetable. It tastes even better when eaten with dumplings."

Ye Mingzhu looked inside and saw cucumbers, cowpeas, garlic, and even eggplants. They were different from the pickles and kimchi she had eaten before.

Aunt Jiang insisted that she try it, so she picked up a cucumber with chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Her first reaction was crispness, then saltiness, and then fragrance.

I didn’t expect that a small cucumber strip could be so delicious.

"Is it a bit salty? Just eat a dumpling." Aunt Jiang picked up a dumpling for Ye Mingzhu.

Ye Mingzhu shook her head and decided to wait for Jiang Hongyu to come back before eating.

Jiang Hongyu was very quick. He took a rabbit in his hand and put it in the back of the kitchen. "Uncle Yan caught a rabbit and asked me to take it back. I will cook it tomorrow and bring a bowl to Uncle Yan."

Everyone agreed and picked up their chopsticks to eat together.

Ye Mingzhu accidentally ate too much dumplings with pickled vegetables. She strolled in the yard for a long time before going to bed and woke up late the next morning.

When Sister Ying came, Ye Mingzhu had just finished breakfast.

Facing Sister Ying's teasing smile, Ye Mingzhu quickly put the dishes back into the kitchen.

"I went to bed a little late last night. I usually get up early." After Ye Mingzhu said this, she found that Sister Ying's smile became brighter, and she even wanted to pat her head.

She wanted to say that the other party had misunderstood, but was afraid of saying more and making more mistakes. Fortunately, Ye Yun'an brought over two cups of sugar water and solved her dilemma.

"Sister-in-law, drink some water." Ye Mingzhu put the sugar water in front of her.

"Yeah." Sister-in-law Ying stopped while she was ahead. She picked up the cup and took a sip of water. She felt the sweetness and her eyes were full of satisfaction. It seemed that this girl was not stingy and was worth making friends with.

Sister Ying's husband has been a yamen runner for several years. She came today to remind Ye Mingzhu to prepare some clothes and shoes for Jiang Hongyu.

Although the yamen runners had special clothes, they would wear out too quickly if they wore them every day. Moreover, if they had to buy them with money, the yamen runners' clothes would be half as expensive as ordinary clothes, so most of the yamen runners had to wear their own clothes half the time.

Most yamen runners wore "soap boots", which were black shoes usually made of leather, with pointed toes, thick soles, and some decorative patterns and designs on the uppers.

The soles of soap boots are relatively thick, which can prevent slipping and reduce wear. At the same time, the pointed toes can make yamen runners more flexible and agile when performing their tasks. There are special places for making such shoes.

The blush on Ye Mingzhu's face faded, and she held Sister Ying's hand affectionately: "Sister-in-law, it's a good thing you came to tell me, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to prepare for Hongyu."

Sister Ying smiled and said, "That's nothing. One day I'll take you to town to buy some, and then you'll know everything."

Ye Mingzhu listened to the words and invited Sister Ying with a smile: "Sister-in-law, I want to go to town to buy some things tomorrow. Is it convenient for you to go with me?"

Sister Ying agreed after a brief hesitation: "Then I'll bring some food for my husband. Brother Jiang, are you going to live in town from now on?"

Ye Mingzhu shook her head: "We have elderly people and children at home. He is worried and will come back every day."

Sister-in-law Ying showed an envious look: "That's great."

Not long after she got married, her husband went to work as a yamen runner. Although it was prestigious, he only came back once every ten days. She stayed in her hometown most of the time, and life became a bit difficult. She didn't expect that Mingzhu's husband was willing to travel back and forth.

The two of them agreed on the time to depart tomorrow. Sister Ying sat for a while and then went back.

Ye Mingzhu understood that although this person also wanted to borrow the ox cart to go to town, he was more interested in making friends with them.

Since she was going to town tomorrow, Ye Mingzhu wanted to go to Linglong Pavilion and give the picture she drew to Lin Dongjia.

Whenever Uncle Ye received pearls of unique shapes, he would show them to her. She specially drew some small rings made of irregular pearls and prepared to show them to Mrs. Lin.

She was putting away her drawing paper when she heard a noise outside the door and a voice calling out in the yard, "Mingzhu, Mingzhu."

Ye Mingzhu recognized Ye Yunkang's voice and didn't want to go out, but the other party kept shouting. She had no choice but to walk out of the door and asked with an unclear expression, "What's the matter?"

Ye Yunkang looked up and said to her, "I need to use an ox cart tomorrow. Please ask Jiang Hongyu to drive the ox cart to my house to pick me up early in the morning."