Chapter 251 The Taste of Home
Making threats is something only children do.
Big shots are respected for their abilities.
After a funny little incident, everyone went home.
The glutinous rice and mung beans had already been soaked at home, and Xiao Cheng and Bai Lu started wrapping zongzi as soon as they got home.
When Xiao Cheng was rowing the dragon boat, his trouser legs got wet and his shirt got a little damp. Bai Lu told him to change his clothes before coming out to wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) so he wouldn't catch a cold later.
His clothes weren't very wet, and he wouldn't catch a cold in this weather, so Xiao Cheng went back to his room to change.
Xiao Wei stood by the small square table, watching Bai Lu wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), with a conflicted expression that showed he wanted to learn but didn't want to.
Bai Lu could roughly guess what he was thinking, and said with a smile, "The dragon boat race doesn't start until tomorrow. If you want to eat the king's rice dumpling, you can only eat it tomorrow. Let's eat the home-style rice dumpling for today."
"Homemade rice dumplings?" Xiao Wei had never heard of homemade rice dumplings before, and his face was full of disbelief.
Is that a magical zongzi?
But looking at the ingredients used to make zongzi during the White Dew season, they're the same as those sold in breakfast shops on the street.
Of course, this also applies to the fillings inside the zongzi.
Seeing the little guy's eager expression, Bai Lu gently explained, "Homemade rice dumplings are rice dumplings made by family members; they have the taste of home."
Xiao Wei nodded as if he understood: "The zongzi sold outside don't taste like home-cooked rice dumplings."
Bai Lu had a premonition that the breakfast shop outside was about to lose a long-term customer, even though she had never had one.
However, I should still explain: "The rice dumplings sold outside taste like home."
Xiao Wei understood: "The zongzi sold on the street tastes like home, while the zongzi made by family members taste like home."
"What does the King Zongzi taste like?"
Bai Lu: "..."
I've never eaten it before.
How would I know what it tastes like?
"The taste of a champion."
Xiao Cheng answered the tricky question for Bai Lu, then leisurely rolled up his sleeves and stepped into the kitchen.
Xiao Wei wisely stepped aside from Bai Lu's side and stood opposite her, looking at his elder brother with bright eyes.
He asked cautiously yet with a touch of excitement, "The champion's rice dumpling must taste delicious. Big brother, you're sure to win first place tomorrow and win the king's rice dumpling, right?"
Xiao Cheng glanced at the girl beside him who was wrapping zongzi, and his indifferent tone became more down-to-earth.
Ask your sister-in-law.
Bailu: "???"
Why ask her that question?
Of course she thinks the King Zongzi is delicious, and of course she wants to eat it; the answer is definitely yes.
"Does Sister-in-law want to eat a king-sized rice dumpling?" Xiao Wei asked the question Bai Lu had predicted.
Bai Lu replied instantly: "Of course I want to."
After answering, she realized that something seemed slightly inappropriate. How could she openly covet the King's Zongzi?
She should have said, "Xiaowei is right, the king-sized rice dumpling must be very fragrant and delicious, and everyone will like to eat it."
Xiao Wei nodded in agreement: "Sister-in-law is right, the King Zongzi must be delicious, and sister-in-law likes to eat it."
Bai Lu: "..."
Xiao Wei's comprehension seems a little off, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal.
There's no need to correct it.
"So my brother will definitely win the championship and win the King Zongzi for my sister-in-law." Xiao Wei couldn't contain his excitement; his sister-in-law would definitely share the King Zongzi with him.
The eldest sister-in-law said, "A dragon boat team has 30 people. If your brother's Xinzhen team wins the championship, the 30-jin king rice dumpling would be just right for the 30 team members."
Although it was phrased tactfully, Xiao Wei was still taken aback, looking at Xiao Cheng with a heartbroken expression: "Big brother..."
"Can't my sister-in-law and I eat the king-sized rice dumpling?"
Xiao Cheng glanced at the little guy who had asked the question so tactfully, and said very kindly, "Family members can eat it."
Xiao Wei's eyes lit up instantly: "Family members can eat it, that is, my sister-in-law and I can eat it."
"Great! My sister-in-law and I will be able to eat the king-sized rice dumpling that my brother won tomorrow!"
Xiao Wei was already convinced that Xiao Cheng was the champion, and he was overjoyed to see the King Zongzi arrive tomorrow.
And immediately rolled up her sleeves to learn how to wrap zongzi from Bailu.
Why not learn from my older brother? — My older brother has never wrapped zongzi before, nor does he know how.
Therefore, both the eldest and youngest brothers learned how to wrap zongzi from Bailu, and their learning attitude was extremely sincere and serious.
Xiao Wei was the first to take a dish that resembled a strange creature.
Xiao Cheng was better; he was a long, plump, four-cornered rice dumpling that looked quite proper, but it was too tight.
Bai Lu finally understands what the saying "tightened into a rice dumpling" really means.
A beautifully wrapped rice dumpling was broken into pieces by the boss using a straw rope.
If it weren't for the Hiiragi leaf's tenacious vitality, it would have been strangled into eighteen pieces long ago; it's truly remarkable.
Seeing Bai Lu's indescribable expression, Xiao Cheng stopped what he was doing, having just picked up a straw rope to tie the rice dumpling. He casually and unintentionally put the rope down and then casually and unintentionally tidied up the rice dumpling.
He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, his voice slightly lower: "Is this not how you wrap it?"
Bai Lu heard a voice in her ear and realized that she had been staring at the big boss's hand for too long.
He shook his head decisively: "No, that's how you wrap zongzi. You wrapped it very well. This is a perfect zongzi. It would be even better if the string were a little looser."
Xiao Cheng glanced at the zongzi Bai Lu had wrapped, then at the ones he had wrapped, and understood.
The tying of the rice dumpling was a little loose.
"But if the rice dumplings are wrapped too loosely, won't the rice leak out?" Xiao Wei asked Bai Lu, pinching the strange-looking dumpling he had wrapped.
He said that he had run into Aunt Zhang on his way back from the riverbank and overheard her chatting with her neighbor's daughter-in-law.
Bai Lu overheard this and chuckled as she replied, "If the rice dumplings are tied too loosely, they will indeed leak rice during cooking, but if they are tied too tightly, they may burst during cooking. It's best to tie them just a little tight, not too loose."
"How do you wrap it if it's not too loose but a little too tight?" Xiao Wei asked, not understanding, and casually showed off his own messy, illegible wrapping.
Let Bailu see where adjustments are needed.
Bai Lu looked at the strange creature in front of her, her eyes twitching slightly. This was no longer something that could be changed by adjustments.
You have to unwrap it and re-wrap it before cooking it to prevent the rice from leaking out of the head, bursting at the tail, and the middle from being undercooked.
Bai Lu unwrapped the zongzi, explaining to Xiao Wei as she rewrapped it. After wrapping it, she picked up a straw rope from the side and gave it to Xiao Wei, teaching him how to control the strength to tie the zongzi.
"Go around in circles like this..."
"Hold down the end of the thread, then wrap it around again..."
Xiao Wei received 365 cold, sharp glares from his elder brother, and then another 365 cold daggers.
Bai Lu held his hand while he taught, but his bones felt stiff, as if they had been stabbed many times.
It feels like it's about to break into eight hundred pieces in the next second.
Xiao Wei subconsciously withdrew his hand: "Sister-in-law, I understand. I want to try it myself."
Bai Lu released her grip and praised, "You're so clever. Don't rush, take your time. Once you've tied the rope properly, you're halfway there."
Xiao Wei now just wants to avoid most of Bai Lu's sharp eyes. After obediently leaving Bai Lu's hands-on teaching, he can finally catch his breath and seriously learn how to wrap zongzi.
After wrapping one that wasn't a misshapen, four-cornered long rice dumpling, Xiao Wei stared happily at the bowl of filling on the table.
"Sister-in-law, I want to wrap some chicken drumsticks!"
(End of this chapter)
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