Chapter 24 Sending the Husband to Study (Noodles)
"Great job! You did so well on your first try."
Ye Li held onto Jiang Ji's shoulder and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
Jiang Ji was pleased to receive the praise, but he didn't show it on his face.
He lowered his head and pecked Ye Li's lips.
The kiss was brief. Ye Li took a step back, pointed to the basket on her back, and said, "I bought three catties of pork leg and four pork bones. Go and mince the meat, and I'll stew the pork bones."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji shifted his gaze to the basket on his back.
The basket was full, with several oil paper packages on top, so he couldn't see what was underneath.
However, I didn't expect Ye Li to buy pork bones again.
Now, just buying meat will cost nearly a hundred coins.
But the purchase was already made.
He wasn't like Xiaomai or Yage'er, because he was young and could only endure without being able to repay.
He already has the ability to repay.
From now on, if I don't put in 100% of my energy into studying, I'll really be letting these little monsters down.
Suppressing these thoughts, Jiang Ji followed Ye Li's instructions and began chopping the filling with a cleaver.
Ye Li blanched the large bones, then put a large log into the stove to let it simmer slowly.
At this moment, Jiang Ji had already chopped the minced meat and the chives into small pieces, and was ready to prepare the filling.
In order to eat the steamed buns as soon as possible, he asked Jiang Ji to knead the dough before preparing the filling.
Before going to the county town, he had already prepared the dough. Now that it was hot, the dough had fermented after two or three hours.
He didn't have much wheat flour at home, and he needed to fry some pastries in the afternoon, so he still added a lot of cornmeal to the mixture.
The dough is now orange-yellow.
Jiang Ji had never kneaded dough before, but having grown up in a farming family, he had seen it done countless times. Without Ye Li's guidance, he could easily get the hang of it.
Seeing that he was kneading the dough quite well, Ye Li began to prepare the filling.
Chives have a strong and fresh flavor, so you don't need to add too many seasonings when using them as filling.
The pork needed to be deodorized, and since there was no cooking wine available, it was perfect. Ye Li didn't like using it either, so he added a little Shaoxing wine, along with some soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil.
That means it's adjusted.
Once Jiang Ji had kneaded the dough, he took over the task. Rolling out the dough required skill, so he rolled it out while Jiang Ji was in charge of wrapping it.
The couple worked together and made great progress. When Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya returned with pig feed, the first batch of buns was already being steamed.
The two little ones were very happy, and Jiang Ya even washed her little hands, wanting to sit down and help.
Ye Li smiled and said, "Okay, you can mark the ones you wrap, and eat them yourself when they're steamed."
“Brother Li eats too,” Jiang Ya said instinctively.
Ye Li was so amused by his words that she wanted to pinch his little cheek: "Okay, okay, then you wrap a few more, and I'll only eat the ones you wrap later!"
"Hmm!" Jiang Ya's face turned serious.
He insisted on packing several extra so that Brother Li wouldn't run out of food.
He sat down on a small stool, grabbed a dumpling wrapper that was bigger than his hand, and used his other hand to scoop filling onto the wrapper with a spoon.
"Brother Ya, put it on the cutting board and wrap it."
Seeing that his little hands were having trouble holding on, Jiang Ji pointed to the cutting board.
"Okay," Jiang Ya replied softly.
Although the filling in front of him was raw, it smelled delicious. He would definitely feel bad if it spilled on the ground!
He held the dumpling wrapper in his small hands and moved it onto the cutting board.
Although it was his first time making steamed buns and he didn't know how to make pleats, he still had his own ideas.
He grabbed the dumpling skin like he was tying a bundle, gathered it together in the middle, and then pinched the top of the skin tightly with his small hands, and a dumpling was made.
However, this results in too much dough on top of the bun, making it too thick.
He frowned and thought for a moment, then used his palm to press the thick dough into a sheet.
He grabbed a spoon and began scooping filling onto the small piece of dough.
Ye Li laughed heartily: "Ya-ge'er is so amazing, he made a gourd-shaped bun!"
Jiang Ya, who was carefully sealing her mouth, suddenly felt a little shy upon hearing his praise.
Actually, these steamed buns are a bit ugly, they're all crooked and twisted...
It was so ugly that he had already decided to eat it himself later.
"Brother Li, I'll wrap a pretty one for you to eat." He looked up at Ye Li with his little face.
"Okay, I'll be waiting."
Ye Li couldn't resist gently poking the tip of his nose.
The little guy actually has very good features, and with all the oil and fat lately, his little face has gotten a bit fuller than before.
Now this little guy is seriously saying he'll wrap him up nicely. If it weren't for the flour on his hands, Ye Li really wanted to cup his face and kiss him a few times.
Jiang Ji couldn't help but smile as he watched this scene.
Soon, the first batch of steamed buns was ready.
Ye Li put the buns into a willow basket, added some tofu to the bone broth, and prepared to steam a second batch.
The freshly steamed buns, though made with a mixture of two types of flour, were still very soft and fluffy.
Take a gentle bite, and the meat filling inside is immediately revealed.
The abundant juice makes the inside of the bun look smooth and oily, and the filling inside is not loose, but rolled up and emits an enticing aroma.
Ignoring the heat, they immediately took another bite.
tasty!
Jiang Ya, holding the big steamed bun in her small hands, happily hopped around Ye Li and shouted, "Delicious! Brother Li, delicious!"
"Even if it's delicious, leave room for bone broth later."
Ye Li said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ya exclaimed "Oh dear!" and immediately looked at her stomach.
His belly is too small.
Not enough to show off!
I'm so distressed.
Ye Li reached out and flicked his lower abdomen twice, making him laugh so hard he hid behind Jiang Ji.
Ye Li quickly finished eating the bun in her hand.
But before they finished making the buns, he and Jiang Ji continued working.
Finally, the dough was used up, but there was still half a bowl of filling left.
Ye Li immediately rolled up her sleeves and started kneading the dough again.
He had originally planned to fry dough sticks, but now he's preparing the dough in advance to save himself the trouble later.
After kneading the dough, he pinched off a piece, rolled it into a wrapper, filled it with the remaining half bowl of meat filling, shaped it into a dumpling, and then steamed it together with the second batch of buns.
During this time, some villagers came to buy tofu.
Seeing their meals, I couldn't help but click my tongue in admiration. There were meat buns and bone broth, it was like celebrating the New Year!
A short while later, Ye Liang arrived.
He glanced at today's meals and couldn't help but mutter a few words.
Every few days, he would spend nearly a hundred coins to buy meat. With this kind of diet, his third brother might not be able to support Jiang Ji's studies.
Moreover, he went home yesterday and discussed it carefully with others, and finally decided to postpone the tuition payment until next year.
This year's three or two bundles of corrections were given to Jiang Ji, and there are still more than half a year until the next one.
We'll see how things go at that time.
Ye Li did not object after listening to Ye Liang's words.
By this time next year, he should be able to accumulate some wealth; otherwise, he'll be a disgrace to time travelers.
We'll use force to make the Ye family change their minds.
After lunch, he started frying snacks.
The snack he was going to fry was called "mian guo," a traditional fried dough snack from his hometown.
In terms of appearance, the dough looks like two donuts stuck together, chubby, cute and eye-catching.
As for the taste, it's beyond words.
This old-fashioned fruit has two layers.
The flaky pastry inside requires maltose syrup, soybean oil, and flour.
To make the dough soft and fluffy, some potash water needs to be added to allow it to ferment slightly.
The outer skin is made of ordinary white flour.
When Ye Li was kneading the dough, she cracked several eggs into it.
In this way, this noodle dish is high in sugar, oil, and protein, making it just like a Snickers bar, providing an energy boost anytime, anywhere.
And it won't spoil even after a week.
It's perfect for inexpensive husbands to use as a snack between classes.
In addition to the extra meal, Ye Li also wanted Ye Liang to try selling the pancakes at the pancake stall.
If you want to cash out your transformed egg, you'll have to wait half a month, which is too long.
Since he has to fry tofu puffs every day anyway, he thought about it all day yesterday and finally decided to fry some fried dough sticks while frying the tofu puffs.
The amount of sugar used in the dough is not large, so it tastes only slightly sweet, and the cost is controllable.
As the starting point of the Nantong Canal, Baxian Town has a large flow of people. As long as the food is delicious and the price is reasonable, there is no need to worry about not having customers.
While kneading the dough, he explained his plan, which Jiang Ji and Ye Liang strongly agreed with.
After kneading both doughs, he spread the oil-based dough on top of the regular white dough, folded it, rolled it out with a rolling pin, and then cut it into strips about the thickness of a finger.
Once you've shaped these noodles into rings, you can fry them in oil.
The fried dough twists made this way are soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and sweet, making them very delicious.
In fact, the method of making dough cakes is very similar to that of cat's ear noodles and honey three-cut noodles.
Both require mixing two kinds of dough, and then frying them in a pan.
But the honey-glazed pastry was too sweet.
The cat ears were too crispy, or rather, too hard.
Therefore, Ye Li ultimately chose the noodle fruit.
Soon, the dough balls were ready.
Its color is a unique reddish-brown after deep-frying, and its plump shape makes it very eye-catching.
Jiang Ji, Jiang Mai, Jiang Ya, and Ye Liang shared one. After just one bite, they all exclaimed how delicious it was.
Kua De Ye Li was not only much more confident about tomorrow's trial sale, but also in a very good mood.
All he's doing is trying to make sure his cheap husband eats and drinks well.
Now that his husband is full of praise, his efforts haven't been in vain.
He fried a total of twenty dough balls, mainly because he didn't have enough flour; otherwise, he would have definitely fried more.
Five people were taken away by Ye Liang for trial sales.
Leave two for Jiangmai and Jiangya to enjoy.
There was also a sample to try.
In the end, there were twelve dough balls left, which he wrapped in burlap and put together with the steamed buns.
He made a lot of steamed buns today, and he made twenty buns for Jiang Ji.
In this kind of weather, it's fine to eat cold food. If you don't want to eat cold food, you can ask the chef in the kitchen to steam the cakes for you.
Of course, pickled vegetables are indispensable.
The pickled vegetables were mustard greens pickled by my second aunt, Liang Erxiang. There's still half a ceramic jar left. Ye Li took out two jin and stir-fried them with soybean oil to add some oil to Jiang Ji's dish.
Actually, it would be best to have a few salted duck eggs at this time.
Unfortunately, no.
Ye Li could only prepare a few boiled eggs for Jiang Ji, just like Liang Erxiang did.
These four kinds of food filled half a basket.
It was heavy.
Ye Li, carrying a basket on her back, came out of the kitchen and into the main room.
Jiang Ji was tidying up clothes in the east room. Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya didn't go out to collect firewood today. At this time, the two of them always followed Jiang Ji closely.
Ye Li stood at the door of the east room and gestured for Jiang Ji to look at the contents of the basket on his back.
Jiang Ji placed the basket on the wooden table under the window. He flipped through it briefly, then turned to Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya and said, "You two take a few steamed buns to your second uncle's house and tell him I'm going back to the private school."
I was too busy at noon and didn't have time to deliver the steamed buns to Jiang Dahe's family.
“Brother, then wait until Ya Ge’er and I come back before you leave,” Jiang Mai said immediately.
Jiang Ya hurriedly said, "Big brother, you have to wait for me and second brother."
Jiang Ji smiled and patted their little heads: "Of course, you two have to see me off."
The two beamed with joy at the words. Jiang Mai grabbed Jiang Ya's little hand and ran out of the main room.
Jiang Ji stood at the door of the main room and saw the two of them carrying small baskets out of the yard. He said to Ye Li beside him, "You fried these pastries yourself, but you didn't eat a single bite. You're just letting me take them all?"
"I can fry it again," Ye Li said nonchalantly.
He's not short of food.
He looked relaxed, but a multitude of emotions surged within Jiang Ji.
Jiang Ji lowered her eyes, took his hand, and whispered, "Thank you."
"Just one 'thank you'?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow.
"I will try my best to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar."
Jiang Ji looked as serious as if he were taking an oath.
Ye Li was speechless. She flung his hand away and then stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips: "Idiot."
Jiang Ji: "..."
His eyes curved into a smile.
He's not stupid.
He sent Xiaomai and Yage away so that he could do this with Yeli.
It's just that we haven't had time yet.
He bent down, put one arm around Ye Li's back and the other supporting Ye Li's buttocks, and with a little effort, he lifted Ye Li up amidst her gasp.
He closed the door to the main room with his foot, and then pinned Ye Li against the door.
Ye Li still looked somewhat shaken. He stared at her quietly for a moment, then kissed her: "Kiss like this."
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