Chapter 24 My boss came to work today, right? I didn't know...
When An Fusheng returned from grocery shopping, Wen Xinghe told him that his mother had already gone back to sleep. She specifically instructed him that the child had been running a fever and making a fuss all night, and she hadn't slept at all. She told him to sleep soundly all day today and not to call her for lunch or save her any food.
An Fusheng said he understood.
It's only 10:30, too early to make lunch. He can cook the duck offal first, so he can bring some to the security guard and the boss at the company in the afternoon.
An Fusheng's favorite way to cook duck offal is braised, the spicy kind, but that requires a lot of strong-flavored seasonings, which is not suitable for children, so he decided to make plum-flavored duck offal.
Actually, the shopkeeper taught him this method when he bought duck offal.
The shop owner saw that he was carrying a child on his back and told him that there was a famous way of cooking duck offal in his hometown, which involved braising it with plum sauce. He said that duck offal made this way was especially loved by women and children and was also very healthy.
An Fusheng had no choice but to refuse anyone in the family, which consisted entirely of women and children besides himself.
Then the shop owner brought out a box of plum sauce and said, "Would you like to buy a bottle of plum sauce while you're at it? It's from my hometown, and it's very authentic."
An Fusheng:......
His damned desire to explore culinary delights was equally irresistible.
With everyone at school and no one to look after Wen Xingrui, An Fusheng had no choice but to put him back in his cage.
An Fusheng felt guilty for keeping such an active child in a small cage, but the child was completely unaware. As soon as An Fusheng put him in the cage, he immediately started doing sit-ups to entertain himself.
"Learn to walk quickly, then you can go wherever you want," An Fusheng said to Wen Xingrui.
Wen Xingrui jumped up from his lying position and sat up abruptly: "Hehe."
"Alright, you can play by yourself for a while."
An Fusheng went to check on Wen Xinghe's room again, but Afu had already run off somewhere. An Fusheng originally wanted to ask Wen Xinghe if she wanted to go downstairs to play for a while, but then he realized that he couldn't take care of her while he was in the kitchen, and she wasn't familiar with downstairs either, so he had no choice but to let her continue playing by herself in her room.
An Fusheng bought more than four pounds of duck offal, all chopped off from freshly slaughtered ducks. It was very fresh and had no fishy smell. Following the owner's instructions, An Fusheng washed it clean with cornstarch, skipping the step of marinating it with scallion water.
Making sour plum duck offal is very simple. First, fry the cleaned duck wings and feet in oil until they are slightly browned and fragrant. Then, drizzle rice wine over them to remove any fishy smell and enhance the aroma. Next, add ginger, salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, sour plum sauce, and other seasonings. Stir-fry over high heat until the flavors are well combined. Then, add enough water and put the duck gizzards into the water. Finally, cover the pot and simmer until the broth has evaporated.
After the cooked duck offal cooled, An Fusheng cut the duck wings along the joints and sliced the duck kidneys into thin slices. Then he poured the remaining broth from the pot over it. A large bowl of bright red and glossy duck offal, exuding the sweet and sour aroma of fermented bean curd sauce, made people's mouths water.
The fermented duck offal was ready, and it was almost 11:30. Time to make lunch.
Today at noon, only An Fusheng and his two children ate lunch. An Fusheng planned to make a simple omelet rice.
Fried rice is best made with leftover rice, but the leftover rice from last night was used to make porridge this morning, so An Fusheng had to cook rice again.
To ensure that each grain of rice is separated, An Fusheng cooked the rice today using a wok similar to the method used for cooking rice over a wood-fired stove. After cooking, he loosened the rice with a spatula, sprinkled it with some cold water, and then tossed it around, making the rice very fluffy.
An Fusheng bought a lot of ingredients today. He added whatever he thought looked good to the fried rice, and then used the freshly bought free-range eggs to make a blanket on top of the fried rice. A simple yet sophisticated omelet rice was ready.
An Fusheng went upstairs and brought the two children down.
"Big brother, what are we eating today?" Wen Xinghe asked. The food smelled delicious, but it tasted different from what he had eaten before.
"Omelette rice," An Fusheng said.
"Omelette rice, is it rice wrapped in an egg?" Wen Xinghe asked. "What does it look like?"
"Hmm... just like dumplings, you wrap fried rice in an egg crepe to capture the wok hei (wok aroma) and fragrance of the fried rice, making it extra soft and tender. But I took a shortcut and just put the egg crepe on top of the rice. If it hasn't been sitting for long, the wok hei will still be there, so let's eat it quickly."
"good."
An Fusheng scooped a full bowl for Wen Xinghe, placed it in front of him, and looked at him expectantly: "Try it quickly."
Wen Xinghe groped around and scooped up a spoonful, putting it in his mouth.
An Fusheng immediately asked, "Is it delicious?"
Wen Xinghe: "It's delicious, even better than the fried rice that Aunt Lou bought last time."
An Fusheng said proudly, "Of course, it would taste even better if you added wild onions to the pickled cabbage, but I searched the whole market and couldn't find any. I'll make it myself next time."
An Fusheng then stuffed half a pickled plum duck wing into Wen Xinghe's hand, saying, "Try this."
"Are these chicken wings?" Wen Xinghe asked.
“It’s plum-flavored duck wings. This is my first time making them. Try them and see if they taste good,” An Fusheng said.
Wen Xinghe put the duck wing in his mouth, took a bite, and found it sweet and sour. The skin of the duck wing was fried until fluffy, with the juices hidden inside. It was fragrant with a sweet and sour taste. Wen Xinghe said sincerely, "Delicious! Everything Big Brother makes is delicious."
An Fusheng was satisfied; it seemed his boss hadn't lied to him.
"Why did your eldest brother's first attempt at making duck wings taste so good?" Wen Xinghe asked, since she could never make anything well the first time.
An Fusheng said with some pride, "Cooking is something that can be learned in many ways. As long as you put your heart into it, you won't be too bad at it, but you do need a little talent."
Wen Xinghe nodded: "Yes, Uncle Du and Aunt Lou's cooking isn't as good as my brother's."
Seeing that others had food while he had been waiting and waiting, Wen Xingrui couldn't hold back any longer and started clamoring for the food on the table.
An Fusheng was pulled out of his smugness and filled Wen Xingrui's special pig bowl with a full bowl of fried rice. "Eat up."
Wen Xingrui finally got some food. He eagerly grabbed a spoon and shoveled around for a while. He managed to scoop up half a spoonful, but most of it fell out as he put it in his mouth. In the end, he only got a few grains of rice. However, Wen Xingrui was always optimistic and easily satisfied. He was so happy to be able to eat that he danced with joy.
In An Fusheng's eyes, if a child can eat by himself, it means he doesn't need to be fed by adults. So even though Wen Xingrui only ate a few grains of rice every now and then, he didn't plan to feed him. At most, he would occasionally tear off some meat from the duck wings and throw it into his bowl, making him chuckle with surprise.
As a result, An Fusheng and Wen Xinghe were both full, while Wen Xingrui was still eating diligently. When he couldn't get any more food out of his bowl, he would pick it up and discard it. Although he ate hastily, he did not waste any food.
An Fusheng didn't wait for him any longer, leaving him to slowly pick up the rice while he went to wash the dishes and clean up.
An Fusheng finished cleaning up the dishes and came out. Wen Xingrui was still picking up the rice off the table in the children's chair, but his head was nodding and he was already half asleep. It seemed that eating was quite tiring.
An Fusheng wanted to laugh, but he held it in for fear of waking him.
This is great! It allows for a seamless transition into my afternoon nap!
An Fusheng felt that this method could be implemented again next time.
After dropping Wen Xingrui and Wen Xinghe off for their afternoon nap, An Fusheng packed two boxes of duck offal into disposable lunchboxes, put each box in a separate bag, and took them to the company.
The gates now have electronic identification functions, and only outsiders need to be registered by security guards to be allowed to enter. No outsiders have visited all morning, and the security guard is sitting in the security room feeling very bored.
Seeing someone walking towards them from afar, the security guard immediately perked up to see if he needed to let them through. But when he looked, it turned out to be an old acquaintance.
"Young man!"
"Uncle!"
An Fusheng saw the security guard standing at the door of the security room, craning his neck to wave to him, and he waved back and greeted him loudly.
Before An Fusheng even got close, the security guard asked eagerly, "You didn't come back from your interview yesterday. Did you find a job?"
An Fusheng: "Hmm!"
The security guard was happy for him: "That's great!"
An Fusheng handed him the bag he was carrying in his right hand: "This is my homemade pickled plum duck offal. Please try it. Thank you for helping me find a job."
"You really know how to cook?" the security guard said.
An Fusheng handed over the bag in his hand again, saying confidently, "You'll know once you try it."
"I have to try it." The security guard took the lunchbox, immediately opened the bag and the lid of the lunchbox, took a piece of duck gizzard and put it in his mouth. "Delicious! Sweet and sour, appetizing, perfect for this weather."
An Fusheng smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it. I originally wanted to make it into braised food, but there are a lot of children around where I work, so this sweet and sour flavor is more suitable for them."
"That's good, you've thought of everything. No wonder the boss took a liking to you." After praising you, the security guard said, "Come on in, don't just stand outside, come in and have a seat."
An Fusheng waved his hand: "No, I'll go upstairs and see if the boss is there. I haven't resigned from my job yet."
After An Fusheng finished speaking, the security guard asked, "You haven't resigned yet?"
An Fusheng nodded: "Yes, I'm here today to resign."
The security guard had been working as a security guard for several years and had seen all sorts of bosses. He was quite familiar with the taboos of bosses and kindly advised, "Then you must not let your boss know that you have found a job."
An Fusheng: "Why?"
"Hey! Are you stupid?!" The security guard couldn't help but tap An Fusheng on the head. "What boss likes to have their employees looking for better opportunities while still employed?"
"Huh?" This was An Fusheng's first time working in both his lives. In his previous life, he was a little fool who had become mentally impaired at the age of seven due to a fever. He had no idea about these things. An Fusheng nodded and said, "I understand."
The security guard had never seen such a dim-witted child. He repeatedly reminded An Fusheng to remember before daring to let him go.
"Uncle, did my boss come to work today?"
The security guard told An Fusheng to hurry up, and An Fusheng suddenly became a little nervous.
"I don't know. Their boss usually drives through the underground parking garage. I don't know about that."
An Fusheng became even more nervous.
"Hurry up, didn't you say you had to take care of the kids when you got back?" the security guard urged.
"Then I'm leaving." An Fusheng swallowed hard.
"Go ahead, it's fine. I'm not planning to work for him anyway, and my salary has already been deducted. What am I afraid of?"
"right……"
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The author notes: Duck offal should strictly refer to the duck's internal organs, but for convenience, I have included duck feet and wings here as well.
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