Fang Rou swallowed the mutton in her mouth: "In the end, it's because you're a good cook. No one else can make such delicious mutton."
Xiao Yunying said with a touch of pride, "What you're saying... isn't wrong."
He took the sheep's blood to the small wok and said, "Sisters, could you make room for me? Chef Xiao is about to start cooking."
Zhang made way for her: "I'll give you space, I'll go cut the sheep offal."
Xiao Yunying corrected her, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't call it 'sheep offal,' it sounds disgusting. Call it 'sheep offal soup,' the mutton soup and mutton offal soup you make shouldn't be called 'sheep offal soup,' it sounds stinky."
Everyone in the room laughed. Zhang said, "Alright, let's not call for sheep offal anymore. I'll go chop the sheep offal."
Wang said, "If you're going to cook, I'll help you. Just tell me what you want to cook, and we'll cook faster together."
"No need, I can manage myself. I can do both at the same time, frying and stewing at the same time. Did the dough I mentioned this morning rise? Why don't you go and make some leavened flatbread, Second Sister-in-law?"
"Okay, then I'll go make pancakes."
"Sister-in-law, there's sugar and sesame in the cupboard. Why don't you make some small sugar pancakes for the children? Make a few with brown sugar and a few with white sugar."
"good."
Xiao Yunying, slicing sheep's blood, said, "Fang Rou, go and call Uncle Yang and the others. It's time to eat."
"Then I'll go call Dad and the others, and they'll come back to help you."
Xiao Shanhai and Xiao Yunbai returned first with the children carrying fresh vegetables, and soon Fang Rou and Uncle Yang also arrived.
Xiao Yunying talked with the children for a while, then had them line up to wash their hands and wait in the living room for dinner.
He told Fang Rou where the teacup and tea leaves were, and asked her to brew some hot tea and bring it over.
After delivering the tea, Fang Rou returned and said, "Tell me what you need, and I'll help you."
Xiao Yunying washed the lamb chops, which her mother had already chopped into small pieces and blanched, once more, thinking about the side dishes:
"I need to slice the scallions, ginger, and garlic, cut the red peppers into rings, chop the cilantro, and mince some more scallions and garlic, especially the garlic."
"Leave it to me."
"Please slice the scallions, ginger, and garlic for me first."
Most of the side dishes had already been washed. Fang Rou was also a quick worker with good knife skills, and she chopped the side dishes she asked for very fast.
Xiao Yunying pulled two burning firewood from under the large iron pot and put them into the small stove to start a fire, then put oil in the pot.
Heat the oil, add rock sugar, and stir over low heat until melted.
Add the lamb chops and stir-fry until they are browned. Pour in an appropriate amount of cooking wine and a little dark soy sauce. Add sliced scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry for a while.
Add hot water to cover the lamb chops, cover the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Before serving, add salt, chicken bouillon, and pepper to taste.
While the lamb chops were stewing, Xiao Yunying scalded the lamb blood in the basin with boiling water, rinsed it with clean water, drained it, and sliced it.
Fang Rou brought over a plate and said, "See if this is enough."
Xiao Yunying glanced at the plate: "This chili pepper..."
She forgot that the red bell peppers in the greenhouse hadn't been harvested yet, and she hadn't taken them out of the supermarket in advance, nor had Fang Rou cut them into fresh chili peppers.
Did I cut it wrong?
"I misremembered. The mildly spicy red bell peppers I ordered can't be picked yet. These are fine too, just use a little less. And chop a little more garlic."
"Wait, it'll be ready soon."
Xiao Yunying heated another small wok, poured in oil, added garlic slices and scallions to sauté until fragrant, then added the chopped sheep's blood and stir-fried it gently for a couple of seconds. She turned the heat down to low and added a little boiling water to the wok.
Add appropriate amounts of salt, thirteen-spice powder, and pepper, then lift the wok and shake it to distribute the flavor evenly (do not stir-fry too many times, as the lamb blood is too tender and will break apart).
When the broth has almost reduced, add chopped green onions, minced garlic, and red chili peppers. Shake the pot to distribute the sauce evenly, then transfer to a plate.
Xiao Yunying served the dishes in two plates: "Fang Rou, the garlic lamb blood is ready, please take it up to me."
"They're here."
Mu Lianrong arranged the table and chairs in the living room, and when she came in, she heard the conversation between the two. She said, "I just realized why you called your sister-in-law Fang by her name directly."
Xiao Yunying, while washing the pot, said, "Fang Rou, look at my mother, she's scolding me. Please speak up for me."
Fang Rou, carrying the dishes, said, "Aunt Mu, don't mention Yun Ying. I told her to call me by my name directly. I'm not much older than her. Calling me sister-in-law would make me sound old."
Mu Lianrong could easily tell that she was biased towards her daughter and speaking up for her.
"Even you indulge her temper."
The more she thought about it, the more she felt she couldn't indulge her daughter's temper anymore. Other aspects were fine, but her daughter needed to understand the ways of the world and how to interact with others.
She, a woman, should not accept a man's cloak being taken off her in the street. If word gets out, what will become of her reputation?
Calling Fang Rou by her first name is nothing compared to accepting a man's cloak, and Fang Rou didn't seem unhappy about it. But if others heard it, they might think their daughter was vulgar and rude.
Fang Rou said, "I like Yun Ying's straightforward personality. She's not pretentious. It's just a form of address. Don't take it too seriously, Auntie. Let's get ready to eat. I'll bring the dishes over first."
Mu Lianrong wanted to say something more, but Aunt Yang put a bowl she had taken out of the cupboard into her hands:
"Stop nagging. My daughter-in-law hasn't said anything, but you're bringing it up."
"You can all spoil her, I'll just nag, okay?"
Aunt Yang picked up a stack of bowls herself: "You're the only one who's being long-winded. What's wrong with young people calling each other by name when they're close?"
"Our two families aren't related by blood, and my daughter-in-law isn't Yunying's sister-in-law. There's no need for such unnecessary formalities. Hurry up and go set the table for dinner."
After Mu Lianrong left, Xiao Yunying shrugged at her two sisters-in-law who were watching the commotion: "Mother is actually lecturing me now. She's probably going through menopause soon."
She still has some snow frog oil and other things that Chen Yuancheng's mother gave her in the supermarket; she should take them out.
As Wang flipped the pancake, she asked, "What does menopause mean?"
Xiao Yunying poured oil into the pot and gave a simple explanation.
"It refers to the emotional instability that occurs around the age of fifty, when menstruation completely stops, due to certain changes in the body. For example, women may often feel inexplicably irritable and frequently lose their temper over trivial matters."
They certainly wouldn't understand the term "hormone secretion," so this was the only explanation she could offer.
Zhang said, "Mother is not fifty yet."
"It doesn't necessarily have to be until fifty years old. It's usually between forty-five and fifty-five years old. Depending on individual physical condition, it can be as short as two or three years or as long as eight or twelve years."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
