Chapter 162: Make some dumplings for those troops who cannot go home for the New Year
In the evening, there were three pots of various hot pot dishes. Everyone tried the three flavors and finally chose their favorite.
"This spicy hot pot is very fragrant and tastes best when eaten with meat." Yu Jianguo likes spicy beef oil hot pot very much. He sat down next to the pot and put beef rolls in it.
He was drooling while eating.
Ye Muqi prepared a lot of dishes, including beef and mutton rolls, and various meatballs and meats occupied most of the table.
"This mushroom pot is very good and delicious. After blanch the vegetables, dip them in the sauce made by Qiqi, and it will taste even better." Xia Ying sat next to the mushroom pot and praised it very much.
Yin Lan actually has a special liking for tomato hotpot, which has a very different taste with a hint of sourness from tomatoes.
It was a special New Year's Eve dinner and everyone was very satisfied.
"Wife, you can learn how to make hot pot from Comrade Xiao Ye later, and then we can cook it when we get home." After having the meal, Yu Jianguo started to think about the hot pot again.
Now that Yang Liwen is learning cooking from Ye Muqi, he is enjoying a good meal, and the food he eats is getting better and better. Whenever Ye Muqi comes up with a new product, he will think about it for days.
"Yeah, I'm already learning." Yang Liwen found his whispering interesting and replied with a smile.
When Ye Muqi was making the base, she followed and learned from him, and she was also preparing to try something out later.
Yu Jianguo laughed when he heard this, and he no longer had to worry about eating hot pot from then on.
After dinner, Rong Jingchen and Ye Zhengfeng rushed to clean up. Yu Jianguo felt embarrassed and followed them into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Xia Ying and Yin Lan turned on the TV and waited for the Spring Festival Gala to begin. Ye Muqi prepared some fruits in the kitchen, as well as the broth and snacks that he had prepared in the afternoon, and took them out together.
"We have to stay up until midnight, let's play cards for a while." Yu Jianguo came out after washing the dishes and called Rong Jingchen.
Ye Zhengfeng also followed, and the three of them sat at the dining table, playing cards while listening to the Spring Festival Gala.
"Do you want to play mahjong for a while?" Xia Ying looked at them playing and asked Ye Muqi and the others.
There were four of them, just enough to fit at one table. Yin Lan said she was willing to play, and Yang Liwen seemed interested as well.
"There is no mahjong at home." Ye Muqi scratched her head in embarrassment. She forgot to prepare this national treasure.
"I have it at home. I'll go get it." Yang Liwen said.
Everyone was at the family compound. Yang Liwen quickly brought out the mahjong. Xia Ying and Yin Lan set up a table in the living room at this time. The four of them played mahjong while listening to the Spring Festival Gala on TV.
"This night is unforgettable, this night is unforgettable..." Before I knew it, the Spring Festival Gala on TV began to sing the final ending song.
A few people finished their card game, yawned, stood up and prepared to go home and rest.
"Do you want to have a midnight snack before leaving?" Ye Muqi saw that it was past twelve o'clock, so he asked them.
"No, I've been eating it all night." Yang Liwen waved her hands and refused.
Ye Muqi prepared a lot of snacks, especially those salty ones. Although they were playing cards, they kept eating and were not hungry at all at the moment.
Yu Jianguo and his two companions, along with Yin Lan and her two companions, left together, one going home and the other returning to the old house.
Because there were so many people, Ye Muqi and Rong Jingchen were not allowed to walk together.
"Liwen, come over tomorrow and make dumplings with us. Don't make them at home." Yin Lan called to Yang Liwen.
Yang Liwen agreed, and they went their separate ways into the yard, leaving in two different directions.
…
The next morning, the house became lively again. Ye Muqi listened to the noise and began to yawn.
"Mom, what are you going to do with so much flour?" Ye Muqi looked at the bags of flour with a puzzled look on her face.
Ye Muqi placed a lot of supplies taken out of the space at home. He used to make pancakes and make the batter at home, so a lot of flour was stockpiled in the kitchen. Now Yin Lan and Xia Ying have moved almost all of the flour to the restaurant.
"Making dumplings. We have to make dumplings during the Chinese New Year," said Yin Lan.
"Ah? But does it take so much flour to make dumplings?" Ye Muqi became even more confused after listening.
"There must be many people in Jingchen's army who can't go back home for the New Year. Let's pack more and have Jingchen deliver them so that they can all have a meal of dumplings." Xia Ying explained.
Ye Muqi thought so too, and thought that if he wanted to make so many dumplings, there might not be enough meat at home. Since he was going to send the dumplings over, he might as well put more meat in so that the people's soldiers in the army could also have a good meal during the New Year.
"Then I'll go out and buy some meat." Ye Muqi changed his clothes and ran out.
She walked around outside, found a deserted place, took out a lot of pork, beef, onions, shrimps and some seasonings from the place, and returned home with her hands full.
Yang Liwen and Yu Jianguo have already come over, and several people are kneading dough. To make so many dumplings, a lot of dough needs to be kneaded.
"Jingchen, come here and help me chop the meat." Ye Muqi looked around and called Rong Jingchen into the kitchen.
Rong Jingchen finished kneading his dough, put it there and went into the kitchen. After a while, the sound of chopping meat was heard from inside.
Ye Muqi prepared the meat filling and brought out a large bowl full of it for everyone to make.
After the dough is kneaded, it is cut into small pieces and rolled into sheets with a rolling pin. Yin Lan's movements are very skillful while Xia Ying and Yang Liwen are wrapping them beside her. They put the meat on top and after pinching it a few times, a beautiful dumpling is ready.
Seeing that there was nothing for him to do outside, Ye Zhengfeng went into the kitchen to take over Rong Jingchen's job of chopping meat, worried that Rong Jingchen would be too tired by himself.
"This doesn't look difficult, let me try it." Yu Jianguo watched for a while and thought he could do it too.
He followed Yang Liwen's example and put the meat filling inside. Then he pinched it a little bit at a time. After wrapping it, he pinched it lightly and the meat filling that he had just put in was squeezed out from the dough.
The meat filling fell on the table. Yu Jianguo was still holding the dough in his hand and was a little dazed for a moment.
"How did it fall out?" Yu Jianguo didn't understand. He did the same thing as Yang Liwen, but why were the results so different?
"You're using too much strength, be gentler." Yang Liwen laughed at him mercilessly before reminding him.
Yin Lan and Xia Ying were also amused by Yu Jianguo's actions just now.
Yu Jianguo didn't believe it, so he took another piece of dumpling skin and put the piece of meat that had just fallen on it. This time he used much less force and was even a little cautious.
In the end, it was successfully wrapped, but it didn’t look like a dumpling. Instead, it looked like a small bun with a unique shape. It stood out when placed together with the dumplings that Xia Ying and the others had wrapped.
Rong Jingchen also went over to make some out of curiosity. After the two of them tried for a while, they found that the pile of beautiful dumplings turned out to be filled with many strange dumplings, each of which was ugly in its own way.