The second son had already mastered the technique of drying squid. Ruan Meng instructed him to dry all the squid meat in the wooden basin into dried squid and then shred it into squid strips.
There were also some small fish that Ruan Meng had picked up while beachcombing in the kitchen. She asked Xiao Kai to help her kill them, skewer them with bamboo skewers, and then use a wire mesh to hold them in place and slowly roast them.
The third brother was assigned to knead dough. In the morning, A Yuan caught two large mackerel, each as long as his arm, fulfilling Ruan Meng's long-cherished wish for mackerel dumplings.
After killing the mackerel, Ruan Meng sliced the meat, used a spoon to remove the fish meat, added water soaked with wild peppercorns and salt, washed the wild vegetables brought by Feng Xi, chopped them up and added them.
If Sun Chengen hadn't disliked scallions, adding wild scallions would have made Ruan Meng like it even more.
But she was too lazy to make two kinds; if she served the wrong ones, that guy would start being sarcastic again!
For the sake of cooperation, let's put up with it for a few days!
Two large bowls of fish filling were thoroughly mixed by Ruan Meng and then brought out.
The sight of my older brother, A Yuan, and Feng Si rushing over as soon as I reached the door was both comical and heartwarming.
The three of them carried two large basins of minced meat to the front of the courtyard. Ruan Meng asked her third brother and A Yuan to carry out a table and put the minced meat on it.
This table was a gift that Feng Yun rushed to make a couple of days ago to congratulate the Ruan family on the completion of their new house. It can seat more than ten people.
The third brother's noodles were already kneaded but hadn't had time to rise. Ruan Meng took out two rolling pins, which he had asked Feng Xi to make in advance, but they hadn't been used because he hadn't caught any mackerel and had been busy the other day.
When they lived in Beijing, the third brother and the eldest brother both ate dumplings, usually on holidays.
Seeing what Ruan Meng was rolling, his eyes calmed down, concealing the sorrow in his heart.
Ruan Meng demonstrated to her third brother, and the two rolled it out together.
Xiao Yuan took out several pairs of chopsticks and stuck them into the meat filling, helping to wrap dumplings without Ruan Meng's instruction.
Upon seeing the workload, Magistrate Deng washed his hands and said to the village chief, Feng Si, and the others, "Come on! Let's all do it together!"
Magistrate Deng sighed, "Ah! Time flies! I've been on the South Island for so many years now. I haven't had dumplings since!"
"My mother made dumplings when I was young, and my wife made them after I got married. After I was demoted, I haven't eaten them since."
"I didn't think about it until I saw it, but seeing my little sister's preparations suddenly brought back a lot of memories, the time I spent with my family."
When Deng Zisong presented me with beachcombing tools when I first came to the South Island, he briefly mentioned that his family was in the capital, and that Magistrate Deng was probably worried about them suffering, so he was supporting them alone.
Ruan Meng thought about it and realized that she and her brothers were still happier.
Even exiled criminals have relatives around them, but Magistrate Deng not only faces a difficult situation, but also has no one to take care of his daily needs, and he is all alone when he returns home.
Sensing the atmosphere was becoming heavy, Magistrate Deng changed the subject and asked:
"Little sister, is the filling for these dumplings made of fish?"
The white powder has been pulverized and its original texture is no longer visible.
Ruan Meng smiled and explained, "Yes, sir! A Yuan went beachcombing and caught two mackerel. They had lots of meat, the bones were easy to remove, and the fish was fresh, so I thought I'd make dumplings with them."
Magistrate Deng was full of praise, and Feng Si also said, "Miss Ruan is truly knowledgeable. Fishermen have caught mackerel before, but they either braise them or pan-fry them. No one has ever made dumplings with them before. I'm very curious to see what they taste like!"
The village chief chuckled; he had never eaten it before either.
Together with Magistrate Deng, they washed their hands and helped make dumplings. (Image of mackerel dumplings from the internet) Looking at the dough she had rolled out, and then at her third brother's, Ruan Meng couldn't help but remind him to roll the dough out a little bigger.
The third child was curious, but did as instructed anyway.
"Little sister, weren't the dumplings we used to eat this size?"
But what's the point of having small mackerel dumplings?
It must be about half the size of your palm to be authentic!
But she couldn't say that, lest it seem like she had eaten it herself, so she said:
"With so much meat filling, if we make small buns, won't we break them while rolling them out?"
Magistrate Deng laughed heartily, "So, little sister wanted to slack off!"
Sun Chengen did not make a move; he simply watched from the sidelines.
The rest of the group joined in, and in less than half an hour, they had made four whole basins of mackerel dumplings.
My sister-in-law had already prepared the water in the kitchen, and was waiting for the mackerel dumplings to be cooked...
When the first pot was served, Ruan Meng distributed chopsticks so everyone could taste it themselves...
"kindness!"
"Wow!"
"hiss!"
......
Exclamations of praise were endless, with the third brother's praise being the most genuine.
"That was awesome!"
The village chief and Magistrate Deng both expressed their regret.
Ruan Meng and her older brother looked at the same time.
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