He immediately withdrew his critical thoughts about the stirring efficiency and shifted his attention completely to the task at hand.
Ye Qingliu carried the bowl and walked to the aluminum basin filled with water in the corner, his movements steady and precise.
He didn't grab a handful of beans and stir them randomly in the water like an ordinary person would. Instead, he used his fingertips to carefully peel away the surface beans, his eyes like a high-powered scanner, quickly screening them.
A bean with a dull color and slightly damaged skin was accurately removed by him; a bean that was obviously shriveled and undersized was also separated by a light flick of his fingertips.
He poured clean water into the bowl. Instead of shaking it vigorously, he tilted the bowl slightly, allowing the water to sweep across the surface of the beans with an extremely slight rotational force, removing any dust and possible fine impurities.
The water flow was clear and the movement was steady, hardly any splashes were caused, and not a single good bean was carried away by the water.
The gazes of several old ladies who were preparing ingredients on the other side were involuntarily drawn over.
"Oh, look at this," Grandma Zhang lowered her voice, full of amazement, "The little kid's picking of beans looks just like a picture! Such steady hands..."
"That's right, he's a hundred times better than my clumsy little grandson!" another old lady agreed with a smile.
"These beans he picked are probably cleaner than our faces!" The fat aunt couldn't help but look back and marveled.
Ye Qingliu seemed completely immersed in his mission, turning a deaf ear to the whispers around him.
He concentrated on completing the final rinse, filtering out the clear water, leaving only plump, rosy, and shiny red beans in the bowl.
He placed the stoneware bowl steadily back on the table next to Sun Guixiang and reported in a cold voice, "Mother-in-law, it's done."
Sun Guixiang was busy directing Grandpa Li to add firewood to the stove. When she heard this, she turned her head, her cloudy eyes swept over the bowl of flawless red beans, and she immediately broke into a smile.
"Hey! Good! Good! You cleaned it really well! We kids do things in a way that makes people feel at ease!"
Her skinny hand patted Ye Qingliu's arm lovingly, the force was light, but it was filled with heavy approval.
In Ye Qingliu's gray-blue eyes, the frozen lake surface seemed to have a very faint ripple because of this pure affirmation.
He nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the next step waiting for his "observation" - Grandma Sun started to cook red beans.
The firewood in the stove crackled happily, and in the iron pot, the deep red red beans floated in the boiling clear water, and were gradually cooked until they were soft.
The aroma of beans mixed with steam filled the entire kitchen.
Sun Guixiang stood in front of the stove, slowly stirring the red beans in the pot with a long-handled wooden spoon.
Ye Qingliu stood quietly one step behind her, his gray-blue eyes observing the whole process intently.
The changes in the ratio of water to beans, the control of the heat, the changes in the shape of the beans under the action of heat... it is like recording an important physical and chemical change experiment.
The red beans are cooked until they are soft and mushy, then picked up and drained.
Next is the key step of frying the red bean paste.
Sun Guixiang scooped a large spoonful of snow-white lard into the hot iron pot.
The oil melts quickly when heated, making an enticing sizzling sound, and the rich meat aroma explodes instantly.
"Little boy, look carefully!" There was a gleam in Sun Guixiang's cloudy eyes, with a hint of solemnity in teaching and imparting skills.
She poured the drained red beans into the boiling lard and began to stir-fry and crush them vigorously with a spatula.
The deep red beans quickly shed their outer coating under the pressure of hot oil and the spatula, melting into a fine and thick deep purple paste.
Ye Qingliu's brows furrowed slightly again. He could clearly see the muscles in Grandma Sun's arms tense from the effort of stir-frying, and he could feel the heat rising from the stove.
This process was quickly broken down in his sophisticated brain: mechanical work, heat energy transfer, material form transformation... The efficiency was acceptable, but there was room for optimization.
For example, using a frying pan with a non-stick coating can reduce sticking, and using a food processor for preliminary grinding can significantly reduce physical exertion...
However, he didn't have time to complete the deduction of a better solution in his mind.
Sun Guixiang had already scooped up a small spoonful of steaming, shiny and tempting red bean paste, blew it with her mouth, then turned around very naturally and handed the spoon to his lips.
"Come, little boy, try it! See if it's sweet enough? Is it fragrant?" Grandma Sun's cloudy eyes were full of anticipation, and her smile was as warm as the fire in the stove.
The spoon almost touched his lower lip.
The deep purple bean paste was still steaming, and the rich sweet fragrance came to your face without any obstruction.
Under Sun Guixiang's expectant gaze and the breathless watch of several old ladies around him, Ye Qingliu leaned forward slightly.
Then, he opened his tightly pursed thin lips, and very carefully, with the help of Sun Guixiang's hand, he used the tip of his tongue to quickly touch the hot and sticky bean paste in the spoon, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
The smell... so strange, so strong, so... complex.
He suddenly retracted his head, and his Adam's apple rolled very slightly, as if he was trying to digest the overwhelmed sensory stimulation.
For the first time, a trace of helplessness clearly flashed across the gray-blue eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses, as if a hot stone had been thrown into a calm lake.
"How is it? Is it sweet? Is it fragrant?" Sun Guixiang asked anxiously, her cloudy eyes fixed on his face.
Ye Qingliu was silent for a few seconds, as if he was struggling to find the right words to describe this new and subversive taste experience.
Finally, he opened his thin lips slightly and uttered a word that was extremely precise, yet still carried a sense of alienation:
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