Ye Tian suddenly remembered that she had such a memory: Ye Fei especially liked to eat air-dried beef jerky, but that beef jerky was very expensive, and her uncle and aunt were reluctant to buy it. She remembered that once her uncle bought 40 yuan worth of it, and her aunt scolded him.
Ye Tian only ate one piece and didn't dare take any more. Her aunt rolled her eyes at her. But at night, Ye Fei secretly gave her a few more pieces.
40 yuan can't buy much.
Just yesterday, an air fryer brand sent her a sample. She didn't know what to use it for, so she decided to try making some beef jerky.
She immediately went to the market and bought beef. She chose both leg and tenderloin, both of which are lean and better suited for making beef jerky. Beef isn't cheap, and she spent nearly 300 yuan on just over 5 kilograms of meat.
Back in the house, she began to research how to make beef jerky using an air fryer. She also looked for some guides online, combined them with her own experience, and started making it.
First, Ye Tian soaked the beef in cold water for half an hour to remove the blood. While waiting, she cleaned the air fryer thoroughly.
Then she picked up a knife and cut the beef into small strips along the grain, put it into a pot of cold water, added ginger slices and green onion segments, and blanched the beef strips.
Remove the beef strips, rinse thoroughly, and drain thoroughly. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking oil, cumin powder, chili powder, salt, sugar, and white sesame seeds as desired. Seasoning can be adjusted to your taste, but there are no strict requirements. Mix thoroughly and marinate for about half an hour.
Place the marinated beef strips into the air fryer and bake them at 180 degrees for 15 minutes, then take them out, turn them over and bake them for another 10-15 minutes.
Beef jerky is incredibly fragrant right out of the pot, filling the room with the aroma of beef. If eaten hot, it's still soft. After letting it air dry for about ten minutes, it becomes slightly firmer, and it's ready to be jerky. Once it's cooled, you can store it in a box or bag and enjoy it later.
If you want the beef jerky to be harder and chewier, you can bake it a little longer. Ye Tian likes it softer, so she didn't bake it for that long.
Because the air fryer was limited in size, she had to cook five batches of beef before she finished. She gave some to Xiao Ou, took a third home to share with her roommates, and packed up the rest to bring to Ye Fei the next day.
After trying it today, Ye Tian also thinks the air fryer is a practical invention, making it very convenient for anyone to bake anything. So she plans to research a few more simple recipes and, once they're successful, post them on a short video app. This will not only help promote the brand, but also provide some convenience for those who love cooking but are hesitant to bother.
Xiao Ou and her roommates all approve of her beef jerky.
"This is even better than the ones you buy!" Xiao Ou said. "Master, please teach me how to make it. I can bring it to school and sell it to my classmates, hehehe..."
"Child, you don't study hard. What are you thinking about every day?" The landlady first taught her son a lesson.
Ye Tian winked at Xiao Ou and said she would teach him in the future. She hadn't expected Xiao Ou to be so business-minded at such a young age.
After returning to the dormitory, she called Xiaotao and the others to come and eat beef jerky together.
Zhao Yu loves beef jerky the most, and she usually buys all kinds of beef jerky when she buys snacks. She holds a piece of beef jerky in her mouth and expertly tears it off in half along the grain of the beef. "Tiantian, this beef jerky is so delicious, and it's not too hard! Can I order 2 pounds?"
Ye Tian bought more than 5 kilograms of beef, but only made a little more than 2 kilograms of beef jerky. Because the air fryer has a small capacity, it took her 3 hours to make it. This really requires a lot of patience.
When she heard Zhao Yu said she wanted 2 kilograms, she thought for a moment and said, "Sure, but I have to wait until I borrow the cafeteria's big oven another day. The air fryer is too small and can't handle the quantity."
"Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry! Tiantian, I have to tell you the truth again, this beef jerky is really delicious!" Zhao Yu picked up another one. She absolutely loves beef jerky.
Even Li Yue, who doesn't usually like beef jerky, ate several strips. Within 20 minutes, the whole bag of beef jerky was gone.
Xiao Tao was the funniest: "Tian Tian, make it harder next time so it's harder to bite and harder on your teeth, and we can eat less." She sounded a bit pitiful.
"I saw you secretly hid two pieces. Are you going to give them to Chen Chi?" Lu Xinyi deliberately teased Xiaotao.
"No way! I don't have it!" Xiao Tao blushed.
…
After lunch the next day, Ye Tian took the subway to find her cousin Ye Fei.
He, his teachers and classmates stayed in an ordinary chain hotel, but the location was quite convenient, with a subway station next to it.
Knowing his cousin was coming, he was homesick. He didn't even take his afternoon nap, so he just waited in his room. He heard some noise in the hallway, so he ran to open the door, but it wasn't anyone there, until he heard a knock on the door.
When Ye Fei opened the door, he saw a beautiful and fashionable girl standing there. She had fair skin, long hair tied into a bun, and was wearing dad shoes, black leggings, and an oversized off-white sweatshirt.
"Who is this?" Ye Fei didn't react for a moment, thinking to himself: "She looks quite like my sister."
"Ye Fei!" Ye Tian spoke first.
He still looked the same as Ye Tian remembered, except that he had grown taller, now about 185cm tall, with a light stubble on his chin, and he looked very youthful.
"Sister? Is it really you?" Ye Fei was still not sure, but no one here knew him except his sister.
"You've grown taller, why don't you let me gain some weight?" Ye Tian broke the awkward situation with a joke.
Ye Fei thought: Yes, don’t they say girls change a lot when they grow up? My sister went to college, worked to earn money, and now she can eat better and buy clothes. Then she should be a beautiful girl like this when she dresses up!
"Sister, come in quickly!" He opened the door wide and let Ye Tian in.
Ye Tian entered the room and took a look around. It was an ordinary standard room, only about 12 square meters, with two one-meter beds, one of which contained a boy taking a nap.
Ye Fei asked Ye Tian to sit on his bed, and he stood a little awkwardly: "Sister, do you want some water? Sister, I have some oranges here, do you want some?"
"Don't worry, you can sit down too! I brought my own water bottle." Ye Tian said, and took out the beef jerky she made from her bag. "I made this beef jerky myself, and I brought it for you to try."
The boy in the next bed also woke up and looked at them with sleepy eyes and curiosity.
"This is my sister, my biological sister!" Ye Fei felt his gaze and hurriedly explained.
"Hello, I brought some beef jerky. Let's have some together!" Ye Tian turned her head and politely greeted Ye Fei's classmates.
Ye Fei's classmate had only seen her back, but when Ye Tian turned around, his eyes lit up: "Fuck, Feizi, when did you get such a beautiful sister? How come I didn't know!"
"There are still many things you don't know. Do I have to tell you everything?" Ye Fei said unhappily, and moved the beef jerky towards him.
His classmate didn't care about that. He got up and walked over: "Hello sister, my name is Shi Lei, I'm Ye Fei's classmate and good friend."
"Is that your sister? That's my sister!" Ye Fei stood up and glanced at Shi Lei.
"Your sister is my sister, so we are just friends!" Shi Lei said deliberately.
"Get lost!" Ye Fei was too lazy to pay attention to him.
Ye Tian thought these boys were too childish, but watching them quarrel was quite interesting. After they stopped, she smiled and said, "Okay, let's eat beef jerky! I made it myself, and it tastes pretty good."
"I won't give it to you!" Ye Fei pulled the bag away and held it in his arms.
"Xiaofei, stop messing around!" Ye Tian said in a serious tone.
Ye Fei then reluctantly took out a bag of beef jerky and opened the sealed bag.
"Eat it!" After saying that, he took out two pieces first, handed one to Ye Tian, and put the other one into his mouth.
Shi Lei had no choice but to reach out and take a piece from the bag.
"Sister, did you make this yourself? It's delicious, much better than the ones my dad bought. Your cooking skills are so amazing!" Ye Fei said in surprise.
"If you like it, eat some. I'll make it for you next time. I'm working part-time in the school cafeteria now and have learned to cook a lot of delicious food." Ye Tian looked at her cousin tenderly.
Shi Lei watched the siblings chatting, and then went out to find other classmates. Before leaving, he smiled and took two pieces of beef jerky.
Ye Fei reached down to grab the bag of beef jerky.
Only the brother and sister were left in the room.
"Then... sister, are you tired of working part-time?" Ye Fei asked after a moment of hesitation.
Ye Tianzhi said: "It's okay, it's only 16 hours a week, not every day."
"Oh!" Ye Fei didn't know what to say for a moment. He felt that his cousin seemed to have changed, becoming so unfamiliar, but what made him happy and sad was that his sister became a better person after leaving his home.
The room fell into silence for a moment.
Ye Tian didn't deliberately imitate her previous appearance. What was she like before? Timid, shy, afraid to speak, pale and thin, or just plain old?
These are not her characteristics, but character flaws caused by her growing environment. When the external environment changes, it has a positive impact on people, which is a good thing. It is not easy to get out of it!
"My dad, he misses you too..." Ye Fei hesitated. "It's just that he's too afraid of my mom. Sigh!"
Ye Tian bit her lower lip, feeling sad for her former self: "Well, I'm doing fine. I have a student loan to pay for my tuition, and I earn enough for my living expenses."
"You are already in the first year of high school. You should study hard. Learning knowledge is important at all times. Besides, going to college is still very useful." She changed the subject and acted like an older sister.
"I know, I also want to leave that family as soon as possible." Ye Fei lowered his head and played with the bag of beef jerky in his hand.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Sister, have dinner before going back to school! I will be with my teachers and classmates all day tomorrow, and will go back the day after tomorrow! I still have some time tonight, but the teacher is not allowed to leave for more than two hours." Ye Fei fastened the preservative buckle of the beef jerky little by little, as if he was reluctant to eat it anymore.
"Okay, then let's eat nearby! Call the classmate you just saw. I have money now, so I'll treat you guys to a meal!" Ye Tian said generously.
"I'm really happy to see you like this. Sister, I'm happy for you! That's great!" Ye Fei's smile was sincere and pure, and he finally said what he wanted to say.
"Hahaha... people always have to grow up! You are more mature than before. I'll check the review website first to see if there are any delicious restaurants nearby." Ye Tian couldn't stand such a sentimental atmosphere, so she made an excuse to look for a restaurant and looked down at her phone.
Ye Fei also started looking at his phone.
After a while, Shi Lei also returned to the room. Ye Tian asked for their opinions and gave them a few restaurants near the hotel to choose from.
"Can we go eat Sichuan cuisine?" Ye Fei asked tentatively.
"Sure, I like them all!" said Ye Tian.
"I love eating Maoxuewang!" Shi Lei shouted.
Ye Fei teased: "I didn't ask you!"
"Okay, Xiaofei! Let's go eat early. You should also go to bed early at night, since you still have a competition tomorrow." Ye Tian made the decision.
Both boys had no objection, put on their coats, and followed Ye Tian out to eat.
Ye Tian felt inexplicably tired: "Alas! Boys nowadays are so hard to raise. In ancient times, boys of this age would have been married and almost fathers!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
