Chapter 234 What goes well with potstickers?
As the morning light grew brighter, the sea of clouds flowed slowly beneath our feet, like a surging cotton ball.
The aroma of pan-fried buns mingled with the spiciness of hot and sour soup, carrying far and wide on the wind.
Su Yingxue stood in front of the pot, peeling the skins while chatting with the tourists, listening to their stories about the interesting things that happened down the mountain and the embarrassing things they did while climbing.
Ye Keke sat at the folding table, watching Su Yingxue's busy figure. Suddenly, she took out her phone and took a picture of the stall and the sea of clouds in the distance.
She posted a message on her WeChat Moments with the caption: "At the summit of Wushan Mountain, pan-fried buns with the sunrise, life is worth living."
Wu Xiaobei leaned over for a look and urged her quickly, "Post it quickly! And while you're at it, help promote Sister Su's place. I'll bring my colleagues next time!"
Upon hearing this, Su Yingxue couldn't help but laugh, and her hands moved even faster.
The dough danced in her palms, the meat filling wrapped in the freshness of scallions and ginger, then dropped into the sizzling oil.
Before long, a new batch of pan-fried buns was steaming hot, with golden-brown crispy bottoms, soft and fluffy dough, and piping hot meat juice inside when you bit into them.
The tourists ate with beaming smiles, while the shop owner, holding a bowl of spicy soup, squatted beside them, slurping it down with great relish.
Su Yingxue wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead and looked up at the horizon.
The sea of clouds gradually dispersed, revealing the terraced fields stretching down the mountainside, like a spilled palette of colors. She looked down and opened her notebook, adding a sentence below that line: "It has the warmth of human life, and even the sea of clouds is gentle."
A gust of wind makes the copper bells on the backpacks jingle, blending with the laughter of the tourists and the sizzling of the pots, creating the most lively morning symphony on the mountaintop.
As dawn broke and the mountaintop was still damp and misty, the shop owner came running in the morning light, followed by a fellow villager carrying a load on a shoulder pole. The bamboo basket was filled with fresh chives, red-skinned eggs, and a bag of finely ground cornmeal.
"Miss Su, look!" The shopkeeper slapped his thigh, his loud voice startling the sparrows in the treetops.
"The chives were freshly cut from the vegetable garden down the mountain, the eggs were laid by the local chickens, and the cornmeal was freshly ground with a stone mill! Let me tell you, I watched your rural variety show the other day and I've been craving your potstickers ever since. They look so golden and crispy, I even dream about them at night!"
Su Yingxue suddenly realized that her variety show, which casually recorded her daily life as a street vendor, had quietly gained some fame.
She couldn't help but chuckle as she took the chives from the fellow villager. Her fingertips touched the dew on the leaves, feeling their coolness. "So the boss is my audience."
"Of course!" The shop owner rubbed his hands together, looking expectant. "I'll have to have a good taste today!"
Su Yingxue smiled and agreed, then turned around and got busy. She chopped the chives, mixed them with finely minced meat, cracked in two eggs, drizzled on sesame oil, sprinkled with salt and white pepper, and stirred quickly with chopsticks. The fresh and fragrant aroma instantly filled the air.
She then took out flour, mixed it with warm water, let it rest, rolled it into thin sheets, filled them with plenty of filling, pinched them into crescent-shaped pleats, and neatly arranged them in an oiled frying pan.
Slowly fry over low heat, the pan sizzles, and the bottoms of the potstickers gradually turn a golden brown.
Su Yingxue poured half a bowl of water into the pot, covered it, and simmered it. Amidst the rising steam, the freshness of the filling mingled with the aroma of chives, making one's stomach rumble.
On the other side, she set up a small pot, scooped out two spoonfuls of cornmeal, stirred it into a paste with warm water, and then slowly poured it into the boiling spring water, stirring constantly.
In no time, the thick corn porridge was ready. It was served in a rough earthenware bowl, steaming warmly and emitting a faint sweet aroma of grains.
"It's ready to boil!"
Su Yingxue lifted the lid of the pot, and a burst of steam rushed to her nose. The potstickers had soft dough, a golden and crispy crust on the bottom, and an enticing sheen of oil around the edges.
She carefully scooped it out with a spatula, arranged it on a plate, and then served several bowls of corn porridge.
The shop owner couldn't wait any longer. He picked up a potsticker and popped it into his mouth, slurping it up because it was so hot, but he couldn't bear to spit it out. "Delicious! So delicious! The crispy bottom is so crumbly, and the filling is so fresh. It's absolutely amazing with the corn porridge!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several tourists who had gotten up early to see the sea of clouds gathered around, drawn by the aroma. Their eyes widened as they stared at the potstickers on the plate.
"Boss, what's this? It smells delicious!"
"Give me one serving! And a bowl of corn porridge too!"
Su Yingxue smiled and agreed, her hands never stopping. The morning light slowly climbed over the mountain, shining on the steaming potstickers and on her busy figure.
A breeze swept by, and the copper bells on the backpacks jingled, blending with the tourists' exclamations and the sizzling sounds of the pots, creating the warmest morning light on the mountaintop.
Suddenly, a loud exclamation rang out from the crowd. A little girl with her hair in a ponytail was clutching her phone, her fingers trembling with excitement.
She pointed in Su Yingxue's direction, her voice trembling slightly: "You, you're Su Yingxue from 'Rural Food Time'?! I watch your variety shows every day!"
After these words were spoken, the surroundings were silent for two seconds, and then erupted into chaos.
"《Country Food Time》? I've seen that too! Is it the blogger who follows Shen Yu and sets up food stalls in different places?"
"No wonder her cooking skills are so good! I remember she used to make chicken noodle soup in the industrial area and intangible cultural heritage snacks in the city. It's so comforting!"
The girl with the ponytail squeezed to the front of the stall, her eyes sparkling, the screen of her phone still lit up.
On her screen was a clip from a variety show of Su Yingxue cooking in an industrial area: "Sister, I love your videos so much! Every time I watch you cook, I feel warm inside, and it even reduces the pressure of studying!"
Several tourists nearby chimed in, some taking out their phones to take pictures, others eagerly asking, "Miss Su, when will you be setting up your stall on the mountaintop permanently? We'll definitely invite our friends when we get back!"
The shop owner, beaming with delight, patted his chest and chimed in, "Don't worry! Miss Su will be setting up her stall right next to mine from now on! I guarantee you'll always be able to come and get a hot meal!"
Su Yingxue was a little embarrassed by the sudden enthusiasm, but she didn't stop making potstickers. She smiled and said, "Thank you everyone for liking it. There are plenty of potstickers and corn porridge today, so please enjoy."
The girl with the ponytail held the freshly received corn porridge, carefully blowing on it to warm it up. She took a sip, and her eyes instantly curved into crescents: "It tastes just as good as in the variety show! The corn porridge is soft and chewy, with a sweet aroma of grains, and the potstickers have just the right amount of crispy bottoms!"
Her companion nodded in agreement, busy taking pictures of the freshly cooked potstickers: "This is such a great deal! We came to the mountaintop to see the sea of clouds, but we unexpectedly bumped into a food blogger from a variety show. It's a double surprise!"
As the morning light grew brighter, the copper bells jingled in the wind, and the exclamations and laughter of tourists, mingled with the aroma of crispy potstickers and sweet corn porridge, created an exceptionally lively scene beside the sea of clouds at the mountaintop.
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