Hu An and Feng Ru, who were in the kitchen, heard the bustle in the living room and came out. Hu An saw Lin Jianye and his son return and said, "You two are back just in time. The logistics department brought in a few freshly slaughtered sheep today. We got three pounds in total. Xiao Wu and his wife just brought another pound. Let's have copper pot mutton hot pot tonight and eat our fill!"
"Then Hongwen and I are in for a treat. I'll make sesame paste for you. I'm an expert at this!" Lin Jianye laughed twice and then said.
"Yes, you come, no one else can make that taste!" Yu Qing agreed.
When making sesame paste, add soy sauce to it in several times. Never pour the soy sauce in at once. Pour a little at a time, mix well, and then pour some more.
Use soy sauce to mix sesame paste until it is slightly brown, that is, the color of the sesame paste becomes darker. (If you add fermented bean curd and chives later, you need to use less soy sauce, otherwise it will be too salty.) Then start to continue mixing with boiled water.
Mix sesame paste with boiled water until it becomes a thick, sticky liquid. Be careful not to make it too watery. Add a few cubes of fermented bean curd to the amount of sesame paste, and then pour in some fermented bean curd soup.
Since there was no chives at home, Lin Jianye did not add it. Thinking that Xuemei was from the south and liked spicy food, he specially prepared a small bowl of sesame paste, put the chopped chili segments on it, and poured hot oil on it. Finally, he added a little sugar, a few drops of vinegar, and a small spoonful of sesame oil to the two bowls of sesame paste and continued to stir evenly.
Juan was cutting the mutton into small strips, which is how to eat fresh meat. After the meat was cut, Han Chen took it to the living room.
Juan grabbed a handful of mung bean vermicelli cooked in hot water and put it into the mutton soup to cook. The white radish in the mutton soup was already cooked, so the vermicelli only needed to be boiled for one minute. The remaining vermicelli could be put into the copper pot to eat later.
In addition, Feng Ru and Xuemei helped wash the cabbage and the soybean sprouts that Juan had grown a few days ago, and cut the cabbage into pieces.
The main course tonight is mutton and more than two kilograms of mung bean flour. Yu Qing was afraid that everyone would not have enough to eat, so he went to get another kilogram of dried tofu that Xuemei and the others had brought, cut it into pieces, and put it in the copper pot to cook later.
As soon as Juan brought out the casserole of stewed mutton offal, radish and vermicelli soup, everyone started to sit down around the big round table.
A window was deliberately opened in the living room. Han Chen had already lit a charcoal fire in the copper pot. Yu Qing poured water into the pot and added chopped scallions and ginger slices. As the clear soup in the copper pot was still simmering, Yu Qing scooped half a bowl of mutton offal, radish and vermicelli soup for everyone to warm their stomachs and fill their stomachs.
After the soup in the pot boiled, everyone started to put the mutton into the pot. Xuemei followed the method they told her in advance and used chopsticks to loosen the mutton and shook it left and right. When the meat just turned white, she could take it out and dip it in the sauce!
Xuemei had just cooked the meat and was about to put it in her own bowl of sauce when she discovered there was already a small pile of meat in her bowl. It was given by Han Chen and Yu Qing, who were sitting on either side of Xuemei. Xuemei said to Yu Qing, "Auntie, there's no need to take special care of me. Just eat quickly!"
"Okay, then Xiaochen, keep an eye on your wife." Yu Qing said to Han Chen, then continued to say to Xuemei, "Xuemei, try the sauce quickly. This is the spicy sesame sauce your uncle made especially for you!"
Xuemei nodded, then picked up a few slices of meat with chopsticks, coated them with the dipping sauce and put them into her mouth. As the mutton entered her mouth, Xuemei first tasted the aroma of sesame, then the freshness and tenderness of the mutton, mixed with a hint of spiciness and the aroma of sesame.
As Xuemei chewed, she looked up at the people who had stopped eating and were watching her. She quickly gave them a thumbs-up. Seeing that she was satisfied, everyone continued eating. After Xuemei swallowed the meat, they began to praise her, saying, "The meat is just the right thickness, the broth is well-seasoned, and I like the sesame paste too; it's fragrant and spicy!"
When Lin Songguo heard Xuemei say this, he laughed happily a few times, then looked at Xuemei and said, "You little girl, you are also a little sly. With these few words, you praised your uncle, aunt, and Uncle Hu!"
"No, it's really delicious. I fell in love with it the first time I ate it!" Xuemei also said with a smile.
"Okay, eat more if it tastes good. Xiaochen, blanch some more meat for your wife!" Lin Songguo replied.
Han Chen nodded to Lin Songguo, and began to pick up meat from the plate and give it to Xuemei to eat. Xuemei looked at Han Chen and smiled, then picked up half of the mutton that had not been eaten in the bowl and put it into Han Chen's bowl which only had sauce.
The people at the table also started to cheer happily when they saw the interaction between the young couple.
Seeing how happy everyone was, Yu Qing thought of her youngest son and couldn't help but say, "It would be great if Hongzhi also had a holiday this year. Then our whole family could really have a reunion year!"
Lin Jianye also missed his youngest son, but he still comforted Yu Qing, saying, "It's great that so many people are gathered at home today. In the past few years, when we were busy, Hongwen and I didn't have time to go home for the New Year. You should be content! Besides, as a soldier, Hongwen must obey the organization's arrangements!"
Yu Qing glared at Lin Jianye angrily and said, "Am I such an ignorant person? I just saw that Xiaochen, Xiaoying and the others came back this year, but Hongwen was the only one who didn't come back. I was a little confused and just said it!"
Lin Jianye quickly picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks and put it into Yu Qing's bowl, admitting defeat and saying, "I was wrong. This is my apology. Our Director Yu is very knowledgeable. If you say you are number one, no one dares to compete for second place!"
Lin Ziying laughed heartily at Lin Jianye's words, and after he finished laughing, he jokingly said, "Dad, you're an expert at coaxing my mom. All the men present here, you should learn from me!"
When Yu Qing heard Lin Ziying teasing his father, he pretended to be angry and said, "You have no respect for your father, and you're teasing your father!"
Lin Ziying stuck out his tongue and continued to complain fearlessly: "You are the only one who can say that about my dad! We are not allowed to say anything."
After Lin Ziying finished speaking, she saw that Yu Qing's expression was not right, so she quickly shifted the blame and said, "Mom, I don't think my younger brother wants to come back for the New Year. He is the only bachelor in our generation!"
Lin Ziying's words immediately shifted Yu Qing's attention to another matter. Yu Qing sighed and said, "You're right. Hongwen is one year older than Xiaochen. He's already 22 this year, so it's time for him to get married."
"Mom, there's no need to rush this. Maybe Hongwen has someone he likes in the army?" Lin Hongwen said to his brother.
Yu Qing thought for a moment and said, "You're right. Next time he calls, I'll have to ask him if he has a girl he likes. If not, we should start paying attention to him!"
Then everyone started eating and discussing Lin Hongwen's search for a partner, and then they talked about the marriages of the young men and women in the compound.
Xuemei and Han Chen savored the delicacies while eating melons from the courtyard, mainly listening to what Yu Qing, Feng Ru, An and Lin Ziying said.
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