Chapter 19 Finding Fun
"Shaojie, you can't leave. Uncle and aunt said they want to keep you here for lunch. Dapeng will be here soon. Let's play for a while. It will be noon soon."
Qi Yan opened her hands to stop Du Shaojie, not giving him a chance to refuse.
Du Shaojie was helpless: "Okay then."
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Su Dapeng rushed in.
Then, he took off his schoolbag and took out two slingshots and a large bag of gravel.
"Let's not play cards today. How about going to the back mountain to play mahjong?"
The lack of entertainment activities in this day and age is unimaginable to people in later generations.
But you have to find fun by yourself. Xiaomei and Xiaoya can find fun in the process of sliding on the sled and playing with spinning tops. Su Dapeng wants to play mahjong, which is also possible.
Qi Yan and Liang Meiqin did not object, and Du Shaojie thought it was not bad.
In the future, you can't be so wasteful. Who knows if the birds shot down by a slingshot will be protected?
"Shaojie, call Xiaomei and Xiaoya later, and come to our house for lunch."
Liang Meiqin suddenly said as they walked out of the house.
Du Shaojie nodded. He usually didn't have time to take Xiaomei and Xiaoya out to play, so today he just took this opportunity to get some fresh air.
Several people first went around his house. When Xiaomei and Xiaoya heard that they were going to the back mountain to play mahjong, they ran out with a sled.
"Mom, we won't be back for lunch, so you can get something to eat."
Du Shaojie said hello to Wang Yuxiu and went to the back mountain with everyone.
The area of Chunfeng Lane is actually a small ridge, and all the buildings are built around the ridge.
To the west of the ridge, the mountain rises sharply. In summer, it is covered with wild wolfberries, one clump after another, a large area of red.
The back mountain is not too high overall, but the road is not easy to walk on, but for the few people who were born and raised there, this is not a problem.
You can slide on a sled in places with gentle mountains. Du Shaojie and others often did this when they were young. There were many sparrows around the grove, and whether or not one could hit one depended on one's skill.
Liang Meiqin obviously didn't know how to use a slingshot, so she shot a few times and then ran over to sled with Xiaomei and Xiaoya.
Du Shaojie and Qi Yan's skills were not very good either, but Su Dapeng was obviously an old hand, and he shot a sparrow in a short time.
Slowly, Du Shaojie and Qi Yan also found their feeling and each had a harvest.
"It's almost noon, let's go back."
A total of seven sparrows were shot. Sparrows can be eaten, of course, but they are small and have little meat, so the few people gave all the harvest to Su Dapeng.
Liang Meiqin came over with Xiaomei and Xiaoya, and called them back to eat.
Everyone went down the mountain and returned to the house. Liang Meiqin's mother had already started busying herself in the kitchen.
"Xiao Du, my Meiqin said that your cooking is very delicious. How about letting Auntie taste your cooking today?"
Liang Meiqin's mother is a teacher and knows how to deal with young people.
Just this one sentence has invisibly brought him and Du Shaojie closer.
"Okay, don't scold me if it's not delicious."
Du Shaojie took the lead, he was unwilling to let go of such a good opportunity.
Xiaomei and Xiaoya were a little restrained, Liang Meiqin then found a stack of comic books, and the two girls were fascinated by them.
Du Shaojie looked around the kitchen, there were meat, chicken and fish, it was quite rich.
Chicken was used to stew soup, hairtail was braised, and pork and some vegetarian dishes could also make a few dishes. There were not many varieties of dishes, but the portions were large, definitely enough for so many people.
When Du Shaojie started cooking, he quickly got into the mood.
They were all home-cooked dishes, and it was not easy to make them outstanding. But for him, every opportunity to cook was rare, and experience needed to be accumulated. Only in practice could he constantly discover his shortcomings.
Six dishes and one soup were quickly served on the table. Liang Meiqin's parents chatted and laughed, and soon dispelled Xiaomei and Xiaoya's sense of restraint.
"Xiao Du, your cooking skills are really good. It's a pity to stay in the company cafeteria. It's better to go to the army to exercise. The kitchen team has always produced many talents, and that is the stage for young people like you."
Liang Meiqin's father Liang Gang is a retired soldier and speaks very directly.
However, his speaking style is not preaching, but rather like a chat between friends, which will not cause others to be disgusted.
Liang Meiqin's mother rolled her eyes at her husband and said, "You, you wish everyone could roll in the melting pot of the army. Xiao Du, don't listen to him, your current job is good."
Liang Gang laughed and said no more.
In fact, Du Shaojie himself had already thought through the pros and cons of this.
Working in the canteen of the Bureau of Heavy Industry, I am not too busy at ordinary times, so it is convenient for me to calm down and learn more. The disadvantage is that there are few opportunities for practice. After all, there are only so many dishes in the canteen, which is not conducive to growth.
But he is also a man who has been cheated. After these years, he will naturally have more choices in the future .
"Uncle and aunt, thank you for your hospitality. I'm done."
Du Shaojie didn't say much. While eating, he was summarizing the gains and losses of today's dishes.
In general, today's performance was mediocre, and naturally there would be no mainstream works. Of course, there are also gains, at least I have gained experience and got exercise.
After dinner, Du Shaojie sent his two sisters home first, and then went to the unit for a walk. After all,
he is still an apprentice, and he has to perform better than others.
After work, Du Shaojie had dinner in the canteen, and then rode his bike to Liang Meiqin's house.
At this time, the beef had been marinated. He first rinsed the beef with clean water and put it aside for later use.
Then put an appropriate amount of star anise, fennel, angelica, white cardamom, fragrant leaves, and peppercorns into a bowl and soak them in cold water for a while to remove the dust on the surface of the spices and some bitter taste.
Liang Meiqin's spices at home are indeed incomplete, and the angelica and white cardamom are contributed by him.
Du Shaojie cuts the washed green onions into sections with a rolling knife and cuts the old ginger into large slices.
Then start to heat the pan, pour in more clear oil, and slowly stir-fry the green onions and ginger over low heat. After the aroma of
green onions and ginger comes out, add yellow paste and continue to stir-fry, and then add the prepared spices later. After a while, the aroma of green onions, ginger, yellow paste and various spices fills the entire kitchen.
While frying green onions, ginger, yellow paste and spices, blanch the beef in another pot at the same time and clean the floating foam.
Then, add hot soup to the spice pot and start to boil the marinade.
This process takes about twenty minutes. After the marinade is boiled, all the residues will be removed.
The residue can be stored and can be used two or three times in the future.
Next, put the beef in the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, pour in soy sauce and add some rock sugar.
If you don't have rock sugar, you can use white sugar instead, but Liang Meiqin's family has prepared rock sugar, so in fact, not much is needed.
Cook on high heat for about ten minutes, turn to low heat, and then simmer slowly.
"Meiqin, the beef will be almost done after stewing for about an hour and a half. You can poke it with a chopstick and taste a small piece. As long as it is moderately soft and hard, not hard or dry, you can remove it from the heat. Then soak the beef in the pot and take it out tomorrow morning."
Braised beef is a cold dish, and it is not delicious right out of the pot.
After soaking, the braised beef is more flavorful, and when it is completely cool, the braised beef will be more delicious.
(End of this chapter)
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