Mutton has a unique smell. Some people don’t like this smell, while others love it.
Yun Qiao belongs to the latter.
Moreover, the breed of lamb leg that Qin Zheng brought back was small-tail Han sheep. The meat was tender and the smell was not that strong. Yun Qiao had never tasted this before.
She had some vague guesses in her mind, so she quickly moved the basin away and dared not smell it again.
Afterwards, Yun Qiao added some salt based on her feeling and placed the bowl of mutton filling as far away from her as possible. When making dumplings, she only made the ones with leek and egg filling in the bowl in front of her. Her brother Qin Zheng and He Tingjun made the ones with mutton and pork fillings.
Listening to the radio, they made dumplings until dark. He Tingjun and Qin Zheng continued to make the remaining dough and stuffing. Yun Qiao got up and went to the stove to prepare the dishes for dinner.
The braised pork and tomato beef brisket are both freshly made. They are put into the pot and stewed for a while, and they can be taken out of the pot after five centimeters. The whole fish is braised, which takes some time. There are two stoves in the house, the inner stove is for stewing fish, and the outer stove is for stewing chicken.
Finally, make a dish of sour soup meatballs and add freshly fried lotus root cakes, and the midnight dinner is ready.
Including the soup, there are six dishes in one pot, hoping for good luck, with chicken, fish and lotus root, which sounds like "lian ge" (more than enough).
During dinner, Yun Qiao deliberately placed the fishy smell farthest away. Listening to the radio, they finished their late-night meal smoothly. But when it came time to make the dumplings at midnight, they hadn't marked the mutton dumplings. As soon as they were in the pot, all the flavors blended together. Only the leek dumplings, with their emerald green skin, were clearly recognizable. The two meat dumplings were mixed together, making it impossible to tell which was which.
It was destined to be exposed today. When the dumplings came out of the pot, the first one she ate was filled with mutton. When she took a bite, she smelled the strong smell of mutton and turned her head away and retched.
He Tingjun sat next to her. Although Yun Qiao didn't spit out anything, he quickly poured her a glass of water and handed it to her, asking her to rinse her mouth.
Qin Zheng put down his chopsticks and asked her caringly, "Do you feel uncomfortable in your stomach?"
"No." Yun Qiao waved his hand, tilted his head back and drank some water to wash away the strong smell in his mouth. Only then did he feel better.
She explained: "Maybe I was too full from my late-night meal, so I couldn't eat anymore."
Qin Zheng didn't think much about it: "If you can't eat, don't force yourself. Let Tingjun eat. He has a big appetite."
"Hey, I want to eat." He Tingjun's hand was still on Yun Qiao's back. He stroked her back and forth, without stopping to help her breathe. There was a thoughtful expression on his face.
After dinner, Qin Zheng left Yun Qiao's house with the frozen dumplings.
The temperature outside was low, and after a few hours, the raw dumplings were frozen hard.
He did not go home immediately. Instead, he left Hutong No. 6, turned around, and went to the Workers' Union with the dumplings in his hand.
Here, He Tingjun collected the uneaten dishes on the table. These were all whole meat and vegetables, which could be eaten the next day.
He went to wash the dishes, and Yun Qiao took a rag and wiped the table clean.
After cleaning up the room, it was almost one o'clock. Yun Qiao yawned, washed up quickly and prepared to go to bed.
After washing her feet, she sat on the edge of the kang. As she was wiping her feet with a foot cloth, He Tingjun came in from outside, pulled a chair and sat down opposite Yun Qiao, and asked, "Yun Qiao, are you pregnant?"
Yun Qiao was stunned for a moment, then he smiled: "You guessed it."
He Tingjun nodded: "Your period this month is a week late, and I saw you retching during meals, so I guessed it."
Yun Qiao was a little surprised: "You still remember my period?"
He Tingjun hummed, not knowing what he was thinking, and his handsome face flushed.
Yun Qiao didn't think much of it, still laughing foolishly at He Tingjun's thoughtfulness: "No wonder you always make sugar water for me so promptly. Sometimes you make it without me telling you."
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