Chapter Forty-Three: Stir-fried Snails
The three girls were chatting happily in the shop.
Yu Miaoyin had been busy for a long time today and was a little tired. Seeing that the guests hadn't arrived, she came out of the kitchen.
Little Tangbao massaged her left shoulder, then her right shoulder, and said in a sweet voice, "Sister, how's the pressure?"
"It's very comfortable, thank you, young master," Yu Miaoyin said.
As dusk approached, Yu Miaoyin rested in a chair, enjoying a massage from Master Xiaotangbao, while chatting with her grandmother, Yiling, and Jiajia.
"Boss, what else do you have today?" Just as they were having a pleasant chat, Xu Yuejia came in alone.
"I have scrambled eggs with tomatoes and pan-fried tofu, would you like some?" Yu Miaoyin asked.
Little Tangbao also looked over and saw a pretty older sister. She was very impressed with this pretty older sister. However, there was another pretty older sister next to her.
"Yes, I ordered two to go." After saying that, Xu Yuejia looked down and replied to the message.
Little Tangbao looked at Xu Yuejia, and perhaps because her gaze was so intense, Xu Yuejia quickly noticed the child in front of her. Xu Yuejia waved to her, and Little Tangbao waved back enthusiastically, then asked, "Sister, where's the other sister?"
Xu Yuejia knew she was asking Zhou Ningxiang, "Has the other sister gone home?"
She's such an adorable and well-behaved child. Xu Yuejia doesn't usually like kids, but she really can't help but love Xiao Tangbao. Xu Yuejia walked over and asked, "Are you the boss's sister?"
“Yes,” Xiao Tangbao replied, tilting her head.
Perhaps she's naturally drawn to cute children, Xu Yuejia thought for a moment, then took the charm off her backpack. "How about I give it to you? It's just as cute as you."
It was a little pink fox with delicate fur, wearing a pretty little dress. Xu Yuejia even put a bag over it for her, and it wasn't dirty at all.
"No need, this is so cute, but it's more suitable for you, big sister. I can't just take your things." Little Tangbao quickly waved her hand.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuejia turned her schoolbag around to show her. Several pendants were hanging on it, including a purple rabbit and a green turtle, all of which were very exquisite.
Yu Miaoyin had just finished packing when she came out of the kitchen and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Tangbao said, "My sister wants to give me a keychain, but I can't accept it."
Yu Miaoyin took one look and realized that the pendant was from Disney, and most of them cost over a hundred yuan. If it was a rare one, it could sell for several thousand yuan. Of course, Xiao Tangbao couldn't accept it.
"Yes, thank you for your kindness, but we can't accept it." After saying this to Xiao Tangbao, Yu Miaoyin said to Xu Yuejia, "Thank you, classmate, but this is very expensive, so we can't accept it."
Xu Yuejia waved her hand, "It's okay, this is only a little over a hundred yuan, it's not expensive. Besides, I have two cabinets with these kinds of hanging ornaments at home, and I'm tired of seeing them. I'm sure my sister will like it."
Two cabinets full of Disney dolls? Yu Miaoyin was certain; her family was indeed very wealthy.
“Here you go, little sister. This fox is just as cute and lovable as you,” Xu Yuejia said, insisting on giving it to her.
Xiao Tangbao glanced at her older sister, and Xu Yuejia, knowing that the two of them were embarrassed, continued, "It's really nothing, it's just a pendant. I have plenty of them, I don't need this one."
She really doesn't need another keychain; her daily dilemma is how to choose a nice one from among many to accompany her to school.
"How about this, you don't need to pay for the meal. I'll give you a box of mooncakes as a gift. Thank you, and we'll feel more comfortable accepting it that way," Yu Miaoyin said.
"Okay then." Xu Yuejia knew the boss wouldn't accept it casually, but she said with delight, "It feels like I've gotten a good deal, thank you boss."
Hearing this, the other people in the store who hadn't bought mooncakes hesitated, wanting to ask if their sister liked the fox, and if she could buy a bigger fox and trade it for a mooncake with the shopkeeper.
Xu Yuejia left the small restaurant with a mooncake and two meals.
She sent a message to Zhou Ningxiang.
Xu Yuejia: I'll come to your house to find you later.
Xu Yuejia: I also brought you some good stuff.
Zhou Ningxiang: Good TT
Xu Yuejia sighed as she looked at the message…
The Zhou family.
Zhou's mother knocked on Zhou Ningxiang's door. "I asked your homeroom teacher. She said you've finished the exam. Did you check the answers? How did you do? Are you confident?"
After being bombarded with three questions, Zhou Ningxiang felt suffocated. She recalled how she felt after suffering from hypoglycemia during her English exam. She wasn't thinking about her health, but about her grades.
"I don't have the answers, so I don't know how I did on the test." After saying that, Zhou Ningxiang deleted the answers that her teachers had sent her from her phone.
"Then I'll go ask the teacher and see if there really isn't an answer." After saying that, Zhou's mother brought in a plate of cut fruit. "I'm doing this for your own good, you know?"
She had heard those terrifying, unanimous words countless times since childhood; they had held her captive for seventeen years.
Zhou Ningxiang remained silent.
“Your aunt’s son got first place again. What about you? Can’t you try to do better?” Mrs. Zhou said, exasperated.
She was probably too upset because her biology exam was late and her family didn't know the exam time. When they saw that Zhou Ningxiang hadn't come home, they frantically called her to come home. After she got home, they questioned her again. No one asked her if she was hungry or if she wanted to eat.
Zhou Ningxiang turned to another page of the book, tears welling up in her eyes. She held them back, thinking that she would never shed another tear for this family.
Before Zhou's mother could say anything more, she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Hello Auntie, I'm here to see Ning Xiang," Xu Yuejia said with a smile, handing her the fruit she had bought. "These are fruit for you, Auntie."
Zhou's mother didn't have a good impression of her. She always felt that this girl didn't look like the type to study hard, but out of consideration for her feelings, she still let Xu Yuejia in.
Zhou Ningxiang pulled her into her room. Xu Yuejia put down her schoolbag, tilted her head back, and first took out two carefully placed meals and handed them to her: "Today we're having scrambled eggs with tomatoes and pan-fried tofu."
After she finished speaking, she coughed very seriously and took out a box of beautifully packaged mooncakes: "Ta-da! This is a Mid-Autumn Festival gift for you. The mooncakes were also made by the boss."
Zhou Ningxiang felt a lump in her throat and suddenly didn't know what to say.
Xu Yuejia knew that she would be crying while eating at the dinner table after returning home, so she gave her food and told her to eat her fill so she wouldn't be so sad.
"Eat quickly, eat quickly," Xu Yuejia said, then examined the mooncakes again. "The mooncakes made by the boss look especially delicious, and the packaging is also very beautiful."
"Let's cut one and try it," Zhou Ningxiang said.
“Great, I’d love to try it too.” Xu Yuejia said, taking the mooncake out of its packaging. Inside was a set of mooncake cutlery. The two of them took it out, cut the mooncake in half, and each took a bite.
The lotus seed paste melts on the tongue with a refreshing sweetness that is not cloying. The salty and savory flavor of the egg yolk blends with the lotus seed paste, offering a slightly grainy texture as you chew, with the oily aroma slowly seeping out. The two flavors intertwine, making them even more delicious. The baked mooncake crust is also very oily, and after swallowing, a sweet and wheaty aroma slowly spreads in your mouth.
"This is so delicious," Zhou Ningxiang said. She couldn't explain why, but when she ate this mooncake, all the pain she had just felt seemed to disappear.
There is still delicious food and lovely friends in this world; she should no longer be sad.
-
Back home, Yu Miaoyin checked the snails she had bought last time. After soaking them for about a day, the snails had expelled all the sand, and the once clear water had become murky and smelled of earth.
Little Tangbao ran over and smelled the snails. Her little face scrunched up: "Why do these snails smell so bad? Are they spoiled?"
Yu Miaoyin shook her head and said, "It's not bad. I'll make you stir-fried snails later. They're very fragrant."
Xiao Tangbao nodded, seemingly not quite believing it, but the snail really did smell bad! Yu Miaoyin took out pliers and cut off the snail's tail. Xiao Tangbao also came over to help. Her older sister cut quickly and well, while she cut very slowly, and the snail would slyly slip out of her hand. She had to use a lot of strength to cut it properly.
After the snails were cut, Yu Miaoyin helped Xiaotangbao wash her hands. The fishy smell of the snails lingered on her hands, and she had to wash them twice with hand soap before the smell became less strong.
Even now, Xiaotangbao still doesn't quite believe that snails can taste good. They smell bad! They don't smell good at all!
Yu Miaoyin turned on the stove and added some oil. After the oil was hot, she added scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers to sauté until fragrant, then poured in the snails. Yu Miaoyin's hands were very strong, after all, she was a chef. She easily turned the snails while stir-frying, and the sound of the snails colliding together was particularly pleasant.
Grandma Chen was also making stir-fried snails. Listening to Xiaoyin's stir-frying sounds and smelling the aroma, she was so tempted to pay Xiaoyin to stir-fry the snails for her...
After simmering for a while, Yu Miaoyin added some perilla leaves and scallion segments, stir-fried them until fragrant, and then took the dish out of the pot.
Little Tangbao was somewhat surprised by the aroma in the air. Her older sister's stir-fried snails smelled so good that her heart wanted to drift into the kitchen.
"Come and eat! I only made one dish today, but we'll make lots of delicious food tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival!" Yu Miaoyin said, but she also stir-fried quite a lot of snails today.
"Okay, thank you, sister." Little Tangbao carefully put away the little fox her sister had given her, then gently patted her and said, "I'm going to eat now."
The snail shell was coated in a thick broth, its dark brown interior glistening with oil, the broth flowing down the shell's grooves. At the cut end, the snail meat protruded slightly, releasing a pungent aroma of stir-fried scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Little Tangbao looked at the snails and asked, "Sister, how do you eat these? They have hard black shells!"
"You can just pick it up with a toothpick and eat it." This is a relatively simple method. Yu Miaoyin thinks that snails taste better when you suck them out, so you can taste the broth inside.
She then taught Xiaotangbao another method—
"Hold the snail by its tail," Yu Miaoyin instructed her step by step, "put it in your mouth and suck, and the snail meat will come out. But don't eat the small part at the bottom, bite it off and spit it out. Also, remove the black shell, don't eat it!"
Little Tangbao is very clever; she learned it in no time. She sucked on a snail, first enjoying the slightly hot broth inside, which was salty and fragrant with a hint of spiciness, mixed with the pungent flavors of ginger and garlic. The snail meat was chewy and had a good texture, allowing her to taste its own freshness while absorbing the flavor of the broth. The flavors of chili and perilla gradually came up, making it exceptionally appetizing.
"Sister, there's so little meat in this, but it's so delicious!" Little Tangbao said, taking another bite.
Yu Miaoyin also felt that while the snails were delicious, the only drawback was that there was really too little snail meat, making it unsatisfying to eat...
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