Chapter Thirty-Four: Beef Kway Teow Soup
Teacher Li and Qi Yue also packed some fried kway teow to take back to the office to eat. Every time, the colleagues in the office were so attracted by the aroma that they would put down their work to buy fried kway teow.
What's more important than eating? What's more delicious than kway teow (rice noodles)?
Teacher Li picked up a piece of rice noodles. The soft and chewy texture, combined with the savory satay sauce, the tender beef, and the crisp kale, created a rich and layered flavor.
Qi Yue's initial frustration due to the exam was gradually soothed by the fried rice noodles.
Monthly exams are approaching, and students are groaning. Teachers aren't having an easy time either. Creating exam papers is a huge headache; the content needs to be well-balanced, not too difficult, and not too easy. During the exams, they have to invigilate. Afterwards, they have to grade the papers, tailor solutions to each student's performance, and face the scathing questions from superiors about the results—it's exhausting and mentally draining.
The other teachers in the office brought back fried kway teow and were also talking about the exams. Perhaps because of the delicious food, everyone's conversation became relaxed and cheerful, and they stopped talking about grades. They were all saying that their own students were a little "dumber," comparing whose students were dumber, and these teachers couldn't stop talking once they started.
Another group of people came to Yu's restaurant one after another. Grandpa Sun has been coming to see Grandpa Xu every day recently. At first, I thought it would be difficult for them to meet because of their age, but now I realize that the two of them are indeed not very close!
See? Now that bastard Lao Sun comes to see him every day whenever he gets something good to eat, ostensibly to play chess and catch up, but really he's just greedy!
After finishing their fried kway teow, Grandpa Sun put his arm around his friend's neck and said, "Old Xu, how about I play some chess with you today, and then we go eat here?"
My old friend will be very touched!
Grandpa Xu snorted, "The last sentence is the key point!"
The two started arguing again.
In the afternoon, Grandma Chen went to the fields and worked for a while, then brought back a large bag of things.
As Grandma Chen walked, she suddenly felt a lightness. She looked down and saw Xiao Tangbao helping her carry the load with both hands and a serious expression. Grandma Chen's heart melted.
Yu Miaoyin also came over to help.
The taro was placed on the ground, raising a little soil. Grandma Chen pointed to the taro and said, "These are taro I grew myself. I'm giving you some to try. I guarantee they'll be delicious!"
Little Tangbao squatted down, picked one up to look at it, and exclaimed, "Wow, this taro is so round!"
Yu Miaoyin knew that Grandma Chen was a skilled farmer. The last time she received sweet potato chips made from her sweet potatoes, they were sweet and chewy, and the two of them loved them. They finished a whole bag of sweet potato chips in just a few days.
"Okay, thank you, Grandma. I'll make something delicious with the taro and bring it to you. I can't accept it for nothing," Yu Miaoyin said.
Xiao Tangbao put her schoolbag on the chair, unzipped it, and first took out a fan, then a row of little red flowers. She took one off and stuck it on her grandma's hand. "Grandma, this is for you. The teacher said that only smart children get little red flower rewards, but I think smart and capable grandma can also receive little red flower rewards!"
This was the first time Grandma Chen had received a little red flower, and her eyes crinkled with joy. "Thank you, Teacher Xiaotang, for this reward."
"Hehe." Xiao Tangbao stuck another little red flower on Yu Miaoyin, saying it was a reward for her.
"Wow, I'm so happy to receive a reward from Teacher Xiaotang!" Yu Miaoyin said, then picked up the fan that Xiaotang had brought back and looked at it again. "Is it for the Mid-Autumn Festival activities?"
Wednesday is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and kindergartens usually organize some activities. I suppose this fan was made for the Mid-Autumn Festival activities.
"Yes! I drew a big moon and me and my older sister." The painting on the fan wasn't very pretty, but it warmed Yu Miaoyin's heart.
"Beautiful, beautiful."
Grandma Chen also came over to take a look and praised, "Beautiful, little Tangbao is so great."
Yu Miaoyin brought out the prepared rice noodle soup for Grandma Chen, saying, "Please have some."
Grandma Chen didn't refuse, saying, "Thank you, Xiaoyin."
The kueh teow soup is clear with a few drops of oil floating on top, and has the aroma of beef bone broth. In the beef kueh teow, the beef is sliced thinly, making it look exceptionally tender. The green vegetables are vibrant, and the fried garlic and chopped celery on top are particularly tempting, especially the fried garlic, which is incredibly fragrant.
Grandma Chen hadn't even eaten yet when Grandpa Sun hurriedly left Grandpa Xu behind and rushed in, shouting, "Boss, give me a bowl! I can tell you've made a great dish just by smelling this aroma!"
Grandpa Xu found his friend's boisterous manner somewhat amusing, so he also ordered a bowl. Yu Miaoyin suppressed a laugh and said, "Okay."
Blanch the rice noodles in boiling water for a while, then blanch the beef until it changes color and take it out into a bowl. Add chopped celery and a spoonful of garlic oil, then pour a spoonful of beef bone broth over it.
Grandpa Sun looked at her and said, "Xiaoyin, can I add some more beef? I'll pay for it!"
"OK."
Yu Miaoyin added another twenty yuan worth of beef to her bowl, and Grandpa Sun placed a deluxe version of kueh teow soup on the table. The beef bone broth had been simmering for an afternoon, and the marrow and fat had infused the soup, making the broth exceptionally rich and flavorful.
Grandpa Sun hadn't had a good beef kway teow soup in a long time, and today, smelling the beef kway teow soup that Xiaoyin made, he was especially tempted.
Before Grandpa Xu could even take his share, he had already picked up his chopsticks and started eating. He first took a sip of the broth, and the delicious flavor immediately burst in his mouth. The beef rice noodle soup had a pure, clean taste. The broth was made from beef bones, with a rich, slightly oily flavor. The beef slices were tender, and the rice noodles had a subtle sweetness, were smooth, and soaked up the broth's flavor. There was also the aroma of garlic oil; the overall flavor was harmonious, all the tastes blended together, naturally fresh.
"Wow, this is amazing! It's so delicious!" Grandpa Sun exclaimed as he ate, completely reluctant to stop. The broth must have had galangal added during the cooking process, and the exquisite flavor was a true delight for his taste buds. Especially the fried garlic—it was simply the soul of the dish.
Grandpa Sun said, "It would be even more delicious if you added two more beef balls. I can only comment on other people's beef balls, but Xiaoyin's beef balls are absolutely delicious."
He then imagined what the beef balls would taste like if Xiaoyin made them, and the thought made his mouth water.
Grandpa Xu took a bite of the beef, which was incredibly tender and smooth. "Yes, Xiaoyin's cooking skills are so good that she can make anything delicious. But making beef balls is so tiring, I don't expect Xiaoyin to be able to make beef balls. I just hope she can make some mooncakes to sell this Mid-Autumn Festival."
Grandpa Sun nodded in agreement. With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, guests were bound to come to the house. His own friends and relatives, as well as his children's friends, would all come. The mooncakes in the house were piling up. Grandpa Sun didn't like to eat them, and neither did his children. The best way to use up the mooncakes was to give them away.
He doesn't like mooncakes, but he'll definitely eat the ones Xiaoyin makes.
The two of them thought of mooncakes after thinking about beef balls, and their mouths started to water.
The high school students arrived a little late today, so Yu Miaoyin wrote "Beef Kway Teow Soup" on the blackboard—Beef Kway Teow Soup, 16 yuan.
The price of kueh teow soup is still a bit expensive, at least for a group of high school students, because Yu Miaoyin knew that the price in the canteen of No. 1 High School is basically around 8-10 yuan.
However, children can also choose other options, such as fried rice noodles, which are cheaper.
The bell rang at five o'clock, even though classes usually ended at 4:55.
Yu Miaoyin murmured, "Why are we five minutes late for get out of class today?"
Grandma Chen ate her rice noodle soup and said, "Because the children have exams."
Sure enough, when Xu Jiajia came over, she was carrying a test paper and a few pens, and Yi Ling was carrying her schoolbag. It was obvious that neither of them had gone back to the classroom.
After ordering the food, Xu Jiajia was utterly dejected, looking like a dried-out flower or a frost-covered eggplant.
Since there weren't many seats in the shop, the two of them sat down next to Grandma Chen and Xiao Tangbao. Yi Ling linked arms with Grandma Chen and sighed softly.
Xiao Tangbao propped her chin up and looked at Xu Jiajia, who looked sad. Xiao Tangbao poked her arm and asked, "Sister Jiajia, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just a bit of a hassle with exams," Xu Jiajia said, composing herself.
When Xiao Tangbao heard this, she felt terrified. The awful exam had actually eaten away her kind, lovely, and cheerful older sister Jiajia.
Xiao Tangbao secretly stuck a little red flower on Xu Jiajia's test paper and comforted her, "Sister Jiajia, my older sister made a really delicious beef rice noodle soup today. You definitely won't be sad after you eat it."
As she spoke, Yu Miaoyin brought over a steaming bowl of rice noodle soup with large chunks of beef on top, along with a spoonful of fried garlic. It smelled delicious.
Xu Jiajia was initially quite annoyed, but she forgot about it in an instant. She picked up the rice noodle soup and blew on it, saying, "I'm determined not to bring my bad mood to this small restaurant and ruin my delicious meal!"
The troubles of youth come and go quickly; Xu Jiajia's face lit up with happiness as soon as she ate the rice noodle soup.
Kway teow soup and stir-fried kway teow have completely different flavors. Kway teow soup is smoother, and the light soup on top tastes particularly refreshing. The flavor of fried garlic slowly comes up, and the various flavors don't clash at all. It's so sweet that it makes you feel like your stomach is being soothed.
After proctoring the exam, the teachers were a bit tired, so instead of going home, they went to a small restaurant for a meal as a group. Xu Jiajia saw the math teacher and almost buried her face in her soup bowl.
She prayed frantically inside her, "Please, please, don't let the math teacher see her!"
Unexpectedly, the teachers said as if they were teasing children, "Jiajia and Yiling are here too."
"Yes, hello teachers," Yiling said.
Xu Jiajia finally pulled her face out of the soup bowl, smiled at the teachers, and said, "Hello, teachers, you've come to eat too."
"Yes, I still have to supervise evening self-study and grade papers later."
The teachers didn't leave until they got to their own bowls of kway teow soup. They knew it wasn't a good time to ask about the students' grades right after the exams, so they didn't. Instead, they left with the words, "Eat well, you should take good care of yourself after the exams."
The teachers sat in a corner, not talking about exams or work, but instead praising the owner's delicious kway teow soup while eating.
The teachers were soothed by the rice noodle soup after a long day of proctoring.
Making kueh teow soup is quick and easy, which gave Yu Miaoyin some free time to talk to the little ones. She sat down next to one of them and asked, "Is it good?"
"Delicious, delicious." Xiao Tangbao finished the soup, and the taste was so delicious that she licked her lips.
"Look, big sister, I also drew a mooncake!" Little Tangbao took out the drawing. There are quite a few activities at kindergarten. She drew a mooncake several days ago, and now she's drawing another one.
Xiao Tangbao's mooncake drawing was just a simple sketch. She pointed to the mooncake and imagined, "This mooncake should be sweet, with red bean paste inside. Sister, our teacher said that we'll make mooncakes together tomorrow, and I'm going to bring the mooncake I made back for you to eat!"
"Wow, you're going to make mooncakes! Then study hard in kindergarten, and your older sister will also be making mooncakes so you can help her out."
Yu Miaoyin was joking, but Xiao Tangbao said very seriously, "Okay, I will study hard and help my older sister a lot!"
"Okay." Yu Miaoyin patted her head.
The bowl of rice noodles was put down, and Liang Hekang, upon hearing this, quickly raised his hand like a primary school student, "Boss, you're making mooncakes? Can I pre-order one?"
Grandpa Sun and Grandpa Xu were just imagining Yu Miaoyin making mooncakes when they heard about it, and they were overjoyed. Grandpa Xu said first, "I want one too. Xiaoyin's mooncakes are absolutely delicious. I'm willing to pay any price."
“Then I’m the third one. Boss, please don’t forget about the three of us,” said Grandpa Sun.
In an instant, Liang Hekang formed a mooncake alliance with the two old men. He stood up and stood with them, saying, "Yes, yes, boss, please don't forget the three of us. We were here first!"
Yu Miaoyin was chatting with Xiao Tangbao when she was misunderstood. She wanted to say that she hadn't pickled that many salted duck eggs! Where was she supposed to find so many salted duck eggs to make mooncakes for everyone?
She glanced at it, and the other diners were also eager to raise their hands and ask for one too.
Afraid of disappointing everyone, Yu Miaoyin quickly said, "Making mooncakes is not impossible, but the problem is that I don't have that many salted duck eggs."
Grandpa Xu and Grandpa Sun sighed and withdrew from the Mooncake Alliance, sitting down in their chairs. What a pity.
Upon hearing this, Liang Hekang replied, "Don't you have any salted duck eggs? I know some friends who have a lot of salted duck eggs, and they're all of good quality. Would you like some?"
Grandpa Sun and Grandpa Xu looked at the young man and felt as if they had seen an angel! An angel who delivered salted duck eggs on the way!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
