Zhang Hongmei wandered around the first floor again, but couldn't think of anything else she should buy, so she went home.
Zhang Hongmei got home after nine o'clock. She wondered if Zhang Xingguo and his son would come over for dinner today. She remembered that she hadn't used the rice cooker she bought yet, so she decided to use it to steam rice today.
I soaked some wood ear mushrooms and then took out some carrots. They didn't seem very fresh, but I'll leave them as is. Today I'll make a simple version of shredded pork with garlic sauce. I also cut off a piece of pork; the fatty part will be used to braise tofu, and the lean part will be used to make shredded pork with garlic sauce. There's also half a bowl of braised pork left; I should eat it all today. It's been two weeks, and right now, if it were my past self, I would never eat it again.
It's still uncertain whether Zhang Xingguo and the others will come, so we'll prepare two dishes first. Once they arrive, we'll stew some cabbage and vermicelli with chili peppers and radish slices, and also braised pork—that should be enough for them.
Everyone was ready when they heard the car stop. It was accompanied by Wang Xiaoshun's loud voice.
"Hongmei, are you home?"
Only Wang Xiaoshun would ask such a stupid question. The front door wasn't even locked; it was bolted from the inside. How could Zhang Hongmei not be home?
Zhang Hongmei opened the door and only saw Wang Xiaoshun. "Brother Xiaoshun, where is Uncle Zhang?"
"The commander and Brother Shouyi are together. They won't be over until lunchtime, so they asked me to come and tell you first."
Just then, the door on the right opened, and the old lady peeked out at the car outside before shrinking back in. Zhang Hongmei frowned. Was this old lady really so nosy?
"Hongmei, I'll cook for you."
"Okay, let's eat rice."
"But the commander said he wanted to eat dumplings, so he asked me to come and help you."
"Okay, we can still prepare now. You'll have to work harder, Brother Shun, since the meat is still frozen."
"It's alright, I have plenty of strength. Hongmei, what kind of dumplings should we have?"
"I want to make two kinds of fillings: raw meat and cabbage, and cooked meat and cabbage."
"Alright, I'll take care of chopping the filling."
Zhang Hongmei also knew that Wang Xiaoshun would be especially motivated if there was something delicious to eat.
I estimate that even two hundred dumplings wouldn't be enough for lunch today. I took out a large basin from the storeroom and mixed six large ladles of flour. I think that's enough to make over three hundred dumplings.
What's wrong with Liu Jingze? He hasn't explained anything. It's really troublesome not having a cell phone.
After Zhang Hongmei finished kneading and letting the dough rise, she went to prepare the cabbages. She had two cabbages yesterday and two today, so she kept the hearts of two cabbages and chopped the rest into filling.
Wang Xiaoshun cheerfully waved the cleaver in his hand, and even the frozen meat seemed effortless in his hands.
Zhang Hongmei scooped out a small bowl of cooked meat from the braised pork pot, saying she would do it herself later, as it wouldn't be as fragrant if it was too finely chopped.
After Wang Xiaoshun finished chopping the raw meat, Zhang Hongmei took over, put the meat into a bowl, and added minced ginger and scallions.
"Brother Xiaoshun, you chop all the cabbage, I'll go mix the filling."
I added soy sauce, sesame oil, a small spoonful of sweet bean sauce, solidified lard, and half a spoonful of soybean oil to the minced meat. I stirred it vigorously, without adding water this time, since the cabbage filling itself releases water. That's it.
Once you have all these ingredients ready, use a cleaver to cut the cooked meat into small pieces about the size of a fingernail. I didn't add any other seasonings, just chopped green onions and salt. After a while, you'll have to squeeze out all the water from the cabbage filling.
Wang Xiaoshun prepared the cabbage filling, and the two fillings were ready. Then the two of them started making dumplings.
It's already 10:30. The two of us probably won't be able to finish making them in an hour, so there's nothing we can do. Lunch will definitely be late today.
Zhang Xingguo and his son didn't get home until midnight. By then, they had just finished making dumplings, Zhang Hongmei was tidying up the kitchen, and Wang Xiaoshun was boiling water.
Liu Jingze still hadn't returned by noon. I wonder what happened?
Zhang Xingguo ate the delicious dumplings, and even just the mixed cabbage hearts tasted especially good.
"Hongmei, I heard you got first place again in this exam. You've really made us proud."
"Is being first place good enough? I think it's alright. I was even the class monitor. I guess I got this position thanks to Professor Kong."
No student would dare offend the professor, right? He made my suggestion first, and praised me more than once. Everyone's shrewd; who wouldn't respect the professor?
"Hehe, that's part of your strength too, why aren't you willing?"
“I’m not unwilling. Liu Jingze even wants me to run for vice president of the student council. I’ve thought about it for a few days and think it’s feasible.”
"The title of president of the student union at the capital university is very prestigious. You can give it a try. Right now, you can only be the vice president, so don't worry."
"I know, maybe I'll even become a female leader someday."
“Of course you can, with your brother Zhang here, no problem.” Zhang Xingguo said while eating, not forgetting to curry favor with his son.
Zhang Hongmei wrinkled her nose. "I don't like a life full of backstabbing and intrigue."
"It's not difficult. You'll see later. You'll have subordinates to help you with the work, so you just need to make the decisions."
"Brother Zhang, you make it sound so simple, so why are you so busy?"
"I'm the vice chairman, of course I have to do it."
Xiao Li almost choked while eating dumplings, seeing the Chairman blatantly lie for the first time.
Zhang Hongmei simply didn't believe it. Although she had never been an official, she roughly knew how things worked. How could someone order their subordinates to do everything?
However, there was no rebuttal; that's a long time from now. It's too early to talk about that now.
Wang Xiaoshun snatched the last cooked meat dumpling from Xiao Li's chopsticks, grinning smugly. Zhang Hongmei found the two of them amusing.
After the meal, Zhang Hongmei didn't have to lift a finger; all the household items were cleaned up.
Zhang Xingguo and his son went back home after finishing their meal. For them, there were no weekends; every moment was work time.
Zhang Hongmei didn't go out in the afternoon, but stayed home to read. The professor's lectures were going too fast, so she couldn't let her guard down. Everyone has vanity, and it wouldn't look good if she fell from first place.
Liu Jingze still didn't come over that evening, probably because he had something to do. After drinking some milk, Zhang Hongmei read in her spatial dimension, determined to catch up on her studies. She figured she had a cheat code; only those who excelled academically were truly capable. Zhang Hongmei spent ten times more time reading than others.
I read through the entire book of Economic Theory from beginning to end, then felt a bit hungry, so I ate a bowl of wontons and continued reading Literature.
I slept when I was tired, ate when I was hungry, and read all the books in my space. It was already the afternoon of the next day when I left the space.
I decided to go to Xinyuan to take a look, but I didn't know when the person Zhang Shouyi introduced would arrive. I had no choice but to resign myself to starting to clean. No one lived there, so it wasn't very dirty, and there wasn't much dust. I finished quickly, and by 5:30, Xinyuan was brand new.
Next time, I'll definitely ask when they're coming. Ideally, they could come before the flowers bloom, so the garden in the yard can be turned into a vegetable garden.
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