It seems that wealth truly gives people the right to be picky. Oh well.
Even if it's just bone broth for steamed buns, she shouldn't hesitate: "Then I'll trouble you, my husband, to fetch some pork spine and wash the ginger and carrots while you're at it."
"Okay~" Cheng Qingyan happily went to remove the bones.
Everything was ready, and the fire in the stove was lit.
When steaming or boiling, hardwood is used, and the fire is very strong. You can hear the sound of the wind whipping the flames next to the stove.
These buns are enough for them to eat for several days.
If we can eat dumplings during the Lunar New Year, then we can make dumplings again during the Lunar New Year!
No wonder I loved Chinese New Year when I was a kid; there were new clothes, lots of snacks, and holidays.
She was surrounded by loved ones, filled with laughter and joy, and had the reunion she had once longed for.
But as I get older, my feelings about the New Year have become less and less intense.
I always feel that even during the Lunar New Year, I can't find the kind of joy she felt when she was a child.
Many people are saying that the Spring Festival has become meaningless and has lost its festive atmosphere.
Has the New Year festival really changed?
Isn't it people's hearts that have changed?
Just like making steamed buns today, her deepest memories are from her childhood.
Looking back now, she realizes that her maternal grandmother also made steamed buns for her after she grew up, but at that time, she didn't think of making steamed buns as a big deal.
It is people who, in the process of growing up, lose their original sincerity towards things!
Like today, making steamed buns with Ye Lingyu and Meng Chuying stirred up memories deep within her. Perhaps, it will also leave a different new memory in Meng Chuying's heart.
Or perhaps, many years later, Meng Chuying will miss the scene of making dumplings with Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu.
Time is the most ruthless, yet also the most affectionate.
The ruthless passage of time takes away the beautiful years, but the deep affection that remains are also the beautiful memories.
In less than half an hour, the kitchen was transformed into a misty fairyland.
Steam kept drifting out from the stove, making those in the kitchen feel as if they were in a fog.
Ye Lingyu reached out and brushed away the fog in front of her eyes: "Husband, reduce the fire, just a medium-low flame will do."
"Okay, I'll add less firewood now."
Once the fire in the stove has died down, much of the steam will dissipate within a few breaths.
Wang Caifu and Jiutiao were probably hungry, so they ran from the bamboo house to the kitchen.
Seemingly both curious and afraid of the steam in the kitchen, it ran out again after entering the room.
Once the first batch of steamed buns was ready, their lunch began.
I don't know their local customs, but today we're making steamed buns. This idea was suggested by Cheng Qingyan.
In her hazy memory, she remembered her maternal grandmother tending the old house. Around the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, before the Kitchen God Festival, she would start steaming buns and mantou.
Oh right, I can also make triangle stars.
She only remembers what the thing looks like; even if she were asked to mold it, she might not be able to recreate it.
The triangular star is a candy packet.
It contains white sugar, and there is also a brown sugar filling.
Just like steamed buns, after steaming, the sugar will dissolve into syrup inside the triangular-shaped buns. One bite, and your mouth is filled with a sweet and fragrant taste.
Come to think of it, it had been many, many years since she had eaten a triangular-shaped sugar bun.
Not to mention the triangular star shape, she seems to have forgotten how long it's been since she last ate a sugar bun.
Perhaps it was when her maternal grandmother passed away? Or perhaps her mother made it for her too, but her memory of the sugar buns only remains in her maternal grandmother's kind smile.
The filling for the buns is all used up, but there's still a little dough left.
After finishing the steamed buns and drinking a bowl of soup, Cheng Qingyan tried on a blank dough.
Ye Lingyu thought she was still fixated on the pleats of the buns, so she comforted her, "We're out of filling. If you want to learn how to make buns, I'll teach you next time, okay?"
"Alright~ But my wife, I'm wondering if we can shape this round dough into a triangular star-shaped bun?"
A triangular star shape? What shape then?
"Why don't you draw it on the ground for me to see?"
"Alright, my wife, come with me!"
In the courtyard, Cheng Qingyan used a twig she had taken from the kitchen to roughly outline the shape of the sugar bun from her memory on the ground.
“My wife, look, I shaped it like this, and these lines represent pleats.”
Under Cheng Qingyan's guidance, Ye Lingyu practiced it in her mind and felt that there was no major problem.
"Let me pinch it and see if it looks like what you're thinking."
Ye Lingyu followed Cheng Qingyan's drawing and made a triangle star shape in her hand.
As Cheng Qingyan smiled, she knew it was a success.
The pattern in her palm now overlaps with the pattern in Cheng Qingyan's mind.
Cheng Qingyan was so happy that he almost couldn't help but kiss Ye Lingyu. Yes, the triangular star candy bun is exactly what Ye Lingyu is holding right now!
"Wife, do we have any candy left?"
"Yes, I'll go get it."
No one knows what kind of magical food Cheng Qingyan is going to make this time. Tang's family bought a small jar of it the first time they went to town.
Cheng Qingyan said it could be used for cooking, but she had never had the chance to use it.
At this stage, the sugar wasn't granulated sugar. It came in small pieces and was dark in color.
Cheng Qingyan took out a few pieces of candy, crushed them on the cutting board, and put them into a bowl.
"My dear wife, for the triangular star-shaped buns you just made, you only need to put some sugar in the filling."
Just sugar? That would make sweet buns! She's never had sweet buns before!
According to Cheng Qingyan, Ye Lingyu used the remaining dough to make sugar buns, making a total of five.
After making the sugar buns, Cheng Qingyan couldn't wait to steam them.
I really want to taste it again; that flavor is somewhat hazy in my memory.
When steaming the second batch of buns, Meng Chuying put the kittens, puppies, birds, and fish that she had sculpted earlier into the steamer and steamed them together.
Of course, the sugar buns are steamed together as well, making one pot just right.
Half an hour later, when the pot was opened and the steam dissipated, Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu both burst out laughing.
Meng Chuying, who was playing with Fugui and the others, was completely confused. What was so funny in the pot?
Why did those two start laughing by the pot as soon as the lid was opened?
She curiously peeked out, only to be immediately speechless.
What are those things? The kittens and puppies she sculpted have turned into strange shapes!
They've gained so much weight that it's impossible to tell which one is Wangcai and which one is Fugui now!
When they were sculpted, they looked so lifelike, and both dogs were highly recognizable. But now, after steaming, they've turned into oddly shaped flatbreads!
Not long ago, I was laughing at Cheng Qingyan for spending so much time wrapping buns, only to end up with one shaped like a glutinous rice ball.
Well, those shapeless things of hers are not even as good as Cheng Qingyan's dumpling that looks like a glutinous rice ball!
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