After Wu San Niang recovered from her initial shock, upon closer inspection, she found that the tiger was quite docile under Min Yueqing's care. So, following Min Yueqing's instructions, she took her daughter back to the kitchen first.
Min Yueqing calmly looked at Xiao Wei, pressed her hand down, and gestured for it to sit down. Xiao Wei sat down without hesitation.
Min Yueqing patted its big head approvingly twice and said to Pei Ji, "Go and have Wu San Niang pour a basin of milk, and bring it out."
"Yes, Mother!"
A moment later, Pei Ji came out with a basin of fresh milk. Min Yueqing took it and placed it in front of Xiao Wei, saying to Xiao Wei who was still looking at her, "Drink up, and then rest here for a while."
Seeing Xiao Wei lower his head and slurp his milk, Min Yueqing led Pei Ji into the kitchen.
As soon as Min Yueqing entered, Wu Sanniang apologized, "Madam, it was all our fault. We're so naive and didn't know any better. We'll never do it again!"
Min Yueqing waved her hand with a smile and said, "What did you do wrong? It's just that it's your first time meeting Xiao Wei and you're not used to it. As long as you weren't scared."
Wu San Niang felt extremely guilty and kept apologizing.
Min Yueqing deliberately changed the subject and asked, "Did you see what Shi Tou just brought in?"
Wu San Niang then stopped talking, composed herself, and replied, "Madam, I see it." After a pause, she pointed to the table and added, "It's right here. Shi Tou said this is called a potato. I've never seen a potato before, and I was wondering what to do with it."
Min Yueqing smiled and said, "That's why I came. Just like before, I'll tell you what to do, and you'll get the hang of it after a couple of tries."
Wu San Niang readily agreed.
Min Yueqing said, "First, wash all these potatoes clean, then peel off the outer skin of the large potatoes."
Wu San Niang and Wu Yan Yan quickly did as they were told, and together they cleaned and prepared all the potatoes in no time.
Min Yueqing continued, "Take out five large potatoes and cut them into thin strips, then soak them in water; cut half of the remaining large potatoes into chunks and the other half into slices, and soak them in water as well; set the small potatoes aside, no need to cut them."
When Min Yueqing came in, she saw chicken stewing on the small stove in the kitchen, so she said to Wu Sanniang, "Put the potato chunks into the chicken and stew them together for about fifteen minutes."
"Next, prepare the ingredients. Chop the scallions, slice the chili peppers, and prepare the pepper powder."
In March, they planted a lot of vegetable seeds next to the potato field, including scallions and green and red peppers. Recently, they have ripened one after another, which has satisfied Min Yueqing, a spicy food lover.
With everything ready, Min Yueqing said, "First, put the small potatoes in a pot of cold water and boil them for 15 minutes, then take them out."
"That's easy," Wu Yanyan immediately added cold water to the pot and put all the small potatoes in to cook.
Seeing that Wu Yanyan was taking care of the little potatoes, Min Yueqing continued to Wu Sanniang: "Now stir-fry hot and sour shredded potatoes. Heat the oil, put in the shredded potatoes, stir-fry for a while, then add vinegar and chili threads. Finally, add chopped green onions, salt and sugar, stir-fry for a while, and it's ready to serve."
Due to limited resources, I can only make this simplified version of hot and sour shredded potatoes to satisfy my craving.
The first dish was ready, and the baby potatoes were almost cooked. Min Yueqing said, "Next, let's make pan-fried baby potatoes. First, use the bottom of a bowl to flatten the baby potatoes. Heat oil in a pan, then put the flattened baby potatoes in and fry them slowly over low heat until both sides are golden brown. Finally, add pepper and salt to taste."
Today, the only meat available in the kitchen is chicken, so the last dish is stir-fried chicken with potato slices. Wu San Niang is quite good at this kind of stir-fry, so Min Yueqing doesn't need to say more.
The other dishes weren't urgent, but the pan-fried baby potatoes were quite similar to French fries and tasted best when eaten hot. Min Yueqing said to Shi Tou, "It's almost lunchtime, let's take this plate first and go straight to the dining room."
Stone, smelling the various aromas in the air, couldn't wait any longer. Upon hearing this, he quickly picked up the plate and went ahead.
After finishing its milk, Xiao Wei had been eagerly waiting outside the door. As soon as it saw Min Yueqing come out, it immediately stood up straight and waddled over to her side, occasionally rubbing its furry body against her legs, as if expressing its dissatisfaction at having waited for so long.
Min Yueqing hugged Xiao Wei's big head and ruffled its shiny fur a couple of times. "Can't wait? You won't come to the kitchen anymore. Wouldn't it be better to stay in your room and sleep?"
Little Wei stared with his two innocent big eyes, only focusing on snuggling in Min Yueqing's neck, completely ignoring her words.
Min Yueqing often wondered if the tiger had become a spirit. Xiao Wei could complete many of her commands perfectly. Sometimes, it didn't even need to give a clear command; a single look or gesture was enough for it to understand immediately.
But if it encounters something it doesn't want to hear, it will put on an innocent look that it doesn't understand at all, which is both funny and exasperating.
Pei Ji couldn't wait any longer and urged, "Mother, the stone has gone far away, let's hurry up!"
Min Yueqing thought of the fragrant little potatoes and immediately stood up, calling to her little cub and the little tiger to walk forward together.
Upon entering the dining room, they saw Shi Tou staring intently at the pan-fried potatoes on the table. Min Yueqing couldn't help but smile and say, "Let's eat first. These taste best when they're hot; they won't taste good when they're cold."
Shi Tou and Pei Ji immediately picked up their chopsticks, each taking a small potato and starting to eat. It was still a little hot when they entered their mouths, but the aroma of the fried potatoes combined with the flavor of salt and pepper was simply irresistible.
Stone was spitting out the potato with obvious gusto, clearly burned, but he still couldn't bear to spit it out and instead chewed it with relish.
Thanks to his refined eating manners, Pei Ji didn't get burned too badly, but judging from his expression, he clearly enjoyed the taste and ate one bite after another.
As Min Yueqing ate her pan-fried baby potatoes, she thought about all 108 ways to cook potatoes. She secretly made up her mind that one day she would grow or make all her favorite seasonings here, such as garlic, cilantro, and chili powder.
Shi Tou had brought back very few small potatoes, and when Pei Han came in, the plate of pan-fried small potatoes was now empty; they had shown off all the small potatoes as snacks.
Amei and Azhu had also eaten quite a bit at Min Yueqing's urging, and now they were looking at the floor guiltily, secretly blaming themselves for forgetting to leave a few for their son-in-law to try.
Fortunately, the food was about to be served, and Amei and Azhu started getting busy.
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