In the morning, around five o'clock, Deng Qingling woke up from her sleep.
She put on her clothes and left the space, looking out the window at the still black night sky.
Although the winter morning was full of cold, Deng Qingling still started working in a tight and orderly manner.
Only after boiling the soup base of the big bones did she brush her teeth and wash her face.
Then take out the buns and noodles from the space, knead the dough to make wonton wrappers, and chop the meat filling.
She had just started when Li An came knocking on the door.
Deng Qingling smiled and said to Li An, "An, you came so early." It was still more than ten minutes before six o'clock.
"Auntie, good morning!" Li An said, "I wanted to come and help earlier."
Deng Qingling asked Li An to light a fire to steam buns and heat tea eggs.
After lighting the fire, Li An helped to chop the meat filling for the wontons, and then learned how to knead the dough and roll out the wonton wrappers.
Seeing Li An slowly getting the hang of it, Deng Qingling freed up her hands to cook spicy soup.
Looking at the pile of ingredients prepared by Deng Qingling, Li An was surprised and said, "It turns out that making Huo La Tang is so troublesome." If it tastes so good and is sold so cheaply, the store can't make much money.
Deng Qingling continued to cook the spicy soup and said nonchalantly, "No need to bother. This is just the simple version."
The authentic Hu La Tang is made by people from other provinces. They either put beef or mutton in the soup, but her copycat version only puts pork.
Li An: "Simple? How can it be delicious! Wouldn't it be more delicious if it were more complicated?"
Deng Qingling smiled but said nothing.
Her Huo La Tang is made with Lingquan water after all. Even if the ingredients are not as good as the authentic Huo La Tang, the taste may be better.
After cooking the spicy soup, Deng Qingling looked at the time and smelled the aroma of steamed buns and tea eggs in the air.
Then he said to Li An, "An, it's time for breakfast. Just get whatever you want."
Li An nodded and replied, "Yeah."
During breakfast.
When Li An saw Deng Qingling, she ate two buns and a tea egg and stopped eating. He also finished the bun in his hand and stopped eating.
After all, steamed buns and tea eggs are used to sell for money. He has a big appetite and it is embarrassing to eat too much. It is enough as long as he does not get hungry.
Deng Qingling watched his movements and said with a smile, "Why, you're so full after eating so little? Are you embarrassed to eat?"
Her eldest son eats more than her. It’s impossible for a tall Li An to eat as much as her!
"I...I have a big appetite, and I'm afraid my aunt will dislike me for eating too much." Li An scratched his head embarrassedly.
Hearing this reason, Deng Qingling burst out laughing, and then said to Li An: "You kid, although I open the door for business, I don't need the little bit you eat."
It's normal for him, a big guy, to have a big appetite.
Ang Lee: "I..."
"You're working in the store now, so you have to eat well in the morning!
During the busy lunch hour, there's no time for you to stop and eat," Deng Qingling said to Li An.
"I, I understand. I'll eat it now." Li An stood up and went to the door to get a bun and a tea egg.
He was only six-tenths full just now, so he just needed to eat a little more.
Deng Qingling didn't care about these little things. As soon as she sat down to make some wontons, business started coming to her.
She told Li An to eat quickly while she went to get some tea eggs and steamed buns for the guests.
As more and more customers came, the store was bustling with people and the two of them were busy all the time.
As time passed, by nine o'clock, there were no more customers coming to buy things.
"An, please sit down and rest for a while." Deng Qingling sat next to the brazier with a teacup in her hands and spoke loudly to Li An who was washing dishes in the backyard.
"Auntie, I'll come out after I wash these dishes." Li An said.
When they are busy, they don’t have time to wash the dishes, so they soak the dishes first.
After washing at least thirty or forty bowls in the morning, Li An's back and waist ached from washing them.
Fortunately, the well water in the backyard was warm, otherwise Ang Lee would have wanted to go on strike.
After washing, Li An sat there, warming himself by the fire and massaging his back.
"Can you still hold on?" Deng Qingling poured him a glass of warm water seeing how tired he was.
"Thank you, Auntie." Li An took the teacup and said, "I can do it."
He didn't want to give up this opportunity to train himself easily just because of temporary hardship.
Originally, his grandmother didn't agree with him coming, saying that doing odd jobs was too tiring.
He said he was not afraid, he wanted to earn money to buy gifts for his family. Besides, no work is easy.
Uncle Li saw the determination in his eldest grandson's eyes and agreed to let him come.
The children are growing up and will have to go out to work sooner or later, so it’s good for them to experience the hardships of work in advance.
How can we contribute to the future of our motherland without exercising?
The young people of this era are full of the energy to fight and take risks, the drive to never give up, and the tenacity to never give up until they achieve their goals.
They are fearless and not afraid of hardship, and they stride forward towards their dreams.
The two of them rested for about half an hour, and then Deng Qingling took Li An to wash vegetables and cut meat.
"An, cut the pork for stewing radish into bigger pieces. Yes, pieces this big."
Deng Qingling was cutting radishes and guiding Li An in cutting pork.
"Do you usually cut the pork into such big pieces?" Li An asked in surprise, looking at the pork that was two fingers wide.
My aunt is honest in her business and never cuts corners.
"Not really. Pork for stir-frying should be cut thinner, and pork for stewing should be cut into larger pieces.
When stewing meat, the stronger the flavor of the broth, the weaker the aroma of the meat will be, so the meat should be cut into larger pieces.
This way the pork will be fresh and not too tough." Deng Qingling continued to chop radishes and explained.
"Oh oh oh." Li An nodded, not quite understanding.
Afterwards, Li An started the fire while Deng Qingling cooked vegetables and stewed meat.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Deng Qingling taught Li An how to cook a big pot of rice.
As time passed, the aroma of rice in the pot and the aroma of stewed meat slowly drifted into the air.
"An, next time the rice is cooked, you have to loosen it up so that it won't stick to the pan." Deng Qingling said to Li An.
"Is there such a saying?" Li An asked in confusion.
Deng Qingling nodded gently and said, "Yes, when the rice is just cooked, open the lid and stir it with a rice spatula to quickly dissipate the heat, and the rice will become soft and not clump together.
If you add more water, the rice will be fluffed up and won't clump together even when it cools down, and the rice will taste much better when it cools down."
"I understand." Li An nodded. He didn't expect to learn so many life tips today.
Taking advantage of the little time they had, Deng Qingling and Li An just ate a few bites to make do.
As the lunch session began, Deng Qingling and Li An became busy again.
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