Chapter 012: Dumpling Making Cub

"Wow." This was Xie Luoshu's first time seeing the ramen making process in person.

The ramen chef was wearing a neat white chef's uniform and a tall chef's hat, looking clean and neat.

He looked up and saw Xie Luoshu holding the baby. The two were wearing pink and black parent-child outfits, and Qiqi stared at him.

The ramen chef touched his nose awkwardly, but he forgot that there was flour on his hands and his nose turned white instantly.

"Hmm?" Xie Luoshu noticed the embarrassment of the ramen chef. "It's okay, it's okay. Just do your own thing. We're just here to watch."

Yanyan nodded: Look, look.

"Cough." The ramen chef coughed lightly.

[Okay then, but since there are people watching, I have to show my real skills.]

Really capable? Yanyan's eyes were shining, and Zizi wanted to see.

The ramen chef skillfully grasped the two ends of the dough with his hands and pulled it slightly, and the originally round dough stretched like an elastic rubber band. Then, he shook his hands quickly, and the noodles made a crisp "snapping" sound in the air. Every fold, stretch, and shake was just right.

The ramen chef even spun the noodle balls in circles.

【Amazing! 】

Xie Luoshu was amazed as he watched the ramen chef show off his skills.

Finally, the smooth dough becomes a long and thin ramen.

The ramen chef smiled confidently.

[How is it? It’s awesome, right?]

[I wonder if the ramen chef is willing to teach me, or I can try it myself at home.] Xie Luoshu thought.

[If I learn how to make it, I will make it for my kids. ]

Hey?! Are you giving it to the baby? Sure. Yanyan pulled at Xie Luoshu's clothes.

"What's wrong, baby?" Xie Luoshu asked.

[Do you want to go to the toilet? ]

Yan Yan's face was full of black lines, and he pulled Xie Luoshu's action and said: No! No.

Yanyan pointed at the noodles made by the ramen chef with her carrot fingers and nodded.

"Oh~" Xie Luoshu understood, "Baby, you want to eat noodles, right?"

Yeah. Yanyan nodded. Then Yanyan felt it was not right and shook her head again.

Zaizai wants to eat what his dad makes.

Xie Luoshu was confused by Yanyan: "Do you want to eat or not?"

Yanyan grabbed her hair with her two chubby hands: What should I do, daddy can’t hear me, and I can’t do it... I got it!

Yanyan put her hands together and then opened them again.

[Hmm? Could it be...?]

Xie Luoshu thought for a moment: "Does Yanyan want to learn how to make ramen from the ramen chef?"

Yeah. Yanyan nodded: As expected of you, you are smart.

The ramen chef standing by naturally also saw the "communication" between Xie Luoshu and Zaizai.

"Of course you can." The ramen chef said, "It's not dinner time yet and no one is here."

"Really?" Xie Luoshu pinched Yanyan's little face and said, "Baby, why don't you thank your uncle quickly?"

Yanyan looked serious and the ramen chef nodded.

"I'm sorry." Xie Luoshu smiled apologetically, "Little kid..."

"I know, I know. It's okay." The ramen chef guessed that the child might have some problems, but he didn't mind. "Wait a moment. I'll get you some dough."

"Okay, thank you." The ramen chef came into the store, and Xie Luoshu put Yanyan down, "Baby, you have to learn to speak."

Learn to speak? Yanyan frowned. The baby can speak.

“Ouch.” Seeing Yanyan’s eyebrows wrinkled into the shape of the Chinese character “川”, Xie Luoshu laughed and stretched out his hand to smooth them out, “Children should not frown.”

Okay.

The ramen chef came out with a big bowl of dough, followed by a woman of about the same age, who was holding a bowl of meat stuffing. She must be the ramen chef's wife.

"This is my wife, and also the boss lady." The ramen chef introduced with a smile.

"Hello, boss lady." Xie Luoshu said.

Hello, Madam Boss. Yanyan nodded to Madam Boss.

"Oh my!" The lady boss looked at the cute Yanyan and smiled like an aunt, "The little baby is so cute."

"That's right." Xie Luoshu rubbed Yanyan's little head, "Looks like me."

Huh? Yanyan looked up in confusion. The baby looks like his dad? They all said the baby looks like his dad!

"Oh. Hahaha." The lady boss laughed out loud, "Of course, you are pretty, and the mother of the child must be pretty too."

"Yeah." Xie Luoshu's expression did not change, and he changed the subject, "The boss lady wants to teach us in person."

"Oh no." The lady boss waved her hands, "My husband is the one who makes ramen. I can't do that. But, I make dumplings much better than him."

"Oh? Really?" Xie Luoshu said, "My dumplings don't look good either."

"No problem, no problem." The lady boss didn't mind and took out a small stool for them to sit down. "If you want to learn, I'll teach you."

"That's great." Xie Luoshu brought Yanyan to sit down. Zizi sat between the proprietress and Xie Luoshu, while the ramen chef was kneading dough opposite him.

"Hey, hey, hey." The ramen chef kneaded the dough on the chopping board, "What's going on? Are you trying to steal my job?"

"Tsk." The lady boss used a spoon to stir the stuffing. "Are you trying to make a name for yourself? Why can't I teach you first?"

The ramen chef is a henpecked man: "Yes, yes, yes, the boss lady has the final say."

The ramen chef skillfully rolled the dough into long thin strips, and then cut it into small pieces of uniform size. She gently pressed each piece with her palm to make it flat and round. Then, she picked up the rolling pin and quickly rolled out a piece of dumpling skin of uniform size, thin at the edges and thick in the middle.

"Come here, come here." The lady boss handed them the dumpling wrappers, "Little kids, take them."

The dumpling skin fits the palm of an adult's hand, but in Yanyan's hand, it takes two hands to hold it.

So Yanyan held the dumpling skin in both hands.

"Put the filling in first." The lady boss scooped up a spoonful of filling and placed it in the middle of the dumpling skin. "The filling is very particular. It should be the same size as the skin, not too much or too little. If there is too little, you will only eat the skin, and if there is too much, the filling will show through. And don't force it in, otherwise the filling will be too full and won't taste good."

"Yeah." Xie Luoshu nodded, scooped up the same amount of stuffing as the boss lady, then turned his head to look at Yanyan, "Baby, heh."

Yanyan held the dumpling skin in both hands, not daring to move. Seeing that his little dad was laughing at him, he turned his head away and decided to ignore his little dad for three seconds!

"Oh, you're still angry." In just one day, Yanyan looked much more lively than before. Xie Luoshu was very satisfied. He touched Yanyan's face, and the white flour left marks on the child's pink cheeks.

"Little cat." The proprietress said with a smile, and drew a beard on the other half of Yanyan's cheek.

Xie Luoshu was not to be outdone and drew a beard on it: "Okay, now it's a real little cat."

When Yanyan was taking a bath last night, Xie Luoshu also drew her into a little cat. So now she doesn't mind it anymore.

There is no other way. If Xiaoba wants to play, then let him play. Anyway, Xiaoba has no other ideas.

Xie Luoshu wiped his fingers on the cloth beside him, then took out his cell phone from his sweatpants pocket and took several photos of Yanyan.

The proprietress directed Yanyan, spread out her left hand, placed the middle of the dumpling skin in Yanyan's palm, and then helped Yanyan to fill the filling.

"Watch this." The lady boss dipped her finger in some clean water and gently rubbed it along the edge of the dumpling skin. Then, she folded the dumpling skin in half, pinched it in the middle, and started from one end, pinching it little by little, pinching out neat and beautiful wrinkles. After pinching the middle, she turned her hand and continued pinching in the other direction.

The folds on the left and right sides are basically the same size and number, and are symmetrical, which is very pleasing to the eye.

Yanyan's eyes widened when she saw that the proprietress had prepared the dumplings in a short while.

Xie Luoshu also blinked his eyes, wanting to cry but unable to: "Boss lady, can you go a little slower? We are a little stupid."

"Okay." The lady boss nodded. "I'll take my time. First, dip it in clean water. If you make your own dumpling skins indoors in the summer, you don't need to do that. But now it's autumn and it's easy to get dry, so you need to dip it in some water."

"Yeah." Xie Luoshu nodded, indicating that he remembered it.

"Fold it in half. Pinch it tightly in the middle." Xie Luoshu and Yanyan stared at the proprietress's hand, afraid of missing a step.

The lady boss picked up one side and said, "It doesn't matter where you start. It depends on your personal habits. I'm used to the right side."

Basically right-handed people are used to starting from the right.

"Pinch a corner with your thumb and index finger, then keep your thumb still and slowly press inward with your index finger on the left side." The lady boss demonstrated, "Then flatten the bulging part on the right side, and it will become a fold."

Xie Luoshu learned quickly and made a pretty good dumpling in no time, except that the folds were a little crooked.

"First time making dumplings?" The proprietress looked at Xie Luoshu and it seemed like she had never tried these things before.

"Yeah." Xie Luoshu nodded, "But I think it's quite... fun."

"It's well wrapped." The lady boss praised, "Of course you have to have fun cooking. Only when you enjoy it will the rice taste good."

Xie Luoshu smiled, and then saw Yanyan's almost wrinkle-free dumpling: "Wow, you are so good, you made a dumpling."

Hehe. Yanyan didn't show it on her face, but she was very happy in her heart.

[It's just a little ugly, without any wrinkles. ]

This is Xiaoba.

[It’s the first time I wrap a doll… Well, it’s good that I can wrap it. 】

This is the boss lady.

[Oh, why are there no wrinkles? I wonder if it will fall apart when I cook it. ]

This is the ramen chef.

Yanyan: ...Humph!

The flowers of Zaizai have withered.

Xie Luoshu seems to have some talent in this area. Except for the first few which are a bit ugly, the ones he wraps later become more and more beautiful.

"Hey." The lady boss was also a little surprised. "You are really good, young man. You have only learned for a short time, but you can already make such beautiful dumplings. You can be a chef in the future!"

"Really?" Xie Luoshu actually hasn't figured out what to do after retiring from the entertainment industry.

His first thought was to take the college entrance examination. After all, he had hardly been to school in his previous life and died at the age of 18. He was a good student in his previous life, and the college entrance examination was an obsession for him. This body was only 20 years old.

The original owner did not take the college entrance examination, not because he could not, but because he was not good at studying and did not get into college, so he went out to work. Not long after he started working, he was spotted and signed a contract, entering the entertainment industry.

[After the exam, I will go to take the college entrance exam. After the exam, I will divorce Mr. Gu and open a small restaurant. It seems like a good idea.]

Yanyan felt her cheeks were a little itchy, so she reached out to touch them. Hearing her father's thoughts, Yanyan paused.

Xiaoba wants to divorce his father? What is divorce? Divorce? Does Xiaoba want to stop wanting his father? It doesn't matter. Not wanting the father doesn't mean not wanting the child.

The baby must have heard it. Yanyan shook her short legs.