208 So Skillful

Shen Qiuhua was constantly smiling because she was happy to have her daughter back. Moreover, she was looking forward to eating her daughter’s food, even though she did not know what dumplings were.

“All right. I will listen to you, Binglan. You can do whatever you need while I wash the vegetables and mushrooms.”

Although her family’s conditions had improved, Shen Qiuhua was still used to plucking wild vegetables whenever she found some on the mountain.

Sometimes, eating delicious foods alongside wild vegetables would remind people of their hard times, making them cherish their blessings even more.

She felt that one should not forget their roots and would constantly remind her children they had to work harder, even though their lives had improved.

Su Binglan said, “Mother, you can knead the noodle dough while Second Brother washes the vegetables.”

Su Wenxiu nodded and said, “Yes, let me wash the vegetables, Mother. I’ll feel uncomfortable if I don’t do anything.”

The Su family raised their sons with tough love, so Su Wenxiu became hardworking and diligent. He could not say his parents had spoiled him because he had gone away.

Su Wenxiu heard about the dumplings and looked forward to trying them, so he wanted to help. He would feel uneasy if his family did all the work while he sat around. He thought it would feel more like home if he did some work around the house.

Shen Qiuhua laughed and said, “I’ll let you do plenty of work around the house. You look so anxious. I’ll get the shiitake mushrooms and wild vegetables while you get water from the courtyard to wash them.”

She entered the room and removed a basket from it. “Here, I’ve already put them in a basket,” as Shen Qiuhua spoke, she brought the basket and placed it on the side. She had filled it with the vegetables she dug up.

Su Wenxiu looked at the basket of ingredients and said, “Okay, Mother. You can go and knead the dough while I wash the vegetables.”

Su Fengmao asked curiously, “Binglan, you said you would make two different dumplings, right? Are they stuffed with something?”

Su Binglan smiled, “You will know what it looks like after we wrap them. I know you will enjoy them.”

“We know how delicious your food is, Binglan.” The whole family believed her cooking would be exceptional.

The family busied themselves as Shen Qiuhua kneaded the dough and Su Binglan cut the meat beside her. Meat grinders did not exist during that era, so Su Binglan used a knife to mince the meat.

Shen Qiuhua looked at the meat and said, “Isn’t that how you make meatballs?”

The villagers knew how to make meatballs. Everyone would make vegetable meatballs during the New Year and other festivals. Still, they were reluctant to do so, not to mention using so much meat in one go.

Even though the Su family was well-off now, Shen Qiuhua remained frugal. She wanted to spend as little as possible. However, she was willing to cook anything when her daughter and second son returned.

She was only curious because Su Binglan had minced the meat finely. Shen Qiuhua wondered if making dumplings was similar to making meatballs.

Su Binglan explained, “Mother, I’m not making meatballs, but I need minced meat for the dumplings.”

She finished mincing the meat and placed it in a basket. Then she looked toward the courtyard and shouted, “Second Brother, have you washed the vegetables?!”

Su Wenxiu heard his little sister’s voice as he washed the vegetables. He hurriedly responded, “Yes, I have!”

He quickly poured out the water and brought the vegetables in. “Here are the shiitake mushrooms. There were many wild vegetables, and I washed them too. I’ll bring them to you now.”

Su Wenxiu ran to the courtyard and brought back two large baskets of wild vegetables as he spoke.

Su Binglan brought them into the kitchen, placed the wild vegetables on the cutting board, and started cutting them finely. Then she chopped the shiitake mushrooms and placed them in a basket.

After mincing, cutting, and chopping the ingredients, she mixed them and placed them in a basin. Su Binglan also placed the shiitake mushrooms and meat into the same basin.

“Second Brother, come and learn from me. Stir the vegetables and meat evenly. Like this,” she gestured as she spoke.

Su Wenxiu looked at the basin of ingredients and began to stir as his sister gestured.

Afterward, Su Binlan placed shallots, ginger, salt, sugar, oil, and other ingredients into the shiitake-meat mixture and stirred it evenly. She had also seasoned the wild vegetable-meat mixture similarly.

Su Wenxiu watched from the sidelines and could smell the ingredients. “That smells amazing.”

Su Binglan said smilingly, “It’s still raw, yet you already think it will taste delicious.”

Shen Qiuhia had just finished kneading the noodle dough as she looked over and said, “There’s oil and seasonings in those mixtures, so of course, they will smell nice. I can already tell how delicious these dumplings will be.”

Su Wenxiu nodded. He was smiling the entire time and felt good to be home. It was as if he was dreaming.

Su Binglan finished preparing the stuffings and said, “Mother, let’s put the plates away and start assembling the dumplings.”

“Okay.”

They had large vegetable and dough boards at home, so the family could sit around them and listen to Su Binglan’s instructions.

She rolled the dough into a long log and pulled it into thin strips. “Mother, you should roll the dough as if you were rolling bun dough.”

Su Wenxiu looked at his little sister’s hands and then at the thin strips of dough. He sighed and said, “Sister, how did you pull the dough so fast? Also, they’re all the same thinness.”

He had worked for his family since he was a child and knew how to make buns, but he was not as skillful as his little sister.

Su Binglan answered, “You can use a knife to slice the dough thinly. They will be more uniform if you do that.”

Su Fengmao said, “I’ll roll the dough too. I used to help your mother roll dough for buns in the past.”

He and his wife rolled the noodle dough similarly to when they rolled bun dough. They rolled it up, down, left, and right.

Su Binglan knew the dumpling skins were thin in the middle and thick at the sides. The skins would easily break when she placed them in the pot.

She picked up a small rolling pin and said, “Watch how I roll the skin, you guys. This way.” Su Binglan demonstrated this by holding the edge of the skin with one hand while rolling with the other.

“Rolling the skins like this will make the middle part thinner and the edges thinner. Afterward, we will stuff these skins with the meat mixtures and put them into the pot. The skins won’t break easily.”

The other three followed suit. The trio was slow initially, but after a while, the family got the hang of it.

Shen Qiuhua said smilingly, “This is different from making steamed buns. We considered making the buns smaller in the past, but they weren’t satisfying to eat. Who would have thought we could make the skins tinner and then stuff them with fillings.”

Su Binglan smiled because she knew how backward the food culture was in that era. It was also because ordinary people lived in poorer conditions then. A family would be fortunate enough if they could have a full meal.

She explained, “These dumplings are different from steamed buns. We steam the buns but boil the dumplings. They taste different too.”

Su Wenxiu said while rolling the skins, “I want to eat them now.”

“There’s no need to rush, Second Brother. You can eat them in a while because the dumplings don’t take long to cook.”

The trio rolled the skins while Su Binglan skillfully stuffed and wrapped them.

She looked at her mother and said, “Since you guys have gotten the hang of rolling the skins, come and learn how to stuff and wrap them. Then you can make them yourselves in the future.”

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