Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After being cooked, the dumplings looked even whiter, plumper, and cuter, making one's appetite surge. Xing Xiaokang held his cartoon Porcelain Bowl, waving a spoon as he scooped dumplings into his bowl. Bai Tang had just picked up her chopsticks when his bowl was already filled.
"Hot!" Xing Xiaokang exclaimed as he bit into a dumpling, immediately crying out in pain and sticking out his tongue like a dog.
"Where did it burn you? Let Grandma take a look!" Bai Ma said with concern, while his biological mother stood by making sarcastic remarks. "Serves you right! Who told you to eat so fast, like a starving ghost reincarnated? It's as if you haven't eaten dumplings in hundreds of years."
Xing Xiaokang huffed and said aggrievedly, "But dumplings are delicious! Lamb is delicious too!"
"You are such a foodie!" Wu Xuemei poked her son's forehead with her finger. "If you don't do well on your finals this time, I'll make you eat bamboo shoots with meat!"
Xing Xiaokang quickly promised, "I will definitely do well!"
"Mei Mei, don't worry. With me and Dad helping Kang with his homework, he will definitely do well. He might even get first place in the class," Bai Tang said slowly as she picked up a dumpling, gently biting through the skin to suck out the meat juice before dipping it in the sauce and taking a big bite. It was fresh and delicious.
"Thanks to you and Uncle Bai for teaching him. I, as a mother who only graduated from middle school, can't teach him anything," Wu Xuemei said gratefully. "How about I let Kang recognize you as his godmother?"
"But didn't you already recognize my parents as your godfather and godmother? Kang is my parents' god-grandson, my god Nephew. There's no need to go through all that again," Bai Tang replied while picking up another dumpling. Although she was talking, her chewing didn't slow down; she had already eaten over ten dumplings.
"Right, right. It's my fault," Wu Xuemei laughed. "During New Year's Day, I'll take you shopping in the Provincial Capital. Buy whatever you want; I'll pay!"
In the past, Wu Xuemei wouldn't have said such things. Back then, their family was in poor circumstances; it was good if she could buy one new piece of clothing every two years. Now she could buy whatever she wanted.
"Oh, a wealthy person treating us! How rare!" Bai Tang chuckled. "But I won't be free during New Year's; I have to attend an old classmate's wedding."
"Are you going to the wedding of Wen Xin and Shaoliang?" Bai Ma asked.
Bai Tang's high school classmates were mostly children of factory workers, and the adults were familiar with each other.
"That's them!" Bai Tang pouted. To be honest, she really didn't want to attend the wedding of these two, but she was afraid that if she didn't go, they might spread some ridiculous rumors about her, so she had no choice but to endure it.
"These two have bad character; you should avoid them in the future," Bai Ma warned.
"What did they do?" Bai Tang asked curiously. It was rare for Bai Ma, who wasn't very gossipy, to speak ill of Wen Xin and Shaoliang. They must have done something outrageous that spread through the factory and community.
"Don't you have a classmate named Zhao Jing?"
Bai Tang nodded. Zhao Jing was actually Wen Xin's cousin. The two sisters were only a month apart in age and were in the same class in high school, so Bai Tang was closer to Zhao Jing than to other classmates. However, after falling out with Wen Xin, Bai Tang gradually distanced herself from Zhao Jing as well.
"Zhao Jing is dead, and it has something to do with Wen Xin and Shaoliang. The Zhao Family and the Wen Family have become enemies because of this," Bai Ma said.
"Dead? How did she die?" Bai Tang was astonished and put down her utensils, staring at Bai Ma.
Bai Ma sighed, "That child committed suicide."
Although Wen Xin and Shaoliang were not directly responsible for Zhao Jing's death, they certainly contributed to her decision to take her own life. After graduating from college, Shaoliang started his own business. His family was wealthy and well-connected, and as his business grew, he met some influential people with whom he often socialized. Occasionally, Shaoliang and Wen Xin would take Zhao Jing along to these gatherings, where she met a wealthy man. This man was beneficial to Shaoliang's business, and both Shaoliang and Wen Xin encouraged Zhao Jing to pursue him. However, this man had a fiancée and treated Zhao Jing as a mere diversion; after a few months of fun, he returned to marry his fiancée. When Zhao Jing was abandoned by her boyfriend and discovered she was pregnant, she sought him out for responsibility. The man handed the situation over to Shaoliang to handle. Instead of helping Zhao Jing seek justice, Shaoliang and Wen Xin advised her to become the man's mistress. Naturally, Zhao Jing refused and ended up arguing with both Shaoliang and Wen Xin, which led to others hearing about her unwed pregnancy. In the city, such matters were considered disgraceful; in a fit of anger, Zhao's mother suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Overwhelmed by guilt towards her parents, Zhao Jing ultimately stepped onto a busy road...
"These two are nothing but trouble; they harmed their own cousin without an ounce of guilt or shame. It's been so long since the incident, yet they're happily getting married without fear that Zhao Jing might come back for them at night!" Bai Ma expressed her disdain for Wen Xin and Shaoliang and told her daughter, "Stay away from them so they don't harm you too."
"Don't worry, Mom, I don't want friends like that either. After attending their wedding banquet this time, I won't have any more contact with them." Bai Tang comforted her mom, genuinely disliking the two and not wanting to socialize with them.
"That's good! Don't give too much in the gift money; even if we have money, we shouldn't give it to those kinds of people."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Bai Tang assured her repeatedly.
The next morning, Bai Ma and Wu Xuemei went to the market and bought thirty pounds of pork leg to take home. Wu Xuemei cut the meat into one-inch cubes, washed them, and placed them in a basin before chopping ginger. Bai Ma mixed the meat with seasonings such as salt, chili powder, Sichuan pepper powder, thirteen-spice powder, and minced ginger, marinating it for half an hour. Bai Dad found the meat grinder that hadn't been used for a long time, cleaned it thoroughly, and fixed it to the dining table. Bai Ma hung the sausage casing on the machine's tube and tied a knot at the front end. Wu Xuemei brought out the basin filled with meat, and the three of them began to stuff sausages. Wu Xuemei was responsible for filling the marinated meat into the machine, Bai Dad turned the handle of the meat grinder, while Bai Ma held the casing to ensure the meat smoothly entered it. After stuffing for a while, they squeezed it down with their hands to make it tighter; they were careful not to apply too much pressure to avoid bursting the casing. Once they reached a certain length, they tied it off with string and poked holes with a toothpick where there was air. The three worked together seamlessly; in less than five minutes, a sausage was ready. The weather was nice recently, so they hung it outside on a drying rack; it would dry in just over ten minutes. Later, they would put it in the refrigerator and steam it when ready to eat. Bai Tang wanted to help but didn't know what to do and was pushed aside by the three of them as "getting in the way."
Bai Tang pouted; fine, she wouldn't cause any trouble.
Comment 0 Comment Count