Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Can Only Compromise Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Can Only Compromise At this moment in the kitchen, the group pet was wearing a slightly small apron, standing in front of the grimy stove, struggling to wash dishes.
Bai Yu was laboriously shoveling pig feed into a wooden barrel, his expression full of disgust.
How was the pig feed cooked? It involved putting pigweed into a separate pot, adding water to cook, and finally stirring in some cornmeal.
The result looked greenish and gluey, particularly revolting. Added to that was the smell of the weed. Every time, it was Bai Ye who handled it, but Bai Ye was in too much pain this time.
Even without any wounds, his pale face clearly showed how much pain he was in.
Thus, Bai Yu had to do it himself, but his furrowed brows and disdainful look almost reached the point of plugging his nose with a stopper. He still had to carry it to the pigsty and pour it into the trough for the pigs to eat. He also needed to flush it with water to wash away the droppings to ensure cleanliness.
Thinking about having to flush it, Bai Yu flung the long spoon forcefully, his face distorting with anger.
“Damn!”
It was really, too disgusting, too smelly.
It seemed he still needed to compromise.
Bai Yu was a man with lofty ambitions, believing he would eventually leave this place.
He held his pride higher than anything, always seeing himself as above others, so how could he tolerate doing such a disgusting task?
But he couldn’t bear to let Xixi do it. Xixi was their younger sister, the little princess, and she should be beautiful.
Chubby and dressed in a little dress, cute Xixi was the only one fit to be his sister.
As for Bai Zhi, looking undignified, involved in such dirty and smelly tasks, how could she be called his sister? Didn’t he care about his face?
In the future, if people said, “that dirty girl is someone’s sister,” how could Bai Yu bear such an event happening to him!
But at this moment, he hadn’t left this place yet. Heaven, when about to place a great responsibility on a man, first makes his heart endure hardship, his sinews and bones grow strong, his body starved, and his body deprived.
Therefore, he had to endure the stink at this moment…
Vomit…
No, he couldn’t bear it; he could only…
Disdain, hatred, and finally resignation flickered through Bai Yu’s eyes before he lowered them.
He had to compromise, at least for now.
Pinching his nose with one hand, he shoveled the pig feed with the other, and carried the bucket back reluctantly. The pot held two meals’ worth of feed; in the afternoon, he simply had to feed them directly.
“Brother, did you finish so quickly today? Second brother usually takes over an hour. But he comes back all grimy, big brother, you’re amazing!”
The group pet, with stars in her eyes, looked at Bai Yu with admiration.
“I didn’t rinse it; I’ll just rinse it in the afternoon. Come on, let’s go to the village entrance. We’ll buy some medicine for your second brother.”
Bai Yu reached out to the group pet, looking at her indulgently.
The group pet smiled and reached out her hand to place it in his, and the two of them walked hand in hand towards the village entrance…
…
“Look, I succeeded, I’m really amazing.”
Bai Fei placed a dumpling, still with a small opening, into Bai Zhi’s hand.
The dumpling wrappers were purchased by Bai Zhi at the market, not many, just a trial to make pan-fried dumplings. Later on, they could be directly purchased in town, buying per pound. Although it was a bit costly, it was quick and effective all the same.
“Uh…”
Looking at the dumpling that was about to fall apart, Bai Zhi really couldn’t bring herself to say the dumpling was well-made.
“Cousin, yours burst open as soon as they hit the water. Look at mine, I can shape them like willow leaves, or like crescents, or even like these little gold ingots. I like the puffy shape of the ingots, they look so cute.”
The dough and filling seemed to obey Bai Zhi’s hands exceptionally well, transforming into various shapes one by one.
“You’re too amazing, how did you learn this? Do you know any other shapes?”
Bai Fei picked up a dumpling shaped like a willow leaf, it looked incredibly delicate.
“I can,”
Bai Zhi took out a few more pieces of dough, layered them, placed the filling on top, and wrapped it up to resemble a flower.
“Wow…”
Bai Fei expressed her admiration more than once. It was truly beautiful.
In fact, Bai Zhi hadn’t prepared too many, just over two hundred, which seemed enough to finish in a day. The day was too hot to keep them for long.
Once they were all wrapped, she took out a frying pan, brushed on some oil, placed the dumplings in, poured some water, and covered with a lid.
When it was almost done, she opened the lid, poured in some beaten eggs, and covered it once again. A minute later, the dish was ready to serve.
Bai Fei watched the entire process, mesmerized. The aroma was simply divine.
Bai Zhi also made porridge, which was a green vegetable and lean pork porridge. Since there was leftover filling, after serving the dumplings, Bai Zhi let Bai Fei and grandfather eat first.
She continued to cook another batch and also brought them a plate of pickles. This season it was preserved chili beans seasoned with chili oil and MSG, sour and spicy, which went perfectly with the porridge.
Bai Fei tried one of the dumplings that had burst open, the one she had wrapped herself, popping it into her mouth.
The bottom of the dumpling was slightly crispy, offering a crunch, mixed with the flavor of the egg. The texture was tender, and the filling inside was incredibly aromatic. The taste was fantastic.
It was so delicious that she squinted her eyes with joy; the filling was pork with green onions, exceptionally fragrant. Even at her own home, they didn’t often make dumplings, and when they did, they were mostly filled with vegetables and less meat, which made them watery and not as tasty.
It should be said that what used to taste good before now seemed like garbage compared to Bai Zhi’s cooking.
Bai Fei quickly finished her food, then sipped the porridge. The porridge was thick, much like a soup, and with each mouthful, the savory flavor of the greens mingled perfectly with the minced meat, exposing exquisite taste…
The pickles, while sour and spicy, surprisingly had a hint of sweetness. How could everything Bai Zhi cooked taste so good? How could she ever go back to eating the food her mother made?
Bai Zhi, not in a hurry anymore, sat down to continue eating.
Bai Fei was already on her second bowl, while Bai Dan had already left the house.
“Bai Zhi, if I get fat, it’s definitely because of you.”
She was clearly full, but she couldn’t help herself; she had to keep eating.
Bai Zhi grabbed a plate and piled up over thirty dumplings.
“Once you’re full, take these back home for your aunt to try, and for your uncle too.”
Bai Zhi didn’t wait for Bai Fei to refuse; she simply pushed her out the door.
“You…”
Bai Fei looked at the dumplings and then at Bai Zhi, as she broke into a smile.
“I know, I’ll come find you later.”
This was Bai Zhi’s way of suggesting that their families should interact more often in the future, a sign that they were close, since only truly friendly families would exchange food with each other.
Bai Dan had told Bai Zhi that his uncle’s family often brought him food, sometimes a bowl of stir-fried pork, sometimes stewed chicken, but he had nothing to offer in return.
This time, making dumplings was one of the reasons why Bai Zhi had decided to make so many.
As for Bai Da and the others, Bai Zhi didn’t mention it, and Bai Dan also tactfully didn’t bring it up.