Chapter 28: shepherd’s purse dumplings
Ji Zhao subconsciously looked up and realized that Shen Yao was standing in front of her, stopping Shen Erlang, who had raised his arm.
After Zhao Lanhua’s explanation, everyone finally explained the misunderstanding.
“So I misunderstood Third Sister-in-law?” Shen Zhang hurriedly bowed to Ji Zhao and apologized. “Third Sister-in-law, I’m really sorry. It’s just that your Second Sister-in-law is most afraid of snakes, so I was so impulsive and almost hurt you. I’m really sorry!”
“I… I’m fine.” Ji Zhao, who was quite frightened, forced a smile. “I didn’t consider everything. I should have made it clear that this is a dead snake before taking it out.”
“That’s right. I was really scared to death by you…” Second Sister-in-law Shen leaned against the chair and muttered aggrievedly.
“Alright, alright.” Zhao Lanhua glanced at her second son and asked curiously, “Second son, why are you back today? Didn’t you say that you would be busy for seven to eight days?”
“Minister Wu has high requirements for this batch of goods. He doesn’t like ordinary furniture, so Master went to the prefecture capital.” Shen Erlang smiled and explained honestly, “Taking advantage of this opportunity, Master also gave me three days off.”
“I see.” Zhao Lanhua quickly nodded. “Go back to your room with your wife and rest for a while. We’ll have dinner together later.”
“Alright!” Shen Erlang replied heartily. Then, he intimately helped Second Sister-in-law Shen back to the house.
The sudden silence in the narrow kitchen was a little strange.
“It’s getting late. Mother, I’ll leave first.” Ji Zhao was the first to break the silence. Then, she looked at Shen Yao and smiled gratefully. “Just now… thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” Shen Yao replied indifferently. Then, his gaze landed on the snake in her hand. “Most snakes are poisonous. If you’re not careful, you’ll lose your life. Don’t do such a risky thing in the future.”
“…Alright.” Ji Zhao lowered her head silently, but she couldn’t help but curse in her heart. If it weren’t for the fact that she was too short of money, she wouldn’t have taken the risk!
“I’ll accompany you to the county town tomorrow morning,” Zhao Lanhua suddenly said. “Ah Tao, come and help wash the shepherd’s purse. Let’s move faster and make some shepherd’s purse dumplings to eat!”
The shepherd’s purse that Ji Zhao had picked was very fresh. She first washed the shepherd’s purse, then took a small pinch of salt water and soaked the shepherd’s purse for a while. Then, she washed it clean and drained the water before cutting the shepherd’s purse into pieces.
Zhao Lanhua walked out of the kitchen and tiptoed to take down a small piece of cured meat hanging under the roof.
“Do you know how to make dumpling fillings?” Zhao Lanhua glanced at Ji Zhao, who was focused on cutting vegetables, and asked with a smile.
“I do.”
Ji Zhao was quite confident in her culinary skills.
After cutting the shepherd’s purse, she began to cut the cured meat. However, when she started, she was a little hesitant.
“Mother? Can I cut more? If there’s too little meat, the dumplings won’t taste good…”
“Sure!”
With Zhao Lanhua’s permission, Ji Zhao began to show off her skills.
After chopping the meat and mixing the filling, she placed all the green onions she had prepared in advance into the filling. Then, she added two eggs and rubbed them in one direction. Then, he added a suitable amount of oil, soy sauce, and cooking wine to stir them evenly.
She was very adept at mixing the fillings and making the dumpling skin. Zhao Lanhua nodded in admiration.
In the end, Ji Zhao began to make dumplings. Her hands were very fast, and the dumplings she made were very beautiful.
At the beginning of the evening, the Shen family could smell the alluring fragrance.
“Mother, aren’t the dumplings you made today too beautiful?” Second Sister-in-law Shen looked at the dumplings in the bowl and exclaimed.