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Chapter 311: Chapter 301 Making Dumplings
Sister-in-law Wu frowned upon hearing Shen Yunfang say they would have dumplings for dinner, pausing to think before saying, "Yunfang, we’re practically family. Ever since you moved here, we’ve had meals at your place several times. We really shouldn’t have, knowing that no family here is wealthy. Doing this all the time, how can you make ends meet? If it weren’t for my family insisting on coming over, I really wouldn’t bring the kids to dine with you. I don’t have any other intention in saying this, just thinking that since we’re so close, there will be plenty of chances for our families to eat together in the future, so please don’t go out of your way to prepare anything special. If you keep this up, I won’t dare to come over because we simply can’t afford such meals."
After enjoying someone else’s kindness, how could you not reciprocate? But could she afford to host a meal like the one Yunfang prepared? What would she do then? If someone invites you over for meat and dumplings, and you invite them back for a plain cabbage stew, would that be proper?
Actually, it’s not that she can’t afford it. Sister-in-law Wu could have dumplings once a month if she didn’t live so frugally. However, with several children at home, the dumplings they made were filled more with vegetable than meat, and even then, they could not eat their fill, barely enough for twenty-some per person.
Most importantly, Sister-in-law Wu was a person who knew how to live frugally. She had no choice; the fifty-some yuan that Wu Guoqiang brought home each month had to feed three children, each needing food, clothes, and schooling. Furthermore, with the eldest child being fifteen, she would have to look for a marriage in just a few years, and as a mother, how could she not save up some dowry for her child?
So, it was no wonder she had to be thrifty.
Shen Yunfang was quite surprised by Sister-in-law Wu’s candidness, for she always thought of her as someone who didn’t offend anyone and got along well with everyone. She had never expected her to speak so frankly.
But she actually preferred it this way.
"Sister-in-law, you’re making it sound too serious. We’re close enough to know each other’s situations. My family is better off only because our child is younger and doesn’t cost as much as your three do. I’m not good at penny-pinching when it comes to living, I just make whatever we have at home, and my mother-in-law always says I’m too wasteful and don’t save for later.
"I’m just not that kind of person, and I can’t change this habit overnight, so don’t overthink it, Sister-in-law. Whatever we have you to eat, it’s just what we have in the house; I didn’t prepare anything especially for you. Even if you didn’t come, we two would still need to eat. It’s just a matter of kneading an extra bowl of dough or chopping another cabbage, really not worth mentioning," said Shen Yunfang with a smile while chopping a large cabbage.
"You say that, but who can afford to eat white flour dumplings often? It’s not like we’re mining gold and silver at home. Okay, I understand your intention, but let’s make it clear, we can’t go on like this in the future. Just eating ordinary home-cooked meals is fine. Otherwise, I won’t feel good about stepping into your home in the future, nor would I dare to invite you and your husband to dine at ours," Sister-in-law Wu said with a face that showed she meant business about the future.
"Hehe, okay, I’ll do as you say, sister-in-law," Shen Yunfang was not going to argue; next time she would definitely prepare just an ordinary meal.
The two women chatted and laughed as they got busy with their tasks.
Sister-in-law Wu took over chopping the filling, while Shen Yunfang fetched a large basin and went to the storeroom to scoop out flour to prepare dough, discussing with Sister-in-law Wu the policy of distributing grain in Gaijiatun (the amount and types of grain varied based on local conditions). After listening, Sister-in-law Wu sighed that living in the countryside was indeed harder than in the city because of the daily need to work the fields, but in other respects, it really was better than city life.
Shen Yunfang agreed that living in the countryside was exhausting, but it was definitely richer in terms of food supply compared to the city. She quickly mixed a large basin of dough and set it aside to rise, then lit a fire, ready to stew a rabbit.
Li Hongjun promptly delivered the cleaned rabbit, and without waiting for Shen Yunfang to direct him, he went inside to look after the children.
Shen Yunfang picked up the kitchen knife and with a few clanging chops, turned a rabbit into small pieces.
"Hongjun is really skilled, he never comes back from the mountains empty-handed, our old Wu always counts on him. Every time he hears that Hongjun is heading into the mountains, he waits at home in anticipation," Mrs. Wu said while looking at the rabbit, sighing.
"Heh heh, Brother Wu has set his hopes on the wrong person this time. This rabbit wasn’t caught by Li Hongjun, it was our Taxue who caught it," Shen Yunfang quickly corrected, giving credit to the unsung hero.
This rabbit truly had nothing to do with Li Hongjun. On their way down the mountain, it was Shen Yunfang who first spotted the rabbit. Instinctively, she took out her slingshot from her pocket and aimed at the rabbit’s head, firing a shot. Either the shot went awry or the stone didn’t carry enough force, whatever the reason, the scare made the rabbit run off. Taxue, the ever vigilant guard dog, wouldn’t let the meat slip away from its mouth, so it chased after the rabbit pell-mell.
Li Hongjun and Yunfang didn’t bother about it and continued down the mountain. By the time they were about to reach the bottom, Taxue came back with the rabbit in its mouth. Of course, this time it hadn’t mangled the catch; there was progress.
"Really, your family is something else. Li Hongjun is impressive enough, and even the dog you have is so capable," Mrs. Wu said, quite surprised. She hadn’t thought much of Shen Yunfang’s dog, which seemed to have trouble even keeping watch at home, never barking when someone came by. It just circled around Shen Yunfang and Li Hongjun all day, like what people call a fawning lapdog, good only at pleasing their masters but otherwise not much use. However, if the rabbit was truly captured by the dog, then she might have misjudged it. It really proved the saying, "Barking dogs seldom bite."
Hearing the praise, Shen Yunfang chuckled. It was just like being proud of one’s own child.
The wok had heated up; she scooped some soybean oil into it, waiting for the oil to get hot before stirring in the rabbit pieces. Shen Yunfang didn’t like to use soy sauce for coloring when braising; she usually used white sugar.
Mrs. Wu chopped the filling and grimaced as she watched Shen Yunfang cook. No wonder everyone said Yunfang’s cooking was delicious. If she dared to add ingredients like Yunfang did, the dishes she’d make would surely be tasty too.
My goodness, the amount of oil she was using to stew the rabbit could feed her family for several days; and why use white sugar for coloring when a touch of soy sauce would do? That must have been at least two ounces of sugar being poured in.
Unaware of Mrs. Wu’s internal struggle, Shen Yunfang stirred for a while before adding water and covering the wok, ready to let it come to a boil. She went to the storeroom and got six or seven potatoes, peeled and washed them, then returned to find the water boiling. She cut the potatoes into small pieces and spread them over the rabbit meat, then covered the pot again, waiting for it to come to a boil before withdrawing some firewood from the stove to lower the heat for a simmer.
Mrs. Wu finished chopping the filling on her end. Shen Yunfang found a large bowl and started mixing the filling while Mrs. Wu brought the rolling board to the table (since they lived by the mountains, the rolling boards were made from a single piece of wood, almost as big as the table itself), and began kneading the dough with a bit of dry flour.
After that, Mrs. Wu rolled out wrappers, and Shen Yunfang filled them. The two of them worked together and quickly wrapped two large bamboo trays of dumplings. They were counting as they wrapped; one tray held about fifty dumplings, so two trays held only ninety-four in total.
They certainly didn’t have enough as seven people would be dining that evening. Except for Tingting, who was smaller, the rest were all hearty eaters, so they needed to plan for at least thirty-five dumplings per person, meaning they still needed to wrap two more trays.
