Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 123 Scallion Shortbread

With the addition of He Chaoli, Jingyan decided to suspend the sale of braised meat and sausages for two days. After breakfast, Sister Wang started making red bean pastries as snacks. She was very skillful, and even with red bean filling, the pastries she made were not too big. They were long and thin, making them suitable for children to grab and eat.

The iron barrel-shaped oven in the yard was lit with charcoal, and the prepared dough pieces were placed inside. Soon, the aroma of pastries wafted out. He Chaoli stood by the oven and ate several pieces in a row, only stopping when he was full. An'an, who was just over one year old, didn't have all her teeth yet. She sat to the side with one and chewed on it. Dressed in many layers, she looked like a little lucky doll, so cute.

Once the pastries were ready, Jingyan packed about twenty small shortbreads into a small food basket, took He Chaoli's hand, and led him outside the gate. As expected, there were quite a few children playing in the open space outside her house, both boys and girls.

Jingyan waved to a chubby-faced boy: "Tiger, come here."

When the little boy saw that it was Jingyan, he ran over quickly and asked in a clear voice, "Auntie, is there something you need my help with?"

Jingyan nodded, took a small pastry from the small food basket and handed it to him: "This is something your auntie just made, have a taste."

Tiger didn't stand on ceremony, took it, stuffed it into his mouth, and finished it in a few bites. After finishing, he licked his lips and asked, "Auntie, this pastry is delicious. Is it going to be sent to someone's house?"

Jing Yan shook her head: "This aunt doesn't plan to sell." Then she pulled He Chaoli in front of her: "This is He Chaoli, you can call him Xiaoli, he's my nephew. He'll be living at my house from now on, and he'll be attending the local elementary school next semester. He doesn't have many friends here. Hu Zi, can you be his friend and help him integrate into your community?"

Tiger looked at He Chaoli, grabbed his hand, and showed his little tiger teeth. "Hello Xiaoli, my name is Wang Hu, you can call me Tiger. I have a lot of friends around here. Since your aunt entrusted you to me, don't worry, you can stay with me from now on. I'll protect you and never let anyone bully you."

Jing Yan couldn't bear to look at this little guy with such a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) and thought he was being incredibly immature. But in the eyes of a naive child like Xiao Li, this kind of demeanor was impressive. Seeing the look of admiration in Xiao Li's eyes, Jing Yan swallowed back the words she was about to say.

She handed the small food basket to Hu Zi: "These are gifts for the children, a small gift for Xiao Li to introduce herself to everyone. Hu Zi, you are the most capable child, so why don't you introduce Xiao Li to everyone and hand out the small gifts?"

Tiger seemed to have received some important mission. He puffed out his little chest, nodded enthusiastically, took the snack basket, and waved to the children. And surprisingly, the children listened to him and quickly surrounded the two of them.

Jingyan stood outside the circle, watching them get to know each other. After eating the shortbread, they quickly became familiar with Xiaoli. Jingyan could only shake her head with a smile; kids these days are so easy to fool, becoming friends with Xiaoli so quickly.

Seeing Xiaoli smiling happily, Jingyan took the empty basket that Huzi brought back and instructed, "Play right at the door, don't run around, or you won't be able to get home if you get lost." After receiving the children's agreement, Jingyan turned and went into the yard. This time, she left her yard gate wide open so that Xiaoli could come back at any time.

As I entered the house, Grandma sat at the dining table in the living room and asked with a smile, "How did it go? Did you manage to send it out?"

Jing Yan nodded: "Yes, Hu Zi is a good kid with good organizational skills. He has accepted Xiao Li, and Xiao Li can get along with the other kids. They're playing at the door now."

Sister Wang chuckled and joked, "With you feeding them like this, of course they'd be happy to bring small gifts to play with. Want more braised meat tomorrow?"

Jingyan nodded: "We'll braise two batches this afternoon, just in time to sell them tomorrow. Hu Zi just asked me if we'd sell these pastries too, but I rejected it. These things have high costs and can't be cheap, so they probably won't sell well. But then I thought, the New Year is coming soon, if we make some of these small pastries that can be stored for a while, maybe some people will actually be willing to buy them."

Sister Wang's eyes lit up: "All we have right now are red beans, which can be used to make red bean paste, but we can't make any other fillings."

"Meat filling is greasy and quite expensive. How about we try making scallion pancakes?" Jingyan suggested, somewhat hesitantly.

"Oil pastry? I can make pastries, but what is oil pastry? I've never made it before." Sister Wang didn't understand what it was.

“I know what it is, but I’m terrible at cooking. How about I tell you what to do and you do it?” Jingyan asked Sister Wang tentatively. She knew about some food in her previous life, but she didn’t know much about the specific cooking methods. Besides, she wasn’t very good at cooking to begin with. She was just thinking of making a quick buck and didn’t plan to do it long-term. Trying it out wouldn’t cost much.

Sister Wang's greatest passion is researching culinary techniques and recipes. As a child, her dream was to become a chef, but she later realized that chefs are predominantly men, and it's incredibly difficult for women to succeed, especially since her family wasn't well-off, so she never had the opportunity to learn.

Now that she had a chance to show off her culinary skills, she certainly didn't want to give it up. The two hit it off immediately. Jingyan provided the general ingredients, while Wang Dajie would control the specific amounts and flavors herself.

After the braised pork was put into the pot and slowly simmered on the stove in the living room, the two of them went into the kitchen to start making scallion pancakes. Grandma had nothing to do, so she put on her cotton coat, took An'an and a small stool to sit against the wall outside the front door, and watched how He Chaoli got along with his new friend.

Jingyan and Sister Wang made three or four scallion pancakes in the kitchen and baked them in the oven in the yard. After taking them out and tasting them, Jingyan shook her head: "The taste is a bit greasy. How about we replace the lard in the pancakes with rapeseed oil? Also, the scallion flavor isn't strong enough. Should we add more chopped scallions?"

Sister Wang nodded: "Let's try using rapeseed oil for the dough of the shortbread. Otherwise, the taste of the lard will not be good after it cools down. If we make this as a snack, then we can eat it whether it is hot or cold."

After confirming their decision, the two decided to make four more. However, upon tasting them, they found the rapeseed oil flavor too strong, overpowering the other flavors. Sister Wang was somewhat discouraged: "Maybe we shouldn't make any more. This doesn't seem right."

Jingyan bit her lip: "The oil tastes strong. If we could get some soybean oil, that would be about right. We've been eating soybean oil since we were little, but it's rare here. Hmm, do we have any oil presses around here? I have some soybeans here. We can try pressing some and bring it back. If it works, I can have my fourth sister send us some soybean oil from our hometown."

Sister Wang thought about it for a moment, and sure enough, there was one. The two of them checked the stove for braising the meat and, after confirming that the meat was almost done, put out the fire. Then, they packed a basket of soybeans, took an oil jug, and went to the oil press.

After paying the processing fee and pressing the soybean oil, Jingyan looked at the half-full oil in the oil jug and pouted: "We brought more than ten catties of soybeans, but only this much has been produced. Is this even a catty? The oil yield is so low. I used to think that a catty of soybean oil cost 1.2 yuan without coupons, which was too expensive. Now I realize that the price is actually reasonable. A catty of soybeans costs four or five cents."

Sister Wang sighed, "Let's go back first. We'll try it out. This amount of oil is enough. If it works, even if your fourth sister sends it to us, it won't be until after the New Year. It might not be in time."

"Let's try it first." Jingyan cheered, and the two of them went back and hurriedly made four. This time, after tasting them, they were really good. Sister Wang nodded with a smile, and Jingyan's eyes crinkled with laughter as well.

“We’ll make the rest of the noodles. We’ll see how they taste when they’re completely cold tomorrow. If it’s okay, I’ll call my older brother’s workplace tomorrow and ask him to find my fourth sister to help us get the soybean oil.”

The two of them busily made about forty scallion pancakes. Looking at the sky, they decided to stir-fry some shredded potatoes for dinner, since the dish would be quick. While Sister Wang was cooking in the kitchen, Jingyan called out from the doorway, "He Chaoli, come home!"

A group of children climbing the sand pile turned their heads around, and after a while, a disheveled boy grinned, revealing two rows of small white teeth, and ran back: "Auntie, I'm back."

Jingyan reached out and pressed his head down, somewhat disgusted, to stop him from getting closer: "Why are you so dirty? Go back and wash yourself clean. I don't even recognize you anymore."

Grandma, who was taking a stroll outside, came over with An'an in her hand: "She's already adapted to local customs on her very first day. Xiao Li is really amazing."

An'an clapped her hands and laughed along, saying, "Brother is so dirty."

He Chaoli looked at his hands, then at his clothes, and felt a little guilty: "I'm sorry, Auntie, I went too far."

Seeing the child's timid look, Jingyan's heart softened again. She squatted down and patted his head, then couldn't help but pat it with a hint of disgust: "It's okay that you're covered in sand. We're not afraid of you getting dirty from playing. But when you get home, take a shower first, wash yourself clean, and then change your clothes. Um, can you take a shower by yourself, or should Auntie do it for you?"

He Chaoli took a step back in alarm, "Don't bother Auntie, I can take a bath myself and wash my hair myself."

Jingyan couldn't help but laugh at his appearance. "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. I'll get you a big basin of hot water. After you wash yourself clean, soak your dirty clothes in it. I'll wash them tonight."

He Chaoli obediently followed behind her, watching her go into the kitchen, carry the kitchen thermos into the bathroom, fill the kettle with water and sit on the stove in the living room to continue boiling water, and also find him a change of clothes. Afterwards, he obediently went into the bathroom to clean himself up.

Grandma held An'an's hand and watched Jingyan busy herself: "You've worked hard today. You're all dressed warmly in winter. Just wash your outer clothes, but don't wash your cotton-padded coat. Tell Xiaoli later not to play with these things anymore, or it will be a hassle if they get dirty."

Jingyan shook her head and refused: "Grandma, what child hasn't experienced being covered in mud during their childhood? Xiaoli used to live too refined a life, and ended up missing out on this kind of primal joy. Fortunately, it's not too late to make up for it now."

Otherwise, when he's over ten, even if we let him dig in the sand, he'll think we're crazy. Let him play wherever he wants. What other kids can do, ours can do too. There are plenty of us; we can take care of him."

Grandma said helplessly, "Your mother-in-law used to always say that your sister-in-law spoils the child. If she saw you like this now, she wouldn't say that your sister-in-law spoils the child anymore. You're spoiling him even more."

"You think this is enough to spoil him? I think it's a small matter and there's no need to interfere. But if he didn't study hard in school and didn't do his homework on time, do you think I would still spoil him? I would definitely use a feather duster to teach him a lesson about the pain of childhood." Jing Yan raised her head and said confidently.

Sister Wang, carrying the dishes out, was amused by the question and asked, "How about scallion pancakes for dinner, along with a dish and a soup?"

Jingyan looked at the stir-fried green peppers and potato shreds and the tomato and egg soup, and thought for a moment: "The meat I braised this afternoon may not have been very flavorful, but it should still be edible. Sister Wang, take some out, slice it thinly, and drizzle some broth on it. That will make a meat dish."

Sister Wang nodded and turned to go into the kitchen to prepare.

Jingyan helped An'an wash her little hands. He Chaoli came out of the bathroom with his short hair still wet. He was wearing a sweater and long johns, with a cotton coat on top. He still looked quite energetic. Jingyan waved to him: "Xiaoli, come sit here. Try today's pastries and see if they're good. If you have any opinions, feel free to speak up."

Sister Wang brought over a plate of braised meat. After the whole family had finished eating, Xiao Li timidly said, "Auntie, I got a lot of water on the bathroom floor. Be careful not to slip later."

Jingyan touched his short hair and nodded: "Okay, I understand. Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, sit by the stove over there and dry your hair. It's too cold outside, don't catch a cold."

He Chaoli smiled and agreed, "Don't worry, Auntie, our whole house is warm, my hair will dry in no time."

Everyone started eating. Grandma had eaten a lot of good food in her life. She had actually eaten this kind of scallion pancake before the liberation. Although the taste was different, it was still edible. Now it can't be found in the market. I didn't expect that Sister Wang could replicate it.

It had been so long since we'd had this, we ate a little too much without realizing it. After putting down our bowls and chopsticks, we sat down at the table and chatted for a bit. Grandma said, "This pastry is alright, but if you could put some lean minced meat filling inside, it wouldn't use much meat, but every bite would have a meaty aroma, and it would taste even better."

Sister Wang and Jing Yan exchanged a glance. "The old lady is right. If the pastry is still crispy after it cools down tomorrow, I can try adding some meat filling. But I guess we'll have to wait. We only have one pound of soybean oil, and we've already used most of it today. It's not enough to make another batch."

"Don't worry about that. As long as it's confirmed tomorrow, I'll call my fourth sister and ask her to mail me some soybean oil. It's a pity we can't buy it here, otherwise we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble." Jingyan also frowned.