Baozi Xishi's Struggle

The cooking oil was still very hot after being taken off the stove. Shen Yu used a strainer to scoop out the spices that had been fried until slightly burnt in the oil, and carefully put the oil pan aside to wait for it to cool down. After it cooled down, it could be put into a jar that had been drained of water.

When she put the pan aside, she told everyone in the family to stay away from the pan. Even though there was no steam, the oil was still very hot, so they should not touch the pan and get burned.

After preparing the ingredients and oil, Shen Yu started to knead the dough.

This time she is preparing the dough for setting up the stall tomorrow morning. She needs to make a lot more dough than when she tried it out in the morning. Fortunately, she has already fermented the dough once. This time, she has more dough to use as a starter. The weather is hot, so it is easy to ferment the dough.

Li cleaned the stove and stood by to watch her knead the dough.

Mrs. Li was a person who spoke harshly but was soft-hearted. As a mother, it was inevitable that she loved her child. She had seen Shen Yu busy these days, with no rest except for sleeping. She wanted to help her but had never done it herself and didn't know where to start. Now that she saw Shen Yu starting to knead the dough, she hurried to learn so that she could lend a hand in the future and make Shen Yu's life easier.

Shen Yu is already very experienced in kneading dough. He doesn't use any tools to measure it. He just watches with his eyes and his hands are very accurate.

Seeing that Li Li was watching, Shen Yu slowed down the process of kneading the dough and taught Li while kneading the dough. He told her the details, such as how many scoops of water to add to a bowl of flour, why the dough should be rolled up like this when kneading, how long a bowl of dough should rise, when it should be risen to be considered done before it can be used, etc.

Li listened carefully and tiny beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose due to nervousness.

Yutao was guarding the stove where the soup was being boiled, adding firewood. She listened carefully while adding firewood, and would ask Shen Yu a few questions if she didn't understand something.

Kneading dough is a simple but laborious job. As long as you choose the right flour and knead it twice, you can feel with your hands whether the dough is well worked. It is even simpler to know how much the dough has risen. Just press it with your hands, tear a small hole to see if there is a honeycomb inside, and you will know.

Yutao remembered that Shen Yu had to sift the flour before kneading it, so she asked her, "Sister, why do you still need to sift it even though you bought such expensive flour?"

Shen Yu couldn't explain to them one by one, such as the modern terms such as the protein content in flour, so he could only say very bluntly: "Although this flour is ground very finely, there are still coarse powder particles left in it occasionally. After passing it through a fine sieve, all the coarse powder particles will be sifted out. The remaining flour will be whiter, finer, and more sticky. The noodles made in this way will not be like the mixed noodles we used to eat, which are easy to crack and fall apart."

Li was a smart woman. When her days were good, she had eaten fine white flour. Although it was not as good as the one we use now, it was much better than the mixed flour.

If you think about it carefully and compare it, it is indeed as Shen Yu said, the finer and whiter the wheat flour is, the more fragrant and smoother it is.

She nodded and said, "I understand. I've also noted down how much water to add to a bowl of noodles. I'll prepare the noodles next time. It's easier for two of us to knead such a large ball of dough. After all, I'm stronger than you. Look at your thin arms. It's heartbreaking to see you."

Shen Yu felt warm in her heart when she heard what Li said. She turned to Li and smiled sweetly, "Let's prepare together in the future. Mother will definitely do it quickly and well."

Li smiled brightly after hearing this. Yutao beside her also interrupted and said, "Sister, I want to learn from you too. I want to do as well as you do."

Yu Cheng, who was chopping wood in the yard, also hurriedly followed up and shouted: "And me, and me. If I could have enough food every day, I would definitely be able to work better."

The three of them couldn't help laughing when they heard the childish words.

Yu Cheng said seriously, "What are you laughing at? I'm telling the truth. I've been eating well every day these past few days, and I feel like I've gained more strength."

After Shen Yu heard the child's serious words, he felt very sorry for this family who had been living a half-hungry life because of the loss of the family's pillar.

She restrained her smile and said seriously: "As long as our family works hard together, we will be able to eat a full meal every day and no longer go hungry."

Yu Cheng added: "Yeah, it would be great if I could eat the meat buns my sister makes every day."

After hearing this, the sadness just now was swept away, and Li scolded: "Silly boy, you only know how to eat. I thought you grew up and became sensible, but I didn't expect that you were thinking about meat buns."

Yucheng touched his head sheepishly and muttered quietly, "Meat buns are indeed delicious." Then he started chopping wood again.

The family chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, an afternoon had passed.

She picked up a few of the steamed buns from noon and put them in the steamer to heat them up. Li cooked a pot of mung bean porridge, and dinner was ready.

After dinner, Shen Yu took out the bowl of meat stuffing that had been kept in the large vat filled with well water, opened the lid, took out the meat stuffing and mixed it with the same proportions as last time.

The difference is that this time, part of the broth was used instead of water, and an extra large spoonful of cooking oil was added, and a little more fine salt was added than last time. This will make it a little saltier, which is more suitable for the heavy oil and salty taste at this time.

After the stuffing is prepared, put it in a bowl, still cover it with the lid and place the bowl in a large vat. Let the stuffing cool down a bit, and the flavor of the broth will make the meat stuffing more flavorful and easier to wrap.

He checked the stove steamer that was already on the cart, the firewood packed in sacks, the bamboo tongs and dried lotus leaves used to sell the buns, the dough knives and rolling pins used to make the buns, the money box, and the kneaded dough and prepared meat filling that would be put on the cart before leaving. The cart, which was not small to begin with, was completely filled to the brim with no space left.

Shen Yu looked at the full cart and suddenly felt that the cart should be bigger. Now it was already full with all these things, and he didn't know if it would be easy to pull the cart.

She had never done the job of pulling a cart, and she was a little scared. She was afraid that if she didn't exert enough force, the cart would overturn, or that it would be difficult to pull.

I had already figured out the price for the buns, but suddenly I remembered that I was still missing a price tag. However, I didn't have any stationery like pens, ink, paper, and inkstone at home.

After looking around and unable to find a suitable substitute for the moment, he found a slightly larger wooden board, took out a stick of charcoal from under the stove, and wrote on it: Meat bun Jiu Wen, vegetable bun Lu Wen, red bean paste bun Lu Wen.

Because in modern times, when Shen Yu came back from a business trip and claimed reimbursement for travel expenses, she had to fill out a receipt. She could usually write traditional Chinese characters for numbers, but she didn't know anything else. She might be able to recognize them when she saw them, but if she was asked to write them, she would be so confused that she had no idea where to start.

Shen Yu had no choice but to write the numbers in traditional Chinese characters, and he was worried if he wrote the other characters in simplified Chinese characters. He was worried that the customers who came to buy the buns would not be able to recognize them. For now, he had to make do with what he had.

After stuffing the wooden board into the car, I felt at ease and prepared to wash up and go to bed early.

Tomorrow the buns will be made and steamed at the entrance of the market, so she has to get up at yin time to get ready, which is three o'clock in the morning in modern times. She and Li agreed on the time to get up, and then they lay down in bed to get ready to sleep.

Soon, in the silent darkness, the sound of Li's faint snoring could be heard. However, because Shen Yu was preparing to set up a stall for the first time in his life, he was thinking about many things, fearing that he might miss any step. He tossed and turned several times on the small bed that creaked every time he turned over, before he fell into a drowsy sleep.