Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Shen Yu was indeed sleepy, but she still had to go to the butcher's shop and order more pork filling from him.

Afraid that if he arrived too late there wouldn't be any good pork available, Shen Yu had to pat his cheeks a few times to drive away the sleepiness.

She stood up, tugged at her wrinkled collar, and said to Li: "Mom, I won't sleep anymore. I'm going to the butcher shop now to discuss with the owner about the amount of meat filling for our family every day. Also, even though the vegetable buns don't sell much, we still need to steam a few baskets. After all, it's the beginning, so it's better to have a variety of fillings."

Li felt that what Shen Yu said made sense. She boasted a little, "Our green vegetable and mushroom stuffing is best eaten in the summer. It's refreshing and smooth. Those people were eating meat buns for the first time and were tempted by the smell of meat. In fact, I think it's best to eat both. The meat buns are fragrant and the soup is delicious, while the vegetable buns are fragrant and smooth. They each have their own flavor."

Shen Yu didn't expect that Li would say such a thing, not just blindly thinking that meat with more salt is delicious. He thought to himself: If Li was born in a wealthy family, she would definitely be an expert in eating.

She held Li's arm affectionately and said, "Mom, you are really amazing. This is what it means to know how to eat. When you sell steamed buns tomorrow, tell the customers this, and our vegetable buns will definitely sell well."

This made Li laugh out loud, feeling proud and happy.

It is scorching hot in July, and it is hottest at noon.

Shen Yu wore a bamboo hat and walked on the path under the shade of the trees. Only when a breeze blew occasionally could he feel a little cool.

She first went to a butcher's shop which was quite far away. The owner of the butcher's shop was very good at doing business. When he saw the girl who had ordered pork filling the day before come to order pork filling again, and the quantity was 20% more than the day before, he immediately determined that this was a big customer.

The butcher shops of this era mainly sold mutton, pork was also available, but not much, and beef was only sold occasionally.

Although mutton is expensive, it is indispensable on the dinner table of everyone from the royal family to the wealthy families. No matter how expensive it is, it sells well every day and makes a lot of profit.

The dynasty at that time emphasized farming and prohibited private slaughtering. Beef could only be collected and sold when farmers occasionally came across dead oxen and reported it to the government. It was a rare opportunity.

This kind of pork is the cheapest, but not many people buy it on weekdays because most people don’t know how to cook it at home.

The rich family has a skilled chef who can cook, but the host family mainly eats expensive mutton and disdains to eat cheap pork.

The pork in the shop is sold to poor families. Those who want to eat meat but cannot afford mutton buy some and cook it at home.

Normally, when the butcher shop receives supplies, one pig has to be shared among several butcher shops before it can be sold out. Today, it is rare to meet a customer who buys such a large quantity.

The girl who came to order pork looked young, but when selecting the pork, she was able to clearly separate the pork belly, front leg, hind leg, and pork fat. It was obvious at first glance that she was an expert at this and bought and cooked the pork frequently, making her an expert.

After the boss asked diligently, he readily agreed that after noon every day, he would cut the pork filling that Shen Yu wanted and have his waiter deliver it to him. The bill would be settled every ten days.

The owner of the shop that sold red bean paste, candied date fillings and flour was also willing to have his employees deliver the fillings and flour to his home every day.

Without having to buy the main ingredients, Shen Yu can run less in the future. He only needs to buy some seasonal vegetables in moderation every day and buy some condiments and sauces as needed.

After Shen Yu had decided on these things, he immediately felt a lot more relaxed and went back briskly to prepare the dough for tomorrow's use.

The whole family was busy the whole afternoon, everyone had their own work to do.

Yucheng continued to chop the broken furniture. Shen Yu didn't want to let Yucheng stop chopping them. He thought of ordering some charcoal directly at the market, which was both light and cheap.

Li disagreed, and her reasons were very good. She pointed at the pile of furniture and told Shen Yu the accounts: "These pieces of junk take up space at home, and it takes effort to move them out. It's better to chop up the ones that can be used as firewood. They won't burn for a few days. No matter how cheap the firewood is at the market, it still costs money. Let's burn the pile at home first."

After hearing this, Shen Yu had no choice but to give up. He thought that Yu Cheng always ate too much at every meal, so it would be good for him to do some work to help digest his food. If he really got too full and got sick, it would be a waste of time.

Li and Yutao tried to knead the dough together. Yutao was young and had little strength, so Li kneaded the dough under the guidance of Shen Yu, while Yutao watched from the side. When kneading the dough, Li gave a small half of it and asked her to follow suit.

After all, Li raised three children alone, and she had to cook every day. Plus, it was a job that could earn money, so she was very motivated to learn it.

However, after trying twice, I figured out to what extent the dough should be kneaded and how to fold and roll the dough so that it is smooth and chewy. I learned how to knead the dough and got the hang of it quickly.

Yutao was small and weak, so she just watched from the side, carefully memorizing the proportion of water to be added. When kneading the dough, she watched her sister's techniques and tried to learn them just like her.

Shen Yu pressed the dough they kneaded and said happily, "Mom, you and Yutao are amazing. I only taught you twice and you can do it so well. You will be able to get the hang of kneading the dough in the future. When the dough rises, I will teach you how to judge whether it has risen well and whether it is enough to make dumplings. Then you can start making dumplings."

Li was encouraged and raised her face proudly, praising herself, "That's right, don't you see whose mother I am? My daughter is so smart and can learn it quickly, so I, as a mother, must not be much worse."

After hearing this, Shen Yu managed to hold back his laughter and didn't fall to the ground. He just kept nodding his head. However, Yutao was secretly laughing with her hands covering her mouth behind him.

In this way, Shen Yu made the dough and prepared the stuffing, while Li and Yutao followed and learned and did it.

These are not difficult, as long as you can remember the proportions. But when it comes to rolling out the bun skins, Li followed Shen Yu's method and rolled out several buns but still couldn't get them right.

Looking at the thick piece of dough that she had rolled out that was neither square nor round, and then looking at the round dough that Shen Yu had rolled out that was thin around the edges and slightly thick in the middle, Li became a little anxious and grabbed another piece of dough, kneaded it into a round shape and rolled it out.

The more anxious he was, the worse it got. He pushed harder and broke the dough. Li threw the dough onto the work surface in frustration, hit his right hand hard with his left hand, and said angrily, "Why am I so stupid!"

Shen Yu hurriedly pulled Li, then reached out to take another dough, and moved more slowly. While rolling, he patiently pointed out the key points to Li and Yutao: "This rolling of dough requires the coordination of both hands. You can't just use gravity or pull it with your hands. The more you do this, the worse it will be. You need to roll it with your right hand, and when the rolling pin moves back, turn the dough with your left hand in time. Practice a few more times and you will get the feeling. I was also very flustered when I first started rolling it, but I got it right after practicing a few more times."

Sure enough, once the movements were broken down, they were easy to understand. Li and Yutao tried rolling it a few more times. Although they couldn't roll it as fast and well as Shen Yu, at least they could tell that it looked like a bun skin.

Shen Yu watched from the side and encouraged: "It's okay, those who didn't roll well, let's just treat it as practice, and we can make dumplings for dinner. It's okay if they break, the worst that can happen is that we can just roll them into a ball again and roll them out. It won't take long before you learn it."

After hearing this, the two of them relaxed. They were just going to eat it themselves, so they just treated it as any other cooking. They slowly figured out the trick and the dough they rolled out gradually took on a round shape and was thick in the middle and thin on the outside.