Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 11 Helping in the Cooking
"Let's go."

Liao Yongxin waved his hand and took Du Shaojie into the family compound.

After walking a long way, we came to a large courtyard with a separate entrance. There were three rows of brick houses in the courtyard, and the kitchen was also in the courtyard, which was very spacious.

"Master Liao, you're here so early? Thank you for your hard work. The dishes are all in the kitchen. If you see anything missing, I'll go prepare it."

After knocking on the door, a middle-aged man politely welcomed the two in.

"It's better to prepare early, so as not to be in a hurry later."

Liao Yongxin didn't like to chat with people, so he went straight into the kitchen after saying hello.

He first counted all the ingredients, including spices and condiments, and then asked Du Shaojie to wash and cut the vegetables while he started to prepare the various ingredients.

Du Shaojie had a hunch that the master's identity was not ordinary, but he was tactful and didn't ask any more questions.

According to Liao Yongxin's request, each dish was cut in a different way. The host prepared chicken, pork, pork chops, lamb chops, large yellow croaker, eggs, as well as some vegetables and side dishes, which was considered very rich at the time.

"Xiao Du, the master's requirements are high, so we won't let you cook today. But you can watch from the side. How much you can learn depends on your ability."

After several hours of hard work, all the preparations were ready.

Mix a few cold dishes first and set them aside. They can be served when the hot dishes are being cooked.

Afterwards, Liao Yongxin started to heat the pot and at the same time said something to Du Shaojie. After all, without his nod, the other party could not get close to observe.

"Okay, thank you Master Liao."

Du Shaojie smiled happily, helping Liao Yongxin while watching him cook attentively.

The first dish is candied potatoes, which is very popular nowadays but less common in later generations.

It is not difficult to make. Dip the potato cubes in dry powder and fry them until the surface turns golden brown. The more difficult part is frying the sugar color, which needs to be fried to a level between tender and old.

After the sugar is boiled, pour in the fried potato cubes, stir-fry evenly, then quickly serve.

The dishes were divided into three plates, and a small bowl was left on the stove. The host family immediately began to serve the dishes. Liao Yongxin and Du Shaojie tasted them respectively. They tasted good, and the shiny sugar threads were long and looked very beautiful.

"The key to this dish is frying the sugar color. If the heat is not enough, it won't be able to be pulled into strings, and if the heat is too much, it will taste bitter. Generally speaking, it's not difficult. You can get the hang of it after practicing a few times."

The two of them finished eating a few pieces of sweet potatoes while they were still hot, and Liao Yongxin casually gave some advice.

The next dish was "braised large yellow croaker". Du Shaojie didn't have time to look at it carefully because he was frying scrambled eggs.

For the dish of braised lamb chops, Liao Yongxin only finished the first half and handed it to Du Shaojie to watch the heat. He was also responsible for the final step of collecting the soup and serving it.

Liao Yongxin picked up the wok again and fried a dish of "Osmanthus Pork".

The two of them worked together and the dishes were served very quickly. Before they knew it, three tables of food were ready.

However, Du Shaojie was busy all the time and only glanced at most of the dishes. The only dish he got something from was "Sweet Candied Potatoes".

The host had reserved some food and two large bowls of white rice for them in advance.

Du Shaojie and Liao Yongxin ate lunch in the kitchen, then cleaned the stove and chopping board. They didn't have to worry about cleaning up the mess, and they got up and said goodbye.

When they left the house, the host gave them two strips of bacon, two packs of pork chops, a bottle of white wine and a big front door.

After leaving the woolen mill's staff quarters, Liao Yongxin stopped his bicycle on the side of the road, stuffed a piece of bacon and a bag of pork chops into Du Shaojie's hands, and then gave him five yuan.

Du Shaojie was about to refuse, but Liao Yongxin whispered, "I won't give you cigarettes and alcohol, but you take the things and money, and don't say anything when you get out."

Obviously, the host was very satisfied with the dishes cooked by Liao Yongxin. Not only did he give some things, he also secretly gave him some money. As for how much money it was, Du Shaojie didn't know and didn't care.

Today's harvest was already very satisfying for him.

Du Shaojie took the things and five yuan, and parted ways with Liao Yongxin at the intersection ahead.

When I got home, it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon. Wang Yuxiu and Xiaomei were making dumplings, and Xiaoya was also joining in the fun.

"Didn't you have dumplings for lunch?" Du Shaojie hung the bacon by the kitchen door and froze the pork chops directly outside the house.

After entering the house, he washed his face and hands, then walked over to help.

"Brother, Mom said she'll eat with you when you come back."

Although Du Xiaomei is young, she is very capable.

Wang Yuxiu rolled the dumpling wrappers while she pinched the dumplings. The two of them worked in perfect harmony and their speed was not slow at all.

Du Xiaoya was not very good at making dumplings. The dumplings she made looked like irregular gold ingots, but no one said anything to her.

Du Shaojie felt warm at heart when he heard what his elder sister said. He then took the rolling pin from Wang Yuxiu and rolled the dough faster. One person rolled the dumpling skins, and two people wrapped them. They finished wrapping them in less than half an hour.

He learned how to make pastry in the cafeteria, and he can make dumplings, buns, and hand-rolled noodles.

"Xiao Jie, you've been tired all day. Go take a rest first. I'll call you when the dumplings are ready."

Wang Yuxiu clapped her hands, looked up at her son, and felt very distressed.

It's a rare day off, but my son still goes out to work. Isn't it for the purpose of improving life at home?

"Well, I'll go lie down for a while. Mom, the host gave me a piece of bacon and a bag of ribs today. The bacon is hung in the kitchen, and the ribs are frozen outside the kitchen."

Du Shaojie nodded. He was indeed a little tired after being busy for most of the day.

He immediately stood up to wash his hands and gave Wang Yuxiu some instructions.

"Brother, there are delicious foods again? I'm so happy."

When Du Xiaoya heard that there were bacon and spare ribs, her mouth was watering.

Xiaomei was not much better. While cleaning the table, she said, "I haven't eaten bacon for a long time. Brother, when will you fry it for us?"

"You two greedy cats, all you do is eat. The New Year is coming soon, save the bacon for the New Year."

Wang Yuxiu thought that good things couldn’t be eaten up in just a few days.

Life should be lived slowly. Drinking while you can is the behavior of a prodigal.

Xiaomei lowered her head and went to the kitchen with the dumplings.

Xiaoya looked at her brother pitifully and wanted to say something but finally kept silent.

"The Chinese New Year is only a few days away. I'll fry some bacon for you on New Year's Eve."

Du Shaojie knew what Wang Yuxiu was thinking, so he didn't say much.

night.

The family sat together and ate steaming dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork.

Xiaomei and Xiaoya were eating with their mouths drooling, and Wang Yuxiu also thought the dumplings tasted especially good.

"Xiao Jie, how did you make the dumpling filling? I just can't make it taste this way."

Du Shaojie was delighted when he heard this, thinking, it would be strange if you could make it. When he was mixing the stuffing, he added thirteen spices and a little more oil.

Naturally, he would not take up this topic, to avoid being scolded by his mother for not knowing how to live.

"Brother, we will go back to school tomorrow, and then we will have winter break."

"Brother, Xiaojuan has a sled, but my sister and I don't. Can you make one for us?"

After Du Xiaoya had eaten, she started chattering non-stop.

(End of this chapter)