Chapter 34

Kang Xingchen was busy in the kitchen, kneading dough, preparing the filling, pinching the edges, and rolling out the skins... The little girl watched with great interest from the side.

"Brother, why are you chopping the meat so finely? Can it still be stewed... Making the dough into such thin sheets, how can you eat them... Oh, you’re actually putting the meat inside the dough..."

The little girl chattered incessantly, but Kang Xingchen didn’t feel annoyed at all. He explained everything to her in detail.

Hearing Mei'er’s continuous praise, he felt a warmth in his heart that he couldn’t quite describe. The status of dumplings in the hearts of the Chinese is self-evident; they represent more than just a food, but a sense of home. During the Spring Festival, whether it’s students studying away from home or farmers working outside, they all rush back to have a meal of dumplings made by their mothers, which carries the concern and longing of their parents.

Today, with the house set up, Kang Xingchen thought of having a meal of dumplings. The scene in the kitchen brought him a sense of safety and warmth, even though the home only consisted of him and Mei'er.

Without chives or eggs, Kang Xingchen could only make pork and green onion dumplings, which was the only regret.

As the dumplings went into the pot, Kang Xingchen sat in front of the stove, grabbed a handle, and started to push and pull it forcefully.

"Chuff, chuff..." A rhythmic sound rose, the fire in the stove burned brightly, and the water in the pot boiled vigorously, causing the dumplings to roll continuously.

The little girl watched her brother’s actions in surprise and muttered, "So, this strange thing is to increase the fire..."

When they first moved in, she had seen her brother renovate the stove and bed, and her curiosity had been piqued. She had asked about it, but her brother had only said, "You’ll know when the time comes." Now, seeing it, she understood the function of the bellows. She couldn’t help but look forward to the transformed bed, which, over the past two days, had felt solid but nothing special...

The dumplings swelled like little pigs, floating up, white and translucent, making one’s mouth water. Mei'er’s attention was already drawn, and she couldn’t help but lick her lips and swallow.

"Almost ready, go get the vinegar, and peel a few cloves of garlic!" Kang Xingchen said.

"Okay!" The little girl responded brightly and turned to prepare.

But just as she had everything ready, the sound of knocking on the door reached their ears.

Kang Xingchen’s movements paused, and a helpless smile appeared on his face. He was familiar with only a few people, and with someone coming at this time, this meal of dumplings...

The little girl pouted, as if her favorite toy was about to be taken away. She knew very well that her brother’s friends had big appetites. Last time, Sun Sanqiang, who was so thin and frail, had eaten four large pancakes.

However, this small dissatisfaction quickly dissipated, and she was still grateful to her brother’s friends. Therefore, Mei'er quickly adjusted her attitude and ran to open the door.

"Sister Hongxian, it’s you!" Upon seeing the visitor, Mei'er immediately broke into a radiant smile.

"Hey! Little girl, you look much better, almost like a little beauty!" Mo Hongxian, seeing Mei'er’s now fair and tender face, chuckled and lightly pinched her cheek.

"Ah! Sister Hongxian!" The little girl let out a soft exclamation, then pouted and quickly took a step back.

"Hehe, where’s your brother?" Mo Hongxian didn’t continue to tease the little girl and immediately asked.

"He’s in the kitchen! Sister Hongxian, please come in!" The little girl said, leading Mo Hongxian inside.

"This house you bought is quite nice, worth more than ten thousand yellow crystal coins... Oh!" Mo Hongxian followed inside, talking as she walked. But halfway through, she suddenly stopped, her delicate nose twitching a few times.

Seeing Mo Hongxian’s expression, Mei'er lightly bit her lip, thinking, "Sister Hongxian is a girl, she shouldn’t eat much..."

Entering the kitchen, Mo Hongxian’s eyes were immediately fixed on the dumplings.

"You’ve made a new dish, it looks great..." Mo Hongxian spoke without even looking at Kang Xingchen, completely captivated by the translucent, white dumplings.

"Sister Hongxian, what brings you here this time?" Kang Xingchen relaxed when he saw it was Mo Hongxian. He had made over a hundred dumplings, enough for three people.

"This is for you!" Before Kang Xingchen could finish speaking, Mo Hongxian had already thrown him a ticket from the Imperial Bank, then loudly said, "I haven’t eaten yet, and it’s just in time. Quickly tell me how to eat this thing!"

Kang Xingchen grabbed the ticket, and his hand trembled when he saw the number 680,000. Originally, he had estimated that eighty restaurants in Hongyuan City would buy it, which was already quite good, considering that ten thousand yellow crystal coins was not a small amount. But seeing this number, it seemed that all the prominent restaurants in the city had bought it.

Mei'er also saw this number and immediately covered her mouth, stifling a gasp. Although she knew her brother was cooperating with Zijing to sell the secret recipe, she hadn’t expected it to be so much money.

Previously, whether it was her brother activating the Yuan Spring or bringing back tickets worth tens of thousands of yellow crystal coins, it was all within her expectations. But seeing this number, Mei'er’s mind was blank, followed by a surge of joy that quickly spread throughout her body.

"Jiang Ling, hurry up, how do you eat this thing?" Mo Hongxian was dissatisfied and turned to glare at Kang Xingchen.

"Ah!" Kang Xingchen was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and put the ticket in his pocket, going to teach Mo Hongxian how to eat the dumplings.

"Dip in vinegar, eat with garlic! The garlic is so spicy... Mmm, it’s so fragrant!" Mo Hongxian took a bite of the dumpling, the meat filling mixed with vinegar strongly stimulating her taste buds, making her burst out with a coarse word.

Then, almost without needing to be taught, Mo Hongxian bit into a clove of garlic and started chewing loudly. She then picked up another dumpling...

Watching the plate of dumplings rapidly diminish, Kang Xingchen and Mei'er looked at each other, their expressions dazed: "Is she really a girl? She’s more like a guy..."

"Jiang Ling, peel a few more cloves of garlic!" Mo Hongxian mumbled, suddenly saying.

"Okay!" Kang Xingchen stumbled, "How many cloves of garlic can you eat? Why don’t you just let me braid a bunch for you!"

Peeling the garlic helplessly, Kang Xingchen was also relieved: "Thank goodness I made a lot of dumplings today, otherwise it wouldn’t have been enough..."

However, before he could finish this thought, the knocking on the door sounded again, and Kang Xingchen’s face turned black.

Mei'er pouted again; her brother had made dumplings for her, and she hadn’t even had one, and now someone else was here.

Mei'er turned to open the door, and Kang Xingchen quickly started the second pot of dumplings, as Mo Hongxian’s large plate was almost empty.

This time, it was Zhao Danqing, who brought thirty doses of medicine containing Yuan Qi.

Similarly, the moment Zhao Danqing entered the kitchen, he was drawn to Mo Hongxian’s ungraceful eating.

Seeing Zhao Danqing bring so much medicine, Kang Xingchen was naturally delighted and was about to pay.

But Zhao Danqing waved his hand, "My father said these thirty doses are a thank you from the Zhao family’s pharmacy, not a single copper coin! We’ll settle the rest later!"

While speaking, Zhao Danqing didn’t look at Kang Xingchen. He then put the medicine on the ground, moved to Mo Hongxian’s side, and chuckled, "Sister Hongxian~"

"What!" Mo Hongxian turned sharply.

"Ugh~" Zhao Danqing felt a strong, pungent smell rush into his nose, making his head spin, and he staggered back.

"Phew!" Kang Xingchen, who was cooking the dumplings, almost burst out laughing. Eating garlic cloves one by one, the taste in her mouth couldn’t be good.

But then, Kang Xingchen couldn’t laugh anymore. Zhao Danqing’s appetite was terrifying; compared to him, even his brother was nothing.

Mo Hongxian had eaten thirty dumplings and was already full! The remaining seventy or so almost all went into Zhao Danqing’s stomach, as if he hadn’t eaten in a long time, putting one dumpling after another into his mouth. Moreover, he didn’t show any consideration, not leaving any for Kang Xingchen and Mei'er. Not only that, he also ate garlic cloves one by one...

With outsiders present, Mei'er usually behaved quietly, but now she was grumbling in dissatisfaction.

Kang Xingchen’s mouth twitched, and he felt like crying: "What a big stomach, looks like I have to make more!"

"Not enough! Brother Jiang Ling, do you have any more?" Just as Kang Xingchen was thinking, Zhao Danqing suddenly wiped his mouth and turned to ask.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Kang Xingchen was so startled by this that he started coughing, and even Mo Hongxian, who was digesting her food with her hand over her mouth, leaned to one side, clearly also startled.

"This time, there’s really none left! Over seventy dumplings, and you’re still not full?" Kang Xingchen said with a hint of resentment.

"Uh!" Zhao Danqing finally realized that he had been so focused on eating that he had forgotten his host was still hungry. But he couldn’t be blamed; he had never tasted such delicious food before.

"Um..." Zhao Danqing scratched his head awkwardly, chuckled, and said, "Brother Jiang Ling, prepare for tomorrow, all seven army commanders are coming, and they need you to demonstrate again!"

After saying this, Zhao Danqing’s eyes scanned the kitchen again, confirming there were no more dumplings, and then laughed, hurriedly taking his leave, leaving the room filled with the smell of garlic.

Then, Mo Hongxian also covered her mouth and left, feeling embarrassed by her overeating, which left her mouth full of garlic smell. Even though she was tough, she couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

After they both left, Kang Xingchen finally breathed a sigh of relief and went to clean up the messy bowls and chopsticks.

Mei'er then pulled on Kang Xingchen’s sleeve, calling out in a委屈 (vexed) voice, "Brother!"

"It’s okay! We still have meat at home, I’ll make more for you!" Kang Xingchen smiled and affectionately ruffled Mei'er’s head.

"Okay!" The little girl nodded, smiling. She now most enjoyed her brother’s doting.

Kneading dough, chopping the filling, rolling out the skins, and making more...

But just as everything was ready and the dumplings were in the pot, the knocking on the door sounded again.

"Ah~" Kang Xingchen’s face turned black, feeling so frustrated that he wanted to scream, "No matter who it is, if they take our dumplings, I’ll fight them!"