Ding Sha bought a small oven and followed the recipes on her phone to bake small cookies.
Nanjiang City was quite a big city. As the end of the year approached, more and more people returned home, so there were fewer people in the city.
The small shops that used to be packed were now more relaxed.
Xiao Jun gave Gong Sister-in-law and Zhuang Auntie time off so they could go downtown to buy New Year's goods.
The two women happily went out with money in hand, while Ding Sha was still figuring out her butter cookies.
Xiao Jun loosened the soil in the small vegetable garden in the backyard and added a layer of fertilizer, waiting for the soil to be right before planting vegetables.
Lifting the thick door curtain between the courtyard and the lobby, a sweet and fragrant smell wafted over.
Different from the smell of Chinese dishes, this smell made people think of a quiet and leisurely afternoon, sitting under a sunshade with sweet desserts and a cup of tea next to them.
Lying on the lawn and napping away an afternoon felt like a reward.
Xiao Jun walked over to Ding Sha and saw her carefully watching the swelling cookies in the oven. "Smells so good."
Ding Sha nodded. "I made a lot. I'll give some to Sister-in-law and the others later, and if I have time I'll take some back for Granny Zhang and Uncle Wei. We can eat the rest ourselves."
Xiao Jun cleaned up the mess on her table. "Okay, let's go buy small bags when Sister-in-law comes back?"
Ding Sha nodded.
Xiao Jun went to the backyard again. Lately he had been busy with something, but kept it secret. Ding Sha couldn't even see him at night when they went to bed.
Ding Sha frowned.
One day she would find out what he was up to!
It was dark when Gong Sister-in-law and Zhuang Auntie finally came back grinning from ear to ear with bags in their hands.
"It's true the sales before New Year are really cheap. I bought so many things!" Gong Sister-in-law's usual tranquil face also showed some brightness.
Zhuang Auntie rummaged through a plastic bag. "Passing by the market, I bought some water spinach. It's not the season, but there was actually fresh water spinach. How strange."
"But it looked good to me, so I bought some to bring back," said Zhuang Auntie with a hearty laugh. "Let's wrap dumplings for dinner tonight."
They really hadn't eaten dumplings in a long time. Xiao Jun started making the dough. He loved flour foods and often made dough, so he knew how to make good dough that was smooth and elastic.
He covered it and set it aside after kneading.
Zhuang Auntie went to prepare the filling, rinsing the water spinach without soaking it - that would make it lose flavor.
She added the right amount of soy sauce, salt and pepper to the pork filling, with some MSG and soy sauce, then a bit of sugar.
After mixing it well with her hands and slamming it in the basin until the meat was soft and sticky, she added fried onions and finely chopped ginger.
The chopped water spinach was salt-soaked to remove moisture, then added to the meat filling.
After mixing evenly, the tempting dumpling filling was ready.
Xiao Jun also rolled out the dough into thin strips and small pieces for the wrappers.
Thicker in the middle and thinner on the edges, pinch them into one dumpling at a time. The white plump dumplings sat on the tray.
The three of them worked together to wrap them while Ding Sha watched.
They boiled three trays of dumplings in water with some salt, not even fitting in one pot.
The white fat dumplings had thin skins and tender filling. Biting into one, you could see the crisp water spinach inside, like a small meatball. The properly salty and aromatic filling was delicious and addicting.
Ding Sha ate an astonishing twenty or more, making Xiao Jun afraid she ate a whole tray's worth.
Gong Sister-in-law spoke proudly, "My auntie's dumpling wrapping skill is acclaimed within ten miles."
Ding Sha reluctantly looked at the voraciously eating Xiao Jun. She really couldn't eat any more or she'd feel sick.
"Auntie, do you want to sell dumplings at the shop after New Year?" Ding Sha asked her. "I'll give you a chef's salary."
Zhuang Auntie was surprised for a moment. "Is that okay?"
"Of course," Ding Sha smiled. "Your dumplings are so delicious!"
Zhuang Auntie agreed without much hesitation.
The next day, Uncle Wei brought over a crib on his cart, the light wood grain very soothing to the eye. The crib was also made according to Xiao Jun's design, precise down to the last detail.
Uncle Wei had even thoughtfully made the crib base dual-purpose, able to stand fixed on the floor or arched up into a rocking crib.
Ding Sha loved this crib very much.
Uncle Wei had also made many lovely toys, little horses, dragonflies, and bunnies, each vivid and lifelike.
He said they were made from leftover materials and worthless, so consider them gifts.
But Ding Sha paid him fully for the crib and toys. Uncle Wei was a little embarrassed accepting it. "Alright, I won't haggle with you. If you need anything else made in the future, I'll give you a discount."
Ding Sha happily agreed.
Uncle Wei happily left, smoking his pipe and pulling his cart. Ding Sha couldn't bear to part from the little crib and placed it right next to her bed.
She couldn't help but imagine little Ping'an lying inside playing with his little feet.
A counter was placed at the entrance of the shop, filled with all kinds of snacks and pastries Ding Sha made in her spare time. Customers leaving would be drawn to bring some along.
A sprightly old man with white hair walked in with his hands behind his back. His face showed traces of worry as he sat straight on a stool, not bothering to look around.
Gong Sister-in-law handed him a menu, but before he could speak, his phone rang.
The old man took it out, sighed when he saw the note, and answered, "Hello? What is it?"
"I'm fine, I'm great, I just went out for a walk..."
"I'll be back soon, after I eat I'll come back..."
"Don't worry..."
After a few sentences he hung up, and looked at the very similar father and son photo on the table, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Sir, what would you like to eat?"
"Let me see, just get me something simple," the old man flipped through the menu. "Do you have noodles?"
"We do," Gong Sister-in-law said. "What kind of noodles would you like?"
The old man looked up at her in surprise. "You can make anything?"
"Most common ones we can make." Gong Sister-in-law had no doubts about Xiao Jun's cooking skills.
And if that failed, Ding Sha was still there!
The old man's interest was piqued. Anything goes, not bad.
He knitted his brows in thought. "Then get me a plate of zhacai noodles, can you make that?"
Gong Sister-in-law responded in surprise. "We can, please wait a moment!"
The old man used a napkin to wipe the chopsticks from the container, patiently placing them properly, before looking around at the interior design of the shop.
The decor and environment were quite nice. The old man looked around but didn't see any oil stains, which satisfied him somewhat.
But his expectations for the chef had risen even more.
Zhacai noodles took skill to make well. He was rather curious to see if this random little shop could really make good zhacai noodles.
