| TBBOTOF | 207
Tang Xu likes to add extra flavor when making fillings, like with green radish and pork. He often adds a little rehydrated mushrooms on the side to enhance the umami.
It's not just these two ingredients. After adding salt for seasoning, nothing else needs to be added.
He can’t help but swallow his saliva—the aroma of the chives even makes his eyes light up.
"You love to eat chives, huh?"
Xu Ze, who was flipping the stuffed pancakes, was pushed aside. "Don't burn yourself, go get the porridge."
Xu Ze handed the spatula to him and then went to serve the porridge.
Tang Xu quickly finished wrapping a chive-filled pancake, pressed it flat in the pan, and couldn't hold back anymore.
He took one of the already-cooked ones from the side, took a bite, and the early-season chives were both fresh and tender, the flavor was incredible.
"Mmm!" He didn’t care about the heat, blew on it a couple of times, and kept eating.
Three bites and a whole pancake was gone, finally satisfying Xu's craving.
Seeing him like this, Wang Cuicui couldn’t stop laughing. "Why are you in such a hurry? It's too hot!"
Tang Xu grinned and shook his head. "Last year, the chives didn’t grow well; I only managed to pick a small handful, not enough to make stuffing. But this year, they’ve grown nicely, so I’ve got to enjoy a good meal."
Wang Cuicui nodded.
Chives are the kind of thing you have to pick in the mountains, and their strong flavor is disliked by many.
When she used to go up the mountain to gather wild vegetables, she would intentionally avoid them because she didn’t know how to prepare them. Just stir-frying them on their own made the flavor too intense.
However, seeing how much Tang Xu was enjoying his food, Wang Cuicui also took one and bit into it. With just one bite, her eyes widened in surprise, clearly realizing how special the flavor was when chives were used as stuffing.
Tang Xu took another one, blew on it, and asked her, "Isn't it delicious?"
Wang Cuicui nodded, humming in agreement, as she flipped the pancakes in the pan while quickly finishing what she was eating.
The two of them worked well together, and soon, all the pancakes were done cooking.
Xu Ze carried the porridge into the main room and also brought over the tray of pancakes.
"Brother, do you need anything else?" He came back to get chopsticks.
Tang Xu waved his hand, "Go ahead. I'll make some pickled vegetables."
Wang Cuicui stepped out of the kitchen and went to the backyard to call everyone for dinner.
The three little ones had just come down from the mountain, and they ran over to show her their small baskets.
"Grandma~ look~ what I picked!" The chubby boy had the most eggs in his basket, both pink and white ones.
Er Bao also ran over and handed over their small basket. "Mine~ I got more~"
Xiao Bao followed behind, steadily carrying his basket, unlike his two older brothers who were darting around.
Wang Cuicui reached out to take the two baskets, then looked at Xiao Bao.
He tilted his head to glance at her and then at the baskets in her hands, before turning to crawl up onto the lap of Wu Guizhi, who was sitting in a wheelchair.
He snuggled in and called out, "Great-Grandma~~~~ give~~~~ me to eat~~~~!"
At that sound, the old lady's eyes crinkled with joy, and she quickly scooped him into her lap, showering him with affectionate praise.
Tang Yang, who was pushing the wheelchair, took the little baskets and hung them on the handle as he wheeled Grandma and Xiao Bao back.
Wang Cuicui led the two brothers ahead, reminding them, "When we get back, shake off the dust and wash your hands. Don’t let your dad see you like this."
They had just put on new clothes that morning, but after running up the mountain, she thought they could wear them until tomorrow.
However, they ended up covered in dirt by the afternoon.
Thankfully, they had a good income at home; otherwise, how could those three kids stay clean every day?
Xu Ze went to call the elders to come for dinner.
As Old Wen walked in, wiping his hands, he caught sight of the pancakes and inhaled the fragrant aroma in the air.
He asked, "Are they radish-filled?"
He wasn't too fond of radishes and thought they smelled off.
Carrying a bowl of pickled vegetables, Tang Xu heard the conversation and said, “There are also chive and egg ones; Old Wen should eat those.”
Old Xu sat down, giving Tang Xu a disapproving look. “Picky eater! You tell the kids not to be picky, yet you don’t set a good example yourself.”
“I’m already old, half of me is in the ground. What’s wrong with being picky?” Old Wen shot back as he took his seat. “Aren’t you also not fond of cilantro?”
Tang Xu glanced at the mixed pickled vegetables he had chopped earlier and shrugged. “If you don’t want to eat it, just pick out what you like.”
The two elders exchanged glares but remained silent.
Grandma and the kids all settled in, and she announced, “Time to eat!”
By now, the pancakes had cooled from their earlier heat. Tang Xu served each of the three kids a chive-filled pancake to let them try the flavor.
Since it was their first time tasting it, the kids were quite curious.
Both the young and the old in the family had somewhat delicate teeth, so the pancake skin was especially soft.
Xiao Bao loved the chives; after taking a bite, he quickly went for a second. The chubby one and Er Bao were indifferent to the chives—they could eat them, but preferred the radish filling instead.
Tang Xu looked at the three of them and laughed, “You all really know how to eat.”
Xiao Bao had a small appetite; after finishing one small pancake, he drank a bowl of thin porridge and was full.
In contrast, the chubby one and Er Bao had inherited Wei Dong’s eating habits. They managed to eat four small pancakes—almost equivalent to two full-sized ones—plus a bowl of porridge.
The chubby one set down his bowl and wiped his mouth, looking in shock at his little brother, who was reaching for a fifth pancake.
No wonder Er Bao was almost taller than him; he could eat so much!
He couldn’t let his younger brother outdo him.
With that thought, he reached for the fifth pancake as well.
Tang Xu quickly intervened when he saw this, saying, “You’ve had enough; don’t force yourself. Eating too much will make your stomach uncomfortable, and you might end up throwing up.”
The chubby one pouted and turned to look at Er Bao, who was still eating. “But he’s still eating!”
Tang Xu glanced at Er Bao, sighed helplessly, and didn’t want to tell his son, “Your brother can keep eating because he hasn’t had enough yet. You, on the other hand, are already full.”
The chubby one puffed out his little chest. “I’m not full!”
Tang Xu looked at him and asked calmly, “Really?”
Seeing his dad’s expression, the chubby one shrank back a bit, pouting and looking aggrieved, falling silent.
“Look, Xiao Bao isn’t eating anymore,” Tang Xu said, gently patting his face. “You don’t need to compare your appetite with your brother. Even I can’t keep up with him.”
His second son was a miniature version of Wei Dong.
At just three years old, Er Bao was already a little sturdy guy with long legs. At this growth rate, he might become a little giant by the time he turned ten.
Wei Dong was nearly two meters tall and weighed around a hundred kilos, all muscle.
Both of his sons were tall for their age. The chubby one seemed to be noticeably taller than his peers, and Er Bao, who was only a year younger, was already the same height as him.
It looked like he would surpass his brother in just a couple of months.
Only Xiao Bao was growing at a normal rate for his age, but those long legs were quite sturdy.
In a couple of years, he would definitely be taller than Tang Xu, who was currently around 1.7 meters.
The chubby one sighed, watching his brother still eating, and couldn’t help but say, “Little brother~ don’t eat too much~ your tummy will hurt!”
After finishing his fifth pancake, Er Bao wiped his little hands, held his bowl to drink some porridge, and then looked at his brother. “Not eating will hurt!”
The implication was clear: if you don’t eat enough and feel hungry, that’s what will hurt.
The chubby one grinned, realizing he couldn’t trick Er Bao anymore!
Er Bao grabbed another pancake, and Tang Xu reminded him, “That’s the last one; you can’t eat any more.”
Even though they were small, six pancakes was still quite a lot.
Er Bao nodded and took a bite.
Grandma finished one chive pancake and wiped her mouth, feeling full. She picked up a small radish-filled one and said, “Is this chive from seeds? Please take some back for my daughter-in-law to plant.”
“I have plenty; I saved a lot from last year,” Tang Xu replied as he served her another bowl of porridge. “If you like it, I can make them again in a couple of days.”
Wu Guizhi nodded. “That sounds good.”
After the meal, everyone felt a bit too full and decided to take a walk in the courtyard.
Tang Xu went to the backyard to check on the ducks and then cleaned the pigsty, chicken coop, and rabbit hutch before heading back inside to wash up.
Wang Cuicui was in the house, playing with the three kids and their building blocks.
Wu Guizhi had already finished washing up and returned to her room. She felt a bit sluggish after lunch and had gone to sleep early.
“Go take a shower,” Wang Cuicui said when she saw him enter. “I’ll keep an eye on them.”
Tang Xu acknowledged her with a nod and took his change of clothes to the bathroom.
Wang Cuicui sat on the kang, watching the three kids build houses with various shapes of wooden blocks, finding it quite entertaining.
“Auntie,” Xu Ze pulled back the curtain and walked in, asking her, “Is it okay to have pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Sure, I’ll get up early and make breakfast,” Wang Cuicui replied with a smile. “You should head back and rest too.”
Xu Ze shook his head and pulled up a chair to sit by the kang. “I’m not tired yet; I’ll stay and chat for a while.”
The chubby one looked at Xu Ze and asked, “Brother~ you said you’d make me a flower crown last time. When are you going to make it?”
“When the flowers bloom, which will still be a couple of months,” Xu Ze replied, propping his chin on one hand and passing him a triangular wooden block. “You guys collected a lot of eggs today, so we’ll make steamed egg custard for breakfast tomorrow.”
Xiao Bao looked up and chimed in, “I want to eat eggs!”
“Okay, I’ll give you a bowl of eggs,” Xu Ze said, remembering they needed to have milk before bed.
He got up to heat the milk, preparing a bottle for each of them. “Here, finish this, then brush your teeth and wash your face before bed.”
Er Bao’s bottle was noticeably bigger than his brothers’, reflecting just how much he could eat.
Wang Cuicui looked at the three little ones lying on the kang, drinking their milk, a smile of pure affection on her face.
Xu Ze noticed a small bamboo basket next to her, which contained half-sewn fabric.
Curious, he picked it up to take a look. “Are these little clothes you’re making for them?”
“Yeah, since it’s getting hot, Er Bao’s clothes are too small, so I’m altering them,” Wang Cuicui said, taking it back and unfolding it to show him. “I left extra fabric when I made them, so I can just take it apart and sew it back together.”
Xu Ze leaned in closer to examine her stitching.
“If you’re worried about clothes getting too small in the future, just leave extra fabric when you sew, and tuck it in. It won’t be visible when they wear it,” Wang Cuicui said, happy to teach him since he showed interest.
Xu Ze nodded. “I don’t usually handle needles and threads; it hurts too much if I get pricked.”
Wang Cuicui chuckled lightly. “You can learn slowly. You’ll have to know how, or how will you make clothes for your husband and kids in the future?”
Xu Ze found her logic reasonable.
Unless he ended up as wealthy as Tang Xu, he would have to manage some sewing himself.
But he remembered seeing Tang Xu making cloth dolls for the three kids; even if they turned out a bit misshapen, they were made with his own hands!
Just then, Tang Xu, who was drying his hair, sneezed.
He rubbed his nose, his husband must be missing him.
0 Comments
Post a Comment