Transmigrated into the fat wife of the future prime minister

Chapter 88 Savory Rice Dumplings

In the past few days, many merchants on the street have started selling zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). Xu Qingmeng has seen them before; most of them are very ordinary triangular in shape.

There are also other ways to wrap zongzi, such as long strip zongzi and four-cornered zongzi.

Xu Qingmeng's specialty is wrapping pyramid-shaped rice dumplings, which attracts the attention of He Shi, Xu's eldest sister-in-law, and others.

"This looks nice, and it can hold a lot of filling. Little sister, can you teach me how to make it?" Xu's eldest sister-in-law, Wang Cuiqin, was very curious, so she moved a small stool and sat in front of Xu Qingmeng, wanting to learn.

Xinting is eager to learn, so she also wants to learn. He's hands are a bit clumsy, but that doesn't stop her from having a thirst for knowledge.

Tang's wife and Li's wife, knowing that they were going to make zongzi today, did not go back and stayed. At this moment, they were all sitting around Xu Qingmeng.

Xinting learned the fastest; Xu Qingmeng only taught her twice, and she was already able to wrap a complete zongzi.

"Auntie, look, it's done!" Xinting smiled happily, then showed it to Xu Qingmeng like a treasure.

Xu Qingmeng carefully inspected it, then looked at Xinting and said, "It's okay, not bad, just a little loose. When you wrap the next one, pinch it tighter so it doesn't leak out when you cook it."

"Mmm," Xinting replied, and sure enough, the next one was even better.

Xu Qingmeng looked at it and smiled, feeling a sense of pride that her daughter had grown up.

Xinting is usually quiet and not as lively as Xun Ge'er, but she is very perceptive, does things cleanly and efficiently, is skillful, and is a very down-to-earth girl.

The little girl is also very quick to learn. Whenever Xu Qingmeng cooks, if the little girl is around, she will teach her a few things, and the little girl picks it up very quickly.

Xu Qingmeng could let Xinting do the lunch set meal, which consisted of simple vegetarian dishes.

Thinking about the pastry shop she was about to open, Xu Qingmeng suddenly spoke up: "Xinting, have you thought about your future plans?"

Xinting was engrossed in wrapping zongzi when she suddenly heard her aunt's words, and she panicked for a moment.

"Little...Little Aunt, did I do something wrong? Or did my mother upset you last time we went back? I..."

Xinting nervously glanced at her aunt, Wang Cuiqin, then at He Shi, and finally at Xu Qingmeng. She was at a loss for what to do, and tears were about to fall.

Xu Qingmeng quickly reassured her, "What are you thinking? Nothing, I was just asking casually to see if you had any thoughts about the future, that's all."

He Shi and Wang Cuiqin exchanged a glance, both understanding Xu Qingmeng's thoughts and knowing what she was about to say.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Xu Qingmeng said with a smile, "Xinting, look at you, you are not only very skillful, but also quite thoughtful. You can't stay in this eatery shop forever, can you?"

"Huh? No... can't we just stay here?" Xu Xinting asked, looking puzzled.

She felt things were pretty good now. Before, when her aunt was at home, things were a little better. But ever since her aunt got married, her mother didn't care about her at all. She had endless chores to do every day, and all the good food was reserved for her younger brother.

At her aunt's house, she ate well, slept well, and received a monthly allowance. Her aunt would buy her laundry and teach her many things she didn't understand.
Her uncle would also teach them to read, and Grandma He didn't treat her like an outsider. She always cared about her. She felt that she had a very happy month and didn't think about anything else.
Xu Qingmeng felt helpless looking at her niece like this.

Xu's eldest sister-in-law, Wang Cuiqin, was also helpless. With her second brother's wife being such a spoiled brat, it was truly... astonishing how she could raise such an honest child.

Wang Cuiqin laughed and flicked her forehead: "Silly girl."

This sister-in-law really did a good job spoiling her; she truly treated her with all her heart.

Regarding the matter of finding Brother Xun, it's not entirely the Gu family's fault, but the sister-in-law still arranged a way out for him. Now it's Xinting's turn.
The Gu family all agreed; the younger sister's good days were yet to come. Xinting pursed her lips, touched her head, looked at this person, then at that person, still confused.

Xu Qingmeng then said directly, "When I went back before, I talked to your grandfather and your father. We wanted you to follow me in the future. I wonder if you would be willing?"

"Auntie? I'm with you right now, aren't I?"

Wang Cuiqin patted her and said, "Your aunt means she wants to take you on as her apprentice and teach you cooking skills. If you learn well, you can be just as good as your aunt in the future."

Xinting finally understood, and she was so happy that her eyes squinted with laughter.

“I’m willing, Aunt, I’m willing, but… but you know, my mother…” Xu Xinting lowered her head shyly.

Xu Qingmeng and Wang Cuiqin exchanged glances. Although Xinting was very happy, she was also afraid that her mother would be unreasonable and cause trouble for her aunt.

Xu Qingmeng smiled and said, "That's not something you should worry about. Just focus on your work, okay?"

"Yes, yes, Auntie, I definitely will." Xinting nodded repeatedly.

He and the others also laughed.

In the evening, all the zongzi were wrapped, filling three large basins, with five flavors in total: pork zongzi, salted egg yolk zongzi, jujube zongzi, red bean zongzi, and a mixture of salted egg yolk and pork zongzi.

In the evening, Xu Qingmeng had already cooked some. Fresh meat and salted egg yolk rice dumplings were her favorites, so she cooked more than she should.

The rice dumplings had barely left the pot when Shen Jinwen appeared, as if he had smelled the aroma.

The He family and others had never eaten savory rice dumplings before, and they didn't know whether pork or salted egg yolk rice dumplings were good or not. They discussed that if it didn't taste good, they would share one with each other, and if it didn't taste good, they would just forget about it.

Shen Jinwen heard this, but didn't say anything. He simply took a pork and salted egg yolk rice dumpling and opened it immediately.

The savory rice dumplings have glutinous rice that has been seasoned in advance, giving it a light soy sauce color. The aroma of the fatty meat inside the dumpling slowly seeps out, releasing an enticing fragrance. The aroma is irresistible as soon as you open the bamboo leaves.

"That's right, that's the taste. It's mouthwatering just from the smell." Before he finished speaking, he took a bite, instantly revealing half a bright egg yolk and half a piece of meat. The color of the egg yolk soaked in the rich, dark sauce was even more tempting.

"Daddy, I want some too!" Rongrong clung tightly to his trouser leg, her little mouth wide open, calling out eagerly.

Shen Jinwen took another big bite, leaving only a grain of rice the size of Rongrong's fingernail: "It's not easy for children to digest too much glutinous rice, so just try it."

Xu Qingmeng and the others looked at each other, speechless.

They bully children so brazenly; at least they should leave the children some meat.

Fortunately, Rongrong is a naturally good-natured child. She didn't mind at all, hugging the sticky rice dumpling wrapper tightly, carefully taking a small bite of the dumpling, her eyes squinting with satisfaction: "It's so delicious!"

Shen Jinwen burst into laughter and ruffled Rongrong's hair a few times.

Seeing that the little guy had no objection to the savory zongzi, we bought a lot of meat zongzi and salted egg yolk zongzi before leaving.

I only took a few of the sweet jujube and red bean rice dumplings.

(End of this chapter)