Having found a demon, I've decided to raise her.

Afu picked up the kitchen knife, his expression slightly hardening.

Chen Ming seemed to see a sharp, cold glint in the cleaver. She slashed at the piece of meat, and after a while, when she put the cleaver away, the meat had turned into minced meat.

Next came the chives, then the fatty pork, all of which were quickly chopped.

"..."

Chen Ming watched as A Fu mixed the filling together. He looked at the cutting board and was surprised to find that there wasn't a single knife mark on it.

He truly deserves to be called a genius sword immortal, a world apart from the good-for-nothing at home who can't even properly control his sword energy.

She looked at Chen Ming with her gray eyes and said—

Is that all?

"Hmm, isn't this done very well? Next, crack a few eggs in, then sprinkle in some salt, soy sauce, and cornstarch..."

Each shop has slightly different ingredients, and Chen Ming simply followed his family's usual practice.

Afu obediently did as instructed and made the filling.

Chen Ming watched as her jade-like hands became covered in filling. The sword immortal, who had never lifted a finger, slowly became somewhat worldly.

Next, we should knead the dough... but forget about that, and the shop doesn't have any flour, only ready-made dumpling wrappers.

Industrialized production lines are great; they increase production capacity. Before, kneading and rolling dough by hand was exhausting.

Let's start making dumplings.

He demonstrated first, then said—

"Don't put too much filling in at once when wrapping, or it will break. Also, pour out the water from the filling in the bowl in time, as water may cause the dumpling skin to melt."

"Oh……"

Afu watched his technique as he slowly demonstrated it several times. She tried to imitate him, like a child in a craft class, but she was a little clumsy.

In the end, it still turned out to be a deformed mess.

The skin was also broken.

Before she could utter her words of frustration, he walked straight up behind her, reached out and took her hand in his, whispering in her ear—

"It's okay, you just haven't figured it out yet. You used a spoon and got a little water in, so it broke, and it's too full to wrap properly."

"……Um."

He held Afu's hand as he stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her, making her somewhat absent-minded and her face slightly flushed.

"Miss Fu? Ah Fu? Are you listening?"

"Oh, oh... I'm here."

"Well."

Chen Ming held her hand, placed a dumpling wrapper in it, then held up one of her fingers, dipped it in water, and smeared it along the edge of the dumpling wrapper.

"Put some filling in, about halfway up the center. Then first fold the dumpling wrapper in half and seal it, then like this, fold it little by little to slowly seal it..."

Afu watched as he stroked her own hands and fingers, truly teaching her how to make it step by step.

But her face also turned very red.

Chen Ming couldn't see her from behind.

This was the first time she had been touched by a man like this, as if he were carefully playing with her slender palm.

Chen Ming didn't think anything of it.

His mother used to teach him and his sister to make dumplings in the same way. It's easier to learn by having someone else do it for you than by watching.

Afu lowered her head slightly, nestled in his arms.

I'm a little...shy.

Chapter 65 The Road Ahead, Her Feelings

There are many factors that affect the taste of dumplings.

For example, the degree to which the meat and vegetables are chopped, the amount of tendons in the meat and the ratio of fat to lean meat, whether the dumpling wrappers are elastic enough, and whether the steaming time is appropriate...

There are just too many influencing factors.

Honestly, if you let a complete novice like Afu do it on his own, he would likely fail the first time.

But with Chen Ming, the experienced driver, there will be no problems as he guides her and teaches her step by step.

Holding Afu's delicate hand, she was taught how to wrap the dough after just a few tries. After all, she was a girl known as a genius; how could she be stupid?

They learn things very quickly.

After he taught him, he watched as Afu wrapped the dumplings himself, his hands covered in flour, but his expression was already very focused.

Does one enter a state of focused concentration once they start studying? Indeed, this habit is a talent of top students. Concentrating is a well-known study method, but very few people can actually do it.

Of course, focusing on playing games is another matter.

Chen Ming watched as she was almost finished, then filled the steamer with water, put it on the stove, and turned on the heat. Once A Fu was done, the food could be put into the steamer.

"it is good."

Afu brushed her long, gray hair aside with the back of her hand, looked at the plate of dumplings she had made in front of her, and smiled slightly.

Chen Ming smiled and said—

"It's not difficult, right? Dumplings are more complicated than many other dishes, and you can already make them."

"Um……"

Afu nodded and said—

"Is the next step to steam it?"

"Steaming is easier; boiling can easily cause the dumplings to fall apart if not controlled properly. Also, dumplings require a higher standard; they cannot have any tears."

If a dumpling breaks open... it's a truly devastating disaster; within minutes, a pot of dumpling filling soup will be ready.

He took out a steamer and a brush, and said to Ah Fu—

"Use this brush to apply a layer of oil on it, otherwise it will stick."

"okay."

Afu brushed a layer of oil on the surface, then put the steamer into the pot, heated it up, and then put the dumplings in.

Heat the pan first and add oil to effectively prevent sticking.

Next, we just waited, but while we waited, we taught Afu how to make some dipping sauce.

He was directing her from the side—

"First, crush the garlic cloves with the back of a knife, then put them in a bowl. Next, chop some scallions, remove the seeds from the pickled lemon (they're very bitter), and put them all in the bowl. Then add soy sauce, sugar..."

Chen Ming's dipping sauce was also learned from his family. His father often said that it was a secret recipe that he would not teach or pass on to anyone except his son and wife.

They're acting crazy.

Their family did have some business in the past, but it probably wasn't sauce making; that's pure nonsense.

He even said he'd send it to his wife after he found her.

Chen Ming never took it seriously and taught it directly to A Fu. He always loved to teach others; did he expect to marry every person he taught? Really…

Afu seemed a little afraid of turning on the fire too high, afraid of burning it. She glanced back at Chen Ming, always seeking his opinion, showing a kind of dependence on him.

Chen Ming patted her on the shoulder and said—

"Don't worry, just heat the oil first. Then add the sauce and bring it to a boil."

"...Won't it burn?"

"Just wash the pan if it burns. Actually, what kind of food doesn't burn a little? A little burning is acceptable. Don't worry, I'm watching you."

"They'll be watching me..."

Listening to his words, Afu gradually felt relieved and poured the sauce into the pot.

Then it burned.

The fire was a bit too big, and some parts were burnt.

But it's okay, it's just a little bit, the remaining sauce is already perfect.

He touched it with his chopsticks and tried it.

Afu looked at him cautiously and asked—

"How...how is it?"

"Great, this is fine."

"Really?"

"You'll know once you try the dumplings yourself when they're cooked."

"Ah."

Afu nodded, then looked at his hands.

Today I really did something different. Before, these hands were only used for sword practice and nothing else, but now they have taken on a different meaning.

Afu and he were both sitting on the stool waiting for the dumplings to be cooked. She glanced at him with her gray eyes, then lowered her head, looked at her hands, and said—

"Mr. Chen Ming."

"what?"

"Can I call you Master?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you taught me."

"It's nothing, but speaking of master... that title sounds familiar."

Chen Ming was drawn into his memories by this title. He remembered that back in high school, a few girls used to call him "Master," though it was all half-joking.