Looking at that proud back, Li Chuchu suddenly thought Luo Yingshu was quite an interesting person.
Her temper was like that of a domestic cat. If you ignored her, she would come and provoke you from time to time. But if you genuinely showed concern for her, she would get angry.
...
Shen Yanshan had just walked into the house when he suddenly thought of something. He then rode his bicycle out again.
Li Chuchu thought he had some urgent matter and didn't have time to ask.
Li Chuchu had to go to work. When she came back at noon, there was no meat left in the supply and marketing cooperatives.
They could only have a "vegetarian feast" for a few days.
Li Chuchu consoled herself that vegetables also had their own advantages.
She was thinking about how to cook the vegetables to make them flavorful.
It was a bit late to make lunch now, so Li Chuchu had to speed up. She checked the vegetables at home and decided to make stir - fried water bamboo shoots with chili oil and cold - dressed shredded lettuce.
She would also make scallion pancakes as the staple food.
Li Chuchu had learned how to make scallion pancakes from Aunt Wang a few days ago.
Aunt Wang had explained it once, and she had remembered it right away.
Sprinkle a flat spoonful of salt into one catty of flour. Then pour in a bowl of hot water and a bowl of cold water and stir. After kneading it into a dough, let it rise for five minutes.
When the time was up, divide the dough into six equal - sized pieces. Brush some oil on the bottom of the pan and spray a little oil on the surface. Let it rise for about twenty minutes.
Taking advantage of this time,
Li Chuchu put the crisp lettuce on the chopping board and cut it into fine shreds. She then sprinkled a spoonful of salt on the shredded lettuce to draw out the water. Immediately afterwards, she added dried chili peppers, minced garlic, and sesame seeds, and then poured a circle of hot oil over them.
The aroma of the chili peppers and minced garlic was released, and the plain - looking vegetables suddenly became delicious and attractive.
She then added a little light soy sauce, rice vinegar, chicken essence, salt and other seasonings.
This cold dish was ready.
Just as she finished making this dish, Shen Yanshan came back. He was still carrying a piece of meat in his hand, which seemed to be more than one catty. There was more fat than lean meat, which just met the standard of a good piece of meat in this era.
Li Chuchu stared at him in disbelief. "Where did you get this?"
Shen Yanshan coughed lightly and leaned closer to Li Chuchu. "The black market."
"Did you buy it so quickly?"
It was not until Shen Yanshan let out a sneer, with obvious disdain in his tone, that Li Chuchu realized that the man in front of her was already an old hand at shopping in the black market.
The vegetarian feast was delicious, but meat was surely more satisfying.
Li Chuchu decided not to make stir - fried water bamboo shoots anymore and instead make stewed potatoes with streaky pork.
First, cut the streaky pork into pieces and put them in the pan. Stir - fry until they turn slightly brown, then add the freshly - cut potato slices. These were the newly - harvested small potatoes this year. They were more glutinous than ordinary yellow potatoes and had higher nutritional value.
During the process, just add oil and salt to stir - fry, and you can bring out the original flavor of the food.
After stir - frying the potatoes and meat for a while, pour in some water and simmer for about fifteen minutes. The stewed soup was milky white, with both the aroma of the meat and the sweetness of the potatoes.
This large pot of stewed potatoes with streaky pork filled the soup basin to the brim. Li Chuchu then carried the dish to the table.
By this time, the dough was almost risen.
Li Chuchu mixed a tablespoon of flour, a teaspoon of five - spice powder, a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of oil together to make a crispy oil paste.
Aunt Wang said the five - spice powder could be added or not. The breakfast shops used this recipe, but not every family had five - spice powder on hand. For daily home cooking, adding more salt and scallions would also work.
However, Li Chuchu had the System Mall. The five - spice powder only cost five cents a bag, so she had bought some for future use.
Li Chuchu then rolled out the dough with a rolling pin.
She spread a layer of the crispy oil paste on it and sprinkled a layer of scallions.
She cut one side with a knife, then rolled the dough into a cone shape, and then rolled it into a thin pancake. She put it in the oil pan and fried it until both sides were golden brown.
Shen Yanshan took off his shirt and hung it on the clothes hanger at the door.
His eyes lingered on the hanger for a moment. This clothes hanger was an old item that Li Chuchu had found recently. It was a red - wood clothes - drying pole with beautiful patterns on it. It was very practical for hanging clothes.
Li Chuchu was really a very considerate person. She even thought about such a small thing as hanging clothes.
Shen Yanshan turned around and went out to help Li Chuchu fry the scallion pancakes.
Li Chuchu rolled out the dough on one side, while Shen Yanshan fried the pancakes on the other.
With their division of labor, the efficiency was much higher. In no time, six scallion pancakes were ready.
Uncle Wang sometimes didn't come back for lunch, so only Aunt Wang was at home.
Li Chuchu sent a freshly - fried scallion pancake and a bowl of stewed potatoes with streaky pork to Aunt Wang for her to taste. Aunt Wang accepted them with a big smile and asked her to take a jar of pickled cucumbers she had just made.
...
Shen Yanshan saw his wife come out of Aunt Wang's house with a jar of pickled cucumbers in her arms. He squinted slightly.
It seemed that Li Chuchu had been getting along well with the neighbors recently.
No wonder. She was beautiful, polite in her speech, actions, and interactions with others. It was hard not to like her.
Those young men at noon today had suddenly made Shen Yanshan vigilant. He calmed down and observed carefully. He found that Li Chuchu had changed dramatically. Not only he but also the people around her had noticed the change.
While feeling secretly proud, Shen Yanshan also felt a sense of crisis.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
His eye sockets were too deep, making him look a bit cold...
There was not much flesh on his cheeks, making him look a bit fierce...
If he hadn't looked in the mirror, it would have been okay. But once he did, Shen Yanshan fell into deep self - doubt.
...
"What are you doing there? It's time to eat!"
When Li Chuchu came back from Aunt Wang's house, she saw Shen Yanshan standing in front of the mirror at the door.
She suddenly remembered a meme on the Internet: It seems that my husband has started to fall in love recently. He suddenly starts to pay attention to his image and often looks at himself in the mirror. I'm really happy for him.
Come to think of it, it really had that kind of feeling.
Shen Yanshan didn't know that Li Chuchu had been making fun of him in her mind. When he heard her voice, he immediately walked over and set the chopsticks and bowls for Li Chuchu.
This was the first time Li Chuchu had made scallion pancakes, and they were unexpectedly good.
They weren't too oily. The aroma of the scallions and the five - spice powder complemented each other perfectly. It was neither too salty nor too bland.
They were soft and delicious in the mouth, even better than those made in the breakfast shops.
The potatoes were stewed to a soft and mushy state. They would break apart as soon as you picked them up with chopsticks. These small potatoes were especially glutinous and sweet, and even the soup was fresh and sweet.
Shen Yanshan went from being preoccupied at first to burying his head in eating later.
It was so fragrant. It was incredibly fragrant.
Shen Yanshan ate three scallion pancakes in one go. Li Chuchu even gave him half of the one she couldn't finish, and only then was he barely full.
After the meal,
Li Chuchu still had the task assigned by the system in the morning on her mind.
She casually said, "By the way, it seems that you haven't been going out much recently. Do you have any other plans?"
Shen Yanshan instinctively put down his chopsticks and sat up straight.
Was Li Chuchu dissatisfied with him for just eating and not working at home?
He looked down at himself. It seemed that he had eaten a bit too much.