Chapter 515: Chapter 513: Delivering Dumplings (Request for Monthly Pass!)

The Sweet and Sour Yam must be considered the A-grade dish that Jiang Feng was most skilled at making.

Since receiving the recipe last New Year, in the span of this year, Jiang Feng had made it at least a thousand times. He even used the Sweet and Sour Yam to stage a dramatic comeback and defeat Wu Minqi in the Good Taste Culinary Competition, and later, he used it to Stand Firm in Taifeng Building.

It could be said that the Sweet and Sour Yam held a special significance for Jiang Feng, marking the beginning of his meteoric rise.

But for Mrs. Jiang, this dish, made cloyingly sweet by the addition of romance, was a bit bland.

“Smaller pieces, even smaller, yes, just this size. If the pieces are too big, it’s inconvenient for your grandma to bite,” Mrs. Jiang directed while nibbling on cold shredded radish salad.

Jiang Feng swore that this was probably the smallest he had ever cut the yam.

“Right, Feng, add more sugar when you make it. Grandma’s health is all good so don’t worry about eating too much sugar being bad for me. Add more, it’s tasteless otherwise,” Mrs. Jiang said.

Jiang Feng immediately thought of the double sweetness Sweet and Sour Yam that Jiang Huiqin had specially made for Old Madam Li Mingyi on New Year’s Eve.

“Grandma, would you like me to make a small portion just for you?” Jiang Feng offered.

“Oh, that would be too much trouble, just half a plate will do. You really are a filial and good child, Feng,” Mrs. Jiang responded with a wide smile. “Grandma will make you pancakes tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Grandma.”

A few minutes later, Mrs. Jiang, with a small plate of Sweet and Sour Yam, sat contentedly by the steamer, gently blowing on it and eating the yam in small bites, while half a bowl of hot, whitish mutton soup sat steaming on the table.

“Feng,” Sir called Jiang Feng over, “tell your grandma to eat less, dinner is starting soon and we don’t want her to fill up now. At her age, if she’s caught snacking in the kitchen, it would be embarrassing if it got out.”

Upon receiving the order, Feng ran over to Mrs. Jiang, but before he could speak, she said, “Feng, smash half a cucumber for Grandma, less vinegar, please.”

“Of course, Grandma!”

Another ten minutes passed, and as Sir’s crispy apple dish came out of the pot, Mrs. Jiang had finished the food on her plate and bowl, and got up satisfied and ready to work.

“Eat less sweets, it’s bad for the teeth,” Sir muttered to Mrs. Jiang.

“It’s just this once. Anyway, my teeth aren’t in good shape, so a little worse won’t make much difference,” Mrs. Jiang replied as she picked up a plate with cold dishes in one hand and strode out leisurely.

She’d have to come back later for the crispy apples, waiting for them to cool down a bit before serving. Fresh from the pot, they were not only too hot to eat but also too hot to carry.

“Feng, go see if the pork knuckle is ready. If it is, take it out of the pot and divide it into two plates. Once you’ve divided it, portion out the Morshock too, then stir-fry two plates of green vegetables as your Grandma said, and finally, prepare the Sweet and Sour Yam,” Sir instructed.

“Okay, Grandpa.”

Since there was only one pork knuckle to be divided into two portions, Jiang Feng had sliced it into two pieces beforehand, resulting in a somewhat irregular appearance.

After several hours of simmering, the pork knuckle had fully absorbed the flavors of the broth. Just as the knuckle was taken out of the pot and plated, Jiang Feng heard the game notification sound.

“Ding, participation in the New Year’s Eve dinner has reached 40%.”

While Sir was busy cooking garlic blackfish, Jiang Feng opened the attribute panel to check the progress of the quest. Perhaps because the Dongpo-style pork knuckle was a main dish, the participation rate jumped to 42%, leaving only the recognition of Jiang Family’s dumplings by the various families to complete the [New Year’s Eve Dinner] side quest.

Jiang Feng finished dividing the dishes and checked the pot, the dumplings were ready. He spoke up, “Grandpa, should I take the dumplings out and deliver them first to Old Madam Li and the other neighbors?”

Sir nodded, “Yes, you and Dede go ahead and deliver the dumplings. I’ll stir fry the greens.”

Meanwhile, the guessing game in the living room had come to an end.

After Mrs. Jiang entered the kitchen, the oldest aunt led some sisters-in-law in setting up the tables and dishes. Everyone returned to their seats and sat quietly, waiting for the most exciting moment of the year to arrive.

As Jiang Feng lifted the lid of the casserole containing the pork knuckle, Jiang Jiankang in the living room shouted out in surprise, confirming it was his version of Dongpo pork knuckle before anyone else.

After that, everyone tried their best, using trickery akin to picking the shortest of three long options and the longest of three short ones during exams, but no one guessed any dish correctly.

There was no helping it; Morshock was simply off the syllabus.

Jiang Feng, carrying a basin of dumplings topped with lamb broth, walked towards the living room, and everyone held their breath in anticipation upon hearing his footsteps.

“There’s the smell of lamb broth, I told you there had to be lamb broth!” Jiang Jianguo said, slapping his thigh excitedly.

“Big brother, we already said lamb broth doesn’t count. How can something so obvious be part of the competition?” Jiang Jiandang raised an objection.

“That’s right, lamb broth doesn’t count!” both Jiang Jianshe and Jiang Jianye said in unison.

Jiang Feng appeared in front of everyone, and all eyes turned to the basin in his hand, only to find it was a basin of…

Eh, why was it a basin of dumplings?

“Grandpa said to serve the dumplings first, once they were ready, and to give a bowl to each family we gave pork to,” Jiang Feng said clearly, the mouthpiece conveying Sir’s will.

“Older sister-in-law, go get the bowls,” Mrs. Jiang commanded. “Feng, are the dishes ready?”

“Almost, another ten minutes or so and we can start the meal,” said Jiang Feng.

The oldest aunt took a stack of clean bowls from the cupboard, and Jiang Feng and the others began filling them with dumplings. They were all generous with the servings, stuffing the bowls until both soup and dumplings threatened to spill over.

Piping hot lamb broth with freshly boiled lamb dumplings – an unbeatable combination!

After some discussion, since Jiang Feng still had to return to cook, he took responsibility for delivering to the nearest neighbors, Li Cuihua and Zhuzi. Because the bowls were filled to the brim and they feared spills, the bowls were covered with another bowl on top. Jiang Feng decided to make multiple trips, carrying only one bowl at a time since he did not have far to go.

Holding the bowl, Jiang Feng trotted next door.

Li Cuihua’s household didn’t have as many people as the Jiang family. It was unlikely that the daughters with their husbands and children would return for the New Year’s Eve dinner, so it was relatively quiet there on New Year’s Eve. When Jiang Feng entered with the dumplings, only Zhao Liang (Li Cuihua’s grandson) was in the living room, and a few steamy dishes were on the dining table.

“Jiang Feng? Why are you here; hasn’t your family started the meal yet?” Zhao Liang curiously asked, shifting his gaze from his mobile phone.

“It’s almost ready. Today we made lamb broth and dumplings at home. My grandpa sent me to bring a bowl for your family. Eat it while it’s hot,” Jiang Feng placed the bowl on the table and uncovered it, revealing plump, round dumplings inside.

The few dumplings on top must have been wrapped by either Jiang Junlian or Jiang Zaidi. They were so plump they were almost bursting, and anyone might believe them if you said they were buns.

“Wow,” Zhao Liang stared at the dumplings, his expression visibly stunned.

“Right, where is everyone from your family? This…” Before Jiang Feng could finish, he was interrupted by Li Cuihua.

Li Cuihua, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen holding a spatula—the kitchen in Li Cuihua’s home was almost adjacent to the living room, just a few steps away.

“Liangliang, have your parents come back from pulling up radishes? If they’re back, quickly wash the radishes and bring them over. I’m still waiting on the radish… Oh, it turns out to be Feng!”

Jiang Feng: ???

Pulling up radishes on New Year’s Eve?

What kind of peculiar New Year’s Eve activity does the Zhao family have?

“My grandma just found out we don’t have enough radishes, so my parents went to the field to pull some,” Zhao Liang explained.

Jiang Feng immediately understood; he thought that it was odd when he had just stepped out the door and had seen two people in the vegetable field across the way—he had thought it was too dark and he was seeing things.

Turns out it was Zhao Liang’s parents out there, pulling up radishes in the dark.

“Old Madam Li, I’m here to deliver some dumplings, just out of the pot and perfect to eat while they’re hot,” Jiang Feng said with a smile.

“Oh my, Feng, you’re so thoughtful, making a special trip to deliver dumplings on New Year’s Eve.” Li Cuihua was extremely enthusiastic, her hands fumbling all over as if trying to dig something out to give to Jiang Feng.

“That’s right, Liangliang, grab a couple of handfuls of sugar-fried chestnuts for Feng. These chestnuts were specially picked by your Grandpa Zhao from the mountain a few days ago, very sweet. Liangliang, grab a few extra handfuls for Feng. When your parents are back, tell them to hurry and bring the radishes over to me.” Li Cuihua said to Jiang Feng somewhat apologetically while smiling, “Feng, I still have dishes to cook, so I won’t keep you chatting. Come over tomorrow for some snacks.”

“Thank you, Old Madam Li,” Jiang Feng sweetly said, mimicking Jiang Junlian’s tone. He had discovered that most of the older ladies were quite taken by Jiang Junlian’s way.

Jiang Feng had delivered a bowl of dumplings and gained a pocket full of chestnuts. The moment he stepped out of Li Cuihua’s house, he heard the familiar game prompt sound.

“Ding, received recognition from one family.”

It seems Zhao Liang couldn’t resist sneaking a taste.

After returning, Jiang Feng shared half a pocket of chestnuts with his uncles and then went to deliver dumplings to the Zhuzi family. When he came back, he carried a bag of egg yolk pastries in his hand.

Jiang Feng, not particularly interested in egg yolk pastries, generously offered them up and snuck into the back kitchen to make Sweet and Sour Yam. The old man had finished his “battle” and was holding a bowl of mutton soup, blowing on it gently as he sipped it slowly.

The other bowl beside the old man betrayed that he had already had a meal.

Jiang Feng: …

I didn’t expect you, Grandpa, to also steal…

No, that’s not right, “stealing” isn’t the word you use among chefs.

Tasting the food, yes, that’s it. The old man was simply helping everyone out by taste-testing the saltiness.

Taking advantage of the time the old man spent testing the saltiness of an entire bowl of mutton soup, Jiang Feng’s Sweet and Sour Yam came out of the pot. While he was cooking the yam, the game prompted him a few more times. If he hadn’t counted wrong, he only needed the recognition of one more family to complete the [New Year’s Eve Dinner] side quest.

Jiang Feng and the old man took turns bringing out the dishes. Jiang Zaidi and the others hadn’t returned from delivering dumplings yet.

With each dish presented, everyone was stunned once more. By the time the table was set, it was silent as a tomb, with all faces showing baffled expressions, an air of helplessness mixed with their puzzlement.

Jiang Jianguo stared at the dishes arrayed on the table, deep in thought, beginning to doubt if he really was Jiang Weiguo’s biological son.

How come I don’t recognize a single dish that my own father made?

The old man didn’t sit down but asked while standing, “Who guessed right?”

“Me, me, me, Dad, I guessed the pork knuckle by its smell!” Jiang Jiankang raised his hand to speak.

“And also Junlian, she identified the honey-roasted lamb ribs by its smell earlier,” Jiang Jiandang added.

The old man nodded his head and then turned back into the kitchen to bring out two small plates of stir-fried sheep’s stomach.

A modest pile, which could be devoured in three bites with Jiang Jiankang’s mouth; the sheep’s stomach was finely sliced and tantalizing, mixed with coriander and distinct strands of red chili pepper.

It was probably made while Jiang Feng was out delivering dumplings, still steaming.

“We didn’t make Nine Turns Intestine this year, consider this a reward,” the old man said with a hint of a smile, “Junlian is good.”

It was just too bad that the person being praised wasn’t there, or else Jiang Junlian would probably throw herself at the old man’s feet in agony, crying and shouting, “Grandpa, really I was just guessing, I don’t have the talent and am not suitable for cooking!”

“Dad, what dishes did you make today?” asked Jiang Jiankang, bolstered by his special reward.

“Morshock, it’s part of a whole sheep feast, made from assorted sheep offal,” the old man took his seat.

“The last time your dad made this dish was fifty years ago, specially for the fire-fighting heroes. Eat while it’s warm, have a little more,” Mrs. Jiang said cheerily, “Have Dede and the rest finished delivering?”

“It’s just the last batch now,” the aunt replied.

“Then let’s wait for them to come back to start the meal. We really worked them hard, sending them out in the cold to deliver dumplings,” Mrs. Jiang said with a smile, “You worked hard today, Feng. If you’re hungry, eat first.”

“It’s fine, Grandma, I’ll wait for De and the others,” Jiang Feng said.

He had tasted plenty in the kitchen earlier and wasn’t hungry at all.

“Ding, side quest [New Year’s Eve Dinner] completed, received quest reward [A Memory of Jiang Weiguo].”

Just as the game prompt sound finished playing, Jiang Zaidi’s booming voice came from outside.

“Grandma, we’re back!”

“Good, you’re back. Sit down and eat, your grandpa and Feng have prepared a whole table of dishes just waiting for you guys!”

Jiang Zaidi and the others whirled in, quickly finding their seats.

Dinner was starting.

.

PS:

It’s the end of the month, I’m asking for monthly tickets!