Chapter 274: Secret Recipe Century Eggs

Translator: 549690339

“[The basic secret recipe for making century eggs boosts the taste and reduces the preparation time to one third of the original, saving a lot of time. Please work hard and keep moving forward on the road of diligence and prosperity!] Excellent!

This mission not only granted Zhuang Qingning the much-desired century eggs recipe but also brought together two long-lost sisters. It’s like killing two birds with one stone!

Zhuang Qingning chuckled at the sight, while Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Han were still immersed in the joy of their unexpected reunion.

“Is this your granddaughter?” Mrs. Wen examined Zhou Daya.

“Yes, her surname is Zhou, and we call her Daya.” Mrs. Han introduced Daya, “Daya, come say hello to your great-aunt.”

Zhou Daya, somewhat incredulous that her grandmother had suddenly found a close friend, obediently stepped forward and called out sweetly, “Great Aunt.” “You’re a good girl, unlike your grandmother who was always sharp-tongued and not very popular.” Mrs. Wen laughed, “By the way, how come you’re here? Didn’t you marry someone far away a long time ago?”

“Well, it’s a long story…” Mrs. Han sighed, and her joy faded slightly.

“If it’s a long story, then take your time. Come on, let’s go home. I’ve made chicken for dinner, and I was planning to invite Ning over. Now that you’re here, let’s all go to my place for dinner.”

Mrs. Wen joked, patting Mrs. Han’s arm, “I always knewyou had a big appetite. Who would have thought that your greed would lead to such good luck, having the fattest chicken in the house?”

“Yes, indeed. No one else has such good fortune,” Mrs. Han laughed heartily.

Everyone then followed Mrs. Wen home for dinner.

Mrs. Wen’s specialty was chicken fried with her homemade chili sauce. She added, fresh wood ear mushrooms, ordinary mushrooms, potatoes, and green peppers, which made the dish oily, shiny, and fragrant. Spooning some of the rich sauce into a bowl of noodles was simply divine.

After dinner, they discussed the work assignments for Zhou Daya in the tofu skin workshop and the living arrangement for Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya.

“Why find another place to live? Don’t we have enough rooms at home?” Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wen slapped the table, “There are empty rooms at home. From now on, you stay here. It’s boring for me to be alone in this big house all day.”

“It’s very close from here to the tofu skin workshop, just a few steps away. It won’t be inconvenient.”

“What, you think my old house is too run-down for you and your granddaughter?”

“Relax, I don’t mind your snoring at night…”

“And I won’t talk about your teeth grinding problem everywhere.” Mrs. Han retorted, not backing down.

Well, they had only just gotten down to business, and these sister-like friends started bickering again.

However, since Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya had decided to stay at Mrs. Wen’s place temporarily, Zhuang Qingning found it convenient and didn’t say anything. Instead, she helped Mrs. Wen clean up the dishes and then went home with Zhuang Qingsui.

As soon as they reached home, Snowball the cat ran over, rubbing against Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui’s legs. It meowed at them twice, looking up expectantly.

“Are you hungry, Snowball?” Zhuang Qingsui picked up Snowball and stroked its little head, “You’ve been home alone all day, bored, right? I’ll prepare something for you to eat.”

She boiled the chicken breast and chicken heart bought from the market until they were cooked, chopped them into small pieces, and mixed them with crushed egg yolk. She then placed the mixture in front of Snowball.

Snowball sniffed the food in the bowl and started eating tastefully.

After eating, it licked its lips and front paws, then went to Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui to act cute and ask for pets and playtime.

At night, it slept quietly on a small mat next to the sister’s bed, without disturbing their sleep.

This made Zhuang Qingsui fall more and more in love with Snowball.

The next day, Zhuang Qingning went to Mrs. Wen’s house to fetch Zhou Daya and took her to the tofu skin workshop to familiarize herself with the manufacturing process.

Since they hadn’t found suitable management personnel for the tofu skin workshop, Zhuang Mingliang had been teaching the newcomers the process of making tofu skin in the meantime. Seeing Zhuang Qingning arrive at the workshop, he hurriedly came to greet her, “Little Sister Ning.”

“How are the newcomers learning these days?”

All the workers in the tofu skin workshop had been carefully selected by Zhuang Qingning, Zhuang Jingye, and Zhuang Yonghe, each of them diligent and wise. The question was not whether they could work hard, but how well they could learn.

“Everyone is learning fast. Judging by the current situation, the day after tomorrow, we should be able to officially start making tofu skin.” Zhuang Mingliang, seeing Zhou Daya standing beside Zhuang Qingning, asked, “Who is this?”

“This is Zhou Daya. She’s here to work in our tofu skin workshop. She calls Mrs. Wen ‘Great Aunt’ and has recently moved into Mrs. Wen’s house.” Zhuang Qingning didn’t go into too much detail but gave a brief introduction.

“Hello, Sister Zhou,” Zhuang Mingliang greeted, “I’m Zhuang Mingliang, you can call me Mingliang.”

“So, Sister Ning, what will Sister Zhou be learning?”

“You can take a look and see where a vacancy needs to be filled, and temporarily assign her there.” instructed Zhuang Qingning, “Besides that, find out what each of the people here is good at. Make a note of it and assign them accordingly. Everyone should be given the chance to utilize their talents.” “Don’t worry, Sister Ning.” Zhuang Mingliang grinned, and after a few words with Zhuang Qingning, he took Zhou Daya to see the overall process of making tofu skin and the use of various tools.

Zhuang Qingning stayed in the workshop for half a day, seeing that everyone was learning diligently under Zhuang Mingliang’s detailed instruction, she left the tofu skin workshop and headed home.

On the way, she ran into Zhuang Yonghe rushing towards her.

“Little Ning, there’s something urgent I need to tell you,” Zhuang Yonghe wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“What is it?” Seeing Zhuang Yonghe’s hurried demeanor, Zhuang Qingning became nervous.

“I found out something strange these past few days while selling tofu and dried tofu. Someone else is also selling seasoned dried tofu in another place, which is normal because we can have tofu workshops here and people can have them there too. But what’s strange is that I’ve been told their dried tofu tastes similar to ours.”

“I thought it was strange, so I specifically went there and bought some to try. It’s true; the taste is very similar. Although it’s not exactly the same, it’s about 90% similar. I thought it was strange, so I brought some back for you to try.” With that, Zhuang Yonghe unfolded the handkerchief in his hand and gave Zhuang Qingning the dried tofu.

Zhuang Qingning took a piece to taste, savoring it carefully.

“How is it?” asked Zhuang Yonghe.

“The taste of the marinade is quite unique. As for the 10% difference you mentioned, I think it lies in the tofu itself.”