Ouyang had long heard that Qin Huai’s Four Happiness glutinous rice balls had transformed, and decided to have a big feast tonight.
Even though he’s currently having dinner, he decided to indulge again later.
These days, Ouyang hadn’t been going to Huang Ji for breakfast, not because he’s embarrassed, but simply because he couldn’t get up.
Since living alone, Ouyang developed the habit of playing on his phone late at night, often sleeping till noon and then going to Guanhe Building or other restaurants for a meal, and in the evening, going to Qin Huai’s house for a packed dinner.
Thanks to Ouyang, Qin Luo, Chen Huihong, and Chen Huixi, Qin Huai has been packing more and more dinners these past few days. Both Ouyang and Qin Luo are people who eat for two. On nights when there’s a tasting event, Qin Huai can pack less, but if not, on the way back with the packed dinner, Qin Huai feels like a delivery guy.
"Eat, you can all eat. The red bean, sesame brittle, and mixed fruit filling balls are made during the day and brought back, now I’m only making the fresh meat filling, and there’s plenty," Qin Huai said.
With Qin Huai’s assurance, Ouyang felt at ease and continued eating.
"Sister Hong, could you please announce in the group that everyone can come over to eat the rice balls in 40 minutes?"
"Sure thing!" Chen Huihong began sending messages.
Qin Huai continued stirring the filling.
His intuition told him that while the fresh meat filling rice ball seemed the simplest of the four kinds, the actual difficulty might not be less than that of the mixed fruit filling.
He thought it was simple only because his skills hadn’t reached the level to detect its difficulty.
Forty minutes later, the grandpas and grandmas gathered again at Qin Huai’s house and Gong Liang’s house.
Gong Liang, Guo Mingzhu, and Gong Baozhu all ran to Qin Huai’s living room. Gong Baozhu didn’t expect to encounter such a good thing on her first day moving in, her face turned red with excitement, grabbing her mom and asking continuously if there were any considerations when eating the rice balls.
Is there a limit, do we need to wash bowls, what tone and adjectives should be used for praise after eating?
If praising, should it be honest, exaggerated, or completely embellished?
Guo Mingzhu told her daughter, if the rice balls are delicious, just be herself, if not, then start honing her acting skills.
As for how to act specifically, her parents will give her an example first, not too exaggerated, because everyone in this room is a professional actor.
Gong Baozhu didn’t understand, but felt it was challenging, deciding to quietly stay in the back to absorb experience when everyone starts eating the rice balls.
The newcomers are learning, and the elders are exchanging.
Xu Tuqiang, being late, couldn’t squeeze into Qin Huai’s house and had to stay at Gong Liang’s. Comforting himself about the warm floors, he silently cursed Grandpa Qian and Grandma Ding for not saving him a spot, while also taking out his notebook to repeatedly review his lines.
In the days when Qin Huai didn’t make rice balls at night, the grandpas and grandmas weren’t idle, practicing their speeches at home.
Regardless of whether they hit the nail on the head, they first had to speak.
Saying something like, "I think this rice ball is great, indeed made from glutinous rice polished in well water, the mixed fruit filling ball has a subtle fragrance, is refreshing and smooth, it’s chewy yet not sticky, with a strong nutty flavor, and the combination of candied fruits and nuts is simply perfect."
Never mind if it’s accurate, just say it first.
Among the crowd waiting to taste, perhaps only Qin Luo was different.
The child was in the room at Gong Liang’s house doing exercises.
The room Qin Huai rented doesn’t have a study desk, but the room in the house Gong Liang bought does, it was newly purchased when moving in, brand new, a study desk perfect for doing exercises.
It’s much more comfortable than doing exercises at the dining table.
Gong Liang and Guo Mingzhu expressed that the child can always come to their house if there’s a need for studying. They can also come here for tutoring, as the house has warm floors, it’s cozy.
In the kitchen, Qin Huai is cooking the rice balls.
There are only two stoves in the kitchen, so it’s not possible to cook four kinds of rice balls in four separate pots, Qin Huai had to be a bit casual, using two pots instead, focusing on cooking the fresh meat filling rice balls.
The rice balls are served.
One round is ready, as per usual, Ouyang tastes after 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Once tasting is done, Ouyang goes next door to call Qin Luo over, while Chen Huihong helps distribute the rice balls.
It’s been a while since they had normal Four Happiness rice balls, the grandpas and grandmas were a bit shocked upon seeing the bowl.
Hey, no need for blind boxes today.
Everyone started eating.
Qin Huai also began eating.
Qin Huai started with the mixed fruit filling.
The standard answer is of course that the mixed fruit filling rice ball is delicious, its sweetness is just right, and the combination is perfect. Whether it’s with sunflower seeds and peanuts or walnuts and almonds, they’re all good, each flavor has its characteristics, all highlighting the nutty taste based on the primary tone of winter melon candy.
This is a sweet lover’s favorite.
Qin Huai first defined the mixed fruit filling rice ball.
Then had the red bean filling.
Grainy, very rich in flavor, a standard taste of moderately sweet red bean filling, with great texture, a gentle press and the filling flows over the tongue, the warm sensation paired with the soft chewy glutinous rice skin, it’s simply the best match.
This one’s even better, the red bean filling is a late bloomer!
Red bean filling gets one more point!
The third one, Qin Huai chose the pure meat filling to balance out the flavor.
Having eaten two sweet filling balls, Qin Huai was already a bit sick of it, desperately needing a savory rice ball to balance things.
After two sweet fillings, the fresh meat filling tasted quite ordinary. It’s like a glass of plain water between two courses, eating it is more for rinsing the palate, it didn’t add anything extra, let alone save the day.