Last time, after mooching off Dundun’s luck, Lin Xu immediately drew the Filling Technique. So this time, he absolutely had to borrow his little kitty’s luck again.
What else could he do? He was just notoriously unlucky, after all.
He’d been too busy to play games lately; otherwise, Lin Xu would definitely have been drawing prizes with Dundun in his arms.
Getting whatever Character Card he wanted would have been a breeze.
Yuan Fei was still waiting for a reply. Lin Xu collected his thoughts and said with a smile, "The invoice won’t be a problem. I’ll contact you once it’s ready."
"No need, no need. Just give it to your wife later. She’s in charge of this, after all. I’m just here to transfer the money."
With that, Yuan Fei bid farewell and left. Lin Xu had originally planned to pack some food for him, but Yuan Fei declined. Lin Xu saw him to the door.
After Yuan Fei drove away, Lin Xu turned around and picked up Dundun, who was still fast asleep on the cash register. He thought silently,
Dundun seemed a bit confused. But seeing it was Lin Xu, the cat promptly snuggled into his arms. Then, Dundun looked around provocatively but, failing to locate the Yueyue Demon King, his little face suddenly drooped.
Lin Xu rubbed the little fellow’s head. Once the lottery wheel in his mind was fully spinning, he pressed the draw button.
Soon, the wheel stopped. The system’s prompt sounded in his mind: "Congratulations to the host for acquiring the Perfect Level steamed dish—Pickled Pork."
Wuhu! Lin Xu thought. Having Dundun’s help really made a difference. I actually managed to draw such a classic steamed dish so easily! Coincidentally, the steamer has enough space. I can steam some and try selling it at the store. I can’t always introduce new appetizers and cold dishes. This type of meat dish also needs to be introduced to thoroughly whet the customers’ appetites.
After the drawing ended, Lin Xu placed Dundun on the cash register and turned to head to the kitchen.
Dundun: ... Cuddle me when you need me, then toss me aside when you’re done. Hmph, human! What do you take this kitty for? I’m angry! The kind of angry that can’t be easily appeased!
The little fellow grumpily lay down on the cash register, ready to continue his sleep. Suddenly, he smelled a fragrance. Opening his eyes, he saw Lin Xu putting steamed Chicken Thigh in the cat bowl.
"Tiantian, this Chicken Thigh has just been steamed, and it’s still a bit hot. You feed it to Dundun later. I need to get back to work."
"Alright, Boss! Dundun, aren’t you going to thank your dad?"
Dundun thought, No! This kitty is still going to be angry for another five minutes... Well, maybe just one minute; five minutes is too long.
When the store was preparing to close, Lin Xu called out to the young apprentice, "Take the Pork Grease out of the fridge and soak it in water. We’ll steam buns with it in the morning."
Unknowingly, a lot of Pork Grease had accumulated, even taking up precious freezer space. It had to be used up quickly to make room for freezing other ingredients.
"Alright, Boss! Finally, we can have buns again!"
The young apprentice happily fetched a large basin of water. Then, he took the bags of Pork Grease from the freezer, one by one, and placed them in the basin to thaw. To improve the thawing, he specifically placed a colander over the Pork Grease and weighted it down with a small basin filled with water.
After the young apprentice finished this, everyone clocked out and headed home.
As soon as Lin Xu got home, Dundun immediately dashed to the cat tree to sharpen his claws. Lin Xu stuffed his clothes into the washing machine and then comfortably took a bath. After his bath, he hung up the clothes, flopped onto the bed, and picked up his phone to chat with Shen Jiayue.
"I just saw the young apprentice saying in the group chat that you’re going to make buns? Can I have some too?"
A certain adorable girl in bunny pajamas was also lying in bed, visions of the Pork Grease buns they had eaten on graduation photo day floating in her mind. Oh, how I miss Auntie’s cooking!
Lin Xu was amused by her obvious craving. "Sure. Don’t eat breakfast tomorrow. I’ll get an errand runner to deliver them to your audit office. You can try my steamed bun skills too."
Now that I have the Dough Technique, the Filling Adjustment Technique, and the Filling Technique, making buns is no challenge at all, Lin Xu thought. The reason I’m making buns tomorrow isn’t to show off, but simply to free up some space in the freezer.
Seeing her message, Shen Jiayue immediately replied, "Then I’ll have four buns and a bowl of soup. If you have other types of buns, give me some of those too."
Other buns? Lin Xu mused. Isn’t she asking for too much? It’s so busy in the morning; who has time to prepare several different kinds of fillings?
He was just about to refuse when a thought struck him: Since I can make buns, steaming a few brown sugar triangles shouldn’t be a problem, right?
So he quickly typed back, "Tomorrow, I’ll also steam some brown sugar triangles for you. You shouldn’t always eat such greasy food so early in the morning; it’s good to have some variety."
Brown! Sugar! Triangles!!!!! Shen Jiayue’s eyes lit up with surprise. This is my absolute favorite! I remember in elementary school, Grandma would often give me a small brown sugar triangle, repeatedly reminding me to be careful not to burn my mouth while eating. So many years have passed in a blink of an eye, and it feels like I haven’t had a brown sugar triangle in ages. I can’t believe I’ll get to eat them tomorrow! This is such a delightful surprise! Oh, Lin Xu, you’re so good to me! Can I marry you right now?
After chatting a bit more, they both went to sleep.
「Early the next day.」
After buying groceries from the market, Lin Xu first prepared some dough. Then, he brought over a wok, washed it with hot water, placed it on the stove, added a bowl of flour, and slowly toasted it over low heat.
He kept stir-frying until the flour turned slightly golden brown and emitted a fragrant aroma; the toasted flour was then ready.
When making brown sugar triangles, whether using brown sugar or white sugar, some toasted flour should be added. This makes the melted syrup thicker, preventing it from oozing everywhere when eaten. Plus, the syrup gains a tempting floury aroma, tasting much better than sugar alone.
After the toasted flour was ready, Lin Xu began to attend to other tasks in the shop: soaking the Chicken Feet, placing vegetables in the sink, charring pork skin, and also making some red onion crisps for braised pork rice.
By six o’clock, the dough had risen. Lin Xu kneaded it twice. First, he wrapped the Pork Grease buns with their prepared filling and placed them on a steaming tray to proof further, which would make the bun skins even tastier.
After wrapping the Pork Grease buns, he started on the brown sugar triangles. He mixed brown sugar and toasted flour in a 3:1 ratio in a bowl. Then, he divided the dough into small pieces. After dividing, he flattened each piece and rolled it into a wrapper.
Holding a wrapper in his hand, he used a small spoon to place a few scoops of the brown sugar filling in the center. He then pinched three points of the wrapper’s edge towards the middle, folding and sealing them tightly, forming the basic shape of a brown sugar triangle. Finally, he sealed all three edges completely. A beautiful brown sugar triangle was made.
As he was wrapping them, a commotion suddenly came from the entrance, and it sounded like his master’s voice was part of it.
"You’re the only one live-streaming around here, and you still say you’re not Gao Xiaoshuai?"
"I’m not... Don’t pull me! I was just... just taking a few pictures... Let go! Quickly, let go of me!"
Lin Xu went to the door. He saw Old Gao being pulled by a woman in a leopard-print dress. She looked to be in her fifties and still had a certain charm despite her current state.
Seeing Lin Xu open the door, the woman finally let go.
"Master, who is this?" Lin Xu asked. He had never seen his master look so flustered.
The woman, however, was also in a disheveled state; the heel of one of her high heels had snapped off.
Old Gao cleared his throat twice and sheepishly put away his selfie stick. "Just... just a... a regular... leopard-print auntie..."
First update of the day! My brothers, please send your Monthly Tickets and recommendation votes this way!