Chapter 8

Ning He took out a piece of White Rabbit milk candy, opened the wrapper, and handed the white candy to Qianlin’s mouth.

“Eat some candy and go out to read. Mom will take care of the rest.”

Qianlin opened his little mouth and took the candy in.

The sweetness of the milk candy spread across the tip of the tongue, and the rich milky aroma filled the entire mouth. This was the most delicious candy Qianlin had ever eaten.

Just as Junzi’s reaction showed, the curve at the corner of his lips became bigger and bigger.

Qianlin went out obediently.

Ning He washed and scrubbed, and finally started the first step of cooking, making lard.

She cut the fat into small thin slices, and the process of cutting the meat alone took her most of the day.

The slices cannot be too big, otherwise the lard will cook too slowly and not be crispy enough.

It also cannot be too small, otherwise after the oil is boiled out, there will be little meat residue left.

Cut into slices of uniform thickness.

After Ninghe cut the slices, put them into the pot, added half a bowl of water, and boiled them over high heat until the water was dry. When oil began to come out, turned to low heat and carefully turned the slices with a spatula to allow the slices to be heated evenly. The next step was to wait.

Wait for the fat in the pot to release oil until the oil residue turns golden yellow.

After filtering, place the lard in a barrel specially designed for lard.

After the lard has cooled, adding a little sugar and salt can not only increase the flavor of the lard but also prevent it from spoiling.

The aroma of boiling lard wafted out of the house, and the whole courtyard was filled with the strong smell of lard.

Zhao Lan, who lived in the next yard, smelled the aroma of lard in the house and followed the smell to Ning He’s door.

He raised his neck and asked curiously: “Xiao Ning, what are you cooking? It smells so good!”

Ning He came out of the kitchen and waved to Zhao Lan with a smile: “I’m boiling lard, Sister Zhao Lan, come here, you can take some of the leftover lard as a snack.”

Zhao Lan was stunned. Wow! How many pounds of fat do you need to buy to make lard? How much money does it cost? Captain He’s wife is really willing to spend money.

If she did that, her husband Yang would definitely call her a spendthrift woman.

Zhao Lan muttered to herself quietly, but she kept walking. She stepped into Ning He’s yard and followed Ning He to the kitchen to take a look.

The whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of lard. Ning He had filled a wooden barrel with a large bucket of lard, which was still hot.

In the pot is the golden and crispy residue left over from frying the lard.

There was half a pot of oil residue alone, which was enough to show how much fat Ning He bought.

Zhao Lan shouted, “Hey, Xiao Ning, how much meat did you buy?”

Ning He picked up the aluminum box and scooped the oil residue from the pot with a spoon until the box was full. She closed the lid and handed it to Zhao Lan.

“There’s not much meat, and lard is good for cooking. I bought it just to make this much oil for frying.”

Zhao Lan quickly took it and kept thanking Ning He with a smile: “Thank you, Xiao Ning, I didn’t know you know a lot about food. You’re just as particular as the chef in that state-owned restaurant.”

It’s completely different from when I first came here, when I never had to do anything but eat out in restaurants or in the cafeteria.

Zhao Lan thought Ning He knew nothing.

At that time, I felt sorry for Captain He. It would have been fine if he had just married a wife to worship, but after a busy day outside, he had to be a slave when he returned home, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of his son.

At that time, Ning He was just a hands-off boss who turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside.

Ning He just smiled after hearing this and said, “When I first came here, I didn’t know how to use the things here, so I just watched Chuanzi do it. But I can’t always let Chuanzi do it, he would be tired after a busy day, so I just learned and used it based on my memory.”

“Xiao Ning, it’s good that you think so! It’s better for the couple to live a good life than anything else!” Zhao Lan nodded. She didn’t have any doubts, and there was nothing to doubt.

It’s a good thing that Captain Ren He’s wife has come to her senses. As a neighbor, she will definitely be pleased.

Ning He agreed with a smile: “I’ll remember Sister Zhao Lan, you should take the oil residue back and let Junzi and his brother have a taste.”

“Hey! Hey! Xiao Ning, thank you!” Zhao Lan did not forget to thank Ning He when she returned.

Ning He waved at her.

After giving Zhao Lan the oil residue, there was still a little bit of oil residue left in the pot. Ning He didn’t want to waste it, so he simply cut some side dishes and made dumplings with the oil residue.

Qianlin also came to help after washing his hands.

A three-year-old child is curious about everything.

At first Ning He thought Qianlin didn’t know how to make dumplings, but before she started, Qianlin had already made a dumpling.

Ning He was shocked again. How big is a three-year-old’s palm? How could he wrap a dumpling so quickly?

As soon as Qianlin looked up, he met Ninghe’s surprised gaze, and he quickly figured out what his mother was surprised about.

Then he explained in a low voice: “These are what my father taught me.”

Ning He asked: “Did Linbao and his father make the dumplings together before?”

Qianlin nodded: “My father and I both like eating dumplings.”

After Qianlin finished speaking, seeing that Ning He didn’t respond, he realized something and quickly added, “Mom didn’t eat dumplings before, was it because there was no oil residue in the dumpling filling?”

Ning He understood Qian Lin’s meaning. He was trying to give Ning He a way out.

Xiao Qianlin didn’t want his mother to say those unpleasant words before, but also didn’t want his mother to be embarrassed because she couldn’t respond, so he pointed the key to the problem to the oil residue.

Ning He really likes this child more and more. He is thoughtful and always considerate of others. He looks like a little adult and is really lovable.

“Thank you, my dear Linbao. Mom was ignorant before, but I will correct myself slowly in the future, okay?”

Qianlin nodded, Ning He quickly took a piece of dough and came to Qianlin’s side: “Linbao, come and teach your mother how to make dumplings!”

“Okay.” Qianlin used his little hands to guide Ninghe, and after going through each step, they finally successfully made a dumpling.

The sky outside gradually darkened, and the tungsten filament lamp in the kitchen lit up, emitting a warm yellow light.

Two figures, one big and one small, were reflected on the window. They were fiddling with things in their hands, standing very close to each other. From time to time, cheerful laughter could be heard from the kitchen. The picture looked very warm.

Two men were walking side by side on the path outside the yard.

Yang Guoqiang looked in the direction of the voice and called the person next to him in disbelief.

“Shaochuan, listen to this laughter, it seems to be coming from your house.”

He Shaochuan raised his eyes, and his calm eyes followed the direction Yang Guoqiang was looking.

Two figures, one big and one small, were reflected on the window. They seemed to be busy with something in the kitchen. Not only that, a woman’s laughter as sweet as a silver bell could be heard from inside.

He Shaochuan frowned slightly. This seemingly normal scene gave him a weird feeling.

How could Ning He cook, let alone enter the kitchen?

He once again thought of the scene in the morning when Ning He burned something in the yard and her abnormal behavior of taking care of Qian Lin.

Did she want to…

He Shaochuan’s face turned cold and he walked quickly towards home.

Yang Guoqiang called him from behind with a puzzled look on his face: “Hey? Shaochuan, why are you walking so fast?”