Chapter 13.2

Su Ying played some soft background music. The slow, mellow rhythm matched the way she was brewing tea—one of the new skills her father had recently taught her.

When Ying’s father was younger, one of his comrades was from the south, and his thick local accent made his Mandarin very distinctive. But what everyone remembered the most about him was his mastery of gongfu tea.

With just a small teapot and three tiny cups, he would brew tea whenever they had a break. In his hometown, even newborns drank tea. Tea was deeply ingrained in their daily life: brew tea in the morning upon waking, after lunch, when friends came over in the afternoon, and again after dinner.

It was at that time that Ying’s father fell in love with drinking gongfu tea. Boiling water, pouring it into the tea vessel to warm the cups, adding tea leaves, discarding the first brew, skimming off the floating foam, discarding the water again, rinsing the cups, and finally brewing tea properly—then pouring it into three small cups.

Gongfu tea had a calming quality, and Su Ying could feel that peace as she learned. Of course, scalding her hands was common in the beginning, but she was slowly getting the hang of it.

The bright red tea liquor was poured out, releasing a fragrant aroma. It was completely different from simply steeping tea leaves in a cup, bringing a unique and refined flavor.

On the small red clay stove, water bubbled away. Nearby were a few oranges. Eating roasted oranges in winter was truly delicious and soothing for the throat.

Su Ying looked at the questions coming in from fans in her livestream room and replied one by one, chatting back and forth like talking to friends.

“Actually, everyone must have noticed that it’s been a while since I updated any videos.”

Beautiful Times: “Yes! We’ve missed the blogger’s delicious cooking~”
Lang: “Exactly! Please update soon!”
LOoking: “Why haven’t you updated recently?”

The fans’ warm messages in the comment section made Su Ying’s heart feel warm.

“Honestly, I don’t really know what to film right now or what kind of content to make. Originally, I just wanted to share my daily life, but after finishing the renovation series, I suddenly felt at a loss for what to do next. So, I really want to hear your opinions this time,” Su Ying sincerely asked, treating her fans like trusted advisors.

Mama Liu Rules the House: “Cook! I want to eat everything you make!”
A Journey Full of Flowers: “Cooking +1.”
Dou Baby: “Who still remembers the silhouette in the blogger’s very first video? That’s when I started following.”
LOoking: “Yes! That was stunning—the lighting was perfect. Even as someone who loves photography, I think that moment was breathtaking.”
Beautiful Times: “Honestly, I’ll watch anything you like to film. I just love your videos.”

The fans shared their ideas freely.

Food, scenery, and handicrafts—all of the suggestions came from long-time followers of Su Ying.

Two hours passed quickly, and as evening fell, Su Ying said goodbye to everyone and ended the livestream.

After extinguishing the stove, she went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Even though they had already eaten Laba porridge during the Laba Festival, after drinking tea all afternoon, she suddenly craved a sweet porridge again.

Tonight, she decided to make Eight-Treasure Congee.

Su Ying opened the electric pressure cooker she’d bought from brand M and added a variety of washed beans and grains together with plenty of water. She pressed the “mixed grain porridge” button to start cooking. The pressure cooker could soften the beans much faster and without worrying about the porridge sticking to the pot.

After setting that up, she took out some flour, mixed it with cornmeal, and decided to make steamed cornbread (wo wo tou). Since it was too cold for fermentation at room temperature, she boiled a little water in the pot, just enough to create a bit of warmth. She covered the dough with a damp cloth and left it in the pot to rise.

Once the temperature and humidity were right, the fermentation went quickly. An hour later, when she lifted the cloth, the dough had risen to the point of nearly overflowing, full of honeycomb-like holes—perfectly fermented.

She dusted the work surface with flour, kneaded the cornmeal dough, and shaped each bun by pressing her thumb into the middle.

She lined the steamer with cloth and arranged the shaped buns inside. When the water boiled, she set them to steam. Twenty minutes later, they were ready—plump and soft.

Then she went to the vegetable patch and picked some spiral chili peppers, sliced some cured pork, and cut a few cloves of garlic. She heated plenty of oil in the wok, sautéed the garlic until fragrant, then added the pork, and finally the chilies. With minimal seasoning (since cured pork was already salty), the stir-fried chili pork was done.

After finishing everything, Su Ying called her parents to come and eat.

Once they washed their hands and sat at the table, they ladled out the sweet, thick Eight-Treasure Congee from the pressure cooker. With a touch of sugar, it was perfectly comforting—one big mouthful from the edge of the bowl was enough to satisfy.

Stuffing the stir-fried chili pork into the hollow of the cornbread buns was just delicious!

After dinner, the family sat in front of the TV, chatting as they watched together.

In just two days, it would be New Year’s Eve. The village would certainly become lively again as everyone returned home. Su Ying’s classmates and friends would be back too, and they’d all be able to meet and catch up.

There would also be many New Year’s activities, and tomorrow was the last big market day before the holiday.

Su Ying and her parents discussed what else the household needed to buy.

“We need to buy Spring Festival couplets,” Ying’s mother said while finishing the last stitches of a small vest she was knitting for Ying’s father.

“We also need red envelopes. I heard that your older cousin’s daughter was born this year—we’ll need to prepare a big red envelope for them,” Ying’s father said while cracking sunflower seeds.

Su Ying added, “Let’s also buy more holiday snacks. I’ve already eaten most of the ones we bought last time.”

Most of the snacks they had purchased for the New Year last month had already been eaten throughout the month. It was impossible to resist when they were just sitting there.

“Sure, sure. We’ll go tomorrow morning—we have to catch the bus to town,” Ying’s mother planned aloud.

“Alright, then I’m going to take a shower.” After a busy day, even though she hadn’t sweated much, Su Ying still felt it would be more comfortable to wash up. In winter, she usually bathed every three days, and today was the third day.

After a hot, steamy shower, she returned to her room, which was warm thanks to the oil heater. She dried her hair with a blow dryer and organized her thoughts about today’s chat with her fans. Before she knew it, it was already eight o’clock. Tomorrow, they would need to wake up early.