After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 90: Chapter 88 Leek Boxes

Chapter 90: Chapter 88 Leek Boxes

Back in the house, Gu Yun was busy cooking while Li Pan brewed a large pot of Buzha Leaf syrup to take to the fields for everyone to drink, pouring a cup for each of them.

She brought it over to Gu Yun for a taste. “Xiao Yun, try this Buzha Leaf syrup.”

“Thank you, sister.”

“Drink some water and take a break, I’ll join you in a bit.”

After washing her hands, Li Pan started cooking. They had rice mixed with brown rice and various cooked dishes for lunch. Farming in spring was tough, so they needed a rich variety of food to sustain the intense physical labor.

The greenhouse vegetables were fresh, and she picked several types of vegetables, including some chives.

“Xiao Yun, shall we have chive pockets tonight?”

“Hmm, Brother Xuedong mentioned he’d like some; it’s simple enough to make.”

“I’ll help you with it this afternoon.”

“Sis, this water makes me feel very happy; it seems more effective than before.”

“Right? It’s not just my imagination then. I’m thinking of getting it tested.”

“In a few days, Brother Jiao Ming will go to the base to deliver vegetables; maybe he could take it for testing.”

“That sounds good. I’ll prepare the dough now. This afternoon, we’ll make the chive pockets and maybe stew some lamb bones too.”

“After we eat, we’ll get started. It’s still a bit cold in the evenings, we need to light a fire to keep the chill away.”

“Let’s keep the fire going for a few more days; I’m feeling cold too.”

The two chatted and worked together, quickly preparing several dishes. When there were many people to feed, having enough food was crucial, so everything was served in large pots.

Tomato and egg stir-fry, a large pot of spicy chicken, stewed smoked fish with tofu and corn pancakes, smoked pork stir-fried with chili, two plates of marinated beef salad, cucumber and century egg salad, plus the leftover meatballs from the New Year stewed in a pot, along with several stir-fried fresh vegetables.

The main dishes were rice mixed with brown rice, corn pancakes, and steamed buns—everyone could eat whatever they preferred.

The food was packed in containers and buckets, including a big bucket of Buzha Leaf syrup. Li Pan departed to deliver meals to people at two farms and planned to eat upon her return.

“Brother, today I brewed some Buzha Leaf syrup. Gu Yun and I both think it’s like it’s upgraded. You should try it too; don’t forget to take some to the base for testing when you go.”

“Okay.”

“You guys start eating; I’m going to deliver meals to No.7 Farm.”

Li Pan informed them before she left.

After completing the deliveries, she finally sat down to eat. Instead of resting afterward, she headed to the fields to check if there were any weeding or similar tasks to be done. Rice planting was done ahead of schedule, leaving only miscellaneous tasks. The vegetable garden needed some tidying up and setting up the supports.

They worked busily until the sun set in the afternoon.

They scattered some fish and shrimp hatchlings in the lake and dug up bamboo shoots from the bamboo forest, planning to make pickled delight. Gu Ye said he would cook for everyone in the evening, asking only that the ingredients be prepared.

The diced pork belly, high-quality salty pork ribs, bamboo shoots and bean curd knots, along with fresh vegetables, all needed to be blanched, especially the bamboo shoots and bean curd.

After preparing, they started making the dough for the chive pockets. Xue Dong loved this dish, and the chives were fresh and tender—perfect timing.

They scrambled some eggs, adding Floral Carving Wine to remove any gamey taste. With many people to feed, several eggs were scrambled gently. Then, they chopped the dried shrimp and noodles before drying and chopping the chives. They mixed the chives separately with vegetable oil to prevent them from releasing water.

If someone didn’t like noodles, they could be omitted. They mixed the scrambled eggs and dried shrimp with noodles and added thirteen spices. Now, they started mixing the dough and rolling out the dough skins.

When the skins were ready, they only then added the oil-coated chives to the egg and noodle mixture, sprinkled some salt, and mixed well. The dried shrimp were also salty, so they remembered to use less salt to avoid the pickling being overly salty later on.

Putting salt too early in Chinese chives can cause them to release a lot of water, making them less pleasant to eat, so it’s best to season the filling with salt right before wrapping.

Once the filling is mixed, start wrapping. If you like pan-fried buns, make them round like buns, and remember to pinch the pleats while lifting them vertically, not horizontally, because that can expose the filling, and the pleat area will be too thick, full of dough lumps which are not tasty, and the pattern won’t look neat.

All these secrets were taught by Gu Ye, she learned them, and now she can make very attractive buns.

You can also roll out a larger round dough, fold and pinch it into a crescent, and that makes a chive box.

Heat the pan, add some oil, not too much if it’s just for home use, just a bit. Lightly fry the buns until they are golden brown, turn them over and fry the other side, then add a mixture of starch and flour, in equal parts, or just plain water if that’s easier. Add enough water to cover one third of the buns, cover and let it cook for eight to ten minutes, depending on how much water you added.

Listen for a change in the sound of the water, it should start sizzling, that’s the sound of the oil, then you can lift the lid to check. If there’s still a little water left, keep the lid off and keep frying until the oil starts to splatter, which means the water is gone. Turn off the heat, scoop underneath the buns with a spatula and they should all come out, perfectly crispy on both sides.

Bite into one and there will be a bit of savory juice complemented by dried shrimp and egg. Even a vegetarian filling can be delicious and linger in the mouth, making one feel thoroughly satisfied with just one bun.

Today, a lot of ingredients were prepared since chives are freshest in February and March, it would be a waste not to eat them now, and a lot of buns were made in one go.

Some rice porridge was cooked, along with mutton bone soup that had simmered since noon. Adding some chopped green onions, cilantro, and some pepper to season, and if desired, some vermicelli can be added too, making a bowl of soup ready to go, perfect when eaten with the pan-fried buns and stir-fry, making for a smooth meal.

While eating, more buns were made, and several pans of pan-fried buns were prepared until only the last pan of buns remained uneaten, to be finished off the next morning. The bone soup wasn’t finished entirely, leaving half a pot, while all the rice porridge was consumed.

“Take some soup and buns to eat later tonight.”

“I grabbed some bread and pastries; we can eat the buns tomorrow morning.”

“That works, eating too many chives can be a bit heartburn-inducing, slow down, and remember to take some steam bread and cold dishes.”

“I brought them.”

Shi Lei responded, having still two rounds to patrol at No.7 Farm before he could rest.

“Take out the beef, we’ll cook braised beef in soy sauce and tomato beef tomorrow.”

Thinking of everyone working so hard, Li Pan wanted to ensure they ate well, not skimping on meat.

“I’ll go get it, the outside is almost melting, I’ve picked all the meat and frozen it, we need to eat it soon.”

“You manage it, keeping meat frozen too long isn’t good either; we worked hard, so cook plenty of meat.”

“I’ll cook some braised pork belly; it’s still early, I woke up early and prepared a few premium slabs of pork belly.”

“I’ll help too.”

Yang Zhengfei and Gu Yun joined in learning to cook braised pork belly, which needs to be steamed ahead of time and can be re-steamed when ready to eat.

Li Pan sat down to record the day’s insights and experiences, with the farm’s arrangements and land management utilization improving massively, documenting changes in intercropping, which would help enhance her understanding of the changes in crop cultivation.

Xue Dong and others were sitting on the couch watching a movie, making baskets with twine in their hands. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Brother, there’s not much work in the fields anymore, we can move on. I’m thinking of selling boxed lunches in the shop, people have asked a few times already.”

Sun Wenwen was considering making money in the shop as the spring plowing was almost finished and there wasn’t as much need for manpower; she wanted to take her siblings to earn some money.

“Sure, just manage it your way,” Xue Dong responded with a lot of autonomy usual to his style with children, encouraging them to find their own work and responsibilities, learning how to manage the farm and shop, handle finances, and more. Getting involved naturally teaches competence, there’s no skill that can’t be learned.”

“Xie Ling will stay with me to grow Medicinal Materials,” said Li Pan after writing down the last word.

“Understood,” Xie Ling acknowledged.