"We have so many buns at home, just steam them tomorrow,"
"Mom, don't worry about it, I'm almost done. You should go back to sleep."
Qin Yue couldn't persuade her, and though she offered to stay and help, Jhiang Yuan wouldn't let her.
She was making large buns with green pepper and eggplant filling, obviously not something her mother should help with, otherwise it couldn't be explained away.
After being busy for half the day, she made two steamer baskets worth, about twenty buns in total.
She wrapped the remaining filling in cling film and froze it.
There was enough for several more meals; in the morning, she could make a tomato soup, cucumber salad, and stir-fried chicken feather vegetable.
A delightful meal for sure, but it meant getting up early.
When the buns came out of the steamer, Jhiang Yuan couldn't help feeling pleased.
She could cook a bit, but seldom made such complicated dishes, so this was relatively successful.