Hua Erniang was at home when she heard that the wall of their family's blacksmith shop had collapsed. She was so frightened that she almost fainted, fearing that Hua Xiaomai and her dear husband might be injured. Later, when people from the village told her that there was no serious harm, her heart finally settled down. Grateful for Meng Yuhuai and Great Saint's righteousness, she planned to invite them to her home for dinner.
On the other side, Jing Taihe shared the same sentiment. Once the wall was repaired, she forcibly dragged the two men to her house. Hua Xiaomai followed them inside, washed her face first, then with a swish, she slipped into the kitchen.
The main dish for dinner was still wheat pancakes. Since they were hosting guests, Hua Erniang made an extra effort with the ingredients. She bought half a pound of fat meat, planning to chop it up and mix it with green onions, dried tofu, and shrimp skins as filling for the pancakes.
Anyone who cooks fears the wasteful use of ingredients, especially when faced with someone like Hua Erniang, whose cooking skills were nil; it made their blood boil. In those days, all vegetables, fruits, and meats were purely natural and pollution-free. Such fine ingredients deserved to be savored properly, not mishandled so outrageously!
Perfectly good meat was butchered by Hua Erniang into uneven pieces, each about the size of a fingertip. She even dared to smile in great satisfaction; the ratio of water to flour in the kneading bowl was all wrong, making the dough too soft and runny, but she acted as if she hadn't seen it, grabbing a handful and randomly kneading it before intending to throw it into the pan.
Hua Xiaomai watched Hua Erniang's actions with her heart in her throat, continually telling herself, "Stay calm, just close your eyes and grit your teeth; this too shall pass." However, she couldn't hold back and rushed over to grab Hua Erniang's hand: "Stop right there!"
Hua Erniang was startled and reflexively swung her rolling pin, ready to strike her on the head: "Nonsense, it's not your place to instruct me!"
As she spoke, she sized her up and down again, frowned, grabbed her arm and lowered her voice, "What happened to your hand?"
"It's nothing, it doesn't hurt anymore." Hua Xiaomai withdrew her hand and forced an awkward smile, "Sister, this is not how you make wheat pancakes..."
"Hmph, what do you know?" Hua Erniang, seeing that the injury on her hand seemed to be minor, regained her haughty demeanor and raised her eyebrows, "When I was cooking, you were still playing in the mud! You've had a couple of full meals and now you think you're something special? I've always made wheat pancakes this way, and your brother-in-law has been eating them for ages without issue! Another word and believe me, I'll beat you!"
"Oh dear!" Hua Xiaomai was so agitated that she scratched her head frantically. Glancing at the ingredients ruined by Hua Erniang, she felt uncomfortable all over. After some thought, she boldly snatched the rolling pin from her hand, shoved her aside with a twist of her waist, and quickly took over the central spot at the stove.
"You can beat me if you want, but if the pancakes I make turn out to be inedible, you can flay me. However, today, I just can't let you continue this madness!"
There was a bit of a do-or-die tone in her voice, which slightly stunned Hua Erniang. It took her a while to snap out of it. Narrowing her eyes, she sneered, "If you want to die, would I stop you? I want to see what new tricks you can pull off today! If you ruin anything, see if I don't beat you to death!"
"Fine." Hua Xiaomai briskly agreed and ignored her. With the speed of lightning, she chopped the piece of fat meat into a mince, diced the dried tofu, chopped the green onions finely, and put everything into a large bowl, adding a handful of shrimp skins. She mixed everything evenly, her movements as smooth as flowing water, each motion both graceful and practical.
Hua Erniang watched her in amazement, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
This little sister... Since when did she acquire such skills?
After preparing the filling, Hua Xiaomai quickly made the dough for the pancake skins, stuffed them, and rolled them out to the size of a plate. She looked up at the stove then suddenly became lost in thought.
She seemed unfamiliar with this wood-burning stove...
Perhaps seeing her confusion, Hua Erniang took it upon herself to start the fire, muttering, "When baking pancakes, you need to place the wood on both sides of the stove hole to prevent the pancakes from burning. If you're frying, the fire needs to be strong, and the wood goes in the middle, understand?"
Hua Xiaomai firmly memorized her words. Seeing that the iron pan was hot, she brushed a thin layer of oil and placed the pancake inside.
While waiting, she took three eggs and beat them in a bowl.
"Why are you beating eggs now? Isn't the filling already in the pancakes? I knew you'd only mess things up!" Hua Erniang looked astonished and reached out to snatch the small bowl from her hand.
Hua Xiaomai dodged to the side, silently smiling. When both sides of the pancakes in the pan had turned slightly yellow, she poked a small hole in the rim and poured the beaten eggs in, letting them cook with the pancakes until done, and then served them on a plate.
The freshly made pancakes on the plate were crispy and golden, with a rich aroma of wheat flour mixed with the savory smell of meat, and a subtle hint of shrimp flavor. Some of the egg had overflowed during the cooking, forming a crispy yellow edge around the pancake, almost like a deliberately made lace. One look was enough to know, these pancakes had to be delicious.
Although Hua Erniang always prided herself on having seen tough times, this sight left her speechless too. She stared blankly at Hua Xiaomai for a long time, her lips moving slightly as she muttered.
"You... are you really my little sister?"