Chapter 33: Making 33 Packs of Dumplings

Chapter 33: Making Dumplings

Auntie (the eldest uncle's wife) was stunned by the conclusion she had drawn.

Agricultural planting?

It sounded so sophisticated, but in reality, it was just farming. What kind of future could farming offer? With the economy being so bad these days, wouldn't having a stable job be better than anything else?

She hurriedly set the meat aside and rushed over to ask, "Sister, are you serious?"

Wulan was washing vegetables. "Yes. See that car at the entrance? That's from the money Tantan made selling wild vegetables."

What a clever way to put it! It was clearly bought to facilitate selling the wild vegetables.

Song Tan was blowing bubbles nearby; when a bubble popped, she was also stunned into silence.

Seeing her dazed, Qiaoqiao quickly reached out to pat her head. "Don't cry, don't cry. Qiaoqiao will blow a big one for you."

Song Tan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not crying, Sister. You blow one for Grandpa first!"

Grandpa was old and had poor mobility; he had been using a wheelchair for the past two years and had become increasingly frail. Now that his granddaughter and grandson were accompanying him, he looked cheerful, his thin mouth stretched into a wide grin.

In contrast, Grandma was still heading out to the fields from time to time, proving to be more capable than many young people.

At this moment, looking at the large basin of shepherd's purse, she complained about the cold tap water and shooed Wulan aside

"Look at you. We have plenty of shepherd's purse in our own fields, why did you bring so much?"

"Didn't you say Tantan could make money from this? It's better to keep some to sell."

The well water drawn from the tap was bone-chillingly cold, but Grandma seemed not to feel it at all, clearly having grown used to it.

Looking at Grandma's graying hair, Wulan no longer felt stingy about the money. "The wild vegetables grew exceptionally well this year, and we've made quite a bit. This little bit doesn't matter. I came today specifically to make dumplings for you."

"When you and Dad don't feel like cooking, just boil some dumplings. They're easy to chew and easy to digest."

Although they shared the same courtyard, Grandma and the Eldest Uncle lived in separate quarters and ate separately. They shared good dishes, but didn't live together daily.

Auntie also chimed in, "Sister, what are you thinking? Look at our Tantan, she's so beautiful! Once she starts working in Ningcheng, she can find someone local and live a life of luxury!"

"If she stays in the village, what kind of good partner can she find? Aren't you just holding her back?"

She glanced at Song Tan, who was coaxing Grandpa along with Qiaoqiao, and lowered her voice. "With Qiaoqiao being the way he is, you can't let him drag the child down."

As someone with slight traditional preferences for boys over girls, the fact that she said this showed she truly cared for the child.

Wulan wasn't angry. "Sister-in-law, I didn't agree at first either. But when Tantan came back, she looked so haggard and weak, saying her job had worn her out—that's why I relented. I figured we'd let her rest for a year or so."

"As for farming, the child insisted on doing it. I thought to myself that we have plenty of space, so I just let her tinker around."

But regarding a partner...

"She's in the middle of her farming phase, and the little money she has is already spent. Let her do it for now. Once she's lost interest, we'll talk about her going back to work."

Working away from home was indeed exhausting. Auntie's son and daughter were also struggling in the city. Hearing this, she sighed and put down the shepherd's purse.

"Making dumplings, right? I'll go mince the meat—oh my, you brought way too much! Once these are all wrapped, they'll fill a whole fridge."

Song Sancheng was getting hungry. The master chef Wulan was solely focused on making money and only thought of selling these wild vegetables; if it weren't for Tantan's insistence, they wouldn't even dream of making them for the family.

Even so, the family's supply of shepherd's purse dumplings had long since run out, and they hadn't made any since.

Thus, he said proudly, "Auntie, don't you worry! When we say these wild vegetables go for twenty yuan a pound, we aren't bragging. You'll know when you taste them—they don't go far!"

For example, for their family of four, one meal would require over a hundred dumplings!

They had brought ten pounds of shepherd's purse today, plus some other things; it wouldn't last long at all.

Auntie didn't believe him at all. "We eat shepherd's purse every year; what's so special about it?"

Turning back to look at the two massive bags of meat, she quickly shouted again, "Qiaoqiao, go to the front and call your Uncle back to mince the meat!"

...

The Eldest Uncle, Wu Chengtao, rushed back shortly after

"Ah, good call! I've already lost two hundred, and they won't let me leave the table. It's driving me crazy!"

Auntie scolded him, "You want to run away the moment you lose. If they hadn't been short on players, who would have called you?"

The Uncle said aggrievedly, "I told them we could play for one yuan, but they wouldn't do it. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have run."

The key was, who plays *Dou Dizhu* for one yuan!

Auntie rolled her eyes and shoved the kitchen knife into his hand. "Hurry up, mince it finely so we can wrap dumplings tonight."

The Uncle washed his hands and asked, "Whose car is that outside? Sancheng, did you get your driver's license?" He looked quite eager himself.

Song Sancheng waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, I'm still studying for it. It's just that Tantan made some money selling vegetables at home and bought a car to make traveling more convenient."

Good heavens!

Song Tan thought to herself: *Why is everyone trying to flatter me? No wonder I'm good at talking—it's hereditary.*

The Uncle looked at the car with envy. "A pickup is better; it can carry things, so practical. When Wu Lei wanted to buy a car, I told him to get a big one, but he wouldn't listen. He was set on a small sedan, and the whole family would be squeezed in there."

The Uncle's son, Wu Lei, used to work in the city. He recently started dating a girlfriend, so he moved to Ningcheng to follow her. The family planned to pool some money to buy him a car so he would have "face" when visiting the girl's family.

Looking again at the meat on the cutting board, he was dumbfounded. "How many dumplings are we supposed to make with this?"

Wulan laughed.

"I planned to take a truckload of straw from the house back with me, so I had to buy a bit more meat to show some respect."

The Uncle glared at her.

"Straw isn't worth anything. If you want to haul it, go ahead, but buying this much at once... how long will it take to eat it all?"

Song Sancheng maintained his mysterious smile.

"If you guys can make these dumplings last until the end of the month, I'll be truly impressed! Hurry up, the vegetables are washed, it's time to knead the dough."

He was waiting to eat.

And so, the whole family busily worked with great fanfare.

By the time the dough was ready, even Grandpa, sitting in his wheelchair, began slowly wrapping dumplings.

Grandma looked at the shepherd's purse, smelled the aroma, and nodded to herself. "No wonder you said these cost twenty yuan. The scent is different from before—very fresh and fragrant."

As she said this, Auntie also seemed to think they smelled exceptionally good, so she said generously, "Ma, you and Dad like them soft and tender. We'll freeze these dumplings in your fridge later. When you want to eat, just boil some; they're nutritious and easy to digest."

"We won't need them; we'll eat our own."

She then turned to Wulan. "If you want to haul straw, just haul it. That stuff is only good for starting fires. We don't plan on planting rice this year; it's too much effort. It's better to just buy it."

Wulan didn't stand on ceremony. "Alright, I'll have Qiaoqiao and the others load the truck later. But Sister-in-law, you and Mom can just split half of these dumplings. They really are different from other wild vegetables."

She had tasted all the other wild vegetables in the village, and none of them had this specific aroma.