Chapter 334: Chapter 333: The Belated Crispy Apple
Just as Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi exuded that damned sweet aura of a couple, and Ji Yue inexplicably felt a bit sour while eating the slightly salty duck egg white, a loud “burp” disrupted the wonderful atmosphere.
Everyone couldn’t help but look simultaneously in Qi Rou’s direction.
“Burp~” Qi Rou couldn’t hold back and let out another burp.
“That zongzi just now was a bit too big,” Qi Rou explained weakly. “It was really filling, too.”
Ji Yue, unflustered while eating her salty duck egg, didn’t even bat an eyelid and considered eating another zongzi.
“By the way, Sister Ji Yue, I’ve already finished the line-drawing assignment you gave me last time,” Qi Rou said as she took a sip of water from her glass.
Ji Yue nodded and asked, “Are you familiar with ComicStudio yet?”
“Not really…”
“What about Photoshop?”
“Not very…”
“Don’t worry, those things are not urgent. You should first become proficient with line-drawing, then I’ll teach you how to color,” Ji Yue didn’t expect Qi Rou to go from beginner to expert in a short time. It was good enough that she could get to grips with the basics.
On the side, Jiang Feng, somewhat understanding yet not fully grasping their conversation, watched helplessly as the last zongzi on the table was swiftly claimed by Jiang Shoucheng, marking the end of lunch.
Mrs. Jiang, Jiang Weiming, Chen Suhua, and Sang Ming continued the card game they hadn’t finished earlier, after all, one needs the energy from a full stomach to play cards. Mahjong requires immense memory, logical reasoning, mental resilience, and calculation skills to play perfectly, and it can be very exhausting.
Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, and Ji Xue went back to the kitchen to finish shelling the remaining beans. After a full meal, going back to the tedium of bean shelling felt even more torturous to Jiang Feng than when he was hungry.
To make the dreary task of shelling beans more interesting, Jiang Feng started making small talk.
“Qiqi, do you plan on going home for the National Day holiday?” Jiang Feng asked.
“National Day? No, I’m not going back. My mom told me that it’s fine as long as I come back before my cousin’s engagement,” Wu Minqi replied. “Besides, the holiday is so long, the shop will surely be busy then.”
“Yeah.” Ji Xue nodded in agreement, “Feng, during National Day, can we extend the working hours when calculating wages? Like from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.?”
Jiang Feng: …
“That, you’ll have to ask Manager Fan; I’m not too clear about the salary details.”
“But speaking of which, Xue, your younger sister’s taking the middle school exams next year, right?” Wu Minqi opened up the conversation.
“Right, but she is a year older than Sang Ming’s sister because she started school late,” Ji Xue nodded and seemed very happy when talking about her younger sister. “I just hope she can get into a high school, then go to university, date someone, work, marry, and live a normal life.”
The life she once dreamt of but found impossible to reach.
“The middle school exam is much easier than the college entrance exam. Most people can get into high school, so you don’t have to worry. My two cousins were doing poorly in eighth grade, but they managed to get into a key high school in the city with some last-minute effort,” Jiang Feng consoled her, omitting the fact that Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing had barely managed to get into the city’s key high school by spending some money.
“My sister is pretty poor in her studies, and since I spend little time at home, my parents don’t have the time or energy to look after her. She doesn’t like studying much. Last year, she almost got expelled from school for fighting. I’m not really sure how well she is doing. I remember last year, she scored a bit over 280 points on the final exam, and when I asked her teacher, she said getting into a high school might be iffy. I just hope she can buckle down and study,” as Ji Xue spoke, a worried expression emerged on her face, and she accidentally threw an unshelled bean into the trash. She immediately snapped back to reality, then bent over to search through the trash for the forsaken bean and proceeded to wash it clean at the sink.
Jiang Feng & Wu Minqi: …
A bit… iffy?
Are the middle school examination total scores that low in Guangdong Province?
Jiang Feng used to think that since Ji Xue had the script of a domestic motivational movie or an underdog drama heroine, her sister must have the script of a Japanese motivational movie or a youth drama heroine.
Unexpectedly, her sister’s script might actually be from “True and False Academy.”
The day just got chatted away.
The three of them continued to silently peel beans, and under the shining light from the ceiling, Jiang Feng felt like he was starting to see double from looking at the beans for too long.
He had never realized how intense the kitchen lighting was before; it seemed time to discuss with the two elderly gentlemen about changing it to a softer hue.
Jiang Feng awkwardly twisted his neck, feeling that he had taken another step closer to having cervical spine problems.
As he turned his head, he just so happened to catch a glimpse of Zhang Guanghang walking in with ingredients.
Upon seeing the bags in Zhang Guanghang’s hands, Jiang Feng immediately perked up.
Shafu Roast Chicken!
Side quest!
A memory of Zhang Guanghang’s!
“Prepping to make Shafu Roast Chicken?” Jiang Feng asked.
“Yeah,” Zhang Guanghang nodded, “Everyone will be coming to cook for Master Jiang later, and this dish takes a long time to prepare, so I’m starting early.”
“Then let me make the crispy apple for you!” Jiang Feng was very enthusiastic, as he always was about tasks he was about to complete.
“Now?”
“Yes, right now.” Jiang Feng stood up, put down the beans he was holding, and looked apologetically at Ji Xue. “Um, I’ll just…”
“Feng, if you’ve got things to do, go ahead, thanks for helping me peel beans,” Ji Xue said, then turned to Wu Minqi, “Qiqi, you’ve been peeling for quite a while too, maybe you should take a break outside.”
“No need, I often helped my mom pick and peel vegetables at home,” Wu Minqi declared herself to be a skilled worker.
Jiang Feng went to the cold dish counter and picked up two apples for making the fruit plate, skillfully peeling and dicing them, then coated them in egg wash and flour.
Although he had never made crispy apple before, just a few days ago he had made crispy broccoli, a dish similar to crispy apple. But since Grandpa Jiang made this dish every New Year, seeing it often enough gave him an impression. By imitating the way Grandpa Jiang made crispy apple, he could also produce a version that would satisfy most customers.
Not to mention his fire control and seasoning skills had now reached master level, making this type of dish that tested one’s control of the heat even easier than before.
The workstation where Jiang Feng was preparing the apples was not far from Wu Minqi and Ji Xue. As Ji Xue peeled beans, she watched his movements and could vaguely see that he seemed to be about to deep-fry the apple pieces.
“Is crispy apple basically deep-fried apple pieces?” Ji Xue whispered.
“Don’t know, it might be,” Wu Minqi replied.
“You don’t know this dish either?” Ji Xue had thought it was because she only knew how to cook Guangdong dishes that she was unfamiliar with crispy apple.
Wu Minqi placed the freshly peeled beans into a small basket and continued to watch Jiang Feng’s movements, “It’s probably from Shandong cuisine; I am only really good at Sichuan dishes.”
“It’s not from Shandong cuisine; I’ve never heard of this dish either,” Zhang Guanghang joined the conversation.
“Not from Shandong cuisine?” Wu Minqi was surprised and ventured a bold guess, “Could it be a Jiang Family dish? But I haven’t seen Grandpa Jiang or Mr. Jiang make it before.”
In fact, even Zhang Guanghang himself didn’t understand why Jiang Feng had suddenly asked him this morning if he had ever eaten crispy apple, or why he had suddenly offered to make it for him.
What puzzled him even more was why, even though he had never even heard of this dish, watching Jiang Feng’s movements felt so familiar, as if someone had made it for him before.
This feeling of encountering an obstacle while solving a problem, with the standard answer right in front of you, yet obscured by a thin veil, unclear and frustratingly out of reach, was just too annoying.