Du Xixi finished speaking and saw Ke Lian’s lips curl slightly upwards for a moment, his mood seemingly shifting from gloomy to cheerful. However, Chen Yin, standing nearby and never one to miss a chance for mischief, chimed in, "Pan-fried buns, huh? I haven’t had them in ages. Thin skin, crispy bottom, a mouthful of juicy meat with scallions and sesame sprinkles on top, mmm..."
Ke Lian: I’m falling apart :)
Du Xixi: I want Chen Yin to fall apart :)
Although Chen Yin’s "divine intervention" had brought Ke Lian’s mood from bad to worse, he still looked at Du Xixi with a hint of coquettishness, appearing quite pitiful, and said, "Xixi, you can’t go back on your word! You have to make those pan-fried buns for me~"
"Make, make, make!" Du Xixi helplessly stuffed the last bite of egg roll into Ke Lian’s mouth and pushed his face aside, not wanting to see him make such a "cute" expression with that cool and handsome face anymore.
Having dealt with Ke Lian, Chen Yin approached mimicking Ke Lian’s expression, and whined, "Xixi~ I want something tasty too~"
There’s a saying that goes, "Endure a moment of calm, take a step back, and the more you think about it, the angrier you get." Du Xixi thought this perfectly described her state of mind.
She endured Ke Lian’s whining, so everything went peacefully. She wanted to step back and endure Chen Yin’s whining as well, but ended up getting angrier the more she thought about it!
Under Chen Yin’s gaze, Du Xixi revealed a smile that could be considered the perfect polite smile, lacking awkwardness or anger, filled only with sincerity: "Alright, brother, not sure if you want cockroach soup or bat soup? How about some frog juice! It’ll keep you healthy, and I promise you won’t want another serving after trying it once!"
Chen Yin, seeing Du Xixi’s smile, slowly started to smile too — a smile that could be considered the perfect "forced smile".
He scratched the back of his neck, quickly looking at the ceiling as if it suddenly had patterns that caught his interest: "Oh, this ceiling looks nice, someday I should change the ceiling in my quarters to look ! Oh, this chandelier isn’t bad either! Ke Lian, quick, tell me where it’s from..."
Du Xixi snorted at this sight, took the handkerchief Miao Miao handed her, wiped the egg roll crumbs off her hands clean, then slowly stood up and said, "I’m going to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for making pan-fried buns tomorrow."
Pan-fried buns aren’t like regular buns, where you can just chop the filling and knead the dough and make a big basketful in no time. Making pan-fried buns, just preparing the authentic ingredients and condiments is enough to keep Du Xixi busy.
Seeing this, Ke Lian couldn’t bother with looking pitiful anymore. He got up, intending to follow, but Du Xixi waved her hand, softly saying, "No need for you to help, I’m just preparing some ingredients. Dinner will be made by 2569, so I won’t be tired."
Despite that, Ke Lian walked up to Du Xixi without hesitation, holding onto her arm, slightly lowering his head and softening his voice, "Xixi, I want to be with you."
Ke Lian was undoubtedly expressing his affection, yet Du Xixi’s face showed no change. She simply let Ke Lian hold her as they went to the kitchen, seemingly acknowledging his slightly "clingy" behavior.
But behind them, Chen Yin and the others quietly watched the little couple walking into the kitchen, clearly noticing Du Xixi’s slightly reddened ear tips. Evidently, there was a hint of bashfulness in Du Xixi’s heart.
The kitchen door was closed by someone from the inside, and Chen Yin let out a light sneer, lazily leaning back with the black and white furry ball rolling beside his hand, "Ah, the girl will soon be swept away!"
Ke Xing shook his head and imitated, "Ah, the boy will soon be swept away!"
Miao Miao felt out of place without saying anything, so holding onto the egg roll only half-eaten in her hand, she furrowed her brows and contemplated for a while, then seriously said, "Ah, the young lady will soon be swept away!"
Miao Miao: ...(=^▽^=)!
In the kitchen, Du Xixi was carefully inspecting a piece of pork belly with thick pig skin, realizing that the pig skin was just the right thickness, with ample pork fat. She then smiled slightly, picked up a knife, and smoothly cut off the pig skin.
For pan-fried buns, also known as "pan-fried mantou," the addition of aspic is undoubtedly key to giving them those juicy fillings.
With the addition of high-quality aspic, the bottom of the pan-fried buns turns crispy, and each bite bursts with juice. What Du Xixi came to the kitchen early to prepare was actually the aspic.
The pig skin was sliced into long strips the size and length of little fingers, and scallions and ginger were cut into sections and slices. Combined with star anise and peppercorns, they were steamed under high pressure with clear water. In less than an hour of Kung Fu, the aspic’s semi-finished product was already emitting a fragrant aroma from the pot.