In August, Xie Mulin finally made the five-kernel mooncakes out.

Although the taste is still a little different from that of modern times, Xie Mulin thinks that he has done his best, and under the existing conditions, there is really no way to improve more. It may be nice to change all the ingredients to a higher quality, improve the baking technique a little more, master the heat a little better, and improve the taste, but that's not something that can be done this year.

Wen and his siblings, as well as the elders of the clan and the second room, all praised Xie Mulin's five-kernel mooncakes, saying that they were fragrant, sweet, soft and fresh. Song felt that this cake was a little too sweet, and she herself preferred Su's moon cakes. Xie Mulin's puff pastry was not done well, but he still baked a stove of Su's mooncakes with pretzels and hundred fruits for her, and was praised again.

With the dim sum produced by Xie Mulin, when he couldn't finish eating it at home, it was taken away by the Wen family, and after it was sent to the whole clan, Xie Mulin's reputation for being good at making dim sum has become famous among the family. Although she hadn't made a name for herself in serious meals, she had the advantage of dim sum, and the teachers in the boudoir school immediately exempted her from the dim sum class. As long as she does it herself and makes a few staple dishes and dishes, she can even skip the cooking class.

Xie Mulin calculated the account, and happily decided to seize the time to practice his cooking skills, and temporarily practice several specialty dishes and staple foods, so as to fight for exemption from class and have more time to do other things.

After tasting all the varieties of dim sum made by his daughter, Wen picked out a few kinds of baked dim sum that tasted good and could be stored for a long time, packed them in delicate wooden boxes, and ordered people to send them to Beijing as a Mid-Autumn Festival gift for relatives and friends, along with the rest of the melons, fruits, local products and other items that had been prepared long ago, as well as his own handwritten letters. By the way, a cart of things was also sent to the people at the Pearl Bridge Mansion, which naturally included the homemade snacks that Xie Mulin and Xie Yingfen gave to the sisters, as well as the two pieces of cotton cloth they had recently knitted.

These two pieces of cotton cloth, the one woven by Xie Mulin, are made into cloth cushions, pillowcases, tablecloths or something, and it is still no problem; But Xie Yingfen's piece, I'm afraid it can only be used to take a look, and it can be used as a rag, but it really can't be used to make clothes.

Xie Yingfen was still squirming and refusing to send the cloth out. Xie Mulin persuaded her: "Whether the quality of this cloth is good or bad, it is woven by your own hands, and it is a gift to the eldest sister." What if you are laughed at? Look at the dim sum you baked for your big sister, how many people can make dim sum better than you? At your age, it's great to be able to do one thing well, and if you have to be proficient in everything, it's a deliberate raise! Whoever wants to laugh at you, let her surpass you in the two things of making snacks and weaving. ”

Xie Yingfen was suddenly full of courage again. In her boudoir study, her ability to weave cloth is sparse and ordinary, and her ability to make dim sum is second only to her second sister Xie Yingzhen, and her teachers and classmates all praise it, and it is not easy to find someone stronger than her. She has learned pasta these days, and she has done it by kneading noodles by herself, and she feels that her strength has increased a lot. At least the eldest sister Xie Yinghui can neither weave nor make snacks.

Xie Yingfen happily sent the cloth out, and pulled Xie Mulin and said, "It's a pity that the capital is far away, even if our family sends people to travel day and night, it will take two or three days before we can deliver the things to the eldest sister." The dim sum we make, that is, a few baked cakes, can be stored for so many days, and they have to be delivered to the big sister as soon as possible to eat them so that they won't change their taste. Those steamed rice cakes, fine points, and the best almond tofu you made, the eldest sister can't taste it, it's a pity! ”

Xie Mulin smiled and said, "If the eldest sister comes back to her hometown in the future, we will make it for her to eat, and it will be the same." But you don't have to worry, no one appreciates the dim sum you've worked so hard to learn. In addition to the dim sum feast on your birthday with Cousin Yang, we can also give these steamed cakes to the clan as gifts. It's so close, you don't have to worry about storing the dim sum. ”

Xie Yingfen was suddenly full of ambition: "I do the best job of making three-color cakes and one-pin cakes, and now that there are still many days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, I have to practice more quickly, so that these two pastries can be made more delicious, so that everyone in the sisters can taste it." "The little girl is actually thinking about making dim sum for a good reputation, and it would be great if she could skip the cooking class.

Xie Mulin naturally agreed, but he didn't forget to remind her: "There are too many dim sums to practice, so you don't have to ask the fourth brother to help you eat." How many cakes can his children eat? If you eat too much dessert, you won't want to eat the main meal. If you eat too much of what is baked, it is easy to catch fire. You have to deal with the cakes, either by giving them a share or by giving them to the tenants or the poor. Anyway, the dim sum you make, no matter how unpalatable, is limited, and you use a lot of sugar, oil, eggs, and even buffalo milk, so that the poor can still fill their stomachs after eating it. ”

Xie Yingfen covered her face a little embarrassed: "I just thought, I haven't practiced dim sum yet, I shouldn't ask outsiders to eat it, so that people know that the taste is too bad and they will laugh at me, so I asked the fourth brother to help." Did he complain to the second sister? I just don't force him. But he actually said that he liked the dim sum I made very much, and he couldn't wait to eat it every day! ”

If the little brother coaxes the sister to say it happily, don't take it too seriously.

However, Xie Yingfen is very willing to take it seriously: "Anyway, the fourth brother said it was delicious, so I believe what he said is true." Yuan Yuan also said that it was delicious. I eat it myself, and I think it's better than what she makes, but it's not as good as what you make, second sister. I really didn't know that there were so many dim sum in the world, and it was not as exquisite as the dim sum I had seen at the banquet in Pingnanbo's Mansion before, but it was much more delicious to eat. If I go back to the capital in the future and meet Cao Wenyan again, I can also tell her with confidence that the things in Pingnanbo's Mansion are not necessarily very good, so she will always look down on people. ”

She hugged Xie Mulin's arm and coquettishly said: "Second sister, who do you say these recipes are spreading?" Who came up with it? Although I think several of them are quite familiar, most of them are really unheard of, or the dim sum that I have heard of is completely different from the recipe. If there really is such a capable white case cook, how come we have never heard of it? And some of the materials on his recipes, many of which we don't even know what they are. The ingredients are not complete, and the pastries made are already so delicious, so if you can find those materials, and then find a good white case chef, how delicious will the pastries be? ”

Xie Mulin laughed dryly: "I don't know about this." This in itself is a lost recipe, and it is impossible to find out who the author is. All we can do is to try to restore the dim sum making method recorded in Fangzi and pass it on to future generations, so as not to waste the efforts of the inventors. ”

Xie Yingfen nodded, and suddenly had an idea: "Second sister, how about you say that our family has a dim sum shop?" That will allow more people to taste these delicious dim sums. ”

Xie Mulin blinked: "Open a store? ”