Chapter 412 - Chapter 412: Fried Dough Sticks
Chapter 412: Fried Dough Sticks
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lin Cheng chuckled, his eyes revealing a simple and honest gaze that made him appear somewhat endearing. “Dad says he’s a hedonist. He feels uncomfortable staying in the hospital. Let’s let him come home and recuperate. He’ll be more at ease here,” he suggested.
Gu Zi nodded in agreement. Turning to Su Shen, she proposed, “Shall we all go together tomorrow?” Gu Zi was seeking his consent, not out of fear of his disagreement, but out of respect for him as her husband.
Su Shen glanced at Gu Zi, his gaze unusually warm. “Let’s go early tomorrow. I’ll drop off our boys at school and then take you all to the hospital,” he suggested.
Lin Cheng and Li Hua exchanged glances, wondering if this might be too much trouble for Su Shen. After all, they had only come to ask for leave, but it had turned into a trip to the hospital to pick up their father. It seemed a bit much to ask the young couple to make the journey.
However, since Gu Zi and Su Shen had both suggested it, they didn’t feel it was their place to object. Besides, the whole family going together to bring their father home from the hospital would undoubtedly make their parents very happy.
Given that it would take some time for Lin Cheng and Li Hua to return to Daqing Village, Su Shen offered to let them stay the night. It would be more convenient for their trip to the city the next day. At first, Lin Cheng was hesitant, not wanting to impose on his sister and brother-in-law. But Gu Zi persuaded them to stay, and they graciously accepted the offer.
When it was time for bed, Gu Zi brought them fresh sheets. Li Hua said, “Give them to me, I can change them myself.”
Gu Zi handed over the bedding to Li Hua, “Sister-in-law, make yourselves comfortable and get some rest. Goodnight!”
The next morning, Gu Zi woke up early. Having guests in the house naturally meant an early start for her, as if her biological clock was set that way.
She made a pot of century egg and lean meat porridge in the kitchen. Li Hua came in to help. After surveying the ingredients in the house, Gu Zi decided to let her sister-in-law fry some dough sticks, a delicacy almost every household knew how to make and was also sold in the local snack shops.
If anyone craved dough sticks, they would usually buy some from the town or bring some back from the city if they happened to be there. Generally, they wouldn’t make them at home as it was too oil-consuming.
However, the Su family was different. They owned a pig farm and were never short of oil. If they wanted to eat fried dough sticks, they could easily make them at home without any issues.
Li Hua, too, found herself craving the delicacy. It was oily and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and incredibly aromatic when eaten. It even had the unique aftertaste of flour-based foods. Without hesitation, she agreed to knead the dough and start making the deep-fried dough sticks. The two sisters-in-law, laughing and chatting in the kitchen, soon filled the room with an enticing aroma of frying oil.
The tantalizing scent quickly wafted upstairs. Su Li, still drowsy in bed, was greeted by a smell that filled him with a sense of happiness. His mother must be cooking something delicious again! He no longer wanted to linger in bed. He got up, put on his shoes, and hurriedly rushed downstairs.
A minute later, Su Li stood at the kitchen door, toothbrush in hand, his eyes gleaming. He asked, his words muffled by the toothbrush, “Mom, Aunt, are we having fried dough sticks for breakfast today?”
Gu Zi responded, “Yes, we are. Hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face. Breakfast will be ready soon!”
Su Li nodded but was reluctant to leave. He watched as his mother and aunt each held a plump piece of dough, stretching it into a long strip, then shaping it into a rectangle. They then made a vertical cut in the dough with a kitchen knife and overlapped the two pieces before placing them in the pot.
The dough sizzled as it met the hot oil, a sound that was music to the ears of any food lover. The dough sticks, huddled in pairs, visibly turned from light yellow to deep yellow, and finally to a golden color. Once they were shiny with oil, they could be removed and drained. Their shape was somewhat reminiscent of a DNA strand.
The fried dough sticks were quite ordinary in appearance, but Su Li knew that they were the epitome of simple deliciousness. Of course, for the Su Li of the past, this ordinary delicacy was a rare treat that he and his brother seldom enjoyed. They would usually see it at food stalls and silently salivate.
Chen Fu, a classmate from the city, often brought fried dough sticks to school and shared them with the classmates who acknowledged him as their leader. The others could only watch. Once, Su Li saw Chen Fu casually discard a half-eaten dough stick. Unable to resist, Su Li picked it up and secretly ate it. That was the first time he had tasted a fried dough stick…
After a quick trip to the bathroom, Su Li returned to the kitchen, having finished washing up. He asked, “Mom, Aunt, could you make some extra fried dough sticks? I’d like to take some to school for lunch..”