It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 18

Jiang Shuangling wiped the water droplets off her face, and when she looked in the mirror, her eyes were still red, but the stinging sensation had subsided. She paid little attention to it as she chopped the fresh pork into minced meat and marinated it with the prepared seasoning.

While marinating the meat, she began kneading dough for making buns to eat later in the night.

She poured one and a half pounds of flour, intending to use one pound to make bun skins and the remaining half pound to make milk steamed buns.

In separate bowls, she poured the milk powder that Qi Heng had bought into the half pound of flour, immediately releasing a strong aroma of milk.

After kneading the dough into a ball, she set it aside to deal with the marinated meat filling. She diced carrots and scallions and poured some pork oil into the mixture.

Once the meat filling was ready, she picked up the largest portion of dough, cut it into small pieces, and began to wet them to make buns.

She was accustomed to making those exquisite little buns, the kind that could yield about forty of them from one pound of flour. The snowy white bun skin wrapped around the fragrant meat filling, kneaded into a beautiful circle of folds by Jiang Shuangling’s skillful hands, resembling a blooming flower or a plump lucky bag.

A little crab yellow juice oozed out from the tightly twisted opening of the lucky bag.

The snowy white buns were adorned with a touch of yellow, making them beautiful yet not monotonous.

Jiang Shuangling quickly made about twenty exquisite thin-skinned buns, and Jiang Che and Qi Yue were teased by the continuous aroma wafting from the kitchen, their stomachs rumbling with hunger.

“Sister, when can we eat?” Jiang Che eagerly asked, his eyes fixed on the buns.

Though Qi Yue remained silent, he also looked eagerly alongside his brother.

“Are you both hungry? Just a little longer, I’ll finish wrapping them up soon,” Jiang Shuangling replied.

Qi Yue poked the soft and fluffy bun belly with his hand, his cheeks still painted with faded tiger stripes from the earlier pretend play, “I want to make buns.”

“Sister, I want to too…”

Jiang Che clung to his sister’s leg like a little shadow, half of his face resembling a chubby little rabbit, and Jiang Shuangling couldn’t help but chuckle when she glanced down and saw the bunny-like expression on her little brother’s face.

She wiped her hands, “Alright, how about this? Sister will teach you both to make little rabbits.”

“First, go wash your hands clean, then come back to make buns together.”

Qi Yue and Jiang Che obediently went to wash their hands.

Jiang Shuangling brought over the other small portion of dough mixed with milk powder, cutting it into small rectangular pieces. Holding the milky fragrant dough in her hand, she paused for a moment, then went to her room to retrieve a small jar of osmanthus honey she had made before.

She poured the thick osmanthus honey sauce into a small bowl, and the sweet scent immediately wafted up to her nostrils as the rice-colored osmanthus floated in the honey-colored syrup.

She poured a small spoonful of osmanthus honey onto the dough skin, adding a bit more dough to the front end. With her palm, she shaped the dough into an oval, resembling the chubby body of a little rabbit.

In front of the two children, Jiang Shuangling first pinched a small handful of short rabbit tail, then used a small knife to carve out the shapes of two rabbit ears at the top of the dough, finally using her fingers to gently press and refine the shape, and dotting red bean eyes on it.

This was a milk-scented osmanthus honey bun with a hidden meaning.

“Your eyes look just like the rabbit’s,” Qi Yue picked up the small dough, glancing up at Jiang Shuangling.

“They’re red and swollen.”

Jiang Shuangling: “… You little rascal.”

“Have you both learned? Let’s make them together.”

“Let’s start by making the little rabbit bodies, and I’ll help you with the ears,” Jiang Shuangling instructed.

Jiang Che nodded obediently and picked up a small piece of dough, working hard to knead it into a little rabbit.

Qi Yue spooned a generous amount of sweet osmanthus honey onto the dough skin. This little guy was quite greedy; he wanted to add a lot of sugar. But as it turned out, with too much sugar, the dough Jiang Shuangling had cut was too small to close properly, and the honey-colored syrup overflowed from the dough.

His palms were sticky with the sweet osmanthus honey syrup.

Meanwhile, Jiang Che, who was diligently kneading his own little dough, had already started to shape the tail. He glanced at Qi Yue’s progress, said nothing, and silently worked on his own rabbit tail.

Qi Yue noticed his gaze and stared at the little rabbit on the other cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed and annoyed. He then grabbed three more small pieces of dough and added them to his original little rabbit body.

He wanted to make an extraordinary oversized rabbit.

With this in mind, Qi Yue added another spoonful of osmanthus honey inside.

While the two children were earnestly kneading their dough, Jiang Shuangling’s skillful hands had already finished making a row of chubby little rabbits with short tails.

She thought the children must be hungry too, so she first steamed seven or eight meat-filled buns and the row of little rabbits.

By the time the buns and buns were steamed, Jiang Shuangling had also finished making all the buns.

Jiang Che and Qi Yue handed over the little rabbits they had made to her for the ears.

Jiang Shuangling did some touch-ups on their crooked little rabbits.

After some adjustments, Jiang Che’s little rabbit looked passable, while Qi Yue’s little rabbit, though well-made, was three times the size of the original rabbit.

—It was almost like a big bun.

“Qi Yue, with this ‘small’ rabbit of yours… are you planning to eat it yourself or give it to Dad?” she asked, tilting her head.

Qi Yue pondered for a moment, his eyes catching sight of the row of adorable little rabbits. He replied decisively, “Give it to Dad!”

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

She glanced at the chubby rabbit in her hand, unable to determine whether this little guy in front of her was clever or filial.

“Okay, then let’s leave it for your dad to eat, and we’ll steam it last.”

—This was the showstopper, the big rabbit.

“Alright, the buns in that pot are done. You two must be hungry too, come and eat some buns,” Jiang Shuangling said as she plated some buns and rabbit buns, leading the two children out of the kitchen.

They sat down at the dining table.

The snow-white buns on the plate emitted white steam, and the crab yellow juice had already solidified on top of the buns, while the row of little rabbits beside them exuded an enticing milk aroma.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

The two children couldn’t wait, happily placing a delicate little bun into their own bowls.

Her buns were small and easy to cool down. Jiang Shuangling picked up one that was still hot, biting into the soft skin, immediately tasting the soup inside.

First, she tasted the savory oiliness, not too greasy, with a hint of sweet carrot fragrance.

The bun in her hand was bitten, revealing the tender meat filling inside. The shallow orange carrot dices were interspersed within the delicate meat, mixed with the appropriate thickness of the bun skin, creating a perfect balance in the mouth—neither dry nor greasy, just right.

The children’s hands were small, and with one bite into the bun, the oily soup inside flowed down along the bun skin. Their two rosy little mouths were adorned with a layer of glistening oil.

Nobody cared to praise how delicious the buns were. Their mouths didn’t stop moving, eagerly devouring the buns in their hands, letting the elastic meat filling in their mouths chew out a savory and enticing sweetness.

Jiang Shuangling had one herself, but these two little ones were voracious, finishing two buns in one go.

She also cooked a small pot of scallion and ginger soup, bringing it out for the two children to drink after finishing the buns.

The aroma of scallions wafted through the air, filling the room with various tempting scents.

Jiang Shuangling took a sip of the lightly salty soup, with a hint of ginger. The crunch of the chopped scallions added an extra dimension to the taste.

She picked up a snow-white little rabbit and asked, “Would you like to try the milk-scented little rabbit?”

Jiang Che nodded eagerly, devouring two buns filled with ample meat filling. With the oil and moisture from the bun, he no longer felt hungry. He happily reached out for the red-eyed little rabbit.

The little rabbit in his hand had expanded a bit compared to before, its bottom chubby, with a short tail trailing behind. Jiang Che looked at the little white rabbit in his hand, feeling a bit reluctant to eat it. Instead, he lowered his head to smell the milk scent on the bun skin.

Jiang Shuangling also gave one to Qi Yue. Without any psychological pressure, Qi Yue bit off the head of the big rabbit in one go, leaving only a trace of the ears.

The osmanthus flowers in the honey-colored syrup shone brightly.

“Is it tasty?”

“It’s okay,” Qi Yue said, but even as he spoke, he swallowed a whole little rabbit in two bites and couldn’t resist licking the osmanthus honey in his palm.

Sweet.

Jiang Shuangling herself tasted a “little rabbit,” finding the taste quite good, although a bit too sweet.

Having one was delightful, but two might be a bit too sweet.

Jiang Shuangling took another sip of soup and suddenly remembered the bamboo basket that Mrs. Song had lent her earlier. She needed to return it now, and she thought Mrs. Song’s family, with five children, would appreciate the row of little rabbits, which were perfect for kids.

There were only a few buns left from the pot that had just been steamed, mostly small rabbits. Jiang Shuangling counted them, took six sugar bun rabbits and two regular buns, wrapped them in oil paper, and placed them in the bamboo basket. She then walked out of the courtyard to Mrs. Song’s house.

Later, she would also visit Teacher Yao’s house. He had mentioned that the children were all out, so they probably wouldn’t be able to eat so many sugar buns. She planned to take the next batch of freshly steamed buns over when they were ready.

When Jiang Shuangling arrived at Mrs. Song’s house with the buns, they were also preparing a feast. Mrs. Song was pleasantly surprised to receive the buns.

As a gesture of gratitude, Mrs. Song also gave Jiang Shuangling a bowl of Mapo Tofu.

Jiang Shuangling stared at the Mapo Tofu in her hands, speechless. 

Chunks of tender tofu, already stained with the vibrant red and immersed in the spicy and numbing sauce. Dimly lit green onions were scattered throughout, and you could faintly spot a few Sichuan peppercorns in the spicy soup. The pungent aroma of spice kept wafting up.

Anyone who loved spicy food would be tempted by this bowl.

Mrs. Song, with a warm smile, said enthusiastically, “Take it home and enjoy! This is my specialty dish.”

Jiang Shuangling’s hands trembled slightly. “Th-thank you, Mrs. Song.”

“Hey, sister, why do your eyes look a bit red, like they’re swollen? What happened?” Mrs. Song asked with concern.

“It’s nothing, sister. I just accidentally rubbed my eyes while handling chili peppers,” Jiang Shuangling replied.

“That’s really uncomfortable. Be careful in the future. Never rub your eyes when cutting chili peppers,” Mrs. Song advised.

“Okay.”

Jiang Shuangling turned with the Mapo Tofu in her hands. After walking a few steps, it felt like a wave of spiciness drifted into her eyes, making her unable to resist rubbing them with the back of her hand.

She turned back and sneezed loudly.

Mrs. Song carried the bamboo basket into the house, and one of the children curiously approached. Upon discovering the food, all five children crowded around.

“Wow! Rabbits!”

“So sweet, there’s sugar inside the rabbits!”

Her husband, curious, asked, “Who just came?”

“It’s that Qi from Captain Qi’s house…” Mrs. Song hesitated for a moment, “I felt something was off about her. She seemed like she had been crying, and her complexion looked strange…”

“But she told me it was because of the chili peppers,” Jiang Shuangling added.

“I didn’t press further.”

Mrs. Song often dealt with chili peppers. Based on her experience, being exposed to chili peppers wouldn’t cause such swelling. It must have been from crying…