Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 63: Sheng Shiwu Learns to Make Spicy Strips

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Sheng Shiwu Learns to Make Spicy Strips

They were yelled at by the farm manager to shovel pig manure, doing all the dirtiest and most exhausting jobs.

Many years later, those people returned to their former status, even more successful than before.

And the farm manager? He was still on the farm, yelling at others to feed the pigs.

Life is short. The good and the bad, it’s all part of living.

Gu Jiaojiao chattered on excitedly. Her words filled Su Shuochi with emotion, making his blood boil with passion.

Although Su Shuochi was listening intently, once he saw she was finished, he didn’t forget to get some hot water to help her wash her hands.

As he was drying her hands, he suddenly held them tightly, a glimmer of light shining in his deep eyes.

He slowly leaned in close to her ear and said, "Jiaojiao, I want to kiss you..."

Gu Jiaojiao: ...

This was the first time Su Shuochi had kissed his wife while she was fully awake. The feeling was simply wonderful...

At the Su family home, Su Shuochi and Gu Jiaojiao weren’t there. Although it was much quieter, everyone was still bustling with activity.

Su’s mother was a decent cook and prepared several dishes according to Gu Jiaojiao’s plan.

Sheng Shiwu arrived just as dinner was being served. It wasn’t that the Sheng Family was short on food; he was just in a hurry.

"Grandpa Gu, Uncle Su, you’re all still eating?"

"Yes. Xiao Wu, have you eaten yet?" Mr. Su asked in his good-natured way.

"What kind of question is that? Even if he’s eaten, he can have a little more. Xiao Wu, sit down. I’ll get you a bowl of rice."

Su’s mother shot Mr. Su a look. ’How do you expect Xiao Wu to answer a question like that!’

’Can’t you see the boy’s eyes are glued to the food on the table? So unobservant!’

"He saw us eating, so he must have asked that on purpose because he wanted some," Gu Jingtai teased Sheng Shiwu.

"Hehe..." Sheng Shiwu chuckled dryly. He smelled the delicious aroma and really wanted to eat, but he felt a bit embarrassed.

Gu Jinghua found this side of Third Sheng a little amusing, but he didn’t say a word and kept his head down, continuing to eat.

After wolfing down a few mouthfuls, Sheng Shiwu hesitantly explained the reason for his visit.

"Not bad! You sold fifty bags of latiao in one day? Aunt Su knows how to make them too. After dinner, you can stay and help, and ask Aunt Su to make some for you to sell."

Gu Jingtai had a very favorable impression of people who were eager to earn money.

"Really? I thought only Jiaojiao knew how to make latiao, hehe..."

Seeing shiny silver coins dancing before his eyes, Sheng Shiwu ate with even more gusto.

After eating, he even offered to help clear the table, but Su Qinchun found him too clumsy and wouldn’t let him.

’No way, no one was taking her job of clearing the table. Her sister-in-law had told her she’d get paid fifty cents a day for washing the dishes.’

After the meal, Gu Jingtai certainly didn’t need help counting money. Mr. Su was kneading dough, which Sheng Shiwu didn’t know how to do.

He saw Grandpa Gu and Eldest Brother Gu sorting green onions and was about to go over, but Gu Jingtai stopped him.

"Sheng Shiwu, go to the kitchen and help Aunt Su chop the pork." Gu Jingtai wasn’t yet aware that the Su family owned a meat grinder.

He had originally planned to chop the meat himself after he finished counting his money, but seeing Sheng Shiwu looking for something to do, he kindly pointed him in the right direction.

In the Su family’s kitchen were all sorts of ingredients. There were hundreds of pounds of flour, a number of dried tofu skins, and some other things he didn’t recognize.

Sheng Shiwu was completely stunned. Everyone in the courtyard had been saying that with two sick people to care for, the Su family couldn’t afford to eat.

"Xiao Wu, those dried tofu skins are for making the latiao. Go ahead and wash them clean."

"Okay, I can do that." Sheng Shiwu had finally found a job to do.

He placed the washed tofu skins in a basin, and Su’s mother added a spoonful of vegetable oil, mixing it in by hand to coat them evenly.

This coated the surface of the dried tofu skins with a layer of oil to prevent them from sticking together.

She brought water to a boil in a pot, and once it was boiling, she placed the dried tofu skins on a steamer rack and steamed them over high heat for three minutes.

Next, she prepared the seasonings for the latiao: chili powder, cumin powder, black and white sesame seeds, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. For the salt and white sugar, she used a 1:2 ratio.

She added peanut oil to a wok. Into the cool oil, she added sections of leek, scallions, slices of ginger, slivers of onion, dried chilies, star anise, bay leaves, and Sichuan peppercorns, then began to slowly fry them over low-medium heat.

Once all the ingredients were fried until dry and fragrant, she strained them out and set them aside. By now, the rich aroma of the infused oil was already noticeable.

After letting the oil temperature drop slightly, she poured all the powdered seasonings into the oil, stirring quickly to fry them and release their fragrance.

Once the seasonings were fragrant and the oil had cooled completely, she added the tofu skins to the wok and stirred until they were evenly coated.

The delicious latiao were ready. They looked so good it made your mouth water. Gu Jingtai picked up a piece with his hand to taste it. "This is delicious."

"Aunt Su, making latiao looks really simple. I think I’ve learned how to do it too."

"Ah, Xiao Wu, you can try making it yourself next time," Su’s mother said casually.

"Aunt Su, does that mean you don’t welcome me to your home anymore?" Sheng Shiwu’s joy at having learned to make latiao was instantly doused with cold water.

"Not at all. I mean you can come to our house and try making the latiao yourself."

"Great, great! I’ll sell all of these tomorrow during the day, and then come back in the evening."

After Sheng Shiwu left with the latiao, Gu Jingtai asked everyone, "Grandpa, Uncle Su, what do you think? Should I go sell latiao at the gates of other schools?"

"Can you even find the time? Don’t try to catch all the sparrows in the sky. You can learn to make latiao, but you don’t necessarily have to be the one to sell it."

Grandpa Gu shot his second grandson a look and began to lecture him.

"Grandpa Gu, Mom, Dad, can I sell latiao at school then?"

"Of course you can, as long as you’re not afraid of losing face," Old Sir Gu said with a wide smile.

Since the Su family didn’t treat them like outsiders, he decided to give the Su family’s young lady a bit of advice.

"Your Grandpa Gu is right. It just depends on whether you’ll be too embarrassed," Mr. Su also said with a laugh.

"Mom, are there any latiao left from the batch you made today? I’ll take some tomorrow and give it a try."

"Only what’s on the table." Su’s mother had only made one batch. She had served a little for everyone to taste, and Sheng Shiwu had taken the rest.

"Su Qinchun, if you really want to sell latiao, I can make a batch for you. Want me to?"

Gu Jingtai asked, pretending to roll up his sleeves, though he was already wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

Su Qinchun: ...

’A whole batch... I wonder if I can sell it all!’

"Yes, a whole batch it is! If I can’t sell it all, I’ll just go to Sheng Shiwu’s school to sell it."

Su Qinchun figured that if she couldn’t sell it all, it would be the school’s fault, not hers.

In reality, she was overthinking it. Middle school students love latiao even more. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Gu Jingtai was also eager to show off his skills, so the two of them hit it off immediately. Su Qinchun went to tend the fire while Gu Jingtai took charge of the wok to make the latiao.

The adults busy in the living room all smiled. It was good to see such enthusiasm for life.

Sheng Shiwu, carrying a parcel of latiao wrapped in oil paper, rode his bicycle back to the gate of his family’s courtyard.

He ran into Dong Qihua, who stopped him. "Xiao Wu, what’s that you’re carrying that smells so good? Is it from Jiao—"

"Don’t shout! Here, take a bag of latiao," Sheng Shiwu immediately cut Dong Qihua off, speaking in a low voice.

The two of them went outside the courtyard, where Dong Qihua said, "I don’t need you to give me any. Just tell me what’s going on."

Sheng Shiwu wasn’t afraid of Dong Qihua, but he was afraid his own sister would hear Dong Qihua shouting, so he explained everything from start to finish.

"Not bad, kid. Be careful when you go back in. Don’t let your sister see you."

Not long after, there was another knock on the Su family’s door. "Who could that be so late at night?"