Chapter 937: The Empress is dead
" Go and bring me some goat milk," Yu Dong told Ye Liu who nodded and then walked out of the house with a vessel in his hands. While Ye Liu went to fetch goat milk, Yu Dong decided to prepare the filling of the meatballs.
Yu Dong did not wish to ruin the new year because of someone like Old Master Tong. She took out the sticky rice which she had soaked in a bowl before taking out ribs and pork belly that she had kept inside the spiritual water for an entire day. Even though the pork, fish and shrimp had been left out in the water vat for all day long, they did not look stale at all. There were no blood clots sticking to the large pieces of ribs and pork belly, instead, they were glistening with a shine which only made others drool.
Even the shrimps and fish were glossy.
With a butchering cleaver in her hand, Yu Dong placed the ribs on the counter and thought of Old Master Tong before her hands started moving.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The cleaver moved at an incredibly fast pace as the meat on the ribs, as well as the pork belly, turned to minced meat. When the young Shen siblings saw this, they all hid behind Shen Li only their butts were sticking out as they kept their heads hidden.
This sister-in-law of theirs can be scary when she wanted to.
Once Yu Dong was done mincing the pork belly, she turned to the fish and shrimp. Tonight she was thinking of making two types of pearl meatballs.
One from pork and the other with Seafood.
She then asked Chen Mi to take out two large bowls in which they added the two kinds of meat and then started to add water chestnuts, ginger, scallions, wine, potato starch, pepper and sesame oil with salt and sugar.
After everything was added to the bowl, Yu Dong then started to mix everything up making sure that there was no air left in the mixture as she continued to stir the filling until it was soft and fluffy with a stickiness to it.
" Keep it aside for now," upon seeing that Ye Liu had returned with goat milk. Yu Dong took the vessel from him and then took out a large syringe from her space, this was something that she used a lot when her brother was too young to eat solid food and could only rely on boiled milk, back then Yu Dong did not have the time to stand in front of the pot and keep an eye on it which was why she ordered this long thermometer which would start beeping once a certain temperature was reached.
She washed it with spiritual water and then placed it inside the milk vessel which was placed on top of the stove which had a flame burning underneath it.
"What's this wife?" Chen Mi asked as he looked at the long pole-like thing which was too delicate to look at.
"It is a cooking thermometer," replied Yu Dong as she explained the work to Chen Mi and the rest. When they heard Yu Dong explain such a miraculous thing they were even more intrigued by it, seeing their gazes which seemed to be screaming 'Let us touch it,' she chuckled and then said, " This is the only one in the world, if it breaks then I am afraid that we will no longer be able to make cheese easily ."
She was not lying, since this thing was basically useless to her, Yu Dong only brought one and did not bother with it once her brother grew up.
If it broke then she would have to learn how to maintain and control flames which was something that Yu Dong did not want to do.
No sooner her words fell, than everyone took a step back. It was a rare thing they couldn't afford to break it.
Yu Dong smiled but did not say anything as she heard the three continuous beeps from the thermometer and then took out the vinegar and lemon juice that she had prepared earlier on before adding it to a vessel.
Once the milk curdled, she took it out and squeezed it with fabric before she started to wash and squeeze it in water which was so cold that it made her hand freeze.
Soon, the cheese started to get stretchy and once Yu Dong reached a certain length of stretchiness, she kept it aside and asked Chen Mi to take out the bowls which they have kept aside.
"Let's make meatballs," she said to her husbands since this was a new year's meal, it made sense for the entire family to cook together.
Yu Dong demonstrated how to make pearl meatballs to her husbands as she scooped the meat and rolled it in the sticky rice. Once they got the hang of it, it did not take long for more than hundreds of meatballs to be placed on the counter.
" I think we made a lot," said Chen Mi as he rolled the last of the pearl meatballs and placed them on the counter.
" I don't think so," Yu Dong took out a large streamer and then covered it with bamboo leaves which were greased and started placing the meatballs. "It's just right, with so many of us, I am afraid that this many might even be less for us."
" I——"
Chen Mi was going to say something but then the door of their house was pushed open bringing in a cold gust of wind together with it.
" Mom! Aunt Yu! I am back !" Lang Ru who had gone to the capital walked inside the house with her snow boots and snow-covered balaclava which seemed to be made of leather and brilliantly smiled at her mother and father who were rolling meatballs with the Yu family.
" Ru Ru!"
" Ah Ru!"
" Sister Ru!" Before either Lang or Zhu Lian could rush to their daughter, a small mer charged up towards her and hugged Lang Ru tight.
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