Fish Dumplings

"What are you all talking about?" Ye Shuang asked as he spoke.

At that moment, he was holding a large basin filled with what seemed to be seasoned meat filling.

"Brother, what are you making? Steamed buns?" The attention of Tang Keke and the others was drawn over.

"Dumplings. We'll pan-fry them tonight," Ye Shuang said with a smile.

"What kind of filling?"

"Fish, and pork. Two kinds. Both have been well-mixed until springy."

"Fish?" Upon hearing this unfamiliar ingredient, Tang Keke was momentarily stunned, as she had never eaten fish dumplings before.

Bai Yuyou also looked on curiously. "Are they tasty?"

Ye Shuang looked at the basin of filling and gave a wry smile.

It wasn't really a question of whether they were tasty or not. After all, with a whole fridge full of arowana, it would be a waste not to eat it. He never thought he'd see the day he'd be extravagant enough to use arowana for dumpling filling. This thing is supposed to be someone's lucky "fortune fish."

Thinking of this, Ye Shuang couldn't help but glance at An Shiyu not far away.

The big fish ate the little fish.

"I don't like dumplings," Alice spoke up from the side. "Wontons are okay, though."

"There's not much difference between the two. Wonton wrappers are just a bit smoother." Ye Shuang deftly wrapped a dumpling and motioned for Bai Yuyou to come over and learn beside him.

"Look—"

Ye Shuang spread a dumpling wrapper flat on his palm, scooped some filling onto it with a spoon, dabbed a little water on the edge of the wrapper, and then skillfully pinched it into pleats.

Bai Yuyou had a strong learning ability. After watching a few times, she got the hang of it. She then cupped the little dumpling she made in both hands to show Ye Shuang.

"Well done." Seeing the girl's expression begging for praise, Ye Shuang originally wanted to pat her head, but remembering his hands were covered in flour, he gently booped her nose instead.

"Me too!" Tang Keke crowded over at this point.

"Ta-da! A UFO!" Instead of pleating it, she sandwiched the filling between two round dumpling wrappers.

"Idiot, that thing takes up too much space. How are we supposed to cook it later?" An Shiyu said disdainfully from the side. "My suggestion is you just put it directly in your mouth."

"Hmph, I think you're just jealous of my talent," Tang Keke retorted without hesitation, even holding up the flying saucer dumpling to show off. "So perfect."

The next second, An Shiyu poked a hole in it with her finger.

"Eek!!!!!! My little saucer!" Tang Keke shrieked.

"You even gave it a name? What's next, 'dumpling-dumpling'?" An Shiyu withdrew her finger, looking at the nearby dumpling wrappers with apparent interest.

Then, An Shiyu also picked up a wrapper.

A few seconds later, she had pinched a shuriken (throwing star).

"Not bad," An Shiyu said. "Just not hard enough."

"That thing of yours takes up even more space, doesn't it?" Tang Keke said speechlessly from the side. "Double standards."

"It's fine. I'll fry it myself later."

"I can fry mine myself too! Give my saucer back!"

"It's fine, I'll fix it for you." An Shiyu reached out to reshape Tang Keke's round dumpling, but ended up pinching an elephant trunk shape out of the dent.

Tang Keke: "..."

"What is this supposed to be? A flying saucer with a nose?"

An Shiyu remained expressionless. "A flying saucer with a dck."

"Come up with a normal description, will you?!"

Meanwhile, Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou were quietly wrapping dumplings, quite accustomed to the noisy antics of An Shiyu and Tang Keke.

"..." Ye Shuang occasionally glanced towards Alice.

Alice was sitting on a chair, her legs not quite reaching the floor, leaving a small gap. Her little slippers dangled slightly as she swung her feet, but her eyes were fixed blankly on her empty phone screen, lost in thought.

Clearly, after seeing Aunt Xian earlier, Alice wasn't as calm on the inside as she appeared.

Ye Shuang found it difficult to intervene in this matter. Aunt Xian couldn't accept that the daughter she had raised for so many years was actually her husband's illegitimate child, and Alice couldn't bear her mother's sudden change in attitude towards her. Of course, learning the truth had hurt her too.

Both sides needed some time.

"Alice, do you want to help wrap dumplings?" Ye Shuang asked with a smile, seemingly trying to distract her from her troubled thoughts.

Alice snapped out of her reverie. Seeing Ye Shuang's flour-covered hands, she was reluctant. "No. It's sticky."

"It won't be. How can dumpling wrappers be sticky unless you add too much water."

"Hmph, no. I don't like dumplings," Alice grumbled.

Bai Yuyou spoke up, "It's okay. I can teach you."

"Who needs you to teach me! I can do it too!" For some reason, hearing Bai Yuyou say that sparked a competitive spirit in Alice. She jumped off the chair and came to the dining table, a little canine tooth showing. "Ye Shuang, give me a wrapper!"

"Here." Ye Shuang smiled and handed her one.

"Pfft, a mere dumpling? Easy-peasy." Because she wasn't tall enough, Alice knelt on the chair, straightening her body to wrap the dumpling. Bobo thoughtfully placed a cushion beside her to keep her knees from getting sore.

But after placing the filling, when Alice tried to seal the edges, she had used too much water. The wrapper slipped, and combined with her applying too much force, it tore.

Staring at her failed creation for a moment, Alice looked up and met Bai Yuyou's beautiful eyes.

"I-I was just experimenting a little," Alice said nonchalantly, crossing her arms. "Hmph, it's this chair's fault. Who wraps dumplings kneeling on a chair anyway?!"

"Bobo!"

Bobo crouched down beside her. Alice got up and plopped down on one of his shoulders.

Bobo acted like a hydraulic lift chair, adjusting his squat to a height that satisfied Alice.

"Hmph, let's see you look down on me now." Alice nodded in satisfaction and asked Ye Shuang for another wrapper.

"I wasn't looking down on you," Bai Yuyou said.

"Quiet. Watch the young lady perform." Alice put on a focused expression and began working on her dumpling.

This time, however, she had put in too much filling and couldn't close it.

"Too much. Take some out," Bai Yuyou instructed from the side.

"Unnecessary. This is precisely when one showcases their true skill!" As a result, Alice used too much force, and the filling burst right through the wrapper.

Faced with another failure, Alice puffed out her cheeks. "The wrapper quality is too poor!"

"With that amount of filling, it's hardly the wrapper's fault," Ye Shuang said with a laugh from the side.

"Bobo, you do it." This time, Alice summoned her enforcer.

Hearing this, Bobo set Alice down and, in a few deft moves, pinched a little human figure.

"Behold, the Alice Young Lady Dumpling." The dumpling figure even had twin tails.

It was like he had made a little figurine.

"Hmph, admit defeat!" Alice struck a pose, hands on hips, just like the little figure, proudly lifting her chin.

Ye Shuang felt helpless.

No one was competing with you.