Chapter 927: Chapter 392: What If the Ingredients Aren’t Enough? Just Borrow Dundun’s Fish! Taking the Kids Hiking!

"Why did you all come together?"

Soon, they arrived upstairs. Ren Jie, perhaps feeling a bit awkward about freeloading a meal, had specially bought two honeydew melons and two pineapples.

Perfect for slicing into a fruit platter later.

Chen Yan said:

"Ren Jie and I were wandering aimlessly on the street, got hungry, and checked out several places to eat. We were worried about a flop, so we asked Director Zeng where the good food was, but she couldn’t really say. We figured it might as well be here; other places might flop, but my brother-in-law’s skills are absolutely no problem."

In the kitchen, Lin Xu chuckled, thinking his sister-in-law was overthinking.

If I mess up, even I fear myself.

"Dundun, why aren’t you welcoming Auntie?"

"Dundun, come let Aunt hold you. I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had time to play with my nephew."

While lying on the sofa watching Tom and Jerry and waiting for the fish snacks, Dundun saw Auntie and Aunt coming and dashed upstairs in a flash.

Compared to the living room, my own room is safer.

"Hahaha, don’t think about running away. A kitten that doesn’t let Aunt hold it isn’t a good kitten."

Chen Yan chased after like a madwoman.

Yet just as she walked a few steps up the stairs, a door-closing sound came from above.

Apparently, Dundun had closed the door to his room.

Chen Yan was stunned:

"When did it learn to lock the door? This is too smart!"

Shen Baobao gave a proud smile:

"Of course, must you even ask who Dundun’s parents are."

Well, a child raised by Xu and me, how could it not be smart?

She said to Chen Yan:

"Don’t always act like a madwoman. I’ve looked up a lot of information these days saying cats easily get depressed from stress, and I don’t want my little baby feeling down every day..."

"I just want to tease it for fun."

Shen Baobao went upstairs, opened Dundun’s room door, and saw the little guy hiding in the Cat Castle, softly saying:

"Dundun, Auntie is just playing with you, no ill intentions. You don’t have to be scared. If you find her annoying, Mommy will find a chance to prank her, how about that?"

Soon, a fluffy paw stretched out from the Cat Castle.

Consensus reached!

In the kitchen, Lin Xu opened the fridge, rummaging through the house’s ingredients.

Since four more people arrived, the cold-eating tofu is definitely not enough.

After rummaging for a while, he took out a strip of frozen sea bass from the fridge.

This was prepared as food for Dundun to prevent the little guy from getting hungry at night. But since adults don’t have enough food today, they had to temporarily borrow his fish.

Tomorrow, fresh fish can be bought, buy two when eating one.

Such a good deal, I believe Dundun won’t refuse.

He made a cut on the sea bass’s back, cleaned it inside and out, then marinated it with scallion and ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and small chili to later make a grilled fish to taste.

Seizing the marinating time, he took out a pack of artificial meat from the fridge.

They call it artificial meat, but it’s actually a kind of soy-made dried product, quite common in the Central Plains.

It’s a favorite ingredient of mom’s; once soaked, whether for steamed bun filling or stew, it tastes great.

Lin Xu soaked it in water. Since stewing is out of question, it can be blanched, fried with some chili oil poured over, making a snack similar to spicy strips.

It may not be particularly delicious, but it’s enough to accompany drinks.

"Anything I can help with?"

Ren Jie took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands with liquid soap at the kitchen door’s sink, ready to help.

After Chen Yan gave up teasing Dundun, she, Zeng Xiaoqi, and Chen Yuanyuan stood on the balcony, using their phones to take photos of the urban night view, chattering away asking Zeng Xiaoqi for night photography tips.

Left aside, Officer Ren had no choice but to opt to help in the kitchen.

But there wasn’t much need for help in the kitchen either.

Lin Xu thought for a moment, then took out an electric grill that Shen Baobao bought but hadn’t used from the cabinet. After unpacking it, he separated the base and the grill:

"Brother-in-law, wash this grill, and we’ll make Wanzhou grilled fish later."

Calling it Wanzhou grilled fish is just mimicking the style; lacking ingredients at home and Lin Xu not knowing the recipe, he can only explore making it like a dry pot.

"Leave it to me, this is the task I excel at. In the honor guard, we also bought electric grills to secretly cook food, and I was always responsible for cleansing it."

The one who cleans is usually the worst cook.

No wonder his identity got discovered by his sister-in-law for just making a pancake.

To prevent everyone from going hungry, Lin Xu specially kneaded some more dough, planning to bake some thin flatbreads. After the grilled fish is finished, adding some soup, and cutting the flatbreads into strips to dip in, it should taste quite good.

The dough was kneaded, placed in a bowl to loosen for a while, so the breads will be softer when baked.

He looked at the soaked artificial meat, which had softened, then heated a pot of water.

While boiling the water, he scooped out the artificial meat, cut it into diamond-shaped pieces for better grip.

He cut it and placed it in a basket, while the water in the pot was already boiling, added two tablespoons of salt in there to make the artificial meat chewier.

He stirred it slightly with a spoon to dissolve the salt, then poured in the artificial meat, continuing to stir.

Blanch it for about thirty seconds, when all the artificial meat separates, scoop it back into the basket, rinse it under the tap to prevent overheating, which could cause the artificial meat to lose texture.

Then he added salt, flavoring, white sugar, light soy sauce into the basin, followed by a big spoonful of chili powder, a tablespoon of cumin powder, and a small spoonful of thirteen spices.