Chapter 55: Fried Mantou Slices with Egg p1
Who was it?
Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin looked at each other. Mi Hongdou was the first to react: “Is my mom home?”
Ji Junxin nodded blankly.
That was a stupid question… Mi Hongdou facepalmed. Since her rebirth, she had been so busy with filming that she forgot her mother at this time was different from the mother ten years later, who was actively involved in senior activities and practically invisible during holidays. Now, she was just a middle-aged, divorced woman with no hobbies, either at work or at home.
Mi Hongdou tightened her jacket and rushed to the door. For some reason, thinking about the bra conversation with Ji Junxin, she felt awkward. Their apartment was old, and the soundproofing wasn’t very good. Although Ji Junxin had said it was a normal conversation between best friends, she still felt mortified at the thought of her mother overhearing it.
Fortunately, Mi’s mother entered with a normal expression, her gaze slowly sweeping past the blushing Mi Hongdou as if she didn’t see her, finally landing on Ji Junxin. Then, Mi Hongdou watched as her mother walked past her towards Ji Junxin, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Have you had the porridge? Does it suit your taste?” Although Mi’s mother’s expression was a little unnatural, her words were normal. Well, if you ignored the fact that she completely ignored her own daughter.
“It’s delicious! Auntie was right, the sausages make it even better. Thank you, Auntie.” Ji Junxin smiled sweetly, the perfect image of a well-behaved girl that elders adored.
“Good, good, have some more, there’s still some in the pot. Ask Xiaomi to refill it for you when you’re finished.” Mi’s mother pointed at Mi Hongdou and then briskly left the room.
Mi Hongdou, completely reduced to a background prop, didn’t understand why her mother came all the way here just to say those two sentences… It felt a little strange.
But it was a good thing she came, otherwise, the bra topic would have continued, and she would have died of embarrassment. Mi Hongdou went to the bathroom to wash up, rubbing her face in frustration. What was wrong with her, a seasoned veteran of two lifetimes, blushing because of Ji Junxin? … It should be Ji Junxin who was blushing and acting shy!
Thinking this, Mi Hongdou imagined Ji Junxin sitting in bed, her face flushed with embarrassment, pouting angrily… Just imagining it made her heart warm. It was November, and washing her face with cold tap water didn’t even feel cold.
She really wanted to see it… what should she do…
Mi Hongdou splashed cold water on her face several times to dispel the sudden, mischievous thought. She wiped her face, looked up, and almost jumped out of her skin. Her mother was standing behind her, looking at her without making a sound.
“Mom… even if you walk silently, can you at least say something when you’re standing behind me?” Mi Hongdou’s face, which had been flushed from Ji Junxin’s teasing, now turned pale from the cold water and the shock.
“If you’re so easily scared, how are you going to film horror movies?” Mi’s mother’s critical hit landed perfectly, knocking down her own daughter.
Mi Hongdou flicked the water from her hands. She must have been picked up from a red bean soup jar at the hospital.
“I need to talk to you about something.” Mi’s mother clasped her hands behind her back, her expression conflicted, just like earlier in the bedroom.
“What is it?” Mi Hongdou’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered her mother’s budding romance in her previous life. She had looked like this when she told her about it. Well, she would definitely support her this time. But wasn’t that supposed to happen years later? If not, what else could make her usually straightforward mother so hesitant?
All sorts of thoughts raced through Mi Hongdou’s mind, but she never expected her mother to bring her hands forward, holding a poster in one hand and a marker in the other.
Eh, she seemed to have been holding these when she came into the bedroom earlier.
This scene seemed familiar.
“My colleague, Old Wang’s daughter, is a fan of Ji Junxin. See, she’s here now… can you ask her for an autograph?” Mi’s mother stammered, finally managing to get the words out.
This sounded even more familiar…
Mi Hongdou wiped her hands with a tissue, took the poster, and unfolded it. It was a poster of a Republican-era art film Ji Junxin starred in last year.
“What’s your colleague Old Wang’s daughter’s name?” Mi Hongdou touched the corner of the poster. She didn’t even have Ji Junxin’s autograph yet, hmph.
“…” Mi’s mother didn’t speak.
Mi Hongdou smiled, “You don’t even know her name, and you’re helping her?”
Mi’s mother gritted her teeth: “Wang Erya, her name is Wang Erya.”
Mi Hongdou almost burst out laughing. A similar conversation had happened years later in her previous life. At that time, Ji Junxin had already retired, and she had just established a connection with Ji Junxin through Qiao Rubai, her favorability still low. Her mother had also asked her for an autograph with this poster. When she asked who it was for, her mother hesitated before saying it was for Old Zhang’s daughter, Zhang Erya, a friend from her senior college.
Zhang Erya, Wang Erya, she couldn’t even be bothered to come up with a different name. From her previous life to this one, she only changed the surname, how lazy.
In her previous life, while repeatedly trying to increase Ji Junxin’s favorability, Mi Hongdou had bought an apartment closer to Ji Junxin’s. While moving, she accidentally saw this poster in her mother’s drawer where she kept valuables. She had sighed inwardly then, like mother, like daughter. Not only were they fans of the same person, but they were both hidden fans.
In this life, she had befriended Ji Junxin earlier, and it seemed her mother’s request for an autograph had also been brought forward.
Mi Hongdou didn’t expose her mother’s poorly concealed secret and obediently took the marker. She just slightly regretted not having collected any of Ji Junxin’s posters yet in this life. She would have to use a notebook later.
Holding the poster and the marker, Mi Hongdou walked back to the bedroom door and saw Ji Junxin standing in front of her bookshelf, seemingly engrossed in reading the titles on the spines.
Mi Hongdou broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately… fortunately, she hadn’t yet started her obsessive collection of Ji Junxin memorabilia like in her previous life: official posters, magazines and newspapers with her interviews, even fan-made merchandise… Thinking about her vast collection in her previous life, if Ji Junxin saw it, she would definitely think she was a creep…
But come to think of it, in her previous life, Ji Junxin had never been to her apartment. After four years of knowing each other in her previous life, they weren’t as close and natural as they were now, after just one month. So… the Ji Junxin before being hurt was indeed more innocent and approachable. Well, actually, she had been hurt yesterday.
She had to work harder to protect her, to keep her like this. Mi Hongdou made this firm resolution, but for some reason, thinking about the Ji Junxin from her previous life, who only smiled when faced with delicious food, she felt a pang of heartache.
Everything could change, but she still couldn’t forget that version of her.
Mi Hongdou didn’t disturb Ji Junxin, who was happily browsing her bookshelf, and placed the poster and marker in the living room, earning a glare from her mother.
I’ll get her autograph, okay! So fierce, was she really her mother! Mi Hongdou fled to the kitchen, tears welling up.
On the gas stove in the kitchen, a large clay pot occupied a burner. Mi Hongdou opened it, and the familiar, warm aroma wafted out. It was half a pot of preserved egg, sausage, and lean meat congee. Mi Hongdou touched her slightly hungry stomach and decided to quickly make the other dish, so she could enjoy breakfast with Ji Junxin!
It was a quick and easy dish, with simple ingredients and a simple recipe.
Two cold steamed buns, three eggs, two slices of bacon.
She whisked the eggs, added salt, MSG, and a little sugar. One steamed bun was sliced, and the other was cut into a lotus root sandwich shape (two slices joined together, not completely separated).
The bacon was diced and pan-fried.
Leaving a thin layer of oil in the wok, she turned the heat to low. The single slices of steamed bun were dipped in the egg mixture for a few seconds and then pan-fried. Another method was to soak the steamed bun slices in the egg mixture for two minutes before frying, but Mi Hongdou felt that although it enhanced the eggy flavor, the texture would be too soft. Since she was using steamed buns, the chewy texture was essential, so she only dipped them, not soaked them.
After the steamed bun slices were in the wok, she waited until one side was golden brown, then flipped them. When both sides were golden, she quickly picked them up with chopsticks and rolled the edges in the oil. There wasn’t much oil in the wok, which prevented the egg coating on the sides from not being fully cooked while the surfaces were done.
Mi Hongdou worked quickly, frying the single slices one by one, then placing them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. The aroma of fried food filled the kitchen.
For the “lotus root sandwich” steamed bun slices, she added a step of stuffing the diced, pan-fried bacon between the two slices before frying them the same way as the single slices.
In less than five minutes, a plate of fried steamed bun slices, two styles, was ready. She squeezed some sweet and spicy sauce around the edge of the plate, and the second breakfast dish was complete.
Mi Hongdou carried the plate to the dining table and was about to go call Ji Junxin when she saw the foodie standing at the bedroom door, a bowl in her hand, her eyes shining.
She sniffed the air. It seemed that this old apartment wasn’t very good at blocking smells either, not just sounds.
Mi’s mother declined Mi Hongdou’s invitation, saying that she was already full from the porridge and wouldn’t have the fried mantou slices, telling them to enjoy their meal. Most importantly, she reminded Mi Hongdou again to get the autograph.
The single slices of fried mantou were crispy and fragrant. One bite, and the crispy egg coating, the chewy steamed bun inside, and the perfect seasoning were a delightful combination. Ji Junxin took a bite and then quickly stuffed the rest into her mouth. Hmm… this had to be eaten in big bites, so delicious…
Mi Hongdou, who had been about to take a slice, retracted her chopsticks and smiled, taking a sip of congee.
“Why are the mantou slices on the right thicker than the ones on the left?” Ji Junxin felt that the thin slice she just had, the crispy, savory egg and the chewy, slightly sweet mantou, the ratio was perfect. If the mantou slice was as thick as the ones on the right, the balanced flavor would be ruined, it would probably be too bland.
“Try it.” Mi Hongdou didn’t answer directly, pointing at the thicker slices on the right.
Ji Junxin picked one up and examined it. It was indeed twice as thick as the one she had just eaten. But looking at Mi Hongdou’s smug, secretive expression, Ji Junxin suddenly felt confident about the mantou slice in her chopsticks.
Taking a careful bite, Ji Junxin immediately noticed the difference. There was filling inside. The rich aroma of bacon… The unique texture of meat, mixed with the egg and mantou, the savory bacon successfully solved the problem of the thicker mantou slices being bland, creating a richer and more satisfying flavor.
This was also delicious…
Ji Junxin looked at the left side of the plate, then at the right, a little conflicted. The two types of mantou slices had different textures, but both were so delicious, it was hard to choose which to eat next.
“They’re all yours, eat slowly.” Mi Hongdou almost burst out laughing. She wouldn’t admit that she had specifically made two versions just to see Ji Junxin’s conflicted expression. When did she become so mischievous?
Ji Junxin was a little embarrassed, but her attention was quickly captured by the food again. Okay, she decided, she would eat one from the left, then one from the right, then another one from the left…
So, the two sat at the table, one eating happily, the other watching happily.
Wait, she seemed to have forgotten something. Mi Hongdou thought, but couldn’t remember. Well, it didn’t matter, as long as Ji Junxin was happy, whatever she forgot must not be important.
Mi’s mother sniffed the air. She hadn’t expected to be tempted by the smell of fried mantou after having a full bowl of porridge. But no, as a proper hidden fan, she couldn’t snatch food in front of her idol, it would be too rude. Her gaze shifted to the poster on the coffee table. So, did anyone still remember the autograph?
After Ji Junxin finished the plate of fried mantou slices and two bowls of preserved egg, sausage, and lean meat congee, Mi Hongdou finally remembered the autograph. Of course, what mainly prompted her to act was that Ji Junxin had finally moved from the bedroom to the dining room, and Mi Hongdou could now go to the bedroom to get her notebooks.
Leave a Reply