Steamed buns

Carrying the vegetable seeds back, Bai Yao arrived at the courtyard gate and saw that the little vegetable patch beside it had already been cleared and tidied, even down to the removal of the rickety old wooden fence.

As for the wild greens that had been growing there, Kong Wu had set them aside in a basket.

It could only be said that, as long as one wanted to eat them, plenty of wild plants counted as wild vegetables. There were more kinds than one could imagine.

Bai Yao wasn't someone who couldn't tell one grain from another, and with the original owner's memories as well, he knew quite a few wild vegetables. But looking at the assortment in the basket now, he still didn't recognize as many as Kong Wu did.

But it didn't matter if he didn't recognize them, as long as someone did. All he had to do was cook them.

As Bai Yao was thinking this, he heard the courtyard gate open. He turned and saw Kong Wu coming out with some tools.

"I traded for the vegetable seeds. Auntie Cuihua, the village chief's wife, gave us quite a lot. See if there's anything you'd like to eat, and we'll start the seeds later," Bai Yao said with a smile, speaking first.

"Mm, just leave it to me. I'll fix the vegetable garden fence, then plant some of them first. There are so many seeds that we can grow enough to eat without starting seedlings. I've already dug up the wild greens, so I'll leave the hard work of steaming the buns to you. Thanks for the effort." As Kong Wu spoke, he took the seeds.

He'd kept Bai Yao's promise from that morning in mind all along.

"Sure, leave it to me. You're the one doing the most work, after all. I'll make sure you enjoy the buns tonight." With that, Bai Yao picked up the basket of wild greens and went back inside.

Once he was in the house, Bai Yao found that Kong Wu hadn't touched the things in the sacks among his purchases, but had already put away the tools and iron woks that had been in the basket.

In particular, the two large iron woks had not only been installed on the stove, but the stovetop had been cleaned as well.

Bai Yao could only say that Kong Wu really was "domesticated." He knew how to do everything and had tidied everything up too.

"I remember that a new wok has to be seasoned before it's used, or it won't last long."

He thought back on what he knew about seasoning a wok, then paid the system to take care of it.

It wasn't that he didn't know how; seasoning a wok was just a bit troublesome.

He would have to keep a fire going while slowly rubbing the wok with pigskin, heating the fat into it bit by bit. Then he'd have to leave it overnight and scrub it the next day before it could be used.

So rather than spend the time and effort seasoning them, he might as well pay a few cents to get it done. That way, it wouldn't delay him making dinner either.

While he was at it, he also handed the whole series of tasks—washing and blanching the wild greens, then chopping them for the filling—over to the system.

At times like these, Bai Yao really couldn't help praising how convenient the system was. It was a godsend for lazy people.

The thing was, once the large basket of wild greens had been blanched, it didn't actually yield much filling. Seeing that, he bought some pork to add to it.

More meat was good anyway. Otherwise, the mild-tasting wild greens wouldn't make very fragrant steamed buns.

Half an hour later, Bai Yao figured enough time had passed to fool Kong Wu into thinking he'd made the buns, so he used the system to "take care of it all with one click." It kneaded the dough, rolled out the wrappers, and made the buns, without him having to lift a finger.

Next, he added water to the wok, put in firewood, and lit the fire to get the buns steaming.

If the lack of any sign of cooking wouldn't have been so suspicious, he really would have wanted to "take care of it all with one click." After all, who could stand roasting beside the stove in the middle of summer?

Of course, Bai Yao wasn't the sort to stand motionless beside the stove, either.

He first heated water in both woks. Once it boiled, he poured one wokful into a thermos to cool and set a steamer basket over the other to steam the buns.

Once the buns were steaming, he put a few pieces of wood into the firebox to keep it burning for a while, then hurried outside.

It was too hot. In that short time, he'd already broken out in sweat all over. If he stayed any longer, he'd get heatstroke for sure.

As it happened, just as he stepped out, Kong Wu had just come in, and the two ran into each other face-to-face again.

"The vegetables are planted and I've given them plenty of water. Is there anything else around the house you need me to do?" Kong Wu asked.

"No, that's all. Take a break. The buns will be ready in another quarter of an hour," Bai Yao replied.

"Okay."

Bai Yao took some sunflower seeds from his pocket and shared them with Kong Wu. The two chatted as they waited for the buns to finish steaming.

Ten minutes later, the fragrance of the buns began to spill out of the house and spread outside.

After just one sniff, Kong Wu said with certainty, "Bai Yao, your buns smell much better than the ones sold outside."

Bai Yao smiled and said without a shred of modesty, "Of course. I guarantee you'll enjoy them."

After all, he hadn't skimped on the ingredients. He'd added plenty of meat and seasonings, so how could the buns not smell good?

As the fragrance grew stronger, the two stopped cracking sunflower seeds. Otherwise, they felt like the more they ate, the hungrier they got.

Kong Wu in particular was so tempted by the aroma that his already hungry stomach began to rumble.

Hearing the noise, Bai Yao looked over in surprise.

He wasn't shocked that a hungry stomach could growl, since that was normal. What shocked him was that Kong Wu's stomach could growl so loudly.

Bai Yao had finally witnessed what it meant for a stomach to rumble like thunder.

Feeling Bai Yao's gaze on him, Kong Wu quickly turned bright red.

Bai Yao could see Kong Wu's embarrassment and hurried to speak up to ease it.

"Kong Wu, you've been so hungry you can't stand it? You should have told me. I have some biscuits. Want me to get you some to tide you over?"

Kong Wu shook his head. "I'll eat the buns. They're almost ready."

Bai Yao: ...

All right, then. They only needed another two minutes anyway.

"Let's wash our hands first. They should be about ready."

Bai Yao stood up as he spoke, and Kong Wu answered and hurried after him.

After going inside, Bai Yao pulled the unburned firewood out of the firebox before washing his hands.

Then he waited a little longer. When the time was up, Bai Yao lifted the lid off the wok.

The instant it opened, steam and the fragrance that had built up burst out like an explosion, blasting the two men in front of the wok back two steps.

"They smell so good," Kong Wu said evenly, but the sound of him swallowing afterward gave away what he was really thinking.

Bai Yao naturally heard Kong Wu swallow, but he didn't laugh out loud, lest Kong Wu's face turn red again.

Bai Yao carefully and quickly took the hot buns out of the wok. Without waiting for them to cool, Kong Wu started eating, though he didn't forget to take one for Bai Yao and set it aside to cool.

As for burning his hands, that didn't happen at all. Bai Yao's body had spent ten years doing housework, after all, and that little bit of heat was nothing to the calluses on his hands.

So there was no scene of Bai Yao burning his hands and Kong Wu feeling sorry for him.

By the time Bai Yao finished, Kong Wu had already eaten a piping-hot bun. "This bun is delicious. Bai Yao, you're a really good cook."

"If it's good, eat more," Bai Yao said with a smile, not at all worried about Kong Wu eating too much.

There were twenty big buns, and one was enough to fill him up. No matter how much Kong Wu could eat, he didn't believe the man could finish them all in one sitting.

But by the time dinner was over, Bai Yao realized that he truly knew nothing about Kong Wu's appetite.

One bun had filled him right up. And Kong Wu? He ate five, drank a bowl of water, and then said, "Being seventy percent full is enough for dinner."

Those words left Bai Yao speechless on the spot, truly unable to think of anything to say.

With an appetite like that, it was lucky Kong Wu hadn't stayed at the educated youths' residence and eaten with the veteran educated youths. Otherwise, after just one meal, they might have flown into a rage out of humiliation and driven him out.

As for what Bai Yao thought of Kong Wu's ability to eat?

Being able to eat was a blessing.

After all, Kong Wu had paid for his food and had taken on nearly all the housework, big and small.

So what if he ate a little more? Let him eat. Cooking wasn't any trouble for Bai Yao anyway.

After eating and drinking their fill, they spent a little while outside enjoying the cool air. When night fell, the two washed up and prepared to rest.

Even in the cities, there wasn't much entertainment at night in this era, let alone in the countryside.

Those with wives could still play a little two-player game. Those without wives might as well go to bed early. They could have anything in their dreams.

As for Bai Yao, the thought of going to work in the fields for work points the next day kept him wide awake.

He stayed up until nearly midnight. Worried that he wouldn't have enough energy the next day if he didn't get enough sleep, he finally had the system make him a batch of ordinary sleep-aid incense, which let him sleep until dawn.

Once again, Unity Village's rooster choir was practicing. Once again, its demonic music assaulted his ears. Once again, it was a morning when Bai Yao wanted to "rise and dance at the rooster's crow."

Sleeping in was out of the question, so he might as well get up early. He could already hear Kong Wu cooking in the main room.