Chapter 103 - 49: Jing Si’s Good Fortune
The two of them divided the tasks. Qin Mei went to get the potatoes while Jie Jingjue went to the kitchen for a cutting board and a knife. Qin Mei picked out a few potatoes and began peeling them by the water basin in the courtyard.
After peeling a potato, Qin Mei sliced it open and carefully cut it into a wavy pattern.
"Can you cut it like this?" Qin Mei asked.
Jie Jingjue raised an eyebrow. He picked up the potato Qin Mei had cut, examined it for a moment, and asked, "Fourth Sister-in-law, is it really necessary to cut it like this?"
"Yes, it’s very necessary. This is the essence of wolf fang potatoes," Qin Mei said with mock gravity.
The corner of Jie Jingjue’s mouth twitched. Qin Mei demonstrated, and he watched intently. He seemed to have learned the technique, but in his heart, he knew, ’This is going to be difficult!’ Under Qin Mei’s expectant gaze, Jie Jingjue steeled himself and nodded. "I can do it."
"Give it a try," Qin Mei said, stepping back to let Jie Jingjue take over.
Jie Jingjue took a deep breath, picked up the knife, and bent over, mimicking how Qin Mei had cut. His knife skills were poor, and he couldn’t control his strength. One slice came down, and he’d made a strip. Another slice, and he’d diced it. "Heh heh... Fourth Sister-in-law, could you demonstrate one more time?"
Qin Mei patiently taught, and Jie Jingjue diligently learned. The problem was, Jie Jingjue simply had no talent for it. He understood the concept instantly but failed every time he tried.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, cut it one more time."
"Fourth Sister-in-law..."
"Jing Wu, that’s not how you do it! You cut a little, then angle it... Jie Jingjue, how can you be so clumsy? Jie Jingjue, be careful! Jie Jingjue..."
Qin Mei drew wavy lines on a thick potato slice for him. Jie Jingjue followed them as he cut. He was successful at first, but then he cut it clean through in the middle.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, do we really, truly have to cut it like this?" Jie Jingjue asked again, a question that came from the depths of his soul.
"We absolutely have to." Qin Mei’s perfectionism was kicking in.
Jie Jingchen and Jie Jingshan put down their books to help cut the potatoes. Jie Jingchen also struggled at first, but unlike Jie Jingjue, who felt defeated and wanted to give up, he only grew more determined with each failure. He wouldn’t have quit even if Qin Mei had decided to compromise.
His hard work paid off. After wasting a few potatoes, Jie Jingchen finally figured out the trick. He could now cut them perfectly without needing Qin Mei to draw the lines for him.
"Jie Jingchen, you’re amazing! They look just like they were cut with a special tool," Qin Mei praised him generously.
A smile curved the corners of Jie Jingchen’s lips, and he went back to cutting with even more gusto.
"Where would they even sell a tool like that?" Jie Jingjue couldn’t help but mutter.
"Precisely because they don’t, I have to trouble you to cut them this way," Qin Mei said.
They formed an assembly line: Qin Mei peeled, Jie Jingshan made the initial slices and drew the wavy lines, Jie Jingjue cut along the guides, and Jie Jingchen completed the whole process by himself.
They started with a whole basin of potatoes but wasted half of it. Only half a basin’s worth was successfully cut into the wolf fang shape. Qin Mei decided to take the wasted half to Second Aunt’s house for her to use however she pleased.
In the kitchen, Jie Jingchen tended the fire. Jie Jingjue, wearing an apron, stood before the stove, waiting for the wok to heat up. Qin Mei directed from the side while Jie Jingshan looked on.
"Jing Wu, it’s ready. Pour in the oil," Qin Mei urged.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, you know how to do this. You do it." Jie Jingjue didn’t know how to cook, but Qin Mei was forcing him to learn on the fly.
"I don’t know how," Qin Mei said, rubbing her nose. She was only directing based on her memory of watching her grandmother make them. She loved wolf fang potatoes, but her grandmother, worried that the ones sold outside were unsanitary, always insisted on making them herself.
Jie Jingjue resigned himself to his fate and hesitantly poured in the oil. He didn’t pour much, and Qin Mei glanced at the half-basin of potatoes.
"That’s not enough oil. If the potatoes aren’t fried properly, the texture will be off." They were meant to be deep-fried, not stir-fried, and the amount of oil Jie Jingjue had poured was clearly insufficient.
Jie Jingjue poured in some more, but Qin Mei still said it was too little. He added another splash, and only then was she satisfied.
Once the oil was hot, Qin Mei told Jie Jingjue to add the potatoes. The moment they hit the wok, hot oil splattered everywhere, scalding everyone.
"AH!"
"Fifth Brother!"
"Jie Jingjue!"
"Jing Wu!"
A pained scream from Jie Jingjue was met by three concerned shouts that rang out at the same time.
Jie Jingjue got the worst of it. Jie Jingshan was the least affected; she had been standing farthest away and was only scalded on the back of her hand.
Jie Jingchen had the foresight to shield his face the moment Jie Jingjue dumped the potatoes in, so the oil only splattered the back of his hand. He had also moved to pull Qin Mei into his arms, but he was a step too late. Qin Mei didn’t escape completely unharmed.
She was hit on her neck, her left earlobe, and the back of her hand. Thankfully, her face was spared.
Jie Jingjue had been splattered in several places on his face, neck, and the back of his hands.
"Aah! It hurts! Oh my god! My face—I’m disfigured!" Jie Jingjue howled in pain.
Jie Jingchen let go of Qin Mei. Seeing that her burns weren’t severe, he breathed a sigh of relief. She and Jie Jingjue had been standing the closest to the stove. Thankfully, he had reacted quickly enough to pull her back; otherwise, her injuries would have been worse than Jie Jingjue’s.