The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

As soon as I opened the mixing bowl, a wonderful aroma of wheat filled the air.

"Brother, I'll help too."

Xu Xi stood in front of the dining table, looking ready for anything.

She's not good at kneading dough or making fillings, but making dumplings should be easy for her.

It's just a matter of stuffing the filling into the dumpling wrapper and then pinching it closed.

Anyone can do it!

With this in mind, Xu Xi was filled with confidence.

"Then why don't you wrap two for me to see?"

Xu Nian smiled, kneaded the dough into a long strip, and cut it into small pieces evenly with a knife.

Sprinkle with flour, flatten with your hands, and then roll it out into a flat circle with a rolling pin.

Xu Xi took the dumpling wrapper, scooped a large spoonful of dumpling filling, and placed it in the center of the wrapper.

"There's too much; it won't be able to cover it up like this."

"Oh, okay, I'll get some down."

Xu Xi tried it and also felt that there was too much filling, and the dumpling wrapper couldn't completely cover it.

She gently scraped off a piece with a spoon, but ended up getting oil all over the outside of the dumpling wrapper.

If you try to pinch the skin together again, it will be impossible because the outer edge is covered in oil and has lost its stickiness.

Xu Xi turned her pleading gaze to Xu Nian.

"elder brother..."

"Haha, it's okay."

Xu Nian added another small spoonful of filling to the oil-covered dumpling wrapper, took another wrapper, and put the two wrappers together.

I kneaded it with my hands, and it quickly turned into a round shape.

A small steamed bun was born.

Xu Xi couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at the comically shaped bundle of steamed buns in Xu Nian's hand.

"What are you laughing at? This is your masterpiece."

Xu Nian gently tapped her forehead and placed the small steamed bun in the very center of the steamer.

"Although it doesn't look very appealing, it tastes and feels just like regular dumplings."

After saying that, he picked up another rolled-out dumpling wrapper.

Use a spoon to scoop up a suitable amount of filling, place it in the center, and then flatten it.

"First fold it in half, then fold both sides inwards at the corners, and then pinch them together."

As she spoke, Xu Nian demonstrated to Xu Xi.

Before long, a perfectly shaped dumpling was born.

"Aww, I got it!"

Xu Xi clapped her hands, carefully took the dumpling, and placed it around the steamer.

"Come on, let's try again."

Xu Nian handed over another dumpling wrapper.

Xu Xi imitated Xu Nian, scooped a spoonful of filling, placed it in the middle of the dumpling wrapper, and flattened it.

When it came to the shaping stage, Xu Xi couldn't make it exactly the same as Xu Nianbao's.

Place it on the steamer and compare it with the dumplings Xu Nian made.

Xu Nian's dumplings were neatly arranged, like a tall pine tree sitting on a steamer.

Xu Xi's dumplings were noticeably uneven, with an oval bottom, resembling a 200-pound fat man lying on the steamer, stretching out his limbs and looking like he was about to give up.

Seeing this, Xu Nian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hey~ Brother, stop laughing!"

Xu Xi felt a little shy, so she stood on tiptoe and tried to cover her brother's mouth.

"Haha...haha...Xiaoxi, do you know what the dumplings you made are called? They're called 'lying flat dumplings'."

Xu Nian laughed so hard he could barely breathe, while dodging Xu Xi's hand that was trying to cover his mouth.

Xu Xi stomped her foot, somewhat angrily picked up another dumpling wrapper, and prepared to try again.

Unsurprisingly, they turned into flat-lying dumplings again.

She refused to believe it and bought a third, a fourth, a fifth...

Soon, the steamer was filled with a pile of oddly shaped dumplings.

"Xiaoxi, stop now. If you keep making these, we won't be able to steam many dumplings in this pot."

Xu Xi finally gave up. She slumped weakly onto the table, drawing circles on it with her finger.

Xu Nian walked to her side, gently patted her head, and comforted her.

"It's okay, Xiaoxi, your brother isn't looking down on you."

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

"My brother even thinks your braised pork ribs taste better than his."

"As long as you can seal the dumplings, they will taste the same no matter what shape they are."

"If the shape is too irregular, it will take up a lot of space. If you make too many dumplings, you won't be able to put them all in one pot."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi regained some of her composure.

"Then...then I'll go buy some pork ribs tomorrow and cook them for my brother."

Xu Nian smiled and nodded.

Xu Nian made all the remaining dumplings herself.

He quickly finished wrapping a whole steamer of dumplings, each one standing tall and neat, like soldiers lined up in an army.

Compared to the basket of steamed buns from Xuxi, it was worlds apart.

"Hmm? Today is pretty good, there's no excess filling or dough."

After wrapping the last dumpling wrapper, the bowl was completely empty of filling.

Xu Nian was somewhat surprised.

The work of kneading the dough and preparing the filling is done separately, which can easily lead to having too much filling or too much dough.

If there's too much filling, you'll need to make more dough to wrap it all up.

If you have too much dough, you can make hand-pulled noodles.

However, all of this requires extra time to do.

It's just the right amount, which saves a lot of trouble.

Pour water into the steamer and place the two steamers on the steamer.

Within minutes, steam began to rise from the seams of the pot lid.

"Xiaoxi, remember the time. Turn off the fire in 13 minutes. I'm going to wash my hands."

Xu Xi nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

She glanced at the alarm clock hanging on the wall and silently counted the time.

Time passed second by second, and the steam rising from the pot gradually carried a fragrant aroma.

The taste made Xu Xi's mouth water.

For the first time, she felt that 13 minutes was an incredibly long time.

5...4...3...2...1...

"Brother, it's time!"

Xu Xi turned off the stove and couldn't wait to open the pot lid.

"Wait, don't open the lid yet!"

Xu Nian hurriedly ran out of the bathroom, her hands still covered in dough bits.

"Huh? Why...?"

Even though she didn't understand, Xu Xi obediently stopped what she was doing.

"Let it sit for a while. If you open the lid now, it will easily harden into a crust."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi nodded.

Through the transparent pot lid, she gazed at the mouthwatering dumplings inside, greedily inhaling the aroma that filled the air.

"Let's take this opportunity to mix the soy sauce and vinegar."

"good!"

Xu Xi took out soy sauce and vinegar, as well as two small dishes, and poured some into each dish.

"That's not enough."

Xu Nian then took out white sugar and chicken essence, scooped a small spoonful of each into the vinegar, and then found a small clove of garlic, crushed and minced it and put it in.

He stirred the mixture well with chopsticks and then handed the chopsticks to Xu Xi.

"Try it."

Xu Xi put the chopsticks in her mouth and immediately opened her eyes wide.

"It smells so good!"

The salty aroma of soy sauce, the sourness of vinegar, the fragrance of garlic, the umami of chicken essence, and a hint of sweetness are perfectly balanced together.

This small dish of soy sauce and vinegar tastes better than many exquisite dishes.

"Alright, it's ready to be taken out of the pot."