Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Li Ran and Zhang Jingyi returned to the apartment together.

In the living room, Liu Haocun was curled up on the sofa.

She was wearing a loose white T-shirt, her hair was casually tied up, and she was holding Douzi in her arms, dozing off with her eyes half-closed.

There was some kind of variety show playing on TV, but the volume was low, almost like background noise.

Hearing the noise, Liu Haocun raised her head, her doe eyes filled with a lazy drowsiness. Seeing Zhang Jingyi following behind Li Ran, she sat up straight and moved Douzai to the side.

"You're back?" she asked, her voice soft and slightly hoarse from just waking up.

Li Ran nodded and sat down on the single sofa.

Zhang Jingyi followed behind him, changed into slippers, and naturally sat down next to Liu Haocun, reaching out to scoop Douzai up and hug him.

The little guy hummed and whimpered a couple of times, found a comfortable position, and closed his eyes again.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" Li Ran asked, her gaze fixed on Liu Haocun's face.

Liu Haocun tilted his head, his doe eyes narrowing into two crescent moons, and said with a hint of smugness, "Northeastern cuisine!"

She paused, then added, as if afraid Li Ran wouldn't agree: "I remember when you came home with me, you learned several dishes from my mom."

Li Ran nodded, not denying it.

He cooked those dishes a few times afterward, and they tasted alright; at least they didn't turn out badly.

He turned to Zhang Jingyi: "Jingyi, what would you like to eat?"

Zhang Jingyi was looking down at Douzai when she heard this. She looked up, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm fine with anything."

She paused, then spoke again, her tone slightly tentative: "By the way, brother, isn't there a dish called 'Snowy Red Bean Paste' in Northeastern cuisine? Do you know how to make it? I'd really like to try it."

The smile on Li Ran's face froze instantly.

His expression was subtle...

The corners of her mouth still held the same curve, but she stood there frozen, as if a pause button had been pressed.

Liu Haocun burst out laughing.

She laughed heartily, her shoulders shaking, and as she laughed, she turned to look at Zhang Jingyi, explaining, "Making snow-white red bean paste is really troublesome; it really tests your skills. I don't think Li Ran would be able to..."

She deliberately dragged out the word "no," glancing at Li Ran's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

Li Ran remained silent for a few seconds.

He quickly recalled how to make snow-white red bean paste in his mind...

Zhang Jingyi spoke those words very softly, as if they were just casual remarks, but the expectation in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Try it out, find a tutorial online," Li Ran said slowly.

Zhang Jingyi smiled and nodded, her tone as relaxed as if she were talking about something trivial: "It's okay, if it fails, I'll just feed it to Douzai."

Douzi twitched its ears in her arms, as if sensing some inexplicable crisis.

Liu Haocun looked at Li Ran and asked, "Do you have any red bean paste at home?"

Li Ran shook his head and glanced at the clock on the wall; it was a little past four in the afternoon.

"It's still early, let's go to the supermarket."

Liu Haocun immediately stood up from the sofa, his movements so swift that it seemed he had been waiting for those words for a long time.

She reached out and grabbed Zhang Jingyi's wrist, pulling her up from the sofa: "Okay! Then Jingyi and I will go together! You stay home and do the other things."

Zhang Jingyi stumbled as she was pulled, and Douzi almost fell out of her arms. She quickly caught him with her hands.

She steadied herself, looked down at the dog in her arms, then looked up at Liu Haocun, a mixture of amusement and exasperation in her eyes: "So hasty?"

Liu Haocun blinked his doe eyes, "Go early and come back early."

Watching the two busy figures, Li Ran suddenly remembered something and called out, "We still need to buy cornstarch."

"knew……"

Liu Haocun's voice came from the entrance hall, the last syllable drawn out, with a hint of "Do you even need to tell me?"

The door clicked shut.

The living room quieted down, with only the laughter from the variety show on TV and the rustling sound of Douzai rolling around on the sofa.

Li Ran stood for a while, then turned and went into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took out the eggs, sugar, and flour one by one, arranging them on the cutting board.

Then I took out my phone, searched for a tutorial video on how to make snow-white red bean paste, leaned my phone against the condiment rack, and pressed play.

"Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form..." The chef in the video said in a calm voice.

Li Ran looked at the bowl of snow-white meringue on the screen, then at the eggs in her hand, and took a deep breath.

Try it.

At worst, I'll just feed Douzi.

……

When Zhang Jingyi and Liu Haocun returned carrying large and small bags, Li Ran had just finished beating the egg whites.

He stood in front of the counter, a bowl of snow-white meringue in front of him. He held an egg beater in his hand and was scraping the last bit of meringue from the edge of the bowl into the bowl. His movements were not very skilled, but he was very serious.

Several eggshells were scattered on the cutting board next to it, and the egg yolks were placed in a small bowl, turning bright yellow.

Liu Haocun placed the shopping bag on the dining table and saw the bowl of egg whites that Li Ran had prepared.

"It's finished so quickly?" She walked over and took a closer look.

The meringue in the bowl was white and delicate, with a smooth surface like melted ice cream and a beautiful sheen.

She picked up a chopstick from the side and stuck it in the hole... The chopstick stood firmly upright, without moving an inch.

Li Ran put down the egg beater, turned to look at her, and said with a hint of smugness, "With an egg beater, it'll only take a few minutes."

Liu Haocun pursed his lips, put the chopsticks back, crossed his arms, and struck a pose of an expert: "Professional chefs beat egg whites by hand. Egg whites beaten by hand are much finer than those beaten by machine, and the taste is completely different."

Li Ran leaned against the kitchen counter, looking at her pretentious mature demeanor, and couldn't help but laugh.

He tilted his head, his tone slightly joking and irreverent: "Am I a proper chef? You know I don't like to foam myself... Why don't you foam it for me by hand? It'll still get foamy."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted downwards, making a pointed remark.

Liu Haocun tilted his head and thought for a moment, then slowly frowned, his expression changing from confusion to disgust, until his whole face scrunched up.

"I haven't eaten yet!"

She glared at him, her tone genuinely disgusted, "You're disgusting."

Li Ran grinned mischievously, lowering his voice by half an octave: "It's not like you haven't eaten it before..."

"elder brother!"

Zhang Jingyi's voice came from the kitchen doorway. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to interrupt him.

She stood at the door, still holding a bag of cornstarch she hadn't had time to put down, her expression a mix of speechlessness and helplessness, her ears slightly red.

"Hurry up and cook..."

She said, trying to remain calm, but her voice trailed off slightly: "I feel like something dirty has gotten into my head..."

Li Ran glanced back at her, then looked at Liu Haocun who had turned away and pretended to organize his shopping bags, and wisely stopped talking.

"Okay, okay, I'll cook."

He turned around, moved the bowl of meringue aside to make room on the work surface, and said, "You two, shape the red bean paste into balls, make sure they're all the same size, and not too big, otherwise they won't fry properly."

Liu Haocun and Zhang Jingyi exchanged a glance, tacitly ignoring their previous conversation, and walked to the dining table to begin unpacking the shopping bags.

The red bean paste filling was pre-made, packaged, and had a moderate sweetness.

Liu Haocun poured the red bean paste into a small bowl and stirred it with chopsticks to soften it. Zhang Jingyi laid a layer of plastic wrap next to her to prevent the red bean paste from sticking to her hands.

The two started making red bean paste balls.

Liu Haocun's hands are small, and the red bean paste balls he rolls are also small, round, and neatly arranged on the plate, like a row of soldiers waiting for inspection.

Zhang Jingyi's were slightly larger, but still very neat. Occasionally, one or two wouldn't be perfectly round, so she would roll them around in her palm a couple more times until she was satisfied.

Li Ran watched them from the kitchen, a slight smile playing on her lips.