Chapter 181: Salty and Sweet Perpetual Motion Machine

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Salty and Sweet Perpetual Motion Machine

Today was Nan Yi’s first day of kindergarten.

For such a momentous occasion, Nan Zhi naturally had to prepare a fitting breakfast.

She planned to make porridge.

But this wasn’t just any ordinary porridge—it was Tingzai porridge.

There are many schools of thought on how to make Tingzai porridge, but Nan Zhi’s method was relatively complex.

The porridge base had been simmering since the day before—

She had boiled clean japonica rice in a thick earthenware pot, then added a cheesecloth bag filled with chopped fish bones, pork bones, and dried scallops. She let it simmer over a low flame for a good half a day until the rice grains were so soft they turned to mush.

Only after removing the cheesecloth bag and adding fine salt was the porridge base finally ready.

The next morning, Nan Zhi woke up bright and early to place fresh fish slices, diced roast duck, and bits of squid at the bottom of a bowl.

The thick earthenware pot had excellent heat retention, so the porridge base was still piping hot.

She poured it into the bowl, the heat instantly cooking the fish slices and other ingredients.

Finally, she sprinkled on fried peanuts, youtiao, scallions, ginger, and a dash of pepper for seasoning.

For the entire bowl of porridge, everything except the roast duck—which she had bought since she didn’t have an oven at home—was handmade by Nan Zhi, including the youtiao.

Nan Zhi had intentionally fried extra youtiao to be eaten with the porridge.

The youtiao she fried were golden brown and delightfully puffy. They were incredibly crispy, not even getting soggy in the steam from the porridge, and they looked absolutely fantastic.

But remembering Yiyi’s sweet tooth, Nan Zhi decided on a whim to make an extra dish: sweet cakes.

The method was simple: they were deep-fried pastries made with a hot-water dough, filled with lard and white sugar. Each one was small, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Nan Zhi picked one up and took a bite.

She knew from experience to bite only a small opening first, letting the steam roll out for a moment until it wasn’t so scalding, before carefully taking another bite.

The lard and white sugar had long since melted into a syrup that flowed out, nearly scalding her.

But the taste was still superb. The crispness of the shell and the softness of the inside were perfectly balanced. The filling was sweet but not cloying, and their small size made you want to eat a second one right after the first.

Even Nan Zhi, who didn’t particularly care for sweets, ate three in a row before stopping.

GULP.

It was the sound of someone swallowing.

’Wait, I didn’t swallow...’

"Yiyi!"

Nan Zhi turned around to see Nan Yi squatting outside the kitchen door like a little puppy, staring at her with wide, eager eyes.

She guessed he had woken up halfway through his sleep, drowsily drawn out of bed by the aroma of the porridge.

He wasn’t even properly dressed, just wearing his little tank top and shorts for sleeping.

His hair was a mess, looking like a dog had chewed on it.

The sight was so pitiable and comical that it made Nan Zhi laugh.

"Go get changed and come eat breakfast."

She waved her hand, gesturing for him to hurry.

But Nan Yi didn’t move.

His eyes were glued to the sweet cakes behind Nan Zhi.

’Of course,’ she thought. ’Sweets are a powerful temptation for children!’

But Nan Zhi didn’t give in.

"You have to wash up first."

Nan Yi knew his mom was always strict about these things. He couldn’t get his way just by acting cute.

Resigned, he could only stand up reluctantly and shuffle from the kitchen to the bathroom.

A moment later, Nan Zhi heard the frantic sounds of him washing up.

It was as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button.

In the blink of an eye, he was all fresh and clean, sitting obediently at the table, waiting for his mom to feed him.

Nan Zhi brought over the Tingzai porridge first.

Nan Yi, who hadn’t been very interested at first, sniffed the air, and his gaze was captivated by the porridge before him.

It was his first time seeing a porridge with so many ingredients, and he was a little stunned.

"What kind of porridge is this?"

"Tingzai porridge."

Nan Zhi’s answer left Nan Yi confused.

He got tongue-tied.

"Ting... zai?"

"It’s ’ting zai.’ In the Guang City dialect, it means ’little boat.’ Tingzai porridge is porridge that was originally sold on small boats."

As Nan Zhi explained, she brought over the sweet cakes.

Nan Yi’s attention was immediately stolen by the sweet cakes, and he didn’t even listen closely to his mother’s explanation.

Nan Zhi found this amusing. She placed a pair of chopsticks in his hand and reminded him,

"Eat slowly. Be careful not to burn yourself."

Nan Yi nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

But thinking and doing are two different things.

No matter how careful Nan Yi tried to be, he still burned the tip of his tongue on the scorching-hot filling.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Nan Yi’s little face scrunched up completely!

Nan Zhi immediately moved the sweet cakes away.

"Let them cool down before you eat them. Have some porridge first."

Nan Yi puffed out his cheeks, a little displeased.

But that expression vanished the moment he tasted the Tingzai porridge...

The bowl Nan Zhi had used was bigger than Nan Yi’s face, so big that he nearly buried his entire head in it!

The porridge base was simmered to a silky smoothness, the fish slices were perfectly tender, the bits of squid were chewy and savory, and the youtiao was crispy yet fluffy...

All these different, layered flavors were packed into this single bowl of porridge, making it completely different from ordinary, simple white congee!

Nan Zhi grabbed a napkin and wiped a grain of rice off the tip of Nan Yi’s nose.

"Is it good?"

Nan Yi was too busy to speak, so he just nodded enthusiastically.

Once the sweet cakes had cooled down enough, Nan Zhi picked one up for him.

A sip of Tingzai porridge, a bite of sweet cake.

The perfect cycle of salty and sweet—it was absolutely divine!

It seemed the breakfast had worked its magic.

Nan Yi was happy and skipping all the way to the kindergarten.

It wasn’t until he was standing at the kindergarten gate that his smile faded slightly, and a slow sense of apprehension began to creep in.

He stood at the gate, hesitating to take that final step, and looked to his mother for help...

"WAAAAAAH!"

An earth-shattering wail erupted from nearby!

Nan Zhi and Nan Yi turned their heads in perfect unison to see a chubby little boy bawling his eyes out.

Four adults, presumably his family elders, were gathered around him, all trying to persuade the little tyrant to stop crying.

The little boy acted as if he couldn’t hear them and continued to wail,

"I don’t wanna go to school! I don’t wanna go to school! WAAAAAAH!"

The commotion attracted a lot of attention.

The little boy, throwing a tantrum on the ground, didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed.

The only ones who were embarrassed were his family.

Nan Yi: ...

"Okay, Mom, I’ll be a good boy and go to school!"

Nan Yi quickly suppressed his own flicker of grievance. He absolutely did not want to be like that chubby kid, gawked at by a crowd like a monkey in a zoo!

’So embarrassing!’

Nan Zhi vaguely guessed the real reason for Nan Yi’s change in attitude and actually felt a flicker of gratitude toward the brave, wailing little warrior...

"Okay, put on your backpack. Mom will be here to pick you up after school."

Afraid that Nan Yi would change his mind, Nan Zhi quickly waved goodbye to him.

Nan Yi adjusted his backpack straps and happened to walk past the still-crying chubby boy.

A faint, almost imperceptible aroma wafted from his backpack, and the chubby boy happened to catch a whiff.

The chubby boy suddenly stopped crying, scrambled to his feet, and pattered after Nan Yi.

"Wait for me!"

Nan Yi stopped, bewildered.

Nan Zhi, who hadn’t left yet, also hurried over.

In an instant, the chubby boy’s tears turned to a smile—the ingratiating, fawning, sycophantic kind.