Splendid Twins

The next day, the imperial examination finally ended. There were already many people watching outside the Imperial Examination Hall, but no one dared to make loud noises. The copper nails on the door sparkled in the sun, making it look particularly majestic and solemn.

Finally, the door slowly opened from the inside, and a crowd of students filed out, all with different expressions. Some were confident, some beat their chests and stamped their feet, and some even burst into tears as soon as they opened their mouths...

Si Yao came to pick up Si Qing and saw him in the crowd. His green gown was wrinkled, his back was slightly bent, and his eyes were tired. He was in better condition than the others. She waved and said:

"Brother, this way."

Si Qing heard the voice, looked over, quickened his pace, walked over and smiled:

"It's so hot, you don't have to come specially."

"I'll take you in and take you home. This is my sister's intention."

Si Yao smiled and reached out to take Si Qing's package.

"Okay, I appreciate your kindness."

"Come on, let's go back and wash up, and then we'll make arrangements after you get some sleep."

"Row."

When they returned to the courtyard, Lan Ying had already prepared hot water. Si Qing took a quick shower, changed into clean and comfortable clothes, and went into the bedroom to rest.

The weather was hot and the heat was hard to dissipate. Si Yao suddenly wanted to eat stuffed skin, so she started to make it. She was familiar with the production process. Her former best friend was from Shaanxi and they ate stuffed skin, jelly and cold noodles in the summer. She learned it after watching many times.

Lan Ying had never heard of or eaten this dish before, so she followed behind to help. Si Yao took some flour, added an appropriate amount of salt, and then added water in batches, kneading the flour into a smooth dough.

While the dough was rising, Lan Ying bought some cucumbers and carrots. Si Yao was not good at cutting, so she told her to cut them into shreds and set them aside.

When the time is almost up, put the proofed dough into a basin, add cold boiled water and start washing the dough, adding water in small amounts at a time, and knead the dough like washing clothes.

When the batter turns white, pour the water into another large basin and continue to pour in clean water to wash. Si Yao washed for a while and then took over Lan Ying's turn. The two of them were busy in the kitchen. Lan Ying just thought Si Yao was playing, as she had never seen such a practice before.

"Miss, is this okay?"

"Yes, of course I can. A woman can't say she can't do it."

Si Yao washed the gluten in her hands and did it again and the job was done.

The two of them chatted intermittently, their hands moving non-stop, filtering out impurities from all the washed batter water with a mesh.

Let it sit for a while to allow the batter water to settle naturally and form two layers. Pour out the clear water on top and leave only the settled batter.

There was not much gluten washed out, so Si Yao put it in a steamer and started steaming it over high heat, then found a few large plates, washed them and dried them.

Si Yao set the time in the space. Five minutes later, the steamed gluten looked good. It was cut into strips and put together with cucumber shreds as a side dish.

Then brush a layer of oil on the large plate that has just been washed, scoop a spoonful of the settled batter into the plate, shake it to make the batter evenly distributed, put the plate into the steamer, steam it over high heat for a while, take it out at the right time, and the transparent and elastic stuffed skin is ready.

"Is this good?"

Lan Ying was full of curiosity and came closer to take a look.

"Well, you can eat it when it cools down."

After the first one, the rest were much faster. Si Yao made seven or eight in one go. Lan Ying also became interested and she wanted to try it herself.

Si Yao began to prepare the seasoning. Seeing Lan Ying having fun, she took out some sugar, sesame paste, chili oil, sesame oil, etc. from the space. Fortunately, she had a space, and she was used to saving some daily necessities. She thought that she was alone, so she always had to be prepared.

After the stuffed skin has cooled down, Si Yao skillfully cut it into pieces and put it into the side dishes, placed some peanuts and minced garlic on top, poured hot oil on it, and with a "sizzling" sound, a bowl of authentic handmade stuffed skin was out of the pot.

Si Yao gave some to Lan Ying and couldn't wait to take a bite. It was smooth and tender in the mouth, and with the crisp and refreshing cucumber and carrot shreds, the yellow and green combination tasted very good.

Seeing that Si Yao was eating without even raising her head, Lan Ying picked up a piece of stuffed skin with chopsticks and brought it to her lips. She opened her mouth slightly, thinking that if it didn't taste good, she would just swallow it whole.

After taking a bite, her eyes suddenly widened, and she was shocked by the indescribable stimulation of the taste buds in her mouth. It was a little unbelievable. It was tough and elastic when she bit it. The gluten was full of seasoning juice, sour and spicy, refreshing, and the fragrance lingered in her mouth.

Their eyes were filled with surprise, and then they began to eat with relish. The two of them sat in the shade with their bowls in hand and ate happily.

"Knock knock."

Lan Ying put down the bowl and went to open the door, wondering who was coming at this moment?

Outside the door, Lu Yuan led the little emperor in. The two of them came with gifts. They originally wanted to come earlier, but the little emperor was probably not used to the local climate, and he vomited and had diarrhea early in the morning. It took a while to clean up. The little emperor was very unhappy about this:

"Uncle, did you tell her that I would come today?"

Lu Yuan spoke expressionlessly:

"No."

"Why? Am I not worth mentioning?"

The little emperor pouted and looked a little unhappy. He had deliberately wanted to be in the best condition to meet her, but after all this, how could he still have the presence of mind to meet people?

Lu Yuan glanced at his new clothes and knocked on the door while saying:

"The person she wants to see is me. As for you... it's not important."

Little Emperor: "..."

This uncle should not stay for long!!!

Lan Ying opened the door and was startled when he saw someone. He immediately lowered his head and said:

"Please come in."

Inside the house, Si Yao had finished eating. Just as she wiped her mouth, she saw Lu Yuan come in, followed by a boy who looked a little listless.

As soon as Lu Yuan entered the room, he smelled the scent of hot oil, which was a bit spicy. He looked over and his eyes were fixed on Si Yao. No, to be precise, it was on her red lips that were soaked in spicy oil!

There was a little bit of chili oil on the lips, which were crystal clear, like ripe cherries, extremely tempting.

His heart skipped a beat, and the blushing and heart-pounding kiss from last night flashed through his mind. Suddenly, his eyes became deep and dark.

"Here I am. Hey, what else did you bring?"

Si Yao deliberately teased, glanced at Lu Yuan, looked away, and greeted the little emperor with a smile:

"Hello... little friend."

When the young emperor first saw Si Yao, he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness in his heart. She was graceful yet dignified, delicate and bright. The most attractive thing was her clear and bright eyes, which revealed a sense of intelligence and alertness, as if she could see through people's hearts.

Every frown and smile of hers revealed a natural and unpretentious beauty. He secretly sighed in his heart, is this his future aunt? Then he looked at his sullen and uninteresting uncle, it was really...

The old cow ate a lot of tender grass!

"Aunt... Hello, sister. My name is Xiao Chen. I apologize for visiting you without permission."

Si Yao raised her eyebrows. This is Lu Yuan’s nephew, the little emperor of Southern Liang?

"Welcome, Xiao Chen, please take a seat."

The child looked listless, perhaps because he was suffering from the unfamiliar climate. Si Yao used her sleeve to cover him and took out a piece of candy from the space and handed it to him:

"Candy please."

Lu Yuan put the things on the table and sat next to Si Yao. Although he didn't say a word, Si Yao and the little emperor felt that he was unhappy.