Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 26.2

After handling the pork, she continued with the fish.

She placed the fish meat on the cutting board and, with a kitchen knife, began chopping with a rhythm.

The fish slices were cut into strips, then into a paste. The meat was minced extremely fine and spread across the board.

Grass carp meat has many tiny bones. Even though the fishmonger had deboned it, these tiny bones couldn’t be removed completely.

Mu Jinyu needed to chop the bones while mincing the meat to reduce their presence so they wouldn’t be noticeable when eaten.

A steady “da-da-da” sound rang out in the courtyard.

The three pounds of fish weighed a little over two pounds after slaughtering. It took Mu Jinyu nearly an hour to mince all the meat.

Fortunately, she was used to making knocked-fish noodles, so she didn’t find the mincing too troublesome or exhausting.

Mincing the meat wasn’t the end of it; she had to put it all back into the wooden basin and add the pork fat and egg whites.

She used her hand to stir continuously in one direction.

The fat from the pork could make the fish texture smoother and more delicate, and the oiliness could make it even more delicious.

The egg whites provided cohesion, allowing the minced meat to stick together more tightly.

With the stirring of her hand, these ingredients gradually fused, becoming inseparable.

The large basin of minced meat slowly turned into a white, paste-like consistency.

Mu Jinyu raised her hand, grabbing a large handful of the meat paste. The paste between her hand and the basin remained connected, pulling into a long thin strand.

Like stretching cheese.

Her hand kept stirring in the same direction, occasionally lifting and throwing the meat back into the basin, feeling the connectivity between the fibers.

The most authentic fish cake must be made by hand.

This avoids the high temperatures of machine rotation, which can damage the quality of the fish meat, and allows one to feel the state of the paste through touch.

As Mu Jinyu worked, she became a bit lost in thought. Her eyes saw only the rotating meat paste under her hand, and her ears heard only the subtle sound of the meat rubbing together.

After an unknown amount of time, her movements stopped.

Her fingers moved slightly, pinching the bit of paste on her fingertips.

A feeling of “Yes, this is perfect!” rose in her heart.

She let out a long breath.

So, the feeling of making food with one’s heart was truly different.

She actually knew to what degree this food would be most delicious!

This was a very magical experience for her.

It was just like what people often called “wok hei” (breath of the wok).

Dishes stir-fried in different woks and rice made in different pots would, of course, taste different.

In the past, she only had a slight feeling, thinking that rice cooked over a wood fire and rice from an electric cooker at home were different.

But as for exactly how they were different, she couldn’t say.

Until now. She could finally feel it.

If a machine were used to stir the paste, the stirring time would be fixed.

Even if it only stirred grass carp every day, each carp would have subtle differences in meat quality due to its age, environment, diet, and the number of bones.

A machine could not feel these differences at all.

Only by truly touching it with your hand would you know that the stirring time is not fixed.

Mu Jinyu’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the paste in her hand, letting out a sigh of admiration.

The paste had been stirred into a snowy white, bright color, sticking tightly together in a slurry.

The tiny bones in the meat had also become undetectable after her continuous stirring and pounding.

Mu Jinyu pinched the paste a few more times, trying hard to remember this feeling to ensure she could do it just as well next time.

Rong Heng, who was observing from the side, saw Mu Jinyu stop and asked expectantly: “Can I eat it?”

Mu Jinyu, still immersed in the joy of the paste, immediately snapped back and looked at the person beside her, saying urgently: “It’s not ready yet, you can’t eat it!”

This was still raw; eating it would definitely cause a stomach ache.

She leaned her head and body toward Rong Heng, effectively blocking her, fearing she might sneak a bite when she wasn’t looking.

Hearing she couldn’t eat it, the look on Rong Heng’s face became visibly dejected, but she continued to stay by her side.

Mu Jinyu reminded her again: “You can’t eat it yet.”

Rong Heng nodded, wrinkled her nose, and glared at her.

After confirming Rong Heng really wouldn’t sneak a bite, she retracted her gaze, washed her hands, added water to the pot, and placed a small steamer on top.

This small steamer was bought by her mothers to steam some noodles for daily meals. If she were to sell the paste, she would need at least two or three large steamers.

She placed a clean white cloth in the steamer and poured all the paste onto it. One steamer couldn’t hold it all, so it had to be done in several batches.

After setting it up, she covered the pot and waited for the fish cake to steam.

She could finally rest and catch her breath.

Mu Jinyu stretched, put her hands behind her neck, and while twisting her somewhat stiff neck, massaged it.

But after a few moments, she was shaking her wrists in the air, feeling they were a bit sore.

Whether making knocked-fish noodles or fish cake, it required strength from the wrists.

It was quite hard on the hands.

She carefully massaged her wrists to relax them.

Seeing this, Rong Heng also began to squeeze her own wrists.

Mu Jinyu smiled and said: “Your wrists don’t hurt.”

“Hmm?” Rong Heng tilted her head. “Your wrists hurt?”

Mu Jinyu paused before saying: “It’s not very painful, it’s not important.”

After she spoke, she picked up the bowl containing the separated egg yolks and stirred them with chopsticks.

She would save them for later use.

Rong Heng’s gaze no longer fell on Mu Jinyu’s actions but lowered as she thought about something.

Pain was a very uncomfortable feeling.

When her body hurt, even if she did nothing, it wouldn’t be relieved. She even felt like pinching the area with her hands, using a stronger pain to suppress the current one to feel better.

Then Mu Jinyu must be just like her, feeling very uncomfortable.

Rong Heng moved her gaze to Mu Jinyu’s wrist and placed her fingers on it.

Mu Jinyu’s hand stirring the egg yolks stopped, and she looked at Rong Heng with some confusion.

Rong Heng: “I’ll help you rub it.”

She grabbed Mu Jinyu’s wrist and squeezed… hard!

“Hiss—!” Mu Jinyu’s body trembled violently. She sucked in a breath of cold air, her expression contorted.

The chopsticks fell from her hand, hitting the ground with two “clacks.”

In that moment, Mu Jinyu even felt her vision go dark, and her life started flashing before her eyes.

Her expression changed from the pain. She tried hard to pull her hand from Rong Heng’s grip, but she couldn’t win against her strength.

She could only gasp for air, a sob in her voice and tears in the corners of her eyes, as her mind raced.

Was Rong Heng’s strength this great?

Her wrist was about to break, wasn’t it?

Was this returning kindness with enmity, or seeking revenge?

“If it hurts, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Rong Heng looked at her with an innocent and concerned gaze, her thoughts very simple.

Use a sharper pain to suppress the current one, and then after a while, it won’t be as painful.

But hearing Rong Heng say this, Mu Jinyu felt it was unbelievable. She even thought that she and Rong Heng might be of different species.

“You, you let go quickly, stop squeezing me!”

“Oh, oh!”

Once released, Mu Jinyu sat on a small stool dejectedly, clutching her wrist and turning her back, unwilling to face Rong Heng.

She waited for a long, long time before the pain in her wrist and the feeling of seeing stars gradually faded.

She began to understand what Rong Heng meant.

She turned back, looking at the standing Rong Heng who had concern on her face, and asked: “Were you trying to make my wrist stop hurting, so you squeezed me?”

Rong Heng nodded heavily.

So that was it. Mu Jinyu’s dejected and even somewhat angry mood gradually deflated like a balloon.

As long as Rong Heng didn’t want to crush her wrist for revenge, it was fine.

At least her intention was good.

She stood up again to be at eye level with Rong Heng and told her: “The strength you used just now was too great. It made me very uncomfortable. You have to apologize to me.”

Apologize?

Rong Heng’s gaze flickered. She slowly moved her body backward, wanting to turn and run.

Apologizing meant taking responsibility, but the consequences of taking responsibility were too severe…

She didn’t want to apologize.

As a result, after taking just one step, she was grabbed by Mu Jinyu and pulled back.

“When I did something wrong before, didn’t I apologize to you?” Mu Jinyu held Rong Heng’s arm tightly. “Although you meant well, the method you used was wrong. You have to apologize.”

Apologize…

Apologize…

Rong Heng’s thin eyebrows furrowed. Several fragments flashed in her mind.

But she couldn’t see clearly and didn’t know what they were.

A sudden pain hit her head. She cried out, covering her head with her other hand, and her body slumped down.

Mu Jinyu, behind her, didn’t have time to think about what was wrong. She instinctively grabbed her arm and pulled her into her own embrace.

She got a full embrace.

It was still a body as light as paper. Mu Jinyu couldn’t understand why Rong Heng, who had such great strength, was so thin.

“What’s wrong, Rong Heng? Do you feel unwell anywhere?”

Seeing Rong Heng’s forehead instantly covered in cold sweat and her face pale, Mu Jinyu no longer cared about whether she apologized or not.

She only hoped she was okay.

Rong Heng couldn’t answer. She lay in Mu Jinyu’s arms with her eyes tightly shut, her body even trembling.

Mu Jinyu held her, making her sit on a small stool while she knelt behind her, allowing her to lean steadily in her embrace.

While wiping the sweat from Rong Heng’s forehead with her sleeve, she patted Rong Heng’s back to help her breathe.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I won’t make you apologize. You don’t have to apologize. It’s fine.”

“The fact that you wanted me not to be in pain is already very good. Actually, you didn’t do anything wrong; just change squeezing my wrist to rubbing it.”

“It’s okay, no need to apologize.”

Mu Jinyu spoke very quickly while her hands didn’t stop moving, wanting Rong Heng to recover as soon as possible.

Unsure if her words worked, Rong Heng indeed slowly recovered. Her body stopped trembling, and her rapid breathing leveled out.

However, her eyes remained tightly shut, and cold sweat was still pouring out.

Just like that, the two huddled behind the stove for a long, long time.

Mu Jinyu even found time to turn down the fire in the stove so the pot wouldn’t boil dry.

She stayed by Rong Heng’s side, accompanying her as she recovered.

About fifteen minutes passed before Rong Heng gradually opened her eyes. She looked at Mu Jinyu weakly, her hand struggling to lift and rest on Mu Jinyu’s wrist.

She rubbed it very, very gently.

Looking at Rong Heng, who was clearly suffering but still remembered to rub her wrist, Mu Jinyu gave a small smile. For some reason, she felt her heart beating a little fast.

She didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just because it was too hot by the stove.

When the fish cake in the pot was steamed, Mu Jinyu let Rong Heng lean against the edge of the stove.

She then lifted the lid and evenly applied the already-stirred egg yolk liquid onto the snowy white fish cake.

After steaming for a while longer, when it came out of the pot, the fish cake was covered in a golden yellow blanket. The blanket even had a slight oily sheen, like mutton-fat jade—appealing in color, aroma, and taste.

As the fragrance wafted out, the previously weak Rong Heng struggled to lift her head to look at the things in the pot.

She asked again in a small voice: “Can I eat it?”

“Yes!” Mu Jinyu responded loudly.

She used a knife to cut the fish cake into pieces, picking out the hottest, softest, and most delicious piece from the middle. She put it in a bowl and handed it to Rong Heng.

Rong Heng didn’t have the strength to hold the bowl.

So Mu Jinyu used a small spoon to scoop up a bit of the fish cake, blew on it until it was lukewarm, and brought it to Rong Heng’s mouth.

Rong Heng’s pale lips parted slightly as she took a bite of the golden and jade-white fish cake.

It was fresh, fragrant, soft, and had an endless aftertaste!

The lubrication of the oil and the firm texture of the fish meat were perfectly combined. Entering the mouth, it was like eating the softest and springiest cake.

But it didn’t have the sweet taste of a cake; instead, it had a meat aroma that could whet one’s appetite.

One bite was extremely satisfying.

Even the color gradually returned to Rong Heng’s pale cheeks, and her body began to emit heat from the inside out, fending off the previous coldness.

Feeding Rong Heng, most of the fish cake went into her stomach before she was considered full.

Mu Jinyu once again marveled in her heart at Rong Heng’s appetite. It was a good thing she earned a lot; otherwise, she couldn’t afford to keep her.

She also ate a bowl of fish cake. After filling her stomach, she didn’t think about whether she could have close contact with Rong Heng anymore.

Instead, she directly carried her to the main room and placed her properly on the bed.

“You rest for a while. You can have lunch when you wake up.”

Such wonderful words allowed Rong Heng to fall asleep with a smile.

After settling Rong Heng, Mu Jinyu went out again to the fishmonger and bought several more grass carps.

Back home, while handling the grass carps, she steamed all the remaining fish cake.

She planned to let her stall sell one more food item.

That stall owner who stole her table and stools not only learned to make knocked-fish noodles from her but also unceremoniously learned everything else.

Wasn’t this intentional harassment?

Wasn’t Boss Zhang next to her selling pastries?

Then she would also sell pastries and see who could outsell whom!

Besides, grass carp wasn’t as expensive as the ingredients for making pastries. Grass carp was only fifteen cents a pound, while the sugar for pastries cost more than fifteen cents a pound!

Rong Heng didn’t sleep until noon. She only slept for less than forty-five minutes before slowly waking up. Naturally, she didn’t wait to eat lunch.

Instead, she waited for Mu Jinyu to ask her to help make the fish paste!

“Come here, come here.” Mu Jinyu placed her newly bought kitchen knife and cutting board on the stove and called for Rong Heng to stand beside her and mince fish meat with her.

Rong Heng had so much strength; it would be a waste not to use it!

At first, Rong Heng was quite interested, wanting to know how Mu Jinyu made such delicious food.

But as time went on, Rong Heng began to feel a bit bored.

She slowly moved her body toward the edge of the stove, wanting to slip away.

But she was caught by Mu Jinyu. She wasn’t allowed to leave until she finished mincing three fish!