Chapter 127: Golden Coin Eggs

Jiang Liu’s heart warmed. "I know, go to sleep."

Jun Qingmeng: "Good night, my dear boyfriend."

Jiang Liu returned to his room and went to sleep, holding Tongtong.

It was nearly five in the morning.

Jiang Liu helped a groggy Tongtong brush her teeth and wash up.

Lin Qiu had woken up early and was waiting in the living room. "Son, take us with you in a bit. We’ll go help you."

She was worried her son wouldn’t be able to handle everything and would suffer all alone.

Jiang Liu waved his hand with a relaxed expression. "No, Mom, there’s no need. You guys sleep in a little longer at home. Just remember to come over for a meal when it’s time to eat."

Lin Qiu looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself. She wanted to accompany her son, but he also had good intentions, wanting her to rest.

"Alright then. I’ll stay home. If you need anything, just call me, and I can be there right away."

"Okay, I know!"

Tongtong was still groggy. She rubbed her eyes. "Huh? It’s Grandpa. Good evening, Grandpa."

Lin Qiu squatted down to fix Tongtong’s clothes and said with a scolding laugh, "You silly child, I’m your grandma. Your grandpa is still sleeping."

"Then good evening, Grandma."

Jiang Liu glanced up.

He looked at the faintly lit sky outside.

’My silly little girl must be half-asleep, mistaking morning for evening.’

He filled Tongtong’s bottle with the juice she would drink at kindergarten.

Jiang Liu lifted his hand and placed the ingredients onto the small cart.

"Tongtong, quickly say goodbye to your grandma. Go give her a hug."

"Grandma, goodbye! Tongtong will miss you~"

Lin Qiu was gratified. She patted Tongtong’s head. "Okay, okay. Grandma will miss Tongtong too."

Jiang Liu left with Tongtong.

Just as they reached the elevator.

They ran into Jun Qingmeng, who was waiting for them.

Jun Qingmeng was wearing the white dress from the day before yesterday and had a green edamame-shaped hair clip in her hair.

Only then did Jiang Liu realize that the peanut hair clip on Tongtong’s head and Jun Qingmeng’s were a matching parent-child set...

"Boyfriend, did you miss me last night?"

Jun Qingmeng crossed her hands, bent forward slightly, and asked coquettishly.

"Nope."

Hearing her call him boyfriend, Jiang Liu couldn’t even be bothered to refute it anymore.

She called him that every day, and every day he had to explain it to her.

"Teacher Qingmeng, Tongtong dreamed about you!"

"Really? Hmph, we’re still the best, aren’t we?"

"Hehe, that’s right."

The elevator arrived.

The three of them walked in.

Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong held hands, sticking close as they chatted.

Tongtong said in a small voice:

"Teacher Qingmeng, Daddy was snoring last night. Tongtong woke up twice because of it."

"Then next time, kick him out of bed, and the two of us can sleep together."

"But won’t Daddy get mad?"

"It’s fine. If he’s mad, he’ll punish Tongtong, not me."

"Hey! Teacher Qingmeng, you’re a meanie."

Amidst their laughter and conversation.

Jiang Liu moved the ingredients to the trunk, tossing the small cart in along with them.

He started the car.

Jiang Liu said to the two cuties in the back seat, "It’ll be about twenty minutes, including the time to buy groceries. You two can sleep a little longer."

"Tongtong doesn’t want to sleep. I want to keep Daddy company."

"I’m not sleeping. I fell asleep yesterday. I want to keep you company today."

"Heh."

Jiang Liu chuckled and said nothing.

He started the car and drove out of the underground garage.

The moment they were on the main road, the two in the back were already holding each other and fast asleep.

Jiang Liu held back a laugh and shook his head.

At this hour, the roads were quiet. There were only sanitation workers on tricycles, transporting trash.

Occasionally, he saw young men on blue shared electric bikes, cursing all the way.

After about ten minutes, Jiang Liu arrived at the wet market.

He needed to buy fennel today, and also some garlic sprouts to make "Golden Coin Eggs."

He wanted to supplement Tongtong’s nutrition.

He would use free-range local eggs. The shop already had white garlic cloves, as well as red and green peppers; all he was missing were the garlic sprouts.

Jiang Liu quietly opened the car door to get out.

But unexpectedly, as if she had an alarm on him, Jun Qingmeng’s dazed eyes immediately snapped open.

"Jiang Liu, I fell asleep again."

She said this, looking very embarrassed as she pulled down her dress and wiped away some drool.

Jiang Liu’s eyes were full of amusement as he nodded.

"Yup. The two of you closed your eyes the moment we left the garage. You were perfectly in sync. You both looked so sound asleep, I didn’t have the heart to disturb you."

"Fine! I definitely won’t fall asleep next time."

Hearing the commotion, Tongtong opened her eyes. Seeing Jiang Liu getting out of the car, she instantly perked up and sat upright. "Hey, Daddy, why didn’t you call me?"

"Hugs, quick!"

"Okay!"

Jiang Liu carried Tongtong as he and Jun Qingmeng walked side-by-side into the wet market.

"Boss Jiang, out buying groceries with the family again?"

The old lady was familiar with Jiang Liu and often went to his shop to buy baozi.

"Mhm, eight catties of fennel. Got any fresh garlic sprouts?"

The old lady was surprised. "Boss Jiang, are you coming out with a new product?"

"Nope."

"Aigh, why aren’t you releasing anything new yet?"

The old lady licked her dry lips in disappointment.

"I don’t have garlic sprouts. Go about a hundred meters forward, there’s an old man with white hair who sells them."

"Thanks."

Jiang Liu bought another three catties of garlic sprouts.

In total, he spent twenty-five yuan.

A drop in the bucket.

He parked the car in a spot across the street.

So far, he’d only used four liters of gas, and the battery was still at 75%.

Jiang Liu returned to the front of his shop, pushing the small cart.

A line of fifty or sixty people had already formed early in the morning.

A customer shouted, "How come you’re a minute late today, Boss Jiang? You’re not short on baozi, are you?"

"Can’t you come earlier? How great would it be if you came at three? I’d be eating baozi by now."

"Tongtong, you really are your dad’s ’little padded jacket,’ aren’t you? Wherever your dad goes, you go." A customer looked on with an envious expression; Tongtong was so cute and pretty, it made him want a daughter too.

Jiang Liu didn’t ignore his customers. He had just stopped to chat for a bit when they started hurrying him to get into the shop and start working.

6:05 AM.

The tuna for the sashimi was already prepped, and the dough had finished proofing.

Jiang Liu quickly started wrapping the baozi.

With a flurry of his hands, he averaged about three seconds per baozi. In less than fifteen minutes, three hundred baozi were placed in the steamers.

Jun Qingmeng, who was clumsily pouring juice, watched Jiang Liu’s miraculous speed with an incredulous look on her pretty face.

’My boyfriend’s hands are so fast.’

By now, the twenty eggs boiling in the water were fully cooked.

Jiang Liu poured out the boiling water, leaving the eggs in the pot. He added ice cubes and repeatedly poured cold water over them.

This makes the egg whites springier and is an indispensable and crucial step in making Golden Coin Eggs.

Once the eggs had been rapidly cooled by the cold water.

With a gentle tap, the yellowish-white shells shattered easily, revealing the smooth, white body of the egg.

The next step was to slice all the eggs.

The knife used for slicing the eggs had to be sharp, or it would crush the yolks.

After the eggs were sliced and placed in a bowl, Jiang Liu took out sweet potato starch and flour. He sprinkled them over the eggs and gently shook the bowl, allowing the powder to evenly coat the egg slices.

When the oil was hot enough for chopsticks to bubble when inserted, he slid in the egg slices to fry. He fried them until the surface was crispy and had a "tiger skin" pattern, then immediately removed them to drain the excess oil.

Because Jiang Liu was using free-range local eggs as the main ingredient, the yolks were especially fragrant.

By now, the fragrance was already wafting through the air.

"Whoa, that smells amazing!"

"Jiang Liu, when will it be done? Why do your eggs smell so good?"

"Can I try a piece first?"

"Tongtong is so hungry. My little tummy is unhappy."

Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong were like two little gluttons, hovering behind Jiang Liu and chattering incessantly.

Jiang Liu picked up a piece of the crispy fried egg for each of them.

"You two can have a taste. It’s not completely finished yet."

"Mmph! So hot! The egg is so yummy!"

"Yummy, yummy! Jiang Liu, how can you be so likable! The yolk of this egg seems way more fragrant than a normal egg."