The two of them divided the tasks. Qin i went to get the potatoes while Jie Jingjue went to the kitchen for a cutting board and a knife. Qin i picked out a few potatoes and began peeling them by the water basin in the courtyard.
After peeling a potato, Qin i sliced it open and carefully cut it into a wavy pattern.
"Can you cut it like this?" Qin i asked.
Jie Jingjue raised an eyebrow. He picked up the potato Qin i had cut, examined it for a mont, and asked, "Fourth Sister-in-law, is it really necessary to cut it like this?"
"Yes, it’s very necessary. This is the essence of wolf fang potatoes," Qin i said with mock gravity.
The corner of Jie Jingjue’s mouth twitched. Qin i demonstrated, and he watched intently. He seed to have learned the technique, but in his heart, he knew, ’This is going to be difficult!’ Under Qin i’s expectant gaze, Jie Jingjue steeled himself and nodded. "I can do it."
"Give it a try," Qin i said, stepping back to let Jie Jingjue take over.
Jie Jingjue took a deep breath, picked up the knife, and bent over, mimicking how Qin i had cut. His knife skills were poor, and he couldn’t control his strength. One slice ca down, and he’d made a strip. Another slice, and he’d diced it. "Heh heh... Fourth Sister-in-law, could you demonstrate one more ti?"
Qin i patiently taught, and Jie Jingjue diligently learned. The problem was, Jie Jingjue simply had no talent for it. He understood the concept instantly but failed every ti he tried.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, cut it one more ti."
"Fourth Sister-in-law..."
"Jing Wu, that’s not how you do it! You cut a little, then angle it... Jie Jingjue, how can you be so clumsy? Jie Jingjue, be careful! Jie Jingjue..."
Qin i drew wavy lines on a thick potato slice for him. Jie Jingjue followed them as he cut. He was successful at first, but then he cut it clean through in the middle.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, do we really, truly have to cut it like this?" Jie Jingjue asked again, a question that ca from the depths of his soul.
"We absolutely have to." Qin i’s perfectionism was kicking in.
Jie Jingchen and Jie Jingshan put down their books to help cut the potatoes. Jie Jingchen also struggled at first, but unlike Jie Jingjue, who felt defeated and wanted to give up, he only grew more determined with each failure. He wouldn’t have quit even if Qin i had decided to compromise.
His hard work paid off. After wasting a few potatoes, Jie Jingchen finally figured out the trick. He could now cut them perfectly without needing Qin i to draw the lines for him.
"Jie Jingchen, you’re amazing! They look just like they were cut with a special tool," Qin i praised him generously.
A smile curved the corners of Jie Jingchen’s lips, and he went back to cutting with even more gusto.
"Where would they even sell a tool like that?" Jie Jingjue couldn’t help but mutter.
"Precisely because they don’t, I have to trouble you to cut them this way," Qin i said.
They ford an assembly line: Qin i peeled, Jie Jingshan made the initial slices and drew the wavy lines, Jie Jingjue cut along the guides, and Jie Jingchen completed the whole process by himself.
They started with a whole basin of potatoes but wasted half of it. Only half a basin’s worth was successfully cut into the wolf fang shape. Qin i decided to take the wasted half to Second Aunt’s house for her to use however she pleased.
In the kitchen, Jie Jingchen tended the fire. Jie Jingjue, wearing an apron, stood before the stove, waiting for the wok to heat up. Qin i directed from the side while Jie Jingshan looked on.
"Jing Wu, it’s ready. Pour in the oil," Qin i urged.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, you know how to do this. You do it." Jie Jingjue didn’t know how to cook, but Qin i was forcing him to learn on the fly.
"I don’t know how," Qin i said, rubbing her nose. She was only directing based on her mory of watching her grandmother make them. She loved wolf fang potatoes, but her grandmother, worried that the ones sold outside were unsanitary, always insisted on making them herself.
Jie Jingjue resigned himself to his fate and hesitantly poured in the oil. He didn’t pour much, and Qin i glanced at the half-basin of potatoes.
"That’s not enough oil. If the potatoes aren’t fried properly, the texture will be off." They were ant to be deep-fried, not stir-fried, and the amount of oil Jie Jingjue had poured was clearly insufficient.
Jie Jingjue poured in so more, but Qin i still said it was too little. He added another splash, and only then was she satisfied.
Once the oil was hot, Qin i told Jie Jingjue to add the potatoes. The mont they hit the wok, hot oil splattered everywhere, scalding everyone.
"AH!"
"Fifth Brother!"
"Jie Jingjue!"
"Jing Wu!"
A pained scream from Jie Jingjue was t by three concerned shouts that rang out at the sa ti.
Jie Jingjue got the worst of it. Jie Jingshan was the least affected; she had been standing farthest away and was only scalded on the back of her hand.
Jie Jingchen had the foresight to shield his face the mont Jie Jingjue dumped the potatoes in, so the oil only splattered the back of his hand. He had also moved to pull Qin i into his arms, but he was a step too late. Qin i didn’t escape completely unhard.
She was hit on her neck, her left earlobe, and the back of her hand. Thankfully, her face was spared.
Jie Jingjue had been splattered in several places on his face, neck, and the back of his hands.
"Aah! It hurts! Oh my god! My face—I’m disfigured!" Jie Jingjue howled in pain.
Jie Jingchen let go of Qin i. Seeing that her burns weren’t severe, he breathed a sigh of relief. She and Jie Jingjue had been standing the closest to the stove. Thankfully, he had reacted quickly enough to pull her back; otherwise, her injuries would have been worse than Jie Jingjue’s.
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