An Nuan watched them talk nonsense with straight faces and felt quite pleased.
Today’s temperature had already dropped to minus thirty degrees Celsius, and it would continue to plummet over the next two days, reaching minus fifty-six degrees.
The lowest temperature An Nuan knew of in her past life was this.
In her eyes, today was the first day of winter.
Winter meant eating dumplings and drinking hot soup, a habit her grandmother had cultivated.
She drank a glass of milk and ate two biscuits.
Thinking of her grandmother, she didn’t want to make do with frozen dumplings on the first day of winter.
An Nuan took out a stainless steel basin and poured wheat flour into it.
This flour had a richer aroma and a chewier texture. An Nuan had always preferred chewy flour since she was young.
She then added an appropriate amount of salt to improve the taste of the dumpling wrappers.
“Brother, pass me the water.”
Chang Kaitong fetched some cold water from the reserve bucket for her.
As An Nuan kneaded the dough, she gradually added cold water, shaping it into a ball. Once it had a good texture, An Nuan covered it with a damp white cloth.
Then, she took out a piece of pork belly from the refrigerator.
She pondered, “Should we have mushroom or cabbage filling, or… pickled cabbage and pork would be good too.”
“Anything is fine with me, Sister Nuan. Whatever you want to eat, I’m okay with,” Chang Kaitong replied.
“Then let’s make some pickled cabbage and pork, and some chives and eggs!”
An Nuan’s homemade pickled cabbage was almost ready. She opened the jar, used a long pair of chopsticks to retrieve a large piece, and tore off a small bit to taste.
“It’s done! Brother, please get me a bowl.”
Chang Kaitong brought over a soup bowl, and An Nuan scooped a full bowl.
After dividing the pickled cabbage, Hai Changfeng and Luoluo had already gone to the kitchen to chop meat.
Although there were many small appliances for grinding meat, handmade food was still the most delicious.
Chang Kaitong helped to process the pickled cabbage.
An Nuan washed the chives and set them aside to drain. She then beat eight eggs, added a little dried shrimp and salt, and directly put them into the pan. She scrambled them with chopsticks until they were finely broken and cooked to a tender golden yellow, then scooped them out into a glass basin.
She then finely chopped the chives and added them to the glass basin with the eggs.
She poured in sesame oil, pepper, and a little oyster sauce, stirring everything clockwise with chopsticks.
She put a little of the filling on the back of her hand and licked it to taste.
With perfect understanding, Luoluo handed her a bottle of dark soy sauce.
An Nuan added a tiny bit for flavor and color.
“Eating dumplings so early in the morning is truly a luxury,” Hai Changfeng said with a smile. Since entering the apocalypse, he had been prepared to live on biscuits.
He even ate his biscuits sparingly, afraid of wasting food.
He never dreamed he would wake up to make dumplings.
Luoluo chuckled, “It’s already eleven o’clock. We’re eating lunch!”
“Look at my brain! It’s lunch, hot dumplings!”
Hai Changfeng finished chopping the meat, and Luoluo began seasoning.
Her seasoning technique was exactly the same as An Nuan’s grandmother.
An Nuan remembered how Luoluo’s parents used to work away from home, leaving her behind. Luoluo always liked to sneak into the kitchen to help cook.
After her grandmother passed away, besides cooking herself, only Luoluo’s cooking reminded her of her grandmother’s taste.
“Luoluo, let’s grow some chives and bean sprouts ourselves someday. I’d like to eat them.”
“That’s easy, I’m best at growing chives!”
“And you’re good at ‘cutting’ chives too!”
They chatted and laughed as they worked.
An Nuan waited for the dough to rest, then kneaded it again to improve its elasticity and texture.
Then it was time to roll out the wrappers.
Both she and Luoluo had inherited their grandmother’s skills and were very proficient at rolling wrappers.
Chang Kaitong had never made dumplings before, and Hai Changfeng, while packing them, taught him. Their packing speed couldn’t keep up with their wrapper-rolling speed.
Soon, there were more wrappers than packed dumplings.
Once all the dough was used, Luoluo also joined the dumpling-packing team, and their speed instantly increased.
An Nuan boiled water to cook the dumplings. Before long, plates of steaming dumplings were ready, and Luoluo directly grabbed one with her paws.
“Delicious! The pickled cabbage is perfectly seasoned!”
“Can we eat all of them?” Hai Changfeng asked, stuffing dumplings into his mouth, still concerned about whether they could finish the eight large plates.
An Nuan stirred the dumplings to prevent them from sticking.
She then put two portions into the space in food bags.
“Newcomers have arrived, we should have a welcoming party, and then we don’t have to cook tonight.”
Everyone agreed, happily starting to eat, and didn’t even ask who the portions in the space food bags were for.
After finishing their meal, they also drank a bowl of hot dumpling soup.
An Nuan wanted another bowl but was afraid of needing to use the restroom when they went out.
In her past life, they would drink less water to avoid inconvenience and even wear diapers to prevent needing to relieve themselves suddenly during missions.
Extra movements could attract abominations and zombies, so no one dared to take the risk.
However, wearing diapers constantly was an unpleasant experience.
She had once worn diapers in 45-degree weather for a month straight, resulting in a rash all over her posterior.
An Nuan never wanted to experience that feeling again.
By two o’clock in the afternoon, the temperature reached minus twenty degrees Celsius, the highest of the day.
The snow was too deep, blocking the ground floor doors. The snow had not yet frozen into ice, and cars would get stuck if driven out.
Normal transportation was no longer viable.
An Nuan distributed protective suits and ski jackets to everyone. After putting on goggles, she opened the balcony glass on the second floor and released several sleds from her space, one of which was for two people.
During a company team-building event, she had seen Hai Changfeng’s skiing skills.
He was second only to the head of the entire group’s security department in skiing prowess.
This guy was simply not normal when it came to outdoor sports!
As for Luoluo, An Nuan knew her well.
Her skills were as good as her own, so there was no need to worry.
However, her younger brother was a bit problematic.
Chang Kaitong said sheepishly, “I’ve never skied before, I don’t know how.”
“It’s okay, brother will take you! I’ve taught many people at the club, I’m very experienced!”
“Brother Hai, you’re my real brother!”
Hai Changfeng grinned and helped Chang Kaitong strap on his sled, giving him some key instructions.
An Nuan looked at the two cats.
“What about you two?”
Juanzi’s wings suddenly extended from its back, and it flapped them a few times.
Daizi tested its paws and then settled steadily on Juanzi’s back.
Juanzi proudly tilted its head and curled its tail.
“That’s great! You’ll get extra fish jerky when we get back!”
An Nuan patted its head, put on her own sled, and was the first to rush out of the door.
After Luoluo locked the door, she and Hai Changfeng followed An Nuan on either side.
Juanzi’s wings flapped, and it slid forward with the wind.
The world was now submerged. Except for the tips of a few large machines poking out, everything else was covered, and even many zombies were buried under the snow.
The path for skiing was clear.
It felt great!