RPS – Chapter 80 Dumplings? Or Nap Time?

This outing had been quite fruitful for the whole Li Feng family. The animals were full to the brim, and the humans were stuffed too. However, after a whole afternoon of “wild vegetable gathering,” this group with their excellent primitive-era digestion had somehow managed to almost fully digest their meals.

Li carried several overflowing baskets on his back, with some even strapped onto the animals for them to carry home. Fortunately, the loads weren’t heavy, so the animals moved at their usual pace despite the extra burden.

So, the whole family returned home empty-handed but holding onto the animals’ reins, enjoying a spring walk. Li Feng was the most excited, already eager to get home and plant all his treasures. Ah, with these planted, there would be delicious food to enjoy later! Judging by the still-bright sky, it was probably just around two or three in the afternoon. After planting the scallions, garlic, and such, it would be the perfect time to teach everyone how to make dumplings. After eating dumplings and letting them digest a bit—perfect time for a nap.

Li Feng’s yard was huge, with open spaces in the front, back, left, and right. At this point, he had already planted quite a few things around. Wheat, taro, and sweet potatoes had been planted in the open area near the backyard, while ginger had been planted in the front yard—it looked nice and was convenient for daily cooking. The ginger’s stalks and leaves above ground resembled miniature bamboo, even greener than bamboo—like deep emeralds, delicate and elegant. Anyone unfamiliar would never guess that the rhizomes beneath were pungent and edible.

Li Feng had long intended the front yard to function like a small vegetable garden. The large open space beside the backyard, aside from the animal shelter that had already been built, was also available for farming. Frequently eaten wild greens were planted in the front yard, surrounded by a little fenced-in area. The ginger inside was already lush and verdant. There were also other wild greens—not hard to gather outside, but Li Feng couldn’t be bothered, so he just planted a bit himself for convenience.

Right now, Li Feng was squatting carefully in that garden, planting scallions, garlic, and cilantro. The scallions only needed the bulbs to take root, and since they couldn’t finish eating so many scallion leaves right away, he simply planted them all. They could be harvested as needed. The rest was simple too—just dig a hole, bury them, and water a bit. These were all easy-to-grow plants, so it didn’t require much effort from Li Feng.

Originally, the others saw him busy and wanted to help, but Li Feng was afraid of their clumsy hands and big feet—what if they trampled the other plants? Worse, what if they killed the ones he was trying to plant? Better to just do it himself, even if it meant a bit more work. Ah, what a life—he just had to do everything himself, worried no one else could manage.

Everyone else was a bit disheartened by Li Feng’s condescending attitude. It’s true—they didn’t know how to do it. But they could learn, right? It looked fun!

Nuo sighed inwardly. They really had nothing much to do at home. There wasn’t much farming work either since they hadn’t planted a lot, and even when they did, it wasn’t like they were farming all day long. They hadn’t gone hunting lately either, so time was abundant. Holding the baby in his arms, Li watched Li Feng busy in the garden, his little perky butt sticking up as he worked. At first, Li watched how he was planting, but after a while, his eyes were fixed on that little butt, and he couldn’t help but recall the feel of that soft, round backside, the sensation between the cheeks… The more he thought about it, the more determined he became that they had to do it tonight.

Poor Li Feng—because of his internal injury, he had refused Li many times already, afraid that too much “exercise” would worsen his condition. That left Li beyond frustrated, having to endure it.

But is that kind of thing something you can just “endure”? It’s like dieting—the more you hold back, the stronger the rebound! So, taking advantage of Li Feng’s good mood today, he was determined to relieve himself properly. Otherwise, it might really kill him.

Besides, now was the perfect time—after all, even the animals were preparing for the next generation. So why not them? As he thought of this, he started considering: should they have another child? The baby was really quite cute—especially now that he could call him “Daddy.”

Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden warm sensation spread across his body. Looking down, he saw that the baby had peed on him…

The idea of having another child was instantly washed away by that stream of urine. To be fair, it wasn’t the baby’s fault—he had held it in for quite a while and had wriggled several times in Li’s arms, even on the verge of pouting and crying. But Li had been too busy daydreaming about Li Feng’s backside to notice, mistaking the baby’s fidgeting as normal.

This little lapse in attention had a very obvious outcome…

Li looked down darkly at his now soaked animal-hide clothes, his chest also damp where he had loosened it a bit due to the heat—right in the splash zone. The baby, on the other hand, had completely relieved himself and was feeling great, totally oblivious to the look on his dad’s face. He was giggling with wide eyes, thinking it was all just a game!

“Li An, that was very naughty. How can you pee on Papa like that? You should’ve said something if you needed to go!” Li said sternly, looking the baby in the eye.

The name “Li An” had been Li Feng’s idea. He suggested that, since both of them shared the surname “Li,” they could just add it as a prefix to the baby’s name. That way, it would also serve as the child’s surname going forward. Li didn’t object—after all, it made sense and sounded nice.

But as for what he just said to the baby—well, the baby was still so young, how could he possibly understand? Still, even though he didn’t comprehend the words, the tone and expression scared him. Just moments ago, he had been all smiles, but now his little face suddenly changed from sunny to rainy. He burst into loud sobs, mouth wide open in a wail.

Children’s moods change like July weather—unpredictable in an instant. And especially now, after being scared by Li, the tears came pouring down.

When Li saw the baby start crying, he was startled. He had already lowered his voice and hadn’t even raised it—why was the baby crying? But the baby didn’t care about any of that and continued crying in aggrieved sobs. Just then, Li Feng had finished planting the vegetables. He stood up and rushed over in quick strides. Every time the baby cried, it felt like his heart was being cut to pieces—it hurt so much. As soon as he reached Li, he gave him a fierce glare and slapped his back. “Why are you being so fierce with the baby?”

Li felt wronged too. The baby had peed on him, and he hadn’t even scolded him—he was just trying to reason with him, telling him not to do that again next time. How could he have known the baby would cry? But Li Feng didn’t care. “So what if he peed on you? What dad hasn’t been peed on by their baby? If it hasn’t happened, that’s not normal.” Then he turned his head and said, “Come on, baby, let’s ignore him. How about we don’t let him sleep on the bed tonight?”

To coax the baby, Li Feng pulled out the harshest punishment he could think of.

Li, who was standing behind them, felt increasingly sulky. So now that the baby’s here, I don’t matter anymore? He hadn’t had a full meal in ages, and now he wasn’t even allowed to sleep? That was way too much! This wouldn’t do—he had to redeem himself. He’d better hurry and go coax both the baby and Li Feng. With that thought, he rushed off after them, leaving Bu, Nuo, Mo, and Lu behind, snickering at the scene.

By the time Li caught up with them, the baby had already stopped crying. That little rascal—he must’ve done it on purpose. It hadn’t even been that long, and he was fine now. He was clearly crying earlier just to get Li Feng’s attention. But Li didn’t have time to dwell on that. Since the baby wasn’t crying anymore, it was time to focus on coaxing Li Feng. He still wanted a big dinner tonight!

Of course, Li Feng wasn’t actually angry—he was just being a bit tsundere. This was also a good excuse to give Li a little “lesson.” After all, how could he not know how to take care of a child? He was the biological father, for heaven’s sake!

“All right, go change your clothes and wipe yourself off. We’ll make dumplings later, sound good?” Li Feng said, holding the baby while looking at Li, who was circling around them. After all, he still had the baby’s pee on him.

For anyone from China, dumplings hold deep sentimental value. As children, the best time of year was the New Year, because it was the only time they’d get to eat dumplings. On regular days, no one had the time or energy to make them—they were just too much trouble. After a long day, who wanted to cook?

To Li Feng, dumplings meant even more. As a child, he eagerly looked forward to the New Year. Not only was it fun, but the food was amazing—especially pork dumplings, which were the orphanage children’s favorite. They rarely got to eat meat, only around the New Year. Back then, the kids would help the orphanage aunties mix dough and wrap dumplings. They’d watch the white, plump dumplings go into the pot and crowd around it, waiting for them to cook. Even now, he could still recall the aroma of freshly steamed dumplings. Thin wrappers, juicy fillings—a single bite was bursting with deliciousness. Nothing like those frozen ones sold in supermarkets nowadays. Those had no real dumpling flavor at all. Handmade dumplings were still the best. But after growing up, he became lazy and no longer had time to make them. Now, though, everyone was free, and they even had green onions, ginger, and garlic—perfect!

Li Feng had Nuo, Mo, and Lu take care of the baby while he and Li prepared the dumpling ingredients. As for Bu, he helped wherever he was needed. Li Feng kneaded the dough himself, while Li, under his direction, handled the fillings. Mainly, Li wanted to earn brownie points with Li Feng so that at night, Li Feng would “let him eat.” Never mind his little scheme for now.

They had just started making the dumplings. The dough was made of coarse grain flour—though finely ground, it wasn’t as smooth as wheat flour. Still, it could be formed into a workable dough. Li Feng worked hard at kneading it. To make dumpling wrappers that were elastic but not too hard, kneading the dough was a technical job. Too much water and the wrappers would be too soft to hold shape; too little water and they’d dry out quickly, be difficult to roll out, and wouldn’t seal properly. They’d just fall apart while boiling. So Li Feng never trusted anyone else to do this part. Nuo, watching from the side, was clearly tempted—the dough looked so soft and fun to knead!

The filling was simpler. Li Feng planned to make two types: fresh pork with shepherd’s purse (jicai) and wild greens with scrambled eggs. A few days ago, they had butchered a wild boar. They hadn’t finished eating the meat yet, and the weather still allowed a few more days of preservation. So Li Feng had set aside some fresh meat; the rest had been turned into cured pork, bacon, and sausages. But it was getting warmer now, so it was better to eat the fresh meat soon.

Even though the wild boar was raised by them, the meat was still very tasty and tender. Li and Bu were assigned to peel and mince the ginger and chop the green onions. Then they cleaned the pork and chopped it into fine bits. A clam shell wouldn’t work as a knife, but a stone axe did the job. It wasn’t as sharp as a steel blade, but with Li’s strength, he could still smash it into minced meat. While Li Feng was huffing and puffing kneading dough, his arms already a little sore, Li was vigorously mincing pork. Nuo was playing with the kids nearby but kept sneaking glances at the soft dough in Li Feng’s hands—he really wanted to knead it too. Bu had been sent to wash the shepherd’s purse. Li Feng had reminded him again and again to remove the yellowed or old leaves, the roots, and any weeds, and to wash it thoroughly until there was no more muddy water—completely clean.

Everyone in the family was busy with their own tasks, and time passed quickly. Soon, Li Feng’s dough was ready, and Li’s pork was finely minced—almost like what you’d get with a modern meat grinder. It was nearly a smooth paste. They added minced ginger, chopped green onions, salt, Li Feng’s homemade five-spice powder, and the shepherd’s purse. Li continued chopping to blend everything together. It was almost done. Sadly, they didn’t have soy sauce. Li Feng was planning to make some during summer, so for now, they’d have to skip it.

Li Feng was also great at rolling out dumpling wrappers. The rolling pin was newly made by Bu, polished smooth with stone and shell tools. It wasn’t long—about the length of a forearm. They also had a longer one, as long as an arm, for making larger wrappers for flatbreads.

Li Feng called everyone, young and old, to come help wrap dumplings. He cut pieces from the dough, rolled them into logs, sliced them into small chunks, then flattened them. He was in charge of rolling them out. One hand held the dough edge while the other quickly rolled it. The off-hand also helped rotate the dough piece. At first, he was a bit slow—he hadn’t rolled in a long time—so the wrappers weren’t very round. But he got faster as he went, and soon he was rolling them with speed and precision, making wrappers that were perfectly round and evenly thin.

However, those nice dumpling wrappers were quickly ruined by Li and the others. Since none of them knew how to wrap dumplings, Li Feng had to teach them one by one. If they really couldn’t manage it, he just told them to skip the pleats and simply pinch the edges shut. They also had to make sure not to overfill them, or the wrappers would easily tear during cooking.

In order to eat the dumplings sooner, Li Feng didn’t care anymore whether they looked good or not. The others, however, were all having a lot of “fun”—especially the adults. While they were holding the dough in their hands, their minds wandered to thoughts of their lovers’ soft, fair little butts, which were just as plump and tender as the dough. So while Mo and Lu, the two innocent little kids, were genuinely wrapping dumplings and playing with the dough, the three adults—excluding Li Feng—were not so pure of mind. In this swaying, dreamy spring season, their self-control had clearly diminished. Even while kneading dough, they were thinking about that kind of thing!

After rolling out the wrappers, Li Feng looked over at the other table and sighed at the strange-looking dumplings. Would these even float properly when they were cooked? Some of them looked like they were pregnant—the dough was stretched so thin it was about to break. And most of the dumplings were lying every which way, not even able to stand upright. Li Feng rolled the wrappers quickly and hurried over to help, shooing away the two worst offenders—Lu and Mo. Those two kids had only been playing, luckily they hadn’t wrapped too many. Li Feng checked over their work; many of them hadn’t even been properly sealed, so he had to pinch each one shut again.

As the saying goes, when a master makes a move, it’s obvious. Li Feng held a wrapper in one hand, used the other to add filling, then quickly pinched out three to five pleats along the top, shaping the dumpling like a delicate little boat. Once placed on the table, it stood firm and upright, standing out like a crane among chickens in a sea of deformed dumplings. Although the others tried hard, it was their first time, so mistakes were inevitable. But they gradually improved, and by the end they had gotten the hang of it. For something so new—and edible, no less—everyone was very curious and eager to eat, so they all put in a lot of effort. They finished wrapping all of both kinds of dumplings: one with wild boar and shepherd’s purse, the other with wild vegetables and scrambled eggs. Toward the end, even though there was still some filling left, they forcefully crammed it into the last remaining wrappers.

The fragrance of the dumplings wafted up from the thick steam—totally different from steamed buns or plain stir-fried meat. It was a uniquely savory aroma. Everyone was getting impatient just from the smell. Every time Li Feng made something, it was strange—but always delicious. Each dish brought new surprises.

How could dumplings be eaten without garlic? Though there was no soy sauce or vinegar, garlic was still essential. Especially since Li Feng had made a sort of chili oil substitute using aromatic spices. It wasn’t quite as tasty or spicy as real chili oil, but it was flavorful enough to keep things from being bland. And now they even had garlic bulbs! The crushed garlic was mixed with the sauce, and dipping the dumplings in that sauce—well, the taste was simply amazing!

The wild boar meat was chewy and fragrant, and the shepherd’s purse was tender and fresh. The dumpling wrappers were made of finely ground corn, soybeans, and taro mixed with whole grains. The combination of flavors was incredible. One bite, and the minced meat—meticulously pounded by Li—was elastic and satisfying. The filling was rich but not greasy, thanks to the tender greens. The flavors fused beautifully, flooding the mouth with umami. There were also dumplings with wild vegetables and eggs. The eggs were pre-scrambled and mixed in. The filling was light but not bland—fluffy eggs and fresh greens made a perfect vegetarian combo. The whole family ended up eating until they were stuffed. Even the baby got one, carefully fed by Li Feng. It was a veggie-and-egg one, of course, and the baby loved it. Li Feng fed him very cautiously, worried he might choke. After just one dumpling, Li Feng stopped feeding him—but the baby nearly burst into tears, not yet full, not satisfied…

In the end, Li Feng pacified him by giving him some milk and dumpling broth. The baby couldn’t eat too many salty things, after all. A taste now and then was fine, but no more than that.

“Mmm, Li Feng, these are sleep dumplings right? Let’s eat more tomorrow, they’re so good! Sleep dumplings, sleep dumplings,” Nuo said as he munched away, clearly overstuffed but still eating.

“It’s shuǐjiǎo (dumplings), not shuìjiào (sleep),” Li Feng corrected him. Hearing Nuo speak with his mouth full and still say “sleep” instead of “dumplings” made him laugh. The pronunciation might be the same, but the meanings were completely different—or so he thought. Little did he know, Li was about to prove him wrong.

“It’s all the same! Shuìjiào sounds like shuǐjiǎo! Just like how we say ‘go sleep’. The name might be odd, but they taste great. Mmm, really yummy!” Nuo was still stuffing his face and would probably start complaining about being too full soon.

“Don’t eat till you burst. You’ll feel awful later. There’s still plenty left—we can fry some up tomorrow,” Li Feng said. They had spent the whole afternoon wrapping, and he hadn’t judged the portions well. They had made way too much. Even though everyone ate a ton, there was still a lot left. The extras were spread out to air-dry. Fried dumplings would be delicious too. Ah, just thinking about it was torture—tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough!

After eating, everyone lay around like corpses, groaning and rubbing their bellies to digest. Even Mo and Lu had dumpling-shaped bellies now. Li Feng, holding the baby, was rubbing his own stomach, trying to speed up digestion. Sitting while eating hadn’t felt too bad, but the moment he stood up, he realized how stuffed he was—so full he could barely walk. One by one, they all sat back down, slumping over.

From cooking to eating, the whole meal took up the entire afternoon. They had returned around two or three o’clock, and now it was already dark outside. As the saying goes, once you’re warm and fed, you start thinking about… other things. Now that they were full and satisfied with the food, it was time to enjoy the other pleasures of the night.

“Li Feng, let’s go sleep!~” Li said.

“Sleep? It’s too early! I’m so full I don’t want to move. Let’s wait a bit,” Li Feng replied instinctively, not catching the innuendo. He was still bloated and just wanted to digest first.

“Aren’t you all stuffed? Let me give you a massage—some exercise will help, and you won’t feel so bloated!” Li whispered in Li Feng’s ear. As long as he didn’t end up hungry again later…

Li Feng, clueless and innocent, didn’t think anything of it. Hearing there’d be a massage, he cheerfully followed Li to the bedroom. Li’s massages were always great. Bu shook his head knowingly from behind, while Nuo giggled without exposing them. Li also gave them a look—telling them to make sure the kids didn’t come in and to sleep in another room. Bu nodded in understanding, and the two of them shared a knowing grin. Bu was going to take Nuo to get a “massage” too. After eating dumplings, it was time to “eat sleep”!

So in the end, was it dumplings or sleep? Only when Li Feng and the others woke up would the answer be clear. And maybe then Li Feng would realize it was all Nuo’s fault for calling dumplings “sleep” in the first place—was that just a Freudian slip?

In any case, whether it was dumplings or sleep, both were essential—just that one fed the body, the other… well, fed the wolves. Either way, it was about feeding hungry mouths!