Shepherd’s Purse Dumplings 1

“It was a bit troublesome to manage, so I just cut it off.” Wen Jiu grabbed a towel and wiped her hair haphazardly. Once it stopped dripping, she took some ointment from the medical kit provided by the academy and carefully applied it to each of the scratches.

Earlier, during the shower, a lot of mud had clung to her hair.

Wen Jiu thought about all the training sessions ahead and how she still needed to hurry to work at the cafeteria. Spending too much time grooming herself every day might leave her pressed for time.

So, she simply cut her hair short.

“I’m heading to the cafeteria first,” Wen Jiu said after changing clothes, tying her hair neatly into a small bun.

“I’ll come with you!” Qiao Shishi, who had only one class that morning and happened to be free at the moment, tagged along.

The two arrived at the cafeteria together. Wen Jiu first checked the remaining ingredients and suddenly noticed a large basket on the shelf.

She took it down to find it half-filled with fresh meat and half with vegetables.

Curious, Qiao Shishi leaned over and pointed at the vegetables. “Hey, what kind of vegetable is this?”

Wen Jiu picked some out and examined them carefully. “This is shepherd’s purse.”

Back in springtime, she often used the excuse of gathering medicinal herbs to pick various wild vegetables from the mountains to cook with.

Shepherd’s purse was easy to identify.

It has roots with clustered leaves, deeply pinnately lobed, sometimes entire; the upper leaves are triangular; stem leaves are oblong or lance-shaped, nearly linear at the tip, with ear-shaped bases clasping the stem, edges with notches or serrations, or almost entire.

Wen Jiu then looked at the large piece of fresh meat. The marbling of red and white reminded her of the meat slices she had previously found—it was probably from the same Gulu Beast.

When she had eaten it before, the meat reminded her strongly of pork, which sparked an idea in her mind.

While the silkworm potato dish could continue as is, the plain noodles might be replaced with shepherd’s purse dumplings.

Wen Jiu and Qiao Shishi washed all the vegetables they intended to use. Qiao Shishi peeled potatoes beside her while Wen Jiu cleaned and chopped the Gulu Beast meat on the cutting board.

Next, Wen Jiu mixed flour and water in a certain ratio and kneaded the dough vigorously until it became moderately firm, then set it aside in a bowl to rest.

She quickly removed the yellow leaves from the shepherd’s purse and blanched it briefly in boiling water to remove its bitterness.

After cooling, she chopped the shepherd’s purse finely and mixed it into a bowl with the minced meat, seasoning it lightly with salt, pepper, sesame oil, and oyster sauce.

Qiao Shishi handed over the peeled potatoes, which Wen Jiu sliced into small pieces for later use.

With these preparations done, the dough had also finished fermenting.

Wen Jiu’s fingers moved swiftly, wrapping dumplings that all looked as cute and neat as little ingots.

Qiao Shishi couldn’t help but ask, “Jiu Jiu, what are you making?”

“Shepherd’s purse dumplings,” Wen Jiu replied.

Seeing Qiao Shishi’s eager expression, Wen Jiu said, “If you want, you can help me wrap them.”

Qiao Shishi’s face lit up with joy, and she picked up a dumpling wrapper, copying Wen Jiu’s movements.

But after several attempts, her dumplings looked ridiculously ugly, nothing resembling Wen Jiu’s neat shapes.

Realizing her skills were lacking, Qiao Shishi gave up and sat nearby, waiting eagerly to taste them.

Wen Jiu was always serious and focused when working—there’s truth in the saying that the most dedicated people are the most attractive.

At that moment, she shone like a radiant pearl.

Qiao Shishi thought to herself, it was a pity only she could witness Wen Jiu’s brilliance in the kitchen.

If more people could see her, surely the number of diners would grow.

Soon, Wen Jiu finished wrapping all the dumplings. She put enough in the pot to cook for two, then started preparing chili oil.

When the dumplings floated white and translucent, she carefully scooped them out onto a plate.

Qiao Shishi gingerly picked up a dumpling and bit into it. The hot broth inside burst forth, rich and fragrant.

The chewy dough paired with the fresh aroma of shepherd’s purse delighted her, and the slight saltiness from the meat added layers of flavor.

Qiao Shishi kept eating one dumpling after another, grateful to have Wen Jiu as her roommate.

She could not find anyone else who could make such delicious food.

Though she often dined at high-end restaurants with her parents, none of those dishes could compare to a single bowl of Wen Jiu’s dumplings.

Having such delicious food was truly a blessing.

Looking at Wen Jiu with admiration, Qiao Shishi said, “Jiu Jiu, you’re amazing! I think I don’t even need my salary working here, as long as I get to eat your food every day.”

Wen Jiu smiled and agreed but thought to herself that once she had money, she would still pay Qiao Shishi her wages.

The two quickly finished the dumplings, and Qiao Shishi took the bowls and chopsticks to wash while Wen Jiu uploaded today’s menu onto the electronic screen outside.

As mealtime approached, many students began slowly making their way to the cafeteria.

Suddenly, a group dashed out, shouting loudly.

“Big Dragon, hurry up! If we’re late, there’ll be none left!”

“I just got off training! Stop yelling and run!”

“Come on, Big Dragon! If it’s gone, we won’t get any today!”

Their loud calls piqued the curiosity of many, and some began running toward the cafeteria with them.

More and more students followed, all rushing rapidly toward the dining hall.

The leaders of the group reached window number eighteen directly.

“Fairy! Spring noodles! Spring noodles!”

“I want three bowls of silkworm potato! Extra spicy!”

Qiao Shishi smiled and said, “Sorry, no spring noodles today. We have a new dish—shepherd’s purse dumplings. Want to try?”

The first few hesitated, unfamiliar with shepherd’s purse dumplings.

But then Wang Dalong, running up behind, shouted, “That dumpling thing, I want two orders!”

Seeing him order, the hesitant ones quickly followed and ordered shepherd’s purse dumplings.

Though they didn’t know what it was, it couldn’t be worse than the other window’s food, right?

They had all eaten Wen Jiu’s cooking yesterday. Since Wen Jiu only served at noon and night, they had to eat others’ food in the morning, which often tasted like garbage to them.

So as soon as lunch started, they rushed to the cafeteria to place their orders.

Wen Jiu dropped the dumplings into boiling water, then methodically tossed the potato strips in a bowl with seasoning.

Soon, all the orders were ready.

Wang Dalong and his friends eagerly took their plates and sat down, staring at the steaming, plump dumplings shaped like little ingots.

Their hunger surged immediately.

“Is this the potato dish you were talking about yesterday?” Li Erpao, Wang Dalong’s close friend, asked.

After tasting such delicious food the day before, Wang Dalong had enthusiastically recommended it to others and brought his friend along today.

Li Erpao usually wasn’t interested in food; he found most meals unappetizing and preferred nutritional drinks.

But since Wang Dalong asked, he didn’t refuse and came along.

He initially planned to eat just a little to get by, but seeing the golden-yellow potato strips coated in bright red chili oil sparked his appetite.

“This is it, called silkworm potato,” Wang Dalong said, handing him a pair of chopsticks. “Try it.”

Wang Dalong had asked for extra spiciness, so Li Erpao’s chopsticks lifted potato strips drenched in fiery red oil.

He took a casual bite—and was instantly captivated.