"Hmm... I knew it!"

Shen Baobao immediately took Lin Xu's phone and tapped out a message to Guo Xinghai.

It wasn't long before she received a reply:

"The eels you're asking about have a stronger earthy taste compared to other varieties. It can be much improved by washing it a few times with salt and Cooking Wine. Also, when marinating in black bean sauce, don't forget to add Garlic Paste and White Pepper powder—the effect is unexpected... Why are you suddenly asking about this, Lin Xu? You're not trying to test me secretly, are you?"

Wow! He figured it out!

"Xu Bao, Xu Bao, how should I reply?"

Shen Baobao found this quite amusing. The two of them, one posing questions and the other answering, both understood each other... Wait, why were they so in sync?

"Tell him you just casually asked because you're cooking eel today and were wondering about it."

Once he knew the method, Lin Xu was greatly relieved and immediately began preparing the dipping sauce for the wowotou.

In the past, wowotou were eaten to fill the stomach, so there wasn't much sophistication to them.

But now, people eat wowotou either as snacks or for dieting purposes. While paying attention to nutrition, they also try to improve the taste and texture of the wowotou.

This led to the development of various dipping sauces and side dishes.

Every region has its own way of eating wowotou: some use Chili Oil, some use garlic sauce, and others use grandmother's fried vegetables.

What Lin Xu was going to make now was a dipping sauce with a Central Plains flavor.

This sauce was based on a farmer's home-fermented watermelon soybean paste, sautéed with garlic, millet chili, Hangzhou pepper, dried chili, scallions, and other ingredients.

The taste was salty and savory, extremely appetizing, and great for accompanying meals.

Others might not know, but he had never gotten tired of it since childhood.

After preparing all the necessary ingredients, Lin Xu went to the storage room and scooped up a generous half bowl of the fermented watermelon soybean paste that his second uncle-in-law, Shi Wenming, had made from a jar.

Shen Baobao watched this with curiosity. "With so many ingredients, the sauce must be delicious, right?"

Lin Xu pinched the girl's collagen-filled cheeks and said with a smile, "At the very least, it should whet your appetite."

After bringing over the fermented watermelon soybean paste, he immediately set up the wok to start cooking.

He poured a bit more peanut oil into the wok than he usually would for stir-frying.

When the oil was hot, he first added the dried chili segments from the bowl and stir-fried them briefly to bring out their aroma. Then, he added scallion segments, Hangzhou pepper, millet chili, and smashed garlic cloves, and continued to stir-fry.

Once these were just barely cooked through, he poured in the scooped fermented watermelon soybean paste and then added two small spoonfuls of White Sugar to the wok.

Since the fermented watermelon soybean paste was already quite salty from the curing process, only White Sugar was needed during the stir-frying. Besides balancing the saltiness, the White Sugar also enhanced the umami flavor of the dipping sauce.

After adding the White Sugar, he turned the heat down low.

By simmering it gently, the fermented, moldy taste in the paste was cooked out, leaving only the rich, savory aroma of the soybean paste. This made it irresistible, whether served as a dip for steamed buns or wowotou, or even as a condiment for porridge.

"Wow, my grandma used to make this kind of dipping sauce too! I could eat two flower rolls every time..." Shen Baobao said, her interest piqued as she inhaled the delicious aroma of the sauce.

Lin Xu, while stirring the contents of the wok with a spoon, said, "If you want to eat it in the future, just tell me. I'll make it for you."

"Thank you, Xu Bao."

Shen Baobao wrapped her arms around Lin Xu's waist from behind, resting her head on his shoulder. She had cherished her feelings for him for four years, and now she finally felt Xu Bao's passionate and warm response.

Thank you for letting me experience all the beautiful things in life.

As the young couple was enjoying their affectionate moment, Chen Yuanyuan's voice came from outside the kitchen.

"Is breakfast ready? I'm so hungry..."

Yuanyuan saw her younger sister-in-law tightly hugging her cousin. Though she had felt quite hungry a moment ago, she now let out an involuntary belch.

"You two continue, I... I didn't see anything."

After saying that, Yuanyuan, feeling rather solitary, went off to find Dundun to play with.

"Dundun, call your auntie!"

Dundun was speechless. Beijing has one ditzy great-aunt, and it turns out my hometown has a ditzy aunt too. Life is SO hard for this cat!

Interrupted by Chen Yuanyuan, Shen Baobao shyly and quickly let go of Lin Xu.

Lin Xu continued to stir the paste in the wok.

When the fermented watermelon soybean paste was first added to the wok, the oil and paste were separated.

But after stir-frying and continuous stirring, the oil had fully emulsified with the paste, and the originally somewhat thick paste had thinned out a little.

After stir-frying for a while longer, as the water content reduced, the paste in the wok thickened again.

When the aroma of the soybean paste became even more intense, Lin Xu turned off the heat and used a spoon to transfer the richly fragrant, stir-fried paste into a large bowl.

This bowl of fermented watermelon soybean paste, a taste that many from the Central Plains yearned for, was now ready.

Besides the fermented watermelon soybean paste, Lin Xu also used minced garlic to prepare a garlic-paste-infused sesame oil and a hot chili oil, enriching the variety of dipping sauces for the wowotou as much as possible.

Once everything was ready, the wowotou in the steamer cabinet were also cooked.

After turning off the heat and letting them steam for two more minutes with the residual heat, he pulled the steaming tray out from the cabinet.

He placed the steaming tray on the worktable, covered it with another empty steaming tray, and then, with Shen Baobao holding one end, they carefully flipped it over. He then removed the steamer cloth, and all the cooked wowotou were neatly arranged on the new steaming tray to cool.

After all the wowotou were laid out, the cornmeal mush was also ready.

Shen Baobao bounced excitedly to the visitor center to call her father-in-law and mother-in-law. Breakfast was about to begin.

"Hmm, this soybean paste is well made. It smells delicious."

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