Chapter 28: First Time Cooking

After thinking for a moment, Liu Heming called George. There was a new demand for fertilizer, so he needed to quickly notify the fertilizer company. Whether they would purchase from them or switch to another supplier, this matter could not be delayed.

George did not know why Liu Heming was so crazy about choosing organic fertilizer. He felt it was necessary to have a good talk with him and also invited him over for lunch.

Liu Heming started the car. Before he could even drive out of the farm, he shouted in frustration, “Damn it!”

These two old pickup trucks that had accompanied him for nearly two months and had done hard work finally gave up. Black smoke billowed out from under the front hood.

He was already short on money, and now his only means of transportation broke down. This was just adding insult to injury and was not pleasant at all.

“George, I’m afraid I can’t come over to your place,” Liu Heming said with a bitter smile after calling George again.

“Dexter, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” George asked with concern.

“I’m fine, but my car broke down. How about this? I promised you before that I would treat you to authentic Chinese cuisine. Today, I’ll make Chinese dumplings for you. Why don’t you and Megan come over to try them?” Liu Heming invited.

He had promised George this a long time ago, but he had been too busy and kept putting it off until now. If he wanted to go out and get things done, having no car in the United States was not an option. He still needed to rely on George.

“OK, Dexter, wait for us. We’ll come over right away,” George said excitedly.

“Wait, George, there’s one more small thing. You’ll need to bring some green onions, onions, ginger, and garlic. I don’t have any of those prepared. It would be best if you brought extra green onions and onions,” Liu Heming said somewhat awkwardly.

He was inviting them for a meal, but he didn’t have enough ingredients. He had beef and flour, as well as other seasonings, but nothing else. He didn’t want to eat dumplings with only beef filling. No matter how tasty they were, they would still be a bit too rich. Adding some green onions and onions would not only cut the richness but also improve the flavor.

“Haha, Dexter, is there anything else you need me to prepare?” George asked, laughing.

“No, no, just come straight over,” Liu Heming replied with a laugh.

Thinking about it, he found it quite amusing. It had been a long time since he had tasted Chinese food. Lately, he had either eaten with George’s family, had the “legendary” meal combo at home, or just eaten bread. He was really getting tired of it.

He would not transplant the little seedling for now. He could wait until the afternoon since the weather wasn’t too hot anyway. After lunch, he could also get George to help with some activities.

He strolled back into the house, took two steaks out of the fridge, and put them in the microwave to defrost.

This was one of the benefits of buying Bumper Farm—the old appliances here still worked. Although they weren’t the latest models, they had no issues with functionality.

After the steaks were defrosted, Liu Heming originally planned to put them in the meat grinder. But then he took the meat out again. There wasn’t much meat, so it seemed he could just chop the filling by hand. Although it wouldn’t be as fine as the grinding machine, hand-chopped filling tasted better.

He encountered a small problem: there was no kitchen knife like the one back home, only those long-bladed knives. They weren’t as convenient to wield as the kitchen knife from home, and he couldn’t use them as effectively. He had to make do since there wasn’t much meat anyway.

He spent a full hour chopping before George and his wife opened the door and came in. Goodness, George brought a whole bundle of green onions and a net bag full of onions. Megan carried the ginger and garlic, which was also a substantial amount.

“I’m really sorry you had to help with the preparations,” Liu Heming said apologetically again.

“We know you usually eat casually, so it’s no problem. Is there anything we can help with?” George asked curiously after putting the things down.

“No need. It’s just enough for the three of us. I can handle it by myself,” Liu Heming said with a smile.

“Dexter, why did you suddenly choose to use organic fertilizer?” George continued.

“I was thinking about the future development of this land. While BB fertilizer is quite good, it’s still not as good as organic fertilizer. Besides, if we use BB fertilizer, we’d need to add extra active ingredients, which would actually cost more. It’s better to just use organic fertilizer.”

George nodded. “It’s just that the cost will increase a lot. I’m worried you won’t be able to recover the expenses from this harvest. But, as you said, it will be very beneficial for the next planting.”

After peeling and chopping the green onions and onions, Liu Heming sprinkled the finely chopped pieces into the beef. Then he chopped a little ginger and garlic, added the seasonings, and began mixing.

He couldn’t cook anything fancy, but basic dishes like making dumplings were no challenge for him. While mixing, Liu Heming paused.

“Dexter, did you think of something again?” George, who was watching, asked curiously.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about the future of my ranch. By the way, it’s only rained once lightly so far. You should contact a water truck to irrigate your wheat field,” Liu Heming said, shaking his head as he looked at George.

“Alright, I was planning to wait a bit longer, but the weather forecast says there won’t be any rain for the next two weeks. Dexter, I sincerely thank you,” George said earnestly, looking at Liu Heming.

Water is the most essential thing for farming. It was true that he had helped Liu Heming some, but for his own farm, water now meant more than any other assistance.

He had wanted to mention it to Liu Heming a couple of days ago but was afraid Liu Heming had forgotten his earlier promise. Hearing Liu Heming bring it up again, he realized he had worried for nothing.

“Hey, let’s not be so formal with each other. You’ve been so good to me; we should help each other out. By the way, tomorrow you’ll have to take me to buy a used car. My old car is beyond repair,” Liu Heming said, shrugging.

“OK, I’ll definitely help you find the cheapest and best car tomorrow,” George said with a laugh and a nod.

“You go ahead with your work here. I’ll contact the fertilizer company. They should be able to supply us directly with organic fertilizer. I’ll do my best to get you a lower price.”

Liu Heming smiled and nodded, then began mixing the meat filling in the bowl again with focus. George was really a great comrade, always putting in effort to help him with his tasks.