Chapter 29: Dumplings are the Best

Making the dough, rolling the wrappers, and wrapping the dumplings—George and Megan watched the whole process and gave Liu Heming big thumbs up. To them, Liu Heming’s hands were simply amazing.

As the small, ingot-shaped dumplings slid into the boiling pot, Liu Heming handed the important task of watching the pot to an eager Megan.

Cooking the dumplings wasn’t the end; there was still the dipping sauce. Garlic sauce was essential, but he also fried a small amount of chili oil. He usually ate dumplings with just garlic sauce, but today he was treating George and his wife, so he wasn’t sure if they’d want to try other flavors.

Three large plates of steaming dumplings were brought to the table. The playful George didn’t mind the heat at all and immediately stabbed one with a fork, eating it from a small plate.

“Oh my, Dexter, this is really wonderful. It doesn’t feel greasy at all, and I never thought green onions could taste so delicious,” George said with an amazed look after finishing it in just a few bites.

“George, I’m not bragging,” Liu Heming said with a smile. “Although people here really praise those Michelin Three-Star restaurants, and most of those restaurants serve Western food, I think many of our Chinese dishes are just as good as theirs.”

“We’re a bit busy now, but after we finish our work here, I’ll go to Chinatown or a Chinese supermarket to buy some authentic seasonings and let you try more dishes.”

“Even with these dumplings, you can mix many different fillings. Try them with these dipping sauces and see which flavor you like best.”

After saying this, Liu Heming put some garlic sauce, vinegar, and chili oil into George’s small plate.

At that moment, George turned into a playful old child. He lightly dipped his fork into each sauce and tasted them one by one. When he tasted the chili oil, it was clearly spicy, and sweat even appeared on his forehead, but he actually liked the taste.

Megan didn’t hold back either; her favorite was the garlic sauce with vinegar. Even though the dumplings were hot and they were eating too fast, they didn’t slow down at all.

People often say that dumplings are the best food—and that’s no joke. The deliciousness of dumplings has been proven over time. Although Liu Heming’s skills were not the best, George and Megan had never eaten them before. Plus, because the filling had green onions and onions, it wasn’t greasy at all.

“Burp… Dexter, can we have dumplings again tomorrow?” George asked, full from his large plate plus the extra few Liu Heming had given him.

“Haha, even the best food shouldn’t be eaten too often, or you’ll get tired of it,” Liu Heming said with a laugh.

“Dexter, the dumplings were really amazing. I feel like I haven’t eaten this much in a long time,” George praised, then looked at Megan. “Honey, I’m not saying your cooking isn’t good, but I think I could still eat a few more dumplings today.”

“Even though I feel like I’m full up to my neck, I still want to eat a few more. I really want to try the other flavors of dumplings, Dexter. Can we have them again tomorrow?”

“George, we have important things to do tomorrow. You need to help me buy a used car that runs, and you also need to arrange for the water truck to come and get water,” Liu Heming said with a shrug.

“And today, there’s a very important task I need your help with. The vegetable seedlings in my nursery pool need to be transplanted. Today, I’m going to need both you and Megan.”

“OK, leave it to us. It’s easy,” George said, waving his hand.

“Dexter, the problem with our Xiangshui Town is that there are too few people now. Otherwise, you could totally open a Chinese restaurant here,” Megan said with some regret.

“Unfortunately, there are hardly any people around, and the truck drivers passing by don’t have much time to stop and enjoy such delicious food.”

“George, Megan, our Xiangshui Town will get better slowly. Not just better, but it will be better than ever before,” Liu Heming said, smiling at them.

“George, you need to take good care of the Land in town now. Even though it’s not worth much now, with our efforts, we can revive Xiangshui Town. When that happens, anyone who wants to settle in our Xiangshui Town will need approval from our town committee.”

“Haha, Dexter, I really hope to see that day, when our black bear roars again,” George said excitedly, raising the bowl of dumpling soup beside him.

“Uh… why make the black bear roar again?” Liu Heming asked curiously.

“The black bear is the mascot of our Xiangshui Town. There’s an old legend that a man went hunting in the mountains but got hurt. A black bear dragged him back to its cave,” Megan said with a smile.

“He thought the black bear was going to eat him for dinner, but instead, the bear ignored him and shared its honey with him, which saved his life.”

“After that, the man lived here and stopped anyone from going into the mountains to hunt bears. Slowly, more people came to live here, and that’s how Xiangshui Town was formed. A long time ago, Xiangshui Town was actually called Bear Town.”

“Oh my, is that true?” Liu Heming asked in surprise.

“It’s just a legend—no one knows if it’s true. But the town really was called Bear Town before. It changed to Xiangshui Town after the Xiangshui River appeared,” George nodded.

“One thing is certain, though: in the past, even if black bears came into town looking for food, they never attacked humans. But back then, the environment here was much better. Now, the Forest is mostly taken over by wild wolves, and we haven’t seen free-roaming black bears in a long time.”

Liu Heming nodded. People say Montana has more wildlife than people, but around here, other wild animals are rarely seen.

Don’t think animals are dumb; they are the most sensitive to changes in the Land. If they feel a place is no longer suitable for living, they will move away.

During this time, when he rested at night, maybe because he got used to it, he felt that even the howling of wolves had become less frequent. Perhaps the wolf packs here were expanding their range because there wasn’t enough food.

“Alright, Dexter, we’ve rested enough. Let’s hurry and plant those vegetables of yours in the ground. That way, we won’t have to grow as much this year,” George said, standing up.

He already considered Liu Heming as family and had claimed the vegetables for the whole year.