kingnovel Chapter 1376 Let's make dried fruit (Part 2)
Chapter 1376 Let's make dried fruit (Part 2)
Looking at the cookies in front of him, Shin-chan picked one up: "I'll try them out first~ Ugh~... They're not good..."
"Of course," Mengya said, rolling her eyes at Xiaoxin.
"What about the others?" Shin-chan picked up a piece of orange: "Wow~ delicious~"
"Really? I'll try it too." Mengya was also excited and picked it up to eat.
"Hmm, although it's not quite real dried fruit yet, the moisture content is just right, so it's not bad to eat it right now."
"...But, after all, we're making dried fruit. Do you really think it's okay to eat it like this?" Mingxu looked at them helplessly. If nothing unexpected happened, these dried fruits would probably be gone.
"Woof woof woof!" Little White barked at them immediately upon hearing this.
"Huh? We can't eat it? We weren't stealing any, we were just tasting it, so it's okay. Honestly, the deputy commander should listen to the commander properly." Xiaoxin scolded Xiaobai, who immediately drooped his head. Mingxu patted Xiaobai's head and said, "It's alright, it's all gone anyway, it's Xiaoxin's fault."
"..." Mengya's expression immediately turned awkward. Looking at Xiaoxin, she shamelessly said, "Then let's try the kiwi."
She picked up a piece and said, "Hmm, this is perfect as a snack!"
"..." Watching them take turns eating, Mingxu remained calm. Before long, only a few pieces of dried fruit remained. At this moment, they realized, "Ah, we accidentally ate too much."
"I'll get scolded if my mom finds out."
"Xiao Xu..." They then noticed him, looked at Ming Xu, and tried to drag someone down with them.
However, Mingxu did a backflip to escape Mengya's grasp: "Figure it out yourself~ I didn't eat any!"
"..." The two exchanged a glance, walked to the kitchen, and looked at the refrigerator: "Uh, there's no fruit left..."
"How to do?"
Xiao Xin searched around and found several cans of fruit: "Meng Ya! I found them!"
"Oh, but that's canned fruit, isn't it?" Mengya hesitated. "You're not planning to dry canned fruit into dried fruit, are you?"
"I advise you not to take things randomly, Mommy knows your little bottom might really get a sore spot~"
"Ah! Now we have no choice but to charge out!"
“We’re going all out,” Mingxu said casually, looking at Xiaoxin.
Shin-chan, shameless as ever, poured it out, but...
Wow! It looks delicious.
"Uh, yeah, yeah..." The two exchanged a glance, resigned to their fate.
"..." Mingxu silently took a picture; this was evidence of the crime.
Not long after, Misae returned home and looked at the two people in front of her who had turned into gluttons. She fell silent and said, "Ah~ so you opened a can to eat."
"Ah! This is because..." When Mengya and the others saw Meiya, they were already feeling weak.
"I knew you would do this!" Misae angrily slammed her fist down, while Shin-chan and Momoko stood there as punishment, their heads covered in gourd-like bumps.
That evening, when Hiroshi returned home and heard the news, he burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you guys ate it all!"
"Because of that, we went and bought some new fruit. I'm sorry~" Mengya apologized to Guangzhi. After being punished by standing in the corner, they rushed off to buy more fruit.
"How does it taste?" Hiroshi asked curiously.
"Um, it's a bit too early," Shin-chan thought for a moment and said.
"Isn't that obvious? Ugh, when will we finally get to eat the finished product?" Misae said, somewhat disappointed.
"If you want it to be quick, just bake it in the oven for a while," Mingxu said calmly, looking at them.
"Huh?" The group was taken aback, then their lips twitched: "Xiao Xu, you knew from the beginning?"
“Yes, but since you want it air-dried naturally, then let’s do it naturally,” Mingxu said, shrugging.
"..." Then, following Mingxu's instructions, they put the dried fruit in the oven and baked it.
The oven was set to a low temperature. Hiroshi carefully arranged the freshly sliced fruit on the baking tray, leaving space between them. "It should be ready soon, right?" Misae peered through the oven door, her eyes wide, like a little hamster waiting to be fed. Shin-chan and Yumeya also gathered around. Clearly, the afternoon's lesson hadn't affected them, but their craving for the dried fruit had overcome the pain.
"According to Xiaoxu, it will probably take three or four hours," Guangzhi said while wiping his sweat. "However, slow baking at a low temperature is the only way to preserve the sweetness of the fruit."
"Three or four hours!" Misae wailed. "It's faster than sunbathing, but it still feels so long!"
Mingxu sat on the sofa in the living room, holding a book, occasionally glancing up at the kitchen. Xiaobai lay in his yard, its tail idly swishing, seemingly also anticipating the birth of the dried fruit.
Xiao Kui was placed aside and played with building blocks, babbling away, showing little interest in the adults' antics.
Time passed slowly, and a sweet fruity aroma began to fill the kitchen. First came the fresh scent of apples, followed by the unique sweet and sour taste of kiwi, and then the rich aroma of banana chips. All the smells blended together and wafted through the living room.
"Wow—it smells so good!" Shin-chan sniffed hard, his mouth practically watering. "Is it ready yet?" He ran to the oven, standing on tiptoe to try and open it.
"No, no!" Hiroshi quickly stopped him. "It's not time yet. If we open it now, all our efforts will be wasted!"
"But...but the smell keeps tempting me!" Shin-chan clutched his stomach, twisting his body exaggeratedly.
Mengya nodded in agreement: "Yeah, yeah, sis, can we try a small piece first? Just a small piece!" She looked at Meiya pitifully, just like Shin-chan.
Misae was also wavering, but when she thought about what happened that afternoon, she put on a stern face: "No! No one is allowed to touch it! Just bear with it a little longer!" As she said this, her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the oven, and her throat moved slightly.
About an hour later, Hiroshi checked the time and finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright! That should be about right!"
"Yay!" Xiaoxin and Mengya cheered at the same time, their eyes sparkling like two puppies waiting for their meal.
Hiroshi carefully opened the oven door, and an even richer, more enticing aroma wafted out. The fruit slices in the baking tray had become shriveled and darker in color, with slightly browned edges, looking just like the dried fruit sold in supermarkets!
"Wow! It worked!" Misae exclaimed in surprise, her previous gloom completely gone.
Hiroshi used tongs to pick out the dried fruit piece by piece and placed them on a plate to cool. Shin-chan and Yumeya eagerly crowded around, craning their necks.
"Can we eat now? Can we eat now?" Shin-chan asked anxiously.
"Wait a little longer, they're very hot right out of the oven," Hiroshi said with a smile.
After waiting for the dried fruit to cool down a bit, Shin-chan immediately reached out, grabbed a piece of dried apple, and stuffed it into his mouth: "Mmm—! It tastes even better than the ones from the supermarket! It tastes like sunshine!"
Although it was made in an oven, in Shin-chan's eyes, this is the taste of success.
Mengya also picked up a piece of dried kiwi: "It really is! It's sweet and sour, and the texture is just right!"
Misae tasted a piece and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad. It seems we do have a talent for making dried fruit! It's just a pity about all the fresh fruit that was eaten before."
She glared at Xiaoxin and Mengya, who immediately lowered their heads and pretended to be focused on eating dried fruit.
Seeing the family enjoying themselves, Hiroshi picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, a happy smile on his face: "As long as everyone is happy, that's all that matters."
(*￣︶￣)~