Page 20 of Dragons & Dumplings

"I can help tell Mama about your love, if you want," I offer.

Veronica laughs and leans back in her seat. "Oh no, absolutely not. I don't even know if it's going to last, there's no reason to tell anyone."

"Well, if you need help, I can...do something? I'm not really sure."

"Maybe just talk about pastries really loudly if the subject ever comes up."

"I'm sure I can manage that," I promise.

"Good." She flashes me a grateful smile that I hope means she appreciates the little I can do. I don't really understand the predicament she's found herself in, but I love my sister, and I'll do everything I can to make sure she doesn't suffer for it.

Chapter 9

The box with the salted eggs in it sits in the middle of the table. I've no idea what to expect when we open them, but I'm excited to find out, especially as they're like nothing I've had before.

"Have you used a method like this on anything else?" I ask Nate as he finishes putting away a couple of bowls.

"No, it's new to me. It uses a lot more salt than most of the methods we use here."

"Hmm, it does seem a bit wasteful."

He shrugs. "We'll bake it after we're done and it can still be used for something. Maybe even more salted egg yolks if they're good."

"Father likes things salty, maybe he'll enjoy a custard like this," I muse.

"He might," Nate responds, setting a bowl of water down in front of me. "Want to do the honours?"

I'm sure my entire face lights up in response. I wipe away some of the salt and pull out one of the egg yolks. It's a vibrant orange and firm to the touch, though it still has a little bounce. Definitely not something I'm used to when it comes to egg yolks.

I knock off as much of the salt as I can and carefully lower it into the water to wash it. I half expect it to break, but it doesn't.

"It's not like I thought it would be," I say to Nate, slipping it into his hand.

A curious expression crosses his face as he examines it. "It isn't."

"How many do we need?" I ask as I clean the second one.

"Just two, but if you wash them all, we can put the others back in the icehouse. I might be able to get another recipe from Lady An's cook if we like this one."

I nod eagerly and keep washing off the rest of the egg yolks. A couple of them are a bit misshapen, but others look perfectly round with the bright orange I'd only ever expect from dried apricots.

Nate slides a pot towards me for the others, and I put them inside carefully, satisfied with how they've come out.

He takes two of them and puts them in a small pot. "I borrowed a steamer from Lady An's cook," he says, gesturing to the wicker-like basket, but that can't be right because it doesn't look dry enough.

"What's it made of?"

"She said it was bamboo."

"I have no idea what that is."

"A plant from Shengda, I think. I used one earlier, and I like it. I was going to ask Chef Martina if she thought we could buy some from the delegation."

"That's a good idea. If they're good, anyway."

Steam is already rising through the slats in the basket, and Nate wastes no time putting the bowl in it and closing the lid. He flips one of the hourglasses, and the waiting begins.

While the salted egg yolks steam, we collect several of the other ingredients we need to make a custard. It's almost secondnature to me at this point, it's only the incorporation of the new ingredient that I'm mostly curious about.

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