I grew up in the countryside. At around 10 years old, I began to learn cooking. The first skill I mastered was making dough（面团）. Since my parents often came home l, a prepared dough would help my family have supper sooner. I thought it would be e because I often saw my mum do it — just mix water and flour, right? Not quite! It turned out to be a m for a while. First I made the dough too soft. Then I made it too hard. But as I kept trying, I learned the trick.
Later, I cooked fried dishes and things like dumplings and I f in love with cooking. It's a good way to relax. More importantly, thanks to my cooking skill, I live better d the COVID-19 pandemic. Now working at home, I cook every meal instead of ordering takeout. It s money and I don't have to wait for delivery drivers to feed me.
Besides cooking, I did a lot of f work in my childhood. I got to know how to plant vegetables. T it was hard work, the experience taught me things that many of my friends still don't know. For example, the part of a potato that has sprouts（芽）can be planted as a seed. I once discussed this with my friends from the city. They thought it was a p that they didn't have the chance to learn these things in their lives.
Some might say we can learn these things from textbooks. But it can't compare to the j of learning firsthand, watching plants blossom and grow. It brings a new way to look at the world.
