Jiang Xi took out a spoon, dipped it in, and sipped it lightly.

It's sweet, you could say it's a very sweet taste.

Jiang Xi's eyes narrowed with happiness at the sight of just one bite.

She said mysteriously, "Du Ling, come here quickly."

Du Ling walked over with a curious look on her face, and Jiang Xi changed the spoon again, scooped up a spoonful of syrup and handed it to her.

He said to her expectantly, "Try it."

Du Ling nodded, took a small bite cautiously, and then her eyes widened as she looked at the sugar syrup on the spoon: "Delicious, very delicious."

Jiang Xi said with a smile, "It's sweet, this is sugar."

Du Ling ate all the syrup off the spoon: "The sugar is so delicious." It was sweeter than any fruit she had ever eaten.

Continue simmering the remaining sugar ginger until only the bottom of the pot remains, at which point tiny bubbles will appear when you scoop it up with a spatula.

Jiang Xi was afraid that if it was cooked any longer, it would turn into caramel, so she quickly scooped it out and put it in a bowl.

After working for half an afternoon, from chopping to cooking, using up almost a whole basket of sweet potatoes, I only managed to make a little over half a bowl of syrup.

Although she was a bit tired, Jiang Xi was still very happy and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

She didn't expect that obtaining the sugar source would be so smooth, much safer and faster than going out to collect honey.

With the sugar in hand, Jiang Xi thought for a moment and decided to make a dessert.

Sweet potatoes cooked in sand.

They don't have sweet potatoes, but they have root potatoes. Although root potatoes themselves aren't sweet, the sweetness of the syrup is enough.

The only difficulty is that when making sweet potatoes, you need to fry them in oil first. Nowadays, they eat animal fat and are reluctant to use it even for stir-frying, let alone frying.

After thinking it over, Jiang Xi thought of roasted potatoes from the South. Because potatoes contain starch, when they are cut into strips and roasted over a fire, a hard skin forms on the surface.

The texture of root potatoes and potatoes is somewhat similar, so she thought she might as well give it a try.

Since it wasn't completely dark yet and there was no rush to prepare dinner, Jiang Xi took Du Ling and had Du Ling wash and cut the ingredients for dinner.

Jiang Xi first fetched some firewood and heated the kiln outside the kitchen for a while. Once it was hot enough, she put the potato fries, cut into thumb-thick pieces, inside.

After baking for about half an hour, the surface of the sweet potato had turned slightly yellow when it was taken out.

Jiang Xi picked out a large piece and took a bite. Just as she expected, the outside was already somewhat crispy, but the inside was very soft. If she ate it directly, it would feel a bit dry, but this level of firmness was just right, firm enough so that it wouldn't break when stir-fried in a pan.

So she started cooking the sugar in a pot, and Jiang Xi even changed to a frying pan.

Simmer the syrup over low heat until softened, then add the baked fries. The fries immediately mix with the syrup, becoming coated and enveloped in the reddish-brown syrup, giving off an enticing orange-yellow color, and filling the house with the aroma of caramel.

Only then did Jiang Xi realize something.

She remembered that this sweet potato dish required white sugar, but whether she could make the sweet potato syrup properly was still a question. What if she overcooked it and it turned black and bitter?

Why not just make candied sweet potatoes instead?

Thinking this, Jiang Xi quickly took the earthenware pot down. Then she took out a clean plate and poured the candied sweet potatoes into it.

At this moment, the syrup was still soft, and Jiang Xi picked up a piece with her chopsticks.

The strands of sugar on the fries foreshadowed her success.

"It's a success, Du Ling, it's a success!" Jiang Xi excitedly announced the good news to her.

Thinking of the sweetness from earlier, Du Ling looked at the golden dish in front of her and unconsciously licked her lips.

Jiang Xi quickly brought the first piece of sweet potato to her mouth.

"Just a small sip, it's a bit hot."

With Jiang Xi's encouraging gaze, Du Ling took a small bite.

The first taste is sweet, followed by the softness of the sweet potato, an indescribable sweet and soft texture.

She gave a thumbs-up, revealing two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth, and said quickly, "The candy is delicious... the sweet potato is delicious."

Seeing her adorable appearance, Jiang Xi fed her the other half of the piece.

She then picked up a piece to taste, and her eyes lit up at first, but then she became somewhat disappointed.

It was delicious, indeed sweet and sticky. However, having tasted my grandmother's real candied sweet potatoes before, I felt that my own version was somewhat different from the one in my memory; the sweet potatoes weren't sweet enough.

But since they came here, they have reduced their intake of sweets, and the only source of sweetness is fruit. Eating strong sweetness again still makes them feel extremely happy.

She could already picture the surprised and delighted expressions on Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an's faces when they tasted this dish.

Worried that the sweet potato would cool down too quickly, she covered it with a basin and then began preparing dinner.

Steamed pork belly with radish greens, stir-fried with wild scallions, wood ear mushrooms, and eggs—a delicious country-style dish—and a plate of porcini mushrooms stir-fried with lard.

I also made a dish called "Grassroots".

The grass roots were the ones Du Ling had collected last time. They were white grass roots that tasted crisp and sweet. Jiang Xi had gone to see them with Du Ling. They were a plant similar to reeds, but with much smaller leaves and thinner roots.

No one knew what it was called, so everyone subconsciously called it grass root. After being stir-fried, it was crisp and refreshing, and everyone loved to eat it.

The candied sweet potato dish was indeed a hit with everyone in the evening, especially Yan Jin'an.

As he ate, he praised, "Jiang Xi, your cooking skills are amazing! How did you come up with this dish? And you actually managed to cook the sugar out! It seems I won't have to risk getting stung by bees to steal beehives anymore."

The memory of the last time was so vivid that he now avoids beehives whenever he sees one.

As Jiang Xi ate the sweet candied sweet potato, she quickly said, "We planted a lot of sweet potatoes this year, and they're sprouting up one after another. You mustn't bother the bees anymore."

Yan Zheng nodded quickly upon hearing this.

Everyone chatted and laughed, enjoying a very relaxed and pleasant meal.

After dinner, Jiang Xi and Du Ling took a bath. When they returned, the moon was bright and the stars were few. The whole village and forest were exceptionally bright under the moonlight. Jiang Xi saw a person standing at the entrance of the village from afar.

The man coughed twice, and Jiang Xi quickly ran over and hugged his waist, her bright eyes asking him, "Did you come to pick me up?"

Yan Zheng touched her half-dry hair, took out a towel and dried it for her: "Okay, I'm here to pick you up, go back now."

"And Du Ling." As she spoke, she turned around and looked, but Du Ling was nowhere to be seen. The little girl had already run back to her own courtyard.

Jiang Xi glanced at Yan Zheng secretly, and in the blink of an eye, a figure pressed down on him. One hand gripped the back of his neck, and the other encircled his slender waist. The unique scent of a man filled his nostrils.

Perhaps it was because she had just taken a shower and the air was still damp, or perhaps it was because the kiss had been too deep, but Jiang Xi couldn't help but tremble slightly.

A warm breath reached her ear.

"I've already taken a shower, is it okay tonight?"