Chapter 232: There will definitely be endless sesame candy in the dream

Fu Yuanshan walked towards the threshing ground carrying a bamboo basket with a newly woven sesame sieve in it.

"The mesh of this sieve needs to be finer," he said, poking his finger at the gaps between the bamboo strips, "otherwise the tiny sesame seeds will leak through."

Nian An jumped and skipped behind, the little mouse embroidered on the sesame bag swayed gently in the wind, and the silver longevity lock cast tiny rays of light in the morning light.

"Uncle, sugar," he shouted, holding up the bag. His tiger-toe boots stepped on the sesame stalks, startling a few grasshoppers and causing Xiaolan's grasshopper cage to shake gently on the stone table.

The sesame paste in the kitchen was steaming, and Jiang Jianhua added some malt sugar to it.

"You have to stir it evenly," she said, using a wooden spatula to make circles, pulling the sugar paste into transparent threads in the pot. "That way the sesame candy will be chewy and sweet."

Song Yushuang sat in front of the stove, adding firewood, and used the tongs to fiddle with the sparks in the stove. "I've boiled a pot of water. I'll make some sesame tea later to help you guys with the greasiness."

The kettle hummed, and white steam came out of the spout, mixed with the aroma of sesame, and drifted over the threshold.

In the threshing ground, Fu Yucheng was teaching Nian An to shake the sesame stalks.

"Grab this end and swing it hard like this," he demonstrated while holding Nian'an's little hand. The sesame seeds fell into the bamboo sieve with a rustling sound, like a handful of broken gold.

Nian An imitated the method well, but his strength was too weak. After shaking for a long time, only a few seeds fell down, which made Fu Yuanshan laugh: "Little ancestor, you are not shaking sesame seeds, you are tickling the sesame stalks."

Xiaolan squatted beside and weaved a sesame bag. She turned the bamboo strips in circles in her hands and soon she had woven a small bag the size of a palm.

"Second Aunt said the sesame seeds need to be placed in a breathable bag," she said, tying a red string around the bag, "otherwise they'll get damp and moldy."

Yun Tangyin came over with pumpkin flowers. The dew on the flowers soaked the bamboo basket. "We need to fry these flowers while they're fresh. We'll put more eggs in them for the children later."

Jiang Jianhua poured the cooked sesame candy into a wooden mold and scraped it flat with a scraper.

"It needs to air dry for half an hour," she sprinkled some roasted sesame seeds on the mold, "so it won't stick when you remove it from the mold."

Aunt Zhang came over to watch the fun, still clutching the sesame seeds Jiang Jianhua had given her. "The tiger head on the mold is really lively. When the candy is ready, I'm going to ask for a piece for my grandson as a toy."

Jiang Jianhua responded with a smile: "I will definitely leave you the biggest piece for your grandson to nibble on."

The midday sun made the bamboo sieve hot, and Fu Yuanshan collected the sesame seeds into a ceramic jar.

"These sesame seeds must be sealed tightly," he said, covering the mouth of the jar with a cloth. "Save them for making sesame paste and sesame candy. They'll last you all winter."

Nian An ran over holding a piece of sesame candy that had just been removed from the mold. The tiger pattern on the candy was chipped off by his nibbling, and the sesame residue was stuck to the tiger's bellyband, like adding a layer of fluff to the golden tiger pattern.

"Eat slowly," Fu Yucheng handed him a bowl of sesame tea, "Drink some tea and rinse your mouth. Be careful not to get the sugar stuck to your teeth."

When Yun Tangyin's pumpkin flower scrambled eggs were served, the golden flowers were coated in egg liquid, and the fragrance made Nian An smack his lips.

"You need to chew this flower more carefully," she put a chopstick into Nian'an's bowl, "there are fine hairs inside, and if you don't chew it thoroughly, it will sting your throat."

Xiaolan bit her sesame candy and nodded: "My mother said that pumpkin flowers are the best of vegetables. Eating them can make you beautiful."

Song Yushuang was sitting next to him sewing shoe soles. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Our Xiaolan is already pretty enough. If she eats more, she will become a fairy."

When Fu Yucheng was carrying a hoe to the field, he passed by Zhou Desheng's vegetable field and saw that his sesame seeds were also ripe.

"Desheng, do you want some help harvesting your sesame seeds?" he called across the fence. "I just finished harvesting mine, so I'm free now."

Zhou Desheng poked his head out of the house and said, "That's great! I was just worried that I had no one to help me. I'll ask my wife to make some sesame cakes tonight and send some to the children."

Fu Yucheng smiled and waved his hand: "No need for the cake, just leave some sesame seeds for me. My Nian'an loves sesame candy."

The evening glow dyed the ceramic jar orange-red. Jiang Jianhua scooped out a bowl of sesame seeds from the jar, intending to make sesame paste.

"These sesame seeds need to be washed three times," she said, pouring them into the mortar. "Otherwise, there will be sand in them and they will hurt."

Nian'an squatted beside and watched, his little hands drawing circles on the edge of the stone mortar. The shadow of the silver longevity lock was cast on the sesame seeds, like a moving silver thread.

"I'll make you sesame paste later," Jiang Jianhua said, pounding the sesame seeds with a wooden mallet. "Put some rock sugar in it. It'll be sweet enough to stick to your mouth."

The dinner table was filled with sesame cakes, scrambled eggs with pumpkin flowers, dried eggplant, and freshly made sesame paste.

Nian An held the bowl of porridge and drank it until his face was covered with it. A little black sesame seeds got on the tip of his nose, like a small black mole.

Xiaolan handed him a handkerchief and said, "Nian'an has turned into a little cat."

Nian An, however, raised the spoon and put the paste into her mouth: "Tian, ​​Lan, drink it."

Xiaolan opened her mouth to catch it, and the two of them laughed so hard that the sesame paste almost spilled out.

As the moonlight climbed up to the top of the locust tree, Jiang Jianhua was sewing a sesame pillow for Nian An.

"This pillow needs to be half full," she said, stuffing sesame shells into the pillowcase. "If it's too full, it'll hurt your head, and if it's too empty, it won't be warm."

Song Yushuang helped her thread the needle, passing the thread through the slits in the sesame shells. "The soles of my shoes are almost done. Once they are paired with sesame pillows, Nian An and I will definitely be warm when we sleep in winter."

Yun Tangyin was clearing the dishes. When she heard this, she smiled and said, "I'll make some sesame salt tomorrow to go with the porridge. I guarantee Nian'an will drink a couple more bowls."

Fu Yucheng and Fu Yuanshan sat in the yard smoking, the flickering light of their pipes reflecting on the sesame jar in the corner.

"Let's dig sweet potatoes tomorrow," Fu Yucheng knocked off the ash from his cigarette, "and make some sweet potato puree and sesame candy to give to the children as snacks."

Fu Yuanshan nodded: "I will weave a sweet potato basket to hold the sweet potatoes I dug, so as not to scratch the skin."

The lingering aroma of sesame paste wafted from the kitchen, mixed with the croaking of frogs, filling the yard, as if wrapping this ordinary day with a layer of honey.

Nian An was lying on the small bed holding a sesame pillow, with a piece of uneaten sesame candy in his hand.

"Sugar, Tiger," he mumbled, his eyelids gradually drooping.

Jiang Jianhua covered him with a thin blanket and gently blew out the oil lamp: "Go to sleep, you will definitely have endless sesame candies to eat in your dreams."

The only things left in the house were moonlight and the sound of the child's even breathing. The night in the locust tree courtyard was like a bowl of thick sesame paste, wrapped in the smell of fireworks all over the yard, slowly settling into the most peaceful feeling.

As soon as the sky brightened, Nian An was awakened by the sound of a bamboo basket outside the window.

He sat up holding a sesame pillow, his nose still stained with sesame paste residue from last night. Suddenly he remembered something and ran barefoot to the yard.

Fu Yuanshan was wrapping a red string around a newly woven sweet potato basket. The bamboo silk along the edge of the basket had been polished to a shine. "Little ancestor, why aren't you wearing shoes again? Be careful not to step on bamboo shavings and get your feet pricked."

The sweet aroma of sweet potatoes wafted through the kitchen. Jiang Jianhua poured the steamed sweet potatoes into the stone mortar and hit it with a wooden mallet, splashing golden mashed potatoes.

"You have to beat it until it becomes sticky," she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead, "so that it's sticky enough when mixed with sesame candy."

Song Yushuang sat in front of the stove adding firewood. The firelight made her white hair at the temples gleam silver. "I warmed up a few soft-boiled eggs. I'll give them to the children with sweet potatoes later. The sweet and fragrant combination is just right."

Fu Yucheng was carrying a hoe and walking towards the sweet potato field. When he passed the corner of the yard, he kicked a sesame bag.

"This must have been dropped by Nian'an last night," he picked up the bag and shook it, and the sesame seeds fell on the blue bricks, like a handful of broken stars.

Nian An chased out in his tiger-head boots, his sesame pillow rustling in his arms: "Dad, candy, sweet potatoes."

Fu Yucheng smiled and put him on his shoulders: "Go dig the biggest sweet potato and make a tiger-shaped cake. It's sweeter than sesame candy."