[Ding-dong, hidden quest—cost 2000 points—completed. Bonus reward: new crop: white sesame seeds.]

Can I get rewards by spending points?

It seems to be designed to encourage the host to spend more points, thus preventing the accumulation of too many points that are ultimately useless.

But I'm really lucky!

I actually received sesame seeds!

"Sesame seeds can be pressed for oil or eaten directly. They can be added to chili oil to enhance the aroma or to desserts to add layers of flavor."

If you add sesame seeds to the syrup and then coat the candied hawthorn with it, you'll get an extra layer of unique aroma on top of the fruit's sourness and the candy's crisp sweetness when you chew it.

It will greatly enhance the appeal of candied hawthorn.

You can also stir-fry it until fragrant, then make it into sesame paste. You can use it to mix with vegetables, noodles, hot pot, or steamed buns; it tastes good no matter how you eat it.

It's a pity that the number of free items is not large, and they are not seeds, so they cannot be planted.

Therefore, it is purely a consumable product.

However, this doesn't really affect anything, since Su Yun'er had already decided to stop selling candied hawthorns yesterday.

The candied hawthorn business that quickly earned Su Yun'er her first pot of gold had to temporarily withdraw from Su Yun'er's business stage because the production method was too easily cracked.

but……

I thought of what happened with He Liu this morning.

He Liu said that her neighbor wanted to buy candied hawthorns for her child.

Logically, most villagers should know about Su Yun'er selling candied hawthorns in the city a few days ago, so they should have heard about the excellent taste of the candied hawthorns and candied balls.

However, the main reason why I haven't encountered anyone from my village buying from me is probably the price.

Ten coins for a string of candied hawthorns is indeed not cheap for a family struggling to make ends meet.

After all, the candied hawthorn that you buy for ten coins can only be eaten by one person to satisfy their craving, but the vegetables and staple foods that you can buy for ten coins can feed several people in the family.

Su Yun'er sat beside the spatial world, basking in the sun within, lost in thought.

“Since the villagers also have a demand for buying it, and the price is a major reason that keeps them away, if I sell it at a low price, I can increase the sales of candied hawthorns and candied balls in the village to a certain extent. Although the income is not much, it is still income. Although I have enough money to ensure that my family will not be poor, having an income is better than sitting around and eating away my savings.”

"Moreover, there is no need for too many types of candied hawthorn. Just the basics, such as candied hawthorn, candied yam, or hawthorn with yam, will suffice."

Having made up her mind, Su Yun'er immediately took action.

The hawthorns at home had been used up, so Su Yun'er decided to go into the mountains to pick some more.

Actually, it wasn't that Su Yun'er didn't want to pick more at once, but rather that the fruits on the trees didn't all ripen at the same time; they would ripen at different times. Therefore, Su Yun'er had to pick them one at a time.

The temperature in the mountains changes rapidly; in just a few days, Su Yun'er felt that the temperature in the mountains was lower than before.

When they arrived at the hawthorn tree, Su Yun'er noticed that the fruits that hadn't fully ripened on the tree last time hadn't ripened much this time.

"It seems there won't be many fruits left to use in the future."

Having harvested everything that could be gathered, Su Yun'er rubbed her hands together and walked out of the woods.

Just as I returned to the village entrance, I ran into Aunt Song, who was out fetching water.

As soon as Su Yun'er saw Aunt Song, she waved to her. Aunt Song, who also saw Su Yun'er, smiled and stood there waiting for her, carrying her water buckets and shoulder pole.

"Did you go into the mountains to pick fruit again?"

Su Yun'er nodded, her nose slightly red from the cold.

"Your skills in making those candied balls and candied hawthorns are really good. My eldest grandson loves them. When he saw the big bag his dad brought back today, he was so happy he almost jumped off the roof. It's just that it cost you money."

"Aunt Song, you're being too polite," Su Yun'er said, pouting and shaking her head, displeased with such words.

“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything. I heard about what happened at Lingyue Tower today. If you ask me, you did the right thing, absolutely the right thing. When someone bullies you, you have to stand up for yourself. If you just stay silent and swallow your anger, everyone will bully you in the future,” said Aunt Song.

“Yes, you’re right. By the way,” Su Yun’er suddenly said, “I got something good today and I’m planning to make a new kind of candied hawthorn. Aunt Song said Zixing likes it, so why don’t you bring him to my house? He can have dinner at my house tonight. We’re having stewed mutton today; it’s so cold, it’ll warm us up.”

"Lamb? Oh dear, that's such an expensive thing. You and your mother-in-law and your children can eat it. We won't bother you." Aunt Song said with a hearty laugh.

"That's really pointless. It's like you're slapping me in the face." Su Yun'er pretended to be angry. "Seriously, come on, let's have some fun. Even if you don't eat, let the child try something new and get some nutrition."

Su Yun'er kept inviting her, and after talking about it all the way, Aunt Song finally agreed.

After making the appointment with Aunt Song, Su Yun'er started getting busy as soon as she got home.

She first stewed the lamb chops, which had been soaked to remove the blood, in water with only a few slices of ginger and scallions in the pot. After it boiled, she skimmed off the foam and simmered it over low heat.

Then, she started making sesame candied hawthorn and hawthorn glutinous rice candied hawthorn.

Making sesame candied hawthorn is quite simple. Just sprinkle some roasted white sesame seeds on the sugar syrup while it's cooking, and then coat the hawthorn skewers with it.

As for the sesame seeds, Su Yun'er set aside one-fifth of the reward for later use, and after roasting the rest, she grabbed a handful, which was enough to make candied hawthorns.

The hawthorn and glutinous rice candied hawthorn skewers don't actually contain glutinous rice, but rather rice harvested from elsewhere in the world. While rice doesn't have the same stickiness as glutinous rice, the grains can become sticky after being steamed and repeatedly pounded.

Su Yun'er took the sticky rice that had been pounded and formed it into balls about the size of hawthorns. Then she cut a hawthorn in half, removed the seeds, stuffed a rice ball in the middle, skewered it, coated it with syrup, and it was done.

Su Yun'er didn't make many of these two items, just four or five skewers of each, which was enough.

After making the candied hawthorns, Su Yun'er used the small stone mill in her space to grind the remaining roasted sesame seeds into a thick sesame paste.

The aroma of sesame paste is so penetrating; just one whiff and you feel like your entire soul is filled with the fragrance of sesame.

As a sesame paste lover, Su Yun'er was very satisfied.

Since she planned to eat the stewed lamb chops and then have some vegetables cooked in the broth as a hot pot, Su Yun'er prepared several kinds of vegetables.

White radish, romaine lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, carrots, and potatoes, and of course, the indispensable white tofu that was just made at noon.

We have meat and vegetables, but we're missing some staple food. What should we eat?