Chapter 379 A Surprise for the Little One
After a busy time, Lin Anan was granted a week's rest. Except for special work, she could have a good rest at home.
The photo of her, Commander Zheng and others was posted on the military district’s propaganda column, and the great achievements at the negotiation table that day were also spread.
Hey! It's on the headlines again!
The bulletin board was crowded with people, and the newly posted group photo was glistening in the sun - Commander Zheng was standing in the center, smiling heartily, Lin Anan was wearing a neat military uniform, his eyes were firm and bright, surrounded by the R&D personnel of 7125 and 702 wheat and proud officers, and everyone's mouth was almost grinning to his ears.
"See? Scholars are really good. They beat the foreign devils away without using any weapons!"
"Comrade Lin An'an is really amazing! She is already working with the army commander. What will happen in the future?"
"I heard that she could scold even the foreigners so hard that they dared not say a word! Tell me, why didn't I think she was so good at talking normally?"
"Go away, do you think everyone is like you? You talk nonsense all day long, gossiping about other people's affairs. They all speak a foreign language."
"So children still have to study. Only with knowledge can they have abilities."
Several aunts crowded at the front, craning their necks to point at the photos and talk.
Lin Anan was lying on a recliner at this time, which was shaking slightly, with half of her body basking in the sun and the other half hidden in the shadow under the eaves.
With one hand hanging down, he could just touch the little dog's head. He hooked his fingers subconsciously and stroked the fur in rhythm with the movement of the chair.
"An An, the oven is ready for you." Chu Mingzhou clapped his hands and stood up.
During the Chinese New Year last year, Aunt Chu built a small oven on the side of the kitchen to make beggar's chicken. This time, Lin Anan was rewarded with a large bag of high-quality wheat, so she asked Chu Mingzhou to find someone to grind it into flour and repair the oven.
"Okay, go do your thing. I'll try it at home this afternoon."
"Well, be careful."
Chu Mingzhou explained the precautions of the oven again, as if he was afraid that she would burn herself.
Lin Anan waved her hand casually, "Aunt Luo will come to help this afternoon, it's okay."
Chu Minglan and Chu Mingyu’s birthdays are coming soon.
Chu Minglan's birthday was December 24th and Chu Mingyu's was the 25th. There was only one day between them, so they decided to spend the day together.
Lin Anan was free at the time, so she wanted to prepare a surprise for her. After all, who doesn’t like cake? It’s not easy to buy small cream cakes outside, but it’s not difficult to make a simple one yourself. In her previous life, she went to a DIY studio to make one for her bestie, and she remembered all the steps!
But...she is a great general in theory but a mere soldier in practice.
Fortunately, we asked Aunt Luo, the best cook in the compound, to help.
In the afternoon.
Aunt Luo rushed into the courtyard, holding a bamboo basket filled with a few local eggs and a small packet of yeast powder. "Oh, my great hero! I heard that you beat the foreigners so badly that I was clapping for you in my dream yesterday!"
"It's not that exaggerated, please don't laugh at me, auntie."
Aunt Luo smiled and reached out to touch Lin Anan's belly, "Let me take a look, has the little baby in your belly also been so majestic with you?"
Lin Anan was so amused that she led the person to the oven: "Aunt, I have to rely on you today. I wanted to make a cake for Xiaolan and Xiaoyu, but I was troubled by the flour."
"What's so difficult about this? You've memorized all the steps in the book. I'll help you try it out."
"Look at this stove. Is it okay?"
Aunt Luo walked around the oven twice, then reached out and knocked on the oven wall: "OK! The fire is burning brightly!"
"Yes, but you have to control the temperature when baking a cake. You have to use a low heat and bake it slowly."
"Shall we start now?"
"Okay~"
Lin Anan first explained the production process in detail.
Aunt Luo rolled up her sleeves quickly and started to prepare. "Sieve the flour twice first, right? No problem."
As she spoke, she poured the flour prepared by Lin Anan into the bamboo sieve. With a slight shake of her wrist, the snow-white flour fell into the ceramic basin like fine snow.
Lin Anan cracked the eggs into the enamel pot in preparation, "Add some salt, the egg whites can be beaten more."
"Okay." Aunt Luo picked up some salt with the tip of her chopsticks and sprinkled it in.
The two of them sat on small stools, stirring their chopsticks rhythmically with their wrists.
The cold wind came in from the cracks in the corner of the yard, but it did not affect their concentration at all. The egg liquid in the tank gradually formed fine bubbles.
"Almost done!" Lin Anan dipped chopsticks into the egg liquid. Seeing that the egg liquid could be pulled into short sharp corners, she immediately called Aunt Luo, "Add the sugar in three more times!"
Aunt Luo smiled and nodded.
The beaten egg whites were as fluffy as clouds. Aunt Luo poured half of the egg whites into a ceramic bowl filled with flour and stirred it from the bottom up with a wooden spatula.
“You can’t draw circles, you have to flip it like cooking, otherwise the cake won’t rise.”
Lin Anan gave clear and logical instructions, and Aunt Luo's movements were quick and steady.
When the batter becomes smooth, they pour in the remaining egg whites and continue to stir patiently.
Lin Anan noticed that the flame in the oven had turned into a soft dark red. Aunt Luo lifted the oven cover with a piece of iron clip, and the heat wave, carrying the aroma of charcoal, blew towards her.
"Pour the batter into the tin lunch box!" Lin Anan handed the lunch box smeared with lard to Aunt Luo, "We don't have a mold, so we can use this."
Aunt Luo poured in the batter carefully and smoothed the surface with a spatula. The batter in the lunch box was trembling and shiny.
"Wait." Aunt Luo added two pieces of honeycomb coal into the stove, and waited until the flames started again before gently putting the lunch box into the oven.
"Keep an eye on it. I estimate it will take about ten minutes to flip it over." She tied the stove lid with a thick hemp rope, leaving a small gap for air circulation. "We have to keep an eye on this traditional method to prevent it from getting burnt."
"OK."
The two men moved stools and stood by the oven, peeking through the gap from time to time.
When she smelled a faint burnt aroma, Aunt Luo used a tin clip to take out the lunch box - the surface of the cake was golden, slightly raised, and had fine pores.
"It's done!"
Poke a bamboo skewer into the cake and it should come out clean.
“Just let it cool down and you can eat it!”
Lin Anan leaned closer to smell the aroma of the cake and was very satisfied.
He turned and went into the kitchen and started preparing the cream.
Lin Anan opened the ceramic jar and took out half a can of fresh milk that had been left there for the express purpose.
Aunt Luo came over to take a look, frowning slightly: "Use milk to make butter? Can it work?"
"Of course it can be done! Auntie, this is called 'separation by primitive methods'."
Lin Anan poured the milk into the enamel basin and said, "First, let the milk sit overnight to let the fat float up."
She carefully scooped up the thick cream on the surface, and put the skim milk at the bottom in a ceramic jar. "This cream is the prototype of cream."
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