After having dinner early, Tian An led everyone to prepare osmanthus cake.
The raw milk that Liu Da had squeezed in advance had been boiled and sterilized to remove the mutton smell, so it could be used directly now.
Let Chunxi grind the brown sugar into powdered sugar first.
Take out a basin that has been washed and dried in advance, put glutinous rice flour, sticky rice flour, and powdered sugar in it, stir evenly with chopsticks first, then add milk in appropriate amounts several times while stirring.
After stirring the flour into flocculent pieces, they rubbed it into powder with their hands. This process was quite lengthy, especially since they were doing so many. Tian An felt her hands were almost numb from rubbing, and she could only just manage to do it.
After the flour was kneaded, it was sifted into the square cake mold with a sieve. This mold was from Zhao Yiming's house before and was covered in dust. Tian An asked Chunxi to clean it because he wanted to make osmanthus cake.
First sift half of the flour into the mold, then lightly spread a layer of brown sugar powder on it, sprinkle some dried osmanthus flowers on it, and finally continue to sift the powder until the mold is full.
Scrape off the excess powder, cover with a steaming pad, place the steaming plate on it, turn it over to remove from the mold, sprinkle some dried osmanthus flowers on the surface of the cake to garnish it, and then steam it.
After Tian An demonstrated it, he handed it over to Chun Xi and the others. She was also preparing to make another sweet-scented osmanthus steamed cake.
Steamed cakes are even simpler to make. Add glutinous rice flour, flour, powdered sugar, and an appropriate amount of yeast into a clean bowl, stir well, then pour in milk and stir into a batter. Cover with a lid and let it ferment for half an hour.
After the batter fermented, the first basket of osmanthus cakes was also steamed. Tian An used chopsticks to pick up the osmanthus cakes and put them on a plate. He took them out to Zhao Yiming and Master Han before returning to deal with the steamed cakes.
After opening the lid and stirring to release the air, find a large plate and brush it evenly with oil, then pour the batter on it, sprinkle some osmanthus flowers on it, put it in the steamer and let it continue to ferment for 15 minutes, then steam it until cooked.
Tian An had just taken his second basket of osmanthus cake when he heard a bustling noise in the yard. It must be Qiu Shan and his younger siblings arriving.
Sure enough, as soon as she walked out of the kitchen carrying the osmanthus cake, she saw them talking to Zhao Yiming!
When Tian An put the osmanthus cake in the main room, Zhao Yiming also brought them in.
Dashu brought his younger brother Dajun and younger sister Nini, Xiaofeng brought his younger brother Xiaojun and younger sister Xiaohua, and Qiushan was an only child and came alone.
Every time it comes to this, Qiu Shan gets upset. Everyone else is bustling about, but he's all alone. Oh! When will this end?
Tian An hurriedly invited a few people to eat sweet-scented osmanthus cake. The sweet-scented osmanthus cake was so fragrant that they could smell it from outside the house. Now that they saw the real thing, they couldn't help swallowing their saliva.
Everyone took a piece and ate it with such delight. Qiushan, in particular, forgot the loneliness of not having his siblings around as he ate the sweet and sticky osmanthus cake.
"This osmanthus cake is so delicious! This is the first time I've eaten such delicious osmanthus cake!"
Dajun and Xiaojun, the two younger ones, took two bites and said in unison, "It's so delicious! It's even better than what my mom makes."
Dashu glanced at Dajun and said, "Huh! This is made of rice, how could it not be delicious? You ate it in two big mouthfuls. What a shame! Good things need to be used carefully, you know."
Xiao Feng pointed at Xiao Jun and said, "You little bastard, how dare you say that what I cook is not tasty? I will tell my mother when I get home. Just clean your butt and wait!"
After hearing what their elder brother said, the two little ones dared not speak anymore. They ate osmanthus cake quietly with their tails between their legs.
The boy was afraid of his brother, but the girls were not. They all expressed their feelings.
Nini narrowed her eyes and said, "Sister An An's osmanthus cake is the best osmanthus cake I've ever had, bar none."
Xiaohua was younger and only knew it was delicious. She couldn't express it well, so she nodded and said, "It's delicious, absolutely."
It was so cute that it made everyone laugh.
Xiaojun looked for a long time but didn't see Xiaokang: "Sister Anan, why isn't Xiaokang here?"
Tian An smiled and said, "Xiaokang is studying in the county town and won't be back for a few days."
Xiaojun looked at the osmanthus cake in his hand and said with some regret, "Oh! Doesn't that mean he won't be able to eat such delicious osmanthus cake anymore?"
Tian An was stunned, puzzled that this kid could still think of Xiaokang: "It's okay, wait for Xiaokang to come back in a few days, and we'll make it again. Then Xiaojun can come and eat it!"
Then he looked at the other little kids and said, "Dajun, Nini, and Xiaohua should come along too!"
When they heard that they could have such delicious osmanthus cake again, the four little kids jumped and danced for joy, and their cheers almost blew the roof off.
The people in the house were so scared that they thought something big had happened and came out to check.
When they saw Han Xun, their expressions changed instantly. Those who had just been laughing and joking stood up straight with serious expressions, and bowed 90 degrees to Han Xun.
"Hello, Master Han..."
This wave of actions stunned everyone, especially Han Xun.
Han Xun came back to his senses and approached the group and said cheerfully, "How did you know I'm Master Han?"
Qiu Shan, who was closest to the village, straightened his back nervously. "We all know that Big Niu invited a great teacher to come to the village to learn how to be a teacher. You are the only one in the village who wears a long gown."
Han Xun asked doubtfully, "Brother Daniu? Is that Yiming?"
Tian An always called his scientific name, Da Niu, outside, so Han Xun didn't know that he used to be called Da Niu.
Qiu Shan had heard Tian An call Daniu Yiming "brother" before, and after a moment of surprise, he immediately reacted and said, rubbing his head:
"Yiming is Danniu's scientific name. We're all used to calling him that, and it's hard to change the way we say it all of a sudden."
Han Xun nodded and said, "You all call me Master. Do you all have to go to the village school?"
Speaking of this, Dashu and Xiaofeng felt a little depressed. Their family was poor and could only afford to send one child to school. This was even after Tian An and Daniu had established the village school. They heard that going to the county town would cost a lot of money just for one month, and they didn't even dare to think about it.
Akiyama is the only son in their family. Since he is the only child, all the good things will come to him first, so he is the only one among the three who can go to the village school.
Dashu and Xiaofeng's families chose to send their younger children, Xiaojun and Dajun, to the village school.
Han Xun had endured a lot of hardship over the years and knew how difficult it was for farmers to support a student in school. Seeing the two's dejection, he didn't ask any further questions, but simply said, "If you have the opportunity to study, you must study hard and don't let your parents and relatives down."
Several people nodded in agreement. Han Xun saw that everyone was reserved because of him, so he didn't stay any longer.
Granny Qin stayed. She was old, and she loved being in crowded places, where there was a lot of hustle and bustle. And looking at these children was like seeing her own sons getting married and having children.
The children also liked this gentle mother-in-law. Granny Qin must have been a lady from a wealthy family in the past, so she knew a lot. Not to mention the children, Tian An also listened with great interest.
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