Chapter 70 - Two-in-One Flower Cake
After they left, a slightly younger woman next to them asked, "Sister-in-law, didn't they say they planted their corn a long time ago?"
The woman said, "It was quite late, almost June before they finished planting. We thought their corn wouldn't grow. Everyone was saying they were wasting dozens of kilograms of corn seeds. But look, those two plots are growing almost as tall as your second brother Changhua's."
The woman pointed, and the young woman looked up. She saw a lush green cornfield, and she couldn't tell which cornfield was taller or shorter; they all looked about the same.
The woman was somewhat surprised, "Which plot of land was planted later? I can't quite tell."
The woman said, "Those two plots of land up there were planted later."
As they talked, the people in the field joined in the discussion.
"Don't say that Second Aunt couldn't tell. I was shocked when I passed by that day. I thought I had come to the wrong place. Now we just have to wait and see how the corn husks are. If the corn husks are big and the kernels inside are plump, that would be great."
"That's true. If the harvest is good, the sisters shouldn't need to buy any grain next year, which will save them some money."
"Speaking of money, I heard that Chun Tao and her sisters are doing business in the county town. They've been doing it for a while now and are still doing it. I reckon they've made quite a bit of money."
The man sitting on the edge of the field smoking his pipe listened to the woman's words and disdainfully poured cold water on her.
"How much can you earn? If business were really that easy, wouldn't every household near the city go into business and still have to toil in the fields for a living?"
These words immediately extinguished the restlessness in everyone's hearts. They thought about it and realized it was true; if making money in the county town were so easy, why didn't everyone go there to make money?
The right thing to do is to take good care of these plots of land and bring all the food we can eat home.
When Lin Chuntao and her companions returned home, they could hear the grunting of piglets and the clucking of chicks from inside the yard before they even entered the gate.
Lin Chunxing left home too early in the morning, so she threw grass into both the pigsty and the chicken coop, and even left the chicken coop door open.
Lin Chuntao sensed something was wrong. She opened the gate and saw chickens running around in the yard, with chicken droppings everywhere...
Before she even entered the door, the chickens heard the noise and turned around. Seeing the door open, they rushed in, and Lin Chuntao quickly dodged to avoid being pounced on. In a flash, they all dashed out, leaving behind a yard full of chicken droppings.
Lin Chuntao unlocked the door, put her things away, and then called Lin Duo'er and the others to come out and get some wood ash to cover up the chicken droppings, and then they brought a broom to sweep them away.
Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe went to collect wood ash, Lin Chunxing went to get a broom, Lin Chuntao went to start a fire, and Pei Ying prepared to wash the vegetables for lunch. Everyone was extremely hungry and just wanted to quickly get something to eat.
The quickest way to eat is to make a pancake.
Lin Chuntao asked loudly, "Would you like noodles or pancakes?"
"Eat noodles!"
"Eat noodles!"
"noodle!"
The three sisters, who were sweeping the yard, said in unison, "Then let's eat noodles. I'll make some mixed noodles for you to share."
As she spoke, Lin Chuntao went to get a clay pot, scooped out a few spoonfuls of flour, and took it outside. The muddy yard outside was dusty, and when she swept it, dust flew everywhere. She frowned, took the clay pot back into the house, went out and brought in a bucket of water, and casually said to Pei Ying, "Make a hole in this bamboo fence so that these chickens can crawl out."
"Otherwise, if we don't let them out at home, they'll all be making manure in the yard the whole time."
Pei Ying replied, "I'll get it done in a bit."
Lin Chuntao kneaded the dough, and then gave it to Pei Ying to knead. She picked out half a pound of the gray fungus left over from the morning, washed it, chopped a bowl of diced meat, chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic, and shredded half a bowl of cucumber.
After she finished her work, Pei Ying also finished kneading the dough. He asked Lin Chuntao, "Should we just pull the dough into thin noodles?"
"Hmm, do you know how?" Lin Chuntao asked.
Pei Ying curved her lips into a smile, then kneaded the dough into a long strip, pulled it with both hands with practiced ease. Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "If I had known you could make ramen, I would have let you do it."
Pei Ying said, "The soup base is crucial for making good noodles, but I'm not very good at making soup base."
"I'll cook, you get the noodles ready." She said, then went to get a small bamboo sieve. "Just put the cooked noodles in here, I'll go start the fire."
Pei Ying responded, and Lin Chuntao left the courtyard. Lin Chunxing and the others were finishing up the cleaning.
Lin Chunhe carried the chicken droppings out of the yard, while Lin Chunxing scooped up some water and sprinkled it on the ground. A gentle breeze blew, and soon the dust flying around the yard was cleaned up.
Lin Chunxing led them to scoop water to wash their faces and hands. Lin Chuntao, who was tending the stove, also washed her hands before coming over to heat oil in a wok. After stir-frying scallions, ginger, and garlic, she added minced meat. Once the minced meat was fragrant, Lin Chuntao added chopped mushrooms and continued stir-frying. In no time, the mushrooms were cooked and released a lot of juice. Lin Chuntao added salt and a small amount of soy sauce for seasoning and continued stir-frying.
After the younger sisters washed their faces, they came over and saw the half-pot of fragrant minced meat, and their stomachs started to rumble.
After the meat filling was scooped out, the dough was also ready. Lin Chuntao quickly added water to the pot, while Lin Chunxing fed a few pieces of firewood into the stove to make the fire burn brighter.
After the water boiled, the wheat was added to the pot. In an instant, the aroma of wheat wafted from the boiling water, and Lin Chuntao's stomach started growling. She turned to Lin Chunhe and the others and said, "Bring some bowls and chopsticks, it will be ready soon."
After speaking, Lin Chunhe and the others quickly ran back into the house to get bowls and chopsticks. Pei Ying also brought out the table. Lin Chuntao served noodles, put cucumber shreds in their bowls, and then ladled meat filling and broth on top. "Add scallions and chili if you want."
The sisters nodded in agreement. Because this noodle dish didn't contain starch, it wasn't thick enough, but it had sauce, so the color wasn't bland. Plus, the minced meat and mushrooms were very fragrant, and the overall taste was quite good.
Having been hungry all morning, everyone ate quickly. Lin Chuntao thought that making noodles was still too slow. If they were to become even busier in the future, they should keep some quick meals at home.
Lin Duo'er ate a whole bowlful, and after she was full, she held her stomach and sighed deeply.
"I'm too full to walk."
"Third sister, let's guess who will do the dishes, okay?"
Before Lin Chunhe could speak, Lin Chunxing laughed and said, "That's great, Duo'er is even willing to wash the dishes now. We've been washing them all morning, so you can wash our dishes in a bit."
Lin Duo'er thought that the older sisters did all the dishwashing when they sold soup noodles, and she hadn't been asked to do it. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Okay, I'll wash them, but I need to rest for a while. I'm too full."
Looking at her round belly, Lin Chuntao realized she was also quite full and a little sleepy.
"There aren't many bowls, so wash your own. After you're done, we'll count the money, tidy up our things, and take a nap," Lin Chuntao said. "I'll cook something delicious for you when you wake up."
Pei Ying thought about how busy the sisters had been all morning, so she said, "After you finish eating, I'll wash everything. If you're tired, go to sleep."
The sisters exchanged smiles and said in unison, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
Since Pei Ying agreed to wash them, Lin Chuntao didn't care anymore. After finishing her meal, Pei Ying went to boil water to wash the dishes and pots. The sisters went inside and sat around on the straw, spreading out the cloth bag full of money pouches.
Sitting here looking at the copper coin in front of me, it feels like all my fatigue has disappeared.
Lin Duo'er stared wide-eyed, full of doubt, and asked, "Sister, how much money is all of this?"
Lin Chuntao said, "We'll only know once we count them."
Lin Chunxing cut some hemp rope and brought it over. The two sisters each took a section and strung the copper coins one by one onto it.
Of the 260 boiled eggs yesterday, they ate ten, leaving 250. Helan and her friends put six in three bowls, while the others almost all had one egg per bowl. The number of bowls sold is clear, but some people added minced meat to their bowls, while others added noodles and vegetables, so the money had to be counted again.
The final amount of money was 2,697. Lin Chunxing calculated that, including the cost of buying eggs, they had earned more than 1,600. The cost accounted for nearly 40%, but they were still short.
"Sister, is this a good idea?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "That's great. We'll only be giving away eggs for three days. The price is set at three coins each, or five coins for two. We'll also sell eggs later."
Lin Chuntao said no problem, and Lin Chunxing smiled broadly, feeling full of energy again.
"Shall we wash the eggs and boil them first?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, and Lin Chunxing took her two younger sisters away. While they were washing the eggs, Lin Chuntao took out the meat and vegetables and put them away. She left one jar of maltose and honey outside and hid the rest in the cupboard.
I poured some red beans into the earthenware pot, took them out, washed them, and soaked them.
Lin Chunxing and the others, who were washing eggs, were surprised to see the beans. "Sister, you bought beans?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "I went to the grain store and bought some buckwheat noodles, and I also bought some beans."
"Would you like to boil the beans and stir-fry them?"
"No, I'll cook the eggs tonight to make pancakes. I'll boil the eggs and soak them in water, then I'll boil the beans. I'll do the rest when I wake up."
The sisters worked efficiently and quickly washed and boiled the eggs.
Boiling eggs doesn't take long. Just preheat the water, and the eggs will be boiled in less than 15 minutes. After Lin Chuntao started cooking the braising liquid, she joined the others in cracking and peeling the eggs. Pei Ying joined in after she finished her work. With so many people, it didn't take long to get all the eggs braised.
Lin Chuntao was already very sleepy. Lin Chunxing looked at her droopy eyelids and said softly, "Sister, you should go to sleep first. I'll cook red beans in a bit."
"Just tell me if there's anything I should be careful about."
Lin Chuntao stood up and said, "I'll go check on the beans and put them in an earthenware pot. You can take it to the stove in a bit, but don't make the fire too big. Just simmer it slowly."
"good."
Lin Chuntao scooped the beans into an earthenware pot, added the right amount of water, covered it, and placed it next to the stove. She then told Lin Chunxing that she was going to take a nap.
Not long after, Lin Chunxing scooped the braised eggs into a jar and started cooking the beans. Lin Duo'er was already fast asleep on the bed, and Lin Chunhe, who had just closed her eyes, was startled awake by her.
The August sun in Yizhou was still scorching. Pei Ying wasn't too tired. He made a hole in the bamboo fence behind him big enough for chickens to go in and out, and also made a small door so that the hole wouldn't be easily noticed when it was closed.
When he returned from his busy work, the red beans in the earthenware pot were bubbling away. Seeing that the fire had shrunk considerably, he added a little more firewood, gathered his clothes, took them to the river to wash, and hung them up to dry. Only after he had finished most of his work did he go back to his room to rest.
The entire courtyard was quiet, with only the chirping of cicadas and birds coming from the trees not far away, creating a sense of separation between noise and tranquility.
Lin Chuntao woke up around dusk, and Pei Ying was fast asleep next to her.
She slowly got up, her movements gentle and silent. The sound of her pushing open the door woke Pei Ying. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked over. After seeing Lin Chuntao, he murmured, "You're awake."
"Okay, you can continue sleeping. I'll go check if the red beans are cooked yet."
Pei Ying nodded, lay down, stretched to wake herself up, but didn't get up, remaining in bed to refresh herself.
When Lin Chuntao came out, the courtyard was filled with the aroma of red beans. The stove fire had almost died down. She went over and lifted the lid of the earthenware pot to take a look. The upper part of the inner wall of the pot was covered with traces of soup. The soup had thickened and the beans were no longer visible, but judging from the soup, Lin Chuntao felt that the beans should be very well cooked.
Her sisters were still asleep, and everyone was exhausted. She didn't rush to get the chopsticks to test them. She put the lid on the earthenware pot and left the yard.
A short while later, they ran into Lin Qingqing and Lin Jiaye carrying potatoes back, each with a basket on their back, their foreheads covered in sweat.
"Sister Chuntao".
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "You guys went to dig potatoes? Are you almost done?"
"We're almost done digging. I estimate it will all be finished in a day or two."
After the Lin family finished their chatter, Lin Chuntao, remembering that she still needed to buy potatoes, asked with a smile, "How are they? Do you have more potatoes than last year?"
Lin Qingqing said, "My parents said the harvest is better than last year's, by quite a bit."
As they were talking, Lin Changhua and the others caught up. Lin Qingqing and the others were too tired from carrying potatoes, so they didn't stay long. They called Lin Chuntao to come to their house to play and then left.
Lin Chuntao called out to Lin Changhua and Wang Shi, and the two of them used their triangular canes to support their baskets and rested for a while.
Mrs. Wang looked at her with a smile and asked, "Chuntao, I heard from your great-grandmother that you want to buy some potatoes."
Lin Chuntao nodded and then said, "Grandma said she would pick some up and sell them to me, but she's afraid it won't be enough, so she'll ask you if you can sell some more."
Wang said, "Yes, the potatoes are good this year. You can come and pick them up when the time comes."
Upon hearing Wang's words, Lin Chuntao quickly thanked her with a smile and said she would go pick them up after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lin Chuntao wandered around and came back. Lin Chunxing and the others had already woken up. The sisters were about to go out to look for Lin Chuntao when they saw her return, and they suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"Sis, where did you go?"
Lin Chuntao said, "I was wandering around the village when I ran into Qingqing and the others who were coming back from digging potatoes, and we chatted for a bit."
Are they almost done with their work?
Lin Chuntao nodded. "They said they'd be done in two or three days."
As they were talking, Lin Chuntao went inside to get a bowl, chopsticks, and spoon. She scooped some beans into the bowl, and with a gentle press of the spoon, they turned into bean paste. It was already very soft and mushy, perfect for making filling.
Lin Chuntao said, "Let's cook dinner tonight. I'll make some pancakes later, but they're all sweet. Eating too many will make you feel greasy, and eating too few will leave you hungry at night."
Lin Chunxing nodded and went to soak some rice. Lin Chuntao still planned to let the dough rise before making the fillings. There were only three kinds of fillings: red bean paste, rose petal filling, and jasmine petal filling.
Red bean paste filling is relatively easy to make. Simply mash cooked beans into a paste and add maltose or honey. The two types of flower filling are also not difficult to make.
This is considered a dessert. Unlike making steamed buns, it doesn't require yeast to rise, but it still needs to be made into a pastry. You need to add some honey to make the dough ferment slightly and give it a slightly sweet taste so that it will taste better.
Lin Chuntao scooped up some dry flour, cracked in a few eggs, and added a few spoonfuls of honey. The younger sisters' mouths dropped open when they saw the honey.
"Sis, when did you buy the honey?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I ran into a honey seller when I went to buy maltose, so I bought some too."
Lin Duo'er licked her lips, looking somewhat eager to eat. "Sister, can I have a spoonful?"
Lin Chuntao said helplessly, "Sure, you can either soak it in water or eat it directly, it's up to you." After saying that, she had scooped out enough flour and said to Lin Duo'er, "Go get a bowl and I'll scoop some more for you."
Upon hearing the message, the little girl rushed over and grabbed a bowl. Lin Chuntao scooped several spoonfuls of honey into her bowl, and as she looked at the crystal-clear honey, she felt a sweetness that warmed her heart.
She brought over a small bamboo spoon, and didn't forget to bring one for her sisters as well.
The three sisters each ate a spoonful, then smacked their lips and exclaimed, "So sweet!"
Lin Chuntao was both amused and exasperated; of course, eating honey like this would make it super sweet.
Lin Chunxing scooped a spoonful to feed her, but Lin Chuntao shook her head: "It's too sweet for me, I can't eat it. I need to make it with water. You guys eat, I'll make some more later."
The three sisters each took two bites and found it too sweet, so they all went to soak it in water.
Lin Chuntao added water and kneaded the dough. The dough for making pancakes didn't need to be kneaded for too long, so she did it herself, adding water with one hand and stirring with the other. The flour and honey quickly blended together, forming a fluffy texture.
She put down her chopsticks, carried the earthenware pot to the table, washed her hands, and then came back to knead the dough. After kneading for a short time, the dough took shape. She kneaded it a few more times before setting it aside, covering it with gauze, and placing it on a bamboo rack.
While the dough was rising, she still had to make the oil-based pastry overnight.
Making the oil-based pastry is simple. Scoop out a bowl of dry flour, add a small amount of salt, and heat the oil (the key is to control the oil temperature slightly, making sure it's not too hot). Pour in the heated oil and stir, and a bowl of fragrant oil-based pastry is ready.
The younger sisters were happily drinking honey water in the courtyard. Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying to bring out red beans, and then sat down at the table and slowly mashed all the red beans into a paste.
Lin Chuntao then prepared the filling with fresh flowers. She washed two kinds of petals, added honey, mashed them into a paste, added a small amount of flour, cracked in an egg, and then added a small amount of lard. She started stirring until the filling was no longer watery and her finger could leave an indentation.
Pei Ying had finished making the bean paste. He noticed that Lin Chuntao had added honey to both of her fillings, so he asked, "Do we need to add sugar to this?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Yes, but don't put honey in this one, put maltose in it instead."
Maltose tastes better than honey. Beans are rich and fragrant, but mixing them with honey will take away some of the original aroma of the beans, which is somewhat counterproductive. Flowers are different. They and honey are from the same source, and when placed together, they don't taste bland or cloying; they are just right.
As they were talking, Lin Chuntao went inside to get some maltose. Her three younger sisters gathered around the table, carefully studying the two kinds of flower fillings she had made. They contained honey, flour, and eggs, and they looked delicious, but they had never tasted them before and couldn't imagine what they tasted like.
When Lin Chuntao came out and saw their expressions, she naturally curled her lips into a smile. She opened the jar of maltose, scooped a few spoonfuls into the bean paste, and said to Pei Ying, "Just mix it well."
Lin Duo'er couldn't wait any longer. She looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "Sister, when are we going to do it? My tummy is already rumbling."
In Yizhou, the days are long in August, and the short nights will continue until the end of autumn, or until an autumn rain arrives.
The sun had not yet set, and the sky was filled with colorful sunset clouds, casting their shadows long and long in the afterglow of the sunset.
Lin Chuntao glanced at the sky before saying to Lin Chunxing, "You cook the dishes, I'll make the pancakes first, and we'll start baking them after you finish cooking."
"Does this pancake need to be baked?" Lin Chunxing asked, somewhat surprised. "I thought it was supposed to be steamed."
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Steamed food doesn't smell as good as baked food; it has to be baked."
Lin Chunxing nodded and ran off to prepare the stir-fried dishes. Lin Chuntao then asked Lin Chunhe to fetch a large, flat winnowing basket, laid a layer of gauze on the bottom, rolled up another layer, and placed it on top, preparing to cover the already made pancakes later.
Lin Chuntao first kneaded the whole dough, divided it into several small dough balls, kneaded and rolled them into balls, then flattened them. With nimble fingers, she picked up the dough and twirled it like a handkerchief, making it thin and even. Then she brushed on some oil paste, scooped in a spoonful of filling, and quickly gathered the edges of the dough back, like wrapping a bun, but without leaving any wrinkles. Lin Chuntao handled it very carefully and skillfully.
When Lin Chunxing returned home for dinner last night, she was astonished to see the flatbreads in the winnowing basket. She stared intently at Lin Chuntao. This was a skill-based task, far more difficult than making delicious dishes before.
But Lin Chuntao seemed to have done it many times before, so skillfully that it was hard for the girl to believe it.
Lin Chuntao noticed Lin Chunxing's expression and could no longer remain in a daze.
"Are the dishes ready? Wash the stone slab."
Lin Chunxing paused for a moment, then quickly went to get the stone slab to clean it. After washing it, she handed it to Lin Chuntao. Lin Chuntao put a thick piece of dry firewood into the stove. Due to limited resources, she didn't want the flatbread to get covered in ash, so she had to reduce the number of times she added firewood. The firewood was thick and burned slowly, so there was no need to add it to the stove frequently.
After setting up the stove, Lin Chuntao placed the stone slab on it. Once the water stains on the slab had dried and it was hot, she brushed a thin layer of oil onto the dough and placed it on the slab.
Four cakes could be baked on the stone slab at a time. The fire wasn't big, and the heat slowly transferred from the stone slab to the cakes, so the baking was a bit slow. Lin Chuntao ate her meal with peace of mind, but Lin Chunxing and the others kept looking back, afraid that the cakes would burn. They even took their bowls and ran to the stove to observe them carefully.
Lin Chuntao said, "After we finish this busy period, let's go into the mountains to chop some firewood and make some charcoal ourselves. We can take it to the county town to cook noodles, which will save us some money on charcoal. We can also make some to keep for winter."
Pei Ying had no objections; chopping firewood wasn't difficult, but he had never seen a charcoal merchant produce so much charcoal at once.
"Do you know how to make charcoal?" Pei Ying asked.
The younger sisters all looked at her at the same time, and Lin Chuntao smiled at their expressions.
"I don't know, I'll only know if I'm right after it's burned."
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