Fu Yuanshan carried a bamboo basket to the threshing ground, the basket containing a newly woven sesame sieve.
“The mesh of this sieve needs to be finer,” he said, poking at the gaps between the bamboo strips with his finger, “otherwise tiny sesame seeds will slip through.”
Nian'an skipped and jumped behind, the little mouse embroidery pattern on the sesame bag swayed gently in the wind, and the silver longevity lock cast tiny glimmers of light in the morning light.
"Second Uncle, candy!" he called, holding up a bag. His tiger-head boots stepped over sesame stalks, startling a few grasshoppers, which caused Xiaolan's grasshopper cage to sway gently on the stone table.
The sesame paste in the kitchen was steaming hot, and Jiang Jianhua added some maltose to it.
“It needs to be stirred more evenly,” she said, stirring in circles with a wooden spatula, the sugar paste forming translucent threads in the pot. “That way, the sesame candy will be both chewy and sweet.”
Song Yushuang sat in front of the stove adding firewood, poking at the embers in the firebox with fire tongs: "I've boiled a kettle of water, I'll make some sesame tea later to help you cut through the grease."
The kettle made a "whooshing" sound, and white steam rose from the spout, mingling with the aroma of sesame and drifting across the threshold.
On the threshing ground, Fu Yucheng was teaching Nian An how to shake sesame stalks.
"Grab this end and shake it hard like this," he demonstrated, holding Nian'an's little hand. Sesame seeds fell into the bamboo sieve with a "rustling" sound, like a handful of broken gold.
Nian'an imitated it quite well, but she was too weak. After shaking it for a long time, only a few seeds fell, which made Fu Yuanshan laugh: "Little ancestor, you're not shaking sesame seeds, you're just tickling the sesame stalks."
Xiao Lan squatted down beside her, weaving a sesame bag. The bamboo strips twirled in her hands, and soon she had woven a small bag the size of a palm.
“My second aunt said that sesame seeds should be stored in a breathable bag,” she tied a red string to the top of the bag, “otherwise they will get damp and moldy.”
Yun Tangyin walked over carrying pumpkin blossoms, the dew on the blossoms wetting the bamboo basket: "These blossoms need to be stir-fried while they're fresh. I'll put extra eggs in them for the children later."
Jiang Jianhua poured the cooked sesame candy into a wooden mold and smoothed it out with a spatula.
“It needs to dry for half an hour,” she said, sprinkling some roasted sesame seeds on the mold, “so it won’t stick when you unmold it.”
Aunt Zhang came over to watch the fun, still clutching the sesame seeds Jiang Jianhua had given her: "The tiger head on this mold looks really spirited. Once the candy is made, I'll have to ask for a piece for my grandson as a toy."
Jiang Jianhua smiled and agreed: "I promise I'll save you the biggest piece so your little grandson can gnaw on it."
The midday sun made the bamboo sieve scorching hot, and Fu Yuanshan collected the sesame seeds into the earthenware jar.
“These sesame seeds need to be sealed tightly,” he said, covering the mouth of the jar with a cloth. “They’ll be kept to make sesame paste and sesame candy, enough to last the whole winter.”
Nian'an ran over holding a piece of freshly unmolded sesame candy. The tiger stripes on the candy were chipped off by his chewing, and sesame crumbs stuck to the tiger's bellyband, like adding a layer of fuzz to the golden tiger stripes.
"Eat slowly," Fu Yucheng handed him a bowl of sesame tea. "Take a sip of tea to rinse your mouth, and be careful the sugar doesn't stick to your teeth."
When Yun Tangyin's pumpkin blossom scrambled eggs were served, the golden flowers were coated in egg liquid, and the aroma made Nian An smack her lips.
“You have to chew these flowers more,” she said, placing a piece of her chopsticks into Nian’an’s bowl. “There are fine hairs inside; if you don’t chew them properly, they’ll prick your throat.”
Xiaolan nodded while chewing on sesame candy: "My mother said that pumpkin blossoms are a divine delicacy among vegetables, and eating them can make you beautiful."
Song Yushuang, who was sitting next to her sewing shoe soles, smiled and said, "Our Xiaolan is pretty enough. If she eats any more, she'll become a fairy."
When Fu Yucheng carried his hoe to the field, he passed by Zhou Desheng's vegetable garden and saw that his sesame seeds were ripe.
"Desheng, do you need help harvesting your sesame?" he called out across the fence. "I just finished harvesting mine, and I happen to have some free time."
Zhou Desheng poked his head out of the house: "Great! I was just worried about who would lend a hand. I'll have my wife make sesame pancakes tonight and send some to the kids."
Fu Yucheng smiled and waved his hand: "No need for cakes, just leave me some sesame seeds, my Nian'an loves sesame candy."
The evening glow turned the earthenware 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 rinsed three times,” she said, pouring the sesame seeds into the stone mortar, “otherwise there will be sand particles, which will be uncomfortable.”
Nian'an squatted down beside her and watched, her 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 sesame seeds with a wooden mallet. "I'll add some rock sugar; it'll be so sweet it'll stick to your mouth."
On the dinner table were sesame cakes, stir-fried pumpkin blossoms with eggs, dried eggplant, and freshly made sesame paste.
Nian'an drank the porridge from the bowl, his face covered in it. A few black sesame seeds stuck to the tip of his nose, looking like a small black mole.
Xiao Lan handed him a handkerchief: "Nian An has turned into a little kitten."
Nian'an, however, held up a spoon and fed her the paste: "Sweet, Lan, drink."
Xiao Lan opened her mouth to catch it, and the two of them laughed so hard that they almost spilled the sesame paste.
As the moonlight climbed 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 seed shells into the pillowcase. “Too full and it’ll be uncomfortable, too little and it won’t be warm.”
Song Yushuang helped her thread the needle, the end of the thread passing through the gap in the sesame husk: "The soles I'm sewing are almost finished. Once we put them with sesame pillows, Nian'an will definitely be warm when we sleep in winter."
Yun Tangyin was clearing away the dishes when she heard this and said with a smile, "I'll make some sesame salt tomorrow to eat with the porridge. I guarantee Nian'an will drink two more bowls."
Fu Yucheng and Fu Yuanshan sat in the courtyard smoking, the flickering light from their pipes reflecting off the sesame jar in the corner.
"Let's go dig sweet potatoes tomorrow," Fu Yucheng said, tapping his cigarette ash. "We'll make sweet potato puree and sesame candy to give the kids as snacks."
Fu Yuanshan nodded: "I'll weave another sweet potato basket, specifically for holding the dug-up sweet potatoes, so they won't get scratched."
The lingering aroma of sesame paste wafted from the kitchen, mingling with the croaking of frogs and filling the entire courtyard, as if coating this ordinary day with a layer of honey.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com