Chapter 66 Wealth Moves the Heart 1
After preparing the bean paste, knead the fermented millet dough until smooth and degas it, then cut it into small pieces.
Dip your palm in a little dry millet flour, take a small piece of dough, roll it into a ball, press a dent into it with your thumb, and then pinch it into a small, round shape with thin edges and a thick center.
Place the red bean paste filling in the center, push the dough upwards with your thumb and forefinger, and twist and pinch the edges to seal (if it sticks, you can dip your hands in dry flour again), and roll it into an oval or round shape.
Place the wrapped sticky rice cakes on an oiled cutting board, cover with a damp cloth and let them rise for 15 minutes, until the surface has slightly expanded.
Add water to the steamer and bring it to a boil. Line the steamer with a damp cloth and spread a thin layer of oil on the surface of the cloth.
Place the proofed sticky rice cakes in a steamer, leaving about two fingers' width between them to prevent them from sticking together.
Steam over high heat for about 15 minutes, until the surface of the bean buns is smooth and shiny, and they spring back quickly when lightly pressed with a finger, which means they are cooked.
After turning off the heat, let it sit for a while (about three minutes) before opening the lid to prevent the bean buns from collapsing.
Steamed sticky rice cakes can be eaten directly, dipped in white sugar or honey, or pan-fried until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
There are many ways to eat rice cakes: eat them directly, in rice cake soup, stir-fry them with side dishes, fry them in oil, or dip them in white sugar or honey...
Since it's freezing cold here in winter, rice cakes, bean buns, steamed buns, and flower rolls with fillings can all be stored for a long time.
After a busy day, they steamed a large pot of rice cakes and a large pot of bean buns. In the evening, Xie Wanniang and the others made a meal of white flour dumplings with sauerkraut and pork crackling filling.
After a delicious meal, everyone, exhausted from a long day, went to bed early.
They have to get up early tomorrow. Hao Yu has to go to town to buy New Year's goods, while Jiang Yuan, Xie Wanniang, and Xiao Yang will stay at home to clean the house, striving to make every corner of the house spotless.
Because there were so many things to buy, Hao Yu borrowed the oxcart from the village head. Around noon, he brought back ten boards of tofu, a piece of pork, two ducks, ten catties of rice, and twenty catties of flour.
In addition, Hao Yu also bought dried wood ear mushrooms and kelp, liquor, tea, candy, snacks, condiments, door gods, firecrackers, red paper, yellow paper, incense and candles, all of which are needed during the Spring Festival.
With writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones at home, Jiang Yuan was instructed by Hao Yu to write a few couplets during the afternoon when he had nothing to do.
Xie Wanniang then cut paper snowflakes with Xiao Yang. She learned this skill from her embroidery master when she was in the Xie family.
Although her paper-cut window decorations were far inferior to the other person's in terms of exquisiteness and intricacy, they were sufficient to add a festive touch during the Lunar New Year.
After writing and drying the couplets and cutting out the paper-cut window decorations, Jiang Yuan delivered a set to Wang Xiaozhi's house in the evening.
Just like the previous two years, Jiang Yuan only said that Hao Yu bought the couplets in town, and after consulting Xie Wanniang, he said that Xie Wanniang cut the paper-cuts herself.
After Jiang Yuan left, the women of the Chen family examined the paper-cut window decorations over and over, praising Xie Wan Niang's skillful hands as they looked at them.
Sister-in-law Chen Zhao asked Wang Xiaozhi, "I heard that the girl also bought a plot of land and plans to build her own house and move out next spring?"
Wang Xiaozhi nodded, "The land she bought is right next to Uncle Hao's house."
There used to be a small threshing ground there, which Mr. Wang had set up himself. After Mr. Wang passed away, the threshing ground was left idle.
Just then, Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan both wanted to buy land at the end of the village to build houses, so the village headman sold the idle threshing ground as wasteland.
"Then what about her and A-Yuan..."
Wang Xiaozhi waved her hand, "I can't say what will happen in the future, but as of now and in the past, these two are completely innocent."
The members of the Chen family had different thoughts. Some believed Wang Xiaozhi's words, while others did not, but no one openly questioned them.
Following up on Wang Xiaozhi's words, He Shi, the third sister-in-law, and Wu Shi, the fourth sister-in-law, brought up the important matter of Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang's marriage.
Mrs. He, "Won't A-Yuan be out of mourning after the New Year?"
Wang Xiaozhi nodded. She and Jiang Yuan had the same length of mourning period, so she didn't need to recall or think before giving an accurate answer to this question.
"Then shouldn't you help him find a wife?" Madam Wu put down the paper-cut window decoration she was holding. "He'll be sixteen next year, right?"
Wang Xiaozhi glanced at her and said, "I've been looking for a marriage partner for him for a while now, but no one seems to be interested in him."
Why didn't she want to find a good marriage for her younger brother in advance so that he could get married and have children as soon as the mourning period was over?
This isn't the kind of girl she'd be interested in. She's a good person, hardworking and capable, but those parents wouldn't want to marry their daughter to Jiang Yuan, who has neither a house nor a plot of land.
Even her sisters-in-law, whose families also had daughters of suitable age, were unwilling to introduce their cousins to Jiang Yuan before he bought the land.
Wang Xiaozhi was a woman of pride. She spread the word that she was going to find a marriage partner for Jiang Yuan, but her sisters-in-law never mentioned it. Wang Xiaozhi knew what they meant.
She preferred to subtly inquire at other people's homes rather than shamelessly ask them to act as matchmakers just because she was the other person's sister-in-law.
Now that these women have suddenly brought up her brother's marriage, even a fool could figure out that they're after her brother's 28 mu of fertile land and the large brick house he's building.
The only people who knew about Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang buying the land were Hao Yu and Chen Zhao's family.
The reason for telling Hao Yu was that even if Hao Yu knew, she wouldn't tell anyone, and she wouldn't covet anything from them.
The reason Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang told the Chen family was that they planned to hire a few people in the village to help cultivate the land. After the third generation was born, the Chen family also became a family with little land and many people, and needed to find another way to make money.
Jiang Yuan didn't necessarily need to use the Chen brothers, but considering the close relationship between the two families, he felt it was necessary for the Chen family to know the news before the other villagers.
As for Hao Yu, he plans to continue renting out the land he already owned to the original two households for cultivation.
Later, he bought fifty acres of land to give to Jiang Yuan, but Jiang Yuan firmly refused. He planned to do the same as Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang, hiring two long-term workers and three to five short-term workers to help cultivate it.
In order to save as much labor as possible, the three of them unanimously listed "buying cattle" as a must-do item for next spring.
With oxen and a wooden cart, it will be much more convenient for them to go out and carry goods in the future.
The Chen family did not know that Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang had extra money to buy cattle and carts. They only knew that Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang not only had money to build a large brick house, but also recently bought a total of forty acres of high-quality land.
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