Perhaps because she was too tired the day before, Yan Qingqing woke up late again the next day.
Yan Qingqing felt that the original owner's body was too weak. She would be out of breath after walking just a few steps. She even suspected that the original owner had damaged her body by having too many children.
In fact, Yan Qingqing was a Taekwondo master in her previous life, but in peaceful society she didn't have many opportunities to show off, so over time not many people knew she knew kung fu. She never expected that her current body would be so weak.
Yan Qingqing sighed. For now, she could only rest and recuperate slowly, hoping to recover as much as she could in the future.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing had gotten up, Li Yueniang quickly ran over to show off, saying, "Mother, do you think my red hair ribbon looks pretty?"
Yan Qingqing then noticed that Li Yueniang had used the red hair tie that Yan Qingqing had bought for her yesterday to tie her hair.
Yan Qingqing nodded and said, "It looks good, but it's not suitable for Yue Niang to wear now."
Li Yueniang asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Yan Qingqing rubbed her little head and said, "Yesterday was a mistake on my part. I shouldn't have bought you red. Your father has only been gone for less than three months. If you wear it out, people will say you are unfilial."
When Yan Qingqing mentioned Li Erniu, Li Yueniang bit her lip and said, "Then can I put it away and wear it later?"
Li Erniu was, after all, Li Yueniang's biological father, so there was bound to be some affection between them.
Yan Qingqing replied, "Okay, next time Mom goes to the city, I'll bring you some floral fabric to make a bow, okay?"
Li Yueniang immediately perked up upon hearing this. Yan Qingqing thought to herself that she really was still just a child, her emotions written all over her face.
Yuan Huiniang had already set out the meal in the kitchen and asked Li Xiangkang to call Yan Qingqing and the others to eat.
It seems there's food available now, because Yuan Huiniang is cooking more generously; the porridge in the bowl is very thick, and it's even topped with dark flour pancakes.
I stir-fried some wild vegetables, and also some pickled vegetables that Yuan Huiniang had made herself.
Yan Qingqing looked at the food on the table and teased with a smile, "Our Hui Niang is so generous when she has enough food at home. Look, it's finally not just plain water."
Yuan Huiniang lowered her head in embarrassment and replied, "Mother, I was just afraid that our family would run out of food."
Yan Qingqing waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, you're a good homemaker, but the children in the family are all growing, so we can't skimp on their food."
Don't worry about the money at home, Mother will find a way to earn more.
Yuan Huiniang nodded and didn't say anything more. She was increasingly trusting her mother-in-law.
Even if her mother-in-law couldn't earn money, she still had her husband and two younger brothers. She believed that after the family split up, the eldest branch of the family would no longer be clinging to them and sucking their blood, and they would be able to get by.
After finishing their meal, Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang were about to go dig for wild vegetables, but Yan Qingqing stopped them.
Yan Qingqing said, "Don't dig for wild vegetables today, Mother needs your help with something."
Yan Qingqing has rarely asked them to do anything lately, so when Li Xin's mother saw that Yan Qingqing was so serious, she quickly asked, "Mother, please tell me what you need."
Yan Qingqing said with a smile, "Do you remember what the butcher said when we bought meat yesterday? It's Mr. Ding's mother's birthday, and if the gift we give is satisfactory to Mrs. Ding, there will be a reward."
I thought about it all night and came up with a good idea, but it's a bit complicated to implement, and Grandma Ding's birthday is tomorrow, so we need to get it done quickly.
The group nodded in agreement, and Li Xiangkang shouted, "Mom, I can help too!"
The little girl chimed in, "Help!"
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Okay, everyone help out. If we get a reward, I'll make each of you a new set of clothes."
The children were overjoyed at the news, and even the mature and composed Yuan Huiniang looked eager to try it out. They themselves couldn't remember the last time they had worn new clothes.
In her past life, Yan Qingqing was a manager and knew how to best motivate everyone. She believed that managing a household was similar to running a housekeeping company.
So Yan Qingqing began to instruct, "Xinniang, I remember the village chief's cow just gave birth. Take a coin and go buy some milk."
Moon Maiden, you and Si Lang go to Grandma Wang's house next door and buy some eggs.
"Huiniang, come to the kitchen with me, I'll teach you how to make a cake."
Those whose names were called off went off to carry out their tasks with high spirits, as if they had received a major order.
Based on the available resources, the most unique thing Yan Qingqing could think of that was within her budget was a birthday cake.
She herself didn't know if she could succeed without doing it.
After all, making cream and cake base is a laborious task, but fortunately it's not too complicated, and you can gather enough ingredients.
Yan Qingqing had some all-purpose flour that she had just bought yesterday, so she sifted it through a sieve. Since they didn't have any cake flour, they had to use all-purpose flour instead.
Just then, Li Yueniang bought ten eggs, all freshly laid, for one coin each.
Yan Qingqing had originally planned to use them all, but after glancing at Niu Niu and the others beside her, she took out two more to make steamed eggs for the children.
Yan Qingqing cracked the eggs, separated the egg whites and yolks, added a little oil and sugar to the egg yolks, and stirred them together with the flour until smooth.
Once there are no lumps, set it aside to rest. Then, whip the egg whites to make the cream.
These two steps were the most strenuous, so Yan Qingqing had Li Xinniang and Yue Niang take turns whipping the egg whites.
She then led Yuan Huiniang in making cream. First, the milk had to be boiled and the fishy smell removed. Yan Qingqing added almonds and sugar to the milk.
Ancient sugar was different from modern white sugar; it wasn't as white or fine, but rather in chunks and had a slightly yellowish tinge.
So the milk turned pale yellow after it was cooked. Although it wasn't as pretty as pure white, Yan Qingqing thought it was still pretty good.
After cooling and whipping for a while, the milk became a bit thicker. Yan Qingqing then put it in a basin and chilled it with freshly drawn well water.
Making butter is a rather long process. During this time, Yan Qingqing instructed Yuan Huiniang to render the pork she bought yesterday.
After a while, the whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of meat, and the little ones lost their appetite for work and wandered around the stove.
Yan Qingqing herself kept swallowing her saliva; she had never known that lard could smell so good. She had heard that pork cracklings were also delicious, but as the eldest person in the family and a mother-in-law, she was too embarrassed to ask for some.
Yan Qingqing glanced at Li Xiangkang, signaling him to speak to Yuan Huiniang, but Li Xiangkang's eyes were fixed on the pot, and he didn't even look at Yan Qingqing.
Yan Qingqing: ……
Li Yueniang, who was standing nearby, noticed Yan Qingqing's little actions and said obediently, "Mother, don't worry. We're just looking and smelling it to satisfy our cravings. This is precious stuff, we won't steal it."
Yan Qingqing: ……
That poor child, he really is her biological son.
After Yuan Huiniang rendered the lard and let it cool for a while, she poured the rendered oil into an oil jar.
Yuan Huiniang had never been so satisfied, because the oil jar at home had never been so full. She felt that this amount of oil would last the family for several months.
Looking at the remaining oil residue in the pot, Yuan Huiniang asked Yan Qingqing, "Mother, what should we do with these oil residues?"
Yan Qingqing thought to herself that Yuan Huiniang had finally asked her for permission, so she replied with a smile, "Take out a small portion, mix it with salt, and we'll eat it as a snack. We'll use the rest to make steamed buns."
Yuan Huiniang nodded quickly, afraid that her mother-in-law would change her mind. In fact, she was also very greedy. She didn't know how much saliva she had secretly spat while the oil was being rendered, and she was afraid that someone would see it.
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