Around noon, Liu's mother made something simple to eat. She then decided to make chestnut cakes. Many of Xuemei's colleagues from the supply and marketing cooperative had come yesterday, so Liu's mother planned to make some for Xuemei to bring to the cooperative tomorrow.
Xuemei wanted to try, but Liu's mother wouldn't let her. She said that she had seen Xuemei do it several times, and that she wanted to try it herself today. There were so many people at home who could do the heavy work, so she definitely wouldn't do it herself. She just wanted Xuemei to help her guide her.
The chestnuts stored at home are cooked and then dried in the sun. After taking them out, soak them in boiling water for a while and then you can remove the shells and skins of the chestnuts.
After the chestnuts are peeled, they are all put into a large bowl and steamed in a steamer. After steaming, they are placed in a ceramic bowl with a ring and crushed with a wooden stick. Then, some square and round pastries are made using the square and round molds that Wang Weimin made at home.
Boiled and dried chestnuts have a naturally sweet flavor, eliminating the need for sugar. This is the simplest way to make chestnut cake. You can also add mung beans or peanuts to make mung bean and peanut chestnut cakes, but these recipes are more complicated, requiring the addition of sugar, as they require soaking the mung beans overnight. Furthermore, mung beans and peanuts are much more expensive than chestnuts, making them less desirable for families.
One and a half pounds of dried chestnuts can make one pound of chestnut cake. Liu's mother took out five pounds today and made more than three pounds of chestnut cake. One piece of chestnut cake is about 50 grams, so she made a total of 33 chestnut cakes.
Each family member ate one piece, and there were 25 pieces left. Liu's mother planned to pick out 16 pieces and ask Xuemei to take them to the supply and marketing cooperative to share. Liu's mother was wrapping them with oil paper when there was a knock on the door outside the yard.
Ruirui heard it and went out of the kitchen to see who was coming. Less than half a minute later, he heard Ruirui shouting in the yard: "Dad, Zhou Zhiqing is back from visiting relatives and wants to see you for something!"
When the people in the kitchen heard this, everyone came out except Liu's mother. Xuemei was shocked to see Zhou Bing in the yard. In just seventeen or eighteen days, Zhou Bing had lost a lot of weight, with stubble around his mouth. He looked very tired, and his expression was a bit sad and melancholy.
Zhou Bing saw Han Chen and Xuemei, forced a smile and greeted them, then handed Han Chen a red envelope and said, "I heard you had a wedding banquet yesterday. This is a wedding red envelope for you. I wish you two a happy and harmonious future!"
Han Chen took the red envelope and was about to speak when Zhou Bing turned around and said to Liu's father, "Village Chief, I have something to talk to you about. Let's talk first!"
Father Liu looked at Zhou Bing and without saying hello, he took him directly to the main hall.
After the main hall door closed, Qing Ya asked, "What happened to Zhou Zhiqing? Why did he suddenly change so much? That's right, he looks much older! Ruirui, why do you think this happened?"
Ruirui shook her head and replied, "Second sister, how would I know? I just opened the door!"
Han Chen and Xuemei looked at each other silently, and they both guessed that something might have happened in Zhou Bing's aunt's family.
About an hour later, Liu's father and Zhou Bing came out of the main hall. Xuemei and the others heard Liu's father scolding Zhou Bing a few words.
After Zhou Bing came out, he nodded to everyone and left. Han Chen originally wanted to chat with him, but he didn't expect him to slip away so quickly.
Everyone looked at Father Liu who was approaching. He sent Qingya and her two siblings back to their room, sighed deeply, and then said to Xuemei and the others, "Zhou Zhiqing is being transferred back to their hometown in the countryside to serve as an educated youth!"
"Then what about him and Shengnan? Why does he have to leave our village just to visit his relatives?" Xuemei asked anxiously.
Father Liu replied, "He and Shengnan are both good children. They just weren't meant to be together. They're not suitable for each other after all! Xuemei, go check on Shengnan now. Zhou Zhiqing went to look for Shengnan after he came back!"
Xuemei was completely bewildered. Seeing that Zhou Bing and Shengnan were about to see the light at the end of the tunnel, how could things suddenly turn out like this? Seeing that Father Liu was still waiting for her response, Xuemei replied, "I'll go now!"
Before Xuemei left, Liu's mother put a few pieces of chestnut cake in a bowl and asked Xuemei to take it, saying that eating something sweet when people are sad will make them feel much better.
When Xuemei arrived at Liu Xiu's house, the gate was unlocked and opened with a push. She walked into the yard and saw Shengnan chopping wood fiercely with an axe in front of the firewood shed. Yanan, standing by, didn't dare to utter a single sound, but simply stared at Shengnan chopping wood. When Shengnan finished chopping a pile, Yanan picked it up and carried it to the firewood shed.
Xuemei looked at him for a while before calling out, "Yanan!"
Yanan then put down the firewood in her hand, walked over and said, "Sister, why are you here?"
Xuemei handed the bowl to Yanan and explained, "I just made some chestnut cakes. Bring a few pieces over for you to try!"
After Xuemei finished explaining, she shouted to Shengnan, "Shengnan, take a break and come over to eat something!"
Shengnan stopped what he was doing, shook his head, and then continued to chop wood with the sound of "crackling, crackling".
Xuemei walked a little closer, and when she was about one or two meters away from Shengnan, she stopped and said, "Shengnan, I know what happened! Stop first!"
When Shengnan heard this, she chopped the axe hard into the mud, then looked at Xuemei, picked up the clothes beside her and went into the house. Xuemei followed her in.
After entering the room, Shengnan said, "Sister, you know everything!"
Only then did Xuemei realize that Shengnan's eyes were red. Xuemei felt even more annoyed with Zhou Bing. Ever since Liu Xiu stayed in Liujia Village, Shengnan rarely saw her cry. It seemed that Shengnan was really hurt by Zhou Bing this time.
"I knew Zhou Zhiqing was going to leave Liujia Village, but I didn't know why?" Xuemei replied.
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