Grandma, the village head, vividly remembers the price when she bought it.
Gu Lili's candy seems even sweeter than the ones I bought, so it can fetch an even better price.
Gu Lili deliberately took a step back, her little face stern, and said, "If you don't accept the candy, is it because you don't want to lend me the scales?"
The village head was immediately amused by Gu Lili. "You silly girl, I'll accept it then. I'll go find you a scale right now!"
The village head's family treated her so well, so Gu Lili was naturally happy to give them a few pieces of candy.
If she weren't worried about arousing their suspicions, Gu Lili would have liked to give them more, but well, there's plenty of time in the future.
After leaving the village head's house, Gu Lili took the scale and headed home.
When they got home, Gu Huanhuan had already cooked the rice.
Gu Lili took out the meat she bought yesterday, cut out more than a pound of it, with a good mix of fat and lean meat, it would definitely taste delicious when cooked.
Gu Lili cut the meat into chunks, put it in a pot and stir-fry it to render the fat, then scooped in a spoonful of maltose and stir-fried it to caramelize it.
As soon as the meat was put in, it was coated with caramel coloring, making it look very appetizing. Gu Lili put in the bay leaves and star anise she had bought from the mall, added water, and started stewing.
Gu Huanhuan seemed unfazed by the strange leaves and bark that Gu Lili added to the food, and didn't ask any further questions.
Gu Lili washed some more bracken fern, preparing to stir-fry it later.
Gu Erniu and Gu Sigou also returned from cutting bamboo. Gu Lili told Gu Huanhuan to watch the pot, and then went out to cut bamboo with Gu Erniu and the others.
"Erniu, just whittle the bamboo into sticks that are half the length of chopsticks," Gu Lili said as she split a section of bamboo.
The two worked together and soon they had cut out a few more.
Seeing that he couldn't be of much help, Gu Sigou took a stick and went outside to pry open wild vegetables to feed the chickens and ducks.
"Lili, what are you eating at your house? It smells so good!"
Gu Lili and Gu Erniu were busy when they looked up and saw Aunt Zhang at the door.
Gu Lili smiled and said, "I went to town yesterday and bought some meat. It's stewing right now. Aunt Zhang, come in and have some!"
Aunt Zhang lives next door to Gu Lili, and lately she keeps smelling a delicious aroma coming from Gu Lili's house.
It smelled so good today that I couldn't resist asking about it.
Today, the aroma has a sweet note, making my mouth water.
"No, no, I was just passing by and asked casually. You guys are busy, I'm going home to cook too," Aunt Zhang said and left.
As she walked, she muttered to herself, "How can Lili be so wasteful? Eating like this every day, she'll eat up all that ten taels of silver sooner or later... Hmm..."
Gu Lili and Erniu continued to shave bamboo skewers. After shaving dozens of skewers, Gu Lili told Erniu to stop and go call Sigou for dinner.
Si Gou hadn't gone far; he was right on the ridge in front of his house when Gu Erniu called out to him, and he ran back with some wild vegetables in his hand.
Gu Lili also washed the shaved bamboo skewers with water and hung them to dry in a sieve.
Whether in ancient or modern times, food safety and hygiene are always a top priority.
"Wow, sister, it smells so good!" Gu Sigou said, slurping his saliva. He threw the wild vegetables in his hand to the chickens and ducks, then ran to the water vat to wash his hands.
Recently, at Gu Lili's insistence, the three siblings of the Gu family have all developed the habit of washing their hands before meals and brushing their teeth before going to bed.
After washing their hands, the group went to the table to eat.
Gu Huanhuan served the bright red, glistening braised pork onto the table, and the stir-fried bracken looked incredibly tempting. Gu Lili couldn't help but swallow hard at the sight.
If you add a few eggs and abalone to this meat, the eggs will be incredibly delicious.
The three siblings, Gu Erniu and his sister, were no longer as reserved as before and began to eat heartily with their chopsticks.
When Gu Lili made the maltose, they realized that they would never go hungry again.
"Sister, this meat is so delicious, it's so sweet!"
"Yes, yes, sister, I love it! The bracken fern smells so good!"
"Sister, how did Mother secretly teach you so many things?!"
Gu Lili ate while laughing, "If it's delicious, eat more. Eating more will help you grow up quickly. Mother taught me a lot of things. When you grow up, I'll teach you too, okay?"
The three nodded in unison, and the entire large bowl of meat was eaten clean by the four of them.
Although the food has been good lately, this meat is just so delicious.
If it weren't for the thought of leaving some oil for Big Black to mix with his rice, Gu Sigou would have loved to drink the oily soup himself.
After dinner, Gu Lili and the others blanched the bracken, hung it to dry under the eaves, and tidied up before going to bed.
Tomorrow, since there are no oxcarts to go to Donghai Town, we'll have to walk.
Gu Lili has decided to take Gu Erniu with her tomorrow, while Gu Huanhuan and Gu Sigou will stay at home.
When we have an oxcart, we'll take them out to see the world.
As usual, the group recited multiplication tables for a while before going to sleep.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the four siblings got up and got busy.
Because they were going to sell things, Gu Lili made Gu Erniu wear new clothes so he wouldn't look shabby and it would give him some confidence.
Gu Lili plans to give Gu Erniu a good workout, because she'll have plenty of things she wants to buy in the future.
She definitely couldn't handle it all by herself.
Gu Lili weighed the maltose she made yesterday. The sugar cubes weighed more than five jin, and the syrup, including the earthenware jar, weighed more than four jin in total.
"Si Gou, go find some wild vegetables to feed the chickens and ducks today. Don't go too far, and don't go to the water by yourself, okay? Listen to your third sister at home." Gu Lili instructed Gu Si Gou as she and Gu Er Niu went out.
She wasn't worried about Gu Huanhuan, as she was a very well-behaved girl. Of course, Gu Sigou was also well-behaved. However, she couldn't help but worry that he might encounter danger when he went out to find wild vegetables.
Gu Lili had no idea when she had become so accustomed to being the older sister of three children.
After walking for more than an hour, Gu Lili and Gu Ergou finally arrived at Donghai Town.
Throughout the journey, Gu Erniu volunteered to carry the basket on his back, and no matter what Gu Lili said, he insisted that she not carry it.
He already looks like a little man.
Gu Lili led Gu Erniu through the city gate, and Gu Erniu was completely stunned.
Although it's not market day, there are still many pedestrians coming and going on the road.
When it's market day, it's mostly people from nearby villages who come to buy and sell things; when it's not market day, it's almost entirely people from Donghai Town.
Gu Erniu had thought his new clothes were really beautiful the whole way. But when he got to the city, he realized that the clothes worn by the people there were even more stylish.
The hands gripping the basket handles tightened unconsciously.
Gu Lili clearly saw Gu Erniu's concerns and inferiority complex.
She flicked Gu Erniu on the forehead and laughed, "Erniu, we're here to sell things, not to steal or rob, so there's nothing to worry about. Don't be afraid."
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