After three days of busy work at home, Shen An Ning didn't dare to open the kitchen because baking mooncakes would have a sweet and greasy aroma, so she only baked a batch in the kitchen in the afternoon when no one came to the infirmary.
Little Shen Zixi has been suffering a lot these days. Every day she smells the sweet aroma of mooncakes and watches her aunt bake mooncakes one pot after another, but she can only eat very few of them.
Shen An Ning had no choice. She used the kitchen oven to make the five-nut fillings, and added the kind of rock sugar in blocks. It was still a bit sweet for children, and the little girl usually drank milk powder and ate milk tablets and candies. It was not good for her to consume too much sugar.
Looking at the pitiful little girl, Shen Anning could only comfort her: "Xixi, this mooncake is too sweet, let's just taste it, and then your aunt will make you the non-sweet mooncake with meat filling in the evening, so you can eat more, okay?"
Shen Zixi was young and had never seen the world before, so she was a little surprised. “Meat filling, can you use mooncakes to wrap meat?”
Shen Anning didn’t feel like she was deceiving anyone at all, after all, meat floss is also meat!
The mooncakes Shen Anning makes at home are more delicate and use richer ingredients. She makes about two kilograms of each type, including raisins, red beans, salted egg yolks, and pork floss. She also uses less sugar and spends more time on the pastry, so the mooncakes are not greasy at all.
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shen An Ning was quite open, and her younger brothers and sisters were on vacation at home. The villagers had been living quite well in the past two years, and there were also several families whose children were formal workers in the city, so those who were doing well had more or less prepared some mooncakes and snacks.
Early in the morning, Shen An Ning wrapped the prepared crust and fillings, shaped them with a mold, brushed them with egg liquid after demoulding, and put them into the preheated oven. Because the fire was added from below and baked by heat, the crust of the five-nut mooncake was very crispy, somewhat like the crumbly crust of later generations.
Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan went to school normally for the past few days. When they came back, they ate cooled mooncakes. It was the first time they ate freshly baked mooncakes that were still hot, and the feeling was very different.
“Sister, this one is more delicious when it’s freshly baked.” Shen Anyu finished a piece in a few bites, and still felt a lingering aftertaste.
Shen Anning was afraid that he would eat too much and couldn't stop, "Okay, don't eat too much, my eldest sister also baked a few other different kinds of food, let's eat together at my parents' house in the evening."
Shen Zixi had been looking forward to this for a long time, and when he heard this, he raised his head very high.
Shen Anning smiled and pretended not to see it.
The lunch for several people was relatively simple, just cornmeal and white flour noodles, vegetables and chopped green onions from the field, and a fried egg for each person. Considering that they had to eat a lot in the evening, noodles took up space and digested quickly, so it was the most convenient option.
It was inconvenient to bring soupy meals, so Shen An Ning prepared some cooked food and dried fruits that could be stored and kept them in the space.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Jiaman came over on her bicycle and brought Shen Anning a Mid-Autumn Festival gift, a pound of persimmon cakes and a pound of air-dried beef jerky, which were sent back by her brother from the countryside.
"An Ning, this beef jerky is still a bit salty and very dry. You have to eat less and not too much in one day, otherwise it will easily cause problems."
Shen Anning understood what Liu Jiaman meant and took the net bag handed over, "Okay, I understand. I also prepared a festival gift for you. I guarantee you will like it."
Because several aunts and children came to give holiday gifts to Shen Anning's family in the morning, some of the prepared mooncakes were distributed, and the remaining ones were only about 35 kilograms.
Shen An Ning packed the mooncakes for the Liu family separately. One pound was a mix of flavors that she baked in the space oven, about eight in total. Because she was afraid that the appearance would be too good-looking, she controlled the time and baked them in the kitchen oven for twenty minutes. There was also one pound of five-nut mooncakes, which were more weighed, with only six in one pound.
"This pack of eight is what I made myself. The flavors are mixed, but they are delicious. The five-nut ones are also okay, but they have an old taste."
Liu Jiaman had just eaten a five-nut bun, so she was particularly looking forward to it. "It's good, it's good. Anyway, as long as it's made by you, it won't taste too bad."
Liu Jiaman rode a bicycle carrying two backpacks and Shen Anxuan, while Shen Anning rode a bicycle carrying An Yu and Shen Zixi. After closing the gate, they set off for the farm early.
The evening performance started at 5:30, when it was just getting dark. Although the program was boring and most of the themes were similar, in this era of lack of literature and art, when people's spare time is not rich enough, I still enjoyed watching it.
The old man who guards the farm also gave a pound of reduced-sugar five-nut mooncakes, and the rest was directly taken to the farm headquarters by bicycle.
The price Uncle Liu gave was very good. Shen An Ning didn't ask for dim sum tickets, so he added some to the price. Anyway, it was offset by things from the farm, so even if it was taken away by the supply and marketing cooperative, the price would not be too high.
In the afternoon, Liu Jiaman didn't have to work, so she took Shen Anning and the others to play on the farm. This was also the first time Shen Anning had visited the farm in its entirety, where her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law worked.
Although we arrived early, after checking the accounts with the accountant and strolling around with Liu Jiaman, we returned to the venue where the performance was already full of people.
Liu Jiaman had taken a seat in advance, both in the front and on the side. Shen Anning was very satisfied. It was convenient for them to leave when everyone was enjoying the fun. The Mid-Autumn Festival and the Autumn Harvest were held together, and the scale was very large. Almost everyone on the farm came.
Liu Jiaman was also overwhelmed today. Many relatives from her parents' side came to watch the performance and brought several children with them. As the older sister, her job was to keep an eye on these noisy kids.
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