Chapter 114 Chu Song's Birthday Cake
Another person?
Based on her understanding of people, Xiang Baoshu couldn't think of who else it could be. She didn't dwell on it and just threw the letter into the fire, watching it being devoured by the flames.
"Xianxian, the mung bean cake is almost done. Would you like to try some later?"
Chu Song: "Yes, yes, yes!!"
After the excitement of watching the movie faded away, the villagers, young and old, all devoted themselves to hard work. Chu Song was also busy every day, like a hardworking little bee flying up and down.
As for what serious things they have done.
Sorry, no comment due to privacy.
That day, Chu Heng pulled her aside mysteriously and asked her if she was ready.
Chu Song was bewildered: "Preparing for what?"
"Mom's birthday is in a few days."
Chu Song: "Ah?"
"Didn't you say you and Mom were the best friends in the world? How come you even forgot this?" Chu Heng laughed. "Big brother said you must have forgotten, and I even told you it was impossible for you to forget."
Chu Song clenched his fist and hit him. "Why do you care so much about what happened? Besides, I know it now. What's the difference between that and me not forgetting it?"
Chu Heng: “…”
"Let's take a step back and say, even if I forgot, I'm wrong, but you're not wrong, are you?"
Chu Heng pointed at himself, surprised: "What did I do wrong?"
"Your mistake was not stopping me from making a mistake in time."
"..." Chu Heng was at a loss for words. "Little sister, you've retreated too much. You're almost retreating to the next village."
Chu Song: "Little mouth!"
Chu Heng admitted defeat. "Okay, okay, it's my fault. Let's get down to business. Do you have any ideas for Mom's birthday? In the past, we always made some delicious dishes and a bowl of longevity noodles, but I think we can make it a little more lively this year."
Chu Song clasped his hands together and made a wish: "I want to eat roasted pig's trotters, fried chicken, braised pork, sweet and sour spare ribs, and steamed mandarin fish."
Chai Xueqi passed by and heard it. She was attracted by her eager and sincere eyes. She smiled and asked, "Are you celebrating your birthday or your mother's birthday?"
Chu Song said shamelessly: "If I'm happy, my mother will be happy too. How can I not be considered filial if I make her happy?"
"But I do have a good idea."
"What is it?"
"I'm going to make a big cake. Xiuzhi has definitely never eaten it before."
Chu Heng and Chai Xueqi looked at each other. They had never heard of such a thing as "cake". "...Cake, is it a pastry?"
"It's indeed a kind of pastry, but it's different from what you usually eat. You'll know when I make it." Chu Song added, "It's a new thing that's popular overseas. I know that because I'm well-informed."
Chai Xueqi didn't understand, but supported him without thinking, "Do you need my help? I can give you a hand."
"No need. Xiang Baoshu alone is a reinforced company."
Chu Heng: "I'll help!"
Chu Song stared at him and snorted twice in a sarcastic tone.
Chu Heng: “…”
He obviously really wanted to help!
--
Chu Song has never made cake, but as the saying goes, you have never eaten pork, but you have seen pigs run.
Chu Song believed in Xiang Baoshu's understanding. The only remaining issues were the ingredients and the venue. As a surprise, he must not let Ye Xiuzhi realize in advance that his kitchen was unusable.
Chu Song thought about it and decided to requisition Fang Qingrong’s kitchen. It was in a remote location and sparsely populated, making it a perfect place!
As for the ingredients...
Chu Song picked up two walnuts from the window, chewed them and strolled to the educated youth site. She walked through the courtyard gate as if she was familiar with the place and knocked on the window.
Lu Minglin was sitting by the window writing a letter home, his long eyelashes drooping, his body straight as a poplar, and his hand holding the pen with distinct joints.
Chu Song only noticed that the pen was very valuable.
She put her face close to the window and winked at him: "Brother Lu~"
Lu Minglin looked up when he heard the voice, and his heart was suddenly struck. His heart softened. He quickly stood up and opened the door for her, and asked softly, "Why did you come here so suddenly?"
"I miss you, so I come to play with you."
Although Lu Minglin didn't believe it, he had self-awareness and was completely coaxed into submission.
Chu Song asked curiously, "What are you writing?"
"Write a letter to my family."
"oh."
Lu Minglin: "Do you want to see it?"
"This is not good, it's about you and your family..." Having said that, Chu Song still picked up the letter curiously. The letter was written by Lu Minglin's grandmother. The handwriting was beautiful, and you could tell at a glance that the owner of the letter was a well-educated and cultured person.
Soon she knew why Lu Minglin asked her to read the letter.
"Grandma sent me beef chili sauce! And crab roe sauce!"
Lu Minglin took the opportunity to whisper in her ear: "Well, grandma likes you very much."
To be precise, thanks to his tireless efforts and writing two letters every month, the whole family had a good impression of Chu Song, and even Father Lu, who was the most opposed, kept silent.
Of course, it could also be that Lu Minglin’s confession that he was still trying to gain the approval of Chu Song and her family was a big blow to him.
Chu Song: "Did you praise me to grandma?"
As she spoke, she went to read Lu Minglin's reply. The content of the letter praised her so much that Ye Xiuzhi almost doubted whether she was her own daughter.
"Yes, this is exactly me!"
Lu Minglin curled his lips: "Yes, it's you."
After reading the letter, Chu Song thought about his own business. The ingredients for making the cake also required milk, strawberries and jam. These ingredients were not uncommon, but it was very troublesome to find them all in the 1970s.
Chu Song never hesitates to trouble others.
Lu Minglin didn't think much about it and nodded in agreement.
"Brother Lu, you are so kind. I knew you would agree."
"Aunt Ye usually takes care of me a lot. It's her birthday, so I should do my part. I'll come and help."
"No need." Chu Song was afraid that he would misunderstand, so he added, "It's not that I don't want you to help, but I have to do these things at Xiaofang's house and can't bring you with me."
After she finished speaking, she saw Lu Minglin's smile disappear, his lips pursed, and his eyes were filled with grievance and accusation.
Lu Minglin was upset, but he could do nothing about it.
It would be better to say that she didn't want his help.
Chu Song pretended not to see his grievance, then remembered that he still had two walnuts in his hand. "Oh, Brother Lu, these are for you. They're good for your brain."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. I gave it to you because I like Brother Lu."
Lu Minglin felt a little better.
Chu Song also went home contentedly with the canned food. He felt that every time he went to the educated youth compound, he was going to purchase goods and refresh the supplies at a fixed point.
In the evening, Cen Zimu came back and saw two walnuts on the table. He had been hungry for the whole afternoon, so he cracked one of them open and put it in his mouth before spitting it out with a distorted expression.
"Bah, that's bad! It's so bitter. Why are you staring at it even though it tastes so bad? I thought it was delicious."
Lu Minglin glanced at him, took the remaining one, cracked it open and showed it to him, "Okay."
"No, where did you get the walnuts?"
Lu Minglin didn't say anything. Cen Zimu guessed it from his expression, "Chu Song? Did that guy pick up walnuts on the road?"
"Cen Zimu."
"what?"
"I've noticed that you've been making malicious assumptions about others lately. How come I didn't realize you were like that before?"
Cen Zimu: "..."
Lu Minglin: "Why couldn't she have guessed that you would be tempted by the walnuts, so she prepared a bad one for you? The good one is for me."
Cen Zimu: "..."
"Are you okay?!"
Cen Zimu felt that Lu Minglin looked calm, but he had actually been crazy for quite some time.
Regardless of Lu Minglin's mental state, he was very efficient and quickly prepared the ingredients Chu Song needed.
"I even managed to get some strawberries. How rare!" Xiang Baoshu couldn't help but sigh, "Strawberries are out of season now."
Chu Song shook his head. "Alas, money. Alas, capital. Alas, privilege."
"Okay, stop talking nonsense. How should I make that cake you mentioned?"
"Separate the egg whites and yolks with a whisk... If you don't have one, use chopsticks. Vigorous application works wonders. Beat until the egg whites become a paste. Add sugar, milk, oil, and flour to the egg yolks. It's up to you how much to add. Don't ask me because I don't know either. Anyway, use your imagination. Once the egg mixture is mixed, it's ready to steam. It's best to place the egg mixture in a round bowl, cover it, and bake it over low heat. Very good, that's it. Let's make the cake base first and see how it goes."
Chu Song asked worriedly, "Do you understand? Do you want me to repeat it again?"
Xiang Baoshu was silent for a few seconds after hearing this. There was no point in repeating herself. She nodded with difficulty, "...I think so. I'll try."
"Then go ahead bravely. I believe in you!"
Everything was ready, and Xiang Baoshu followed Chu Song's "steps" in an orderly manner.
Soon, the first batch of cake bases came out of the pot. They had uniform color and golden crust. Although I don’t know how they taste, at least they look good.
"Let me try it." Chu Song couldn't wait to tear off a small piece of cake base. "Did you add too much sugar? It's too sweet and not soft enough."
Xiang Baoshu also took a bite. After all, she was an old hand in the kitchen, so she immediately summed up the reason for the failure. "The heat was a bit too strong, the outside was cooked, the inside was raw, and the egg batter was not beaten enough. I'll try again."
Xiang Baoshu was busy in the kitchen. Chu Song wanted to help but was rejected by her with a smile. Adhering to the idea of not wasting food, Chu Song handed the failed cake base to Fang Qingrong.
"Xiao Fang, try this." She waved her hand like calling a puppy.
"Even though it's a failure, it's not inedible. Come on, open your mouth."
Fang Qingrong opened her mouth obediently.
"Is it tasty?"
Fang Qingrong nodded, "It's delicious."
Chu Song was very satisfied and grabbed a few more pieces to feed them. "Where's grandma? Give her some too. Elderly people can't eat too sweet food, so a little bit should be fine."
Chu Song felt that he and Weng Fengwei were close friends regardless of age, so he omitted his last name and addressed him in a more intimate manner. However, to Fang Qingrong's ears, it had a different meaning.
"Grandma is still outside shelling beans."
"Oh, what a hard-working little bee, just like me."
Fang Qingrong has not forgotten the reason why they first met.
Chu Song: "Grandma! Try this!"
Weng Fengwei showed little interest, and continued working. "No, I'm an old man, and I'm not interested in what you young people are tinkering with."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Song had already forced love on him, finding the right opportunity to stuff a piece into his mouth, "Try it, I didn't poison you."
“Is it sweet?”
"……sweet."
Chu Song smiled and sat down next to her. "My mother's birthday is in a few days. Why don't you come to my house for dinner? It's just the cake base now. It will taste better when it's ready."
Weng Fengwei glanced at Fang Qingrong beside him calmly and shook his head calmly: "I'm old and too lazy to move. If you're interested, you can bring it over to me to taste."
"You're pushing your luck!"
"So what?"
Chu Song elbowed her twice: "But who asked me to pamper you?"
"No respect for elders or younger children."
"Take advantage of your age."
Weng Fengwei glared at her, but he couldn't help laughing after just a few seconds. "Alright, alright, go away and don't bother me."
"Qingrong, come and help me move all these into the main room."
"Okay." Fang Qingrong nodded and moved the peeled beans and the remaining bamboo strips for weaving straw hats into the house.
Weng Fengwei followed behind him and watched him silently. He grew up, and she grew older.
Fang Qingrong packed up his things quickly and turned around to see Weng Fengwei looking at him with complicated eyes. He was a little puzzled.
"Have you decided on her?"
Fang Qingrong was stunned for a moment, then realized the meaning of her words. After a while, he slowly nodded.
"That girl will be taking the college entrance exam at the end of the year, and will be going to university after the New Year. I've asked around, and she's in the capital... I only went there once when I was a kid with my parents. The gap between you two will only grow bigger and bigger, and the distance between you will become greater and greater."
"She'll forget you like the wind."
"Even so, you don't regret it?"
Fang Qingrong lowered her head and said softly, "There's nothing to regret."
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