The next morning, as the sun rose, Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dajiang came up.
Cheng Yue and the others had just finished breakfast and cleared the table. Cheng Yue then took out the blueprints and started talking to Chen An and the other two about the oven.
Anyway, they're all made of yellow mud, so it's no different from building a house, except they look different and are a bit smaller.
That's why they understood after Cheng Yue only explained it once.
Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dajiang stood up and said, "Then let's go dig some soil first!"
With that, he carried the basket on his back and went out. There was plenty of yellow soil; he just needed to dig up the stickier kind.
Chen An smiled wryly, "This is none of my business..."
Yesterday I mentioned that he couldn't lift heavy objects for the time being, but these two brothers were so enthusiastic about digging that they seemed afraid of tiring him out, and they ran incredibly fast.
Cheng Yue patted him to comfort him, "Who said it's none of your business? You still need to draw the dimensions of this oven. You're in charge of this whole thing, so I won't get involved!"
Xiaotong, Xiaoning, come in with me to make pastries!
We didn't have many pastries to give to Master Chen and his family, so the small oven in the space would suffice. Once the oven in the yard was set up and dried for a few days, they would be ready for the opening.
"Yes, Mother!"
Hearing that they were making pastries, the two sisters were overjoyed and immediately followed Cheng Yue to the kitchen.
Who doesn't love sweet pastries? They'll be in for a treat soon!
It's just drawing dimensions, but A-Yue makes it sound like some huge task. Chen An smiled; she really knows how to comfort him.
Alright, let's do it!
Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dajiang made several trips back and forth, and only started mixing the mud after they saw that the soil had been carried away enough.
The three brothers chatted and worked happily, and Cheng Yue and her two daughters were just as lively.
"Mom, what is this?!"
"Mom, how do I make this?"
Chen Tong and Chen Ning, one holding lotus seeds and the other holding red beans and mung beans, looked completely bewildered.
After Cheng Yue patiently explained, she added, "They're all for making fillings. You'll see when I make them."
"Let's remove the lotus seed hearts from here first, otherwise the pastries won't taste good and will taste bitter."
Cheng Yue broke open a lotus seed to show them. The lotus seeds she bought hadn't been processed and all still had the lotus heart attached.
Following Cheng Yue's example, the two sisters quickly cleaned a pound of lotus seeds and then started cooking them.
There was only one stove in the house, so Cheng Yue could only throw red beans and mung beans into the rice cooker in her space.
Then they took out everything they needed. Although Chen Tong and Chen Ning already knew about the existence of the space, they couldn't help but be amazed by the things that appeared out of thin air.
While boiling lotus seeds and beans, Cheng Yue also started making meat floss.
Making pork floss is a bit more troublesome. It needs to be cooked and then torn into strips along the grain. Since I don't have a food processor, I can only put it in a bag and use a rolling pin to beat it into a fluffy texture.
Chen Ning found making meat floss very interesting, so she took the initiative to do it.
Cheng Yue watched for a while and saw that she did a pretty good job, so she couldn't help but praise her: "Xiao Ning is so smart, she can do it so well after only watching for a few seconds!"
Chen Ning smiled sweetly and adorably, showing off her tiny teeth, "I enjoy doing these things, they're so interesting."
Cheng Yue raised an eyebrow. Could it be that this child likes making pastries?
Chen Tong added firewood with a fire poker, grinning as he said, "Little sister cooks well too, but I've never seen her so enthusiastic about it before. So you like making these things! You little glutton!"
Chen Ning blushed and said slowly, "I like cooking... but I like it even more."
Cheng Yue laughed, "If you like it, just do it. What's wrong with that? From now on, Mom will take you with her when she makes pastries."
It's a skill to learn, and I didn't expect to gain anything from bringing my two kids in today.
Chen Ning nodded, "Okay! I want to learn from Mom."
After handing the pork floss to Chen Ning, Cheng Yue began preparing the sesame and jujube paste fillings.
Soon, the lotus seeds and beans were cooked. Cheng Yue took out her small frying pan and placed it on the small earthen stove next to the pottery pot.
Since Chen Ning is interested, she can't operate in the space anymore, because the child can't see her space.
"Little Lemon, look, the methods and steps for making the filling are almost the same. You need to add sugar and oil, and stir-fry it in a pan until it clumps together..."
Cheng Yue demonstrated as she spoke, and Chen Ning watched attentively. Before long, she was able to get the hang of it, clearly showing great talent.
Chen Tong looked on, feeling overwhelmed, and frowned, saying, "This is too difficult! I'd better just stick to lighting the fire!"
Cheng Yue chuckled. How come the three children are so different!
However, Chen Lin has already gone to the shop, and Chen Ning has also found her interest, so they will definitely do business together in the future.
Everyone else has something to do, which makes Chen Tong look pitiful. He does have ideals, but they're a bit hard to achieve.
There are plenty of people who know kung fu, but most of them are men, so they definitely can't teach Chen Tong. And where can you find a woman to teach kung fu...?
Or perhaps we could inquire about it when we deliver the pastries to Master Chen this time?
Cheng Yue thought it was feasible and, after making up her mind, continued making pastries.
The pastries with fillings were being prepared for making flaky pastries, so Cheng Yue started kneading the dough and had Chen Ning watch how to make the water-oil dough and the oil-based dough.
This step is much more difficult than making the filling. The proportions are key, and it's impossible to learn it just by watching for a few moments. Chen Ning understood this, so she familiarized herself with it on the side.
After all the pastries are made, they can only be baked in the space. Chen Ning can't see them even if she wants to learn, but this is the simplest step. Once the oven in the yard is made, she can learn how to bake them.
Cheng Yue and her two sisters spent the whole morning making pork floss cake rolls, soft-skinned mung bean cakes, red bean cakes, peach shortbread, lotus seed paste shortbread, black sesame shortbread, and jujube paste shortbread.
The only downside is that it doesn't have salted egg yolk, which makes it feel a bit lacking.
It seems that if she wants to eat salted egg yolks, she'll have to be self-sufficient.
When the finished pastries were laid out, Chen Tong and Chen Ning were so surprised that their almond-shaped eyes widened.
"These are all pastries? Why are there so many? And they all look different!"
They were all different sizes, round and flat, long and short; they didn't know how to describe them!
"Wow! It smells so good! Mom, did we really make this ourselves?"
Cheng Yue smiled and said, "Of course, Xiao Tong and Xiao Ning both put in a lot of effort!"
Look at how surprised the two children are. These pastries look like a lot, but apart from the cake, the rest are all made in the same way and are not difficult to make.
"Alright, let's keep one portion for Third Master Chen, give another to your village head, and we'll eat the rest ourselves. Hmm, and take some to your brother and the others too."
As she spoke, Cheng Yue gave each of the two children a piece.
Chen Tong opened her eyes wide, a look of satisfaction on her face, "Mmm! It smells so good and tastes so sweet!"
Chen Ning smiled, her eyebrows curving upwards. "So sweet! Luckily, I caught them all!"
Cheng Yue also tried a piece, and it was excellent, perfect!
It was almost noon, and Zhang Dashan and the others were due to go home for lunch. Cheng Yue had paid them this time, so she didn't provide meals.
After all, they've been busy these past few days and have been eating whatever they can find, so they haven't had the energy to think about food.
Cheng Yue packed the pastries into a small basket and went outside. Zhang Dashan and the others had just washed their hands and were about to leave when they suddenly smelled a sweet aroma.
Turning around, I saw Cheng Yue walking over carrying a basket of bright orange things.
"Brother Dashan, Brother Dajiang, these are some pastries I just made. There aren't many, but you can take them back and try them."
"No wonder it smelled so good! Turns out my sister-in-law has made something delicious again! These pastries look so appetizing!"
The two sniffed. It wasn't that they hadn't eaten pastries before, but this was the first time they had seen one that smelled so good and looked so beautiful.
Seeing the two dumbfounded people, Chen An urged, "Don't be shy, take it quickly. Don't forget to come back and work after you finish eating!"
"Go away! Stop showing off!" Zhang Dajiang laughed and scolded. The two of them stopped being polite and went down the mountain with their baskets.
Chen An, that kid, he's so smug just because his wife can cook a lot!
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