Xu Yuehuai became even more enthusiastic. She kept stirring, and the black sesame seeds were ready, puffed up from being roasted, and the peanuts had all burst open.
She quickly took out the black sesame seeds and peanuts, then crushed the black sesame seeds, and the room was instantly filled with the aroma of black sesame seeds. She did the same with the peanuts, but first she had to remove the peanut skins.
After crushing the sesame seeds and peanuts, the red beans were also soaked. She quickly took them over and poured them into a pot to stew.
I would prepare the mooncake filling myself by adding half a can of white sugar to the rolled-out black sesame seeds, then two spoonfuls of oil, and finally mixing it all together.
The crushed peanuts are salty; just add a little salt, then sesame oil, and mix well.
The red beans were bubbling away, and there wasn't much water left; many of them had even split open. She quickly scooped them out, drained them, and then heated oil in a separate pot, added honey and sugar, stirred it well, and then added the cooked red beans to stir-fry. Soon, it became a sweet red bean paste.
"Alright, now that the filling is ready, let's continue. It's already past 4 a.m., so let's not sleep." Xu Yuehua muttered to herself, then took out her large basin and started kneading the dough.
Scoop out the flour, add a few spoonfuls of lard, then add sugar and warm water to make the dough. Let it rest. Then take out more flour, add only lard, and knead it into an oil paste.
While the dough was rising, Xu Yuehuai went to find a suitable mold. Actually, it wouldn't have mattered if she didn't have one, but she liked the sense of ritual and liked to make things perfect.
She looked around searching, "Oh, I've got it..." She happily ran over, picked up the piece of bamboo, washed it with water, dried it over a fire, polished it, and then cut it into the right size.
The dough has all risen.
Xu Yuehuai divided the dough and the oil paste into equal portions. She rolled out the dough, wrapped it around the oil paste, rolled it out again, rolled it up, and rolled it out again to make mooncakes.
She makes mooncakes with various fillings, including black sesame, red bean paste, peanut, and even a three-in-one filling. She puts the fillings into the dough, kneads it into a ball, and presses it into a round mold to make a mooncake.
Xu Yuehuai became more and more enthusiastic as she worked, and soon all the flour was used up. After making all the mooncakes, she brushed a layer of coating made of honey, oil and egg liquid onto the surface.
She went to the stove, made a grill using bamboo poles and bowls, then carefully placed the mooncakes inside, covered them with several layers, and started a fire.
Soon it was dawn outside. As soon as San Niang got out of bed, she followed the aroma to the small kitchen, while Xu Yuehuai was still sitting there looking at her mooncakes, because they would be ready to eat in another quarter of an hour.
Third Sister immediately laughed and said, "Ah Yue, you are so hardworking. Whoever marries you in the future will be truly blessed."
Xu Yuehuai finished making the mooncakes and was about to take them out of the oven and plate them when the workers arrived, drawn by the aroma.
"Manager Xu, what delicious food have you made? It smells so good!" Zhao Ping couldn't help but ask.
"Hehe, this is a mooncake, you guys have a taste." Xu Yuehuai happily shared it with everyone.
"This tastes like red beans. It's so sweet and soft inside, it's really delicious!" Third Sister ate it with great joy and couldn't help but praise it.
"Mine is black sesame, it's fragrant and sweet, so delicious." The guys who tried it also praised it, "Mine is black sesame too, I want to have another one."
Seeing everyone's expressions, Xu Yuehuai knew that the food must have been good, so she picked one up and ate one herself: "Don't worry, eat as much as you want, there's plenty."
Everyone was very happy. Third Sister stared at the mooncake in her hand and suddenly her eyes lit up. She suggested, "Ah Yue, with your skills, you could totally open a pastry shop."
"Yes, Manager Xu, your pastries are even better than those made outside," Anan agreed while eating.
The others nodded in agreement.
A thought flashed in Xu Yuehuai's eyes, and she thought that opening a pastry shop would be a good idea: "Okay, then let's open a pastry shop."
"I'll go check out the shop after I finish eating," Xu Yuehuai said, and the workers cheered.
Jiang Shichen was also eating a mooncake. The mooncake was actually very delicious, but at this moment he couldn't taste anything good in it.
Yes, he missed Zhou Wan. She had been gone for so long, and now he was eating mooncakes, a symbol of reunion.
Suddenly, his mouth and heart were filled with bitterness.
Jiang Qianqian saw Jiang Shichen looking depressed while holding the mooncakes, so she wanted to comfort her.
"Shi Chen, don't be sad, your sister-in-law will be back soon." Jiang Qianqian said, hugging Jiang Shi Chen. Actually, she missed her very much too.
Seeing the two children hugging and comforting each other, Xu Yuehuai felt a mix of emotions.
Indeed, Zhou Wan and the others have been gone for too long, and now not only do the children miss them terribly, but he himself is also very worried.
Xu Yuehuai was planning to send someone to check on Luoping Village, and had even called Anan, but then changed his mind.
"Manager Xu, there's a letter for you." Anan happened to run over with the letter, and Xu Yuehuai took it and saw that it was written by Zhou Wan.
Anan handed over the letter and asked, "Manager Xu, what do you want with me?"
Xu Yuehuai was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Anan, there's nothing else to do now, you can go ahead and get back to work."
[Mother, we have a lead on what you asked us to do, and we are already on our way back to Chang'an. Tell Shichen that I miss him very much and will be back soon.]
Xu Yuehuai was overjoyed after reading the letter, and her anxious heart could finally be put at ease.
"Shi Chen, Shi Chen," Xu Yuehuai called out to Jiang Shi Chen, who was standing alone in the room, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Jiang Shichen simply asked, "Grandma, what's wrong?"
"Your mother wrote a letter saying she'll be back soon," Xu Yuehuai happily told Jiang Shichen.
Jiang Shichen paused for a moment, then immediately ran out of the house, saying as he walked, "Grandma, let me see."
Xu Yuehuai handed over the letter, and Jiang Shichen glanced at it; it really was written by his mother.
He saw it with his own eyes; it read, "[Tell Shi Chen that his mother misses him very much and will be returning soon.]"
He smiled, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips as he looked at the letter.
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Qianqian rushed out: "Is my sister-in-law coming back? That's great! Now someone will finally keep that little rascal Jiang Shichen in check."
Everyone was very happy, especially the two little ones.
Xu Yuehuai told them to go back and do their homework, and then went to the street with San Niang to look for a shop.
"Third Sister, look at this shop for sale. Although it's cheap, the shop is too small." Xu Yuehuai and Third Sister were discussing this at the shop entrance.
"Yes, it would be better if it were bigger." Third Sister also thought the location and price were good, but the space was too small.
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