I don't know if it was because the aunties taught her patiently, or because there were more people around and Zhu Qing felt pressured, or because sticky rice cakes are really easy to make, but anyway, the sticky rice cakes she made were presentable, and the aunties even went out of their way to praise how good they looked.
Zhu Qinghao and Si Tian, who knew her true abilities, exchanged a glance but smiled without saying a word, shamelessly accepting all the aunties' various compliments.
Many hands make light work. Tian Haiying's family is large, so they prepared to make more than 300 jin of sticky rice cakes. As a result, everyone finished making them in one morning.
Just as they finished making them, it was noon. Tian Haiying gave each person two sticky rice cakes, and Zhu Qinghao and Si Tian, who had been curious about the taste, obediently accepted them. Once they cooled down, they couldn't wait to take a bite.
It contains various beans, peanuts, corn crumbs, and black rice. One bite reveals a soft, sweet, and fragrant texture, making it quite delicious.
The two discussed it and decided that each of them would pack 50 jin (25 catties).
They ate it all by themselves, which is quite a lot, and they can make it again whenever they want.
Zhu Qinghao wanted to do more, but there were too many people in the cowshed. Doing too little would be a drop in the ocean, but doing too much would be too much, and anyone would think that was abnormal.
So she thought about it and decided against it. She would find an opportunity to take the ingredients over and cook some with her family, then freeze them to last for a while.
These things taste good when eaten in small amounts, but if you eat them every day, nobody will find them very delicious.
They felt the same way, especially Si Tian. She had a variety of foods in her space, and if she ate them in rotation, she probably wouldn't eat sticky rice cakes more than a few times a year.
Tian Haiying also thought that there were few of them, so she had no objection to their suggestion of 50 jin, and even asked them to consider it again.
"Okay, there's a lot of food to make in the twelfth lunar month. We also need to make fruit, frozen tofu, fried meatballs, and dumplings..."
Since there are only a few of you, you might not be able to finish it all. It's fine to make a smaller batch, and I'll help you with it. It won't take long to prepare.
50 jin (25 kg) isn't too much. We won't be cooking during the Lunar New Year period, and it won't last long; we can finish it.
Zhu Qing thought about it for a while. Since it was going to be placed in the space anyway, it wouldn't break, so she decided to keep the 50-jin size and didn't change it. Si Tian had the same idea.
As a result, they hadn't even finished making their own sticky rice dumplings yet, but they had already collected quite a few from each other's homes. If it weren't for the space available, they probably would have been sick of eating them by now.
Because of Douya, the two of them were quite popular in the team. Wherever they went, people would give them sticky rice cakes. Even Wang Ergou's mother, who was ill, made a special trip to deliver them, which really flustered the two of them.
The matter was only resolved when the two of them took the old man back home together.
Since then, it's as if a switch has been flipped, and people have been coming to their door to bring them things, such as two sticky rice cakes, a bowl of pickled vegetables or salted vegetables, or two eggs.
It wasn't just them; even Zhao Cheng's place in the cowshed wasn't spared. Everyone pretended to chat with Old Lady Ma, but in the end, they all had to leave something for the Zhu family before they could leave.
Zhu's family was both amused and exasperated, but there was nothing they could do.
Originally, the Zhu family wouldn't accept those gifts, but later Old Man Ma came and persuaded them:
"Xiao Zhao, Xiao Zhu, the things that the villagers sent are nothing special, why don't you accept them?"
The main problem is that they won't feel at ease if you don't accept it. After all, everyone has received your kindness. That's how we farmers are; we like reciprocity. That's how we can maintain a long-term relationship..."
Later, after thinking about it, Grandpa Zhu was afraid that the villagers would think they looked down on those things, so Zhao Cheng and the others accepted the less valuable items.
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