Xia Liang arrived at her brother's house and, seeing him home, called him over to help out. Riding her brother's pedicab, the two first went to buy some cement, sand, and red bricks. Then they went to the scrap market and bought some steel bars and materials needed for the oven. On the way home, they also gathered some soil to take back with them.
Back home, Xia Liang recalled a video she'd seen on short video platforms in her previous life where a blogger made an oven. Following her memory, she guided Xia Rong through the process. Luckily, Xia Rong was quite handy; she'd helped build houses back in her hometown, and although they used adobe bricks, the basic principles remained the same. After several days of effort, Xia Liang's oven was finally finished. Looking at the large oven, Xia Liang was already planning how to roast chicken, duck, sweet potatoes, and other delicious things. Her two daughters gathered around the strange oven, asking, "Mommy, what's this? Can it make delicious things?" Xia Liang nodded, "Yes, this is an oven. It can make lots of delicious things. Wait till Mommy shows you a few recipes!"
Xia Liang waited at the door early in the morning for the milkman. The milkman for their area was a young man in his early twenties, who had apparently taken over his father's job. Sure enough, a young man rode up on a bicycle soon after. Xia Liang recognized him as the milkman and asked, "Excuse me, sir, where can I buy extra milk?" The young man was very familiar with this milkman's shop, as he delivered to her shop every day, and in considerable quantities. However, he hadn't seen this pretty young woman before. Blushing, he stammered, "To buy milk, you have to go to the milk station." Xia Liang asked for the detailed address, thanked him, and took the fresh milk. Watching him stumble away on his bicycle, Xia Liang thought to herself: "With that kind of skill, he's delivering milk? He'll have to pay a lot if he falls!"
After delivering the milk to the two children and giving it to them, Xia Liang rode her bike towards the milk station. When she arrived, she saw a small doorway and a woman in her forties sitting inside reading a newspaper. Xia Liang asked, "Sister, I'd like to buy some milk." The woman looked up from her newspaper and glanced at Xia Liang. "How much?" Xia Liang replied, "Thirty jin, please." The woman looked at Xia Liang with surprise. "Why do you need so much? It'll go bad if you can't finish it." Xia Liang smiled and said, "I have a lot of family members, so I can't refuse. Don't worry, sister, it won't go to waste." Indeed, in this day and age, who wastes milk? The woman asked if she had any containers. Xia Liang shook her head. Seeing her confused expression, the woman explained, "If you don't have containers, it will cost an extra two yuan. You can return the containers and I'll refund your money; otherwise, you'll have bought the containers." Xia Liang nodded in understanding, paid, and took the two large containers of milk home.
After arriving home, she poured both buckets of milk into a large pot in the kitchen. She set aside the ones that couldn't fit, put firewood in the stove, and asked Aunt Liu to watch the fire. She kept the heat at medium throughout, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once cooked, she packed the milk into a large basin, and together with Aunt Liu, carried it to the yard. The outside temperature was like a natural refrigerator, so Xia Liang wasn't worried about it spoiling. She just waited to continue the process the next day.
However, Xia Liang faced another problem: she didn't have an egg beater. Even if she broke her hands, she couldn't finish it by hand. Her mind raced, trying to find a substitute. Suddenly, she heard her eldest daughter complaining from inside: "Mom, my sister turned on the fan! It's so cold, and she's turning on the fan!" Xia Liang had a flash of inspiration. She went in, hugged and kissed both her daughters, picked up the fan, and headed out. She found tools and disassembled the fan, but couldn't find a suitable shaft. So, she rode her bike back to the flea market. The old craftsman, wearing thick glasses, was examining something. Xia Liang handed him the disassembled fan: "Master, could you extend this shaft a little? I need to make two more like this." She grabbed some paper and pen and started drawing. The shape of an egg beater from her past life appeared on the paper. "Okay," Xia Liang continued, "Can you make it?" The old craftsman took the drawings Xia Liang had made, glanced at them, and said, "This is simple. But what do you want to make it for?" Xia Liang found it too troublesome to explain, so she said, "Don't worry about what I want to make it for now. I need it urgently, but it must be made with healthy ingredients that can come into contact with food. I want to make something to eat." The old craftsman wasn't a very curious person, and seeing that Xia Liang was unwilling to say, he nodded, "Okay, I can make it for you quickly, but it will cost one yuan." Xia Liang nodded, "Okay, then please hurry up, thank you." The old craftsman took the drawings and went into the backyard. Xia Liang sat in the front and waited, looking around the small shop. There were quite a few things inside, and it seemed that they were all made by the old craftsman himself from recycled materials.
Sure enough, the master baker came out with the finished product in just over half an hour. Remembering she didn't have any cake molds, Xia Liang asked, "Master, do you have any cake molds you've collected?" The master baker replied proudly, "I have everything! A pastry factory went bankrupt last month, and I collected all the materials." Xia Liang was delighted, "Then can you take me inside to see them?" The master baker nodded, "Of course! Come with me!" He led Xia Liang into the inner room. Xia Liang saw many materials she could use, including cake molds and sponge cake molds. She bought all kinds of cake molds, as well as mooncake molds of various shapes, and even a lot of baking trays. Seeing the oven standing against the wall, Xia Liang asked the master baker, "Master, is this an oven? How much does it cost?" The master baker waved his hand, "That won't work; your house's wiring can't handle it." Xia Liang thought of the dim lighting in her house—it was true! The light bulbs were in such bad shape that they couldn't even dream of powering a high-powered appliance like an oven, so she had to give up with regret. But thinking about what she had gained that day, she was still very happy. She paid the money readily and went home with the various things she had bought. She was so excited at the thought of being able to cook something delicious for her daughter soon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com