Every time they went up the mountain, they had to set off before dawn. Zhao Luochuan calculated the time and got up quietly to wash up.
If it were in the past, no matter how gentle Zhao Luochuan's movements were, Yang Donghu would always wake up to help Zhao Luochuan pack up his things before going back to sleep.
This time, until Zhao Luochuan had packed up everything and reluctantly kissed Yang Donghu on the face, he was still sleeping without any reaction.
It was not until dawn that Yang Donghu slowly woke up from his sleep. He turned over habitually and wanted to lie in the arms of the person next to him, but he found himself empty-handed. Then he realized that Zhao Luochuan had left.
A huge sense of loss instantly swept over his whole body. Yang Donghu couldn't help but curl up his body. He tried to hold back the soreness in his eyes, but still couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.
How pathetic, Yang Donghu thought. It’s only been a month since we last met. It will be over soon.
He didn't know if these words comforted him. It was not until Zhu Cuilan shouted outside for him to come in for dinner that Yang Donghu slowly came out of the bed with his tired body.
I don't know when the rain stopped last night, and the air is filled with the smell of damp earth.
The sweet potatoes that have been stored for a whole winter become more and more delicious. They are cooked into a sticky porridge with snow-white rice. It is soft, sticky and sweet when you drink it. Paired with a small dish of pickles, a bowl of sweet potato porridge can dispel a lot of the coldness in your body.
"Brother Dong, you don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?" Zhao Fangchu put the porridge in front of Yang Donghu and asked while looking at his red eyes.
Yang Donghu rubbed his sore eyes and shook his head to indicate that he was fine.
Zhu Cuilan also came here when she was young. Just by taking a glance at Yang Donghu's absent-minded look, she could guess something: the young couple was deeply in love and inseparable.
"Dachuan has been a hunter for a long time and is very experienced. You don't have to worry too much. If everything goes well, he will be back in less than half a month. Don't be too anxious."
Yang Donghu didn't expect that Zhu Cuilan could see through his thoughts. He felt a little shy for a moment, nodded embarrassedly, and lowered his head to eat his meal.
His mind was not entirely filled with sadness of separation. When Yang Donghu woke up early, he smelled the fragrance coming from the sealed peach blossom honey jar, which became more and more obvious. He opened it and took a look, then stirred it with a clean, dry spoon. The honey was pickled very well and could be eaten today.
The feeling of waiting at home was too uncomfortable, which made Yang Donghu more determined to make pastries. If this could be used as a way to make money, he would no longer have to go to the mountains to do that dangerous work.
After finishing his meal, Yang Donghu couldn't wait to go back to the yard next door. He had been thinking hard these days and had an idea in his mind about what kind of pastry he wanted to try making.
Flowers are in full bloom in spring, especially peach blossoms, which are in full bloom. The scholars and young ladies and gentlemen in the town all love this elegance.
Whether it is a poetry gathering or a gathering of celebrities, tasting food and appreciating flowers, reciting poems and drinking tea, the most important thing is to be appropriate to the time.
For a small family like theirs, pastries are expensive and they can't afford to eat them every day. But if they can sell them to wealthy people who don't value money, then there's nothing to worry about.
A poetry collection today, a banquet tomorrow, you invite here and I invite there. The more lively the event, the more snacks are needed. The more exquisite they are, the more they will catch their eyes.
Wouldn’t it be more elegant to enjoy the flowers and eat them?
The filling is made of peach blossom honey, and it is shaped like peach blossoms. With a pot of peach blossom tea or peach blossom wine, not only the literati ladies will love it, but even Yang Donghu himself wants to join in the fun during the spring.
There were no ovens in this era, but the shops in the town used ceramic cake molds to make cakes. Yang Donghu was not sure if he could get it right in one try. If he was lucky, it would be best if he could succeed in one try. If not, he would have to think of other ways.
Except for the ceramic cake mold, everything else needed is easy to get.
If you still have white flour at home, mix it with water and pork to make water dough and oil dough. Knead it until smooth and wrap the oil dough with the water dough. Put peach blossom honey filling inside. Roll it into a ball and flatten it. Use scissors to cut a few small holes around it and pinch it into the shape of petals with your fingers.
This is not difficult. The difficult part is that since we are making peach blossom cakes, the crust is not always white. Not to mention whether it will look good after baking, the key is that it does not look like peach blossoms.
When Yang Donghu was in distress, he suddenly remembered that he had been to Yunnan when he was out for relaxation. There was a kind of colorful rice there, and the dyes were all made from plants. He could still vaguely remember that the water boiled with sorghum husks was pink.
Fortunately, sorghum husks are not a rare thing, and every household will prepare some to make brooms. Yang Donghu found a handful of unused sorghum stalks from the east room, kept the sorghum husks that were going to be used, and put the rest back for future use in sweeping the floor.
If you don’t have a ceramic pancake mold, the iron pot at home can be used as a simple substitute. Put red-hot charcoal fire under the iron pot, brush a thin layer of oil on the bottom, put the raw pancake embryo on it, and then cover it tightly with a lid to prevent the heat from dissipating.
Bake slowly, be careful during the process, and don't let the bottom burn. It is a bit slow, but the conditions are limited, so this is the only way to make do for now.
From the time he finished his meal in the early morning until noon, the charcoal fire at the bottom of Yang Donghu's pot slowly went out. Being busy was not entirely without benefits. At least his longing for Zhao Luochuan was diluted a little by being busy.
When the finished product came out, even though Yang Donghu was mentally prepared, he was still stunned by the pink color of the peach blossom pastry.
I didn't expect it to be so successful in one go.
Yang Donghu couldn't hide the joy on his face. It seemed that the days of making money were just around the corner.
After all, peach blossom pastry is a snack that is meant to be eaten, so both the taste and appearance are essential.
Yang Donghu was afraid that the taste would be biased if he tasted the cakes, so he packed the cakes in a basket and took them to the next yard.
The bamboo shoots that Zhao Fangyu brought back from the mountain were still piled in the yard. Zhu Cuilan and Zhao Fangchu were busy peeling the bamboo shoots and drying them to be put into the stewed meat later.
"Aunt, Fang Chu." Yang Donghu took a stool and sat next to the two of them. He placed the cake basket on the ground mysteriously without opening it, waiting for someone to ask.
Zhao Fangchu was the most bored. He had been peeling bamboo shoots all morning and was just looking for something to relieve his boredom. When he saw the basket, he asked curiously, "Brother Dong, what is this?"
"Open it and take a look."
Zhao Fangchu's appetite was whetted. He reached out impatiently to open the cloth on the basket, and then he exclaimed in surprise: "Wow, so beautiful! What is this?"
Zhao Fangchu's shout successfully attracted Zhu Cuilan's attention. She stopped what she was doing and leaned forward to take a closer look. The moment she saw the peach blossom pastry clearly, she asked with a hint of surprise: "What is this? Why does it look like a flower?"
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