Jiang Yuwei quickly found a beehive under a locust tree behind the house. She thought that if she could raise more bees, she wouldn't have to worry about the sugar problem and could use honey instead.
Jiang Yuwei felt that her money-making plan was getting more and more on track.
Seeing that some dry sorghum stalks left over from last year on the hillside hadn't been cleared away, Jiang Yuwei cleaned them up thoroughly. She then shaped the stalks to be the same length, sealed one end with yellow mud, and connected them one by one with yellow mud to build more than a dozen honeycomb nests. She placed them in a secluded spot under the locust tree. Afterward, she picked many wildflowers, applied pollen to them, and then waited for the honey to come in.
After finishing all this, Jiang Yuwei figured that tomorrow was market day, so she should make the fried cakes at home today, fry them until they were about 70-80% cooked, and then fry them again early tomorrow morning so she could take them to the market to sell.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei dared not delay any longer. She wrapped her head and face with a headscarf, found a stick, knocked down the beehive, and lured the bees away before taking the beehive and the gardenias she had just picked home.
As soon as I got home, I took out the cornmeal I had bought earlier from my spatial storage and started kneading the dough. Although the texture of cornmeal is not as good as that of wheat flour, it has the advantage of a nice color when fried. Adding red bean paste with honey makes it even more delicious.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei took out the red beans and soybeans that she had dried earlier and soaked them in spiritual spring water in two separate bamboo buckets.
Seeing Jiang Yuwei busy in the kitchen, Ning Wan seemed to want to come out and help, but when she saw the beehive on the ground, her eyes reddened with fright.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"Wan'er, don't be afraid. This is a beehive. I've already chased all the bees away. They won't sting you anymore. Wait here, and I'll get you a spoonful of honey to taste."
Jiang Yuwei found a wooden spoon and destroyed the honeycomb, scooped out a spoonful of honey and handed it to Ning Wan, indicating that she should taste it.
Ning Wan took the spoon, took a small lick, and her eyes lit up. She had never eaten anything so delicious before. She hurriedly took the spoon and ran to the inner room. Once inside, she climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and eagerly handed the spoon to Ning Zhao, saying:
"Brother, eat, eat, it's sweet."
Seeing this, Ning Zhao curiously took a bite and quickly said with a smile:
"Thank you, Wan'er. It's really sweet. You can have it. I won't eat any more."
He then pushed the spoon towards Ning Wan. Ning Wan looked at the spoon, then at Ning Huaizhi lying to the side, and slowly reached out her small hand to bring the spoon to his lips, whispering:
"Dad, eat."
When Ning Huaizhi saw that Ning Wan was willing to call him "father," this man who had experienced bloodshed on the battlefield suddenly had tears in his eyes. He turned his head to the side, forcing back his tears, and choked out:
"Wan'er, be good. Wan'er will eat by herself. Daddy, Daddy won't eat."
Seeing this, Ning Wan seemed to grow bolder. She climbed onto Ning Huaizhi and used her small hands to wipe his eyes, whispering:
"Don't cry, Daddy, eat."
Ning Huaizhi could no longer hold back his tears. He was truly grateful to be alive, truly grateful that he hadn't died on the battlefield. Looking at Ning Wan's eager little hand, he smiled and tasted a bit of honey, saying:
"It's delicious, so sweet. Wan'er, be good, Wan'er, you can eat it yourself."
Seeing that everyone had tasted it, Ning Wan ran to the outer room and offered it to Jiang Yuwei, smiling innocently:
"Mother, Mother, eat."
Jiang Yuwei was busy getting honey when she took a bite without thinking and laughed:
"It's so sweet, thank you Wan'er. Go play, Mother is a bit busy today."
Ning Huaizhi, who was lying on the kang, wanted to tell Jiang Yuwei that he had just used the spoon, but when he heard that Jiang Yuwei had also eaten from it, his face turned red and he didn't know what to say. However, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.
Jiang Yuwei put the soaked red beans on the stove, added water and cooked them until soft. Then she added honey and stir-fried them into dry red bean paste. She then put the soybeans on a stone mill to grind them into soy milk. After the soy milk was ground, she moved it to the outer room, covered it, and then took out the kneaded dough to make fried cakes.
Jiang Yuwei first made some fried cakes for the children and Ning Huaizhi.
After eating it, Ning Zhao praised it repeatedly:
"Mom, what you made is so delicious! This fried cake is something I've never tried before. It even has filling inside. It's really good."
Ning Wan, standing beside her, held a fried cake in her two small hands, blowing on it as she stuffed it into her mouth, nodding and murmuring:
"Eat, it's delicious."
Seeing that the two children were eating with great relish, Ning Huaizhi couldn't resist picking one up and trying it himself. It was soft, chewy, and sweet, and although it was deep-fried, it wasn't sticky at all. The grainy texture of the red bean paste added another layer of flavor to the fried cake. This fried cake was indeed delicious.
Seeing that the three of them were eating with great relish, Jiang Yuwei smiled happily and said:
"How is it? It's delicious, isn't it? I'm going to the market to sell these fried cakes tomorrow. I'll have to trouble Wan'er to take care of Daddy and Brother tomorrow."
Ning Wan didn't bother to reply, she just nodded while eating, while Ning Zhao looked at Jiang Yuwei with admiration and said:
"Mom, your cooking is so good, this fried cake will definitely be popular at the market."
Ning Huaizhi nodded in agreement:
"Yuwei, thank you for your hard work. Be careful when you go to the market tomorrow. Don't be stingy with the money to take the oxcart. Ah, if only my legs could move..."
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly patted Ning Huaizhi on the shoulder and said:
"Alright, it's not like I've never been to the market in town before. Just stay home and take care of the kids. Your leg will get better. If all else fails, we can always go to town to get a doctor. If the doctor in town can't cure it, we'll go to the city to find one."
Ning Huaizhi knew his physical condition. Although his wounds had healed, his legs were fractured and unlikely to fully recover. He took Jiang Yuwei's words as comfort and smiled wryly.
"Okay, I understand. I won't say anything carelessly in the future."
Jiang Yuwei nodded to him and said:
"I'm going to deliver some fried cakes and gardenia soy milk to the village head and Aunt Zhou. They helped a lot with the move, and we should keep in touch in the future."
Ning Zhao's eyes lit up when he heard Jiang Yuwei mention gardenia soy milk, and he asked:
"Mom, what is gardenia soy milk?"
Jiang Yuwei said with a smile:
"There's nothing special about it. I just mixed gardenia flowers with freshly ground soy milk and honey and cooked it together. I named it Gardenia Soy Milk. It has the rich aroma of soy milk, the fragrance of gardenia flowers, and the sweetness of honey. It's beautiful and delicious. I've also set some aside for you. I've put it in the outer room. Wan'er will bring it to you when it cools down."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei put the packaged fried cakes and gardenia soy milk into her basket and went to deliver them to Aunt Zhou, who lived closest to her.
When Aunt Zhou saw that it was Jiang Yuwei, she warmly invited her in. Jiang Yuwei, seeing this, immediately took out some fried cakes and soy milk from her basket and handed them to Aunt Zhou, smiling as she said:
“Aunt Zhou, I have to go to the village head’s house, so I won’t go in. Thank you for your help the other day. These are some fried cakes and soy milk that I made myself. Please don’t mind them, take them home and try them.”
Just as Aunt Zhou was about to refuse, Jiang Yuwei ran off. Aunt Zhou watched Jiang Yuwei's retreating figure and murmured to herself:
"Yuwei has had a tough time, raising such a large family all by herself. Fortunately, she is reasonable and grateful. I will help her if I can in the future."
After saying that, he shook his head and went back into the house.
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