The red beans she soaked before leaving the house weren't soft enough yet, so she soaked them a little longer. Qin Xiaozhou hummed a song as she and Lu Yan drank red date milk under the eaves. Lu Yan, who had grown a white beard, stuck out her tongue and licked the milk. "Sister-in-law, this is milk! It's so delicious."
Qin Xiaozhou exhaled and took a spoonful of yogurt. "If peaches and apricots were ripe, I would put them in this yogurt, have a pot of tea, lie on a bamboo rocking chair behind the house, tease the birds and watch opera. That would be truly carefree."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Adding peanuts and raisins would also be fine, and a couple of bites of watermelon would make summer worthwhile."
Lu Yan was stunned. "Sister-in-law, are you talking about the idyllic life in those picture books?"
Who lives like this? She couldn't even imagine it, but once the thought entered her mind, she couldn't help but follow Qin Xiaozhou's imagination, "We also have grapes, peaches, and apricots at home, and maybe my older brother can make a bamboo rocking chair!"
He clapped his hands, getting happier and happier as he thought about it. "It's just that watermelons are so expensive. They have to be transported from Luzhou. One watermelon costs fifty or sixty coins, and a big one costs seventy or eighty coins. I can't afford these."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaozhou immediately had the idea of growing watermelons. "I wonder where we can buy watermelon seeds. Let's grow them ourselves."
Wang Lan's heart pounded as she listened. This granddaughter-in-law was such a troublemaker, and she was only thinking about living the good life that only city ladies could afford. Her family couldn't withstand such turmoil. She clutched her chest to catch her breath. "We haven't found any watermelon seeds yet. I'll go to my elder brother's house and ask Sister-in-law Fengxian for a few melon seedlings to plant."
After saying that, she finished half a bowl of milk, wiped her mouth clean, took the three large white steamed buns left over from last night, and went out.
Li Fengxian is a calculating person; if she goes empty-handed, she definitely won't get the melon seedlings.
Lu Yunxing silently froze milk for an hour, then called out to Qin Xiaozhou in surprise, "Sister-in-law, come and see, is this it? It's amazing! This milk is white, yet it can still produce yellow particles."
Qin Xiaozhou patted his shoulder, "It's this. We still need to deal with it. You rest for a while, I'll take care of it."
"Sister-in-law, no need, I can do it."
Qin Xiaozhou rolled up his sleeves. "Do you still want your arm? Be careful you won't be able to lift it tomorrow. Don't even think about using this to avoid work. Your mother is going to cut grass. You take Xiao Si to see the rabbits rest."
Lu Yunxing smiled. Actually, the rabbit was kept in the corner of the fence in the yard. Xiao Si sat there playing by himself and didn't need to be bothered at all. He knew that his sister-in-law was just being considerate of him.
The yellow granules were butter. Qin Xiaozhou spent another half hour filtering it with gauze, finally getting the yellow granules and skim milk. The milk was kept for drinking, and the yellow granules were kneaded together and washed with water before being put into a section of bamboo tube to set.
Wang Lan brought back six seedlings and planted them in the corner of the fence. After watering them, it was noon. Just as she was eating, she heard the cuckoo calling. Wang Lan's expression darkened. "It's time to cultivate rice seedlings."
Food is the most important thing for people. Those who have no land or fields at home will inevitably feel uneasy.
In the afternoon, the Lu family members were all busy, while Qin Xiaozhou was busy making desserts at home. First, she made red bean cakes and mung bean cakes, and then she made towel rolls. Looking at the finished products, she rubbed her shoulders. Making towel rolls required making thin pancakes, which was not convenient at all with this big iron pot. Whipping cream was also really hard work. It was simply not a job for a human.
This morning I spent so much time whipping butter, and the amount produced wasn't even enough for five or six uses. If I were to start a business and have to whip butter and cream like this every day, I'd be exhausted and my arms would be aching.
Qin Xiaozhou took the pastries and filled a bamboo tube with milk to go to the mountainside. It was hard work for Lu Yan and Lu Yu to raise chickens and chase eagles in the dozens of acres of orchard. They had to walk and stop all day, and they were tired and thirsty. She brought some things up for them to eat and also listened to their opinions.
Lu Yan was the most enthusiastic when she heard there was food involved. Her eyes lit up when she saw the mung bean cake and red bean cake. "Sister-in-law, did you make these? Are you really going to give them to us?"
This stuff is really expensive in the county town. It's only two pieces per piece, and each piece costs two coins. She only ate it when her father and grandfather were alive. She hasn't eaten it for two years, and she's almost forgotten what it tastes like.
Qin Xiaozhou gave each person two pieces of mung bean cake, saying, "Eat up, and then tell us if it's good or not."
Lu Yan took a bite, then a big bite. Before she could even swallow, she nodded eagerly and said it was delicious. Her mouth was bulging, and she almost choked and couldn't breathe. Her face turned red.
Qin Xiaozhou patted her on the back, "Open your mouth and spit it out!"
Lu Yan's face was flushed, her lips were tightly pursed, her eyes were slightly red, and she shook her head.
No! How can you throw up something so delicious!
Qin Xiaozhou's temper flared up, and she sternly rebuked, "Spit it out! Are you even going to eat it again?!"
Lu Yan opened her mouth, spitting out mung bean crumbs all over the ground, and burst into tears!
Lu Yunxing quickly gave her the milk from the bamboo tube. He was unusually serious and scolded her with a stern face, "Stop crying, drink some. You almost choked to death just now, do you know that? You're not allowed to eat like that again."
Lu Yan was just a child after all. She stopped crying after drinking the milk. The bolder chicks rushed over to peck at the crumbs on the ground. She looked at them with teary eyes. Those were supposed to be hers, but now the chickens had eaten them. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and tears streamed down her face.
Helpless, Qin Xiaozhou could only give her another piece. It was only with great difficulty that he managed to appease the little girl and ask her how it tasted and what suggestions she had for improvement.
The result was that they kept nodding and saying it was delicious, but they didn't offer any opinions.
Qin Xiaozhou returned empty-handed.
When the Lu family returned in the evening, Qin Xiaozhou took out a rolled-up towel. They had never seen a pastry with this shape before and were all surprised. She gave each of them a piece in a bowl. After they ate it, their eyes lit up. Wang Lan was stunned. Even when her husband first started making money, he took her to eat, drink and have fun in the county town and she had never seen this kind of thing.
The white stuff inside was soft, fluffy, and sweet. Even though she was quite old, she couldn't resist taking another bite like a child. "What is this? It's so strange!"
"Sister-in-law, are you a goddess? Did you make this? It's so delicious! From now on, I'll help you with your chores. Just make this for us. I could eat it every day and every meal and I'd never get tired of it!"
It was just a joke, but surprisingly, no one in the Lu family objected. They all thought the food was incredibly delicious, and their gazes towards Qin Xiaozhou completely changed. They looked at him as if he were a god, filled with admiration and respect.
Qin Xiaozhou originally wanted them to offer their opinions again, but now it seemed there were no opinions left, so she completely gave up on the idea of the Lu family offering any suggestions.
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