Chapter 77: Jujube Thorn Candy

"The chicken laid an egg?!" Shen An's voice was filled with such joy that it cracked. He stopped shaking the jujube thorn branch he was holding and hurried up the hillside to Shen Ning: "Let me see!"

Shen Ning opened her hand with a smile. Shen An's eyes curved into crescents, touching the egg: "It's really warm. Which chicken laid it?"

Shen Ning shook her head: "I didn't see; all three chickens had just come out of the nest."

By now, Sang Luo had also reached them. Looking at the modest-sized egg in Shen Ning's hand, she smiled, "They're similar-sized chickens. Once one lays an egg, the others won't be far behind. This is a Yunying egg, very nourishing. We'll have egg drop porridge tomorrow morning."

Selling eggs for money was out of the question. They relied on purchases for their own vegetables, occasionally receiving some from acquaintances. Now that the chickens were laying eggs, it was naturally for their own nourishment.

The mention of egg drop porridge made the siblings' eyes light up. They remembered having it when their elder brother was still home. The beaten egg would be poured into boiling porridge, stirred gently, and the yellow egg blossoms would float up, deliciously fragrant.

Just be careful not to let it cool down too much, or it might taste fishy.

It had been a long time since they last had it.

The egg in Shen Ning's hand suddenly seemed precious, with plans already made for its consumption the next morning.

"I'll put it away!" she said, running inside.

Shen An bounced in after her, shoving the jujube thorn branch into Shen Ning's other empty hand: "Ning, look what I've got!"

Behind them, Sang Luo heard Shen Ning's surprised voice: "Honeyclaw, where did you find it?"

Shen An excitedly recounted how he found a small branch of honeyclaw, then a tall honeyclaw tree: "I'm going back with big sister soon, there's still a lot left, and big sister said we can exchange them for money."

Shen Ning looked eager.

But this time, Shen An didn't let his sister join: "It's a bit far, we have to climb several hills with the baskets, and they're heavy. You stay and watch the house. Here, eat this branch."

"Really, we can sell them for money?"

"Yes, big sister said so. They're so sweet, I think people would want to buy them."

The siblings, shoulder to shoulder, entered the kitchen talking. Shen Ning set the egg on the table and turned to help her brother set down his basket.

When Sang Luo came in, she even received the courtesy of a bowl of water poured by Shen Ning.

After sorting the contents of the two baskets, Sang Luo and Shen An took a short break, applied more snake repellent on their shoes and leggings, and headed out again with their baskets.

As Shen An mentioned, the journey was long and tough. Avoiding villagers meant taking a detour through the mountains. They only returned home with their bounty well after the usual lunchtime, both utterly exhausted.

Especially Sang Luo, who was extremely tired. Consider that she had traveled ten miles to the county to pay taxes before dawn, returned mid-morning, and had not rested before going into the mountains twice. She was so exhausted she wanted nothing more than to collapse.

Fortunately, Shen Ning was genuinely thoughtful. She learned daily chores like watering vegetables from Old Lady Chen, sometimes dragging her to provide hands-on guidance, and took special care of the chickens and ducks. With Sang Luo and Shen An out, this little girl managed the household chores, cooking over a wood fire, standing on a wooden stool to reach the stove.

Seeing her sister-in-law and brother so tired they barely managed to wash their hands before collapsing on the bed, Shen Ning busily ran around, pulling this and that.

"Eat first, you can rest after the meal."

Sang Luo indulged in a rare moment of laziness, groaning, "Just a bit longer, I'll get up soon."

Shen An was about to be pulled up by his sister, but seeing his sister-in-law not getting up, he lay back down.

Concerned, Shen Ning ran back to the kitchen, scooped up the food into bowls, one in each hand with chopsticks clutched in her palm, and brought them over.

"Eat up, eat right here on the bed edge, then you can sleep."

Sang Luo truly wanted to hug her; this girl was so considerate.

The embodiment of a 'little cotton jacket' was precisely a girl like Shen Ning.

In the end, Sang Luo and Shen An each sat at their respective bed edges, eating the meal Shen Ning brought, their only option as all the stools at home were used to support the food racks. With just one stool left, who should sit?

With tired legs, they all wanted to sit. Lacking options, they settled for the bed edge, grateful for even a bit of comfort.

Sang Luo thought if she continued living this way, as long as she didn’t overexert herself, her health would be robust from all the physical activity.

After lunch, they didn't really rest immediately. How could they lie down right after eating? They sat up for a quarter of an hour, then stood for another, before finally letting Shen Ning lock the door and they all collapsed in bed for a nap.

Waking fully refreshed, Sang Luo got busy making Immortal Tofu and processing the sour jujube cakes, taking advantage of the sunlight for drying as much as possible.

In the end, the sour jujube cakes were finished and placed on the drying rack in the backyard after shaping them with molds, and the Immortal Tofu also set properly.

The quantity wasn’t large, yielding just eight pieces after cutting. Sang Luo packed them in a ceramic bowl, took Shen Ning with her, and distributed them to the Chen, Shi, Lu families, and Zhou Village Chief’s home, borrowing a pair of scissors from Old Lady Chen on the way.

The Chen, Shi, and Lu families were frequent visitors, so it was not unusual for Sang Luo to reciprocate their occasional gifts of vegetables with some food.

But delivering it to Zhou Village Chief’s house caught his wife off guard, then she expressed immense gratitude. She then went inside and returned with a small package wrapped in oil paper, handing it to Shen Ning: "I brought some green bean cakes from the county market; here, take some for you, your big sister, and brother to try."

When Shen Ning heard it was a delicacy from the county, she hesitated to accept, constantly glancing at her elder sister-in-law as Zhou Village Chief's wife insisted.

Sang Luo, smiling at Zhou Village Chief’s wife, said: "Auntie, you're being too kind."

Seeing her persistently offering the gift to Shen Ning, Sang Luo nodded to Shen Ning, who then cautiously accepted and thanked, "Thank you, Auntie Zhou."

Zhou Village Chief's wife, charmed by Shen Ning's sweet voice and seeing her new clothes, sincerely praised Sang Luo: "You've really raised Ah Ning and Ah An well."

Given their dire circumstances in the beginning, to have come this far, her husband was right; Mrs. Sang is truly capable.

And importantly, she has a kind heart.

Sang Luo was technically married to Shen Lie, but in reality, she had never even met him. She came to the Shen family without any formal wedding ceremony and unexpectedly became the sister-in-law of Shen An and Shen Ning, caring for them as if they were her own siblings.

With this thought, Zhou Village Chief's wife’s eyes flickered.

Several of her sons were already married, but the third one was still single.

However, when her gaze fell on Shen Ning, the spontaneous idea was promptly dismissed.

Having such thoughts about Sang Luo made her even more appealing in Zhou Village Chief’s wife’s eyes – diligent, capable, steady, kind-hearted, and sociable; truly admirable in every aspect.

Unable to contain herself, she discreetly shared these thoughts with her husband that evening. Zhou Village Chief, already in bed, sat up abruptly, startled by her suggestion.

Pondering it, he found the idea not without merit.

Yet, he soon shook his head, cautioning, "Don’t ever bring this up. She's caring for two children, Shen An and Shen Ning. How can we suggest such a thing? Besides, Mrs. Sang might not even be interested. Mentioning it would make future interactions awkward."

Regretfully, Zhou Village Chief’s wife agreed, "I know, it was just a thought. She’s such a fine young woman; anyone would be envious."

Fortunately for her, Zhou Village Chief was clear-headed. Had he been supportive, she might have struggled to contain her enthusiasm.

……

Unaware of this near proposition to become a daughter-in-law, Sang Luo remained blissfully ignorant.

Even if she had known, she would have found it utterly preposterous.

In her previous life, she lived to 28, single due to survival needs and health issues. This time around, the notion of marriage was far from her mind.

Being instantaneously recognized as a widow upon her arrival in this world, Sang Luo actually found it quite suitable, adapting with remarkable ease.

Had she found herself living with a grown man instead of two exceedingly sweet children like Shen An and Shen Ning, her first instinct would have been to flee, not to settle so comfortably.

Sang Luo, unaware of Lu Da Lang's whereabouts, had notified three households while delivering tofu that she wouldn’t be making fairy tofu anymore. She took orders for the next day's tofu and tripe from Qin Fang Niang, and also a note for the payment of tripe sold to Dong Fu Lou. After returning home and putting everything away, she tasted a piece of mung bean cake handed by Shen Ning and got busy with her tasks.

Everything else was routine, but when Sang Luo started sorting the hooked jujubes on the table, Shen An and Shen Ning were curious.

Initially, they thought she was cutting the stems for better presentation, but once all the stems were trimmed, the siblings saw their sister-in-law washing the jujubes, instructing them to fetch the stone mortar that came with the stone mill they had purchased earlier.

This mortar was now frequently used by the two siblings since they no longer needed to go to the Chen family to pound their daily rice. The small stone mortar sufficed for their three-person household.

Despite their confusion about why the stone mortar was needed for processing honey claws, the siblings had learned over time just how capable their sister-in-law was. If she asked for the mortar, there must be a reason.

When the mortar was brought over, Sang Luo grabbed a couple of handfuls of the washed hooked jujubes and started to pound them.

It was then that Shen An realized his sister-in-law wasn’t simply selling wild fruits but using these honey claws to make food, which lit up his eyes!

“Big sister-in-law, what can you make by crushing them?”

He was very curious.

Sang Luo smiled, “You can make sugar with them. Hooked jujube sugar is delicious – not only sweet but also fragrantly aromatic. Moreover, this fruit is actually a kind of traditional medicine, scientifically known as ‘Zhi Ju,’ beneficial for consumption, wine brewing, and sugar boiling. It’s sweet in taste, neutral in nature, non-toxic, cools heat, nourishes the five organs, aids digestion, and its benefits are similar to honey,” she recalled and explained slowly.

Sang Luo was recollecting and speaking simultaneously, hence the slowness of her explanation. Shen An and Shen Ning listened intently, not quite understanding terms like 'sweet in taste, neutral in nature,' but they did comprehend that it was comparable to honey.

Honey, a precious and expensive substance, much costlier than maltose.

"Is it as sweet as honey?" Shen Ning's mouth began to water.

Sang Luo glanced at the little girl and smiled, "Yes, and it has a unique fragrance that honey doesn't have. Tomorrow, I’ll sell this sugar in the county and buy a small jar to bring back. We'll keep one jar for ourselves to enjoy. It can be eaten directly or dissolved in water to drink. As long as the spoon used to scoop the sugar stays dry, it can last for several months."

Hearing that they would keep a jar for themselves, Shen An and Shen Ning's first reaction was, "Is it expensive?"

Sang Luo thought for a moment, "I plan to sell it at a price similar to honey."

There weren’t many crooked jujube trees, and so far, she had only found this one within the area she dared to explore. Since it’s rare and she couldn't venture deep into the woods, it had to be priced higher.

Sugar was a luxury item in those days.

People usually had only malt sugar and honey, so Sang Luo had no intention of selling the crooked jujube sugar at a low price.

Hearing that it would be sold at the price of honey, the siblings immediately shook their heads, "Then let's not keep it at home. We don't need to eat sugar."

Sang Luo smiled, "I'll eat it."

She thought if she didn’t allow herself to enjoy the fruits of her labor, what was the point of all her hard work?

Not just the crooked jujube sugar, Sang Luo also planned to keep a small jar of sour jujube cake as a snack for the house, as it was a durable treat.

When they heard Sang Luo’s playful retort of "I'll eat it," the siblings immediately fell silent, their eyes curving into smiles.

The siblings thought to themselves: Big sister is so kind. She really cares about us!

Author’s Note:

Regarding the conversation: ①From "Compendium of Materia Medica".