Chapter 42

"Every day at noon, Shen An and Shen Ning quietly pick the leaves of the magical tree. Sang Luo's first task after lunch at the Chen family is to make sour date cake."

"Because of the two Hu cakes, the children behind the grass hut were invigorated as if energized, and became especially curious about Sister-in-Law Sang Luo, who actually bought them Hu cakes."

"Naturally, as curious as they were and as much as they wanted to get closer, the children were shy and timid, and none dared to approach her."

"This situation wasn't exclusive to the two new kids; in fact, except for Shen An and Shen Ning, and Chen Ershan who had eaten the cakes and gone to dig and carry mud, the rest were similarly reserved, particularly Shen Jin."

"Shen Jin hadn't forgotten the delicious taste of the Hu cakes. Seeing Sang Luo return, he was restless as if he had ants in his pants, sneaking glances at her, only to see her ignoring him and going straight into the grass hut."

"Shen Jin's feet shuffled... but only slightly, almost as if he hadn't moved at all."

"But who is Shen An? He immediately spotted Shen Jin's little scheme and pulled him back from his half-step forward."

"'What are you up to? Stick to your work or go back to your house. Anyway, don't go over there. My sister-in-law has been up since dawn to go to the county and is very tired now. She needs rest, and you must not disturb her.'"

"In fact, Shen An knew very well that his sister-in-law was going to process those sour dates that afternoon."

"How could sour dates be turned into something delicious? Shen An pondered several times but couldn't imagine it."

"But that was his sister-in-law's family recipe, and he couldn't let Shen Jin, that simpleton, barge in and see, so Shen An was particularly vigilant in keeping an eye on him."

"Shen Jin continued to hoe the ground and pick out stones with a sense of frustration. He actually didn't dare to approach her."

"He just wanted to show his loyalty to Sister-in-Law Sang Luo, to familiarize her with him and change the poor impression he had previously made on her."

"Not going was fine. Sister-in-Law Sang Luo was quite formidable when she was serious, and he didn't dare to disturb her."

"Sang Luo was indeed making sour date cakes. With many prying eyes outside, she didn't come out but prepared two large round sieves for drying the cakes, fetched two buckets of water into the house, and processed all the subsequent steps with the door of the grass hut closed."

"Making sour date cake was not difficult. While living in the mountains, it was a snack Sang Luo made for herself every year when sour dates ripened. She made a good amount, dried them