Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Over there, they were in heated discussion, while Xu Yuqing and Yan Lan had already put the previous matter behind them.

"Yuqing, let's have dumplings for lunch. You can teach me how to make the filling. I learned a little last time and tried it at home. My dad couldn't stop praising it."

Yan Lan said excitedly.

Xu Yuqing naturally didn't refuse and agreed happily.

The two of them went to Yan Lan's house together. Today, they were preparing the sweets for the full moon banquet. These items could be stored, so for convenience, Yan Lan invited Xu Yuqing over to her place, sparing her from having to travel back and forth. Xu Yuqing naturally didn't refuse.

They gathered together. It was still early before noon, so Yan Lan and Xu Yuqing started preparing the hawthorns. They placed the hawthorns in a basin and washed them clean. Yan Lan imitated Xu Yuqing's technique and trimmed off the stems.

Yan Lan's house truly had everything, including several bamboo trays that were especially well-made and attractive. Seeing Xu Yuqing's gaze, Yan Lan felt somewhat proud. "They're nice, right? Both sides even have handles. I paid extra for them to be made this way. It's much more convenient. When it's idle next year, I'll take you to buy a few."

Yan Lan said proudly. When it came to shopping, no one was more knowledgeable than her.

Xu Yuqing naturally thought they were great. She wanted a few of these things, and she might not even wait until next year. However, she didn't say it out loud to avoid Yan Lan's enthusiastic offer to give them to her, which would be hard to refuse.

She just secretly planned to ask Xie Junli to buy a couple when he had time.

There weren't many hawthorns, probably only seven or eight pounds, and they were quickly washed. They were then placed on the bamboo tray to dry. Xu Yuqing started preparing the peanut candy.

Peanuts were fried without oil until fragrant and dry. One had to keep stirring constantly without stopping, otherwise, they would burn. The fire also needed to be low.

Yan Lan didn't know how, so she watched by the side. The more she watched, the more alarmed she became. It was really troublesome. She had to stand still and stir continuously without a break. She had thought it was just peanuts coated with sugar, but now she realized that the payment was too low.

Xu Yuqing didn't find it particularly troublesome. For her, it was something she was used to.

She skillfully crushed the peanuts, and the skins of the dried peanuts immediately broke apart, revealing crisp nuts inside.

"Done."

Yan Lan held the bamboo tray tightly, somewhat nervous. "I've got it steady."

Scoop by scoop, the fragrant peanuts were scooped out until the pot was completely clean. Yan Lan's hands were almost full.

"Here, give them to me."

Xu Yuqing easily took them over and went outside into the courtyard. It was very cold outside, and it wouldn't take long for the peanuts to cool down.

"Yan Lan, I'll hold them. You peel the peanut skins. Just grab a handful and rub them between your palms."

Yan Lan nodded and obediently started working.

The peanut skins were easy to peel, and it even gave a sense of stress relief. Yan Lan became happier the more she peeled. By the end, she was reluctant to stop and looked longingly at the peanuts.

"I wish I had bought more peanuts."

She complained.

But the peanuts here, combined with those previously taken and the additional two pounds, amounted to ten pounds.

That was already quite a lot.

It would be wasteful if they couldn't finish them, although in this era, it was unlikely that they would have leftover sweets.

Holding the bamboo tray, she tossed the peanuts up. The light peanut skins would blow away, and after a few rounds, the bamboo tray was clean, filled only with plump white peanuts.

"Alright, next is boiling the sugar."

This technique was simple in some ways and difficult in others. Yan Lan was about to step away—after all, this was someone else's livelihood and shouldn't be watched—but Xu Yuqing didn't seem to mind and even pulled her in.

Water and sugar were placed in the pot. Yan Lan waited for Xu Yuqing to add other ingredients, but she only stirred a couple of times with a spatula and stopped. Yan Lan looked at Xu Yuqing curiously. "That's it?"

Xu Yuqing smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Now we just need to wait."

The amount of sugar and water was relatively large, and it took a while just to dissolve the sugar. Xu Yuqing controlled the heat and kept an eye on the pot.

The large iron pot was black, making it difficult to observe the color of the syrup. She could only watch the bubbles. Once the sugar water boiled off and the large bubbles turned into fine, small ones, it was done. Xu Yuqing quickly threw the peanuts in and stirred rapidly.

Yan Lan had helped remove the fire, so the syrup slowly cooled and became stickier. Xu Yuqing had to use more strength to stir.

Still, she managed to mix it evenly.

She placed the large lump of candy into a greased enamel basin and pressed it down firmly with the spatula to flatten it. That was it. All that was left was to wait for it to cool and then cut it into pieces.

Looking at Yan Lan staring intently at the enamel basin, Xu Yuqing chuckled and scraped off a piece that had leaked from the pot and stuffed it into her mouth.

"How is it?"

"Mmm! Crispy and delicious!" Yan Lan exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. This work was truly not easy. It looked simple, but there were pitfalls everywhere. Just stirring the peanuts in and mixing them evenly would likely be challenging even for a strong man, let alone Yuqing with her slender arms like sesame stalks.

The peanut candy was done, and the pot needed to be washed. Xu Yuqing scooped two ladles of water into the pot and started heating it. The water would melt the sugar residue, making it clean.

She added firewood, and Yan Lan prepared the cutting board. Peanut candy should be sliced while still slightly warm, not when it's completely cold. If it cools, the candy becomes brittle, and it won't look as good when cut.

The large slab of candy in the enamel basin looked intimidating. Xu Yuqing held a large knife and measured the size, starting to slice it piece by piece.

The candy wasn't hot anymore, just warm, making it easy to cut. However, the inside was still a bit warm and stuck to the knife. Nonetheless, she slowly cut through, and eventually, the entire basin was finished.

Meanwhile, Yan Lan couldn't resist the temptation and had already taken a piece to eat.

For convenience, Xu Yuqing cut them into dice-sized pieces, but they were as thick as a small finger, which looked nice and made them appear more plentiful.

"Yuqing, you're amazing. This is too delicious. If you opened a pastry shop, I'd definitely buy from you every day!" Yan Lan said earnestly. She loved snacks, and these were simply too delicious!

And the fruit leather given yesterday—when they returned home, their family had eaten half of it. The remaining half was taken back to the maternal home this morning by Old Yu. When Old Yu returned, she mentioned that once the fruit leather was opened, Grandma stopped drinking her porridge. Even someone who always complained about bad teeth managed to finish a whole piece.

How can Yuqing be so amazing? Everything she makes is delicious.

Yan Lan's words were too sincere; even Xu Yuqing, who was used to receiving compliments, found it a bit much and became slightly embarrassed.

Xu Yuqing put the prepared ingredients into an enameled pot and used that as an excuse to step outside, escaping Yan Lan's admiring gaze.

After regaining her composure, she returned to find Yan Lan kneading dough. "Are you starting to prepare the dumplings already?"

"Mm, I'm slow, so it's better to start early. Otherwise, when Lao Yu comes back, he'll complain like a starving ghost that I've been mistreating him." Yan Lan said, somewhat speechless. This had actually happened twice before: Yu Wenyao came home so hungry that his stomach was rumbling. Before the meal was ready, he finished off his son’s peach cookies and even took a bite out of his own child, saying that his son looked appetizing.

What kind of father does that!

She told this story to Xu Yuqing, whose vivid expression made her laugh uncontrollably. Rubbing her face in pain, she said, "Sister Yan Lan, please stop. My face hurts."

Seeing her like this, Yan Lan stopped talking and focused on kneading her dough. Xu Yuqing also began preparing for the next task.

Next up was candied hawthorn. Candied hawthorn was easy to make. The hawthorns had been left to dry for quite some time and were now shriveled. It still required sugar and water, but this time, the sugar needed to be stirred.

This was to ensure the sugar did not cool evenly and cause crystallization.

Stirring helped the temperature rise faster. Yan Lan was called over by Xu Yuqing to help extinguish the fire later. Meanwhile, Xu Yuqing quickly stirred the sugar.

Once the bubbles turned small, "Sister Yan Lan, extinguish the fire!"

"Okay."

After extinguishing the fire, they couldn't immediately add the hawthorns. They had to wait for the syrup to cool down a bit, or else the hawthorns would cook.

Using a spatula, they cooled the syrup until they saw the sugar around the edges turn white like frost. Then, they quickly poured all the hawthorns in.

Candied hawthorn was easy to stir because the pieces didn’t stick together.

The red hawthorns were soon coated with a layer of white frost, making them look especially appealing. Yan Lan marveled at how different they looked. How could water and sugar produce such different results?

It was truly magical and strangely beautiful, resembling little snowmen.

"That's done," Xu Yuqing wiped her forehead, relieved. Only after fulfilling someone else's request could she relax.

Yan Lan looked at her slightly trembling arms with concern. "You must be exhausted. This work is really tiring."

Xu Yuqing shook her head. "I was already fast, and you helped me. Sister Yan Lan, take these to a cold place to freeze, or else they will melt."

This made Yan Lan's eyes widen in surprise, and she hurriedly took them outside. But then she remembered that the last batch she received stayed intact for a long time.

Back in the kitchen, Xu Yuqing happily washed the pots. When Yan Lan returned, she saw Xu Yuqing pouring something into a pot and covering it to cook.

"Sister Yan Lan, I’ll make something delicious for everyone to try."

Yan Lan's eyes lit up. "Great!"

She was always enthusiastic about trying new foods. Without hesitation, she went to the cellar and brought up a large pumpkin weighing over ten pounds.

The whole pumpkin was intimidating, and there was no way they could finish it all at once. However, they could fry some slices and sprinkle sugar on them – they were delicious that way.

They cut the pumpkin in half, peeled one half, removed the seeds, and cut it into chunks to steam. When they opened the lid, the aroma of red beans filled the air. Yan Lan realized that was what was inside.

She couldn't imagine what dishes could be made with red beans, but seeing Xu Yuqing's happy expression, she shook her head and continued chopping cabbage without asking questions.

While waiting for the pumpkin to cook, Xu Yuqing helped prepare the dumplings: mixing the filling, cutting the dough into portions, and rolling out the wrappers. Her hands moved swiftly and gracefully; tasks that took Yan Lan thirty minutes were completed in just ten. Looking at her watch, Yan Lan couldn’t help but sigh.

"How much time have I wasted!"

Fortunately, Xu Yuqing went back to her own tasks later. Otherwise, Yan Lan feared she might become jealous.

The pumpkin was now cooked and mashed into a bowl with flour and yeast dissolved in warm water. Kneaded together, a beautiful yellow dough formed, which needed to rise.

Xu Yuqing covered it and went to deal with the red beans. She cooked them until soft and the water had evaporated. She added a bit of sugar and started frying the beans until they dried out. There was no need to grind them; leaving the whole beans made them more enjoyable.

Soon, the red bean paste was dry enough to form balls. Xu Yuqing scooped it up quickly. Yan Lan entered the room and curiously looked at the red and yellow bowls. Xu Yuqing smiled faintly. "Almost done."