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墨書 Inktalez
As for the woman helping out? The excitement inside was hard to express in words. Soon, there would be mooncakes made here, and among them, the eldest would be Grandma Liu, who is Zhang Wuliang's second aunt.
The old lady was nearly sixty years old, healthy and strong, kind-hearted, and gentle, making her a beloved elder among all the kids. She worked quickly and had rich experience, often offering valuable suggestions.
"Grandma Liu, some of the dried fruits are too dry; we need to chop them up a bit, or they won't taste good."
"That's right! When we used to make mooncakes during better times on the August Fifteenth festival, everyone would have a taste. But back then, the dough was more than the filling; we couldn't afford so many dried fruits."
With her head full of white hair, Grandma Liu's face was lined with wrinkles when she smiled, but she couldn't hide her joy.
In terms of living conditions in the village, Grandma Liu's family was considered well-off. Her children worked as shopkeepers in town. While others struggled for basic needs, they were already on their way to prosperity.
Even with such conditions, it was rare to find someone like Liu Qingxi.
Five or six women rolled up their sleeves and began separating the fruit flesh from the pits, chopping them into small pieces.
Thanks to her past life experiences, Liu Qingxi had made mooncakes herself before. It was actually quite simple; as long as the filling was generous, the mooncakes would definitely taste great.
Thinking about enjoying mooncakes under the round moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival—the delicious taste melting in your mouth or the surprise of biting into your favorite fruit—was truly delightful.
While Zhang San helped make the molds, Liu Qingxi not only assigned the older kids to handle the dried fruits but also ensured that all seeds and walnuts were shelled and ready.
Counting the days, there were only ten left until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Starting to make mooncakes now was not too early at all; in fact, it might even be a bit late. She remembered that when she went shopping earlier, bakeries had already started selling mooncakes.
The appearance looked good; she just didn't know how they would taste. Regardless, Liu Qingxi felt confident about what she was about to create.
"Once we finish with the dried fruits, let's mix in some sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, and other nuts. Oh right, adding some sesame seeds would make it even better."
After a busy morning, with each step of the process completed, the unique fragrance of the fruit mixed with the aroma of the filling lingered in the air, wafting above Liu Qingxi's courtyard, even reaching the neighbors.
Aside from these fillings, Liu Qingxi knew they wouldn't mix well together; they lacked sufficient stickiness. Her experience from her past life making mooncakes taught her to add roasted white flour to the filling.
"Aunt Five, can you help me out?"
Liu Qingxi called out, and Aunt Five was none other than Liu Laowu's daughter-in-law, Zhao.
It had been over a month since the Liu Family's Fourth Branch and Fifth Branch were separated. As time passed, the timid personality caused by the Wang family's oppression gradually weakened day by day.
Compared to when Zhao was too afraid to speak loudly at first, she had improved significantly now.
Otherwise, back then, Liu Qingxi had wanted Zhao and Widow Tian to work together in the Construction Team's kitchen, but Zhao had shyly declined.
With no other choice, Liu Qingxi had to ask Widow Tian to find someone else. She understood that Zhao's personality was shaped by her environment; being married for over a decade without children was a deep-seated thorn in her heart.
She felt deeply insecure, like an ostrich hiding in its shell.
As time went on, that insecurity gradually dissipated; she had improved a lot compared to before.
This time, Liu Qingxi intentionally called her over to encourage her to interact with women of her age.
"Alright, Qingxi, what do you need me to help with?"
"Aunt Five, can you help me roast the white flour?"
Zhao was puzzled, "Aren't we making mooncakes? Why are we frying noodles?"
After all, she had never seen such a peculiar method before.
"Aunt Five, the noodles are to mix with the filling, allowing the ingredients to bond better. Otherwise, the filling will be scattered, and it will be difficult to wrap the mooncakes."
Zhao nodded in a half-understanding manner; she still didn't quite get it, but as long as she followed Liu Qingxi's method, it would be fine.
Liu Qingxi was taken aback. Did the other person not understand what she meant? Frying noodles was a common practice among poor families.
During quiet times, they would fry two bowls of plain noodles in a frying pan over low heat until the noodles turned slightly yellow. At this point, the aroma of wheat would slowly waft out. Then they would scoop it out and place it in a plastic bag to prevent the fried noodles from getting damp.
After a while, when the children were hungry, parents would serve two spoonfuls of the slightly yellow fried noodles, add a spoonful of sugar, and pour hot water to adjust it to a moderate consistency.
For those with better conditions, crushed peanuts or sesame seeds would be added because it made the fried noodles even more fragrant.
Looking back now, there were many happy memories from those hard days in her past life.
But those days were ultimately far away and could only remain in memory.
The fried noodles used for making mooncakes were prepared similarly; however, they didn't need to be fried until slightly yellow and were lighter than those meant for eating alone.
"Aunt, do you all know how to make it?" Liu Qingxi turned to ask the other women.
Unfortunately, everyone shook their heads simultaneously; they had never heard of what Liu Qingxi described.
Although she understood what it was after listening to her explanation, she had never done it herself or seen it done, so she did not dare to take action lightly.
After all, this was not just anything; it was food earned through hard work and sweat.
Thinking about it, if the fine white noodles were put into the pot to stir-fry, they could easily burn. If that happened, a whole pot of noodles would be ruined.
Just thinking about it made her feel distressed. The few women around her hesitated to act; having lived in poverty, they were accustomed to not wasting food casually. Wasting food was shameful and something to be condemned.
"Alright, since none of you Aunts have done this before, I will demonstrate first."
With that, Liu Qingxi rolled up her sleeves and began to demonstrate.
When it came to this, Liu Qingxi was quite experienced; she had done it many times in her previous life. She remembered that after graduating from university and entering the workforce, she was often too busy to eat and would eat out most of the time. For a newly graduated student with a meager income, that was simply unaffordable.
Later, for simplicity and to save costs, she tried making stir-fried noodles herself, adding finely chopped peanuts and sesame seeds in suitable proportions.
In the morning, she would quickly prepare a bowl and sometimes add a boiled egg. It was not only nutritious but also delicious—a form of enjoyment and self-sufficiency in her impoverished life.
She never expected that the method she devised back then to save money would be useful here. She increasingly believed that the efforts she had made in the past would not go to waste.
As memories of her previous life flooded back, her hands did not stop moving. Several women handling the fruits rushed over.
Liu Qingxi scooped out two bowls of white noodles...
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