Chen Lan, while tending the fire in the stove and steaming sticky bean buns, ate them as well, thoroughly satisfying her appetite. Once her stomach was full, the expense didn't feel as painful, and she actually felt the money was well spent.
Chen Lan couldn't help but find herself amusing, thinking how women were such strange creatures sometimes, how they themselves didn't understand why they had so many peculiar thoughts.
As soon as the sticky bean buns were steamed, her mother-in-law instructed Hu Yuzhen to carefully remove the cooked buns from the pot and place them in a winnowing basket to cool outside. The weather was frigid, and within a short while, the buns were frozen rock solid. Hu Yuzhen then knocked them off the basket, packed them into a clean, large flour sack, and stored them in a big vat outside, ready to be distributed along with the other steamed buns once all were finished.
While everyone was busy, the mother-in-law and Zhao Dàniáng, along with a few other old friends, also stayed occupied. They were preparing to make sà niáng gāo (a type of steamed cake), and for this, the flour from the large yellow rice didn't require kneading, nor did it need to be mixed with cornmeal.
Before making the sà niáng gāo, the beans had to be boiled and placed in basins, ready for use. Then, the large pot was thoroughly cleaned, about half filled with water, and a steaming rack covered with a cloth was placed over it. The mother-in-law then told Chen Lan to build a strong fire to boil the water.
Chen Lan immediately stuffed two large logs into the stove. The water in the pot soon began to boil, and she curiously stood by, watching her mother-in-law prepare the sà niáng gāo.
Seeing Chen Lan's curious gaze, her mother-in-law explained, "The fire needs to be kept like this, continuously boiling the water in the large pot. Xiǎo Lán, you need to watch the fire carefully; it can't be low, understand?"
Chen Lan gave a soft "Mm," and turned to add another thick log to the stove. When she turned back, she saw her mother-in-law evenly spreading a layer of the cooked beans onto the steaming cloth, followed by an even layer of the large yellow rice flour. Because the water in the pot was continuously boiling, the steam quickly cooked the yellow rice flour sprinkled over the beans. This process was repeated, layering cooked beans and yellow rice flour. On the very last layer, after spreading another layer of cooked beans, her mother-in-law covered the pot.
Her mother-in-law noticed Chen Lan still watching curiously from behind and explained, "Cover the pot and steam on high heat for another ten minutes, and the sà niáng gāo will be ready."
Chen Lan immediately returned to the stove and added more wood to maintain a strong fire. Ten minutes passed quickly, and the large kitchen was filled with the rich aroma of beans and yellow rice.
The mother-in-law and Zhao Dàniáng each grabbed two corners of the steaming cloth, lifted the niáng gāo from the pot, and inverted it into a large winnowing basket. After cutting it into pieces with a knife, they had the aunties who were helping carry it outside to freeze.
Chen Lan quickly grabbed a piece and took a bite. The sà niáng gāo was soft and glutinous, the beans were fragrant, and it was incredibly delicious.
Her mother-in-law smiled and said, "The freshly steamed niáng gāo tastes even better dipped in white sugar."
Chen Lan found the jar of white sugar in the kitchen, dipped a piece of the niáng gāo into it, and indeed, it was even more delicious. The soft cake, the bean flour, and the sweet sugar, all blended together in the sà niáng gāo, created a perfect harmony! Words could not describe it; it was simply extraordinarily delicious. (Sudan Novel Network)
Before long, the niáng gāo left outside had frozen rock solid. Hu Yuzhen also knocked them off the basket one by one, packed them into a large flour sack, and stored them in the big vat outside, ready to be distributed to each household along with the sticky bean buns.
And so, the women worked together diligently, steaming from after breakfast until dinner each day. After more than ten days of work, they finally finished steaming the two thousand jin of large yellow rice. They had also used up about half of the beans. The result was that each household received two bags of sticky bean buns and two bags of sà niáng gāo.
Then, everyone happily distributed the grain, vegetables, and assigned cooking stoves. The oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar for each household were uniformly ordered by Chen Lan from the system, one portion for each family.
Chen Lan asked her mother-in-law to inform everyone that if they ran out of anything, they should register with her, and Chen Lan would place another unified order.
Once the stoves were distributed, the winter hibernation period officially began. However, at this time, the sewing cooperative also needed to start operations, and school was to officially commence classes.
The sewing cooperative and the school were built next to Dr. Guo's clinic, in a two-story building that had been constructed earlier. Since everyone had been busy with the autumn harvest, they hadn't had time to move.
The school was located on the first floor. A large notice board was erected at the school's main entrance. The courtyard outside served as a large playground, with a simple basketball hoop and a ping pong table set up beside it.
The second floor housed the sewing cooperative's production workshop and warehouses. The warehouses were divided into raw material storage and finished product storage. Everyone spent a day helping to move the sewing cooperative and the school.
As soon as Auntie Xiao Shan's sewing cooperative officially began operating, the reading society also welcomed its first tiered examination. Yes, that's right, the reading society was going to divide students into classes. Firstly, there were too many students now; one room simply couldn't accommodate them all. Secondly, students who performed well would be promoted to the second grade. As soon as Chen Lan announced the news of the tiered examination, parents and students were in an uproar. The students were eager and full of confidence, while the parents buried their heads in their books, preparing for last-minute cramming.
The next day, the intense tiered examination concluded at nine-thirty in the morning. After the students submitted their papers, the younger ones were full of confidence, but the parents began to harbor doubts in their hearts, anxiously awaiting the afternoon. Many parents, especially those who were in the same class as their children, fidgeted like ants on a hot pan, unable to stand or sit.
Qian Yingzi and her son (Gangdan) Xu Xiaowei were in the same class. Zhang Dani and her son Li Xiaochui were in the same class. Sister-in-law Chen from E Province and her son Chen Weiguo (Chen Gouzi) were in the same class. They were all extremely uneasy. Especially Sun Xiaomei, who was in the same class as her two sons, Datian and Xiaotian, she was even more flustered. Grandma Sun saw her looking absent-minded and didn't dare let her cook lunch, fearing the food would be inedible. Grandma Sun took over the cooking herself!
Finally, the time came for Teacher Xu to post the results of the examination in the afternoon. Students of all ages anxiously awaited the final outcome.
Of course, the reality was harsh. All the parents failed and had to repeat the first grade, continuing their studies for another year.
Upon returning home, the parents were all convinced of their defeat and expressed their determination to study hard this semester and strive to be promoted to the second grade next year.