Even though Wen Jiajia had been consulting Dr. Fang for medication during this time, her condition did not improve much.

Wen Jiajia was struggling and didn’t want to get up.

It was dark in the room, and she usually woke up with a glimmer of light through the cracks, but not today, which meant it was still early.

Sleep a little longer?

Wen Jiajia narrowed her eyes and lay down again, but after ten seconds, she struggled to sit up again.

“Can’t sleep!”

I’m going to catch a car.

I have to go to the big market today.

Today is the day when the big gathering of Hongji Commune begins, and Wen Jiajia made an appointment with Fang Mingyan yesterday to go to the market together.

Hongji Commune is far away, and if you walk on foot, you won’t get there until 11 o’clock at noon. 

So, you have to take a car—a donkey cart.

Wen Jiajia scratched her head irritably and finally got up after lying down three times.

What to eat in the morning?

Eat kuay teow. Kuay teow is a rice milk kueh that was steamed yesterday.

Wen Jiajia suddenly became interested yesterday and used this year’s new rice to grind into rice milk, then steamed it.

The locals love to eat kuay teow, so she didn’t need to make it herself. She found an iron plate in the room of the original owner’s parents.

It is easy to make this kuay teow. Pour the rice milk on the iron plate, rotate the plate to spread the rice milk evenly, then place the plate in hot water.

Boiling hot water steams the rice milk in the iron pan.

After steaming, the rice milk kueh can be eaten with filling, just like wrapping spring rolls.

It can also be cut into strips and eaten with a mix.

Put soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and chopped pepper sauce, then add some dried radish and pickled vegetables, blanch some greens, and mix with pork fat. The taste is no worse than the filling.

Because of its simplicity, Wen Jiajia prefers this method.

And this morning, to save time, she naturally mixed rice milk with kuay teow to eat.

The rice milk kuay teow is soft, glutinous, and white, with both the fragrance of rice milk and the aroma of seasonings.

The soy sauce is new, brewed this year. There is a soy sauce workshop in the commune, less than 1,000 meters from Wen’s house.

It is said that this batch of soy sauce from the factory was made from the first crop of beans this year and took 180 days to brew.

The umami^[1]its taste is often described as the meaty, savory deliciousness that deepens flavor. taste and fragrance spread for ten miles!

No kidding, Wen Jiajia smelled it at home that day.

She was drawn by the delicious smell of soy sauce and, after learning it was from the commune’s soy sauce jar, hurriedly took her jar to the commune to get soy sauce.

Fortunately, as members of the Fuyang Brigade, they only needed money and not food to get soy sauce. Wen Jiajia ran back and forth three times to fill three cans of soy sauce.

Not all of these soy sauces are used for stir-frying. She also pickles radishes when she has time.

The local method of pickling radish is good, marinated in soy sauce and wine, then added with garlic and chili peppers, served with porridge—crisp and delicious.

As for the chopped pepper sauce, it was made by Wen Jiajia herself some time ago.

The chopped pepper sauce was made of red peppers, but the Wen family didn’t have them, so Wen Jiajia asked Aunt Zhang next door to trade.

Aunt Zhang’s hometown is in Hu Province, and she knows how to make chopped peppers best.

Under her guidance, Wen Jiajia successfully made a jar of chopped peppers. It has been marinated and fermented for exactly seven days now, which is just the right time to eat.

Wen Jiajia loves spicy food, and the tolerance of the two girls to chili peppers has improved a lot.

“Today, my aunt is going to the market, and the nursery is not open. Let’s see if you stay at home or go to play with Meihua.”

She quickly finished a large bowl of kuay teow and asked.

Wen Chun picked up the chopped pepper, put it in a bowl, and mixed it, saying, “Auntie, I want to stay at home.”

Meihua’s house is not fun, and after going there a few times, Meihua’s brother always stares at them, afraid they will secretly take her things to eat.

Wen Xuan also nodded, chewing with her cheeks full like a squirrel storing food.

“Alright then!”

Wen Jiajia opened the door of the room and let them play in the kitchen and the hall.

“Don’t go to the terrace, don’t go to the backyard, don’t go to the front yard, okay?” She said it solemnly.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan nodded in agreement.

“Kitchen knives are not to be touched, kerosene lamps are not to be touched, and matches are not to be touched.”

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were still obedient.

Wen Jiajia dressed them in thick clothes and told them not to take them off. Then, she put the straw mat on the floor of the room and laid out the blocks. She prepared some mixed kuay teow and warmed it in a pot, placed a pot of hot water on the table, and then left with a calm heart.

Finally, she said, “No one is allowed to open the door!”

“Got it, Auntie!”

Wen Jiajia trusted the two girls. Children without mothers mature early; those without fathers and mothers should be mature and sensible.

As the winter solstice approaches, the days get shorter.

When she went out, the sky was slightly bright, and the moon was still hanging in the sky.

“Jiajia, come on, just a few of us,” Fang Mingyan hurriedly beckoned when she saw her. “Did you bring enough bags? You must bring enough bags when you go to the market.”

Wen Jiajia turned around to reveal the bamboo basket on her back and patted it with her backhand. “I brought three.”

An aunt shouted, “Jiajia, are you here to catch the car? Save and add an extra person.”

Because there are not many donkey carts in the village, women have always been riding in donkey carts when they go to the market. What about men? If they want to go, they have to walk.

Wen Jiajia was willing, of course.

She touched Daqiang and took out the carrot from her pocket, feeding it to him.

Daqiang remembered this familiar person who often brought carrots and ate them happily, then stood there obediently, letting Wen Jiajia saddle him.

Wen Jiajia jumped into the cart and said to everyone, “Aunts, get in the cart.”

Daqiang was hurried by her, and Erqiang’s right to drive the cart was stunned by Chen Xiong’s expression.

Wen Jiajia took the lead in setting off, carrying eight people in the direction of Hongji Commune.

The mountain road was bumpy, but fortunately, she was skilled in driving, and everyone’s comfort was considered.

It was getting brighter.

The morning sun broke through the clouds, revealing a gap, and the sun shone on the land.

The morning sun is warm but does not burn people. Wen Jiajia’s face is bathed in the morning sun, feeling the vitality of the morning. She is in a good mood, and the depression of getting up early has also dissipated.

“Everyone, I’m going to speed up.”

Wen Jiajia waved her whip and shouted, “Drive!”

“Okay!”

Then there was a strong bump in the air.

When Wen Jiajia said fast, she meant it. Chen Xiong in the back was left eating dust.

“I’ll go. I’m a manly husband, and I can’t keep up with her?” Chen Xiong glared, became determined, and hurriedly sped up.

So in less than two hours, before half past seven, the two carloads arrived at Hongji Commune.

Wen Jiajia got out of the car and was stunned by the bustling scene in front of her.

There were a lot of people, especially a lot.

The huge square was densely packed with heads, and as people moved, it looked like a sea of black hair flowing.

Wen Jiajia could guarantee that anyone with a fear of crowds would definitely run away after seeing this scene.

Fang Mingyan put her arm around Wen Jiajia: “Let’s go. Don’t be intimidated by the crowd; it’s actually divided into regions. Like the food in the upper left corner, clothes in the bottom left, tools in the top right, and miscellaneous items in the bottom right.”

While talking, she pointed out the areas.

Wen Jiajia understood immediately: four quadrants.

She decided to go to the second quadrant first, the area where food was sold.

The crowd was so dense that even if you didn’t move, the people behind you would push you forward.

Wen Jiajia held Fang Mingyan tightly, and the two of them messed up their hair before they reached their destination.

“Haha, it’s lively enough.” Fang Mingyan was excited, and the more people there were, the more excited she became.

Wen Jiajia nodded, her eyes darting around, fascinated by everything.

The two of them were drawn to the steamed buns that had just come out of the pot. They saw the hot steam rising from the buns, and when the steamer lid was opened, the white mist billowed up.

They both took a deep breath simultaneously; the aroma was intoxicating.

“To eat or not to eat?” Fang Mingyan asked, staring straight at the buns.

Wen Jiajia was decisive: “Eat!”

She had 30 yuan in her pocket!

The two of them held hands and squeezed their way to the front of the bun stand.

Seeing the white, fat buns, Wen Jiajia’s eyes lit up. “Uncle, are the buns meat or vegetable?”

The bun vendor replied, “Mixed vegetables and bamboo shoots, mushrooms, dried tofu meat, and bamboo shoots.” There was no pure meat.

Normally, meat was hard to buy, and each bun had just a little bit of meat.

Wen Jiajia was generous, taking out the money and saying, “Give me two of each flavor.”

When she saw oil cakes beside the buns, she added, “And six oil cakes.”

The oil cake is made from soybeans and rice, ground into rice milk, minced green onions, seasoned, and finally fried slowly in a pan with a small spoon.

The soy milk is fried until it turns from white to yellow and from flat to puffed up.

Wen Jiajia loved this treat, and in her previous life, she liked to eat oil cake with pot batter. At this moment, she decided to have pot batter for breakfast tomorrow.

After buying the buns, they were reluctant to eat them right away.

However, the buns hanging in front of her were too tempting. Wen Jiajia couldn’t resist and pulled Fang Mingyan to the side. They squatted down and began to eat slowly.

“What are you going to buy later?” Fang Mingyan asked, her mouth full.

Wen Jiajia was surprised: “You know how to make clothes?”

Fang Mingyan replied: “What’s so surprising? Most of the girls in our village can.”

Wen Jiajia: “I don’t know how.”

She quickly smiled, pinched Fang Mingyan’s arm, and said flatteringly, “Teacher Yanyan, teach me.”

Fang Mingyan straightened her chest and coughed lightly: “You call me teacher, and I’ll take you as a student.”

Wen Jiajia immediately took out a piece of oil cake and stuffed it into her mouth: “Apprenticeship gift, no takebacks.”

Wen Jiajia realized that in this era, certain skills should be mastered.

Especially sewing.

Otherwise, she would have to wait every day to see what the synthesis system could give her. If it couldn’t synthesize anything, she would be stuck.

Fang Mingyan was silenced by the taste of the oil cake and could only nod vigorously.

After a meal, the two continued to shop.

No matter how warm the winter sun was, it couldn’t get too hot. Wen Jiajia didn’t pay attention to the time at all.

She moved from stall to stall, and by the time her arms were full, it was already noon.