Chapter 56: Almond Goat Milk

Working in an art troupe is certainly a popular profession these days.

Of course, it remains popular decades later.

But if Wen Jiajia recalls correctly, the age limit for joining is 16, right?

Wei Dai nodded, served the meal, and said, “She wanted to change Wenzhu’s age. She heard that a colleague’s daughter changed her age to join the art troupe. She also mentioned that the number of places would be reduced in the future, so she tried to get Wenzhu in when she was 14.”

Wen Jiajia washed her hands, sat at the table, and asked, “So what are you going to say to elder sister, and how will you reply?”

Wei Dai responded, “How should I reply? Ignoring her is the best approach.”

Wen Jiajia decided it was best not to get involved in sibling matters.

However, she pointed to the pile of items sent by the elder sister and said, “Look at all these things.”

Wei Dai handed her a piece of tofu and said, “Keep it. When the weather clears up, we can buy some things and send them to her.”

Wen Jiajia agreed, took a bite of the tofu, and asked, “Where did you buy this tofu? It’s so tender. Don’t we need to grind tofu at home? Is there a stone mill^[1]is a type of mill that uses stones to grind or crush grains, nuts, seeds, or other materials. in the family compound? By the end of the year, we’ll need to grind tofu, make rice paste for rice cakes, and fry pancakes. There are no pancakes for sale here, and I really want to eat some.”

Before starting his meal, Wei Dai picked up some tofu for Wen Chun and Wen Xuan. The tofu was so tender that the sisters easily broke it.

After serving the pieces, he finally began eating and said, “I asked someone to buy it from a nearby village. There are still six pieces in the cupboard. I’ve sprinkled salt on them. I can have more tomorrow.”

Wen Jiajia’s eyes lit up. “There must be a tofu shop in the village, right? Why don’t we ask them to make some for us? Even a small amount would be fine.”

Wei Dai said, “I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you. This tofu was probably made by the villagers themselves. As far as I know, there is no tofu shop.”

Wen Jiajia was indeed disappointed. She picked up two more pieces of tofu and mixed them with her rice. “Tofu is hard to come by in the city. Even with a soy product ticket, you might not be able to buy it.”

These days, there are many types of tickets. Besides non-staple food tickets, soy product tickets are used for buying tofu, and special dried tofu tickets are used for dried tofu.

Wei Dai’s fried tofu was becoming more and more delicious. He controlled the heat well and used oil sparingly, resulting in tofu that was golden on the outside and soft on the inside. The sauce was well-seasoned, salty, fresh, and slightly spicy. It thickened nicely and coated the tofu, making it particularly fragrant when mixed with rice.

Wen Jiajia ordered the recipe in advance, chewed the rice, and swallowed before saying, “I’ll make tofu the same way tomorrow.”

Wei Dai agreed, “Since you like it, I’ll buy more and make it again.”

After all, it’s not meat, so he wanted his wife to enjoy it.

After dinner, Wen Jiajia began unpacking the package. She weighed it before opening it. “It’s quite heavy.”

She untied the rope and revealed the contents.

The first item was brown sugar.

Since her hometown is a sugarcane-growing area, brown sugar is easier and cheaper to buy there compared to here. Private purchases are also cheaper.

Wen Jiajia went to the utility room to get a scale. After weighing it, she said, “There are a full six and a half kilograms of brown sugar. We won’t need to buy more for next year.”

Wei Dai took the brown sugar from her, wrapped it in oil paper, and said, “It’s not enough to make sweet soup for you every now and then.”

Wen Jiajia rolled her eyes and said, “No, I don’t want to gain weight.”

Her comment about having sweet soup three or four times a week was partly due to concern about gaining weight and also about the risk of diabetes.

Wei Dai put the brown sugar in the middle drawer of the cupboard and said, “The doctor told you to drink more. If you gain weight, you gain weight. Being a little heavier might make you look better.”

Wen Jiajia thought to herself that this is often said by those who are thin, but when they actually gain weight, they find they look better when they are slimmer.

Next, she took out two pieces of bacon. Wen Jiajia examined it closely but couldn’t determine what kind of meat it was.

“Take a look,” she said, handing it to Wei Dai.

Wei Dai examined it, smelled it, and observed it under the light. After half a minute, he identified it as venison^[2]refers to the meat from deer. It’s often prized for its rich flavor and lean quality compared to other red meats..

Wen Jiajia raised her eyebrows. “Venison!”

She rarely eats venison but had tried it a few times in restaurants in her previous life and found it quite good.

Wei Dai commented, “This is probably smoked by the eldest sister herself. Mom always says she’s lazy and greedy, but she’s quite clever with food. She makes these smoked and cured items very well.”

Wen Jiajia laughed lightly. “Well, having a skill is enough.”

The next item was five kilograms of millet. Wen Jiajia had once mentioned her liking for millet porridge, so it seemed her elder sister had remembered.

Finally, there were two bottles of vanishing cream, obviously intended for Wen Jiajia.

She didn’t expect the eldest sister to be so thoughtful.

Although Wen Jiajia wasn’t particularly fond of vanishing cream, it was considered a luxury item and quite expensive these days.

Wen Jiajia felt a bit uncomfortable holding the gift, as she didn’t have a close relationship with Sister Wei aside from her connection with the Wei family.

Wei Dai said, “My eldest sister can be silly at times but also quite perceptive. She acts on her moods. Don’t you want to make lipstick? Just send her two bottles when you have the chance.”

Wen Jiajia tossed her ponytail and said, “Huh, you’re still thinking about lipstick. How can you make lipstick without beeswax?”

With that, she carried the two bottles of cream to the room.

Wei Dai called after her, “I’ll definitely find beeswax for you within a week.”

A Week Later

Just as Wen Jiajia thought Wei Dai might break his promise, he delivered the beeswax on the seventh night.

Not only was there beeswax, but there was also nearly five kilograms of honey. The honey was in a jar and had already frozen. To use it, one would need a spoon and chopsticks to scoop it out.

The beeswax seemed to have been boiled and filtered, so it was ready for use.

Wei Dai was pleased. “When I say I can get it, I get it.”

Wen Jiajia, standing on the bed, hugged him, crossed her arms around his neck, leaned forward, and kissed him twice. “Thank you so much!”

Wei Dai hugged her tightly, his eyes fixed on her face. “How do you plan to thank me?”

Wen Jiajia kissed him twice more. “Like this.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes!”

Wei Dai’s smile faltered. He gave her a playful smack and pulled her close, holding her waist tightly to keep her from leaving. “I’m not satisfied.”

Wen Jiajia felt an itch on her neck from Wei Dai’s breath and quickly dodged. “I don’t care whether you’re satisfied or not; the goods have arrived.”

Wei Dai pursued her and said, “If that’s the case, I’ll make you pay.”

“Shameless!” Wen Jiajia retorted.

“Learned from you,” Wei Dai shot back.

The couple engaged in a playful struggle on the bed, and as expected, Wen Jiajia was eventually defeated. She lay there helplessly, gasping for breath.

Wei Dai looked very satisfied. He hugged her and rubbed her waist. “We made a good deal. We should do this more often in the future.”

Wen Jiajia didn’t have the strength to pinch him and could only accuse him with her eyes.

This time, Wei Dai was a bit too harsh, and Wen Jiajia wasn’t willing to be outdone. They ended up quarrelling until midnight. Despite the heated argument, the couple actually enjoyed the experience.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month.

The temperature had dropped significantly, and the vegetables in the garden outside were frozen. Fortunately, Wen Jiajia had picked the cabbages in advance and brought them inside.

The tap water had also frozen, so every morning, she had to use hot water to melt it.

People living in residential buildings didn’t have these concerns. They didn’t need to heat the faucet every day, empty the toilet in the cold wind, or climb onto the roof to sweep off snow during snowy days.

Wen Jiajia couldn’t help but sigh, thinking it was indeed better to live in a building during winter.

“I told you so,” Wei Dai said with a hint of frustration. As a building advocate, he was annoyed by Wen Jiajia’s sigh. If she hadn’t insisted on a bungalow, he would have definitely chosen a building.

Wen Jiajia, bundled up in her thick cotton-padded clothes, watched as the stove in front of her gurgled with goat milk. After cooking the milk, she poured a cup and took a careful sip. The fragrant milk flowed down her throat, warming her entire body.

“I was just mentioning it casually. If given the choice again, I would still choose the bungalow we live in now,” Wen Jiajia said, licking her lips and putting down the cup.

Despite the cold, it was only a problem for a little over a month each year. The rest of the time, the bungalow was comfortable, so why sacrifice the overall comfort for a small inconvenience?

“Let’s not dwell on this anymore. We’ve already made our choice. Why worry about it now?” Wen Jiajia said. “Try the goat milk. I added almonds while cooking, so it doesn’t have that mutton smell anymore.” She poured some more goat milk for Wei Dai.

Wei Dai took the cup, took a sip, and nodded. “It really doesn’t have any smell and tastes better than milk made from toffee.”

Wen Jiajia was delighted. “Really? I told you almonds are useful, but Sister Bao didn’t believe it.”

Wei Dai responded, “Sister Bao probably didn’t doubt it but was reluctant to use almonds for cooking goat milk.”

Although almonds weren’t very expensive, they were hard to come by. Wen Jiajia had saved a bag for Chinese New Year, and using them for goat milk felt extravagant. Only his wife could be so generous.

Wen Jiajia said, “You can use flowers too, but jasmine is best. Jasmine tea has a pleasant fragrance, and I prefer the taste when combined with goat milk.”

“But jasmine doesn’t grow here. I haven’t seen a jasmine tree. If there’s no alternative, you can use ginger, honey, or even brown sugar. It all works.” She took another sip of goat milk and frowned. Vinegar might also work, but she had never tried it. She wasn’t sure if she should try, especially since they only had aged vinegar at home and not white vinegar. Besides, there wasn’t much goat milk each day.

With the farm now open and the cows not yet giving milk, there was no cow’s milk available. However, the sheep had given birth, so Wen Jiajia took the opportunity to order goat milk for a while, planning to switch to cow’s milk when it became available.

She had initially thought Wen Chun and Wen Xuan wouldn’t get used to the taste of goat milk, but to her surprise, they liked it very much.

Wen Jiajia, on the other hand, had to add almonds to mask the mutton smell before she could drink it.

_

At the end of the year, preparations for the New Year’s goods began.

Wen Jiajia started saving meat coupons. She hadn’t used any of last month’s coupons and saved them all for this month.

She also found someone to exchange a few coupons for her, but still felt it wasn’t enough. How could just five kilograms be considered a lot?

They needed to make bacon and sausage, but for the New Year, they couldn’t rely solely on those. They needed fresh meat as well, and chicken, duck, fish, and mutton were essential.