Chapter 77: Jujube Candy

“Did the hen lay an egg?!” Shen An’s voice split with joy, the jujube branch in his hand paused mid-shake, he hurried up halfway up the mountain and approached Shen Ning, “Let me see!”

Shen Ning smiled, spreading out her hand. Shen An’s eyes curved with delight. He not only looked but also touched it, “It’s still warm. Which hen laid this egg?”

Shen Ning shook her head, “I didn’t see. Just now, three hens came out of the nest.”

Sang Luo also arrived by now, glancing at the small egg in Shen Ning’s hand, and smiled, “All the hens are about the same size. If one laid an egg, the other two aren’t far behind. This is a Yunying egg, very nutritious. Tomorrow morning, let’s make egg flower congee.”

There was no question of selling eggs for money; they relied on buying their own vegetables, occasionally receiving some from acquaintances. Now that the hens laid eggs, naturally they would keep them for themselves to nourish their bodies.

Hearing about egg flower congee, the siblings’ eyes lit up. They used to have it when their elder brother was at home. The eggs were beaten and poured into the boiling congee, stirred a bit, and yellow egg flowers floated up. It smelled delicious.

But it shouldn’t be left to cool too much, or it would become fishy.

It had been a long time since they had eaten it.

The egg in Shen Ning’s hand suddenly became precious, and they had already planned how to eat it tomorrow morning.

“I’ll go put it away!” She said and ran inside.

Shen An followed eagerly, and only then did he stuff the jujube branch in Shen Ning’s other empty hand, “An Ning, look what this is!”

Sang Luo, walking behind, heard Shen Ning’s surprised voice, “Honey paw, where did you find it?”

Shen An explained how he found a small branch of honey paw and then discovered a tall honey paw tree. He said, “I and Sister-in-law are going back soon. There’s still a lot left to pick. Sister-in-law said this can also be sold for money.”

Shen Ning’s interest was piqued.

But this time, Shen An didn’t let his sister go with him, “It’s a bit far, and carrying a basket to climb many mountains is heavy. You stay at home and watch over things. This branch is for you to eat.”

“Okay, can this also be sold for money?”

“Yes, Sister-in-law said so. I think it’s so sweet that people would be willing to buy it.”

The siblings walked shoulder to shoulder, chatting, and entered the kitchen. Shen Ning placed the egg on the table and then helped her elder brother put down the basket.

Sang Luo came in and was treated to a bowl of water poured by Shen Ning.

After emptying the baskets, Sang Luo and Shen An took a short break. They sprinkled more snake repellent on their legs and shoes, then turned around and went out again, carrying the baskets on their backs.

As Shen An had said, the road was long and difficult. Although it wasn’t deep into the mountains, they had to take a detour through the mountains to avoid the villagers. It was well past lunchtime when they returned home with a full harvest.

By this time, they were exhausted, especially Sang Luo. Just think, before dawn, she walked ten miles to the county to deliver grain, returned home by mid-morning, and then went up the mountain twice without stopping. She was so tired that she wanted to lie down flat.

Fortunately, Shen Ning was considerate. She asked Mrs. Chen about various chores in the house every day, occasionally bringing her over to supervise, and took special care of the chickens and ducks. While Sang Luo took Shen An outside to run errands, she, as a not-so-big child, managed the cooking and chores at home proficiently. If she wasn’t tall enough, she would bring over a wooden stool and stand on it to cook.

Upon seeing her sister-in-law and elder brother tired, washing their hands and returning to their rooms to lie down, Shen Ning hurried over, sometimes pulling this one, sometimes pulling that.

“Let’s eat first, then rest.”

Sang Luo was unusually stubborn for a moment, saying, “Just lie down for a bit, we’ll get up soon.”

Shen An was about to be pulled up by his sister, but seeing his sister-in-law still lying down, he also lay flat.

Shen Ning, being considerate, rushed back to the kitchen to dish out the food, holding a bowl in each hand and chopsticks in her palm, and brought them over directly.

“Eat up, eat up, just sit on the bed and eat, then sleep.”

Sang Luo really wanted to give her a hug; this girl was too considerate.

What a look of a little cotton-padded jacket, just like Shen Ning.

In the end, Sang Luo and Shen An each sat on their own beds, holding the food Shen Ning brought over and ate with relish. There was only one stool in the house, which was used to prop up the grain. Who would sit on it?

Their legs were sore, and everyone wanted to sit, so they didn’t fuss. Sitting on the bed edge was comfortable enough even if it was only halfway.

Sang Luo felt that if she continued to live like this for the rest of her life, as long as she didn’t push herself too hard, her health would definitely be excellent. The amount of exercise was more than enough.

Although they said they rested after lunch, they didn’t really rest after eating their fill. Who could lie down right after eating? They sat obediently for fifteen minutes, then stood for fifteen minutes. Only then did Shen Ning close the courtyard door and lie down on the bed for a nap.

Waking up refreshed, Sang Luo started to make fairy tofu and stepped up the processing of jujube cakes. Taking advantage of the sunlight, she could dry them for half a day.

Busy until the end, the jujube cakes were done and placed in molds, then sent to the drying rack in the backyard. The fairy tofu had also solidified.

The quantity wasn’t large, and after cutting it into pieces, there were only eight. Sang Luo took a pottery basin and carried it with Shen Ning down the mountain to give one piece each to the Chen, Shi, and Lu families, as well as to the Zhou Cunzheng family in Zhou Village. She also borrowed a pair of scissors from Mrs. Chen.

The Chen, Shi, and Lu families were frequently visited by Sang Luo, who often received vegetables from them. So, it wasn’t strange to send some food over.

Sending these things to the Zhou Cunzheng family in Zhou Village, the Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law was stunned for a moment, not reacting at first, but then she was delighted. After thanking Sang Luo repeatedly, she turned around and went back inside, bringing out a small package wrapped in oil paper and gave it to Shen Ning, saying, “Recently, when I went to the county to buy grain, I brought back some green bean cakes. I wrapped a few pieces for you, An Ning, to taste with your sister-in-law and elder brother.”

As soon as Shen Ning heard that it was a snack from the county, she hesitated to accept it. The Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law kept insisting, and Shen Ning instinctively looked towards her sister-in-law.

Sang Luo smiled at the Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law and said, “Auntie is too polite.”

Seeing her repeatedly trying to stuff things into Shen Ning’s hands, Sang Luo nodded to Shen Ning, who then dared to accept it and said to the Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law, “Thank you, Auntie Zhou.”

With her sweet voice, the Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law couldn’t help but smile. She had several sons, but she didn’t have a daughter. Seeing Shen Ning’s new clothes, she sincerely praised Sang Luo, “You’ve raised An Ning and Xiao An so well.”

In that situation back then, being able to live to this point like this, her husband was right, this Sang family was really capable.

Most importantly, they were kind-hearted.

It was said that she married Shen Lie, but she had never seen the person, and when she came over, the person was already gone, and there were no ceremonies between heaven and earth. She just became the sister-in-law of Shen An and Shen Ning, and she really took care of them as if they were her own younger siblings.

Thinking of this, the Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law’s eyes flickered.

She had several sons, and the eldest and second sons had just gotten married, but the third son hadn’t yet.

But looking at Shen Ning, this sudden thought was suppressed again.

Having such thoughts, when she looked at Sang Luo again, she found her even more pleasing to the eye, diligent, capable, down-to-earth, kind-hearted, and knowing how to conduct herself. She was really so likable.

In the evening, unable to resist, she quietly told her husband about this idea, but her husband was already lying down, and her words startled him into sitting up.

After a moment’s thought, it wasn’t a bad idea, was it???

But it was just a passing thought, and he quickly shook his head, “Don’t bring this up rashly. She’s taking care of Shen An and Shen Ning, and what does it have to do with us? Besides, Sang Shi might not agree. If you really bring it up, we won’t be able to talk to each other in the future.”

The Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law sighed regretfully, “I know, I’m just telling you, what a good girl she is, who wouldn’t envy her.”

In fact, if Zhou Cunzheng Village also agreed, the Zhou Cunzheng family’s daughter-in-law wouldn’t be able to suppress this thought, fortunately, there was someone in the family who was particularly clear-headed.

…

Of course, Sang Luo had no idea about the almost being chosen as the daughter-in-law of the Zhou Cunzheng family.

Even if she knew, she would only think it was a ridiculous idea.

In her previous life, she first struggled to survive, then dealt with health issues. She lived for twenty-eight years, but remained unmarried until she was twenty-eight. Where would she find the thought of getting married in this life?

Coming straight here and becoming a widow with status and household registration, Sang Luo actually felt quite good about it; she adapted exceptionally well.

If she had come here and had to live with an adult man instead of Shen An and Shen Ning, who were exceptionally well-behaved children, Sang Luo’s first thought would have been to run away. How could she stay so at ease?

Sang Luo didn’t know this, so when she delivered the tofu, she also informed the three families that she would no longer make fairy tofu. She accepted the tofu orders for the next day and the tripe orders brought back by Qin Fangniang. There was also a note of payment for tripe from Dongfu Restaurant. She returned home, put them away, and started to work busily after tasting the green bean cake Shen Ning handed her.

Everything else was fine; it was all familiar work. But when Sang Luo started to process the jujubes after sorting them and placing them on the table, Shen An and Shen Ning were surprised.

At first, they thought Sang Luo was trimming the stems for better presentation, but she ended up trimming all the stems. The siblings watched as their sister-in-law washed the jujubes clean and instructed them to fetch the stone mortar they had received as a gift.

This item was now frequently used by the siblings. They no longer needed to go to the Chen family to pound rice for their daily meals. For the three of them, this small stone mortar was sufficient.

Although puzzled why their sister-in-law needed the stone mortar to process the honey jujubes, after these few days, the siblings had already recognized how capable their sister-in-law was. If she said to fetch the stone mortar, then it must be useful.

When the stone mortar was brought over, Sang Luo grabbed two handfuls of cleaned jujubes from the large bucket and put them into the stone mortar, then began to pound.

It wasn’t until now that Shen An realized his sister-in-law wasn’t just selling wild fruits but was going to use these honey jujubes to make food again. His eyes lit up!

“Sister-in-law, what can we make with this once it’s crushed?” He asked curiously.

Sang Luo smiled, “It can be used to make sugar. Jujube sugar is very delicious; it’s not only sweet but also fragrant. Moreover, this thing is actually a Chinese herbal medicine called jujube. There’s a record of it in a miscellaneous book at home, saying that jujubes can be eaten raw, brewed into wine, or made into sugar. It tastes sweet, has a neutral nature, is non-toxic, relieves heat, moistens the five internal organs, promotes urination and defecation, and has the same benefits as honey.”

Sang Luo was recalling as she spoke, so this part of the conversation was slow. Shen An and Shen Ning listened intently; they didn’t quite understand terms like “neutral nature,” but they did understand the part about its benefits being the same as honey.

Honey, oh, how precious it was, much more expensive than malt sugar.

“Is it as sweet as honey?” Shen Ning’s mouth began to water.

Sang Luo glanced at the little girl and smiled, “Yes, and it has a scent that honey doesn’t. Tomorrow when I go to the county to sell this sugar, I’ll buy a small jar to bring back home. We can keep a jar for ourselves to eat directly or mix with water. Once it’s made, as long as the spoon used to scoop the sugar doesn’t touch any water, it can be stored for several months.”

When Shen An and Shen Ning heard they would keep a jar for themselves, their first reaction was, “Is it expensive?”

Sang Luo thought for a moment, “I plan to sell it for about the same price as honey.”

There weren’t many jujube trees around; at least, she had only found one for now in the area she dared to explore. Of course, this was also related to her unwillingness to venture deeper into the area. But the quantity wasn’t large, so she naturally had to sell it at a higher price.

Sugar was a luxury here.

Upon hearing that it would be sold at the same price as honey, the siblings shook their heads in unison, “Then we don’t need to keep any at home; we won’t eat sugar.”

Sang Luo smiled, “I’ll eat it.”

If she herself couldn’t bear to eat the things she made, then what was the point of all this hustle and bustle?

Not only would she keep a jar of jujube sugar for herself, but Sang Luo also planned to keep a small jar of jujube cakes for snacking at home. After all, these things could be stored for a long time.

As soon as Sang Luo said, “I’ll eat it,” the siblings immediately fell silent, then their eyes softened.

The siblings: Sister-in-law is really good, she really cares about us!

Author’s note:

Translator’s note: This quote is from “Compendium of Materia Medica”