Reborn in 1977

Chapter 161 He Doesn't Understand Anything

Chen Fan followed Zhang Wenliang to his home.

Actually, it wasn't his own home, but his father's, Zhang Guangwen, the captain of Team 5's home, a "one main room and four side rooms" blue brick and tile house, which was also distributed to them back then.

Later, the mud-walled houses newly built in the entire brigade, and even the entire commune, almost all copied this pattern, which was also the most skilled house type of the construction team's masters.

As soon as he entered the gate, he saw busy figures in the main room. Chen Fan greeted the Zhang family and then went to the table to watch the fun.

Against the wall next to the table was a jar of sugar syrup, also known as maltose syrup. On the wooden board next to it were several bamboo baskets, filled with popped rice and cooked sesame seeds respectively.

The popped rice wasn't popcorn; popcorn was made from corn kernels. The method for making popped rice was the same, but the raw material was rice.

Pour the rice into the "human cannon," commonly known as the "food amplifier," and heat it for a while. Then, with a "bang," out comes the popped rice.

Zhang Wenliang directly picked up a bamboo basket and handed it to Chen Fan, "Try it."

Chen Fan chuckled, grabbed a handful in his hand, and stuffed a mouthful into his mouth. An aroma of rice instantly filled his entire mouth, "Mmm, delicious."

Next to the table, Zhang Wenliang's mother poured the popped rice into an enamel basin, picked up a spoon, and kept scooping the sugar syrup into the basin, mixing it with the popped rice.

Then, taking a square frame, she poured the popped rice mixed with sugar syrup into the frame, pressed it tightly with a long wooden strip, and removed the wooden frame, resulting in a piece of "popped rice candy" about two centimeters thick.

Such a large piece of popped rice candy was definitely not convenient to eat, so it was also necessary to use a kitchen knife to cut the large popped rice candy into small pieces, and then put it aside. After the sugar syrup completely solidified, break it apart, and it becomes small popped rice candy that can be taken at any time.

She made three large pieces in a row, using up all the popped rice, and then made sesame candy and peanut candy.

Peanut candy was thicker, but much thinner than popped rice candy, only half a centimeter thick. If it were any thicker, it would not be easy to bite off. However, there were also those that were one centimeter thick; people just liked to put it in their mouths and chew it slowly.

The thinnest was sesame candy, with a thickness of only one or two millimeters, a thin piece that was fragrant, crispy, and sweet in the mouth.

In addition to these kinds of candies, there were also small fried dough twists, pig ears, Beijing fruit sticks…

Chen Fan ate a little of this and a little of that, and soon felt full.

These things were all high-calorie foods, which easily led to a feeling of fullness. Chen Fan looked at the time again and realized it was already 9:30, so he didn't dare to delay any longer and had to say goodbye and leave.

Zhang Wenliang didn't try to persuade him to stay, but after sending him out the door, he put an oil paper package into his cloth bag, "Take this back to eat."

Chen Fan weighed it and looked at him, saying, "Giving me so much, is it not for the New Year?"

Zhang Wenliang laughed and slapped him on the shoulder, "This little bit of stuff is just for you as a snack, just take it."

After a pause, he added, "Tomorrow is the Little New Year. Captain Xiao's family is slaughtering pigs. We'll have a good drink then."

Chen Fan nodded, "I remember that. Tomorrow we'll also be making Northeast-style pork stew."

The two jars of sauerkraut that he had pickled for him before should be almost ready, right?

Afterwards, he exchanged a few polite words with Zhang Guangwen and the others before turning around and leaving.

…

Running all the way back home, he first put down the things. Chen Fan opened the paper package. Sure enough, it was all the sweets that the Zhang family had just made.

Popped rice candy accounted for half of it, and there was no shortage of sesame candy, peanut candy, small fried dough twists, pig ears, and Beijing fruit sticks.

Although the portion was a little small, this package of things would not be embarrassing to take anywhere. Even if someone got married, it would be decent enough to give this as a gift.

Chen Fan smiled, picked up the paper package, and walked out, finding Jiang Lili in the kitchen.

When Jiang Lili saw him coming in, she turned her head and smiled, "You're back. I'll cook after I finish stir-frying this pot."

Then she saw the things in Chen Fan's hand, "Oh, where did this come from?"

Chen Fan put the paper package on the dining table and said with a smile, "Company Commander Zhang's family made New Year's goods today, so they packed these for me to bring back. I've already eaten my fill there. These are all for you."

Jiang Lili's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and then her face turned red. She lowered her head, hooked a strand of hair, and said flusteredly, "No, no need, you keep them for yourself."

In some places in Yunhu, when a man and woman are on a blind date, if they like each other, the man will give the woman a package of sweets. If the woman accepts it, it means she agrees.

So later, it evolved into the meaning of a man giving a woman snacks to confirm a romantic relationship.

Does this Xiao Chen actually know this custom?

If giving herself a cake the day before yesterday could be said to be for celebrating her birthday, then what about now?

How could Chen Fan know that she had so many thoughts? He said with a smile, "Good things should be shared, of course. Would you not leave some for me if you had something delicious?"

Hearing him say this, Jiang Lili couldn't help but pout, feeling a little disappointed in her heart.

Sure enough, this guy doesn't understand anything.

However, in this way, she also felt much more relaxed. Otherwise, the pressure in her heart would have been a bit too great, so she raised her head and smiled, "Okay then."

"That's right."

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction, praising her, and incidentally looked into the pot, "Why are you stir-frying soybeans?"

Jiang Lili kept her hands moving, looked at him, and said with a smile, "Making New Year's goods. You'll be a teacher in the future, and the people who follow you to learn veterinary medicine will definitely come to pay you a New Year's visit. You can't have nothing to entertain them with, right? So I want to make some New Year's goods for you…"

Saying that, she pointed to the oil paper package, "Actually, it's almost the same as these things. However, this popped rice candy is popped with a popcorn machine, so it's softer. I can only stir-fry it in a large pot. The popped rice that comes out is harder, but it's more fragrant and crispy. Each has its own flavor.

There are also these soybeans. After grinding them into powder and adding glutinous rice flour, and then coating them with sugar syrup, you can make snow jujubes and soybean crisps. Adding a little salt makes them salted soybeans…"

She said several kinds of snacks in a row, listening to Chen Fan drooling. He quickly grabbed a handful of soybeans from the pot, blew them cold, and threw one into his mouth, and then said, "Like this, you prepare the ingredients first, and when I get off work at night, we'll make them together."

Jiang Lili shook her head with a smile, "It's okay, I can finish making these things myself."

Chen Fan, "No, I can also make snacks. Let's see if we can make something different then."

Only then did Jiang Lili remember that, in terms of cooking, Chen Fan was much better than herself, so she nodded, "Okay."

Chen Fan thought of another question, "Where did the sugar come from? The bag of sugar we bought isn't enough, right?"

The pound of sugar I bought when I went to the market before was used a lot for making cakes, and then I made brown sugar eggs a few times. Now there's only a little more than half a pound left. It looks like a lot, but it's definitely not enough for making New Year's goods.

Jiang Lili said with a smile, "The Team 10 mill will be selling sugar syrup these few days. Just go over and buy it."

Chen Fan blinked, "Oh, is that so?"

There was still some regret in his words.

He was still planning to find wheat to buy and sprout it, and then make his own maltose syrup. It seems he won't get the chance.

He didn't even care whether he could sprout it in winter?

Jiang Lili stir-fried soybeans while saying, "Every year, the sugar coupons distributed to the brigade are very few, and even fewer are distributed to each household. You don't have to eat sugar usually, but during the New Year, if you don't have New Year's goods, you'll be laughed at by other teams.

So every year during the New Year, the brigade will allocate a batch of wheat to the mill and let them boil sugar syrup and make their own sugar. Generally, it starts from the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month and ends on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. During this time, the commune members can go over and buy sugar without sugar coupons."

Chen Fan gave a thumbs up, "This is done beautifully. We must commend the brigade department!"