Chapter 85: Ancient Oven Part 1

Xiaoguo sent Mrs. Yang and her family to their doorstep first. Then, she headed home and took out her keys for Zhuang Zhuang to open the door.

After Zhuang Zhuang opened the door and brought the puppies out of the way, Xiaoguo entered with the donkey cart.

She brought down the basket and started unpacking. The snacks and wine were kept in the house while the meat and soybeans were brought into the kitchen. Xiaoguo cut out a piece of pork and set it aside for lunch. The remaining meat was then stored in the other space with the pork ribs and mutton.

When Xiaoguo came out of the house, Zhuang Zhuang was washing his hands by the well. The child had been thinking about feeding the animals since he came back. He only went back to the house to look for Xiaoguo after he had finished feeding them. Xiaoguo had gone into the house earlier and brought out a clean piece of waxed paper. She took out one piece of every snack and mooncake, and wrapped everything up. They could eat from this pack when they wished to. The rest of the snacks were wrapped up and kept in the cabinet.

Xiaoguo wanted to place the pack of pastries which she had picked out, in a conspicuous spot. She looked around and felt that Zhuang Zhuang’s desk was just the right place for it. By putting them there, Zhuang Zhuang could access the snacks easily too.

As soon as she put down those pastries, Zhuang Zhuang came into the house. Xiaoguo unwrapped the waxed paper and offered him a snack. She instructed him not to eat too much because it would be lunch time soon. If he eats too much, he will have no appetite for his lunch.

Zhuang Zhuang obediently took only one piece and wrapped up the rest of the pastries.

Xiaoguo was getting ready to cook. Zhuang Zhuang followed behind her with the snack in his hand. He took the initiative to stop Xiaoguo and offered her a bite. Xiaoguo smiled and didn’t accept his offer this time.

“Mother is not eating it. You can have it.”

Now that Zhuang Zhuang knew to share his food with Xiaoguo, she was very relieved. She didn’t have to remind him repeatedly anymore. He already knew to ask others whenever he had something to eat.

Zhuang Zhuang followed Xiaoguo to the kitchen. He held the pastry in his hands and nibbled on it. He remembered his mother’s words to not wolf down his food, in case he choked. One must always chew and swallow slowly!

Xiaoguo went to the stove and looked at the piece of pork belly that she had just cut out. She thought to herself, “Maybe we should have braised pork?” Xiaoguo had to stop herself from drooling. It had been a long time since she had any braised pork. She was beginning to crave it.

After checking with Zhuang Zhuang on the menu, Xiaoguo got his approval. She steamed some rice and started cutting the piece of pork belly into chunks that were about five centimeters in thickness.

When Xiaoguo was pouring oil into the pot, Zhuang Zhuang had finished his snack. He sat obediently in front of the stove and shoved the firewood in.

When the oil was hot enough, Xiaoguo added the pork and stir-fried it. After the oil was released from the pork, she added spices to enhance the aroma. Then she added soybean paste, rock sugar, and boiling water.

The braised pork had to be stewed over strong heat. Xiaoguo asked Zhuang Zhuang to add more firewood. Zhuang Zhuang nodded and added two thick pieces of wood.

Xiaoguo covered the pot and brought the vegetable basket to the plot. She picked out some vegetables. Just eating meat alone was too greasy.

Xiaoguo asked Zhuang Zhuang what he wanted to eat so that she could prepare the dish.

When Zhuang Zhuang heard this, he ran out and followed Xiaoguo around the vegetable plot.

His eyes roved over the crops, looking for what he wanted to eat. In the end, he selected a section with spots of crimson. “Mother! I want to eat tomatoes and eggs. They’re sweet!”

When Xiaoguo heard his selection, she did not hesitate. She asked Zhuang Zhuang to go over and pick the tomatoes. Upon her instructions, Zhuang Zhuang ran over and picked two tomatoes.

Xiaoguo continued to look for more vegetables. She had green vegetables in mind initially. Seeing that the leafy greens were not bad, she picked a few.

In the end, their lunch consisted of braised pork, tomatoes and eggs, and stir-fried vegetables.

After waking up from his afternoon nap, Zhuang Zhuang snacked on the pastries. Seeing that he was enjoying his snack, Xiaoguo also picked up a small piece and tasted it. The soft fragrance of the pastry filled her mouth. It was indeed delicious.

“Mother, why aren’t you eating more?”

Zhuang Zhuang asked curiously. When he saw that Xiaoguo had only eaten a little, he put down what he had in his hands.

Xiaoguo shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it. The snacks were delicious, but Xiaoguo was craving for something with salted egg yolk filling.

“Mother would like some pastries with a savory egg yolk filling.”

Salted egg yolk? Zhuang Zhuang didn’t know that snacks had such a strange filling. Would it taste nice?

“What’s salted egg yolk?”

Xiaoguo explained, “It’s duck eggs pickled in wine and salt water.”

Hearing Xiaoguo’s explanation, didn’t they have duck eggs at home?

“Mother, there are still many duck eggs at home. Let’s make them ourselves!”

Zhuang Zhuang said innocently. He didn’t know how difficult it was to make pastries with a savory egg yolk filling. He just wanted his mother to eat what she liked.

Xiaoguo laughed at that. “That was true! Why didn’t she think of doing it herself?”

But she didn’t stay happy for long, Xiaoguo had a real problem. The salted egg yolk was easy to make, but to stuff it into dough and bake it, she would need an oven…

Xiaoguo’s mood instantly plummeted. Her happiness was swept away. Where could she get an oven? There was no such thing in the other space! It was impossible for her to make one…

“Make one???”

“Yes, she could make one!”

Xiaoguo clapped her hands. She could just make one herself! She had seen a documentary about ancient cooking methods. One of the episodes was about making an ancient oven.

Xiaoguo thought carefully about the steps to make the oven and realized that the process was not too difficult. All she needed were bricks, lime, and iron mesh!

These materials could be bought in the county. There was no time today. She will go tomorrow morning!

“I’ll also buy some white wine to pickle the duck eggs!”

Xiaoguo looked at Zhuang Zhuang’s inquisitive gaze. His eyes were as dark as two grapes as he looked at her. Xiaoguo then realized that she had been so engrossed in her own joy that she had forgotten to explain things to the boy.

Xiaoguo shared her thoughts with Zhuang Zhuang. Zhuang Zhuang said that he wanted to help too. As he spoke, he wrapped up the snacks and clapped his hands. He stood up and got ready to leave.

“Let’s go, Mother!”

Xiaoguo stopped him. “Go? Go where?”

Seeing that Xiaoguo was still sitting on the bed, Zhuang Zhuang anxiously took her hand and pulled her up.

“To the county to buy things and make an oven.”

The child was pulling her so hard that his veins were bulging. Afraid that he would get hurt, Xiaoguo quickly pulled him back. “Who said we’re going today? We can go tomorrow.”

Xiaoguo hugged Zhuang Zhuang helplessly. He finally calmed down and hugged Xiaoguo’s neck. “Then what are we doing this afternoon?”

Looking at Zhuang Zhuang’s cute little eyes, Xiaoguo spat out two words mercilessly.

“Cows grazing.”

The next morning, after breakfast, the mother and son set off for the county.

Because they had a shopping list, the two of them did not dawdle and went straight to get what they needed.

First of all, they needed to get bricks and lime. Since there was still half a bag of lime at home, they just had to get a small bag this time. Otherwise, there would be a lot of wastage.

They went to the same shop. Xiaoguo told the boss about what she was making and also the size of the oven. The boss gave her an estimated number of bricks that was required for the structure. Xiaoguo bought more than the estimated amount in case the bricks ran out. It was better to have extra than to have less.

The boss helped Xiaoguo to load everything onto the donkey cart. The lime was put in last.

After paying the bill, Xiaoguo left with Zhuang Zhuang in the donkey cart. She still had to make a trip to the wood shop. During this time, the wood shops should have ready-made mooncake molds. Although these were usually custom-made, there should still be some ready-made ones for sale.

One must definitely have molds when making mooncakes. Since she was in the vicinity of Su Hui and Tang Zhu’s house, she decided to buy the molds from them.

When they arrived, Zhuang Zhuang went to knock on the door. Xiaoguo tied up the donkey cart and walked to the door, waiting for someone to open it.