Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 129 Sharing Happiness
Jiang Lili went to pick wild oranges, while Chen Fan hurried to the kitchen to boil water, clean the two pots he had just bought, and put flour, milk, eggs, white sugar, and salt on the table. He also washed two large bowls and a clay pot, and carefully dried them.

After he finished all that, Jiang Lili came back carrying a bag of wild oranges. "Do you think this is enough?"

Then, seeing what Chen Fan had prepared, she asked in surprise, "Are you going to knead dough? Are we having noodles?"

There's no fresh meat on the table, so it probably isn't dumplings. It must be noodles then.
But the supply and marketing cooperative already had dried noodles, so why bother making your own by hand?

Chen Fan didn't answer her question. Instead, he took a large bowl and handed it to her, saying, "Peel all the oranges for me."

He then ran back to his room, grabbed a piece of gauze, and chuckled, "This stuff can be washed and soaked in boiling water and still be used. The cotton gauze the cotton ginner gave me has really been a great help."

Jiang Lili looked at him, puzzled. "What are you going to do?"

You even brought out cotton yarn. What delicious food are you making that requires cotton yarn?
Chen Fan remained silent. Seeing that she had already peeled an orange, he picked up the sour orange, wrapped it in the peel she had just peeled, and squeezed it hard, causing the greenish orange juice to drip to the bottom of the bowl.

I picked up the bowl and brought it to my nose to smell it. The tangy and refreshing smell was truly extraordinary!
That is to say, the homemade vinegar in Lujiawan is all dark red; otherwise, there would be no need for such trouble, and homemade vinegar could be used directly.

Soon the water in the pot boiled, and Chen Fan washed the cotton yarn and scalded it with hot water before officially starting the process.

Mix milk, oil, and sugar together and stir until emulsified. Then add flour, orange juice, ...

Chen Fan was busy at the table, while Jiang Lili observed from the side. After a while, she suddenly realized, "Are you making a cake?"

Chen Fan glanced back at her, chuckled, and said nothing.

He quickly prepared the batter, brushed the inside of his newly bought iron soup pot with oil, and poured in more than half of the batter.

Then he took out his own lunchbox, brushed the inside with oil, and poured in the remaining batter.

After the lunchbox was covered, it was placed in a large pot to be steamed with hot water, while the iron pot was taken outside the kitchen to the small earthen stove that he had temporarily built to entertain Zhang Wenliang last time, and roasted directly over a fire.

Back in the kitchen, he started making his own cream again.

Milk, oil, sugar, and orange juice were mixed together, placed in an enamel mug, and then stirred in hot water in a clay pot.

This wasn't the first time he had made a cake himself. Before he time-traveled, he lived alone and tried making many small things to relieve his loneliness.

Although he lacks suitable tools, his cooking skills, which have reached level 5, make him quite adept at handling these small matters.

As time passed, Chen Fan, with the keen sense of smell of a level 5 chef, accurately judged the cake's doneness.

They picked up the lunchboxes from the large pot and carried the blackened iron pot back to the kitchen.

Then came the surprise.

First, Chen Fan flipped the steamed cake over onto a plate and blinked. "Although it looks a little flawed, it's okay, we can fix it."

Level 5 seems a bit low; it might need to be level 6, or perhaps a little more experience in making noodles?
Jiang Lili had been standing by watching him work, unable to help at all. But when she saw the chipped and damaged steamed cake on the plate, her eyes widened in amazement. "Wow, you're amazing!"

It really is a cake!!!
Chen Fan coughed lightly, "Don't praise me yet, let's talk about it after it's finished."

Then he flipped the baked cake in the iron pot over and poured it onto a plate.

The shape is quite complete this time, but... the charred color doesn't seem to match up?

But it's okay, he thinks it can still be salvaged! Chen Fan swiftly pulled out a kitchen knife and shaved off one or two layers of the charred outer layer, finally revealing the original color of the golden-yellow cake.

Setting the cleaver aside, Chen Fan picked up a bamboo sliver and began spreading cream on the two cakes.

After a lot of work, two very ordinary cream cakes, one square and one round, were presented in front of me.

Jiang Lili held her hands to her chest, inhaling the sweet aroma of cream, her eyes shining as she looked at the two cakes on the table, "Is this all there is to it?"

Chen Fan waved his hand, "No, it's still a little bit short."

He took out a long bamboo skewer from somewhere, lit it with a match, and stuck it in the middle of the large round cake. Then he picked up the large plate and presented it to Jiang Lili.

Jiang Lili froze, staring at him in disbelief.

Chen Fan laughed and said, "When I registered your household last time, I saw that your birthday was the 17th of the twelfth lunar month, so I wanted to celebrate your birthday. But I didn't have much at the time. I originally thought I would just cook two dishes for you as a token gesture."

Later, when the notice to resume the market was issued, I thought I'd just wait a couple of days and gather some ingredients to make you a birthday cake. You used to live in Yunhu City, so you must have eaten birthday cakes before.

I was lucky enough to find a can of milk, so I made two cream cakes to surprise you.

He chuckled again as he spoke, "The process was a bit convoluted, and it almost turned into a fright."

At this moment, Jiang Lili covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes already red with tears.

Chen Fan coughed lightly, "Well, although it's two days late, the cake is a bit ugly, and we couldn't buy birthday candles, so we had to use bamboo skewers, it's still a birthday cake. Just smile and blow out the candles, albeit reluctantly. Otherwise, if you cry like this, I'll think you're disgusted, and that would make me lose face."

Jiang Lili was speechless; she could only cover her mouth and shake her head repeatedly, large tears streaming down her face.

Chen Fan had no choice but to put the cake back on the table and hand her a piece of cotton cloth that he used as a handkerchief.

Jiang Lili twisted her waist, turned around, and ran out.

Chen Fan glanced at the empty doorway, then at the bamboo skewers burning fiercely on the table, and couldn't help but scratch his head, muttering to himself, "Bamboo skewers may be ugly, but the supply and marketing cooperative only has white candles. We can't use those, can we?"

Just then, Jiang Lili ran back quickly. Her face had been wiped clean, but there were still some red lines around her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Lili stared at Chen Fan without blinking and said softly, "Thank you. I... I was so excited just now because it's been so long since anyone celebrated my birthday."

Chen Fan chuckled, "It's nothing, we're friends. As long as you don't look down on me, it's fine."

Jiang Lili bit her lip and shook her head vigorously, "No, how could I dislike it?"

Chen Fan then placed the cake in front of her. "So, make a wish and blow out the candles?"

Jiang Lili nodded vigorously, gave him a deep look, and then her gaze fell on the bamboo skewer that was already a third of the way burned. She slowly closed her eyes, opened them after three or four seconds, brought her lips to the skewer, and blew on it. The flame on the skewer was instantly extinguished.

Chen Fan immediately removed the bamboo skewer and threw it aside, then picked up a bamboo stick. "Cake should be shared. That's called sharing happiness. Whether it's steamed cake or baked cake, we'll each have half."

I'm not feeling well today, I'll finish this chapter tomorrow.

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(End of this chapter)