Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 161 He Understands Nothing
Chen Fan followed Zhang Wenliang to his home.

It wasn't actually his own home, but rather the home of his father, Zhang Guangwen, the captain of Team 5—a large brick and tile house with one main room and four side rooms, which was also allocated to him back then.

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

As soon as he entered the gate, he saw busy figures in the main room. After greeting the Zhang family, Chen Fan went to the table to watch the excitement.

Against the wall on the table was a jar of malt syrup, and on the wooden board next to it were several bamboo baskets containing puffed rice and roasted sesame seeds.

Rice puffs are not popcorn. Popcorn is made from corn kernels, and rice puffs are made in the same way, but the raw material is rice.

Pour rice into the "human cannon," also known as a "food amplifier," and cook it for a while. Then, with a "pop," popped rice comes out.

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

Chen Fan chuckled, grabbed a handful, and popped a mouthful into his mouth. The aroma of rice instantly filled his mouth. "Mmm, delicious."

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

Then, take a square frame, pour the rice puffs mixed with syrup into the frame, press them down firmly with a long wooden strip, remove the frame, and you have a piece of "rice puff candy" about two centimeters thick.

Such a large rice candy is definitely inconvenient to eat, so you need to use a kitchen knife to cut the large rice candy into small pieces, put it aside, and wait for the syrup to completely solidify. Then break it apart, and you will have millet candy that you can use at any time.

I made three large batches in a row, using up all the puffed rice, and then I made sesame candy and peanut candy.

Peanut candy is thicker, but much thinner than rice candy, only half a centimeter thick. If it were any thicker, it would be difficult to bite through. However, there are also candies that are one centimeter thick, which people like to put in their mouths and chew slowly.

The thinnest is sesame candy, only one or two millimeters thick. It's a thin piece that's fragrant, crispy, and sweet when you eat it.

Besides these kinds of candies, there are also mini twisted dough sticks, pig's ear candies, and candied fruit strips...

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

These foods are all high in calories and can easily make you feel full. Chen Fan checked the time again and realized it was already 9:30. He didn't dare to linger any longer and had to say goodbye and leave.

Zhang Wenliang didn't try to stop him, but after seeing him to the door, he put an oil paper package into his cloth bag, saying, "Take this back and eat it."

Chen Fan weighed it in his hand, looked at him and said, "Giving so much, are we not celebrating the New Year?"

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

He paused for a moment, then added, "Tomorrow is the Little New Year. Captain Xiao's family is slaughtering a pig. We'll have a good drink then."

Chen Fan nodded. "I remember that. We're making Northeastern-style pork stew tomorrow."

The two jars of sauerkraut I pickled for him before should be almost ready by now.

He then exchanged a few more polite words with Zhang Guangwen and the others before turning to leave.

……

Running all the way home, Chen Fan put the things down first, then opened the paper package. Sure enough, it was full of desserts that the Zhang family had just made.

Half of the food was rice candy, but there was also sesame candy, peanut candy, mini twisted dough sticks, pig's ears, and candied fruit strips—all kinds were available.

Although the quantity is a bit small, this package is presentable no matter where you take it, and it would be a suitable gift even for someone's wedding.

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

Seeing him come in, Jiang Lili turned around and smiled, "You're back! I'll cook dinner after I finish this pot." Then she noticed what Chen Fan was holding, "Oh, where did this come from?"

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

Jiang Lili's heart skipped a beat, then her face turned bright red. She lowered her head, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and said in a flustered voice, "No, no need, you can keep it for yourself."

In some parts of Yunhu, when a man and woman go on a blind date and find each other agreeable, the man will give the woman a bag of desserts. If the woman accepts it, it means she agrees to the relationship.

So later it came to mean that when a man gives a woman snacks, it signifies that they are officially dating.

Does this young Chen even know about this custom?
If making a cake for myself the day before yesterday could be explained as celebrating my birthday, what about now?

Chen Fan had no idea she had so many thoughts, and said with a smile, "Of course good things should be shared. If you have something delicious, would you not save some for me?"

Hearing him say that, Jiang Lili couldn't help but pout, feeling a little disappointed.

As expected, this guy doesn't know anything.

However, this made her feel much more relaxed, otherwise she would have felt a lot of pressure. So she looked up and smiled, "Okay then."

"That's right."

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction, praising her, and then glanced at the pot, asking, "Why are you frying soybeans?"

Jiang Lili's hands kept moving as she looked at him and smiled, "Making New Year's goods, huh? You'll be a teacher soon, and the people who study veterinary medicine with you will definitely come to wish you a Happy New Year. You can't just not have anything to offer them, can you? So I wanted to make some New Year's goods for you..."

As she spoke, she pointed to the oil paper package, "Actually, it's similar to these things, but this rice candy is popped with a popcorn machine, so it's softer. I can only stir-fry it in a large pot, so the rice candy is harder, but it's more fragrant and crispy. They each have their own unique flavor."

And these soybeans, after being ground into powder and mixed with glutinous rice flour, then coated with syrup, can be used to make snow dates and soybean pastries. Add a little salt and you have salt and pepper soybeans…

She described how to make several snacks, making Chen Fan's mouth water. He quickly grabbed a handful of soybeans from the pot, blew on them to cool them, popped one into his mouth, and then said, "Okay, you prepare the ingredients first, and we'll make them together when I get home from get off work tonight."

Jiang Lili smiled and shook her head, "It's okay, I can do this myself."

Chen Fan: "No, I can also make desserts. I'll see if I can make something different."

Jiang Lili then remembered that Chen Fan was much better at cooking than she was, so she nodded and said, "Okay."

Chen Fan then thought of another problem, "Where did we get the candy? The bag we bought probably isn't enough."

I bought a pound of sugar at the market before, and used a lot of it to make cakes. Later, I made brown sugar eggs a few more times, and now I only have a little over half a pound left. It looks like a lot, but it's definitely not enough for making New Year's goods.

Jiang Lili smiled and said, "The mill in Team 10 will be selling syrup these days, so just go there and buy it."

Chen Fan blinked. "I see."

There was still some regret in his words.

They even planned to find wheat to sprout themselves and then make their own maltose, but they're not giving themselves the opportunity.

He didn't care whether it would sprout in winter or not.
While frying soybeans, Jiang Lili said, "Every year, the brigade receives very few sugar coupons, and each household receives even fewer. We can go without sugar normally, but if we don't have any New Year's goods, other teams will laugh at us."

So every year during the Spring Festival, the production brigade would allocate a batch of wheat to the mill so they could boil syrup and make their own sugar. This usually started on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month and ended on the 25th. During this time, commune members could go and buy sugar without needing sugar coupons.

Chen Fan gave a thumbs up, "Well done! The brigade headquarters deserves praise!"

(End of this chapter)