Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

The sunlight shines gently through the sparse clouds onto the mountains, gilding the quiet forest with a faint golden glow.

A new day has begun.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Ready!"

"Okay! Xiaoli and Xiaozhu will be in charge of mixing the yellow mud, I'll be in charge of laying the bricks, and grandma will be in charge of basking in the sun at the entrance of the cave."

"Everyone, take your positions! Let's get started!"

Following Cheng Yuntao's command, the two children were like kites blown by the spring breeze, instantly filled with energy and excitement, and couldn't wait to rush forward.

After a while, their little faces turned slightly red due to the exertion, and fine beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads, but these did not reduce their enthusiasm at all.

"Hey, I'm faster!"

"Nonsense! I'm obviously faster! Not only do I stir faster, I stir it evenly!"

Cheng Jingzhu and Cheng Yueli used their hands and feet to stir the mixture while laughing and joking. Occasionally, they would argue over who could stir it faster and more evenly.

The movements were somewhat childish yet extremely coordinated, and pure happiness filled the air.

Seeing that her younger brothers and sisters were having fun, Cheng Yuntao did not interrupt them to spoil their fun. She just sighed helplessly at the two clay monkeys and turned around to busy herself with the things at hand.

Zhou Xiufang leaned against the cave entrance, enjoying the warm sunshine, occasionally looking up at the busy children with a loving smile on her lips.

Speaking of this stove, it can be traced back to a very long time ago.

At first, people simply surrounded it with stones to use as support and place pottery for cooking.

This simple stove obviously could not meet all the needs, so people began to explore stove forms that were more suitable for indoor use, and the floor stove came into being.

Although the stove, which is quickly built by piling up mud, saves time and effort, is simple and quick to build, it also has many limitations.

Its high-temperature resistance makes the stove body easily damaged and cracked. In addition, the lack of necessary fire-blocking structure causes heat to overflow during cooking, making people sweat profusely and greatly reducing comfort.

In contrast, hearths carefully constructed of stone or brick demonstrated greater durability and efficiency.

The structure is more solid, the stove body is tight, and the sealing performance is excellent, which can effectively reduce heat loss and improve combustion efficiency, thereby saving fuel and extending service life.

There is a water pot for use at any time, and a counter for preparing ingredients, which greatly improves practicality.

Cheng Yuntao probably thought about it in his mind, drew a simple blueprint, and then rolled up his sleeves and started working.

The direction of the stove is usually southeast, and it is taboo to face north, because the north is Ren and Gui water, and water overcomes fire, which is considered inauspicious.

Cheng Yuntao used fine sand to circle out an open space in the southeast of the cave, and then selected from the bricks he had brought back earlier, choosing relatively flat bricks that were easy to stack, and laid a solid base to ensure the stability of the stove.

The stove has fixed dimensions. Generally, the stove is five feet long, which is the "elephant eye", three feet wide, which is the "three talents", two feet four inches high, which is the "twenty-four solar terms" in a year, the stove door is one foot two inches high, which is the "twelve hours" in a day, and eight inches wide, which is the "eight trigrams".

There are three pots, two large and one small, representing the "sun, moon and stars". The large pot in the front is used for cooking, the large pot in the back is used for cooking pigs, and the small pot is used for hot water.

With the help of the portable farm, there was no need to raise additional poultry. Cheng Yuntao simply took the liberty of leaving only two stove burners, using the front pot for cooking and the back pot for boiling water.

The stove surface should be flat to facilitate placement of cooking utensils; the stove chamber should be moderately deep and wide to ensure sufficient combustion; the chimney should be reasonably designed to facilitate smooth smoke exhaust.

When chiseling a chimney through a stone wall, the principle of thermal expansion and contraction of rock is utilized, and the rock is cracked by burning it and stimulating it with water. This method is called "fire and water stimulation".

However, you need to be extra careful during the operation and pay attention to the designated scope. If the area is too large, there will be a risk of collapse.

Cheng Yuntao also dug a hole on the top of the stone wall for ventilation and lighting. Although the cave became much brighter after the weeds at the door were removed, it was still a bit dark. With more light, the cave looked brighter.

If you take the time to make a coverable "window" during this period, it will help to protect you from external wind and snow when the cold winter comes.

When the stove was almost completed, Cheng Yuntao placed some grain seeds inside, hoping for a good harvest and a prosperous family in the future.

After rushing around, they finally built the stove before sunset. Although it looks a bit simple, it does not affect its usability.

Generally, ceremonies are held to celebrate after a new stove is completed. Although the conditions are simple now, the necessary steps still need to be arranged.

In folk legends, the moon is yin and the Kitchen God is yang, so there is a saying that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the Kitchen God."

But in Cheng Yuntao's opinion, it was obviously the women who spent the longest time in the kitchen and worked the hardest. Why did they let the man take over when it was time to pray?

Women do the hard work, facing the smoke and fire and shedding tears, but it is the men who let go and take the good work.

How ridiculous.

Now she is in charge of the family, and if we want to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, no one is more suitable than her.

Cheng Yuntao didn't want to make it too complicated, so she simply brewed a few bowls of new stove tea, which was sesame tea.

First, peel the sesame seeds, fry them until fragrant, and grind them into fine powder. Then, take about a cup of sesame powder and put it into a bowl. Add a small amount of water, and then stir continuously in the same direction with chopsticks until the sesame paste becomes thick and does not easily fall apart.

Then slowly add salt water and continue stirring in the same direction until the sesame paste reaches a moderate consistency, about half a bowl.

Finally, put the black tea into the pot and boil it with boiling water until the tea becomes rich. After the black tea cools down slightly, slowly pour it into the sesame paste prepared earlier, stirring while pouring to fully blend the two.

"Everyone, come over and drink some new stove tea!"

"Coming!"

Cheng Jingzhu and Cheng Yueli had been playing with yellow mud for most of the day and had long since become two real mud monkeys, with only their eyes showing a glimpse of cleverness.

The little hands, having just been washed, were white and clean, with a clear dividing line between the palm and the wrist. He took the tea bowl obediently.

The consistency of sesame paste is moderate, neither too thin nor too thick, smooth and delicate.

When you chew it gently in your mouth, you can feel the slight granularity of the sesame seeds, which blends perfectly with the tea liquid, bringing a unique taste experience.

The slight bitterness of black tea and the sweetness of sesame balance each other, making the whole tea more harmonious.

Zhou Xiufang is old and likes to eat this kind of porridge which is easy to swallow, not to mention that the roasted sesame seeds are particularly fragrant. Soon a tea bowl was empty. Seeing this, Cheng Yuntao added some more.

There was harmony in the cave, but there was a storm at the foot of the mountain.