Divorced woman with child travels through time

Originally, Aunt Liu's family didn't need to come in so many places, but Chen Wenfang thought she would definitely be too busy and needed Uncle Liu Hai and the others to help, so the whole family came.

Chen Wenfang put the soaked rice in a pan and stir-fried it over low heat. Soon the rice puffed up quickly and became two or three times its original size. Chen Wenfang put the puffed rice into a basket and asked Aunt Liu, who had learned how to make it, to continue stir-frying the rice.

Over here, Wang Erniu was simmering a pot of syrup. Under the heat, the syrup slowly turned caramel color, forming large bubbles and emitting a sweet, pleasant aroma. Chen Wenfang picked it up to examine it, then poured the puffed rice into the syrup, quickly stirring until well combined. She then poured it into a clean mold, added roasted peanuts and sesame seeds, and pressed them down with a spatula. Once completely cooled, it could be cut into small pieces.

The weather was cold, and the rice candy cooled down very quickly. As soon as Chen Wenfang started frying the rice, a crowd gathered around to watch. As soon as the first batch came out, Chen Wenfang cut it into very small pieces for everyone to taste. The last bit was given to the children, and she planned to start selling it only after the second batch.

After distributing the rice candy to everyone, Chen Wenfang asked, "What do you think?" Chen Wenfang ate one and thought it was quite good—sweet but not cloying, fragrant, crispy, and not too sweet. Nice!

Uncle Liu, chewing on a rice candy, exclaimed, "Hey, Fang, you really do make great rice candy!" It was crispy, sweet, and delicious, with the aroma of rice perfectly blended with the sweetness of the syrup. Aunt Liu, eating between bites, added, "It's really delicious! I want more after just one bite. How much does it cost?"

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Normally it sells for eighty coins a catty, or forty coins for half a catty. But we won't weigh these and sell them by weight. We'll have those little paper cutters in the back pack them up and sell them in individual packages."

Wang Erniu said, "Sugar is about fifty coins a pound, and glutinous rice is more than forty coins a pound. Since these are all dried goods, the price of this rice candy is not expensive, it's acceptable."

Uncle Liu Hai nodded and said, "It's really not expensive."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Then it's settled. We'll sell it at this price. Uncle Liu Hai will help me cut it in a bit, and I'll sell it. The four of us will work together, and we'll be paid by the day."

Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu smiled and said, "Thank you so much!"

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "You're too kind. It's nothing!"

Wang Erniu laughed and said, "I don't need money, since I eat free rice every day anyway."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Nonsense, you should get paid too. You've done the work, how can you not get paid?"

Chen Xuanyu chimed in from behind, "That's right, that's right! If you do something, you have to be paid, right? Mom, I got paid too, right? We should all get paid!"

She pointed to the four people next to her. Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Yes, yes, we have them all! Everyone will get paid, no one will be left out! I mean what I say!"

"Oh, that's great!" the children cheered, working even harder, attracting the attention of passersby.

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the crowd, the second batch was ready, and soon people gathered around. The onlookers began to ask, "How much is this?" Chen Wenfang replied, "Forty coins for half a pound, eighty coins for a pound."

Someone said, "This is too expensive!" Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Then you can buy this kind, twenty coins a pack. You can try it. Ours is made with the finest ingredients, all made with the best syrup and glutinous rice. It's guaranteed to be delicious. We're selling it for the price of the labor. You won't find this kind of rice candy at other shops. Those kinds cost five coins a pack." After saying that, she cut a few small pieces and handed them to him, "Here, try it first. If you don't like it, you don't have to buy it, it's okay!"

Some of those who had already tasted the first batch immediately said, "Chen Niangzi's cooking is famously delicious, give me half a pound first!"

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Okay!" She quickly weighed half a jin, wrapped it in paper, tied it with a rope, and made it easy to carry.

Someone started buying, and everyone rushed in, buying a pound here, half a pound there. Wang Rui's third batch wasn't even ready yet when it sold out in a rush. Those who weighed a pound exclaimed, "Wow, a pound is so much! Come on, come on, I'll buy a pound too!"

Four adults were working: Aunt Liu was frying rice, Wang Erniu was making syrup and mixing it into rice candy, Uncle Liu was pressing and slicing the candy, and Chen Wenfang was selling it. Chu Yi Shitou and his three little ones weren't idle either. They sat behind a high counter. The countertop was open inside, where they could put things like dried rice, syrup, and peanuts. The tin box that was originally intended to be a small oven was used by Chen Wenfang as a money box. The task of watching the money box was assigned to the five children; they were so small that they were practically invisible from the outside. Chen Wenfang then moved a low table for them, and they sat behind it, cutting paper and rope to give to Chen Wenfang to wrap the rice candy.

The three little ones, following behind Chu Yi and Shi Wu, managed to get a few crumbs of rice candy. They wanted more, but the rice candy sold out too quickly, and with so many people, they didn't get a single piece. They continued working busily like this. Finally, at noon, they got a short break. Chen Wenfang informed everyone to rest first, then resume work later, and to eat first. Only then did everyone stop working and catch their breath.

Chen Wenfang was generous and ordered five dishes from the restaurant next door. They also bought some steamed buns and pancakes, and everyone ate lunch first.

While they were eating, more people crowded around wanting to buy rice candy. Wang Erniu quickly finished his steamed bun and started frying the rice candy. Frying rice candy was a slow process because it stuck to the pan, and the timing of the syrup frying was crucial; otherwise, it wouldn't taste good. Aunt Liu could fry her rice candy first, but he sold every batch he made. Seeing this, everyone quickly finished their steamed buns and sped up their work. Dazhuang's sweet potatoes were only popular with children these days, so when there weren't many customers, Dazhuang would come and help.

Chen Wenfang also took some time to pack a pound of the product and have Dazhuang deliver it to the Ouyang residence.

Thanks to everyone's efforts, all the glutinous rice they brought was sold out before the market closed in the afternoon. When only one or two plates were left, Chen Wenfang decided to keep them for the adults and children to eat their fill.

Chen Wenfang calculated that all 80 jin of yin rice they brought had been sold, which was roughly equivalent to selling 150 jin of rice candy. It seemed that she had underestimated the purchasing power of the people in Lijia Town. She needed to speed up the production of yin rice.

Just as they were about to close up shop, a woman came over and asked, "Madam Chen, are you still selling syrup?"

Chen Wenfang paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course I'll accept it."

The woman said happily, "Then I'll bring it over tomorrow. Please help me receive it later."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Sure, sure, bring it to us later." The woman left happily.

Chen Wenfang asked Uncle Liu Hai to watch the stall and pack up the goods while she and Wang Erniu went to buy glutinous rice. They ordered 300 jin of glutinous rice, paid the deposit, and asked the grain shop staff to make sure it was delivered home that night.