Divorced woman with child travels through time

Pinch the end of the rolled-up dough to seal it, fold it inwards, and roll it into a round pancake. Then roll it out thinly with a rolling pin. Pinch the remaining dough balls one by one and wait. Heat oil in a pan. You don't need too much oil, just a little more than when stir-frying vegetables. Put the pancakes in the pan. Just as the pancakes are slightly golden, Chen Xuanyu sneaks into the kitchen. This kid has a nose like a dog; he can smell the aroma and come right away.

Just as they settled down, Shitou arrived. Then Dazhuang came too, and the three children gathered around the pot, acting as supervisors.

Chen Xuanyu, quick-witted as ever, asked, "Mom, are you making scallion pancakes?"

Chen Wenfang smiled and nodded, saying, "Do you want to eat it? We haven't had it in a long time."

Shi Tou responded with perfect enthusiasm, smiling broadly at Chen Wenfang, "Sister-in-law, I've never eaten scallion pancakes before." Then, fearing Chen Wenfang wouldn't believe him, he added his brother, "Right, brother?"

Dazhuang obediently replied, "Mm."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Then eat more later."

Soon, the aroma of scallions wafted through the air. "It smells so good... Sister-in-law Chen's cooking is amazing, these pancakes look so beautiful!" Shi Tou, that sweet-talking kid, kept showering people with compliments. Perhaps he was drooling, because Chen Wenfang noticed him secretly wiping his mouth. Shi Tou and Da Zhuang, being older children, could see the pan. Chen Wenxuan, on tiptoe, could only see the edge of the pan. This child, malnourished from fleeing famine, had improved considerably after being cared for by Chen Wenfang for a while. Da Zhuang, being very understanding, immediately picked him up to let him see.

Chen Wenfang kept moving the pancakes, frying them until golden brown on both sides; after all, it wasn't a frying pan. She rolled them out one by one as she fried them; the pancakes were thin and cooked very quickly. She cut off a piece for them to enjoy first.

Chen Xuanyu struggled and said, "Let me down, I want to eat scallion pancakes." Dazhuang put him down.

The three of them each held a piece and ate without using chopsticks. They ate to their hearts' content.

The freshly made scallion pancakes were fragrant with scallions, crispy on the outside and crumbly on the inside, crumbling with every bite. Shi Tou ate them quickly, licking his fingers clean. Chen Wenfang chuckled and said, "Don't rush, there'll be more later." She then started frying two at a time.

I fried eight or nine pancakes, cut them into small pieces, and put some in a bowl to give to the three children.

The peanuts were almost all shelled. Chen Wenfang moved her seat and placed the bowl on the table.

"Time for scallion pancakes..." Chen Wenfang yelled, carrying her bowl to the main room. Chen Xuanyu followed behind, cheering, "Time for scallion pancakes..."

Stone followed suit, and Dazhuang blushed with embarrassment. He sat down and quietly said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Chen."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "You're welcome, please eat."

While the children ate, Chen Wenfang went to the kitchen to finish frying the pancakes. She sat down to rest for a bit, ate two pancakes, and found them quite delicious. She was increasingly impressed with herself, haha...

After frying the peanuts, I brought out the shelled peanuts. I added oil to the pan, poured in the peanuts, and stir-fried them for half the time. The aroma wafted through the air, and the three kids all came in again.

Chen Xuanyu took the lead again, this time he learned his lesson and acted coquettishly towards Dazhuang, "Brother Dazhuang, hug me."

Dazhuang actually said he would just pick him up.

Chen Xuanyu asked again, "Mom, what delicious food are you making?"

Chen Wenfang said with a smile, "This is for the young master of the Ouyang family to make delicious food and sell for money, so we can't give you many to eat."

Chen Xuanyu obediently replied, "Then we can eat just a little bit, right?"

Chen Wenfang kept turning the peanuts over and said with a smile, "I'll give you guys lots to eat when I make money."

Chen Xuanyu said quite seriously, "Yes, when I grow up, I will earn a lot of money to buy delicious food for my mother."

Not to be outdone, Shi Tou chimed in, "Sister-in-law Chen, when I grow up, I'll earn lots of money to buy you delicious food."

Then they all looked at Dazhuang, whose face turned red, and he said shyly in a low voice, "I want to buy one too."

Chen Wenfang laughed heartily, realizing she'd been drawing too many empty promises to the children, and now they were being brought back into the spotlight. She removed the half-cooked peanuts from the pan and placed them in a large wooden basin. She then began preparing the sugar, washing the pan and adding water. While the water was heating, she mixed flour and cornmeal, adding salt. The three children, seeing this, went off to play horseback riding, because Chen Wenfang wouldn't let them touch the food, nor could they eat it.

When the water is almost boiling, pour in the entire jar of syrup. Simmer for a while, then ladle a spoonful of the syrup into the roasted peanuts and stir well. Next, add a spoonful of powder and stir again. Repeat this process until the peanuts are completely coated with a thin layer of batter. Then, pour in some oil, mix it well, sprinkle in more powder, and then add more syrup. Continue using these two methods. Once the peanuts are mostly coated with starch, spread them out to prevent them from sticking together.

Pour one-third of the oil into the pot. Since three pounds of peanuts yield only about one pound of shelled peanuts, heat the oil until it smokes, then add the peanuts and fry until golden brown. Turn off the heat and remove the peanuts to drain the oil. Sprinkle with crushed roasted Sichuan peppercorn powder (made with a rolling pin). You're all done!

Chen Wenfang tasted it. It was crispy and delicious, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet, and a slight numbing sensation. Not bad; it would be even better with chili powder and a five-spice flavor. Don't ask Chen Wenfang why she makes these things; being an all-around mom means that if her child wants to eat something, there's no mom she can't make.

Chen Wenfang brought the prepared multi-flavored peanuts to the main room and weighed them; they weighed about one and a half pounds. She gave each of the three children following her a small handful, worried they wouldn't be crispy enough, and wrapped the rest in kraft paper, which she had specially asked Aunt Liu to bring over from Wangjiazhuang.