Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Wenfang went back inside, added some flour to the old dough, cut off a large portion, added more flour, and kneaded it. After kneading, she let it rest for a while. Then she rolled out noodles by hand, cut shredded meat, added two small vegetables, and made shredded meat noodles for herself and her child. A little while later, Shi Tou brought Chen Xuan Yu back and gave Chen Wenfang the tofu and wine. Chen Wenfang served the noodles and also filled a small bowl for Shi Tou. Shi Tou didn't stand on ceremony, gulped down his noodles, and ran off to the fields. Chen Xuan Yu wasn't going to be outdone, quickly following behind, finishing his noodles a little later, and then he too ran off.

Chen Wenfang slowly finished her noodles. After washing the dishes, Chen Xuanyu followed Shi Tou to the fields, presumably to cause trouble. Aunt Liu was going to be busy.

Chen Wenfang then cut off a large portion of the old dough, added flour, and let it rise, ready to use at noon.

Peel four sweet potatoes, steam them until cooked, mash them, add eggs, flour, and syrup, and set aside. Green beans and eggplants are out of season, so Chen Wenfang went to the garden and picked a winter melon, a handful of carrots, and a large bunch of spinach. A little ginger and garlic, and a handful of scallions. She prepared them for cooking later.

Chen Wenfang's cured meat wasn't very salty. Except for the first batch, which was too salty because she didn't know how much to add, the later batches were cured much better after she knew how to measure the amount.

The fish, however, was a bit salty, so I soaked two of them in water.

As the sun rose higher, Chen Wenfang began cooking, using sweet potato paste as filling to make soft flatbreads, and rolling out the remaining dough into noodles. Those who preferred sweet flavors ate the flatbreads, while those who preferred savory flavors ate the noodles.

Boil the pork for about ten minutes, then slice and dice it. Fry the pork slices until the oil is rendered, then stir-fry them with winter melon. Dice the carrots and stir-fry them with the diced pork until fragrant, then add scallions and garlic to make a sauce, which will be used to mix with noodles later. Stir-fry the spinach, make a tofu salad with scallions, and finally fry the fish. All done!

Chen Wenfang washed her hands, filled a pot with water, and went to the wasteland to call them for dinner.

Just then, Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu finished planting the land, and only a little bit of finishing work remained.

Chen Wenfang stood on the edge of the field and called out, "Time to eat!"

Chen Xuanyu was the first to respond, "I know~, I'm coming~".

Aunt Liu replied, "Oh, I'll be there soon, you can go back now."

"My son is so cute!" Chen Wenfang smiled broadly. She went home first, put the dishes on the table, poured the wine, and set out the bowls, chopsticks, and chairs. Aunt Liu and the others arrived just then.

Everyone washed their hands and sat down to eat. Chen Wenfang recommended, "Come on, try this sweet cookie to whet your appetite."

Everyone took the pancakes, and Chen Xuanyu and Shi Tou were the first to get them. They couldn't wait to take a bite and start eating. Chen Xuanyu said with surprise, "There's a filling inside, and it's sweet."

"I have one too," Shi Tou said, holding up the pancake for Chen Xuanyu to see.

Chen Xuanyu looked at his, then at his own, and said, "I have one too."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Don't bother looking, we have them all."

As Aunt Liu ate, she asked, "What's in this? Fang'er always knows how to make something new. I never would have guessed."

Uncle Liu quickly comforted him, "What you made is also delicious."

Chen Wenfang said cheekily, "Guess?"

Chen Xuanyu spoke first, "I know, I know. Ask me!"

Chen Wenfang covered his mouth with her hand and laughed, "You're not allowed to say it, you saw it."

Stone looked at it and said, "I don't know, it just tastes really good."

Dazhuang said with a blush, "It should be sweet potato, I ate some raw yesterday."

Chen Wenfang let go of his hand and praised, "Dazhuang is really smart."

Dazhuang scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

Uncle Liu Hai watched them laughing and joking, and said, "Don't even mention how much tastier this sweet potato is after cooking it this way. I had some heartburn after cooking it a while ago. I was a little scared."

Chen Wenfang said, "This is normal, but it won't happen if it's made into powder or dried sweet potato. It's okay as long as you don't eat it every day."

Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai exchanged a glance, and Uncle Liu Hai asked, "Fang'er, can you do it?"

Looking at their questioning faces, Chen Wenfang thought, "Oh no, this thing just came out, no one knows how to do it yet. How am I supposed to explain it?"

He took a bite of noodles, forced a smile, and said, "You know me, I just love making food. This kind of thing, once you understand one thing, you can understand everything, it's all the same principle."

Uncle Liu Hai nodded, agreeing. He said, "I'll teach your aunt later. We've harvested several hundred catties, enough to plant on one mu of land. We definitely can't eat it all, and we're afraid it'll spoil and go to waste. Plus, the government is promoting this this year, so it probably won't sell well."

The group ate and discussed.

Chen Wenfang stroked his chin and said, "It's not that it's hard to sell, it's just a bit troublesome. But there are so many sweet potato vines and leaves, it would be a waste to throw them away. Uncle Liu, why don't you raise a pig, and we can slaughter it and eat meat during the New Year?"

Uncle Liu Hai said with difficulty, "It's not too late to raise them now, and I have enough space, but these piglets are expensive, almost a tael of silver. We've only just started to accumulate some wealth. We can barely afford to eat our fill."

Chen Wenfang said, "We're all family, so let's not be so formal. How about this: I'll pay, Uncle Liu will bring you piglets to raise, and we'll split the pig 50/50 when we slaughter it for the New Year, okay?"

Before Uncle Liu Hai could speak, Aunt Liu said, "How can this be? You'll suffer so much loss."

Chen Wenfang said decisively, "It's decided then. You can spoil me a little."

Uncle Liu Hai looked at Aunt Liu, nodded to Chen Wenfang, and said, "Alright, I'll take your sweet potato leaves home too."

Chen Wenfang replied, "Okay, I'll help you get those sweet potatoes out later. Let's go chop firewood together tomorrow."

Everyone agreed.