Falling into the mortal world

The next day at daybreak, Lan Xiaotian began setting up the grill. Lan Qingqing checked the eggs at home and saw that there were still about twenty left. They hadn't eaten eggs for a while, so she had saved up these. Lan Qingqing took them all out at once.

Lan Qingqing was no longer suited to do this kind of physical work, so she asked Feng Caidie to beat the egg whites. When Feng Caidie's hands got tired, she asked Lan Xiaoyu to take over, and the two took turns.

The goal is to beat the egg whites until they are stiff enough to stand upright on chopsticks.

Lan Qingqing stirred the egg yolks until they were smooth. She felt a little regretful that she hadn't bought milk, as the bread would have been even sweeter that way.

Mix flour with a little water until smooth, then add sugar and continue mixing. Lan Qingqing noticed that Feng Caidie had already beaten the egg whites.

Then add the egg yolks and the batter. Start mixing them together.

Seeing her children squander over twenty eggs, Lan's mother felt a pang of heartache. She immediately turned around and went back to work, out of sight, out of mind. Otherwise, she would be heartbroken. She wondered who her children took after; they didn't know how to manage money and were so wasteful.

Lan Qingqing is all set, and Lan Xiaotian is all set too.

Lan Qingqing started a fire to bake bread, and Lan Xiaoyu squatted curiously beside the oven, eager to see the bread her sister had mentioned.

Passersby also looked curiously at what the siblings were doing.

Soon the aroma of bread wafted out.

Lan Xiaoyu was so hungry that her mouth was practically watering.

Lan Xiaotian couldn't help but swallow hard when he smelled the aroma again. Then, he asked curiously, "Sis, why does this smell so good?"

Lan Qingqing looked at the two gluttons with amusement.

Feng Caidie always did whatever Lan Qingqing said. When Lan Qingqing said there was no need to add more firewood, she immediately stopped adding firewood.

Lan Qingqing estimated the time and felt it was about right, so she took out the bread. The bread was exactly the same as the bread in her memory. Lan Qingqing gave each of them a piece to try. Lan Xiaoyu took the bread and took a bite without caring that it was too hot. Lan Xiaoyu was so hot that she cried out, but she couldn't bear to spit it out.

Lan Qingqing said with a smile: Eat slowly, there's still so much left.

"Exactly! It's like he hasn't eaten in centuries," Lan Xiaotian said mockingly.

Lan Xiaoyu couldn't care less about their teasing at the moment; all he could think about was how delicious it was.

Lan Xiaotian couldn't wait any longer. Before it even cooled down, he quickly took a bite. The aroma was making his mouth water. If he didn't try it soon, he would be driven crazy by the craving.

This time, she didn't make much. Lan Qingqing gave one to each of her parents to try, and also gave three to Aunt Li, saying that she should take them back to her three siblings at home to try.

This time, Aunt Li didn't stand on ceremony with Lan Qingqing and accepted the bread Lan Qingqing offered.

The rest was simply left for Lan Xiaoyu to take to the academy, and she was instructed to see off several of the deans upon arrival. Lan Xiaoyu indicated that she understood. That afternoon, Lan Xiaotian escorted Lan Xiaoyu back to the academy.

Lan Qingqing decided that she would definitely make some for her master to try another day. First, Lan Qingqing boiled a large pot of water, then poured the water into buckets to cool. She used all three buckets in the house.

In the afternoon, Lan Qingqing began making hawthorn wine with her family. She laid a layer of white sugar at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of hawthorn, then another layer of white sugar and another layer of hawthorn, and so on, layer by layer, until it was full. Then she poured in white wine and sealed it with a cork.

Once the family saw this, they all knew how to do it. So the family started working in the house. Lan Xiaotian was in charge of pulling the empty jars into the house, Lan Xiaoya, Lan Qingqing and Feng Caidie were in charge of filling them, Lan's father was in charge of sealing the jars, and Lan's mother was in charge of stacking the filled jars of wine in her own room.

Mr. and Mrs. Lan thought that if they stayed at the new house that night, they could free up space to hold the wine.

Aunt Li, the Tao family, Wang Linmu, and Luo Laifu, who were working in the yard, were curious about Lan Xiaotian carrying jars into the house back and forth, but they all consciously refrained from looking over. They just needed to do their own jobs.

The group worked until dark before they finished. They had run out of liquor, but still had a lot of hawthorns left. Lan Qingqing decided to make hawthorn preserves, and the small jars came in handy. Lan Qingqing asked Lan Xiaotian to bring over the cooled boiled water, and then she began making the hawthorn preserves.

Hawthorn berries and white sugar were placed in a small jar. Boiled water was then added, and after all this was done, a cork was placed on top, not tightly sealed. The jar was then steamed for a short while until the water boiled. Lan Qingqing then took the jar out and tightened the lid. After this process, it could be eaten after about ten days.

The family worked until late at night to finish processing the hawthorns, and there were still quite a few jars left. Once the new house is completed, they plan to make more and sell them at a high price.

Poor people definitely couldn't afford it, because the sugar inside was expensive to begin with. No matter how much it was sold, ordinary people couldn't afford it, so they simply sold it to the rich at a high price.

Seeing that it was already past midnight, the group decided to make the tofu as well. Lan's mother told Lan Qingqing to rest, as she was pregnant and shouldn't stay up late. Lan Qingqing didn't object and went to sleep. The others then began working by moonlight. They finally finished when dawn was breaking, and everyone could finally go to sleep.

The next day, the sun was high in the sky and the Lan family still hadn't gotten up. Aunt Li and the others had been busy in the yard all morning before the Lan family finally got up.

The new house is also being completed very quickly; the cellar is already finished, and the courtyard wall will be completed in just one day.

Lan Qingqing originally wanted to sprinkle some candy when the roof beam was raised, but then she thought that her family should not be so ostentatious and should keep a low profile so that they could live longer.

"Auntie, do you sell any eggs? I'd like to buy some." Lan Qingqing asked Aunt Li.

Aunt Li said: Yes, we don't need to buy eggs from our own chickens. I'll go get them for you in a bit.

"Auntie, I'll pay for it. I'm buying it as a gift, not for my own consumption. If I don't buy it from you, I'll buy it somewhere else," Lan Qingqing explained.

Alright! Your aunt can't argue with you. How many do you want? Your aunt has a lot of eggs at home.

"Give them all to me, Auntie!" Lan Qingqing said.

Just then, Gou Dan came over to play, so Aunt Li told Gou Dan to go back and asked You Niang to bring all the eggs over.

Upon receiving the order, Gou Dan hurriedly ran home to find his mother. When You Niang heard that Lan Qingqing wanted eggs, she brought all the eggs in the house.

Youniang missed the bread her mother-in-law had brought back yesterday. As soon as Aunt Li returned, she gave each child a piece of bread.

Da Ni and Er Ni almost swallowed their tongues after taking a bite of something so delicious. Da Ni insisted on taking a bite herself, while Er Ni let her grandmother take a bite. Unable to resist their pestering, the two took a bite. It was soft, sweet, and delicious; You Niang almost cried. It contained sugar and eggs—such precious food, yet the Lan family had given it to them without batting an eye. She was filled with gratitude and appreciation.