A blessed wife leads her husband to wealth and prosperity!

The two left the Yu family home and went straight back to their shop.

"Granny, did you remember what Master Yu just said?" Lin He'er asked Li Shi beside her.

I've noted it down, Madam. We'll prepare according to what Master Yu said.

Well, since the preliminary examination for the imperial examination consists of six sessions, let's put aside the later examinations in the prefectural city for now and prepare for the three sessions in the county town first.

Go to the street later and buy some black sesame seeds and glutinous rice as I told you, as well as a larger water bag and some oil paper.

Alright, Madam, rest assured, I will gradually begin preparing everything in the next few days.

After replying, Li went off to attend to other tasks.

Ever since she learned the date of the exam, Lin He'er felt that the days were flying by. There was only one day left before Wen Yuning would be coming home.

Today, Lin He'er took out the things she had asked Li Shi to buy a few days ago, and the two of them huddled in the kitchen to make the final preparations.

Granny, first soak the glutinous rice in cold water, then let's fry the sesame seeds.

As for kitchen work, Lin He'er could do it, but compared to Li Shi, she was naturally far inferior.

Therefore, Lin He'er mostly played the role of director in doing these things today, but the actual operation still had to be done by Li herself.

First, wash the sesame seeds. After washing, put them in a pan to fry. Be careful to use low heat and don't overcook them.

Following his wife's instructions, Li poured all the washed sesame seeds into a large pot, left only one piece of firewood under the stove to start a fire, and took a spatula to stir-fry the sesame seeds in the pot.

Once the sesame seeds start to crackle and pop, take a bowl and scoop out the roasted sesame seeds.

After roasting the sesame seeds, the next step is to slowly grind them in a mortar and pestle. This is a laborious task, and since Li is getting old, her arms started to feel tired after grinding a few bowls.

Seeing this, Lin He'er took over and continued working. The two took turns working, and it took them an hour and a half to grind a small basin of sesame seeds.

Grinding the sesame seeds isn't the end of it; the previously soaked glutinous rice also needs to be taken out, drained, and then ground into powder in a mortar.

However, looking at the overflowing glutinous rice in the small basin, both Lin He'er and Li Shi felt immense pressure.

Granny, let's rest for now. Let's have lunch first, and continue in the afternoon.

Lin He'er left the kitchen, rubbing her sore arms, and went back to her room to rest.

After the meal, Li stopped letting Lin He'er do the work.

Madam, please rest. I'll do it myself. You can just watch.

Granny, neither of us is going to do this work. I'll have someone else do it.

Lin He'er knew all along that grinding flour was such a laborious task. She should have let the only able-bodied person in the family do it earlier.

Meng Xing, come and get to work. Don't just stand there in the shop.

Meng Xing finished the carpentry work his wife had asked him to do in the past few days, and now he has some free time again.

The county school will be closed in a few days, so I won't be going to visit my benefactor.

These past few days, I've been helping out at the shop during the day and going back to the Lin family home with Cao'er in the evenings.

After lunch, there are very few customers in the shop. Cao'er usually takes this time to clean the shelves or restock empty shelves.

Meng Xinglai had been working at the shop for more than ten days and was very familiar with the daily work process.

Since I'm just idling around anyway, I might as well help Cao'er with her work.

So during this time, he mostly helps out at the front shop, doing odd jobs.

Here you are, madam. Did you need something from me?

Go wash your hands, then come to the stove; I have something to tell you.

Meng Xing washed his hands and came into the kitchen, where he saw his wife put a handful of rice into the mortar and pestle and slowly begin to grind it.

Do you understand? They've brought you here to grind this glutinous rice. Just grind it all into powder.

Meng Xing watched as his wife took a small bowl of glutinous rice from the stove and placed it next to the mortar, asking him to grind all the glutinous rice.

"Understood, madam. You may leave now; I'll get right on it."

Okay, after we finish grinding, follow Granny Li to sift the powder again to make it finer.

Granny, the sesame powder too, sift it all several times.

After sifting the sesame powder, I put it in a clean cloth bag.

After Mengxing has sifted the glutinous rice flour, you can steam it in a pot.

After steaming, spread the glutinous rice flour on a clean cloth to dry, and then put it into a cloth bag.

"Understood, Madam. After doing all this, what else is needed?" Madam Li asked again.

Oh, I forgot! Do we still have any sugar? This is called sesame paste, and we need to add some powdered sugar to make it taste even better.

There was still some sugar left, so Li took a look at the sugar jar in the cupboard.

Grind all the sugar into powder and put it in a cloth bag. Then shake the bag to mix the three ingredients thoroughly. The sesame paste can then be mixed with water to make a drink.

"Understood, Madam. You may go out and rest. Xiao Meng and I will take care of this."

Lin He'er gave the instructions to the two of them, then went straight out of the kitchen and back to her room to continue being lazy.

"Madam, everything is ready. Would you like to come and take a look?" Madam Li knocked on the door of the east wing.

Here it comes, here it comes, is it all done? Meng Xing works incredibly fast.

Upon entering the kitchen, one sees a rather large cloth bag on the stove.

Granny, go back and get a smaller bag, and put this in a larger bag. This one is for my husband to take to the examination hall to drink.

Alright, madam.

Let's boil some hot water and have a bowl each, and see how it tastes!

Lin He'er took a large bowl of sesame powder out of her bag. She took four small bowls out of the cupboard, put half a bowl of sesame powder in each bowl, and poured hot water from the pot into the bowls.

Granny, use chopsticks to stir the powder, and let's each have a bowl.

I'll take it inside to drink. Remember to replace it with grass after you're done.

Yes, madam.

Lin He'er took the small bowl back to her room and gently stirred the sesame powder that had settled at the bottom of the bowl with a spoon.

Once the powder was stirred, the powder in the bowl turned into a paste. I took a small bite; it was thick and silky, with the unique aroma of sesame filling my mouth.

It tastes good, not much different from the sesame paste I drank in my previous life. It's not too sweet, so I think Wen Yuning will find it acceptable.

In the kitchen, Li and Meng Xingzheng were slowly drinking from small bowls.

"Granny, Madam and I have been busy all day for this. It tastes really good, very fragrant, but it takes a bit of effort."

Meng Xing was drinking sesame paste, and his arms were still slightly sore.

Li nodded and said to the young man;

We've been grinding these sesame seeds, and it's exhausted my wife and me. Why didn't I think to call you? Otherwise, my arms wouldn't have suffered like this.

Hehe, Grandma, call me again next time there's this kind of strenuous work. Then I can at least get a free meal.

I've finished my drink, now I'll switch to grass to drink!

Meng Xing poured the sesame paste from the bottom of the bowl into his mouth, then strode out of the kitchen and went to the shop in front.