I've been transported to the orc continent.

Steamed dumplings are delicious, and maltose must be delicious too.

The whole family was looking forward to making sweet candy. For today's candy-making, Feng and Cang even changed into new clothes, and Feng even wore his best jewelry.

Yue also dressed up specially. He not only braided his hair but also wore a new headdress made of colorful jade and beautiful seashells. The hanging part was not braided into the hair but tied behind his head.

Only Chen and Bai Ling were dressed in their usual clothes, their hair was simply tied up, and they didn't wear any accessories.

Chen complained to her father, "Father, you and Father are both wearing new clothes, why didn't you tell me? Otherwise, I would have worn new clothes too."

Feng laughed and said, "How old are you? Do I have to tell you what to wear?"

Chen said nothing more, but Bai Ling asked again, "Father, today isn't a festival or celebration, it's just making maltose, why are you all wearing new clothes?"

The wind said, “Making maltose is a very important thing, so your father and I put on new clothes.” He glanced at the moon, “and the moon is also wearing new clothes. I suppose she has the same idea as us.”

Yue nodded: "Yes, that's what I thought too, so I wore the new clothes."

Orcs love sweets, but sweets are too precious and not easily obtained. Ling came up with a way to make sugar, which was very important to the orcs and also very important to Yue. So he put on new clothes and wore some precious jewelry.

Bai Ling laughed and said, "Alright, let's hurry up and make the maltose. Once it's done, I'll steam some pastries for you to eat."

*

After a day and a night of fermentation, the sorghum rice already had a thick layer of transparent, viscous liquid.

Bai Ling poured the liquid into the iron pot, then poured the sorghum rice onto a strainer and pressed it down with her hands to filter out more liquid. She also scooped out any sorghum grains and malt residue that had fallen into the pot before lighting the fire.

Just like cooking mung bean paste, maltose cannot be made over high heat; it must be simmered slowly over low heat.

As the water in the syrup slowly evaporated, it began to thicken. Bai Ling scooped some syrup out with a wooden spoon and placed it in a ceramic bowl for later use in making desserts.

The syrup in the iron pot needs to be simmered until it reaches a consistency where it won't break when lifted with a wooden spoon; at this point, the maltose is ready.

The boiled maltose was left to cool in a large earthenware basin while Bai Ling went to make soybean cake and cassava cake.

Making soybean cake is very simple. Mix the syrup and lard that you scooped out earlier evenly, then slowly sprinkle in the soybean powder to make a dough. Since Bai Ling didn't have a mold, he simply cut the soybean cake into pieces.

The steps for making cassava cake are the same as those for making soybean cake, except that the powder used in the dusting step is cassava flour, and it is also cut into pieces in the end.

Place both soybean cake and tapioca cake on a steamer and steam over high heat.

The wind was blowing through the fire. Bai Ling walked to the earthenware basin containing maltose, which had solidified. He took a knife and cut the maltose into pieces, then placed them in another earthenware basin.

Cang pinched a piece of maltose and put it into the mouthpiece of the fire-starting wind machine: "Wind, try it and see if it tastes good."

The wind's face was bathed in orange light. He didn't answer his partner's question immediately, but instead savored the taste of malt candy.

Maltose has a light sweetness, not as sweet as the candy made from sweetgrass, but Feng prefers maltose because it can be made at home anytime, unlike sweetgrass which is something you can't usually eat.

"Mmm, sweet," Feng laughed. "Delicious."

Bai Ling also put a piece of maltose in her mouth, and the light and sweet taste immediately filled her entire mouth. It was really delicious.

Everyone else was also captivated by the taste of maltose; Yue's eyes crinkled into crescents, and Chen looked completely enraptured.

Yue ate the candy very elegantly; he would hold it in his mouth and savor it slowly. Bai Ling and Chen, on the other hand, would hold it in their mouths for a while before starting to chew. They finished the candy very quickly.

Not only maltose, but also soybean cake and tapioca cake are delicious. Bai Ling has too few ingredients on hand to make them taste very good, but it is precisely because the ingredients are simple that the flavor of the raw materials is preserved.

Soybean cake has a light fragrance, while cassava cake is sweet. Soybean cake melts in your mouth, and cassava cake is soft and chewy, both of which are very delicious snacks.

Soybean flour and tapioca flour are both easy to obtain, especially soybean flour. Bai Ling had ground a lot before, and this time they steamed a lot of soybean cakes and tapioca cakes, which could be eaten directly for lunch.

The fragrant and sweet pastries, paired with the savory bone broth, left everyone completely satisfied.

*

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and Yue's birthday is also approaching.

Orcs don't have a calendar, and they don't actually celebrate the New Year on a specific day; the third day after spring arrives is the Orc New Year.

There is no exact date for this day, but every orc can sense it. They prepare food in advance and then celebrate on that day.

Bai Ling didn't know exactly when the New Year was, but he knew that the New Year would be here very soon.

The New Year is approaching, and so is the month's birthday.

Bai Ling promised Yue that she would make him a bowl of noodles on his birthday.

From grinding flour, sifting flour, kneading flour, washing vegetables, cooking vegetables... Bai Ling did all of this herself without letting Yue interfere.

Yue sat on the rock, hugging her knees, watching Bai Ling busy herself over there.

Making noodles is not difficult; the challenge lies in making a delicious bowl of noodles when you don't have many ingredients on hand.

Bai Ling cooked four dishes, traded animal meat and fishermen for two fish, one for stewed fish and the other for fish balls. He also made steamed dumplings and soybean flour candy. He laid a mat on a stone and arranged all the dishes on the mat.

"Yue, please wait a moment, the noodles will be ready soon."

The fire in the hearth was burning brightly, and the water in the iron pot was boiling continuously. Bai Ling grabbed a handful of noodles and quickly threw them into the iron pot.

The boiling water stopped bubbling and started to bubble. Bai Ling stirred it a couple of times with chopsticks and then put the lid on the pot.

He seemed to remember something, took two quick steps and set the wine out again. As he set the wine out, he chuckled at the moon, looking as silly as could be.

Yue lowered his head, his hands clasped together on his knees. Even though he and Ling had eaten together countless times, he was still a little nervous this time.

To celebrate Yue's birthday, the two chose a secluded cave where no one would disturb them. Right now, they were the only two people in the cave. Bai Ling hummed a song while cooking noodles, and she couldn't be happier.

How could he not be happy to be able to spend his birthday alone with his sweetheart?