Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1217 - 621: Cherries Are Ripe (Part 2)
Lian Manman prepared ample travel funds for Wu Lang, and on an auspicious day, Mr. Loo and Wu Lang set off from Thirty Mile Camp with a group of followers.
Xiao Qi also wanted to go, but because he was still young, Lady Zhang couldn’t bear to let him, so he didn’t go.
After seeing Wu Lang off, the whole family felt somewhat empty, especially Lady Zhang. However, having Xiao Qi around helped her gradually recover in a day or two. After all, Wu Lang’s journey was an unexpected blessing for most people. Moreover, over the past couple of days, Lian Manman had managed to convince her of the significant benefits this training would have for Wu Lang’s future.
...
It was the transition from late April to early May, and for the first time, the orchards at Lian Manman’s family estate were bearing fruit after a season of bloom. The apricots were the first to grow. However, at this time of year, the apricots were not yet ripe. The green apricots looked so sour that no one dared to pluck and eat them.
Lian Manman and Xiao Qi carried baskets, looking at the green apricots and wondering when they would ripen and turn yellow.
Ripe apricots are extremely delicious, and while the green ones are not edible now, they will be quite useful during the apricot harvest season.
Green apricots, once pitted, sliced, and pickled, are called "green silk." Together with pickled rose petals, they form "green silk roses," an ancient delicacy in Liaodong Prefecture. They appear in almost all of Liaodong Prefecture’s sweet pastries.
The pickled green silk roses are fragrant and sweet, with a delightful chewiness.
Lady Zhang’s pickling skills, passed down through the Zhang Family, produce green silk roses that are even tastier than those sold outside. Manman’s Family grows many rosa rugosa and apricot trees, along with two hives of bees, so most of the ingredients for their desserts are homegrown, requiring no outside purchases.
The apricots are not yet ready, but there is another fruit perfectly in season.
That is, cherries.
The cherries grown at Manman’s Family are a local variety. They are small, with a pink hue. Fully ripened cherries are very sweet, while the half-ripe ones have a slight tartness, which is still delightful. Some people even prefer the taste of half-ripe cherries over the fully ripened ones.
Without needing any help from the maids, Lian Manman and Xiao Qi laughed and talked as they picked half a basket of ripe cherries.
"Sister, let’s have su lou cherries today, alright?" Having finished picking cherries, Xiao Qi suggested to Lian Manman as they walked home.
"Sure, we’ll have su lou cherries," Lian Manman replied with a smile.
Xiao Qi immediately smiled, his big eyes curving into crescents.
Once home, Lian Manman handed the cherries to Maid Xiao Xi, instructing her to wash and pit them.
"Xiao Qing, go to the kitchen and have someone bring the milk from the cellar that we bought yesterday," Lian Manman instructed another maid, Xiao Qing.
This Xiao Qing was also selected from the village of Luo Family Village, only thirteen years old, left in the backyard to serve Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman together with Xiao Xi.
While Xiao Xi went to prepare the cherries and Xiao Qing fetched the milk, Lian Manman put on an apron and sleeve protectors to start making su lou.
"Xiao Qi, go to the study and write four pieces of calligraphy. Only if you do well, can you have su lou cherries," Lian Manman teasingly said to Xiao Qi, who was still there.
Lian Manman estimated that by the time Xiao Qi finished his calligraphy, her su lou would be ready.
Before Mr. Loo and Wu Lang left, they had arranged Xiao Qi’s homework, which Lian Manman usually supervised. Xiao Qi dared not ignore the assignments she set for him.
No sooner had Xiao Qi left than Lady Zhang and Lian Zhizhi came in from outside, followed by Xiao Qing carrying a small wooden bucket.
"I heard you’re making su lou again," Lian Zhizhi remarked, noticing Lian Manman’s outfit. "Want any help?"
"No need," Lian Manman laughed. "Sister, you and Mother should go back inside and hurry up with your embroidery for the dowry. This su lou, you just wait to eat once it’s done."
Lian Zhizhi was shy by nature, and even now, whenever the dowry was mentioned, she would blush.
Seeing Lian Zhizhi blush, Lian Manman smirked and waited until Lian Zhizhi and Lady Zhang were inside before she began making su lou.
The small bucket of milk had been bought from a returning villager from the west yesterday and stored in the cellar with ice.
Lian Manman poured the milk into a large porcelain jar, added a little sugar, and then placed the jar on the stove, cooking for about fifteen minutes until the sugar dissolved and the milk began to boil. At that point, she removed the porcelain jar from the heat, filtered the milk through double-layered gauze, and set it aside to cool.
Meanwhile, Lian Manman prepared four lidded bowls, pouring about a third of each with rice wine, then adding the cooled milk, stirring evenly, and covering them tightly before placing them on a steamer tray in a steamer.
After steaming on low heat for a quarter of an hour, she took them off the heat, letting them cool, at which point the milk in the bowls would set into a jelly-like consistency, clear and translucent, much like the plain yogurt she remembered from her past life. Of course, in this era, it had its own special name, called su lou.
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Sending the third update, asking for monthly votes.
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Recommend the finished book by Ruoyan: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles" light house fight farmland tale, tales of family matters and entangled grudges in a grand mansion.
Book ID: 1771214
There’s a direct link below, click to go straight there. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com, with recommendation tickets and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
