The women were responsible for wrapping baos inside the house, while outside, they stoked the fire, steamed the baos, and then sent them out to be quickly frozen. These tasks were managed by Lian Shouxin alongside the long-term workers.

The bao-making continued for two days, with Lian Manman’s family providing lunch, dinner, and even late-night snacks. The meal varieties weren’t many, but they were practical and satisfying. The attendees were either relatives or close friends, making this not a labor hire but a matter of camaraderie among fellow villagers, so the meals were prepared to guest standards.

Lady Zhang and a few daughters-in-law sat at one table wrapping baos, while Lian Zhizhi, Lian Manman, and a few other girls sat at another. The daughters-in-law discussed their own topics, while the girls chattered incessantly, their hands and mouths never stopping.

"Second Aunt seemed envious when she saw my mom and me wrapping baos here. She even went to the Upper Room and told our grandpa and grandma that she wanted to help with the bao-making," Lian Yeye told Lian Manman about the old house matters, "She said she couldn’t slice sauerkraut, but she could wrap baos. Lady He and Lian Yaya could too. She claimed that Uncle Fourth and Aunt Fourth didn’t consider their family and would rather invite outsiders and serve good meals to them than help their own family."

"Hmph," Lian Manman snorted, "What nonsense. In this house, who is an outsider anyway? Anyone here is closer to us than she is. Besides, she can wrap baos, but who dares to eat the ones she makes?"

The table of young girls burst into laughter.

Lady He’s remarks and complaints were well-known throughout the area.

"It’s not that we don’t consider her, but it depends on the situation. The food here for the bao-making is good, but she needs to have the skills to deserve it," Lian Manman added.

"Manman, this girl, can really talk," Lady Wu Wang whispered to Lady Zhang at the other table.

Lady Zhang glanced over at Lian Manman’s table with a smile.

"These four kids of mine, Wu Lang and Zhizhi have one kind of temperament, Manman and Xiao Qi have another. I don’t know who they take after," she said, not giving any criticism or praise, but her tone couldn’t hide her pride and joy.

"What did Grandma say?" Over at this table, as Lian Manman quickly and deftly shaped a bao, pasted on a piece of softened corn husk, and placed it neatly on the steaming rack, she asked Lian Yeye.

"Grandma told Second Aunt to be honest and not just think about eating, especially from others," Lian Yeye said with a grin, recalling the scene when Lady Zhou scolded Lady He.

Lian Manman smiled slightly, assuming Lady Zhou probably aimed those words at Wife of He Laoliu.

"Did the Upper Room mention when they’ll be wrapping baos?" Lian Manman asked Lian Yeye again.

"They didn’t mention it, but probably in the next few days; the flour isn’t ready yet," Lian Yeye replied, "Grandma scolds at the door every day."

This time, the cornmeal and sorghum flour for the baos weren’t sent to the mill because besides Lady Gu, they now had Lady He to grind the flour.

"Do the two kids from the Old He Family still steal your firewood?" Lian Manman asked Lian Yeye.

"Steal? Of course, they steal. I think the leftover firewood at our home might not be enough to burn," Lian Yeye frowned.

"Didn’t your third uncle say anything?" Lian Manman asked.

"My dad talked to those two boys. They didn’t say anything to his face, but they kept stealing afterwards," Lian Yeye said.

"Just like their dad," Chun Ni chimed in, "My dad says if you can’t provoke them, you have to avoid them. They not only steal your firewood but ours too."

"They even stole our eggs," Chun Yan said.

"On our street, we’ve been neighbors for many years, and nothing was ever stolen," Chunzhu’s Wife from the other table remarked, "Since they arrived, things started to go missing. The other day, Chun Yan’s dad caught the Old He Family’s oldest boy red-handed. That boy wailed pathetically, saying he had no dad and would freeze to death. Caught the thief, Chun Yan’s dad wanted to punish him. At such a young age, if he doesn’t learn well, won’t he become a bigger trouble like his dad?"

"But with his whining, sigh. Besides, they’re now being looked after by the uncle from that courtyard, so Chun Yan’s dad just scolded him and didn’t hit him."

"I’m just saying, there are many kids without fathers or mothers living tough lives, yet not all of them steal," Yuchang’s Wife commented, "Second Uncle is too soft-hearted. It’s tough to manage other people’s children."

Listening to all this, Lian Manman’s face showed an embarrassed expression. Old Master Lian took in the He Family’s widows and orphans out of good intentions, shouldn’t it have been met with praise? How did it end up backfiring?

...

In two days, they wrapped enough baos to fill over a dozen large jars, and on the breakfast table at Lian Manman’s family, baos became a staple. Now that her family’s situation had improved, eating baos, Lady Zhang would even prepare a bowl of sugar specially. For the children of farmsteads, eating baos dipped in sugar was a supreme delight.

However, to Lian Manman, sugar was optional. For her, the bean paste filling inside the baos was sweet enough. Paired with some savory side dishes, eating the fragrant, sweet baos and taking a sip of hearty bone soup made for a perfect breakfast.

After wrapping the baos, Lian Shouxin also took some beans to exchange at the tofu workshop for fifty slabs of tofu. The tofu was cut into blocks with a tofu knife and left to freeze outside overnight, turning into solid frozen tofu. The blocks were stored in large jars outside for preservation.

This was the prelude to preparing for the Spring Festival.

*****

Here’s the second update, it’s the third last day of February, asking for your support with pink votes. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)