It took Jiang Wangchuan another full day to plow all the land behind the house and break up the clumps of soil.
In a couple of days, they would go to his eldest aunt’s house to get some vegetable seeds. After that, they could finally plant their vegetables.
Meanwhile, the malt sprouts for making malt candy had almost finished growing.
Lin Suhe said that since it would be her first visit to his eldest aunt’s home, she couldn’t go empty-handed. Making some malt candy would be a perfect gift.
So the two of them got busy making candy.
The glutinous rice first had to be ground into flour, so Jiang Wangchuan went to the village stone mill and ground all ten pounds of glutinous rice into a fine powder.
After bringing the flour home, he followed Lin Suhe’s instructions and mixed it with water until it formed a smooth batter.
Meanwhile, Lin Suhe carefully removed the malt sprouts, which had grown about a finger’s length on the bamboo tray, and washed them clean.
Once the rice batter was ready, it was placed into a steamer.
While the batter steamed, Jiang Wangchuan began preparing the malt paste.
Standing beside the stove, Lin Suhe watched him chop the malt sprouts.
“Brother Jiang, chop the malt as finely as possible. It should become almost like a paste, just like when we chopped the soap pods.”
“Got it!”
After receiving his wife’s instructions, Jiang Wangchuan’s kitchen knife moved so quickly it was almost a blur.
The soft malt sprouts were much easier to chop than the soap pods.
When he finished, he poured the chopped malt into a stone mortar and crushed it again until it became a smooth, watery paste.
Only then was he satisfied.
The glutinous rice batter only needed to steam for about half an hour.
Jiang Wangchuan removed the steamer and used a clean wooden spatula to stir the cooked batter, helping it cool.
When it was no longer too hot to touch, they mixed the steamed rice batter with the malt paste until everything was evenly blended.
Then they poured the mixture into a wooden bucket, covered it with a lid, and left it to ferment for one hour.
While they waited, Jiang Wangchuan made several trips down the mountain to fetch water.
Lin Suhe sat staring at the wooden bucket.
This was her first time making malt candy.
She was simply following the instructions stored in the “encyclopedia” inside her mind, but she had no idea whether it would actually work.
If it failed, they would waste fifty copper coins’ worth of ingredients.
Jiang Wangchuan seemed to notice her worry.
He gently rubbed the top of her head.
“Wife, I have a feeling this malt candy is going to turn out just fine.”
Ever since they received their marriage certificate, Jiang Wangchuan had started calling Lin Suhe “wife.”
At first, she had been so embarrassed that she stomped her feet and told him not to call her that.
But Jiang Wangchuan refused to listen.
He kept calling “Wife… Wife…” right beside her ear.
After hearing it for two days, she gradually got used to it and stopped protesting.
Even so, she still called him “Brother Jiang.”
“Brother Jiang, if the malt candy turns out well, we’ll buy more ingredients and make more to sell. Oh, and the soap too. When we have time, we should gather more soap pods in the mountains. Once the weather gets hotter and they dry out completely, they won’t be good for making soap anymore.”
Jiang Wangchuan nodded.
Ever since he had gained a wife, life had become much busier.
Every day there seemed to be endless things to do.
But he didn’t mind being busy at all.
Instead, he found this kind of life meaningful and enjoyable.
Unlike before, when he lived alone and every day felt exactly the same from the beginning of the year to the end.
After the fermented mixture was ready, Jiang Wangchuan strained it through a cloth to extract the sweet liquid.
Every drop of that liquid would become candy.
He twisted the leftover pulp until not a single drop could be squeezed out.
In the end, they collected about five pounds of sweet liquid.
He poured it into a large pot and began boiling it into syrup.
Making syrup required a strong fire and constant stirring to keep it from burning.
The two worked together.
Jiang Wangchuan stirred the syrup with a wooden spatula.
Lin Suhe added firewood to the stove and fanned the flames.
Afraid she would get tired from squatting for too long, Jiang Wangchuan even brought out the small stool they used during meals so she could sit comfortably.
Holding a palm fan, Lin Suhe kept fanning the fire.
The flames burned brightly, but the smoke was rather choking.
She covered her nose with her sleeve and coughed softly several times.
Once the syrup thickened, it became very difficult to stir.
Lin Suhe’s slender arms simply didn’t have enough strength.
Otherwise, Jiang Wangchuan would have gladly switched jobs with her.
Looking at his little wife sitting by the stove, he secretly wished he had two extra hands.
That way, she could simply sit nearby and give directions while he did everything else.
Of course, that was only a fantasy.
If he suddenly grew two more arms, his timid little wife would probably faint from fright.
The syrup bubbled loudly inside the pot.
Before long, the pale green liquid had turned into a rich golden-brown color.
At that point, they reduced the fire to a low flame, and Lin Suhe’s job was finally finished.
The syrup grew even thicker, and a rich, sweet aroma filled the air.
The moment Jiang Wangchuan smelled it, he knew they had succeeded.
Fortunately, their home stood alone halfway up the mountain with no nearby neighbors.
Otherwise, such a wonderful smell would surely have attracted curious villagers asking questions.
It was much quieter this way.
When the syrup became thick enough to cling to the wooden spatula without dripping, it was finally ready.
A little syrup still clung to the spatula.
Jiang Wangchuan handed it to Lin Suhe.
“Wife, you like sweets. Eat the candy on this. Don’t let it go to waste.”
Lin Suhe accepted the spatula in surprise.
Looking at the hardened syrup stuck to it, she couldn’t help thinking that Jiang Wangchuan was treating her like a child, asking her to lick candy straight off a cooking spatula.
Still…
With the syrup coating it, the spatula really did look like a giant lollipop.
She stuck out her tongue and gave it a lick.
It was incredibly sweet.
The familiar taste of malt candy spread through her mouth.
Watching her happily lick the candy from the spatula made Jiang Wangchuan smile with satisfaction.
…
The fire in the stove had already gone out.
After the syrup cooled slightly, Jiang Wangchuan washed his hands and began pulling the candy on a clean bamboo pole that had been firmly planted into the ground beforehand.
The candy had to be stretched while it was still warm.
His rough, calloused hands weren’t afraid of the heat.
As soon as the syrup was cool enough to handle, he wrapped it around the bamboo pole and repeatedly stretched and folded it.
The more times it was pulled, the thinner it became, and the lighter its color turned.
Once a candy rope was stretched until it was about as thick as a finger, he moved on to the next lump of syrup.
He placed each finished candy rope onto a clean, sun-dried bamboo tray.
To keep the candy from sticking together, Lin Suhe sprinkled a thin layer of flour over the ropes.
When all the syrup had been pulled, the bamboo tray was filled with pale yellow candy ropes lightly coated in flour.
Unable to wait any longer, Jiang Wangchuan cut off two small pieces.
He popped one into Lin Suhe’s mouth and tasted the other himself.
The hard candy immediately filled their mouths with rich sweetness.
The longer they chewed, the more fragrant it became.
“Wife, we did it!”
Jiang Wangchuan looked at Lin Suhe with delighted excitement.
Chewing the sticky candy, Lin Suhe was just as thrilled.
Although its taste and texture couldn’t compare with candy made using modern techniques, in ancient times sugar was already considered a luxury for ordinary families.
Jiang Wangchuan cut all the candy ropes into small pieces about half the length of a thumb.
He weighed the tray in his hands and estimated there were about three to four pounds of candy.
Finally, he poured all the malt candy into a clay jar.
Now all that remained was to visit his eldest aunt together with Lin Suhe the next day.