Beyond the wrong color, the brown sugar also smelled a bit bitter.
Looking at the oil-paper package before her, Lin Jiafeng felt as if her own heart tasted bitter. Even the joy of her daughter’s return was dampened significantly.
“Mother!”
Xia Xianxian anxiously shook Lin Jiafeng’s arm.
Lin Jiafeng, who had been standing there stunned, finally seemed to come back to her senses. She looked at Xia Xianxian with dull eyes, her lips twitching a few times, but the words stuck in her throat and would not come out. Then, she lowered her head again, staring blankly at the block of brown sugar.
Xia Xianxian snatched the oil-paper package from Lin Jiafeng’s hand and placed it casually on the table.
As if remembering something, she suddenly started digging into her pockets, pulling out the remaining White Rabbit creamy candies she had and placing them in Lin Jiafeng’s hands.
“Mother, I’ll trade you for this brown sugar. I’ll trade it with White Rabbit candies. There are more at home—I, I’ll bring them all over. Yes, I’ll have Meng Wenzhou ride his bike back right now to get them!”
Looking at the White Rabbit candies in her hand and then at her anxious daughter, Lin Jiafeng finally found her voice.
She looked at Xia Xianxian with a slight tremble: “Tell me, how did it go bad? How could it possibly have gone bad?”
Xia Xianxian’s own heart ached as well. This was just a block of expired brown sugar weighing less than half a catty, yet the woman before her looked so utterly devastated.
Supplies were exceptionally precious in this era. Xia Xianxian suddenly remembered an old grandmother she had seen in a park in her past life.
The grandmother was dressed neatly, yet she would often linger near trash cans; whenever she saw someone about to throw away unfinished food, she would step forward to retrieve it. At first, she thought the grandmother was down on her luck and wanted to offer her money, but the grandmother had smiled and refused. She patted her on the head and took a copy of Di Zi Gui (Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child) from her bag to give to her.
It turned out that the grandmother was a retired worker with a pension. She frequently gave out free copies of enlightenment books like the Three Character Classic and Di Zi Gui to children in the park near the school, and picking up leftover food was simply because she didn’t want to waste grain.
Having understood this, Xia Xianxian said to Lin Jiafeng earnestly, “Mother, the items won’t be wasted.”
A glimmer of spirit suddenly returned to Lin Jiafeng’s eyes.
“Is… is this true?”
“Yes, it’s true. I’ve read in books that expired brown sugar can be used for many things: it can be used for compost, fish bait, and removing stains. I’ve even heard it can be used in medicine!”
Xia Xianxian’s expression was gentle, but every word she spoke was firm and impactful.
“This, this is true—brown sugar can be used in medicine!”
Before Xia Xianxian could open her mouth again, Lin Jiafeng began to mutter: “Yes, such a good thing must be able to be used as medicine. Even the soil in front of a widow’s door can be used as medicine, so why couldn’t brown sugar?”
In just a short moment, Lin Jiafeng regained her energy and spirit.
“Take this sugar back. Since the items won’t be wasted in vain, then you take it and use it.”
She stuffed the oil-paper package back into Xia Xianxian’s arms.
“Since you’ve learned skills from books, take this brown sugar home and experiment with it. If you succeed, come back and tell your mother so I can be happy for you too.”
“Also, take these White Rabbit candies back; I don’t want them. You are just like your younger brother—you’ve always had a sweet tooth. That habit of your brother sneaking into the sugar jar must have been learned from you.”
Xia Xianxian blushed. She had been here for quite a while and hadn’t remembered to give Lin Jiafeng a single candy. It was only because of this recent incident that she had thought to take out the White Rabbit candies.
“Mother~”
Hesitantly, she peeled a White Rabbit candy and stuffed it into Lin Jiafeng’s mouth.
“Mother, I brought the sugar for you and my younger brother to eat. When I saw you just now, I didn’t think of it for a moment.”
Her voice grew quieter and quieter.
Lin Jiafeng stroked Xia Xianxian’s head, watching her with a smile: “As long as you are all living well, Mother is happy.”
“Mother!”
The White Rabbit candies were placed back into Lin Jiafeng’s hands. “Mother, you eat them. Next time I come back, I’ll bring you more sugar, and oh, the finished products made from the brown sugar too!”
…
“So that’s why you’re here tinkering with wood ash.”
Meng Wenzhou squatted down and gathered the wood ash that had scattered.
“Yeah, this spoiled brown sugar is a hot potato in my hands. If I left it there, they’d be afraid of wasting it and the whole family would end up eating it. What would I do then? It would be terrible if they got food poisoning.”
After saying this, Xia Xianxian chuckled craftily.
“Hahaha, I think it was really smart of me to use Aunt Li as an excuse that day.”
“I used her as a cover. She spoke ill of me, and I used her—we’re even now. Neither owes the other anything.”
Meng Wenzhou thought: Why wouldn’t that be considered fate? Only, he didn’t know who was the cause and who was the effect.
“Have you decided what to make?”
“Mm, I’ve brainstormed a few preliminary ideas.”
“Something simple and direct. It works well, but I’m afraid it won’t store well. If I soak the brown sugar in hot water, it can be used as a kitchen grease cleaner, but it’s hard to preserve that way. Since it’s already expired, I’m afraid it would just get moldy if I let it sit.”
“Composting is the same. Just mix it with water and sprinkle it on the fields, but that feels a bit wasteful.”
“Hmm, based on what you said, that leaves fish bait and traditional Chinese medicine as the remaining options.”
Observing Xia Xianxian, whose eyes were darting around, Meng Wenzhou continued: “But I’m guessing you won’t choose either of those two.”
“Oh, Student Meng knows me quite well, huh?”
“Eh, just average, average—no need to over-praise me.”
Meng Wenzhou bowed with his hands folded in front of him.
After finishing the joke, he began to seriously discuss Xia Xianxian’s ideas.
“There’s plenty of water around here; even without a net, people can reach into the river and catch a couple of fish empty-handed. If you use flour and sugar to make fish bait, I think your mother would really have a heart attack.”
Xia Xianxian rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, if I really did that, I suspect she’d be so angry she’d faint.”
“And what about medicine? Why can’t I choose Chinese medicine? This brown sugar isn’t severely spoiled. Before I use it, I can ask someone at the health clinic.”
Meng Wenzhou looked at her sideways and said: “Oh~ then do you know how?”
“Hehe, of course I don’t! You know me so well, Student Meng.”
After saying this, she gave Meng Wenzhou a thumbs up.
“I wouldn’t dare mess around with things that go into the body. Besides, given our current situation, I’m not about to go looking for trouble. Even if I don’t care about myself, I have to think about you, right?”
She tilted her chin and nudged her shoulder toward Meng Wenzhou.
“So, I’ll just make handmade soap. Handmade soap is practical and stores well.”
“Uh-huh! Aren’t you afraid your mom will scold you for wasting oil?”
Xia Xianxian wrinkled her nose. “No choice. You have to give something up to gain something. This is the best method I can think of for now.”
“Ding!”
[Gentle Reminder: Today’s Big Wheel has been activated. Host, please confirm if you wish to draw an item now.]
“Go ahead and draw, Xianxian, you do it.”
This was the first time Xia Xianxian had seen the Big Wheel.
In the center of the blue light screen appeared a large wheel divided into eight sections, shimmering with light and looking full of high-tech vibes.
Xia Xianxian had reached out to touch it earlier—it was cool, with a texture somewhat like glass.
When she pushed it with force, she could even feel the resistance of the object.
Tsk tsk, it was quite realistic.
The wheel shifted with the changing light, slowly coming to a stop on the number 5.
[Congratulations to the Host for triggering today’s reward.]
[Host, please confirm your collection method!]