OFTLHFRO C22

Chapter 22: Bowl Cakes

“We can move to live in town.”

Hearing Huo Yan’s words, Luo Mingchen was momentarily stunned, “You want to buy a house in Taohua Town?”

Huo Yan said, “If you want, we can.”

“Of course I want a big house to live in. But buying a house here must be expensive. The village houses and fields still need to be sold, right? The household registration has to be transferred, too. It’s a hassle.”

Although there’s no rule here forbidding merchants from pursuing official ranks, farmers indeed have a slight advantage over merchants.

Moreover…

“Isn’t Xishui Village where you grew up?”

“The village houses and fields don’t have to be sold. If we want to, we can still go back.”

After hearing this, Luo Mingchen made up his mind, “Then let’s buy a house in town. When winter comes, Xiaohui and Xiaoxiang won’t have to get up so early for academy, and they can eat lunch at home. But there are still vegetables I just planted in the field; can we move after harvesting?”

“Sure.”

After deciding, they turned the cart back toward the town to look for a suitable place.

Since they would be buying, they wanted something bigger. Huo Yan still had several thousand taels of silver. If they bought a small place first, they’d have to upgrade later, which was troublesome.

Arriving in town, Huo Yan went to a pawnshop and visited several places before finally choosing a large estate with three courtyards in and three out.

The original owner said they had moved to the county. The land and house deeds, along with a sales authorization document, were all in order.

After inspecting, they found no problems aside from some desolation. The group then went to the Yuelan County office to handle paperwork.

After leaving the county office, Luo Mingchen noticed Huo Yan was very familiar with the place and suddenly asked while walking, “You had this idea of moving out of the village for a while, right?”

“I did think about it. You seem to like farming, so I didn’t bring it up.”

Huo Yan had planned to move to town after returning and do some business, but Luo Mingchen tilled the fields in front of their house and planted so quickly that Huo Yan never mentioned moving again.

Luo Mingchen felt a bit down, “What do you want to do then?”

“Sell wine. My grandfather made the family fortune selling wine. Later, among three children, only my eldest uncle and my mother inherited winemaking. I learned from my mother as a child. After my eldest uncle’s family was wiped out by bandits, the family completely declined.”

Luo Mingchen asked, “Your family used to be rich?”

“Pretty good.”

“Then we can continue selling wine and open a big restaurant later. My cooking combined with your wine will surely make us prosperous.”

Seeing Luo Mingchen’s bright smile, Huo Yan was deeply moved and smiled faintly, “Good.”

Huo Xinyue blinked while hugging Luo Mingchen’s neck, unaware of their conversation, just smiling along.

Luo Mingchen gently rubbed her soft cheek and happily asked, “We’ll have a big house to live in later. Are you happy?”

“Happy?”

Luo Mingchen repeated slowly, “Happy.”

Huo Xinyue followed, “Happy!”

“Good girl.”

The estate’s location wasn’t far from Baiye Academy. Since there weren’t many usable items inside and flowers and plants needed to be replanted, it was reasonably cheap.

It was just the right time to renovate while waiting for the vegetables to grow. They could move in during winter.

After busy preparations, it was already a bit late to pick up the two children.

Getting on the cart, Huo Yuhui looked around and asked curiously, “Daddy, this doesn’t look like a road out of town.”

Luo Mingchen smiled, “Today we bought a big house in town, so I’m taking you to familiarize with the route. When it’s ready, we’ll move in.”

“Big house?”

Huo Yuhui looked at Luo Mingchen in surprise, “Little daddy, why suddenly buy a house in town?”

Luo Mingchen laughed, “It’s easier to do business in town, and it’ll be convenient for your school.”

Huo Xiang looked full of longing, “Little daddy, how big is this big house?”

“It has three courtyards; it’s quite big.”

“Wow…”

Luo Mingchen raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, “Do you know how big?”

Huo Xiang shook his head, “No.”

“…Then why say wow?”

“Hehe, it’s definitely bigger than the one at home.”

Luo Mingchen laughed and patted his head, “That’s true.”

The ox cart hadn’t gone far before arriving.

Although Luo Mingchen said it was close, no one expected it to be so near.

Huo Xiang happily said, “Brother! We won’t have cold feet going to school in winter anymore.”

Huo Yuhui was happy too but more worried, “It’s so near the academy and the main street; it must be expensive, right?”

“No worries. Your daddy has money, and we are making money too. We’re not living off the land; money we ought to spend, we will.”

Luo Mingchen spoke, and Huo Yan already opened the big door, “Let’s go inside and see.”

The brothers excitedly entered.

Inside was unbelievably large, but the small pond smelled a bit foul, and many fallen leaves covered the path. The hall and rooms were rather messy.

Walking around, Huo Xiang tugged Luo Mingchen’s sleeve incredulously, “Little daddy, is this really going to be our home?”

“Yes. The paperwork is done. As long as we tidy it up, we can move in.”

Hearing this, the brothers were very happy.

Being able to buy such a large estate meant they still had surplus money and wouldn’t have to suffer hunger again.

Having enough food and clothing and a place to study—that was the beautiful life Huo Yuhui dreamed of.

But this life was hard earned, so Huo Yuhui naturally would cherish it and strive to succeed, not betraying their two fathers’ love and care.

After another stroll, the family returned home with a relaxed and joyful mood.

Although the water tofu sold well, Luo Mingchen hadn’t forgotten about bowl cakes.

There are two kinds of bowl cakes—one is crystal bowl cakes, and the other is the traditional style.

What Luo Mingchen made was the traditional style bowl cake, made from indica rice mixed with brown sugar, with a bit of red bean inside.

Actually, it could be made with japonica rice, which had a slightly different texture.

But indica rice was crisper, and Luo Mingchen preferred it.

Among desserts, this recipe was simple.

Prepare an appropriate amount of indica rice, rinse clean, and soak.

After soaking, grind the rice into a slurry. The smoother the slurry, the better, but you need to be careful about the temperature. Don’t grind in too hot a place; under the summer sun, the slurry could easily cook.

Next, prepare two fairly thick pieces of gauze, pour the slurry into them, and wring and squeeze.

After wringing dry, you get a bowl of glutinous rice flour.

Pour the flour into a large bowl, loosen it with a big wooden spoon, and add water little by little. The amount of water is not fixed but must not be too much. It depends on the flour amount. Stir until it becomes a paste, neither too thick nor too thin.

Next, pour brown sugar powder into a pot, add water to dissolve it, and boil. When boiling, add the sugar water to the flour slurry.

Before steaming, place small bowls in the steamer. Steam a little, then put a bit of prepared red beans into each bowl. Pour in the slurry and steam over medium heat for about fifteen minutes.

This way, a pot of brown sugar bowl cakes is ready.

Footnotes:

1. “Bowl cake” (缽仔糕) — A traditional Chinese steamed rice cake dessert.
2. “Indica rice” (籼米) — A rice variety with longer grains and a crisper texture.
3. “Japonica rice” (粳米) — A rice variety with shorter grains and stickier texture.