Chapter 61: Warmth

Shao Diandian went to the kitchen to make peanut butter, and Old Man Shao was also willingly (or rather, forcibly) drafted into the peanut-shelling squad.

"Sister, this basin is all shelled," Shao Erdan said, placing a basin of shelled peanuts onto the kitchen counter. "Should I shell more?"

"Yes," Shao Diandian replied. Pausing for a moment, she added, "It's too cold outside, come inside to shell them."

"You got it!" Shao Erdan went outside, hauled a sack of peanuts into the house, and conveniently dragged his brother-in-law and his own father in with him.

The father-in-law and son-in-law belonged to the category of forced laborers who were made to shell peanuts under duress, slacking off frequently and requiring Shao Erdan to supervise and remind them.

Wei Ting was young after all and had fast hands. While Old Man Shao had only shelled a dozen or so peanuts, Wei Ting already had a full, large bowl.

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Old Man Shao swiftly swapped their bowls!

Shao Diandian turned around, her apricot-shaped eyes wide open: "Wei Ting! How come you've only shelled this many?"

Old Man Shao waved his hand airily: "Oh, don't blame my son-in-law; it's because I shelled mine too fast."

Wei Ting: ...Really, is there no shame left in this world?

The boat of the father-in-law and son-in-law alliance capsized at a moment's notice!

Shao Diandian poured the peanut kernels into a heated large wok for dry-frying over low heat without any oil, a process that truly tested one's stirring speed.

The three little ones came back after showing off next door and crowded around the stove to watch Shao Diandian stir-fry the peanuts.

The whole family gathered like this in the kitchen illuminated by firelight and an oil lamp. Outside, the cold wind howled, but everyone felt that this was a truly warm winter.

Once the peanut skins darkened in color and the kernels turned slightly yellowish, it was almost time to take them out of the wok. She put them into a sieve and shook it to remove the skins, rubbing any stubborn ones off with her hands.

Shao Diandian washed the stone mill, dried it, set half of the peanuts aside for Wei Ting to grind, and put the other half into a garlic mortar.

Shao Erdan, never one to let a question go unasked, chimed in: "Sister, what are we doing this for?"

Shao Diandian patiently explained to her younger brother: "We're making peanut butter too, but I want to test whether the ground one or the pounded one is more fragrant."

Shao Erdan's enthusiasm skyrocketed, while Old Man Shao and Wei Ting wanted to slack off again.

Old Man Shao put on an act and groaned, "Ouch, my hand hurts."

Shao Diandian: "You can use your left hand to grind. It's just a small mill; it doesn't take much effort."

Wei Ting stretched out his long leg wrapped in gauze: "My leg..."

Shao Diandian: "Pounding peanuts doesn't require your legs!"

The father-in-law and son-in-law continued to be forced back to work.

***

For the stone-milled peanut butter, one first had to grind the peanuts twice through the mill, mix in a little cold water and stir, and then run it through the mill several more times. The more times it was ground, the smoother the resulting paste would be.

Shao Diandian instructed Old Man Shao to grind half of it with a slightly chunky texture for the adults, and half of it smooth for the three little ones.

This "smooth" was relative—not the completely silky texture of her past life, but still containing a small amount of tiny granules.

Shao Diandian continued stir-frying the peanuts, taking up the banner of production supervisor.

Shao Erdan shelled the peanuts and rubbed off the inner skins, while concurrently supervising Old Man Shao and Wei Ting, earning him the title of workshop director.

The three little ones formed the quality control department, responsible for tasting the peanuts stir-fried by Shao Diandian, the peanut butter ground by Old Man Shao, and the peanut paste pounded by Wei Ting.

The family had clear divisions of labor.

In the blink of an eye, only a small fraction of the sack of peanuts remained.

A rich peanut aroma permeated the entire kitchen, warm and savory, so fragrant that even the Liu family next door could smell it.

He Shi lay under her covers, her mouth watering from the tantalizing scent: "What are those people in the Shao family making again?"

"Who knows!" Liu Dan's father turned over, facing away from He Shi, while also ungratefully letting his own saliva pool in his mouth.

As if their luck had turned overnight, the Shao family had suddenly started eating meat—eating meat every single day, at every single meal!

At first, he thought it was just some pork cracklings left over from rendering lard, since the chubby Shao girl had always loved eating those. That was until the day he happened to catch Shao Erdan with a Chinese sausage clamped between his teeth, gnawing on it while sun-drying an entire courtyard full of cured meats!

At that moment, he was certain that the Shao family was truly eating meat!

Not pork cracklings, and not just a solitary indulgence for the chubby Shao girl alone, but the kind of rich, oily feast the whole family could fully enjoy!

He Shi couldn't stand the temptation any longer and tapped her husband on the shoulder: "Father of our child, didn't our family buy a few pounds of meat? Tomorrow, why don't you talk to Mother, and we can make a batch of dumplings?"

Liu Ann said impatiently: "The meat is for the New Year! If you aren't afraid of getting yelled at by Mother, go talk to her yourself!"

He Shi lay flat in a huff and muttered, "How would I dare say anything?"

To be honest, Liu Ann himself wanted to eat meat too, but recently the eldest branch was making a fuss about dividing the family property, putting his parents in a foul mood, so he didn't dare bring it up.

He Shi suggested with a smile: "Why not have Liu Dan say it? Mother dotes on Liu Dan; she'll definitely make them for him!"

Liu Dan, lying right between the two of them, was already fast asleep and had no idea his parents were plotting to use him.

Liu Ann was somewhat tempted, but after hesitating for a moment, he rejected the idea: "Forget it. If Mother makes them for Liu Dan, there won't be many, and Liu Dan won't even have enough for himself."

That was hardly untrue.

It wasn't that Old Madam Wu didn't love her own son and only favored her grandson, but rather that the family simply had limited means.

***

"Hey," Liu Ann suddenly thought of the younger Madam Wu. "Doesn't the eldest sister-in-law often watch the kids and do chores for the Shao family? Why don't you have her ask the chubby Shao girl for some?"

He Shi asked doubtfully, "Would the chubby Shao girl give any?"

That little tyrant, the chubby Shao girl, had always been the one extorting others; getting her to spit anything out was harder than ascending to heaven.

Although old man Li had testified that she helped him retrieve the villagers' New Year goods, who really knew what was actually going on?

Liu Ann had seen the Shao family giving favors to old man Li with his own eyes; there was a good chance old man Li had simply been bought off by the Shao family!

Therefore, upon hearing He Shi's skepticism, Liu Ann wasn't so sure anymore.

Irritated, he snapped, "Isn't this all your fault? The day the chubby Shao girl was falsely accused of murder, why didn't you go say a few words for her? Old Man Li said it himself! The chubby Shao girl brought a lot of things away from Old Man Li's house! I saw the whole thing!"

He Shi sneered, "You were there that night too! Why didn't you say anything!"

Liu Ann was choked for words. Unable to best He Shi in a verbal sparring match, he was just about to flare up and roar when his mother's voice pierced through the silence from the main house.

"In the middle of the night, what are you making such a racket for? Can't a person get some sleep! Eating, eating, eating! All you ever think about is eating! Are you in such a rush to go get reincarnated?!"

It was unclear whether she was cursing Liu Ann and He Shi, or the chubby Shao girl's family next door.

Back in the kitchen, the family was bustling away and hadn't heard any of that nonsensical yelling at all.

Even if they had heard it, they wouldn't have taken it to heart, simply writing it off as Old Madam Wu having another episode of mental instability.

The stone-milled peanut butter had higher moisture content and was smooth and delicate, whereas the peanut butter pounded with the stone pestle leaned more towards a dense, rich peanut paste.

Both textures were delicious, though the three little ones preferred the stone-milled one since it had more moisture and was less choking.

Shao Diandian preferred the one pounded with the stone pestle.

The stone mill crushed the peanuts by grinding them apart, causing the aroma to dissipate outwardly. Pounding peanuts, on the other hand, was akin to ramming earth; repeating the process of crushing and compressing them over and over again through rigorous trials meant the oils and aroma of the peanuts seemed pressed into every single molecular structure of the ingredient.

With a single bite, multiplied layers of oiliness and fragrance burst forth between one's lips and teeth.

This was truly a pure, natural peanut butter free of sugar, salt, thickeners, and hydrogenated vegetable oils—simply too fragrant!

Shao Diandian smacked her lips in lingering aftertaste and pointed at the garlic mortar held in Wei Ting's arms: "The stone-milled batch is enough. Make all the rest like this."

Wei Ting looked down at the remaining half-sack of peanuts and frowned: "You just want to keep me pounding peanuts forever, don't you!"