Chapter 44 - 44 Candied Chestnuts
44 Candied Chestnuts
Upon hearing Su Binglan’s question, Luo Jin’an’s hand froze. He was silent for a moment.
Just when Su Binglan thought Luo Jin’an wouldn’t answer her, he nodded curtly and said, “Yes.”
Although it was just one word, Luo Jin’an’s voice was faint, and Su Binglan heard it. She had not expected Luo Jin’an to answer her. She had only asked out of curiosity.
Su Binglan was very surprised because this was different from the past Luo Jin’an. The past Luo Jin’an wouldn’t have answered her questions.
Just as Su Binglan was looking at Luo Jin’an with a surprised and curious expression, she heard his voice again.
“Done.”
Hearing this, Su Binglan came back to her senses.
Before she could look away, Luo Jin’an lowered his head, and they looked at each other.
When Su Binglan met Luo Jin’an’s eyes, she felt a jolt of electricity go through her. She instinctively looked away.
Su Binglan lowered her head to look at the chestnuts. Luo Jin’an had neatly cut up all the chestnuts down the middle as expected.
“That’s good. We can make the candied chestnuts now.”
Su Binglan smiled and said to Liu Yinyin, “Sister-in-law, you can start the fire now.”
“Okay.” Liu Yinyin sat at the stove and started the fire.
After the pot got hot, Su Binglan put salt into the pot along with the chopped-up chestnuts and began to fry them. As she did this, the chestnuts started to pop.
Su Binglan continued to fry them. She added sugar when the salt had peeled off the chestnuts’ skins.
After adding white granulated sugar, Su Binglan fried them some more. The aroma of the chestnuts started to waft.
Shen Qiuhua watched in amazement and said, “That smells so good. It’s indeed fragrant.
“Everyone knows about the chestnuts. In the past, they would just boil them and eat them. No one has done this before.”
The villagers rarely prepared such a dish as long as it was something with sugar. Sugar was costly in that era.
Su Binglan smiled brightly and said, “Mother, these are candied chestnuts. It’ll be ready soon. You can eat it shortly, and then you’ll know if it’s good or not.”
“Surely it’ll taste good since my daughter made it. I’ve never seen anyone cook the chestnuts this way.” Shen Qiuhua smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits. She felt that her daughter knew everything and was an intelligent woman.
Su Binglan said softly, “Actually, others just can’t bear to add sugar. If they do so, they can try all kinds of cooking methods and also come up with many new dishes.”
Liu Yinyin pursed her lips and said in a low voice, “Actually, it’s the salt. No one can bear to add salt.”
When Liu Yiniyin had just started the fire, she raised her head and looked at the pot. Her sister-in-law had added in a lot of salt. Her heart ached when she looked at it. Su Binglan also added a lot of sugar.
Liu Yinyin was from a low-income family, and she was used to living a frugal life. When she saw Su Binglan putting all this into the pot so casually, she felt it was a waste.
However, Shen Qiuhua didn’t say anything, and it was not easy for Liu Yinyin to speak up as the sister-in-law. Nonetheless, Su Binglan was improving, and Liu Yinyin was happy about that.
Su Binglan had made french fries for Su Xuexuan and Su Xuehai earlier, so Liu Yinyin was sincerely grateful.
Liu Yinyin’s only thought that if she worked harder and earned more money in the future, she could afford more of these things. This way, her sister-in-law wouldn’t have to feel distressed when using these ingredients.