Chapter 58: Malt Sugar. Waiting for He Feng to release Song Qingshu...

By the time he released him, Song Qingshu had been kissed so hard he was dizzy, curled up in He Feng's arms, breathing rapidly. He Feng used one hand to help him breathe while with the other, he stuffed a handful of firewood under the stove. The

fire burned fiercely beneath the pot. He Feng turned his head and stared at the person in his arms. "How come after so many kisses, our little one still can't catch his breath?"

Song Qingshu pouted, his eyes tinging unnaturally red. "You kissed too long." The kiss was deep and heavy, and Song Qingshu couldn't resist it.

He Feng didn't argue, but couldn't help laughing as he pinched the soft flesh around his waist. "Yeah, it's my fault."

The sudden touch on his sensitive spot made Song Qingshu flinch, his lips brushing He Feng's chin.

Their eyes met, and they both looked away.

Song Qingshu struggled to get off, but He Feng held his waist, preventing him from lingering or else the kitchen would catch fire.

"Be good, little one. Stay with me for a while."

Song Qingshu nearly dropped the malt in his hand. He clenched it tightly, grunting softly.

Steam rose from the pot, and the aroma of glutinous rice emanated. He Feng supported Song Qingshu's waist and set him down, coaxing him like a child, "Go play."

Song Qingshu's hands were wrinkled from the malt, and their grassy scent stained them. He Feng took the bowl and handed it to him, then thought for a moment and took it back. "Little one, go get the rest of the malt."

He removed the half-burned wood from under the pot and stuffed it into the ash to extinguish the fire. The kitchen was filled with the sweet, slightly sweet aroma of glutinous rice. He lifted the lid to let the steam dissipate.

He Feng took the bowl and went to the yard. He used a small hoe to dig up some soil and poured it directly into the bowl, spreading it evenly.

Song Qingshu ran over with the remaining malt and told him to plant it, while he squatted nearby and watched.

Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua also ran over. Xiao Hei sniffed and made sure that they were not looking for the bones and food that it had buried, then turned around, swung its tail and ran away.

Xiao Hua followed Xiao Hei and ran away again. Before leaving, Song Qingshu took the opportunity to rub her.

After planting, the malt was watered, and He Feng handed the bowl to Song Qingshu, "Put it on the window frame."

He poured steamed glutinous rice into the chopped malt and mixed it evenly. He Feng found a clean cloth to cover the porcelain basin and began to prepare dinner.

Song Qingshu was teasing Xiao Huang who came to visit in the yard, shouting at him not to fight with Xiao Hei, saying that he was so small that he could not beat Xiao Hei.

The setting sun shone on him, and the beautiful man had a bright smile on his face, looking very happy.

He Feng looked at him through the kitchen window, with a smile on his face. He lowered his head to wash the pot, washed a handful of rice, mixed it with red dates and oatmeal, and put it into the pot to cook porridge.

Song Qingshu walked in slowly, holding a piece of glutinous rice noodle. "Brother, you asked me about my birthday before, what about yours?"

"Why did you suddenly think of asking this, babe?"

"It just suddenly occurred to me." He came over and stood next to He Feng, tiptoeing to put the remaining glutinous rice noodle in his hand to He Feng's mouth. "It's delicious, you have one too, brother."

He Feng lowered his head and bit off the thing in his hand, mumbling: "It's still early, the tenth day of the fifth month."

"Okay!" He

ran away after asking, no one knew what he was doing.

He Feng looked up at his brisk figure, like a child, and continued to work on his work.

The next morning, He Feng poured the fermented malt and glutinous rice mixture he had mixed last night onto a clean white cloth and squeezed out the juice.

Song Qingshu squatted in the yard to wash up, and looked through the window to see what He Feng was doing. He wiped his fair face with a wet towel, and the hair on his forehead was also a little wet, lying limply on his forehead.

"Haven't you made breakfast yet?" Sister Liu came in with freshly-cooked saltine pancakes, followed by Nannan, who was carrying a small bowl of saltine pancakes and eating them as she walked.

"No, sister-in-law, why are you making breakfast so early?" Song Qingshu replied, draping a towel on the clothesline.

Nannan had a high-top braid and blinked her big eyes to observe Song Qingshu. When Song Qingshu looked at her, she smiled, her round little face puffed up, looking very cute.

"Nannan said she wanted to eat it last night, so I kneaded the dough in advance and made it this morning. It will be quick."

He Feng finished squeezing the juice and was about to pour it into the pot to start boiling when Mrs. Liu walked in, "Xiaofeng, wash your hands first and eat."

"Okay." He Feng took off his apron, washed his hands and walked out, "Oh, Nannan is here!"

"Little Grandpa!" He Feng squatted down and hugged Nannan, and took out a candy and stuffed it into Nannan's hand, "You've gained weight."

"Brother, here." Song Qingshu took the salty biscuit in his hand away. Nannan still stared at Song Qingshu and asked in a childish voice: "Little Grandpa, what should I call him?"

"Call him little grandpa." He Feng took the biscuit, "The candies you eat are all from little grandpa, you have to say thank you to little grandpa."

Nannan raised her head, "Thank you, little grandpa!"

The child's voice was very obvious in the yard. There were two dogs and a cat around her, and the vegetable scraps that Nannan dropped on the ground were immediately taken away and eaten.

"Hey, you're welcome, Nannan. You're so good."

Sister Liu was also happy to see the situation in front of her, "We have cooked porridge at home. When you finish eating, go over and get two bowls."

"I'll come over later. Remember to stir it while you cook. Cook it on high heat at the beginning, and then on low heat after big bubbles appear. I'll come over and watch over it."

He Feng was eating a salty pancake with scallion flavor and nodded, "Okay, you help watch over it."

Nannan ate and played at the same time, but she had good eating manners. She just liked to tease cats and dogs. If she encountered a tasteless edge of the pancake, she would bite it off and feed it directly to the dog.

He Feng followed and served the porridge. Nannan came to Song Qingshu with the bowl in her hand, "Grandpa, you are so handsome. You are the most handsome person I have ever seen."

Song Qingshu, who had washed his hands, moved two stools, one for Nannan and one for himself, and acted very surprised, "Really?"

Nannan nodded vigorously, "You are the most beautiful, and mom is the second most beautiful."

Song Qingshu patted the stools and asked Nannan to sit down. The little girl finished it. There was still a little pancake left in the bowl, "How old are you, Nannan?"

"Seven."

"Don't you want to eat the pancake?"

"If you eat more, you won't be able to drink the porridge." Nannan pointed at Xiaohua, "I want to feed it!"

"Okay, Nannan, give me the bowl."

Song Qingshu took the bowl and used chopsticks to separate the four layers of pancake little by little, turning it into pieces, and then gave it back to Nannan, "Xiaohua's bowl is over there, Nannan, pour it in, and feed it."

"If you want to feed it with your hands, just take one or two pieces and squat down to feed it."

Nannan agreed. She didn't pour out all the contents of the bowl, but threw one piece to Xiao Huang and one piece to Xiao Hei, and then squatted down to feed Xiao Hua with one piece.

Very fair.

Song Qingshu couldn't help laughing. He Feng and Mrs. Liu came over with bowls. Nannan was still young and couldn't eat too much. Mrs. Liu's bowl was for both the grandparents and grandchildren, and He Feng only gave Song Qingshu half a bowl.

"Leave out the sugar, baby. It's only half a bowl. You can drink it."

Song Qingshu took it and lowered his head to drink. The cake just now was a little choked in his throat. He wanted to swallow it quickly, but He Feng didn't let him drink it directly. "It's too hot. Go drink some water on the table to calm it down."

After dinner, Song Qingshu played with Nannan in the yard. The cats and dogs ate from their food bowls. He Feng and Mrs. Liu were in the kitchen, boiling malt sugar.

As the pot gradually heated up, the liquid inside bubbling and bubbling, the once clear liquid gradually turning yellow and thickening.

He Feng controlled the heat to keep it from getting too high, while Mrs. Liu stirred it constantly with a spoon.

"So sweet, so fragrant!" Nannan sniffed the sweet aroma in the air, holding the paper airplane Song Qingshu had just folded.

Then he ran to the kitchen, "Is it ready? Is it ready?"

Children are always excited about this. Mrs. Liu nodded, "It'll be ready soon."

"Xiaofeng, do you have any sesame seeds at home? If you can't fit some sugar in a while, mix them with the sesame seeds. Let it cool and it will be sesame candy."

"Yes, we harvested a lot last year, and we have some fried ones too. I'll get some."

Song Qingshu took his daughter's hand and stepped back half a step to let He Feng out. As their figures brushed past, Song Qingshu could smell the sweet scent of the stove fire mixed with his body.

It felt different.

Soon, a small porcelain bowl of malt sugar was placed on the stove. The sesame seeds from the pot were mixed with the remaining sugar, and Mrs. Liu was still stirring.

The fire under the pot was no longer needed, so He Feng washed the chopping board and scrubbed it several times with loofah, wiping it clean in preparation for the sesame candy.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, He Feng removed the two bamboo sticks that had been placed at the door during the New Year. He then cut a bunch of bamboo chopsticks, washed them, and placed them in the chopstick rack.

Just pull out a few sticks, wait for the surface of the malt sugar to solidify, put them in and stir them, and roll out a piece of candy. You can use chopsticks to pull it longer and longer, and the color will turn white.

It can be eaten and played with.

The children like it, and Nannan is begging for it. He Feng still gives the first one to Song Qingshu and the second one to Nannan.

The candy is still a little warm, not too hot. "Kid, you can try to stir the one in your hand yourself. The malt sugar is very tough."

Mrs. Liu used a spatula to scoop out the sesame candy from the pot, put it on the chopping board, flatten it with a rolling pin, and wait for it to cool before cutting it into pieces.

He Feng also rolled a piece for Mrs. Liu, and the four of them, old and young, ate malt sugar in the yard, looking very warm.

"Teacher Song!" Wang Shun came running with Chen Shouye on his bicycle.

Song Qingshu was still chewing on some maltose. "Why are you two here?"

Wang Shun scratched his head. Unlike Chen Shouye, who was a little reserved, he said frankly, "Shouye asked me to do my homework. I

don't know how to do it, so I came to ask." "Okay, come upstairs, let me see." Song Qingshu turned and was about to go in, not knowing what to do with the candy in his hand. "Would you like some candy?"

"No need to ask, here you go." He Feng saw the two children enter the yard and took two more pairs of chopsticks. He tied them together and walked over, handing one to each of the two children.

"Why do you have maltose?" Wang Shun asked.

He Feng patted the boy's shoulder. He seemed to have grown a little taller than when Jin Yan got married. "You made this yourself. Try it and see if it's sweet."

Chen Shouye also took the candy, stood by and took two bites, then stopped.

"Why don't you eat it? Is it not tasty?" He Feng asked.

Chen Shouye clutched the chopsticks in his hand, licked his lips and said: "I want to take it home for my little sister to try."

"Eat it, and I'll wrap another piece for you to take home when we leave."

Song Qingshu also nodded, letting him eat it without worry. Chen Shouye took it in his hand again and learned how to stir the sugar from Nannan, and took the opportunity to take a bite when it stretched.

The sweetness was mixed with the unique aroma of wheat. It was not the sweetness that choked the throat, but the kind of very gentle sweetness that slowly melted between the lips and teeth, and the sweetness was very comfortable.

Seeing that he was going to teach the children, Mrs. Liu asked Nannan to watch by the side and not disturb the brothers' studies. Nannan stood by obediently and slurped the sugar.

He Feng saw them gathered around the small table, preparing to give a lesson, and came over to turn on the light.

He said something to Song Qingshu, and rode his bicycle to the field. He had to weed the land he had reserved for planting sunflowers and dig the soil in advance, and plant it when the weather warmed up.