The family enjoyed a delicious meal of scallion pancakes made with the previously mentioned white flour.
Coarse grains scratched their throats, making it painful to swallow, but the scallion pancakes made with white flour and lard didn’t cause this discomfort.
Not just the kids, Feng Qingxue herself also preferred refined grains.
Their family had three hundred jin of wheat, of which Feng Qingxue, with the help of Lu Tianjun and Guan Cheng, selected and washed one hundred jin. She picked out all traces of chaff, husk, and dirt mixed into the wheat. Although there were very few impurities as it had been dried on the ground, she couldn’t overlook them completely. She repeated the process of washing three to four times until only clean and full grains of wheat remained, which she then dried.
Next, Feng Qingxue processed over two hundred jin of corn, which also contained impurities such as corn silk and husk. While it wasn’t necessary to rinse corn, she still carefully wiped it with a clean, damp cloth.
Then, borrowing the mule cart from the brigade, Feng Qingxue, Lu Tianjun, and Guan Cheng transported the wheat, corn, and one hundred jin of rice to the city mill.
Wanglou Brigade had several stone mills and rice hullers, but Feng Qingxue didn’t like to use them.
First of all, they were physically exhausting. The millstone was large and heavy, and it took all of her strength to turn it in round after round. It was impossible to separate the flour and the bran, so the outcome was coarse flour. The same was true for the cornmeal. The rice huller was equally burdensome, resulting in a lot of broken rice and brown rice.
The mill was an entirely different story. The national mill was equipped with electric tools that gave free choice of the kind of product one wanted.
As it was just after the busy autumn season and the farmers had new grain, along with city folks who had relatives in the countryside and could access fresh grain, there were always those in need of white rice and flour. Therefore, in front of the mill, a long line had formed, with people pushing wheelbarrows or bicycles, or carrying shoulder poles, lined up, waiting for their turn while taking rest.
Feng Qingxue glanced at the sky and the long queue ahead, and while picking up the prepared basket, she told Guan Cheng and Lu Tianjun, "You guys watch over our mule cart and grain. I’ll go to a friend’s house for some hot water and drop off some corn for them. They’ve helped me in the past."
Lu Tianjun thought she was referring to the time when she was begging and the family had helped her, so he had no objections to her giving them thirty jin of corn. His father had already handed the running of the family over to Feng Qingxue, so he had even less reason to object.
"Aunt, I’ll go with you." Guan Cheng immediately jumped off the cart.
After saying that, he hoisted the basket onto his shoulder.
Eating and dressing well at the Lu’s house and benefiting from a nutritious diet, Guan Cheng had grown considerably in just six months. He had also gained significant physical strength. The mere thirty jin of corn wasn’t a challenge for him, and he carried it with ease.
Feng Qingxue thought for a moment, "Alright, you go with me, Tianjun, you wait here, we’ll be back soon."
"I got it, Aunt!" he replied.
Old Man Xu wasn’t home, but his wife was, though she didn’t bother looking at the grain Feng Qingxue brought, she just stared at Guan Cheng.
Feng Qingxue found it very strange, "Mrs. Xu, what’s the matter?"
Guan Cheng was also puzzled as he looked back at the older woman. He didn’t know her at all.
Old Woman Xu asked, trembling, "You... Is your surname Guan? The one from the Guan family?"
Feng Qingxue and Guan Cheng were both taken aback. The former asked, "Mrs. Xu, do you know Guan Cheng? His surname is Guan. You’re a Guan too, could you be from the same family?" As she spoke, she remembered Mrs Xu’s surname. They usually just referred to her as Old Woman Xu, and it had slipped her mind.
Today, I am unable to update any more, so there are still four Chapters. The remaining three Chapters will be updated at noon. I will make up for it tomorrow.