Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 529 528 Fruit Danpi

It’s different when there’s someone to guide you. After a day of training, the escorts are all covered in dust and mud.

The instructors are strict and the escorts are serious.

Since we don't have that "egg" ourselves, it's like there's a sword hanging over our heads, and we're often frightened. Everyone is holding back their energy, and is really prepared to be "nuclearized".

Even though Tang Zhitong knew he couldn't win the fight, he still cheered himself up and kept up with the others, unwilling to be left behind.

The drill was a bit hard and tiring, but the food and treatment were very good.

There was only one big pot dish here - stewed potatoes, but it was very oily, with two spoonfuls per person. A thick layer of oil floated on the surface, and Tang Zhitong could taste that it was meat oil at one bite.

The big guys were silent, which was unusual for them. They just kept eating and made steamed buns one after another.

He enjoyed the steamed bread but ate less potatoes. I could tell at a glance that he planned to save some and take them back for his family to eat as a snack.

A lot of salt was put in the potatoes, and Tang Zhitong also had some left over. The meat oil solidified when it got cold, so as long as it didn't get tilted in the bag, there was no need to worry about the soup spilling out.

After dinner, there is a half-hour break.

Everyone was discussing the drill in groups of three or four, and how to fight back if mushroom eggs really fell.

Tang Zhitong did not join in the discussion. He took Fang Yuan out for some fresh air and a smoke, and quietly asked, "Brother Yuan, the food is not bad. Is there a shortage of oil here?"

"At least it's a little more than the local ration, but we can't eat like this every meal. I begged for this meal. What? Are you jealous?" Fang Yuan took a puff of his cigarette and joked.

"Hey, I don't want it, I just asked." Tang Zhitong wanted to remind Fang Yuan to get some, after all, he couldn't send it to him every day, but then he thought it was a bit of overstepping his authority, so he held back the rest of his words.

"Eat your fill. There's another meal tomorrow." Fang Yuan smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness in his smile. Just now when he was eating, he saw the escorts' movements and expressions. On the one hand, they were reluctant to eat the vegetables, but on the other hand, they were really stuffing the steamed bread into their mouths with all their might. It was estimated that after this meal, many people had eaten so much that it reached their throats.

Some people did eat too much, and during the afternoon training session, some people actually vomited...

After vomiting, the person stands aside, looking at his vomit helplessly, like a child who has done something wrong waiting for criticism from his parents.

"Go aside and take a rest first, and come back later." When the supervisor saw this, he came over and patted him on the shoulder without criticizing him.

After the drill, on the way back to the escort department in the afternoon, everyone sat in the truck bed and tacitly agreed not to mention the incident, and they all laughed and chatted about other things.

After everyone arrived at the company, other colleagues had already left work. Tang Zhitong did not go to the bathhouse. He went back to the Finance Department to wash his face, tidied up briefly, and then went home. The quinces were ready, so he had to go back to taste them.

When Tang Zhitong returned home in a sloppy manner, he saw Xiao Wang and Feng Zhen's bicycles under the gate. He took out corn from the space, packed a bag of sugar, and went back to the house.

"Brother, brother, when can I eat quinces?" Fengzhi came forward, her little face full of anticipation.

"How did you rehearse? Why did you get so dirty? Are you tired?" Classmate Xiao Wang felt very distressed when he saw Tang Zhitong's appearance.

"It's OK. I was a little dirty from all the work, but not too tired." Tang Zhitong lied, put down the sack, and took out the potatoes left over from lunch from his shoulder bag. Seeing that Zhang Guifang had already prepared the dishes, he said, "Mom, today's meal is quite oily, but a little salty. I left some, you can heat it up in the pot."

"Okay, don't worry about it. Go back and change your clothes." Seeing her son's appearance, Zhang Guifang felt distressed and urged him.

"Okay." Tang Zhitong was lazy for once and didn't even pour the corn into the ceramic jar. He was pulled back to the side room by classmate Xiao Wang.

"Take a shower later, I'll give you a massage." Classmate Xiao Wang helped Tang Zhitong take off his coat and put on a new set of clothes she had just found for her husband.

"Okay." Tang Zhitong agreed readily. He missed Xiao Wang's 398 set meal very much.

When Xiao Wang was in dance school, she not only learned dance, but also learned some massage techniques. When the training intensity was high, they would massage each other to help them recover faster.

When I changed my clothes and returned to the house, the corn had already been poured out by Zhang Guifang and the dishes had been stewed again, so it was time to eat.

Although the dish tonight was not made by Tang Zhitong, it tasted pretty good with the addition of meat oil.

"Brother, quinces, quinces." After dinner, Fengzhi stopped chasing Beibei to play and looked at Tang Zhitong eagerly.

"I'll make you some shredded pear. Go wash some hawthorns first. Wash more. I'll use them later." Although Tang Zhitong did not vomit at noon, he ate a lot and continued to digest the food.

"Let me cut it. You sit down and rest for a while." Fengzhen washed the dishes while Zhang Guifang went to get the pears.

Tang Zhitong was indeed a little tired, and was happy to be free, so he lit a cigarette and sat in front of the stove to rest.

"Wash the hawthorns, smash them twice with a garlic mortar, and pick out the seeds." Although Tang Zhitong was resting, he still had the strength to speak, and he directed Feng Zhi to turn around.

"You only know how to order children around. Why are you doing this? Making quinces?" Classmate Xiao Wang couldn't stand it and took out a garlic mortar to help.

"Make some fruit leather. It can be stored and you can take it whenever you want to eat it." Tang Zhitong said generously.

Tang Zhitong hasn't figured out how to promote this product in the foreign trade direction, but fruit leather has existed for many years, even in ancient times. As for why it is not popular now, Tang Zhitong guessed that it might be related to the high amount of sugar used, the labor cost, and the high heat required for baking.

Beibei didn't care about all this. He scratched Tang Zhitong's trouser legs with his little paws and meowed, as if reminding him: Did you forget something?

"Do you want to go to the bathroom? Come on, I'll take you there." Seeing this, Tang Zhitong guessed that Beibei wanted to fish, so he got up, opened the door, lifted the cotton curtain, and went out, with Beibei following closely behind.

Convenience is just an excuse for others to hear.

Sure enough, after coming out, Beibei did not go to the sand pit, but continued to meow at Tang Zhitong's feet.

Tang Zhitong didn't say anything either, and walked to the corner, where there were still two little silver fish.

With food, Beibei stopped crying and ate happily with a crunching sound.

Tang Zhitong glanced at the basket on the clothesline.

Last night Tang Zhitong found a bamboo basket, put the pears in it, and hung it on the clothesline to freeze overnight.

The rope is made of iron wire, which is smooth and cannot be caught by mice, thus effectively preventing the food from being stolen by mice.

In the morning, Tang Zhitong took the basket down and put it inside the house. It might be that Zhang Guifang took it out and froze it again.

The pears had not been defrosted and re-frozen enough times, and the surface had not turned black. Tang Zhitong was not in a hurry, so he said, "Just take your time. The only thing we have is time." Beibei finished eating the fish and ran over to rub Tang Zhitong's trouser legs.

"No, tomorrow." Tang Zhitong threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, bent down, grabbed Beibei Fate by the scruff of the neck and carried him into the main room.

Zhang Guifang cut four pears and gave each person a small bowl of shredded pears, which were then topped with a thick layer of quinces.

In this weather, both pears and quinces are in good condition.

"Mom, I'll share some with you." Tang Zhitong took a bite. The taste was so tempting and authentic, but Zhang Guifang didn't prepare it for herself.

"No, I'll eat the pear core. There's still a lot of meat on it, more than you." Zhang Guifang was also holding a bowl with the core left over from shredding the pear.

"Okay, then you should at least have some juice." Tang Zhitong put down the bowl and scooped two spoonfuls of quince soup mixed with a lot of fruit pulp for Zhang Guifang.

"Kid, how can I eat something so sour?" Although she said this, Zhang Guifang could not hide the relief on her face.

"If you feel uncomfortable in your stomach again, get up and eat something to fill your stomach. Steamed buns or corn bread will do. Don't force it." Tang Zhitong advised. Zhang Guifang's stomach problem hasn't recurred recently, so it's better to give her one more reminder to prevent it from happening again.

"Okay, I get it. Why is a grown man so nagging?" Although she was very pleased, Zhang Guifang still complained.

Tang Zhitong smiled and did not refute. Perhaps this was the way the older generation expressed their gratitude. They were not good at speaking and were not used to expressing their gratitude directly. They always expressed their approval in some seemingly "accusatory" words.

After eating these midnight snacks, Zhang Guifang and Fengzhen went out to light the earthen stove and the stove in the bathroom, preparing to boil water for Tang Zhitong.

As the school is closed tomorrow, Fengzhen and Fengzhi are not in a hurry to finish their homework tonight. Tang Zhitong is not idle either. He continues to supervise Fengzhi and Xiao Wang in picking hawthorn kernels, and he also joins in, intending to do more.

It is said that some factories will crush the hawthorn seeds with machines when producing hawthorn slices or fruit leather. As long as they are crushed enough, they will not have a greasy taste.

Tang Zhitong doesn’t have that kind of equipment, and this time he’s making it for his own family, so he doesn’t need to be so frugal.

It is said that fruit danpi was called "guozidan" during the Qing Dynasty. It was used to transmit intelligence and was swallowed immediately after reading. However, Tang Zhitong estimated that not too much sugar would be added at that time, so it might not have tasted very delicious.

Fruit leather is a bit troublesome to make, but it is not difficult. It has one more baking step than hawthorn cake.

Although the main ingredient of both is hawthorn, the ingredients are different. Hawthorn cake is sourer and has a relatively high water content, so its sales range is limited. Generally speaking, it is a childhood delicacy for children in big cities.

Without any crushing or filtering equipment, after Tang Zhitong cleaned the hawthorn pulp, he chopped it several times with a knife, trying to make the pulp smaller.

Then put water, sugar and fruit pulp into the stew pot and start boiling.

When making fruit leather, less water is needed. There is no fixed ratio between sugar and fruit pulp. If you like sugar, you can add more.

In order to make it taste better, Tang Zhitong not only added more sugar, but also secretly mixed it with a little honey.

After boiling for a while, Tang Zhitong would stir it twice and press down the larger fruit pulp with a spoon, so that the fruit leather would appear more delicate.

"Come on, keep stirring like this, don't stop." Tang Zhitong added too much water and the dish looked a little bland. He handed the spoon to Xiao Wang and went to mix the flour himself.

In order to achieve better coagulation effect, you can add a little bit of starch, but you cannot add cornstarch directly. Instead, mix it with water and pour it in.

Tang Zhitong didn’t have starch, so he could only make do with flour.

The family only had flour bought from the grain store, the kind with spots of bran. Tang Zhitong wanted to make it look more beautiful, so he used a small handful of his own "stock" - 85% flour.

In fact, there is a better flour than 73 flour, called "Fuqiang flour", with a flour yield between 78% and %. No one uses a ratio to refer to this flour because the name "Fuqiang flour" represents everything.

For ordinary people, flour is a bit of a luxury and not easy to buy. They only buy a few kilograms of it to make dumplings during major festivals such as the Spring Festival.

In the following years, residents of Beijing could only enjoy a small limited supply during the Spring Festival.

Tang Zhitong poured the mixed flour soup into the pot and stirred it quickly. The effect was obvious and it became visibly thick.

In fact, to make fruit leather, you just need to boil the pot. The reason for boiling it for a while longer is simply to allow the water to evaporate as quickly as possible to make it sticky.

"Euanzi, the water is ready." Zhang Guifang urged.

"Okay! Right away!" Tang Zhitong felt that it was almost time, so he asked Xiao Wang to take the kitchen knife and the oil spatula used by Zhang Guifang to make pancakes. He held the pan in one hand and the sugar in the other, and prepared to go back to the room.

Fengzhi wanted to follow, but was stopped by Zhang Guifang by grabbing her ear. Fengzhen saw her sister being humiliated and laughed with her hands covering her mouth.

"Brother, brother, don't eat it all. Leave some for me. I want to eat it tomorrow." Feng Zhi had her ears pulled and warned worriedly.

"Okay, I'll pick a big one for you tomorrow morning." Tang Zhitong agreed readily and returned to the room.

After returning to the room, Tang Zhitong cleaned the stove surface, wiped it with an oil spatula, then scooped a spoonful of the cooked hawthorn jam, spread it evenly on the stove surface, and leveled it with a spoon.

"The heat is just like this, no need to add more firewood. Just watch it first, and when it's a little drier, peel it off and put it in the tea tray, then rub it with oil, and then add another layer. I'm going to take a shower, it will be quick." Tang Zhitong instructed.

"Ah? Let me do it? I'm afraid I can't do it well." Student Xiao Wang was a little hesitant, fearing that it would be ruined.

"It's okay, just do it as long as it's not burned dry." Tang Zhitong thought about Feng Zhi's instructions and thought: If it's done badly, it won't be wasted, someone will naturally digest it.

It can't be bad, it just doesn't look very good.

When Tang Zhitong finished taking a shower and entered the house, the house was filled with the sweet smell of hawthorn and sugar.

"I think I did something wrong." Student Xiao Wang held a spoon with a worried look on his face.

"It's okay. I'm here. It won't be wasted." Tang Zhitong first put a few pieces of firewood into the stove, then took the spoon and glanced at the tea tray.

There were several works of Wang on the tea tray, of varying thicknesses.

This is the advantage of making your own fruit jelly. The finished product is called fruit jelly, and it doesn't look good. Cut it into strips with a knife and add a handful of sugar, and it becomes hawthorn strips. With the addition of sweetness, it tastes even better than fruit jelly.

(End of this chapter)