Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me-Chapter 32 - 31 The Role of the Stream

Xu Niannian, touched, looked at Xu Zhiqiang, yet she didn’t say thanks.

She knew Xu Zhiqiang didn’t need it; besides, between siblings, such formalities seemed out of place.

Luckily, before she left her room, she remembered to cover her face.

Now was not the time, at least not until she had taken the medicine for a week or two.

On the stove, a big pot of water was heated, and upon seeing Xu Niannian arrive, Xu Zhiqiang hurriedly said, “There’s hot water in the pot, go wash your face, and tell me whatever you need done.”

Xu Niannian acknowledged with a hum, moving adeptly to fetch water and wash her face clean.

She wanted to experiment with the pumpkin pie recipe from the Gourmet Food Manual, curious about any differences from the ones she made before.

But the manual stated that it had to be made with creek water from the space, and she couldn’t possibly enter the space to fetch water with Xu Zhiqiang watching.

Moreover, the creek water in the space was silver, which would be quite a sight for Xu Zhiqiang.

With that in mind, Xu Niannian found an excuse to send Xu Zhiqiang to her room, to carry Xu Duoyu to sleep with Xu Zhicheng.

Since she and Xu Zhiqiang were going out to sell pastries, Xu Duoyu would have to be left in Xu Zhicheng’s care.

Xu Zhiqiang, not thinking otherwise, immediately left the kitchen after Xu Niannian’s instruction.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Niannian quickly grabbed a bucket, slipped into the space, and filled it to the brim with water.

Just as she stepped out of the space, Xu Zhiqiang lifted the kitchen curtain and came in.

Seeing Xu Niannian actually carrying a full bucket of water, he was somewhat taken aback.

Xu Niannian, upon seeing Xu Zhiqiang, was already stunned.

Oh my, how could he be so fast?

He saw it!

She, she, she, how was she going to explain?

Most crucially, the water in the bucket was silver, and Xu Zhiqiang, being such a clever man, would surely be suspicious.

As Xu Niannian agonized over how to explain, Xu Zhiqiang finally snapped out of his surprise.

“From now on, just let me handle fetching the water.”

He figured that Xu Niannian hadn’t done much physical work before, and although her temperament had improved, her body, unaccustomed to labor, would surely struggle with carrying such a large bucket of water.

Xu Zhiqiang’s calm reaction startled Xu Niannian for a moment.

What was going on?

Didn’t he find it very strange?

Silver water!

Before the thought could settle, Xu Niannian’s eyes darted to the bucket and she suddenly realized that the originally silver water had turned transparent, indistinguishable from ordinary water.

Xu Niannian was puzzled.

Could it be that the water was only silver inside the space?

While it was weird, Xu Niannian felt a greater sense of relief.

That was close, almost discovered.

It seemed next time she entered the space, she had to ensure her surroundings were secure first.

There were still two old pumpkins at home.

Xu Niannian had a good memory, and the recipe was simple, she had glanced over it hurriedly last night and memorized the steps.

Xu Zhiqiang, because of tending the fire, had gotten himself dirty, so Xu Niannian told him to take a bath.

Following the steps in the recipe, Xu Niannian first peeled the pumpkin, washed it clean, then sliced it thinly and soaked the slices in a ladle of water.

Since she was going to make pastry, out of the wheat flour Xu Niannian bought yesterday, five pounds were glutinous rice flour.

After soaking the pumpkin in stream water for about ten minutes according to the recipe, Xu Niannian finally took out the pumpkin slices and placed them on the pot to steam.

While the pumpkin slices were steaming, she took out the glutinous rice flour and poured a ladle of stream water over it.

This being her first attempt, and not sure if the method from the space was reliable, she didn’t dare to prepare too much, scooping only three bowls of glutinous rice flour.

According to her previous experience, glutinous rice flour didn’t need to be soaked in water.

Xu Niannian even doubted whether it could still be used after being soaked in water?

It was at this moment that Xu Niannian noticed some changes in the water soaking the glutinous rice flour.

A faint layer of black material surfaced, so light in color that Xu Niannian almost thought it was the reflection from the aluminum basin.

The white glutinous rice flour was at the bottom of the water and hadn’t mixed with the water as Xu Niannian had imagined.

Instead, there was a clear separation; the glutinous rice flour settled at the bottom of the basin, water at the top, with the black material appearing like small particles of dust.

Xu Niannian couldn’t help thinking of the impurities her body had expelled after she had drunk the spring water previously.

Looking at the black dust floating on the water with a sense of eeriness, she actually felt it was somewhat similar to her reaction after drinking the spring water.

Could it be that just as the spring water enabled one’s body to undergo Bone Cleansing and Marrow Washing after drinking, this stream water could have a similar effect on plants or food?

No, that’s wrong, plants don’t have marrow or bones.

Could it be the secretion of impurities?

Xu Niannian didn’t pay close attention when she was soaking the pumpkin slices, as the color was very faint, and since pumpkin is yellow, it wasn’t easy to notice.

After soaking for about ten minutes or so, Xu Niannian quickly poured out the water.

The soaked glutinous rice flour was only slightly damp on the surface.

Xu Niannian felt that the glutinous rice flour seemed even whiter after soaking, to the point of almost glowing.

Guessing the time, the pumpkin slices were nearly ready, so Xu Niannian opened the lid of the pot.

As soon as she lifted the lid, a rich fragrance of pumpkin filled the air, so intense that Xu Niannian could even taste the sweetness in the air.

After cleaning up, Xu Zhiqiang wanted to help Xu Niannian in the kitchen.

The moment he lifted the curtain, he was attracted by the sweet aroma.

A wonderfully tempting fragrance of pumpkin wafted through the air, involuntarily making one’s mouth water.

Xu Zhiqiang didn’t particularly like sweets, but smelling this aroma, surprisingly, he didn’t find it unpleasant, rather, he felt like the cravings in his stomach were being stirred up.

Xu Niannian too was shocked, followed by a surge of intense excitement.

It was worthy of being a product from the space.

In her joy, Xu Niannian quickly took out the pumpkin slices, mashed them into pumpkin puree, and mixed it with the glutinous rice flour.

Following the method described in the recipe, she stirred clockwise continuously.

She kept stirring until everything turned golden yellow, and after sprinkling a small amount of white sugar, she took it out and kneaded it into small round cakes.

Xu Niannian was dexterous, and her skill perfected in her previous life allowed her to shape all the pumpkin cakes to nearly the same size and put them back in the pot to steam again.

Once cooked, she took them out, heated up the pot, and placed them on top to bake, until both sides turned golden brown, and then took them out.

As the recipe instructed, she dumped them all into the bucket filled with the stream water.

Xu Zhiqiang originally wanted to help out but realized he couldn’t do much, so he could only stand there foolishly watching Xu Niannian busy herself.