At 3 a.m., a single beam of light suddenly pierced the pitch-black darkness of Nianzi Mountain Village!
While the entire village was fast asleep, Li Yi was already up!
With only three days left until the sugar factory’s order is due, he now has to make at least 1,200 to 1,300 sheets of liangpi every day.
Without any machinery, this workload was still quite heavy.
More importantly, Third Sister had been helping out a few days ago, which had lightened Li Yi’s workload considerably.
However, since his eldest sister had returned, living space at home had become tight, so last night his third sister and Tang Xue had gone to stay at the educated youth commune.
As a result, the entire task of making liangpi today fell entirely on his shoulders.
He took the dough prepared last night out of the mixing bowl one by one, placed it on the cutting board, and kneaded it into appropriately sized balls. Then Li Yi began washing the dough.
This is a labor-intensive and water-intensive task, and it is also the step in making liangpi that most tests one’s skill.
If the dough is washed properly, the resulting liangpi will be chewy and the yield will be high.
Conversely, if it’s not washed properly, the result will be a small amount of liangpi and a lot of dough lumps.
Just as Li Yi was busy at work, the door to the main house suddenly swung open.
The wooden door’s “creak” was jarring, startling Li Yi.
He looked up and saw his older sister leaning against the doorframe, watching him!
Li Mei hadn’t slept all night. Although she was exhausted, the thought of how the situation might play out kept her wide awake.
It wasn’t until three in the morning that she finally began to doze off, but just as she was drifting off, she heard a noise outside. Not knowing what was going on, she immediately got up to investigate.
Seeing her younger brother vigorously kneading dough all by himself, she was at a loss!
Li Mei had never eaten or even seen liangpi before, so she had no idea what Li Yi was doing.
“Sis, am I keeping you awake?”
“No, I just can’t sleep…”
She stopped mid-sentence; she knew she’d said the wrong thing.
Sure enough, Li Yi looked startled for a moment, then asked, “Is it because of what happened between you and my brother-in-law?”
Li Mei hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Sis, don’t dwell on this too much! If he really cared about you, we wouldn’t be forcing you to divorce him!”
But Li Yi’s tone shifted immediately, and he said gravely, “If he’s just stringing you along with empty words, and in reality he’s on the same page as his parents and siblings, then don’t blame me, your brother-in-law, for breaking you two up!”
“No… he wouldn’t do that!”
“That would be the best outcome!”
Then Li Yi added, “Sis, I’m not trying to break you two up. I just want you to be happy, not to keep putting up with this just to make things work!”
“Yeah, I know!”
“Sis, go back inside and get some more sleep. I’ve got work to do!” Li Yi said.
“Do you need my help? You look pretty tired,” Li Mei asked.
“Sis, you’re pregnant. I wouldn’t dare ask you to help! And you need to take care of yourself—don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
Feeling her brother’s genuine concern, Li Mei’s mood suddenly lifted, and she nodded. “I know!”
However, she didn’t go back to her room to sleep. Instead, she sat on the doorstep, quietly watching Li Yi work!
Li Yi didn’t say much either; his movements weren’t slowed in the slightest. After more than two hours, he finally finished washing all 250 pounds of flour.
Afterward, Li Yi set up the steamer and began steaming the liangpi!
Li Mei watched in amazement as the lumps of proofed white dough in her brother’s hands were transformed into sheets of skin as thin as cicada wings and chunks of gluten as smooth as tofu.
She recalled how, after returning home yesterday afternoon, her brother had cooked all by himself—his skilled and masterful culinary techniques had truly impressed her.
It was clear that in the two or three years since she’d gotten married, her younger brother had changed a great deal.
Not only had he become more mature, but he had also gained new skills.
What a wonderful younger brother he is…
It was around five or six in the morning—the time when people are both sleepy and hungry!
Once the first batch of liangpi was ready, Li Yi personally prepared two servings—one for himself and one for his older sister—and they sat down in the kitchen to eat.
It was Li Mei’s first time trying liangpi, and she was instantly won over by this delicacy from the Shaanxi region.
Since she was pregnant, her appetite was much larger than usual, so after finishing one serving, she actually felt like she wanted more.
Li Yi picked up on her hint and immediately prepared another serving for her.
After finishing two servings of liangpi, drowsiness suddenly overcame her. Li Mei said a quick goodbye to her younger brother and went back to the inner room to rest.
Meanwhile, Li Yi continued steaming liangpi in the kitchen!
“Beep, beep, beep…”
The production brigade’s shrill whistle signaling the start of work roused all the educated youths and commune members in the village. At the same time, the sounds of roosters crowing, dogs barking, and children crying filled the air.
Nianzi Mountain Village, which had been quiet all night, seemed to come alive in an instant.
Li Shankui and his wife also got up. Seeing their son Li Yi making white pancakes, Li Shankui swallowed hard and immediately moved to grab one.
Li Yi immediately said, “Dad, go wash your face and brush your teeth first!”
Although he knew the villagers didn’t place much importance on such things, he had insisted that his parents wash their faces and rinse their mouths every day since his rebirth, all to ensure his father’s good health!
Li Shankui had clearly grown accustomed to his son’s persistent reminders, so he carried the washbasin outside to wash up.
While his parents were washing up, Li Yi prepared a serving of cold noodles for each of them and placed two freshly baked hot flatbreads on the stove.
After Li Shankui finished washing up, he expertly carried the cold noodles and flatbreads from the stove outside, then squatted under the eaves and began to eat heartily.
Accompanied by the white flatbread, Li Shankui slurped down the noodles and broth together. Finally, he poured a bowl of plain water to rinse out the bowl—saving himself the trouble of washing dishes!
Having eaten his fill, Li Shankui immediately turned to Li Yi and said, “You keep busy for a bit; I’m going to borrow a cart from the production team!”
“Okay!”
Zhang Yuehong helped Li Yi place the white flatbreads into a specially made bamboo basket while asking with some concern, “Son, are you really planning to let your third sister set up the stall all by herself?”
After discussing Sister Wan’s situation last night, Li Yi had announced another matter!
Namely, that for the next few days, he would stop going into town to set up his stall and instead focus all his efforts on preparing for his wedding to Tang Xue.
As for the liangpi business, it would all be up to his third sister, Li Na, from now on!
Upon hearing Li Yi’s decision, Zhang Yuehong felt a bit worried.
Li Yi smiled and said, “What’s wrong, Mom? Are you worried?”
“Well, she is just a young girl after all. What if something happens to her?”
Li Yi immediately reassured her, “Mom, don’t worry. My sister’s been handling everything these past few days—I haven’t even had to lift a finger to help!”
“But this time you’re not even going to pick her up. I’m worried…”
“Don’t worry. My third sister isn’t as overthinker as you are—she’s actually thrilled about it!” Li Yi said.
“Hmph, she’s just a reckless fool!” Zhang Yuehong said, somewhat exasperated.
“Mom, don’t worry. I’m actually going to celebrate Captain Wang’s father’s birthday tomorrow. I’ll mention it to them then and ask their men to keep an extra eye out during their regular patrols!” Li Yi said.
“All right, then!”
Although she was still a little worried, her son had said so, and her daughter was willing too—what else could she say?
…….