A family with three widows, after severing ties with relatives, she became wealthy and married into

Chapter 28 explains why you men are no good.

After sleeping for three hours, Tian Tian took flour and baking powder to Liu San Niang's house.

Liu San Niang could operate two pots by herself, while Tian Tian kneaded the dough on the side.

"Do you want pancakes for breakfast?" Liu San Niang asked casually.

"Let's eat steamed buns," Tian Tian replied casually.

She bought two bags of yeast powder in the system for one penny. She added one bag of yeast powder to every pound of flour, so she bought two pounds of flour.

First, scoop out the hot water from the small pot in the middle of the stove and let it cool to a warm temperature. Pour it into the yeast powder, add some sugar, stir well, and let it stand for a few minutes. When the yeast powder starts to bubble and ferment, it means that the yeast has been activated.

On the other side, Tian Tian put the flour in a bowl and added a little salt and sugar.

Pour the activated yeast water into the flour and stir slowly until the flour becomes flocculent.

Now you can start kneading the dough.

At first, the dough is quite rough and sticky, but as the kneading time increases, the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

While kneading the dough, Tian Tian also added a little lard, which made the steamed buns softer.

Put the kneaded dough back into the bowl, cover it with a damp linen cloth, and let it ferment in a corner of the kitchen.

"Auntie, it will be ready to eat after steaming it for half an hour."

Liu San Niang replied, "Alright, in half an hour, it'll be about time to change the soy milk in the pot."

While the soy milk was being changed in the pot, the dough had fermented and doubled in size.

"It's so well done?!" Liu San Niang was completely stunned.

She'd made dough before, but never this well.

Tian Tian took out the dough, gently pressed it to release the air, and then divided it into small portions, each weighing about thirty grams.

Simply roll it into a ball, and you're done!

Liu San Niang took out a bamboo steamer, laid a layer of fine linen cloth on the bottom, and helped place the steamed buns on the steamer, leaving some space between each bun.

Let it sit for a while to allow the dough to ferment a second time.

Change the water in the pot and bring it to a boil.

Place it in the steamer and steam for fifteen minutes, and it's done.

After finishing, Tian Tian did not open the pot lid immediately, but let the steamed buns sit in the pot for two or three minutes before opening the lid. This can prevent the surface of the steamed buns from shrinking due to the cold air.

"Auntie, look." While the other pot was still running, Liu San Niang changed the soy milk and continued making bean curd sheets.

Tian Tian gave her a steamed bun.

When Liu San Niang took it, she saw that the surface of the steamed bun was smooth and without cracks, and she could feel its softness when she held it in her hand.

She pressed down in disbelief, and the moment she released it, the steamed bun bounced back.

Tian Tian boiled the water in the pot again and put another steamer basket of steamed buns on it to steam.

"Auntie, you should try some."

Liu San Niang broke the steamed bun apart with ease, without much effort.

The moment it was broken open, wisps of heat wafted out, carrying a sweet aroma.

The inside of the steamed bun is white and fluffy like a cloud, with distinct textures and many small air holes.

She took a bite; it was soft, elastic, and chewy.

The aroma of noodles, with a subtle sweetness...

"It's so soft!" she exclaimed.

"Sweetie, your aunt has never had such soft steamed buns before."

Tian Tian also picked up a steamed bun. The soft texture and light wheat aroma made her murmur "Mmm" in admiration.

Environment really does change a person; she had never made steamed buns on her own before.

I didn't expect to succeed on the first try.

"Auntie, how about we sell these in the county from now on?"

When Liu San Niang woke up from her nap, she was really hungry. The steamed buns were soft and delicious, and she finished them in just a few bites.

"Selling this? What about the bean curd skin..."

"Auntie," Tian Tian waved her hand, "I wasn't talking about now."

"What I mean is... if someone else makes the bean curd skin, the price will definitely be driven down."

"Back then, we definitely wouldn't be making as much money as we are now."

Liu San Niang nodded thoughtfully. With more people doing it and lower costs, the price will definitely be driven down.

"Okay, Tian Tian, ​​your aunt will listen to you."

"These steamed buns are delicious, they're sure to sell well."

The second batch of steamed buns was ready, and Tian Tian picked them out one by one. "You can put fillings inside these, just like the meat pies we ate the other day."

To be honest, Liu San Niang said, "The dough for those meat pies isn't as soft as this."

"I'll buy some meat another day and cook it for my aunt to try."

Liu San Niang sighed, "I never knew Tian Tian was so capable."

Tian Tian's smile froze for a moment, and she made up an excuse, "In the past... in the Tian family, being capable wasn't a good thing."

“That’s true!” Liu San Niang had no doubt whatsoever.

In the Tian family, if you're too capable, they can keep you working yourself to death.

*

During the day, Liu San Niang went to find someone to build a cooking pot.

She originally had a fairly harmonious relationship with her neighbors, and they used to help each other out.

This time, however, she approached several families, hoping to hire several men to help build the stove at a wage of fifty coins per person, but they all refused.

"Third Sister, it's fine to build a stove for your family, but to build one for the Lu family... let's forget about it."

Zhao Jinhua stood at the door, with her husband Guo Da beside her.

“That’s right,” Guo Da replied. “The Lu family has three widows; how can any man come to their door?”

There's always gossip around a widow's door!

"It wouldn't be worth it if they cursed me to death."

Liu San Niang rolled her eyes at the couple, "Some people... clearly they're incompetent, but they can always blame everything on others."

Guo Da jumped up. "Liu San Niang, what are you saying, you stinking woman? Who can't you call yourself?"

Zhao Jinhua has been married into the Guo family for so many years, but the couple has never had a child.

Although everyone says it's because of Zhao Jinhua.

But some people privately speculate that it's Guo Da's problem.

When Guo Da was around ten years old, he was apprenticed to a carpenter and injured his leg while cutting down trees on the mountain.

Later, his leg healed without leaving any symptoms.

Now people are speculating whether the man was actually damaged back then.

Zhao Jinhua married into the family from a neighboring county and knew nothing about these things.

Women like Lu Tao and Liu San Niang, who married into the village from other counties, didn't know either.

The Guo family also intentionally concealed it.

Liu San Niang's words did not imply that Guo Da was incompetent.

What she meant was that even though the men of these widows died for various reasons, they insisted on blaming the women.

Seeing how agitated Guo Da was, she realized that her words had caused a misunderstanding.

But she didn't want to explain.

"What?" Liu San Niang retorted defiantly, "What power do we widows have that we could bring death to our husbands?"

"If we can bring you to your deaths, does that mean you men are incompetent?"

After she finished speaking, she quickly went home.

She was also afraid that Guo Da would get angry and cause trouble, so she didn't have time to argue with him about these things right now.

"How is it? Have you found the person?" Lu Tao asked.

Liu San Niang patted the dust off her clothes and clicked her tongue, "No..."

"these people..."

Lu Tao felt guilty, "It's all our fault..."

"What are you saying?" Liu San Niang interrupted Lu Tao's self-reproach. "Sister Lu, I'm a widow too. I've been a widow for so many years!"

"These people..." she scoffed.

"Just you wait and see. Once we're doing well, they'll definitely come running to get close to us!"

"I'm going to deliver goods this afternoon, and I'll also ask someone from the county to come back and build a stove for us."

Liu San Niang snorted and put her hands on her hips, "I don't believe it! With money, we're not afraid of not having anyone to do our work!"