A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 67 Honey Pumpkin Cake

Zhang Niu carried the small beehive home. Along the way, many villagers would ask, "Zhang Wa, where did you find that beehive?" "Your beehive is really nice," Zhang Niu would reply with a laugh.

That's how it is in the village; everyone asks a few questions about everything. Honeycomb is a good thing. It tastes sweet, eating more is good for your skin, and besides, it's a wild honeycomb. It has to be of good quality. Everyone in the village likes it very much.

Dad was surprised to bring back the beehive. Mom kept asking if anyone had been stung, and only felt relieved after Zhang Niu answered. The beehive is nice, but you can't let the bees sting you, right?

While everyone was distracted, the little girl next to me reached out her hand, dipped it in the honey, and licked it. The honey solidified into a thin layer. Dad then put the honey into a glass jar and sealed it tightly. The mice in our house are usually very clever, especially when it comes to this honeycomb.

Mom didn't let my little sister eat too much, and if she did, she'd soak it in hot water to reduce the sweetness. Even so, it was still too sweet. My little sister exclaimed, "Mom, how about we make pumpkin cakes?"

Seeing the pile of large pumpkins in the corner, Mom had an idea. Since we had plenty of pumpkins at home, she thought, "Why not add some honey or something? Maybe it'll taste even better."

Pumpkins are a common crop; almost every household has several hundred kilograms to feed their pigs. Each time, some is chopped up and mixed into the pig feed. Large pumpkins weigh twenty or thirty kilograms, while smaller ones also weigh several kilograms. For home consumption, we usually pick the tender, pointed leaves when the pumpkin vines are just beginning to climb, and then add the later, tender shoots.

Without further ado, Mom selected a few tender pumpkins, and Zhang Niu went inside to find flour. They mixed in honey. Normally, when they didn't have honey, they'd crack in a few duck eggs, but now they had this homemade honey.

Zhang Niu kneaded the dough and handed over all the tasks to his mother. He then tended the fire in front of the stove. Every now and then, his mother would take a bamboo basket and fry pumpkin cakes in the hot oil, occasionally turning the golden pumpkin cakes with bamboo chopsticks.

My younger sister and Wenwen from next door were both drooling as they watched the golden-brown pumpkin cakes frying in the oil in the kitchen. Pumpkin cakes with honey were even more tender than those with eggs. And the color was just as appealing.

The pumpkin cakes that had been scooped out of the water were placed on a plate filled with white sugar. After piling them up a few times, they were covered with white sugar granules. The little sister and Wenwen picked up their chopsticks and took a bite of the hot pumpkin cakes.

"Eat slowly. Don't burn yourself. Nobody's going to take it from you." Mom was still picking up pumpkin cakes from the pot.

"Auntie's pumpkin cakes are so delicious!" Wenwen said after taking a bite.

"Wenwen has such a sweet tongue. Please don't be shy, Auntie."

Zhang Niu also grabbed a pumpkin cake and put it in his mouth. The dessert had a honey flavor. Adding honey made it different. It was crisp and not sticky when bitten. This kind of pumpkin cake was authentic, especially since sticky pumpkin cakes were not good.

My mom made a big plate this time, and sent some to Wenwen's house in a smaller dish. Our two families often visit each other. We couldn't finish it all ourselves. These things taste best when they're hot, fluffy and crispy. Last time at the opera, those two pumpkin cakes on a skewer cost two yuan when deep-fried—that's outrageous!

After eating a few pumpkin cakes, Zhang Niu felt a bit bloated and let out a burp, indicating that he had eaten too much.

Zhang Niu didn't eat much for dinner. He just packed a small bag of pumpkin cakes to take back to Happy Little Abode as a late-night snack.

Zhang Niu had just put down the bag when he returned to Happy Cottage when the little one jumped onto the table, grabbed a pumpkin cake with his tiny paw, and took a bite. Wow... this little guy has a really sharp nose! He knew there was something delicious in the bag as soon as he came in! Maybe it was the aroma of honey that attracted him.

Little Blackie nuzzled against Zhang Niu's feet, probably because it was time for dinner. There was some porridge left over from breakfast in the kitchen, so that would do. Lazy people like him cook from morning till night.

It was already dark outside, and the quacking of ducks could be heard from outside. It seemed they needed to be taken into the duck shed; these days, the ducks would quack loudly as soon as a light wasn't turned on at night. I reminded Zhang Niu, that forgetful owner, to hurry and get them into the shed to rest.

Even with the light on, Zhang Niu couldn't resist grumbling. "You bunch of ducks, you're so noisy even though I keep you around. Always rushing me to open the door. And you're quacking away at the crack of dawn, just like always." The ducks, oblivious to the noise, continued quacking, a few pecking at Zhang Niu's shoelaces.

He left the duck shed grumbling and saw a few particularly mischievous ducklings still in the water, pecking at their feathers. Zhang Niu was always helpless against them. No matter how he tried to shoo them away, they wouldn't come to a stop, so he usually left them outside to spend the night.

Back in the yard, the three pigeons had already flown back to their nest. Seeing Zhang Niu enter, they came out of their nest and landed on his shoulder, stroking his smooth feathers. The pigeons gently pecked at his neck, making Zhang Niu feel ticklish and uncomfortable. "Big Red, stop fooling around!" This pigeon with a black feather on its head was called Big Red, and the other two were undoubtedly called Second Red and Third Red. This is how laziness and saving effort are seen; even those three wolves are like that.

The three pigeons now fly out during the day and return at night, occasionally bringing back their prey. Last time, Zhang Niu specifically asked Qian Pangzi and the others why these mixed-breed pigeons were larger than their counterparts and could hunt. After asking, they learned that these pigeons carried some eagle genes. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so expensive.

Zhang Niu treasured these three pigeons. Qian Pangzi had wanted to buy one, but Zhang Niu refused. Every time Qian Pangzi came, he was attacked by the three pigeons. It seemed Qian Pangzi had eaten some of their own kind in the past...

Zhang Niu, unable to sleep in bed that night, went to his spatial dimension and found Little Dot frolicking with the red bees. A beehive made of mud had already been built on the branch of the plum tree.

Bees flew back and forth along the pond, while the sound of bombers added to the lively atmosphere.

Zhang Niu, who was watching from the side, picked a yellowish green plum and popped it into his mouth. It was sweet and sour, quite delicious. Now, many small fruit saplings have sprouted along the fruit trees by the pond.

The space gave Zhang Niu the feeling that it would likely change drastically in a while. Many traces were already visible. For Zhang Niu, however the space changed, it didn't really matter.

Zhang Niu still hoped that the space would produce a sun or something, and every time he came in, he would find that there were some new things inside.

The eels by the pond have now all started sneaking under the fruit trees and making little holes. The bighead carp in the pond are already bigger than those raised outside. Their bodies are turning pale white, somewhat resembling the skin color of stream fish.

The fish in the pond would leap and bound at certain times, adding a lot of fun to the space. Now, with that large swarm of bees, the space was no longer monotonous.

Zhang Niu, munching on a green plum, emerged from the spatial dimension, ignoring the bee and the little creature. Just as he lay down on the bed, the little creature followed him out. Zhang Niu chuckled; this little creature certainly knew how to pick its time.

First update, sorry it's a bit late. Please still add to your favorites and recommend. I've corrected yesterday's mistakes.