Chapter 445: Chapter 438: The Qingming Pastry Banquet
Unconsciously, it had been almost two months since she and Tian Xinhua arrived at Huangyuan County. Just the other day, she took a group of students for plein air painting, right behind the school on a small hillside. Springtime had brought a burst of colorful flowers to the hillside, making for a picturesque scene.
Sisi assigned homework tasks and dispersed the students to start painting, while she herself took a basket and went to pick Qingming grass. At this time of the year, the Qingming grass was at its freshest. Sisi had noticed it on her way to work earlier and planned to pick some to make Qingming Cake.
Yesterday, Granny Zhao even called to remind her to make Qingming Cake and asked if there were any bamboo shoots around. If not, she said she would send some over. Sisi couldn’t help but laugh—without express delivery, the postal service was incredibly slow, and by the time the bamboo shoots were shipped from Capital City, they would have probably gone bad.
Dismissing Granny Zhao’s loving concern for her granddaughter, Sisi was now caught up with the idea of making the cakes herself. This was her and Tian Xinhua’s first Qingming festival after getting married; she couldn’t treat it lightly.
"Mr. He, what are you going to do with all these grasses you’re picking?"
A girl with rosy cheeks boldly asked Sisi. She had been observing for a while, and her curiosity got the better of her, leading her to approach and ask. Her hands kept busy, helping Sisi pick Qingming grass.
Sisi smiled and replied: "This is Qingming grass. In my hometown, around this time every year, we use this grass and glutinous rice flour to make a very delicious snack."
"It’s for eating!"
The student gulped, her mouth watering. Considering how beautiful Mr. He was, the treats she made must surely taste amazing.
Sisi was taken aback: Is there a direct connection between one’s looks and their cooking skills?
"During Qingming, we make dough figurines to eat, and my mother’s dough figurines are really beautiful," interjected another girl who had crowded around.
Dough figurines!
That reminded Sisi that the women in the north of S province were not only hardworking but also very skillful with their hands. They could create beautiful paper cuttings and shape lifelike dough figurines, each one as vivid as the real thing.
"Really? I’ve never seen what dough figurines look like," Sisi commented.
"I’ll bring some back for you next time I go home, Mr. He. I’m not bragging, but the dough figurines my mom makes are guaranteed to be the prettiest," boasted the girl who had interjected.
"My mom’s dough figurines are the prettiest! Mr. He, I’ll also bring you some; they’re sure to be better looking than Liu Shanxing’s," the red-cheeked girl said, not willing to be outdone.
"Mr. He, don’t believe Liu Qingtao’s words—my mom’s are the best!" Liu Shanxing rushed to argue.
Turns out Liu Shanxing and Liu Tao were from the same village, having grown up playing together. They were classmates all the way from elementary school through middle and high school, and unexpectedly ended up in the same class in college, too. It’s like the inextricable monkey dung—the confusion that just can’t be cut away!
These two would always compete over who was better, even when it came to something as simple as wearing clothes. Over time, their classmates had grown accustomed to their rivalry.
Unable to hold back her laughter, Sisi stopped the two endearing girls, "Liu Shanxing, Liu Qingtao, stop arguing. I believe what both of you are saying; your mothers are both very skilled. How about this? Once my Qingming Cake is done, I’ll invite you both to try it. Sounds good?"
"That would be wonderful! It’s sure to taste great."
Liu Shanxing and Liu Qingtao instantly forgot their argument and began praising Sisi happily, while the other students clamored to taste Sisi’s cooking.
Sisi agreed to all of them, but internally she was groaning with the thought of having to cater to so many. If she was inviting this class, she couldn’t leave out the students from the other classes. She was responsible for six first-year classes, totaling over two hundred students—how could she possibly make enough with just one pair of hands!
Thinking it over, she had an idea in her heart; but she still needed to give the homeroom teacher a heads up and contact the cafeteria to provide the ingredients, allowing the students to make and eat their own cakes. This way, not only could the students get an improved meal, but she could also save some effort.
The arrangements went smoothly. As soon as the cafeteria director heard that only space and the kitchen were needed, who would refuse to oblige the Deputy Secretary’s Wife? He agreed without a second word. The homeroom teachers, though somewhat reluctant, also consented, considering Sisi’s status and the fact that it wouldn’t encroach on class time.
Hearing that Mr. He planned to invite them to the cafeteria to make Qingming Cakes together, all the students cheered. Although they didn’t know what Qingming Cakes were, making tasty treats with so many others surely had to be fun!
Sisi scheduled the event for a Saturday noon. Tian Xinhua was busy as a top, so she had to enlist several robust male students from the class to help carry things. The sticky rice flour and meat, taken from the Space and piled up like a small mountain, had to be substituted with more meat for freshness since Huangyuan County had no fresh bamboo shoots.
It took the male students four or five trips to carry everything, and they were all exceptionally excited. So much meat!
Mr. He is so generous!
Indeed, many hands make light work. Sisi explained the key points of making Qingming Cakes, and in no time at all, the students became adept. The boys were responsible for kneading dough while the girls handled stir-frying the filling and wrapping the cakes.
Students from six classes were happily squeezing all sorts of cake shapes in the spacious cafeteria. Some of the craftier girls even molded their cakes into animal figures, decorated with carrots and white radishes – green rabbits, pigs, and dogs emerged, looking incredibly lifelike, which garnered continuous praise from Sisi as she captured these vibrant Qingming Cakes with her camera.
Eventually, even teachers and students from other classes were drawn by the fun, and Sisi joined them. After all, she had prepared enough for the entire school’s staff and division commanders, so there was no fear of running out.
The college wasn’t large, and Huangyuan Normal College had a total population of just over a thousand, including teachers and students.
Even Principal Gu joined in the excitement. Though a local himself, the Principal’s wife came from the south, and upon smelling the fragrance of the steamed Qingming Cakes, she couldn’t help but tear up.
"I haven’t eaten Qingming grass cakes for nearly ten years; I miss them so much!"
Sisi had heard about Old Principal Gu, whose life had been tough, nearly lost during the turmoil. The Principal’s wife had passed away after falling ill, consumed with raising three children and worrying about her husband in the cowshed.
She also learned that Principal Gu and his wife had been university classmates, deeply in love. Surely, the Principal’s wife must have often made Qingming grass cakes for him at home!
"Principal, you should eat more then. I’ve really invested a lot in this Qingming Cake banquet today!" Sisi said with a laugh.
"I will for sure eat more and even pack some separately to save for tomorrow," Principal Gu laughed heartily.
The Qingming Cake banquet ended amidst joyous laughter from all the teachers and students, each with their bellies round and full, yet there were still plenty left over. Sisi only took a few dozen; the rest were given to other teachers to take home.
As the saying goes, one is soft-spoken when eating others’ food and tender-hearted when accepting others’ gifts. After Sisi’s Qingming Cake banquet, the school’s teachers and students became even more courteous towards her.
But another kind of whisper was also brewing quietly.
"What exactly does Mr. He’s family do for a living? How can they be so wealthy? Look at her clothes, her car, and the Qingming banquet from last time – no ordinary family can afford such extravagance, right?"
"Isn’t it said that her man is Vice Secretary Tian? Which officials don’t have money?"
"Pfft, that depends on whether they are honest or corrupt officials, doesn’t it? Could it be that Vice Secretary Tian is..."