The next day, as the eastern sky just began to show a hint of fish belly white, Cheng Xiaofan was already up. He sat cross-legged on the balcony, resuming his practice of Dragon Power.
He had already experienced the benefits that cultivating Dragon Power brought him.
Without stable Dragon Power, he wouldn't have his X-ray vision. Just like yesterday, he might not have been able to defeat the yellow-jawed fish in the water.
After more than an hour, Cheng Xiaofan emerged from his cultivation state.
Phew!
He exhaled a long breath of stale air.
After washing up, he hurried back home.
As for the feeding of the ten little geese in the yard, Luo Yang and Feng Xigua took care of them every day; he didn't have to worry about it at all.
Sometimes, Taoxinbao would dig up a ginseng fruit from the ground, chew it personally, and spit it out to feed the little geese, from which it would also get a small benefit.
Bai Yiling was coming today, and if he was late, he would inevitably be lectured by his mother.
Currently, Bai Yiling held an unshakeable position in his mother's heart, far surpassing that of her own son.
Upon reaching the village, Cheng Xiaofan saw from afar that the entrance of his home was decorated with festive lights and streamers, as if celebrating a major joyous occasion.
Normally, even for weddings in the village, it wasn't as elaborately festive as this.
As soon as Cheng Xiaofan walked into the house, a long-lost aroma of rice cakes wafted towards him.
He noticed several women from the village busy with his mother, carving rice cakes.
These rice cakes were made by combining glutinous rice and japonica rice in a specific ratio. They were first soaked in water for a day, then drained, ground into flour, mixed with crushed peanuts, walnuts, osmanthus flowers, and preserved fruit shreds, and then steamed in a steamer.
After the rice cake flour was steamed, it was poured into a bamboo tray lined with damp gauze, and the carving of the rice cakes began.
The carving of rice cakes used a pair of wooden molds. The steamed rice cake flour was packed inside, a hole was scooped out in the middle with a spoon and filled with white sugar and sesame filling. The two halves of the mold were then joined, pressed firmly, and then turned out.
The rice cakes came in various shapes: square, peach-shaped, and rhombus-shaped.
After the rice cakes were carved, they were also dotted with a pinkish-red color using chopsticks to signify good fortune.
Rice cakes are a traditional food in the Zhuxi Village area. They are soft and fluffy to the bite, glutinous but not sticky to the teeth, and sweet and delicious. This type of food is most suitable as a tea snack.
Because making carved rice cakes was labor-intensive and time-consuming, ordinary families rarely made them.
Cheng Xiaofan only remembered that the year he went to Beijing to study at university, his family made carved rice cakes once to entertain the villagers, and he even brought some to school.
At that time, when several classmates tasted the rice cakes he brought, they all praised them immensely!
Several years had passed in the blink of an eye. Cheng Xiaofan had only smelled the aroma of rice cakes a few times in his dreams, and had not tasted them again.
It seemed that his parents had stayed up all night to welcome Bai Yiling's arrival.
He walked over, took a few rice cakes from the bamboo tray, and ate them.
At this moment, Miao Xiuhua glanced at him and chided, "Xiaofan, your mother is telling you, you clearly knew Yiling was coming today, you should have come back earlier to help out!"
"Mom, I'm not late am I!"
Cheng Xiaofan pouted and said, "Yiling is traveling from C City, she won't arrive here until close to noon!"
Cheng Fugui cast a glance at his son and said, "Yiling set off at three in the morning, she'll be at Zhuxi Village in a little while!"
"What, she set off so early?"
Cheng Xiaofan felt a bit bewildered. She was coming too urgently.
He looked at Fu Yueling and Gu Jingyue. Fu Yueling nodded and smiled, "Our President Bai called Auntie, she did indeed set off at three in the morning!"
Hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan was a bit stunned.
Bai Yiling didn't need to be so anxious, did she?
There's a saying, haste makes waste.
Having been honed in the business world for many years, Bai Yiling must have a steady side to her approach to matters.
She wouldn't be so impatient.
He always felt that there was something peculiar about this matter!
"Xiaofan, what are you spacing out about?" Miao Xiuhua noticed her son frowning, as if pondering something, and asked curiously.
"Nothing!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan chuckled, "If there's anything you need me to do, Mom, just tell your son!"
Many people from the village had come to help, but actually, it wasn't Cheng Xiaofan's turn to do anything.
This time, it was said to be Bai Yiling's treat, but all the necessary preparations were made by Cheng Fugui and Miao Xiuhua.
Miao Xiuhua glanced at her son and smiled, "Your task now is to keep the two young ladies, Yue Ling and Jing Yue, company, have some tea, and eat some pastries!"
Cheng Xiaofan quickly waved to Fu Yueling and Gu Jingyue and said, "The two of you, don't stand next to my mom, you won't be able to handle carving the cakes."
"Listen to my mom, come quickly and sit by the table, have some tea, and eat some pastries!"
Fu Yueling smiled and said, "Gu Jingyue and I have already eaten quite a few pastries, we're almost stuffed!"
"Then come sit here and have some tea!"
Cheng Xiaofan picked up an old-fashioned teapot and poured each of the two girls a cup of tea. "This is our local wild tea, grown without any chemical fertilizers or pesticides."
"Its advantage is its mellow and fragrant taste, but its disadvantage is its rough texture and unappealing color!"
"When my Zhuxi Village Golden Tea is cultivated, I'll invite you two to taste the world's most top-tier fine tea!"
Unintentionally spoken, but attentively heard.
Cheng Xiaofan's words happened to fall into Cheng Fugui's ears.
"What, Xiaofan, you said you want to cultivate Zhuxi Village's Golden Tea?"
Cheng Fugui asked with a shocked expression, "Have you obtained the seeds for the Golden Tea?"
Cheng Xiaofan nodded and said, "Dad, your son happened to find the Golden Tea seeds in the Ten Thousand Mountains!"
"I am currently cultivating the tea trees, and I believe it will be successful soon!"
After hearing Cheng Xiaofan's words, Cheng Fugui again suspected if this son was his own.
How could he be so intelligent, and he, his father, didn't have half of his ability?
Turning his thoughts to his son being the inheritor of a master from the capital, he consoled himself, thinking that his son was lucky and had guidance from capable people, how could he compare.
"President Bai's car is here, there are so many cars coming..."
At this moment, a young man, who was responsible for keeping watch at the village entrance, ran in, panting heavily, and shouted loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of cars approached.
Crackling!
Someone quickly lit firecrackers at the door.
Cheng Xiaofan and others rushed out of the house. The open space in front of the door was filled with cars.
Bai Yiling, wearing a light yellow short jacket and a pair of stylish blue jeans, with her long hair flowing, emerged from one of the red Bentley cars.
"Dad, Mom!"
Seeing Cheng Fugui and Miao Xiuhua from afar, she rushed towards them with a radiant smile. "Daughter pays respects to you both!"
As soon as the words fell, she knelt down.
As she knelt, Miao Xiuhua hurriedly shouted, "Quick, bring some fragrant rice cakes for my daughter!"