Delicious candy usually only takes a single bite to enjoy, but making it takes a great deal of ti.
"Swish~"
"Swish~"
Xu Xi evenly spread the wheat seeds over the bamboo tray. Because they had absorbed enough water, tiny sprouts erged the next day.
After that, it beca a daily routine of watering, maintaining a consistent level of moisture.
"Brother, how long do we have to keep doing this?" the girl asked curiously.
"About five days," Xu Xi said as he sprinkled water over the wheat seeds in a cool, ventilated corner of the house, "We just need the sprouts to grow thicker and cover the whole tray."
The clear water dripped onto the sprouting seeds, making a soft crackling sound.
Following the green shoots, the water droplets fell, drip, drip, onto the tray below, seeping into its gaps and forming tiny moist patches.
Xu Moli lay behind Xu Xi, watching in a daze, as if all her thoughts and worries were washed away with the falling droplets, leaving only her joy in being with him and a faint, indescribable anticipation.
"Brother, let help too," the girl suddenly said with a bright smile, her face flushed with excitent even without any makeup.
...
Five days later, the surface of the tray was densely packed with lush, green sprouts, making it look like a miniature lawn.
"Brother, what’s next?"
"Now we cook the glutinous rice," Xu Xi said.
He had already soaked the glutinous rice ahead of ti.
After washing and stirring it, he and Xu Moli poured it into a huge iron pot and began steaming it.
"When the rice is cooked, we’ll mix it with the malt sprouts to extract the sugar juice," Xu Xi explained to the girl as he walked toward the tray.
The malt sprouts grew vigorously, glistening in the golden sumr sunlight, each strand shimring brightly. Each seed was firmly rooted into the cloth that had been spread in advance.
Fortunately, Xu Xi was quite strong.
He pulled up the malt sprouts one by one, tossing them into a basin to wash and pick out any spoiled sprouts.
Xu Moli imitated Xu Xi’s movents, crouching down to help with washing and sorting.
As her fingers stirred the water, droplets splashed lightly, the slight coolness balancing the oppressive heat of sumr.
When the washing was done, Xu Xi brought out a clean cloth and carefully wrapped the girl’s hands, drying them ticulously even between her fingers.
"Thank you, Brother~~~"
Xu Moli giggled and thanked him, then mischievously pressed her now-dry but still slightly cool hands against Xu Xi’s cheeks, claiming to help him drive away the sumr heat.
Well... Xu Xi reluctantly believed her.
He flicked her forehead with a finger, then picked up the heavy basin full of malt sprouts and carried it into the kitchen.
These pulled malt sprouts couldn’t be used directly—they needed to be finely chopped before the next step of juicing could begin.
Soon, loud chopping sounds filled the kitchen.
Xu Xi held a kitchen knife, swiftly chopping the sprouts, while Xu Moli sat nearby, leisurely waiting for him to finish.
She actually wanted to help, but Xu Xi had refused.
"Brother is getting more and more foolish," the girl muttered softly, feeling amused, "Worried that if I stood too close, I might get hurt by the knife."
She was a Supre.
Soone who stood above countless worlds.
How could a simple kitchen knife hurt her?
Even beginner cultivators wouldn’t fear such a mundane tool.
"Really..."
Though she grumbled, her face showed no trace of dissatisfaction. She smiled gently, with pure happiness.
...
About two hours later, the chopped malt sprouts and cooked glutinous rice were mixed together.
Stirring them thoroughly was easier said than done.
Once saturated with water, the mixture beca extrely heavy, and mixing them evenly was a real test of arm strength.
"I kind of miss my body back in the real world," Xu Xi thought, feeling the numbness and exhaustion in his arms.
Even a mage focused on ntal power, once stepping into the extraordinary, would have far stronger endurance than normal people—not so easily worn out like this.
Luckily, this process only had to be done once.
After thoroughly mixing the malt and rice, Xu Moli handed Xu Xi a large cloth, spreading it out carefully. Xu Xi then covered the mixture with it.
"Now we just need to fernt it for eight hours," Xu Xi exhaled deeply, shaking his sore hands.
The muscle ache actually made him feel strangely refreshed.
"Brother," Xu Moli called out, handing him a bowl of water.
"Thanks, Moli," Xu Xi said as he drank it all in one go, feeling that even water beca sweeter after a day of exhausting physical labor.
"Brother, after this, will we have candy?"
"Mm, soon, Moli will be able to eat it," Xu Xi said.
Was maltose so extrely rare treasure?
Not at all.
It was just an ordinary sweet snack among commoners, not precious, not valuable.
But feeling the gentle care behind it, and watching the person she loved, made the girl look forward to the finished candy even more.
Maybe, that candy—
Would beco her "treasure."
A treasure belonging only to Xu Moli.
"If it doesn't taste good, I’ll still eat it all, Brother," she said.
"That won’t do," Xu Xi lightly brushed the top of her head and gently tapped her,
"If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll make a new batch. You mustn’t force yourself."
"...Okay, Brother," Xu Moli obediently agreed.
Her clear, slightly evasive eyes and her helplessly fidgeting hands made her seem very adorable.
...
Eight hours passed—long if you counted carefully, short if you didn’t.
When the ti ended, it was evening, the sunset painting the world in molten gold, draping everything in the final light of the day.
Amidst the orange glow that dyed half the sky, Xu Xi uncovered the cloth, wrapped the fernted malt-rice mixture in gauze, and began the process of squeezing out the juice into an iron pot for cooking.
"Crackle!"
"Crackle!"
The firewood burned, popping loudly.
Before long, the malt juice changed from clear and bright to cloudy and thick, slowly turning into the familiar color in Xu Xi’s mory.
"We’ll need to scoop off the foam," Xu Xi said, stirring the bubbling, thick syrup while removing impurities.
As bubbles ford and the syrup grew stickier, it stretched with every move of the spatula, gradually taking on a rich amber hue.
"Mm, this is about right," Xu Xi nodded slightly.
He took a pair of chopsticks, stirred quickly in the pot, and lifted it—the thick syrup stretched and solidified in the air, forming a large piece of malt candy.
"Moli, co taste it," Xu Xi said.
"Mm, Brother," Xu Moli answered, taking the chopsticks from him.
She stared at the malt candy for a mont, then lightly parted her lips and tasted the freshly made sweet.
"Brother, this candy is delicious," she said.
Her face overflowed with happiness, her warmth lighting up everything around her, "The candy you made is so fragrant and sweet, Brother."
"Moli really likes it..."
"Likes the candy Brother made..."
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