Chapter 16: Making White Sugar

Xu An smiled indulgently. Then he picked up a wooden spoon, scooped a spoonful of steamed egg custard, and fed it to the little girl. The moment it touched her lips, her eyes instantly brightened.

So this is steamed egg?

It tastes so good.

It melts in the mouth, with a subtle saltiness and the rich aroma of soy sauce. These two blend with the unique fragrance of the egg, whetting the appetite irresistibly.

She had never tasted anything so delicious before!

She wondered how her husband had made it.

Su Yan’er savored the flavor with a contented expression.

“How is it? Tasty?” Xu An asked with a smile.

“Mm, delicious! Husband, you’re amazing!” Su Yan’er said sincerely.

“Here, if you like it, eat more. If you want it again, I’ll make it for you often,” Xu An offered the wooden spoon to her.

“Can I eat something this delicious often from now on?” Su Yan’er tilted her little head happily.

“Of course! If you want it, I’ll make it for you!”

“Then can I have it once every three months?”

“Uh... if you want it, I can make it anytime,” Xu An said with some tenderness for the little girl.

He hadn’t expected that, in her heart, having plain steamed egg just once every three months was already a great luxury.

“Eggs are precious; we can’t eat them all the time!”

“Winter is coming soon, and I haven’t prepared your winter clothes yet. We need to save money to make you a coat. Winter is very cold.”

“Also, husband, studying costs money, and preparing food for winter costs money, too.”

“And we need to buy some seeds for planting crops—that will cost quite a bit as well!”

“Husband, I’ve thought about it. We can buy some radish and cabbage seeds; it’s still early enough to plant them now.”

“This way, you can focus on your work without worrying about me. I’ll go out to work in the fields and take care of you.”

“I’ll also do many other tasks, like washing clothes and sewing. When someone in Auntie’s family had torn clothes, I was the one who sewed them. After finishing the farm work, I’ll find other jobs to earn money to help with household expenses. I won’t let you run out of money.”

“I believe you will get better and better, and I will too. We will both get better and better!”

The little girl’s large eyes were filled with hope as she shared her plans from her heart.

Her face wore a sincere smile, and her eyes shone brightly.

But hearing her, Xu An felt an unprecedented stir in his heart.

This little girl was truly kind and sensible.

Despite all the hardships she had endured, she still retained a pure heart!

There is nothing rarer in this world.

He moved closer to the little girl.

Taking her small hand, he said, “Yan’er, you want to save money to make winter clothes for me, but what about yours?”

Her small hand was enveloped by his large one, and a shy blush unconsciously rose on her face.

“Husband... winter clothes are expensive, it’s okay. I’m not cold!”

Xu An looked at her with a pang of sympathy.

“Yan’er, you don’t need to worry about all those things you mentioned just now. I’ve already made plans.”

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, we will never be cold or hungry again. Just like you said, I will get better and better, and so will you. We will both get better and better.”

“Husband already has plans?”

The little girl tilted her head, her long lashes fluttering.

Her husband’s hands were big, warm, and soft—unlike her own, which were rough.

“Yes, I’ll tell you after dinner. You’ll know soon enough!”

Xu An patted her head gently.

“Okay!”

Su Yan’er’s face was full of anticipation, then she scooped a spoonful of the steamed egg and brought it to Xu An’s lips, smiling sweetly. “Husband fed me, so I want to feed you too!”

Xu An smiled.

He had to admit, he genuinely felt like he was courting someone now—an ancient version of love blossoming after marriage.

Or maybe it was just dating a sensible little girl. Yes, this feeling was quite nice!

They both ate their fill during the meal.

The little girl even let out a satisfied burp.

At first, she had only eaten half a bowl of rice and wanted to save the rest for the next day.

But Xu An insisted she finish it all, along with half a bowl of meat.

The aroma of the meat mixed with the grease exploded in her mouth—a sensation she had never experienced before.

She was overjoyed.

“Husband, you worked hard cooking. Rest for a while; I’ll wash the dishes.”

Su Yan’er said and began clearing the tableware.

“I’ll wash them. Your legs aren’t well yet. When you recover, you can do these chores.”

Xu An smiled.

“But... I ate so much and didn’t do any work,” Su Yan’er whispered.

She felt guilty about eating without contributing.

At Auntie’s house, she was not allowed to eat until all the chores were done.

“Right now, your most important task is to heal your injuries. That way, you can help me. Otherwise, you’d only be making things harder.”

Xu An said this deliberately to prevent her from moving too much and worsening her leg injury.

Hearing that, the little girl stopped insisting.

But she resolved to heal her leg quickly to help her husband.

Though her husband treated her well, she couldn’t just be a freeloader and let him bear all the hardship alone.

Xu An quickly washed the dishes, then took all the charcoal from the stove.

Next, he planned to use the raw sugar he bought in the city to make refined white sugar.

Charcoal was indispensable!

Originally, Xu An wanted to use the yellow clay method to purify the sugar, since charcoal was costly and yellow clay was abundant.

But recalling that many content creators in his past life had failed to produce white sugar using that technique, Xu An didn’t want to take the risk.

So he had no choice but to use the carbon adsorption method to purify the sugar.

This required a large amount of charcoal, and the small batch he had now was clearly insufficient.

Therefore, Xu An took his hatchet and went into the annex room to chop up the bed where his original parents used to sleep, turning the wood into firewood.

“Bang bang bang...”

The sound of splitting wood echoed inside the annex.

The little girl, hearing this, grew anxious.

What was her husband chopping now?

Would he really tear down the house to make firewood?

She quickly limped to the door and peeked inside.

Sure enough, Xu An soon came out carrying a pile of wood.

Oh no, her husband was dismantling the house again!

First, he had chopped the door, and now she didn’t know what else he had chopped.

Would the house collapse?

“No, no, I must heal my leg quickly and gather firewood for husband. We can’t keep tearing down the house.”

The little girl thought to herself anxiously.

It would be very cold without a house in winter.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Su Yan’er looked puzzled, as if she had just realized something.

She had taken a bath and eaten, so why did her husband need so much firewood?

Despite her doubts, she didn’t ask.

Her husband had his reasons.

As his wife, she couldn’t question him too much.

Otherwise, she might annoy him.

In the kitchen, Xu An stuffed the firewood into the stove, then crushed all the raw sugar into a fine powder and put it inside.

He then broke some charcoal into pieces, added them at a certain ratio, and poured in an appropriate amount of water to heat the mixture.

Finally, he stirred continuously with a stick.

This process used the charcoal’s adsorption properties to remove impurities from the sugar water.

Next, he filtered out the impurities with gauze, repeating the process several times.

Afterward, the purified sugar water was heated in a pot to evaporate the excess water, then left to settle overnight.

By morning, it would yield crystal-clear white sugar.

The process was not complicated but required a long time.

When Xu An finished and stepped out of the kitchen, Su Yan’er, waiting in the main room, had already succumbed to sleep, leaning against the wall.

The little girl was sleeping soundly!

Her lips were thin and rosy, like two delicate petals, curved faintly at the corners.

“I neglected her. She’s tired after a whole day; I should have let her rest earlier,” Xu An felt a small pang of guilt.

He gently picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

“Husband... don’t tear down the house... Yan’er will work hard,” the little girl murmured as he laid her on the bed, her words spilling out in a dreamlike voice.

“Tearing down the house? Stop imagining things. I’ll show you a magic trick tomorrow!”

Xu An said as he started to remove his clothes, his gaze falling on Su Yan’er’s fair and delicate face.

He couldn’t help but lean in closer.