Lin He mentioned that she would slaughter a chicken at home, buy some mushrooms, and make chicken stew with mushrooms. They had eggs at home, and since Da Bao was staying here these days, she cooked a few eggs for him every morning to take back to town with him. Although these were just ordinary foods, they were very nutritious.

Hearing what Huang Shi and Lin He planned to buy, Er Niu hurried off to town with the ox cart, leaving the field work aside. Huang Shi looked at Da Bao and asked with concern, "Da Bao, how is the food at the shop? Can you eat your fill every day?"

Da Bao watched his family gathered around, chattering animatedly, and he too became more talkative. "The food at the shop is decent, but the auntie who cooks doesn't make it as tasty as He'er does. The meals are mostly a mix of white flour and steamed corn buns. We get white flour once a day, but there’s no proper meal at night, and sometimes I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Pillar, Yu Tou, and I have to find things to eat together. But, Father, Mother, don't worry, I always get enough to eat, and the people at the shop are very kind. I've learned a lot there," Da Bao said with a smile.

Huang Shi didn't care how much Da Bao had learned; she only worried about him being alone and not taking good care of himself. Lin He, hearing Da Bao’s words, agreed that since he was growing, skipping dinner would definitely leave him hungry. She considered making some snacks for him to take back to fill his stomach at night.

The family had been quite busy recently, and Lin He was rushing to do one thing and then another, so she hadn't made many snacks for the little ones. This was a good chance while Da Bao was home to prepare some treats for them, and for Da Bao to take some along. After thinking for a moment, Lin He recalled something from her previous life—a puffed rice treat she had eaten at the orphanage as a child, which people called mi tong later when she was in university.

However, they didn't have rice right now; corn or wheat would work just as well, and Lin He remembered how to make it. It wasn't complicated, just requiring certain raw materials, mainly sugar, plus some sesame seeds and peanuts. Raisins would make it even better, but raisins were unlikely to be available now. They did have sesame seeds and peanuts, but the small amount of white sugar they had couldn't be used. It seemed they would have to wait for Er Niu to return to buy some maltose or osmanthus sugar.

Lin He told everyone about her plan to make puffed grain bars (mi hua tang), and everyone agreed, including Huang Shi, who strongly endorsed the idea. She said they didn't have enough corn and suggested borrowing some from Aunt Xu, promising to return it once the new crop was harvested. She also said that when Er Niu returned, he should go to town again to buy more maltose, peanuts, and sesame seeds, and they would all work together that afternoon.

At noon, Er Niu returned with groceries, only to be immediately sent back to town by Huang Shi to buy more things. The family quickly prepared lunch so that they could make the mi hua tang that afternoon once Er Niu returned. Every time Lin He prepared to make snacks, the little ones were the happiest, as they would have something to play with and something to eat.

Seeing that Er Niu hadn't returned yet, Huang Shi said she would go borrow the corn from Aunt Xu’s house first. Lin He remembered that making the mi hua tang required several molds, and Uncle Li, being a carpenter, should have such things at home.

When they arrived at Aunt Xu’s house, her family was eating. Seeing Huang Shi and Lin He, they were somewhat surprised. Huang Shi said, "Aunt Xu, I’ve come to borrow something, sorry to interrupt your meal. Perhaps you should finish eating first, and I’ll come back later."

Huang Shi was already speaking in a familiar, casual tone as she walked into the courtyard. Lin He's family felt more at ease visiting Aunt Xu's home than even their own grandmother’s. Aunt Xu also smiled and said, "Look at you, what interruption? What do you need to borrow?"

Huang Shi explained their purpose, and Lin He also told Uncle Li what kind of molds she needed. Uncle Li understood what Lin He meant and brought out a very large piece of new bamboo from inside. He avoided sections with knots and cut hollow sections into several pieces, each long enough to make a mold. He made five or six, which Lin He thought was enough, so she told Uncle Li that it was fine.

Back home, Lin He washed the bamboo thoroughly with water and then soaked it in oil. This way, when they made the mi hua tang, the sugar wouldn't stick to the molds.

Er Niu returned. After they ate, Huang Shi also returned with a large sack of corn borrowed from Aunt Xu. This corn had been scraped off the cobs and dried thoroughly; it could be ground into flour and used to make porridge.

Since the corn was dry, Lin He told Huang Shi to roast it directly in a pot. Chen’er and Xiao Jun tended the fire at the stove, while in another pot, the maltose was heated until it completely melted. Then, it was mixed evenly with the roasted corn, and finally, sesame seeds and roasted peanuts were sprinkled in.

This way, the batch of mi hua tang was cooked. It just needed to be pressed into the round molds Lin He had made to form round bars. The rest was cut into square pieces without molds. The finished bars couldn't be stacked; they had to be laid out individually in a ventilated place.

Meanwhile, Lin He told Chen’er and Xiao Jun to take a break. Although the weather wasn't as scorching as in her past life, it was still quite hot, especially tending the fire by the stove. She asked Da Bao and Da Yuan to take over the fire tending so the girls could cool off outside.

The freshly made mi hua tang was still soft, sweet, and glutinous when eaten, and very filling. After a few days, once the bars hardened, they could be tied into a bag, with some loose corn puffs added so they wouldn't stick together, making them keep longer.

When hard, these mi hua tang didn't have a strong fragrance, but the rich aroma of the maltose mixed with the corn puffs during cooking was intoxicating, wafting far across the entire Lin Family Village.

They managed to cook three large pots of mi hua tang over the afternoon, resulting in over a hundred large and small bars to eat as snacks for some time. Lin He said they should let these cool overnight, prepare them tomorrow, and have Da Bao take some to Uncle Wen, give a few to everyone at the shop, and keep the rest in the house to eat when hungry at night for satiety.

The little ones at home could have some more tomorrow. Although sugar was expensive, the family could afford it. Buying three liang of silver worth of sugar could yield several batches of mi hua tang. They had corn at home, and they only bought a little sesame and peanuts, so it wasn't costly. The most important thing was for Da Bao to have something substantial and delicious to take with him.

By the latter half of the year, when their own wheat ripened and the corn was harvested, and the ten mu of sandy fields they had purchased yielded peanuts, sesame, and soybeans, they would be able to make even better treats.