The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Marshmallows~ Sweet and delicious marshmallows!"

"Candied hawthorn berries, candied hawthorn berries~"

"Donkey Rolling"

Zhao Xiaoyue, Zhao Xiaole, and the other three little ones were looking around when a shout instantly drew their full attention.

Many children lingered around the stall. Some bought a small piece of donkey roll, and after receiving it, they carefully held it and ate it, afraid of dropping even a crumb. Passing children looked on with longing eyes, full of envy, and looked back three times as they were pulled away by adults.

Zhao Shi'an glanced at the cotton candy stall. White, fluffy sugar strands were wrapped around bamboo skewers, and soon a fist-sized cotton candy was made, fluffy and soft, with fine sugar strands floating in the wind.

Zhao Shijie craned his neck, staring intently at the candied hawthorns. The hawthorns were coated with a bright red sugar coating, so translucent and delicious that they looked incredibly tempting.

Zhao Shixiong's throat bobbed as he swallowed repeatedly, his little hand involuntarily wiping the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole pursed their lips, their eyes glued to the cotton candy, unable to look away, very envious. Remembering their mother's instructions before leaving, they reluctantly turned their heads away.

Zhao Shi'an took in his younger siblings' reactions but didn't rush to buy anything. He had just eaten breakfast, and most importantly, his mother and aunt had just reminded him not long ago, so it wouldn't be appropriate to disobey them now.

He continued walking with his younger siblings, looking around as they went, and soon they saw the characteristics of this era on the street.

Several elderly men who wrote letters sat in a row, each with an inkstone and rough-edged paper on the table in front of them; the fountain pen repair stall was filled with all kinds of fountain pen nibs and fountain pens.

Repairing pens was alright; he'd seen people doing that when he was a kid. He'd only ever seen letter-writing services on TV, but he never expected to actually see one in this era. And it wasn't just one person; there were at least three or four elderly gentlemen lined up in a row.

Zhao Shi'an leaned closer to observe the group for a while and found that business was surprisingly good.

After gaining some experience, he left with his impatient younger siblings. Not long after, he saw another group of people doing the same work. He also saw a book rental stall with an old man tending it. There were only four or five children reading comic books at the stall.

Passing by the food stalls, watching the sugar cakes sizzling in the oil, and the bright red and translucent sugar ears and honey-glazed pastries, I felt very hungry.

Zhao Shi'an originally wanted to buy a few for his younger siblings to satisfy their cravings.

But the pungent, fishy smell emanating from the oil pan, mixed with the burnt smell, and the sight of the oily noodles rolling around in the pan, with smoke and ash rising upwards, made it difficult to breathe.

The stall owner didn't care at all and just threw the sugar ears into the oil pot. With a sizzle, the oil bubbles kept rising.

Upon closer inspection, the fried sugar cakes and honey-glazed pastries are not golden yellow, but rather reddish and dark.

Holy crap! This is cottonseed oil!

Upon recognizing cottonseed oil, Zhao Shi'an subconsciously frowned. He knew that crude or unrefined cottonseed oil contained a large amount of gossypol, and long-term consumption could damage the reproductive system, leading to male oligospermia, infertility, and other problems.

Universities in eastern Shandong have also conducted related research reports and published related papers.

Once he realized that the oil in the fryer was cottonseed oil, he immediately lost interest in buying it.

In this era of scarcity, people inevitably consume cottonseed oil, mainly because it is the cheapest oil. Cottonseed oil is a byproduct of cotton. After cotton is harvested, the cotton fibers have many uses, and the cottonseeds can be pressed for oil, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone, but it has also caused many hidden dangers.

If the modern era is about technology and grueling work, then this era is purely about grueling work with no technology.

"Brother, would you like to buy some sweet cakes?"

When Zhao Xiaole saw his older brother stop in front of the fried dough cake stall, he assumed his brother wanted to buy some and asked him expectantly.

"Little sister, have you forgotten what your mother said?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shixiong quickly grabbed the younger sister.

"Xiao Le, be good, we won't eat it!"

Zhao Xiaoyue swallowed hard and pulled her younger sister aside.

"Yes, would you like some sweet rice cake? Or honey-glazed pastry?"

Looking at his expectant little cousin, his younger sister who was constantly swallowing her saliva, and his two younger brothers, Zhao Shi'an initially wanted to refuse, but the words were already on his lips before he agreed.

Discussing toxicity without considering dosage is too simplistic. While cottonseed oil does have a number of problems, these problems are based on long-term consumption.

At home, we mainly cook by steaming or boiling, and rarely stir-fry. We use less oil, so we eat less cottonseed oil. We usually use sesame oil for cold dishes, and we don't eat much cottonseed oil except for stir-frying and frying things during the Chinese New Year.

In the future, we can consider switching to soybean oil or rapeseed oil, but for now, there's not much to worry about.

The four little ones haven't eaten out much, so eating out occasionally is harmless. Besides, he has the spring water in his space, which can strengthen his body if he drinks it regularly. The two might even cancel each other out for any side effects.

"Wow! Bro, can I really buy this?"

Upon hearing his older brother's words, Zhao Xiaole's eyes lit up, but when he thought of his mother's instructions before he left, he lowered his head again, wishing he could shrink his head into his small body.

Although Zhao Xiaoyue, Zhao Shijie, and Zhao Shixiong were happy, they immediately wilted when they thought of their mother's words.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid that Mother and Aunt will find out?"

Zhao Shi'an burst into laughter upon seeing this scene.

"Brother, I'd better not eat. Mother said you need the money for your studies!"

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Xiaole shook his head.

"Yes, brother, don't waste money."

Zhao Xiaoyue also tried to persuade him after hearing this.

"Big brother, we haven't finished our candy yet! Let's not buy any more."

"Exactly! I've only had the sesame seed cakes for less than two days, brother, don't waste your money."

Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong shook their heads upon hearing this.

"Alright, alright, you've come out with your brother, how can you let yourself go hungry? Shopkeeper, give me five sugar cakes!"

Hearing his younger siblings' words, Zhao Shi'an was both amused and exasperated. Without asking their opinions, he directly asked for the sugar cake.

"Alright! That'll be two thousand for you, young man!"

The shopkeeper noticed the four little ones behind Zhao Shi'an and placed a piece of hemp paper on each of the sweet cakes.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and catch it!"

Seeing his younger siblings staring blankly, Zhao Shi'an urged them on and handed them the money.

"oh oh!"

The four little ones, realizing what was happening, quickly stepped forward to take the sugar cakes.

"Young man, that's exactly two thousand! If you enjoy the food, feel free to come again!"

The vendor took the money, counted it, and after confirming that everything was correct, said something straightforward.

"Okay!"

Zhao Shi'an responded with a comment, then left the stall with his younger siblings and continued strolling along Flower Market Street.

"Big brother, you bought us sweet cakes, what will we do when we get back at noon?"

Zhao Shijie asked worriedly, and the three little ones, Zhao Xiaoyue, also looked over.

"What to do? Get beaten up! The delicious food is practically in your mouth, if you don't know what to do, just get beaten up!"

Zhao Shi'an was speechless upon hearing this. The food was already being fed, and if he couldn't eat it, that was his own problem. Even if he couldn't come up with an excuse, it was worth getting a beating.

Ignoring the little ones, I took a bite of the sugar cake and found that although it didn't look very appealing, it tasted pretty good!

Feeling the craving for oil and fat in my body, I finished a sugar cake in no time.

Seeing that their eldest brother had finished eating, the four little ones got a little anxious and started chattering amongst themselves.

Zhao Shi'an watched this scene with a smile and continued to lead the four of them around.

After a long while, the four little ones reached a consensus and asked their eldest brother:

"Brother, we've discussed it and decided to go back after we finish eating the sweet cakes. When we get home, we'll wash our hands in the goldfish pond, and then no one will know! What do you think, brother?"

"Isn't this great? But this is only for this one time, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi'an gave instructions to the four of them.

"Big brother, I understand!"

"Alright, hurry up and eat! The sugar cake is getting cold."

Zhao Shi'an nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

"Okay!"

After brainstorming and coming up with a solution, the four little ones were overjoyed and happily ate the sweet cakes, feeling incredibly happy.