She placed the rolling pin under the damp cloth and used it to roll the paste from the far end toward the center.
After rolling one half, she rolled the other, making sure both sides were the same size.
She rolled it tightly into a cylinder, then gently pinched and pressed it through the cloth to firm it up.
The snow-white, soft, and tender kidney bean rolls were now ready.
She took a knife and trimmed off the uneven ends, then sliced the log into sections. Lin Lan counted them—one log of bean paste had yielded seven neat rolls.
'One jin of red beans makes two jin of red bean paste. After adding sugar and lard, the ingredients alone cost about two yuan, not even counting my labor.'
'The white kidney beans and red beans themselves aren't expensive, but preparing them is a hassle and uses a lot of fuel. Including labor, I'd have to sell them for at least 0.15 to 0.20 yuan each to make it worthwhile.'
