This big cube of soybean paste was made by the family at home last winter. They boiled two large pots of beans, made them into cubes after boiling, and then wrapped them in newspaper and kept them away.
It was not until today that all the soybean paste blocks were moved out and the newspapers on top were peeled off. White hair had grown all over the soybean paste blocks.
Old Mrs. Tian was used to it, so she moved all the large jars of soy sauce that she had cleaned and dried yesterday into the house.
There were two large jars of soybean paste in their house, one was as high as the thigh and the other was as high as the waist. Old Mrs. Tian broke all the soybean paste into pieces and threw them into the jars. She also poured in a large bag of salt that she had bought from the town supply and marketing cooperative yesterday and added water.
Use a sauce spatula to stir it vigorously, swirling it up and down.
All the big pieces of soybean paste were broken up, and a layer of fine white foam floated on the surface of the water.
Old Mrs. Tian used a colander to scoop out all the white foam, then used a lid to cover the two jars of soy sauce. For some reason, there was a small red string tied on top.
"All right!" The old lady patted the jar of soy sauce, turned to look at Tian Baobao and Tian Zhuo, "From now on, these two jars will be your job. Empty the jars every morning and evening, and when it rains, come back and put the lids back on! Whether our family will have soybean paste to eat this year depends on you two."
This was also their job last year. When Tian Tian had nothing to do, she would also help them with the cleaning, but they still did the most work.
Tian Lisong and Tian Lilin moved the two jars of sauce outside and waited for them to ferment before eating.
In fact, it can be eaten now, but it’s just raw soybean paste, and the taste is different from cooked soybean paste. Everyone in their family likes to eat cooked soybean paste, so they wait for the paste to ferment before eating it.
After making the soybean paste, the winter life is finally over and everyone in the family starts to get busy.
Some families go up the mountain to collect firewood when they run out of firewood after the winter. At this time, wild vegetables also sprout, and some people go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables.
If there are chickens in your home that were slaughtered during the Chinese New Year, start raising chicks now.
Tian Tian's family ate a lot of meat during the Chinese New Year, so they didn't kill chickens, so they don't need to raise chicks this spring.
Aunt Tian next door was not so well off. In order to nourish Zhang Lanru's body during her confinement, she killed two chickens.
Later, Tuwa passed away, and the whole team knew about the bad things that happened in their family. Zhang Lanru was not in a good mental state, so Aunt Huang reluctantly killed the last chicken.
Although Zhang Lanru is doing well now, there is no chicken left at home, so Aunt Huang will definitely adopt a few chicks this year.
After hearing this, Tian Tian had to say that Aunt Huang was a really nice person. Not to mention the significance of a chicken itself to a farmer, the eggs it lays are golden eggs to the rural people.
Tian Tian's family conditions are relatively good. Old Mrs. Tian keeps a close eye on the chickens every day. Whenever they lay one less egg, she starts nagging, trying to feed the chickens more so that they will lay more eggs.
Not to mention people like Aunt Huang who come from a poor family.
It takes at least five months to raise a chicken from the time it is brought to the age where it can lay eggs. During these five months, the chicken is fed dry food but no eggs are laid, which is a loss.
But Aunt Huang was still willing to give the chicken from her home to Zhang Lanru for nourishment. Although Zhang Lanru married an unreliable husband, at least her mother-in-law still loved her, so she was lucky.
Tian Lisong also started to get busy in the afternoon. Seeing that the weather was getting warmer day by day, he started to get busy with spring planting.
These days, Tian Lisong has been counting the amount of grain seeds this year in the brigade every day, preparing to start planting vegetables after the ground thaws in a few days.
A few days later, it was May Day on the Gregorian calendar, and there was another drizzle. Several cadres from the brigade went to the fields and saw that the land was wet with rain and the soil had become much softer. It was time to start planting again.
Everyone went to the fields to plow the soil and sow seeds.
Old Mrs. Tian was not idle at home either. She took off all the quilts that had been used for the whole winter, and also took off the outermost layer of cotton coats and trousers that everyone wore.
Tian Tian could hardly wait to take off the outermost layer of her cotton trousers. She had wanted to wash the trousers for a long time, but the winter weather was too cold, the water was too cool, and she only had this one pair of trousers.
If she really washed it, she would have to stay in bed while waiting for it to dry, which would make it inconvenient for her to go to the toilet.
Later, Tian Tian got used to it.
The outermost layer of cloth of cotton pants can be washed, but the inner core of the cotton pants cannot be washed. Tian Tian looked at the yellow spot on her thigh and sighed helplessly. It can only be left like this. Anyway, the smell has dissipated over such a long time, so just pretend that she doesn't know.
Tian Tian happily took out all her sheets, mattress covers, and outer linings of her clothes.
Now that the weather is warmer, we can take off our cotton coats and trousers, but it’s still a bit cold in the morning and evening, so we still wear sweaters and trousers. Although they are not as warm as cotton jackets, at least it’s better than not wearing them.
The sheets and clothes of more than a dozen people in the family were put together and filled two large basins. Old Mrs. Tian was about to go out carrying the basins.
Tian Tian was surprised, "Grandma! Don't you wash these clothes at home?"
"Why wash them at home? With so many things, how much water do you need to fetch at home? Isn't it troublesome? You can just wash them in the river!" After saying that, Old Mrs. Tian walked outside.
Tian Tian didn't mean that. She quickly ran after him with a large basin in her hand, "Grandma! The water in the river is still very cold! Isn't it a bit too cold? Let's boil some hot water at home to wash! I'll get you some water to boil for washing clothes!"
The dry well is right in my yard, so it’s not difficult to get water from it.
"Will it take too much firewood to boil water? We will have to go to work in a few days, and we only have that much firewood left. How much firewood can your second uncle, your second aunt and your mother chop? In a few days, there will be no time to go up the mountain because of the busy farming season, let alone collect firewood. We have to hope that the remaining firewood at home will last until the spring planting is over." said Old Mrs. Tian.
After hearing this, Tian Tian stopped talking.
Many people go to the river to wash clothes at this time. The quilts and clothes have been washed for another winter, and spring planting is about to start, so there is no time to wash clothes. If they don't wash clothes at this time, they will have to wait until the spring planting is over, which will take another two months, which is too wasteful.
Old Mrs. Tian and several grandmothers and aunts walked together, carrying large basins. Tian Tian was the only young person in the group.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
