"Yan Chuan Niang, do I really still have a chance?"
Aunt Li's heart was always heavy. Over the years, every time hope was rekindled, it was followed by endless disappointment, but she never gave up.
All I can say is, give it a try.
Su Luo couldn't guarantee she would get pregnant, since there were no precise medical machines here to determine what was wrong with Aunt Li.
Aunt Li, as if remembering something, sat down next to Su Luo, her spirits immediately dampening as she said, "Yan Chuan's mother, my husband Old Li won't let me take my medicine anymore."
"We won't take medicine this time; I'll use dietary therapy instead."
"ah?"
Aunt Li had never heard of dietary therapy, but if it wasn't about taking medicine, she should be able to keep it from Li Niu.
"Aunt Li, do you still have soybeans at home? I'll teach you how to make tofu. Cook the tofu with leafy greens and eat it. It will stimulate your body to produce folic acid. Wait until the thirteenth to seventeenth day after your period ends before having sex."
Tofu is good for replenishing yin, and Su Luo calculated Aunt Li's ovulation period. With the addition of a lot of folic acid, the chances of getting pregnant would be much higher.
“Yan Chuan’s mother, I know about this wild vegetable called leaf grass. It doesn’t taste very good. Nowadays, everyone feeds it to pigs. I don’t know what tofu is.”
Su Luo patiently explained to Aunt Li, "Sorrel is a plant that produces folic acid when eaten with tofu. Simply put, it can help you get pregnant. These are all foods, and they won't harm your health. What do you think?"
Aunt Li was of course willing and immediately went to get the soybeans from her home. Su Luo told her to soak the soybeans in water for a day and then come back the next day to make tofu with her.
Even if this doesn't help Aunt Li realize her dream of getting pregnant, she'll still be able to make tofu in the future. With Fu Man Lou around, she can still provide her family with some income, so there won't be any problem with her retirement.
When Li Niu returned home that evening, he found a large basin of soybeans soaking in the kitchen. There were so many, it was impossible for the two of them to finish them all.
"Wife, why are you soaking so many soybeans?"
Aunt Li, eating cucumbers inside the house, said, "You've been telling me not to go to work on the mountain these past few days, so I made an appointment with Yan Chuan's mother to research new dishes together. Don't meddle in women's affairs."
Last year, they planted a lot of soybeans, but they only roasted them and ate them as snacks during holidays. Since they don't have children, they rarely cooked them, so naturally, a lot of soybeans were left over.
"It's up to you. Just focus on getting better."
When Li Niu returned from the mountain, he was worried that his wife was not feeling well, so he went and cooked for her again.
Aunt Li felt sorry for her husband, so she washed a cucumber and fed it to Li Niu.
"Old Li, you've been working on the mountain all day. I can still cook, so let me do it."
"No, you've just gotten a little better, don't overwork yourself again. How could a grown man like me possibly get tired from doing some work?"
Aunt Li held back her tears of emotion. Heaven had played such a cruel joke on her, giving her the man who loved her most, but taking away their right to be parents.
...
The next day, Su Luo brought Yan Chuan and Yi Huan to Aunt Li's house. It was cucumber season, and Aunt Li had picked a basketful of cucumbers. Since Aunt Li especially loved children, she brought out all the good food for Yan Chuan and Yi Huan.
"Yan Chuan and Yi Huan, come in and play, and have some cucumbers."
"Thank you, Grandma Li!"
"Thank you, Grandma Li!"
Yan Chuan and Yi Huan said in unison.
Aunt Li is not old, but she has become a grandmother.
Aunt Li had a stone mill at home, which could be used as soon as it was cleaned. Su Luo turned the stone mill while Aunt Li added beans and water, slowly grinding the beans to make soy milk. Su Luo ground half of the beans, and then Aunt Li ground the other half, taking turns.
“Yan Chuan’s mother, if I had known we would need a stone mill, I would have asked my husband, Lao Li, to grind it for us this morning. This stone mill is too heavy.”
Aunt Li stopped to rest for a while; grinding is a physically demanding task.
“Aunt Li, if we have to wait for the men to do everything, won’t they be exhausted? Let me do it.”
Su Luo was a bit stronger, so she kept grinding and stopping.
It took the two of them half an hour to finish grinding a large basin of beans.
"Yan Chuan's mother, the beans are all ground. What should we do next?"
Su Luo said, "Boil it over high heat."
Su Luo poured the soy milk from the stone mill into a bucket with water, while Aunt Li washed the large pot and started a fire.
Put the soy milk into a pot, then pour a bucket of water into the pot to dilute the thick soy milk.
Su Luo had some cotton and linen gauze. She bought two bolts to wrap the spice packets, but she hadn't used them all yet. She cut off a piece to drain the water and press tofu.
The soy milk in the pot boiled, steaming with thick smoke and bubbles.
"Yan Chuan Niang, it smells so good."
Su Luo smiled and looked at Aunt Li, saying, "In a little while, we'll drain the soybean pulp, and that will be soy milk. Add some salt or sugar, and it'll become a delicious drink."
There were too many bubbles, so Su Luo threw in two vegetable leaves and stirred them. The bubbles disappeared instantly. She put the gauze into the bucket and then ladled the soy milk from the pot back into the bucket.
It took the two of them working together to drain the soybean pulp. They then ladled out four bowls of soy milk, which they could drink directly once it cooled down.
When making the brine, Su Luo used whatever was available. She put wood ash in a large bowl, added water, and stirred it. Once the wood ash had completely sunk, the water on top of the bowl turned into clear water. Su Luo then used the clear water from the wood ash to make tofu.
While waiting for the tofu to solidify, the group finally had some free time to drink soy milk.
Aunt Li's family didn't have sugar, so they could only add some salt.
"Mom, I like to drink this."
Yi Huan said while blowing on the still slightly hot soy milk.
“Mother, I like to drink it too,” Yan Chuan added.
Aunt Li rubbed the two children's heads and said, "If I had known you two liked to drink, I would have saved two more bowls for you earlier."
"Grandma Li, making tofu is important. My mother said it's a delicious thing."
Yan Chuan's sensible and adorable words made everyone laugh.
"Yanchuan, you're such a good boy. Once the tofu is made, you'll be the first one to try, okay?"
Yan Chuan nodded seriously: "Okay!"
Su Luo and Aunt Li went out to check, and the tofu had already solidified into clumps; if they waited any longer, it would turn into tofu pudding.
To make tofu, Su Luo made a square mold last night. The mold was a bit rudimentary, but it was still usable for pressing tofu.
Set up the mold, isolate it with gauze, pour in the clumps of tofu, and let the water slowly flow out through the gauze. Then press it down with a board, and place a bucket half-filled with water on top of the board to make the tofu more compact.
"Yan Chuan's mother, is this alright?"
"Well, let's wait until this afternoon, once the water has drained away."
Tofu is delicious, but it takes a lot of steps to make.
"Aunt Li, the three of us will go back for lunch first, and then come back to check on the tofu this afternoon."
"Yan Chuan's mother, why don't you stay here and eat at my place? It's just a matter of having a few more pairs of chopsticks."
Su Luo smiled and said, "No, my mother-in-law won't eat until we get back."
Aunt Li invited Su Luo and the others to stay for dinner at her house, but Zhao Ruyun had already prepared the meal, so Su Luo and the others did not stay.
When Uncle Li returned from cutting grass to feed the cattle, he saw a bucket on a shelf in the yard and asked Aunt Li with a smile.
"Is that the new dish you've been researching? It looks so strange, just a few planks of wood put together."
This is something that can help me replenish my yin energy during pregnancy, it's great!
Aunt Li doesn't want to tell Li Niu right now, in case he's disappointed if it doesn't work out. She'll tell him if she does get pregnant.
"I'm wondering about that too. Su Luo said it wouldn't be open until the afternoon."
Su Luo returned to the kiln, where Zhao Ruyun had prepared the meal. At noon, Su Luo taught Yan Chuan and Yi Huan to recognize characters. It would take a long time to teach them all the Hundred Family Surnames and the Thousand Character Classic.
"Luo Luo, I've finished making the spice packet you asked me to pack. When are Ah Xu and the others coming to pick it up?"
"Wait two days, I'll send it to them in two days."
"Good!" Zhao Ruyun made another hundred or so packs, and if they sold them, they would earn several hundred taels of silver.
In the afternoon, Su Luo didn't bring her two children with her. She cut the tofu at Aunt Li's house. This time she made a bit too much, cutting it into twelve pieces.
Aunt Li divided the six pieces of tofu among Su Luo and said, "Yan Chuan's mother, let's split this tofu equally."
"Aunt Li, all the soybeans are from your family. I only need two pieces."
This recipe is all Su Luo's. Su Luo even offered to help her make the tofu, so Aunt Li certainly didn't want Su Luo to suffer any loss.
"Yan Chuan's mother, please take it. I'm going to go up the mountain to dig up some leafy grass later, so please don't be shy."
Su Luo put the six pieces of tofu back in a basin, leaving the mold and gauze for Aunt Li so she could use them again next time she wanted to make tofu. She also told Aunt Li that if the tofu couldn't be finished, it could be soaked in water to keep it fresh for four or five days.
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