Shi Tou has been very busy these past few days and hasn't been home for meals. He has a ten-day holiday for the autumn harvest and needs to finish his homework in advance.
He knew Liu Huan was working on something with soy milk when he left, but he didn't ask any questions.
When he returned to the courtyard five days later, he found it bustling with activity, with Su's father sitting in a recliner watching.
In the courtyard, Su's mother and Liu Huan were pulling the graphite around, and there was white paste on the edge and soybeans in the middle of the graphite.
He put down his book, jogged over, took the rope from Liu Huan's hand, and gently pushed her forward: "I'll do it."
Su's mother glanced back at her son, panting heavily, and said, "It's good that Shitou is back. Let Huanhuan rest."
Liu Huan focused on grinding the beans, while Shi Tou, being a boy, was stronger and quickly finished grinding the whole bowl of beans.
Following his mother's instructions, he carried the soy milk into the kitchen and poured it into a pot. He remembered that the pot in the courtyard was very small, and this one looked like it had just been bought.
Liu Huan added water, and Su's mother lit the fire, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did Stone have a chance to ask, "Mother, what are you doing?"
Mother Su waited for Shi Tou to ask her, revealing a mysterious smile: "This is a big business for our family. It's the first of its kind in Huangshi Town."
Stone raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"
"Huanhuan was researching soy milk the other day, and she actually made something of it. We made some yesterday, but it wasn't enough to sell. So today we bought a big pot to make more and sell it tomorrow morning."
As we were talking, the soy milk in the pot boiled. We took the prepared rack, placed it on top, covered it with a white cloth, and ladled the soy milk into it to filter. This process was a bit slow.
The filtered soy milk was poured back into the pot, and the heat was kept low. Sour soup was slowly added to the pot, and Shi Tou watched as the soy milk began to settle, gradually increasing in volume.
Mother Su clapped her hands proudly, looking at her masterpiece: "It's done, it's done!"
Liu Huan had already prepared the tofu box. After the water had completely cleared, Su's mother filtered the water out of the tofu, put it into the box, and pressed it down.
Leave a little bit in the pot and wait for it to form a ball; then all the steps are complete.
Looking at those two boxes of tofu was like seeing two boxes of money. "Alright, I'll open them tomorrow, and the tender white tofu will come out."
I stir-fried another dish with the tofu dregs from earlier, ladled out the stewed pork rib soup, and served the tofu from the pot directly with the water.
"Try this stone. From now on, it will be our family's secret recipe. We must keep it safe and pass it down from generation to generation."
Su's mother had already decided that once she made money, she would open a shop in town and bring all the children over.
Liu Huan didn't eat much before saying she was tired and wanted to take a nap.
Su's mother: "That won't do. You've only eaten a little bit. Eat some more, Huanhuan."
I guess the graphite got stuck in my shoulder; it's been burning there ever since, and I'm not eating anything right now.
Shi Tou saw her reaction and said, "Mother, if she doesn't want to eat, that's fine. She can sleep for a while and then eat."
Su's mother had no choice but to nod: "Alright, I'll keep the food warm in the pot, and you can take it to her to eat in a bit."
After finishing his meal, Shi Tou said he had to go out for a bit, and Su's mother didn't pay any attention to him.
He returned shortly afterward, carrying a porcelain bottle.
Upon entering Liu Huan's room, I saw that she had her back to the door, and I unconsciously tightened my grip on the porcelain vase in my hand.
"Asleep?"
Liu Huan turned around and accidentally tugged at her shoulder. "Ouch... What are you doing here?"
Shi Tou helped her up. "Slow down, let me see."
Pulling her clothes open a little, you can see that her snow-white skin has a patch of purplish-blue.
Stone frowned deeply: "Why didn't you say it was so serious sooner?"
Liu Huan shook her head and leaned against him weakly, saying, "I don't want my parents to worry."
Shi Tou took out the ointment and applied it to her gently and carefully, afraid of hurting her.
I also massaged her arms to help her relax.
"If it hurts, just tell me, and I'll be gentler."
Liu Huan enjoyed his service: "Mmm, okay~"
When Liu Huan said it was okay, Shi Tou stopped, hugged her and patted her head. "When you were little, you would cry over even the slightest tooth mark. Now you're so tough, you can even bear it like this."
Liu Huan snuggled against his shoulder, not wanting to hear him scold her: "Shitou, I want to sleep."
Shi Tou gently laid her down and patted her gently, just like he used to when she was little, saying, "Sleep well." Soon, he could hear her even breathing.
Su's mother waited until he came out before asking, "What's wrong with Huanhuan?"
Shi Tou said casually, "I just scraped my shoulder a little, it's nothing."
Su's mother cried with guilt: "Is it serious? It's my fault. I shouldn't have let her pull the millstone with me."
She was too weak, otherwise she wouldn't have asked Huanhuan to help her.
Upon hearing this, Su's father also began to feel sorry for himself: "Alas, it's my fault. My legs are crippled and I can't do anything. It's also made my child suffer."
Shi Tou remained silent, feeling useless in his own way. He forced a smile and said, "It's alright, Dad. I'll keep an eye on her these next few days. I'll take care of this from now on."
He said she was fine, but that night, he still went to check on her twice, worried that she might be uncomfortable.
If you go to bed early the first day, you'll wake up early the next day. When Liu Huan got up, Su's mother and Shi Tou were getting ready to set up their stall.
Seeing her come out, he quickly told her to go and rest, "Why did you get up so early? Go back to sleep for a while. I'll go with Shi Tou."
Liu Huan smiled and said, "Mom, it's not serious, I'm all better today."
Seeing that she really wanted to go, Shi Tou said, "Mother, let her go if she wants to, as long as she doesn't take anything with her."
Su's mother didn't insist: "Alright, let's go together then. If you feel unwell, just say so. You're still young, don't tire yourself out."
When I arrived at the place where I had set up my stall the day before, there were already several people waiting.
"You've finally arrived. I thought you weren't selling here anymore."
Mother Su smiled, her face crinkling with wrinkles: "What are you saying, elder sister? We had something to do yesterday. How much do you plan to ask for today?"
"Give us two pounds, the elderly in my family have bad teeth, they'll like this even more."
Upon hearing that she wanted two jin, Su's mother quickly cut off a piece, saying, "Oh, there's an extra liang, I'll give it to you for free."
The woman seemed to have gotten a great deal, beaming from ear to ear: "You really know how to do business, thank you so much."
Shi Tou collected the money, while Liu Huan watched from the side.
Customer: "Oh, I also want two pounds, you can't weigh less than that."
Su's mother: "Okay, I promise it will be full."
I want three jin (1.5 kg).
"There's only one person in my family, one pound is enough for me."
...
As more and more people arrived, Su's mother became overwhelmed, so Liu Huan took over the knife and started cutting the tofu. The family of three then finished buying the two boxes of tofu they had brought.
"Oh no, they're all sold out! I haven't bought any yet!"
The last few people who arrived were unhappy to find the tofu sold out. "Make more next time, this isn't enough!"
"Exactly, they don't even fight for money."
Su's mother smiled and apologized, "I'm so sorry, I'll definitely make more tomorrow."
Then, Liu Huan and Shi Tou packed their things and prepared to go back.
He had only taken two steps when he was stopped by a man dressed as a soldier.
"Stop right there! What are you doing here?"
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