Chapter 20 Jiang Liu the Egg
We're out of flour at home.
Steamed corn cakes require the use of wheat flour to improve texture and increase stickiness.
Before making lunch, Ye Li took some copper coins and went to Aunt Qiu Mei's house to buy five catties of wheat and one catty of flour.
Although the stone mill at home is specifically for grinding tofu, it can also be used to grind flour.
Before grinding the wheat, it needed to be washed. After arriving home, he asked Jiang Ji to wash the wheat, while he kneaded the dough to make noodles.
He's tired of eating pancakes every day.
There were four people in his family, and one pound of flour wasn't enough, so he added a lot of cornmeal to the earthenware pot and cracked in two eggs.
Just as the dough was ready, Jiangmai and Jiangya returned carrying pig feed.
The two little ones put down their baskets and ran into the kitchen.
They were thirsty and wanted to drink water.
Upon entering the kitchen, Jiang Ya saw that Ye Li was preparing to roll out noodles and immediately exclaimed, "Brother Li, are we having noodles for lunch?"
"Yes. In addition to noodles, I'll make a sauce with eggs and tofu later."
Ye Li said with a smile.
Jiang Ya immediately exclaimed, "Oh!" He wanted to eat it!
However, they ate eight eggs that morning.
"Brother Li, do we eat eggs every meal?" he asked with wide eyes.
Jiang Mai, standing to the side, also stared intently at Ye Li without blinking.
If I eat them like this, I should be able to finish all the eggs I've saved up in two days, right?
Ye Li knew what the two little ones were thinking, but eggs were already the most basic source of nutrition. There was no milk or meat, so if they wanted to eat something better, they could only rely on eggs.
Eggs can be paired with other ingredients, and there are many ways to eat them... He paused slightly, a new idea forming in his mind.
He knew what to do next!
He explained gently, "Now that we're making money, and I've come up with another great idea to make money, don't worry, we can afford eggs."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ya's little face showed a slight surprise: "A new way to make money?"
Jiang Mai was also stunned: "What method?"
"Keep it a secret for now! I'll have your eldest brother go to the county town this afternoon."
Ye Li kept everyone in suspense.
The two little ones thought of tofu puffs and skewers, and they believed him to be 80% right. They ran off to find Jiang Ji.
After washing the wheat, Jiang Ji continued sharpening his sickle.
The two of them excitedly announced this big news to Jiang Ji.
Jiang Ji frowned slightly upon hearing this. Where did Ye Li get so many ways to make money?
He sent Jiangmai and Jiangya to chop pig feed while he continued sharpening his sickle and shovel.
Lunch was ready quickly.
Ye Li called the three brothers to eat, and Jiang Ji washed his hands and went into the kitchen.
"Sit down and eat," Ye Li called out to him.
After he sat down at the table, Ye Li said, "This afternoon, go to the county town to buy two catties of lime and some sawdust from the carpenter. I have a big use for it."
"Are you going to make some new dishes?" Jiang Ji asked.
“Yes.” Ye Li nodded.
The new food he was going to make was none other than preserved eggs.
Preserved eggs are not the same as century eggs. Preserved eggs are made from chicken eggs, while century eggs are made from duck eggs.
The preserved egg is amber in color, translucent and beautiful.
Completely different from the dark-colored preserved egg.
As for the most important flavor, it is naturally no less delicious than preserved egg, and it is very fresh and delicious after being served cold.
Moreover, the method of making preserved eggs is extremely simple and will not interfere with the business of tofu puffs at all.
It's also durable and can be stored for up to six months after it's made.
Even if they don't sell out right away, there's no need to worry.
Of course, with him around, there's no chance of them not selling.
Actually, he would prefer to make spicy strips.
Spicy strips and pancakes go better together.
However, there are no beef tendon noodles here.
Spicy strips made with rice don't taste good.
Of course, bean curd sheets can also be used to make spicy strips.
However, the texture is far less substantial than that of beef tendon noodles.
Besides, since he already has red oil and sesame paste as condiments, why would he need to make spicy strips with bean curd sheets? He could just have Ye Liang buy some bean curd sheets and tofu puffs to sell together.
However, my cheap brother is late today; his family has already started eating.
Jiang Ji was unaware that Ye Li's thoughts had drifted far away. He suppressed his doubts and simply said "okay" before picking up his chopsticks.
He was indeed closer to Ye Li than before, and he was certain that Ye Li wouldn't easily turn him down.
But if Ye Li cheerfully replies that it's a secret, he will still feel awkward.
He felt awkward as long as Ye Li didn't tell him the reason clearly.
So he didn't ask.
I'd rather die than ask.
He lowered his eyes. In front of him was a large bowl of noodles, topped with a sauce, glistening egg bits mixed with diced tofu, and interspersed with bright green sweet potato leaves. It looked very tempting.
He was starving after working all morning.
The pale yellow corn noodles were barely visible under the sauce, so he used chopsticks to stir them, trying to make sure the noodles were evenly coated with the sauce.
After flipping it twice, he pulled out a palm-sized, golden-brown scrambled egg from the bottom of the bowl.
He froze, then remembered Ye Li's words from that morning: "I'll give you an extra piece of fried eggs for lunch."
He felt incredibly guilty. He glanced to the left and right and saw Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya both hunched over the table, intently shoveling noodles into their mouths. He immediately stirred the noodles again and used them to cover the egg.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he was completely covered up.
He went toward Yeli.
Ye Li raised an eyebrow at him, then touched her lips twice with her chopsticks.
The significance is self-evident.
...
He pursed his lips and lowered his head to eat his noodles.
After only one bite, villagers came to buy tofu.
He got up before Ye Li and took out a scale to weigh the tofu for the villagers.
As the villagers carried their tofu away from the kitchen, he picked up his bowl of noodles as well, indicating that he wanted to see them off.
Standing in the yard, he ate the large, tender scrambled eggs, completely eliminating the evidence of Ye Li's "favoritism" towards him, before slowly carrying the bowl back to the kitchen.
After the meal, Jiang Ji took the fifty coins Ye Li had given him, went to Jiang Dahe's house to have Jiang Liu come to his house for an "interview," and then went straight to the county town.
When Jiang Liu arrived, Ye Li was standing at the corner of the courtyard wall, looking towards the road leading into the village.
The villagers of Yezaopo live scattered at the foot of the slope, not in neat rows. The Jiang family lives in the southwest corner of the village. If you walk around your own yard and look back, you can see the road leading into the village.
Jiang Liu asked curiously, "Brother Li, what are you looking at?"
"Look at my older brother, why hasn't he come yet today?"
A hint of worry flashed across Ye Li's face.
"Perhaps he was held up by something else, Brother Li, don't worry, he'll be fine."
Jiang Liu comforted him.
Ye Li could only pray like this. He looked away and beckoned Jiang Liu into the courtyard.
Jiang Liu had a braided hairstyle, was tall, and had regular features.
But she had worked in the fields since she was a child, and her oval face was tanned and not as fair as those girls who rarely left their homes.
His hands were also dark, with rough skin and thick calluses on his palms.
Jiang Dahe and his wife had no son, and with heavy household chores, they had no choice but to treat her like a servant.
Although she was only sixteen years old, she was different from the sixteen-year-old high school girls in Ye Li's previous life. In the Jiang family, she was already a strong laborer.
She didn't find the work of grinding grain hard at all. When Jiang Ji told her about it, she immediately put down her lunch, which she had only eaten a bite of, and rushed over.
At that moment, she followed Ye Li into the courtyard, and before Ye Li could speak, she took the initiative to say, "Brother Li, how about I push the stone mill for you to see?"
"I'm strong, I can push really fast."
Ye Li smiled upon hearing this and said, "Alright, then give it a try."
Before the wheat that Jiang Ji had washed was even dried, he took some soybeans and asked Jiang Liu to grind them into soybean powder.
Jiang Liu was used to farm work. Although she was a year younger than Ye Li, she was stronger and pushed the millstone with more ease than Ye Li.
As she pushed, she secretly glanced at Ye Li.
The anxiety in his eyes was undeniable.
Ye Li pretended not to see it, and while adding beans to the millstone, asked, "I heard from Jiang Ji that your second uncle has arranged a marriage for you, but you don't want to?"
Jiang Liu was surprised that he would ask this. She was silent for a moment before saying, "That man is not good-looking, and he is also old, over twenty years old. His family is also poor."
"What did Second Uncle see in him?" Ye Li asked in surprise.
“That man had seven brothers. My dad liked him because he thought that having more sons would prevent him from being bullied in the village.”
Jiang Liu gritted her teeth secretly, a look of resentment flashing in her eyes.
She has to endure all this because she has no brothers.
She refused to accept it!
She would rather die than marry him.
Ye Li never expected this reason, and he looked at Jiang Liu with sympathy.
Jiang Dahe is truly obsessed.
I miss my son terribly!
"Xiao Liu, when your brother Ji returns to the private school, you can come and work here. You'll earn ten coins a day, and you can leave after you finish grinding the millstone each day."
"Really?!" Jiang Liu looked at Ye Li with a surprised expression.
Before she arrived, she expected to be paid five coins!
Of course, she would still be willing to do it if she was only paid three coins.
As long as she can earn money, she's willing to do any kind of hard work!
The result is now ten coins, which means three hundred coins a month!
That's a huge sum of money!
But she quickly calmed down: "Brother Li, the wages you're paying are too high. Please lower them a bit, otherwise I'll be stuck with this."
Whose unmarried daughter can earn three hundred coins a month?
Li Ge took such good care of her.
"Why are you so embarrassed? I should be the one who feels bad. You're not just grinding this handful of soybeans; you're grinding twenty pounds of soybeans."
Ye Li shook her head.
He originally planned to pay seven or eight cents, since the job was in the village and the working hours were short, so he was sure there would be people in the village willing to do it.
But now the applicant is Jiang Liu, a poor little girl. If he pays her too little, he simply can't live with his conscience.
You know, even a grown man like me had to keep at it for over an hour.
Jiang Liu offered a few more words of encouragement, and seeing that Ye Li was sincere in wanting to give it, she was extremely grateful.
Even her eyes were red.
She wants to make money; she wants to have a say in her life's most important matters.
She wants to find a husband!
Isn't her father always complaining that no one will take care of him in his old age?
Don't people always feel that raising a daughter who gets married is a waste of time?
Then she won't get married!
She brought a man home!
All of this requires money.
It will cost a lot of money.
She thanked Ye Li repeatedly, which made Ye Li feel both ashamed and sympathetic.
Sigh, in the end, it's all because of poverty.
We need to make money, we absolutely need to make a lot of money!
My husband went to buy lime and sawdust, so he bought some eggs. Today, the preserved eggs will be made and they can be sold in half a month.
He took out fifty coins and gave them to Jiang Liu, asking her to buy some eggs from the villagers.
The world is at peace now, and recent years have been blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests, so prices are stable.
Eggs come in all sizes and are usually sold by weight, at ten coins per pound. Fifty coins can buy forty or fifty eggs.
He doesn't have much money on hand right now, so he'll only make about fifty to test the waters in the first batch.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
