Chapter 143 Soy Milk
No one has passed the imperial examination to become a scholar, but this does not prevent Qiao Mingyan from having a beautiful vision of the next generation being able to pass the imperial examination.
Hearing this, Zhao Chunhua nodded in agreement and said earnestly: "If possible, I would like to ask your family to help find a trustworthy trading team to ensure a safe journey."
Such a request would naturally not be rejected, especially when the relationship between the two parties is already very close.
The other party immediately agreed: "That's for sure. After all, our family has close ties with those escort agencies, so it's definitely no problem to find someone to accompany you."
When talking about the road to the imperial examination, Qiao Mingyan couldn't help but feel emotional and sighed softly: "I sincerely hope that there will be more successful people in our family!"
Although her parents' family is economically better off than her husband's family, she also enjoys a certain say in her hometown because of the many talented people here.
After training the first student, it becomes a little easier to train more successors.
The Zhao family has set a precedent to prove that the education path is feasible - personally supervising the children's homework and learning progress every day has resulted in several students attending charity schools in the family.
This alone was enough to make the Zhao family a highly respected name in the countryside, and even began to attract students from nearby villages and towns who were eager to study to come and seek advice.
Overall, the family's future seems bright.
However, she knew in her heart that only those who reached a certain level could be considered to have truly entered the official career path.
Therefore, Qiao Mingyan hopes to see a person from the new generation who is officially recognized for his merits emerge as soon as possible to uphold the family's reputation.
"These children are all very smart. Besides, aren't there a few of them going to take the prefectural exam this year? Given time, some of them will surely pass the exam."
In that era, cities equivalent to modern municipalities were called prefectural cities, where the two major examinations held every three years covered a wider and deeper range of knowledge.
"I hope so."
After Qiao Mingyan said this, there was a hint of helplessness in her tone.
She realized that it was not easy to obtain the title of Jinshi, so she only occasionally discussed it with her sisters-in-law in private, and rarely mentioned it to her own children at home, for fear of adding extra pressure to them.
The days passed one by one, flowing in a dull and orderly manner.
That morning, Shu Hong suddenly brought two things that looked dusty and had an extremely rough texture.
"See? This food called konjac is growing very well this year. I'll give you two to try."
At first, Zhao Chunhua did not realize what the strange object in front of her was.
It was not until the other party patiently explained to her that this plant prefers a humid environment and contains toxic components throughout its body (the rhizome is the most toxic), and that it must be thoroughly cooked to remove the toxicity and be eaten, that Zhao Chunhua suddenly realized that this was the konjac she had heard of.
"Although it looks a bit ugly, if you cook it well and stir-fry it with chili peppers, you will drool!"
Shu Hong enthusiastically recommended this seemingly inconspicuous delicacy to Zhao Chunhua, and revealed that she also loved this food very much.
"It's similar to the process of grinding soy milk. You first grind it into a paste and then boil it. You need to stir it constantly during the cooking process and add the right amount of alkaline water to make it solidify successfully."
If there wasn't a lot of work waiting for her to do in the fields, she would definitely keep watching Zhao Chunhua until she completed the whole process.
"If your tongue feels numb after eating it, remember to use some vinegar and ginger to help detoxify it."
Shu Hong spoke with concern, as if she was afraid that Zhao Chunhua would miss or forget this important step.
"And if your hands feel itchy or uncomfortable during the process, please stop for the time being and I will help you when I am free."
She reminded the parents of these precautions over and over again, because although the food was indeed delicious, it was an indisputable fact that it was also somewhat toxic.
Hearing this, Zhao Chunhua nodded and said, "I know what to do.
Thank you, Sister Hong. You can go back to work in the fields with peace of mind now."
There was a hint of helplessness in her tone, but she was still polite.
Well, Zhao Chunhua is usually a cautious person, so there shouldn't be any big problems easily. Shu Hong thought, it might be a good idea to come and check the situation after finishing the farm work.
In fact, according to normal procedures, Shu Hong should have prepared the konjac in advance and delivered it, but there were too many miscellaneous things to do in the fields recently, and she could not find the free time to do such an operation.
However, when she learned from her son Shu Ziying that Zhao Chunhua had a strong interest in trying new things, she took some time to dig up a few ripe konjacs and sent them directly to her.
Otherwise, if you miss this opportunity, you may not have time to prepare such a gift again.
Zhao Chunhua nodded again to confirm. She had finally persuaded Shu Hong, who was kind-hearted but nagging, to leave. She felt both relieved and grateful.
Her ears regained their tranquility. Zhao Chunhua took out rubber gloves and a melon peeler and first thoroughly cleaned two konjacs weighing about five or six pounds.
The surface of these konjacs looks a bit rough and it takes some effort to wash them clean.
After washing, she carefully peeled the konjac.
Some places that cannot be planed with a plane need to be shaved off with a knife.
This work requires considerable patience and carefulness.
Today I will use this old stone slab to grind pulp again.
Thinking of this, Zhao Chunhua first picked up a bundle of straw and lit it carefully until she saw the flames gradually rising.
After the burning was completed, she collected the ashes, put them in a basin, added water and stirred them, then filtered them to make alkaline water, which she placed aside to wait for sedimentation.
The whole process seems simple, but in fact every step must be done well to ensure the effect.
Wearing the rubber gloves she had prepared earlier, Zhao Chunhua began this long and tedious task.
Although this was not the first time she had done this, she always felt an inexplicable sense of pressure every time she started.
However, as time passed, she slowly adapted to this rhythm.
Thinking back to when I was a child and saw my grandmother making konjac, the scene seems still vivid in my mind.
Although the process is different from what Shu Hong said, the method used by the elderly seems to be simpler and more effective.
Considering the point of saving effort, she naturally tends to choose the simpler method.
Mix the freshly washed konjac with a certain amount of clean water and grind it into a smooth liquid like milk.
Then, slowly pour the konjac juice prepared in this way into the alkaline water that has been allowed to stand, and stir thoroughly.
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