After a good night's sleep, Pei Yao got up and stood in the courtyard, looking at the lush green scenery in the distance. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.
I immediately felt completely refreshed.
This body is indeed only fourteen years old. Yesterday, Pei Yao was busy going up and down mountains and down rivers and was almost exhausted, but she was completely cured after a good night's sleep.
Unlike before, when she was tired the night before, her muscles would always ache for a whole day after she woke up the next day.
It has to be admitted that young people are physically strong.
"Yao'er is awake. Did you sleep well last night?" Yunniang, who was washing snails, looked at her daughter with a smile.
"Good morning, Mother, Aunt Hui." Pei Yao opened her eyes, looked at the two busy people, and greeted them with a sweet smile.
The lychee glutinous rice wine should be almost ready by today. After washing up, Pei Yao went to check on the fermentation of the lychee wine.
Pei Yichen and Pei Xuan also insisted on coming over to watch together.
The large vat containing the lychee wine was sealed with a cloth, so Pei Yao could not see inside from the outside.
She carefully lifted the cloth, and in that instant, a sweet fragrance wafted out, filling the air with a rich, sweet aroma.
Pei Yao swallowed hard, smelling the sweet, cloying aroma and gazing at the fragrant contents of the large vat.
"It has already fermented into rice wine. We should be able to ferment it for another day or two with water."
Upon hearing her elder sister's words, Pei Xuan recalled that she had eaten fermented rice wine when her father took her to the lantern festival before: "Fermented rice wine? Elder sister, Xuan'er has eaten fermented rice wine before, it's sweet and delicious."
There was a lot of fermented rice in the jar, so Pei Yao went to find a clean small jar and divided the fermented rice in the large jar in two.
Pei Yao took the cooled boiled water that she had specially boiled the night before and poured it into the half of the original large vat, stirring the fermented rice wine inside.
Because fermented glutinous rice contains too much sugar, it needs to be diluted with water to make lychee wine.
Otherwise, the sugar content would be too high, which would hinder the fermentation of the yeast in the rice wine.
Because yeast is intolerant of high sugar levels.
Then seal the large vat with oilcloth and put it back in its original position to let it continue to ferment for another day or two.
Pei Yao scooped out some of the remaining half with a spoon, intending to save it to make sweet fermented rice balls in the morning.
The rest can be steamed in water and placed in a cool place; they'll keep for four or five days without any problem.
This method uses high temperatures to effectively kill the microorganisms in the fermented rice, preventing it from fermenting again and turning sour.
Pei Yao used to love drinking fermented rice wine, but the fermented rice wine she made would spoil after a short time. So she used this method to freeze the cooked fermented rice wine in the refrigerator and it would last for a week without any problems.
Pei Yichen, who has always loved sweets, stared wide-eyed at the two bowls of fermented rice wine that Pei Yao was holding, finding them incredibly delicious: "Cousin, are you having fermented rice wine this morning?"
"Yes, sweet fermented rice balls. It's just a pity there's no brown sugar, otherwise it would taste even better." Pei Yao recalled the deliciousness of sweet fermented rice balls with brown sugar and swallowed again.
Pei Yao first put the fermented rice wine from the small jar into a pot and steamed it over water. Then she poured out the leftover refined flour from yesterday, mixed it with water, and planned to knead some small balls to cook with the fermented rice wine later.
Chen Fang was carrying things in when she heard Pei Yao say it was a pity there was no brown sugar. She said, "When I go to town to deliver goods later, I'll go to the dock and bring back some brown sugar."
Today happens to be market day, so there will definitely be people selling brown sugar at the dock.
Pei Yao nodded, since she would need brown sugar to make jelly later.
After Pei Yao finished making the dumplings, the fermented rice in the small jar was also steamed. She took it out and set it aside to cool, and then put it in the cellar to be sealed and stored later.
Pei Yao added water to the pot, and after the water boiled, she added the fermented rice wine. Since she didn't have brown sugar, she added a few pieces of white sugar from home and cooked them together.
Once the water boils for the second time, add the rolled meatballs. After the round, plump meatballs are added to the pot, you can cover the pot and continue cooking for a while.
The aroma of the fermented rice wine became even more intense after being boiled, and its sweet fragrance filled the entire yard.
The fragrance was so strong that even the dogs passing by Pei Yao's house would stop and sniff it.
After Pei Yao finished cooking, seeing that they were almost done with their work, she called everyone over to have breakfast.
Seeing that they were about to eat, Qiaohui packed her things and prepared to go home.
Pei Yao quickly called out to her, "Aunt Hui, let's eat together. I've cooked enough for you and Xiao Cong."
Qiaohui felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this. Food was precious to them these days, and they had eaten breakfast at the Pei family's house yesterday. Eating again today...
Qiaohui waved her hand: "It's okay, my family cooked breakfast."
Yunniang knew this was her good friend's excuse for being embarrassed. She had come over early this morning and had no time to cook in advance.
Yunniang took her hand and said, "Don't refuse. You come to help our family every morning, so you don't have time to go back and make breakfast. Just eat at my house."
Pei Yao quite liked Qiao Hui, who was also her mother's good friend, so she said, "Yes, Aunt Hui, just listen to my mother. After helping out every day, you can bring Xiao Cong to stay at my house for breakfast before leaving. It'll just be one more mouth to feed, and it'll save us from having to cook when we get back."
Shen Cong's small appetite is negligible.
Qiaohui was initially unwilling, but she couldn't resist the words of these people, so she had no choice but to agree. In her heart, she was thinking that she would work even harder for the Pei family in the future.
Yunniang asked Pei Yichen and Pei Xuan to go and call Shen Cong to come and eat together.
The sweet fermented rice balls I made this morning were something everyone in the courtyard had eaten before, but this was the first time they'd tried them with a lychee flavor, and they were surprised to find they were even tastier than any they'd had before.
The fermented rice wine exudes a rich aroma of lychee and the sweet fragrance of fermented glutinous rice.
"Yao'er, where did you buy this fermented rice wine? It's so delicious, completely different from what I've had before." Qiaohui took a bite and her eyes lit up.
Pei Yao smiled, and Yunniang said rather proudly, "This wasn't bought from somewhere; Yao'er made it herself."
Qiaohui was very surprised after hearing this: "Did Yao'er really make it herself?"
Chen Fang nodded in agreement, her tone full of pride: "Yes, our Yao girl may be young, but she's very capable and will definitely have a bright future."
These words made Pei Yao a little embarrassed, and she raised her hand to scratch her head: "Hehe, I'm just an expert on food."
"Yao'er is too modest." Qiaohui took another sip of the lychee wine in her hand.
At this moment, Chen Fang had a flash of inspiration and looked at Pei Yao, asking, "Yao girl, this fermented rice is so delicious, can we go and sell it?"
“Yes, there used to be shops selling fermented rice wine in Kyoto, and they were quite expensive.” Yunniang seemed to recall the dessert shop she had visited before, which often sold fermented rice wine, but the taste wasn’t as good as Pei Yao’s.
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