"Mom, soak these dried bean curd sticks in hot water first, and remember to cover them with something so they will soften faster."
"It will come in handy when we're cooking later."
Yu Chengyuan and his mother went to the kitchen together. Then, as he began washing the meat, he spoke to his mother.
"This thing is called dried bean curd sticks."
It smells like soybeans.
Could it be made of beans?
This thing must be quite expensive, right?
It should taste pretty good, right?
Pan Cuilian had never eaten this before; at most, she could eat one or two pieces of meat during the New Year.
Her family was poor, and she rarely went back. In all the years since she got married, she had only been back a few times.
Because her mother-in-law would scold her, saying that she went back just to be lazy and didn't want to do any work.
This wasn't just true for her; her second sister-in-law also rarely returned to her parents' home, while her third sister-in-law went back the most often, at least once a year.
Because her third sister-in-law gave birth to a lovely second child, her mother-in-law would always agree whenever the second child begged for her help.
So I asked out of curiosity.
"It's probably two or three yuan a pack!"
"This must have been given to me by my mother-in-law for the holiday. She knew we were having a meal with the villagers again today, so she gave me this bag of dried bean curd."
This kind of thing was not common in small county towns at that time.
Especially those with beautiful packaging like this are even more expensive.
A 500-gram pack of dried bean curd sticks would cost around five yuan.
However, a pound of dried bean curd sticks should only cost around 3 yuan in the market.
"What? Five yuan a pack?"
So expensive!
Chengyuan, let's not eat this!
Take it back to your mother-in-law tomorrow.
It's just too expensive.
Five yuan a pack? That's terrifying! This stuff is worth several pounds of meat!
Pan Cuilian couldn't understand why this thing called dried bean curd was so expensive.
"Mom, I've already brought it back, how can I possibly send it back?"
Besides, my mother-in-law would definitely be unhappy if I sent it back.
She thought we were disgusted by her stuff!
Mom, hurry up and make it!
There won't be enough time later!
Yu Chengyuan said with a smile as he sharpened the kitchen knife.
"That's not what Mother meant!"
I just feel that it's such a waste for us to eat such a big thing.
Your mother-in-law is really generous, giving you meat, apples, and malted milk powder.
You brat, remember to be good to your parents-in-law in the future.
They have no children of their own; you will be their son from now on.
Pan Cuilian said with some emotion.
This mother-in-law seems to be a person with a sharp tongue but a kind heart.
"Mother, I understand. I have married such a good wife as Sulan. I will definitely be filial to her parents in the future."
You can rest assured.
Yu Chengyuan finished sharpening the knife while he was speaking.
"That's good, that's good!"
As Pan Cuilian soaked the dried bean curd sticks in water, her eyes still showed reluctance.
However, she didn't soak it all, only half of it, because she really couldn't bear to finish it!
We need to save some for the two kids later.
Yu Chengyuan didn't notice his mother's little scheme; he was completely focused on cutting the meat.
This is a piece of pork belly, very oily and juicy. The villagers who helped out today are in for a treat.
It's delicious to fry pork belly until the oil is rendered and then stir-fry it with dried bean curd sticks.
"Mom, if you like this, I'll buy it for you at the free market another day."
Yu Chengyuan thought that now that the family had separated, they would have a much better time eating, because they wouldn't have to worry about so much.
"No, no, no... You must not buy it, it's too expensive, five yuan a pack. Your older brother has to dig coal for almost a whole day and he doesn't even have five yuan."
Pan Cuilian shook her head, then added to herself, "If only I could make it for myself, then I wouldn't have to spend money."
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. A bold idea flashed into Yu Chengyuan's mind.
He recalled that Gao'an dried bean curd was very famous in his previous life.
This product is not yet in mass production, and it is made entirely by hand without the aid of machines.
If we could make it ourselves, wouldn't that be a huge business opportunity?
Thinking of this, Yu Chengyuan shouted, "Mother, thank you, it's all thanks to your reminder."
He lived a muddled life in his previous life, achieving nothing.
I'm not some kind of entrepreneur; I can't live like that again in my life.
Pan Cuilian listened to her son's inexplicable thanks and asked with a face full of questions, "Chengyuan, what are you thanking me for?"
Why don't I understand?
"It's nothing, you'll understand later."
He can't say yet because he has to do experiments.
If the experiment is successful, then we can sell it.
Modern dried bean curd sticks contain no additives and are made solely from soybeans.
It takes about five or six pounds of soybeans to make one pound of dried bean curd sticks. One pound of soybeans costs a little over three cents, and in some places it costs four cents.
In other words, the cost of one pound of dried bean curd is two yuan, or even a little more than two yuan.
That means retail price is at least three to three and a half yuan.
No wonder this stuff is more expensive than pork.
However, various additives were added to the dried bean curd sticks later on, so one and a half pounds of soybeans can make one pound of dried bean curd sticks, which greatly reduced the cost.
However, that's at least five or six years from now.
"Oh dear, Chengyuan is busy in the kitchen?"
Are you going to be the head chef today?
The village chief's wife, Hao Qiumei, came in with three aunts.
The kitchen immediately felt somewhat cramped.
"Qiu Mei, you're right. Today, our second son said he'll be in charge of cooking."
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