Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Bean Sprouts
Gong Zhili changed the water for the bean sprouts again. She looked at how well they were growing, figuring they would be ready to eat tomorrow. She came out of the kitchen and asked the children, "Would you like to have cold bean sprouts, stir-fried bean sprouts, bean sprout and kelp soup, or hot and sour bean sprouts?"
Actually, stir-fried bean sprouts with shredded pork is delicious, but unfortunately we don’t have shredded pork at home. Bean sprouts would also be good in pickled fish, but we don’t have pickled cabbage.
There is dried kelp, which was sent by the village chief together with pickled octopus.
Neither of the two children had ever eaten it, so Mimiko asked her, "Which one do you think is the best?"
She thinks stewed pork ribs with bean sprouts and stir-fried pork belly are the best...
"We'll have bean sprout, tofu and kelp soup tomorrow." There was some money left after buying feed with the money donated by Getasu. With the 50,000 yuan in spare change she had, she could go to the village to buy some tofu.
There are families in the village who specialize in soy products business, as well as families who raise other livestock, but they are all small-scale and are family workshops.
The village chief said that there would be a big market in the village in the middle of every month, when farmers would slaughter pigs and cattle, and the villagers could be self-sufficient in meat. She planned to stock up more meat at home at that time, as children would not grow well without meat.
Xia Yujie also went to the kitchen to look at the bean sprouts she had grown a few days ago and said, "The bean sprouts are a little short."
Gong Zhili sighed, "I know that too... but we can't always eat wild vegetables from the mountains. The vegetable seeds have just been planted, so for now we can only rely on bean sprouts and dried mushrooms to survive."
The bottles, jars and various seasonings she ordered in the past few days have gradually arrived. She also plans to go to the taro field tomorrow to cut some taro stalks and pickle them into sour taro stalks.
You can marinate it with chili peppers, minced garlic, and minced ginger for a few months and eat it slowly, or you can simply marinate it with rice vinegar and sugar and then stir-fry the pork belly - after all, stir-fried meat is the best.
Gojo-kun, please come here quickly with the money.
Perhaps he heard her inner wish, for the next day Gojo Satoru came to the village carrying a small box.
He arrived early. Miya Chiri, fresh from washing, was watering the fields. The morning mist still clung to the wooden pier. Gojo Satoru emerged from the dim light, swaying a black suitcase. His shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the lines of his wrists like finely carved jade. His collarbone was faintly visible where his collar was loose. He wasn't wearing an eye mask, his blue eyes bathed in the sea's color. His silver hair was tousled by the wind, giving him a hint of boyish mischief.
The metal box twirled around his fingertips a few times before being tossed up and caught firmly. The morning light elongated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and the hem of his shirt lifted at the back with his steps, revealing a taut waistline. A wild bird flew overhead, its wing shadow brushing the bridge of his nose. He tilted his head back and smiled, the curve of his lips barely visible.
"Good morning, Miss Gong—" He raised his hand, but before he even reached her, his voice had already scared away the wild birds in the orchard.
The rest of his words got stuck in his throat because he saw Gong Zhili wearing a straw hat and extremely simple long-sleeved shirt and trousers - exactly the same as what he saw a few days ago.
"Miss Gong, don't you have any other clothes to change into?" He shook the box in his hand, "Here is 50 million, go buy a few sets of clothes first."
Gong Zhili said frankly: "If I have to work, why wear such nice clothes? But you came just in time. The children can eat meat this month."
Gojo Satoru's mouth twitched slightly: "Are you still short of meat?"
Gong Zhili: "I always feel uneasy when there is no food in the refrigerator." This is her true feelings. The freezer of the refrigerator is always empty, and she feels frustrated every time she sees it when cooking.
Gojo Satoru weighed the box and said, "So, here it is."
He handed the box over and asked, "Want to buy meat today?"
Gong Zhili shook his head: "I'm going to buy tofu today. I have to wait a few days to buy meat."
Gojo Satoru: "Alas—I want to eat meat too."
His eyes went to the chicken coop: "The coop I built is also used - can't the chicken be used?"
Gong Zhili let out a long "hmm" and said with a bit of amusement: "Don't say that in front of Nanako and Mimiko. They have to collect grass for the chickens and ducks every day. If you want to eat it, you have to convince them first."
Gojo Satoru: "So I'm saying, this is clearly your land, but you can't eat meat?"
"I'm going to the mountains to help you hunt wild boars today!"
Gong Zhili glanced at him and said, "Wild boar meat isn't that tasty, and it's also difficult to prepare. Do you know how to butcher a pig?"
Besides—"Can you use spells now?"
Gojo Satoru walked with her to the door and was deeply offended by her question. "I don't need to use any cursed energy to catch wild boars. Yo, Jie, good morning."
Xia Yujie finished washing up and came out when he heard the noise. He happened to run into them and asked curiously, "Did the school also grant you a vacation?"
Gojo Satoru didn't care: "I gave myself leave myself."
Gong Zhili: "Is your school a decent one? Can my child change schools in the future?"
Gojo Satoru: "There are only two Jujutsu high schools. The other one is an old-fashioned school that values family and bloodline. Are you sure you want to go there?"
Gong Zhili sighed: "Is this a competition to see who is worse?"
Forget it, the child is still young. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just hire a private tutor to study at home.
She is very optimistic about Geto Suguru and hopes that he can take over the teaching tasks of her children in the future.
Xia Youjie was caught by her expectant eyes, and his mind actually connected with her. He said, "It's okay to teach them, but won't they go to school in the future?"
Just stay in the village like this?
Before Gong Zhili could say anything, Gojo Satoru interrupted forcefully, "No, they must come to technical high school in the future. Otherwise, they'll easily become curse casters."
Gong Zhili understood instantly: if children don’t go to regular schools, they will easily become gangsters.
The thought of this kind of thing made the parents heartbroken, so she simply gave up thinking about it and said, "I'm going to the lake to cut taro stalks today. What are you going to do?"
Geto: "I continued to teach them, took notes, and then took them to collect herbs."
Gojo Satoru put his hands behind his head and stretched his shoulders comfortably: "I'm fine with that. I'll leave after lunch."
Gong Zhili changed his mind instantly: "Then you and I will go into the mountains to dig trees."
Gojo Satoru was speechless: "You really don't miss any opportunity to order me around."
Gong Zhili: "Well, before that, I have to go buy tofu first."
--
The Maeda family runs the only tofu shop in the village.
As the September sky turned green, the lights in the tofu shop came on. Straw ropes hung from wooden beams, a cast iron pot was caked with scorched bean skins, and swollen soybeans lay in a ceramic basin, glistening and wet.
The door curtain had faded to a grayish-blue, and the corners of the characters "tofu" were frayed. Several cedar tofu boxes were stacked in the corner, and the cracks of the bottom one were covered in white dirt, like salt crystals growing into the wood. The copper scale was also an old item from the Showa era, and the rock salt in the weight box had long since worn round at the edges, originally brought from the Noto Peninsula.
The Maeda family has not lived in the village for generations. Their hometown is in Noto. Their grandfather's generation fled here, and by their generation, they have never thought about moving again.
Makoto Maeda is a hardworking man. He gets up early to grind soy milk and make tofu. His wife gets up a little later. They work together in tacit understanding until the time comes and wake up the two children to send them to school. Today is Friday, and thinking about the holiday, the children are more energetic to get up.
Wild vines clung to the well rope in the backyard. Freshly drawn well water shimmered in a wooden vat. Freshly pressed tofu, its corners perfectly square, soaked in a foam box. Gauze cloth, used to dry bean dregs, lay stretched across a bamboo rack, its meshes coated with translucent bean film. The stove still lingered, and the family of four had a simple breakfast. The eldest son supervised the younger son as he packed his schoolbag, and the two of them prepared to leave for school.
The two boys from the tofu shop grabbed their schoolbags and rushed out, and they ran into Gong Zhili who was lifting the door curtain. The junior high school student pulled his younger brother back - the adults in the family had recently warned them not to offend the shrine maiden and to say hello when they saw her.
In fact, last time they helped the shrine maiden carry things home, they also saw her abilities and felt from the bottom of their hearts that she was the most powerful person in the world. That kind of respect did not need to be taught by adults.
There were spots of mud on Gong Zhili's trouser legs, and a bamboo leaf was stuck to the toe of her canvas shoes. She was carrying a backpack on her back, and Gojo Satoru was walking behind her with his hands in his pockets. His white hair was messy and looked like a ball of dandelion fluff. Seeing that the cloth was about to fall, he reached out to hold the door curtain that was about to slide down. The elementary school student Maeda No was staring at him and was stepped on the instep by his brother.
The two children greeted Gong Zhili loudly, and she responded with a smile. The sound startled the Maeda couple who were busy in the house. They lifted the curtain and walked to the front. Maeda Makoto saw her, hurriedly wiped his hands on his apron several times, and asked, "Mrs. Gong, what do you want?"
Maeda Junko went back and brought out the soy milk. "Lord Gong, would you like to try some freshly brewed soy milk? We also sell tofu pudding this morning. Would you like some?"
Gong Zhili readily agreed: "Then help me fill a bottle of soy milk, a bottle of tofu pudding, and cut this much tofu."
She gestured with her hand over a fresh sheet of tofu: "Cut it into three pieces."
Makoto Maeda wanted to ask if he needed to cut some off specially to offer to the gods, but when he thought about the fact that there was no shrine in the village and the shrine maiden had no intention of mentioning the shrine at all, he thought about it for a moment and didn't say anything more.
The eldest son, Daisuke Maeda, pushed his younger brother Nori Maeda out of the house. If they delayed any longer, they would be late.
Gong Zhili reached behind him and said, "Bottle."
Gojo Satoru took the bottle out of the backpack and complained, "Ordering me again."
Maeda looked at the tall boy and asked, "Is this also a student at the religious school?"
Miya Chiri: "Well, their school asked me to do it, and other students will come later." She looked at Gojo Satoru.
Gojo Satoru understood and continued, "It's an off-campus training at a religious school."
Gong Zhili: She directly registered this place as the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School Off-campus Training Base?
The soy milk and tofu pudding were ready, and the tofu cubes were also placed in the backpack. When Gong Zhili took out the change, Maeda Makoto immediately refused, saying that they should not accept money from Lord Gong. The soybeans they harvested all came from the land, and Lord Gong protected the land, so how could they accept money?
Gong Zhili: "This money is for the students. They have eaten a lot of the food you sent them, and they will eat and use even more in the future. They have also paid me."
The two sides pushed and pulled for several times, until Gong Zhili said, "If you don't take the money, I won't come again", and he finally took the money.
In fact, they are the only family in the village that makes tofu, so how could we not come?
Although we have a stone mill at home, it is really troublesome to use.
People are like this. When cleaning the millstone, they think they will need it in the future, but after they become rich, they only think about using money to solve the problem.
Fortunately, she is rich now.
In fact, Gong Zhili spent money to buy feed yesterday, and the people in the village were discussing whether Lord Gong would no longer need offerings in the future. Therefore, the families selling chickens and ducks felt extremely honored. Their offerings might be the last batch. If compared with the New Year's visit and drawing lots, then it would be very auspicious!
The Sugiyama family, who sold feed, was very unhappy.
It was not until the village chief had assured them yesterday that offerings would be made as usual during the New Year and major festivals that they stopped gathering before Gong Zhili to beg her, fearing that she would no longer bless the village's land.
The village chief did not tell Gong Zhili about this matter. He was the person who had the most contact with Gong Zhili in the village. He felt that it was wise to let the villagers always maintain a sense of awe in the face of such a truly powerful witch.
Junko Maeda accepted the money and decided to make more tofu puffs, dried tofu and other things as offerings during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
If the witch had come to the village earlier, their family might have been able to harvest more and better soybeans this year.
While Gong Zhili and the boss were arguing, Gojo Satoru was already feeling bored. He went out and squatted on the roadside to play with a stray cat. When he saw Gong Zhili come out, he stood up and said, "What a waste of time."
Gong Zhili did not refute and said, "Okay, go home and put the tofu in the refrigerator, and we will go dig the tree."
Teenagers just lack patience.
She remembered that she had skipped classes she disliked in college, so she understood their impatience.
Soy milk and tofu pudding can be consumed in the morning, and the two children were particularly surprised when they got up to eat breakfast.
Gong Zhili told them, "Put your pocket money under the bedroom steps. If you want to eat anything in the future, go to the village store and buy it. If you want soy milk in the morning, I'll buy you tofu. I'll leave these errands to you."
Cai Caizi held the bowl of soy milk and drank the sweet soy milk with sugar. She seemed to have gained some courage in her heart, but it was not so easy to say the word "OK".
Mimiko was also picking at the bowl in silence.
Gong Zhili stood up, ready to leave, and asked them, "What's the answer?"
"Okay..." the two children replied in a low voice.
Gong Zhili and Gojo Satoru walked out of the house. Although Gojo Satoru didn't care, the two children were family members that Jie valued very much after all, so he was willing to show some concern: "Are the two children okay?"
Gong Zhili: "They are probably very reluctant."
Gojo Satoru: "Then?"
Miya Chiri: "But there's also Geto-kun, right?"
It is much more effective to let students who have just figured it out teach younger children than for her to use various methods to enlighten them.
Gojo Satoru was slightly surprised: "You are an educator?"
This teacher is more skilled than him.
Gong Zhili didn't blush at all: "Well, you can say that."
Gojo Satoru: "Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher in the future?" Come to Jujutsu High School and be a psychology teacher or something.
Gong Zhili stood at the foot of the mountain and said, "It doesn't matter what happens in the future - the important thing now is my trees."
She had already chosen a spot these days. She had taken a fancy to several wild pear trees, chestnut trees, kiwi trees, hawthorn trees, and wild mulberry trees. She even planned to dig up a pepper tree to take back. Of course, it would be better to transplant those fruit-bearing shrubs to the lakeside, so that she would not have to go up the mountain to eat the fruits in season.
After hearing her words, Gojo Satoru protested, "This is different from cutting down trees before. It's very troublesome to transport the intact trees down the mountain!"
Gong Zhili smiled and said, "So we have to wait until you, Gojo-kun, come."
Gojo Satoru obviously knew that she was trying to trick him, but it was so comfortable to hear her say that. She was so young and had such a good attitude. It was too difficult to move the tree by herself, so it was only right for him to help.
And she also solved Jay's big problem.
Jay, I have paid so much for you!
Gojo Satoru stretched his left arm back, grasped his left wrist with his right, and twisted his upper body to the right. The hem of his shirt lifted with the movement, revealing a taut waistline, his back arching into a smooth arc. He spun a few times and smiled at Miya Chiri, "Let's go!"
Gong Zhili smiled as he watched him walk up the mountain excitedly.
Digging the tree was not a problem for the two of them. Gojo Satoru didn't know where he got the strength from, and he could even drag the whole tree through the woods. Gong Zhili was surprised when he saw it.
She could feel that as soon as Gojo Satoru entered the village, the cursed energy in his body was continuously absorbed by the land. Even if his own cursed energy could be retained, it was limited. Was the power that dragged the trees his pure physical strength?
"Are all sorcerers so amazing?" Gong Zhili asked him to remove the tree. "Their physical qualities are too strong."
Gojo Satoru didn't think anything of it. He watched with interest as Gong Zhili pulled a vine from the tree and tied it to the wild pear tree. The lush tree was lifted to the top of the tree. The forest moved without wind, and a furry passage seemed to have formed between the treetops.
The treetops brushed past the neighboring oak trees and slid down the mountain, scraping off fine wood chips from the bark. Pear trees hung on the tops of the pine trees, and several thin vines adjusted their directions alternately. In the last section near the foot of the mountain, the whole tree flipped over and rolled over the bushes. The broken branches were stuck in the vines and dangled for a long time before falling.
Gojo Satoru watched the entire process of the tree sliding down with his six eyes, then turned to her and asked, "Another gift from me?"
As soon as he entered the land, he was drained away. She always felt that she was "waiting for him to come" just for his curse power!
Miyaji patted his arm and said, "Because Gojo-kun is really strong."
Gojo Satoru looked at her hand on his arm, which was dark and unfathomable. Miya Chiri noticed his gaze, withdrew her hand, and said, "Sorry, it was subconsciously-"
Accustomed to coaxing the children at home, Nanako and Mimiko especially like her small actions like patting their heads.
Gojo Satoru's expression was still profound. He raised his chin slightly and looked at her from top to bottom.
Gong Zhili: "? Don't you like it that much? Fine, I apologize."
Gojo Satoru curled his lips and said, "It's okay."
Before Wu Bo stopped, he hadn't felt touched in a long time.
He suppressed the slight itch in his heart and said, "Keep digging."
The two of them worked together with great efficiency, and all the tree species that Gong Zhili had planned were dug up. The best thing was that a large cloud floated in the sky at noon, and there was no direct sunlight, so they could transplant the trees after lunch.
She believes in the power of the land!
Well, thanks again to Gojo-kun, it turns out that it is better to increase revenue than to cut costs.
Speaking of open source... I wonder if driving the cursed spirits into the village in the future will have the same effect?
She recalled the "cursed object" in the previous curse master's notes.
She was sure that there was nothing on this land that emitted the aura of a "cursed object", so the cursed objects collected by the curse master should also have become the power of the land.
As they were going down the mountain, Gong Zhili asked Gojo Satoru, "Do you want to experience the feeling of sliding through the grass?"
Gojo Satoru readily accepted: "Sounds fun, how do we play?"
Gong Zhili grinned: "It's hard and slippery."
She jumped on the spot, stepping on fallen leaves and dirt, and said, "Isn't it a very steep slope from here to the foot of the mountain? Do you want to come?"
Gojo Satoru understood it all at once, and he became excited: It must be more exciting to play like this when the cursed energy is so weak!
The two looked at each other and moved at the same time in tacit understanding.
They jumped up at the same time and kicked the pine tree trunks beside them, but the pine needles falling from the trees did not fall on them because - they had already rushed out!
The slope was steep, and the initial descent was incredibly fast. Gong Zhili's heel rubbed against the wet moss, his right palm suddenly pushing against the ground as he rolled sideways, grabbing a withered vine and swung across the slope. As he landed, his left knee buckled against the weeds and brought him to a sudden stop. Gojo Satoru, however, launched himself directly onto a fallen log, unfazed by the broken stubble piercing his heel. He even twisted his waist mid-air, kicking a pine cone against a rock for leverage, and before falling, he wrapped a vine around his wrist to cushion his fall.
Entering a steep, gravelly area, Gong Zhili switched from sliding to leaping, using branches as springboards. As he broke through a rotten log, he used the recoil to launch himself sideways. The broken log crashed to the ground, startling numerous small forest animals. Gojo Satoru seized the opportunity to step on the fallen log and tumble down. Mid-air, he suddenly abandoned the log and changed course, swinging from it with his bare hands onto the roots of plants in the cracks of the rock.
In the end, Gong Zhili still relied on the branches for cushioning, exerting force on her waist to land steadily. Gojo Satoru was not as familiar with the terrain as her, and relied on the vines on the last section of the road to barely support himself to the end. The soles of their shoes were covered with mud mixed with broken leaves, and their personal image was completely opposite to that of a refreshing one.
but--
"It's really fun!" Gojo Satoru praised the game highly. "I'll play it again next time."
Gong Zhili suppressed the corners of her mouth modestly: "Right, I think it's very interesting too."
The two of them returned home like this, and Xia Yujie felt doubly tired: "You..." Are you wild people who came out of the mountains?
Miya Chiri slipped into the bathroom to clean up. As for Gojo-kun, he didn't even consider the fact that he would have to leave the village in the afternoon while he was playing, so she couldn't be blamed.
Gojo: No bottom line. He was so in high spirits that he didn't even think his clothes would get dirty. Wu: "Jie...can you lend me a change of clothes?"
There was no way. Once he entered this village without cursed spirits, he would quickly relax.
Nanako and Mimiko saw Miya Chiri come out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, so they quickly went to cling to her, whispering to her about what toys they had bought at the canteen that morning and how much they had spent. Of course, it was Takeru-nii who took them there and taught them some simple addition and subtraction...
Gong Zhili listened to them talking with a smile, and asked from time to time, "Are the toys fun?" "What else is there in the store?" "Let's go together next time" and so on. The two children were running around in the kitchen handing her food, and they were so busy that they were running around.
The water in the iron pot gradually turned amber. Dried kelp stretched as it soaked, its edges curling with translucent gelatin. The soybean sprouts were plump, their roots still carrying the fresh scent of washing. Tender tofu lay quietly on the bamboo board, and Gong Zhili cut it into pieces with a knife.
After just a few seconds of boiling bean sprouts, their earthy flavor evaporates with the white steam, leaving the roots translucent and crisp. Blocks of tofu are then placed in another pot of lightly salted water and simmered over low heat until the pores open slightly, leaving a shimmering film of water still clinging to them.
The kelp soup bubbled with tiny bubbles over a low heat, releasing its umami essence. Gong Zhili added the tofu first, followed by the bean sprouts. They simmered gently for ten minutes, until the bean sprouts, soaked up the umami, swelled slightly, and a faint golden edge appeared on the tofu's edges. She drizzled soy sauce twice along the edge of the pot, spreading the reddish-brown liquid and instantly coating the tofu with an alluring hue. White pepper powder drizzled in, its spiciness bringing out the salty freshness of the kelp but unable to mask the crispness of the bean sprouts. After removing the soup from the pot, Gong Zhili sprinkled in a few chopped green onions, enriching the soup's color.
Xia Yujie did not lend his clothes to Gojo Satoru immediately. He said, "Let's go and bring the tree back."
Gojo Satoru complained, "You come to order me around too."
Geto Xia Yu looked at him, not believing that he didn't understand this principle: "The more you do, the faster your cursed energy will recover."
Gojo Satoru spread his hands: "It will be fully replenished soon after leaving the village."
Geto: "This is different."
He couldn't describe how it was different.
Gojo Satoru understood what he meant and hooked his shoulder: "I understand~ It's like the cursed energy is being compressed."
Xia Yujie's face darkened: "Although your description is quite appropriate, did you do it on purpose? Wu, you haven't changed your clothes yet."
In other words, he was also covered in grass juice and mud!
Gojo Satoru jumped away with a smile, and Geto Suguru chased after him. When the two ran through the kitchen, Gong Zhili looked at their backs and shook his head: High school boys, they are so childish.
The author has something to say:
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I watched a video about how big a box could be used to pack 100 million yen, and found that 50 million yen wouldn't even take up that big a box... I was so engrossed in playing games yesterday that I forgot to write, so I'm making up for it today out of a guilty conscience.
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