Chapter 58 (Soy Milk)

By this time, everyone at the table had almost finished eating. For example, Xiao Huaiyu was wiping his mouth.

Mrs. Xiao's words made her stunned. She looked at her second sister-in-law and then at her mother, not knowing what had happened: "Mother, was my second sister-in-law bullied?"

Mrs. Xiao did not answer and continued to eat with her head down. After eating for a while, the wontons that had been left there were at the right temperature and she could eat them directly without blowing on them.

She spoke one after another, and even this seemingly calmness made Song Mingdai even more uneasy.

Mrs. Xiao is like the pillar of the Xiao family. Even though she has not been out for many years, as a daughter-in-law who has been married into this family for more than ten years, she has always relied on him. In fact, compared with the Song family, the Xiao family is her real home.

Now that this is the case, she feels regretful and doesn't know how to explain it.

It was not until Mrs. Xiao had taken the last bite, drank a big sip of soup with satisfaction, wiped her mouth, and then asked slowly, "Are you really not going to tell me yourself?"

"My daughter-in-law is fine. It won't happen again in the future." Song Mingdai lowered her head resignedly and said softly.

Xiao Pingsong, who had been eating in silence, suddenly said, "No way! I saw my aunt beat you with my own eyes, and you didn't even dare to resist!"

Song Mingdai's breathing stagnated and she glared at her son angrily.

Xiao Pingsong raised his little face stubbornly, believing that he was right. His grandmother said that he did the right thing. His mother had been in the inner courtyard and did not see clearly enough. She made a wrong decision but thought it was good for the Xiao family and him.

Then you should correct it yourself.

Dad once said that when he grows up he will protect mom, but since he can't do that now, then let grandma do it.

Anyone who bullies his mother will naturally be taught a lesson. No one in the Xiao family is allowed to be bullied!

Madam Xiao said in a stern voice: "What are you looking at Pingsong for? He is smarter than you, he knew to come to me! And you, you were bullied to the extreme, and you were bullied in my Xiao family, and you didn't even come over to say a word! Song Mingdai, you are back to life! You are getting dumber and dumber, just like your pedantic mother!"

Song Mingdai's expression froze, and her eyes suddenly became moist. She bit her lips tightly, trying to endure it, but she still felt a little aggrieved in her heart, and for a moment she lost the restraint she had when she was sober, and she defended herself hoarsely, "I just want Pingsong to grow up safely..."

The atmosphere at the table suddenly fell silent. Mrs. Xiao's eyes turned red and she turned her face away guiltily.

Xie Qingyun slowly patted the shoulder of the person next to him and whispered, "Pingsong will definitely grow up safely!"

Song Mingdai pursed her lips tightly and said nothing, but her eyes did not reveal complete trust.

This is easy to say, but according to the previous situation of the Xiao family, if anything happens to Xiao Waiting, who has been fighting outside for many years, the Xiao family will definitely be swallowed up immediately.

As a member of the Xiao family, she felt it very clearly.

Her father, brothers, sisters-in-law, who once tried to please her, all changed their attitudes towards her in the past few years. Whenever she went out, she could feel the hostility coming towards her, and they made no secret of their expectation for the demise of the Xiao family.

These malicious intentions made her have dreams every day for a period of time. Her dreams were all bloody. The Xiao family was ransacked, the family was broken up, and everyone was dead. She hugged Pingsong and fell in a pool of blood. Her husband, who had passed away many years ago, said to her with guilt that he had not been able to protect them and their son.

Song Mingdai clearly remembered that every time before her husband went to the battle, he would run to the tablets of the Xiao family's ancestors and pray that he would survive safely so that he could watch his son grow up, get married and have children.

However, his name was Xiao Huai'an, and he never had peace in his life.

Ever since I met him, this man has been fighting. He has fought in so many battles, big and small. Each time he would be away for months or even years, and then he would come back with a body full of wounds, countless merits, and... the emperor's jealousy and suspicion.

Song Mingdai saw with her own eyes how difficult this path was, so she didn't want her son to continue staying in the Xiao family, being tied down by the Xiao family, or becoming a person like his father.

But she is useless, she is just an ordinary woman, without power or money, and the only ones she can rely on are either her husband's family or her own family. Her husband's family is in crisis, and in order to protect her son, she can only choose to return to her own family, hoping not to be targeted.

Who could have thought that the Song family would also be involved in these disputes? Fortunately, the Song family was not very powerful, and even if they forced her to come back, they would not dare to really confront the Xiao family. Once she angered the Xiao family and was driven out of the Xiao family, even if they were angry, they would have to give up all their extravagant hopes of currying favor with the rich and powerful.

She didn't want to tell the Xiao family because they were protective of their own people. Once they knew, something would definitely happen to the Song family, and it would be difficult for her to go back. Although the Xiao family was in a better situation now that Prince Chang had returned, who knew if the position of Prince Chang, which had been vacant for five years, could have the last laugh under the pressure of his brothers?

Not to mention... who knows whether Prince Chang became so close to the Xiao family in order to make a comeback?

I’m afraid that once he ascends the throne, the Xiao family will be of no use anymore.

After all, they are the royal family. You can only know a person’s face but not his heart. The Xiao family fought so hard for the royal family, and so many people died. In the end, didn’t they become a thorn in the eyes of the royal family? !

So Song Mingdai endured it yesterday, as it was just a matter of the next few days.

Who knew my son would be so disappointing? I've already told him about it.

Xiao Pingsong's eyes were red, and he carefully reached out to hold his mother's hand: "Mom, don't be sad, I'm not afraid..."

"I'm scared!" Song Mingdai wiped her tears casually, her nose red, the cold and distant feeling disappeared, leaving only full of fragility and toughness. She looked at her son's face that looked more and more like his father, and said word by word: "Your father has always wanted to see you grow up and get married, so you must be well! Mother doesn't mind this grievance. After all, they are my relatives and will not really push them any further. Mother has suffered this grievance before she got married, so she doesn't care."

Although she was a legitimate daughter, her mother was not favored at that time. Her father favored his concubine and controlled the family. Even her mother did not dare to say a word to her. Everything got better only after she married into the Xiao family.

It was just a little grievance, she didn't mind.

Madam Xiao's tightly pursed lips trembled, and the anger on her face faded a lot. She said slowly: "Second son's wife, I know what you are thinking, but the situation is changing every moment. I was wrong before, and I always thought about going with your father and the second son. Now I have thought it through, and I will not do it again. So even if there is no Prince Chang, even if the Xiao family is really liquidated, I will die rather than let these children get into trouble!"

After all, Mrs. Xiao was a woman who had been on the battlefield. Now that she had recovered from her illness, she was full of energy and her words carried as much weight as a thousand pounds.

Although Prince Chang is the current partner of the Xiao family, the Xiao family is not completely without other countermeasures.

Song Mingdai's eyes trembled twice, and she whispered, "It was my daughter-in-law's fault. I won't do it again in the future."

"That's enough!" Mrs. Xiao was reluctant to say anything more to her. She just vented her anger on the Song family and said angrily, "Boss, just tell the Song family once."

Xiao Huaiqi patted his mother's back soothingly and said, "Don't worry, mother. I will make sure everything is properly arranged."

It's settled.

In the morning when Yan Qiushu was still drowsy.

When she got up to eat wontons, she heard Xiao Pingsong happily telling her what happened that morning.

When she heard that Xiao Pingsong mustered up the courage to expose his mother and told Mrs. Xiao in front of everyone that her mother was beaten by her aunt, she almost choked and had to drink several sips of milk before she felt better.

This is also a bad boy.

Professional mother platform dismantling!

But it was good that the problem could be solved and the family could talk it out, and she felt relieved.

When the Xiao family unites, it is definitely an extraordinary force.

After that day, Xiao Pingsong was not seen for several days. I heard that Song Mingdai locked him up at home and made him copy books.

Yan Qiushu expressed deep sympathy for this.

It was not until three days later that the listless little Xiao Pingzhou finally reappeared with his younger brothers and sisters. He saw Yan Qiushu and Zhou Zhaoqin pushing a millstone together.

The millstone rotates, and white juice is squeezed out at the outlet and slowly flows into the wooden barrel.

There was already a lot of juice in the wooden barrel.

The whole yard is filled with a slightly astringent yet fragrant bean smell?

Xiao Pingsong sniffed uncomfortably: "Aunt Yan, are you going to make tofu?"

"Yes!" Yan Qiushu nodded vigorously and continued to work hard.

Xiao Pingsong quickly rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward: "I'll help you, I'm strong!"

Seeing this, Yan Qiushu happily stepped back, and Dongdong quickly followed: "I want to play too!"

But because the shorter one was occupied by Zhou Zhaoqin, he could only use the long one and push together with his brother. As they pushed, his short legs were hooked up and he was lifted into the air.

Xiao Pingsong suddenly found that the resistance he was pushing against was getting stronger and stronger. He was wondering, and when he looked up, he saw Aunt Yan and Wan'er laughing there. He felt something was wrong, and when he looked down, he saw his brother holding the stick and being swayed by his force.

The young boy was so angry that his nose was crooked. With a dark face, he pushed his unlucky brother away and exerted force on his own.

"Dongdong, be careful or Brother Pingsong will spank you~" Wan'er reminded.

Although Xiao Pingsong has a good temper, he is a big boy, so don't be too easy when beating him.

"I'm not afraid!" Dong Dong laughed and urged, "It's fun, do you want to try it?"

Wan'er shook her head.

Dongdong urged again, and Wan'er began to get restless. At this moment, Xiao Pingsong waved his hand and said, "Wan'er, come here. Brother will carry you up and sit down."

Wan'er's eyes lit up, and she jumped over happily. Xiao Pingsong then carried her to the long pole. He held her with one hand and pushed the pole with the other, and moved forward with even greater effort, but he did not show any dissatisfaction at all.

Dong Dong, who felt that he was being treated differently, said: "..."

Dongdong immediately threw himself into Yan Qiushu's arms: "Wuwuwu, Sister Shu, I'm being bullied!"

Yan Qiushu couldn't help laughing, but seeing how hard he was pretending to cry, she still tried to comfort him: "It's okay, I'll give you something nice to drink and eat later."

"Hmm???" Dongdong widened his eyes, full of anticipation.

Yan Qiushu pointed at the millstone and said, "It will be ready soon."

Dong Dong was speechless: "Tofu!"

"That's right, every step of making tofu is a delicacy!" said Yan Qiushu.

Soybeans are treasures from the inside out.

Ordinary soybeans can be fried until crispy, added with a little salt, and eaten as a snack.

Drink the cooked soy milk directly. Let it cool down a bit and you can harvest the tofu skin on top, also known as yuba. If you add some gypsum water, you can make tofu pudding, which is then wrapped in gauze and pressed for a while to make tofu.

Even the bean dregs that are filtered before making soy milk can be eaten, but most people don’t like to eat them. But they are very good for feeding pigs. Now the pigs on the farm are fed with bean dregs.

Of course, Yan Qiushu doesn’t make tofu just for the sake of making tofu.

But do something else.

Just as I was thinking about it, the soy milk was pressed out here. Pour it from one bucket into another pot, add a fine gauze in the middle to filter out the bean dregs inside, so that the soy milk will taste better.

Put the pot on the stove and stir it constantly with a long spoon to prevent the bottom from getting stuck and overflowing. You don't need to worry about the foam on top, it will dissipate on its own as it cooks.

When the soy milk boiled, the slightly astringent taste of the soybeans squeezed out of the water changed, and the aroma of the beans themselves became more mellow. The children who were originally playing by themselves gathered around, all three of them tilted their heads, took a deep breath, and exclaimed: "It turns out that beans are so fragrant!"

Zhou Zhaoqin looked around, afraid that he would not fit in, so he quickly imitated them clumsily. He took a deep breath, and before he could praise them, Yan Qiushu stirred and said, "If you want to drink, come and get a cup. One cup per person, with a spoonful of sugar."

The three children all ran to the other side to get their own cups. Zhou Zhaoqin also had one, but he was a beat slower again and hurried over. Dongdong ran the fastest. Xiaopang held the cup in his hand and urged him, "Give me more, fill it up!"

This is a funny guy.

Yan Qiushu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and she cooperated by giving his cup a 90% full rating. Then Dongdong turned around and pulled Shuiyu: "Give me an extra spoonful of sugar, I added too much soy milk."

Yan Qiushu: “…”

Wan'er poked his fat belly in disdain, picked up the soy milk with only half a spoonful of sugar, took a sip, smacked her lips, tasted it, blew on it, took another sip, and said in surprise, "This is like milk!"

Dong Dong nodded in agreement: "If it weren't for the different taste, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference!"

Xiao Pingsong said: "No, their colors are still different!"

Yan Qiushu took a look and found it was true.

One of them is milky white, the other beige, but both are very mellow, with just one having a milky aroma and the other having a bean aroma. The latter is cooked thoroughly and has no fishy smell. Just add a little sugar and the taste will be very delicious.

Zhou Zhaoqin also took a sip. The kid who was used to eating delicacies from land and sea was very surprised to find that ordinary food tasted quite good. He nodded vigorously and said, "It tastes good!"

"Of course it tastes good, but I made it!" Yan Qiushu said with a smile. She blew on the soy milk in her hand and took a sip. As she tasted it, she lowered her head and found that a layer of skin had formed on the surface of the soy milk just taken off the stove.

Dongdong also noticed it, and pointed at it excitedly, asking others to look: "It's really the same, this one also has milk skin!"

Yan Qiushu explained: "This is not called milk skin, it's called oil bean skin."

As she spoke she picked it up with chopsticks.

The tofu skin looked thin and crispy, but it did not break easily when picked up with chopsticks, and the soy milk dripped back into the pot. After waiting for a while, Yan Qiushu placed the tofu skin on the prepared pole to dry, and then put the pot back on the stove to boil it again.

I can get a piece of fried tofu skin every time, except... it's a bit troublesome.

But the four children were very interested in this game. Yan Qiushu did it twice and then gave it to Wan'er and the others to take turns, one time each, until they were tired. Then Yan Qiushu added a little gypsum water into the pot, stirred it with a long spoon, and then covered it with a lid.

Xiao Pingsong looked expectantly: "The tofu pudding will appear soon?"

Wan'er held her face in her hands and asked, "Will it taste better than last time?"

Dong Dong patted his chest confidently and said, "Of course, what Sister Shu makes is the most delicious!"

Zhou Zhaoqin, who spoke the least, was led along and nodded vigorously: "Yeah!"

That's right!

The food made by Sister Shu is the most delicious!

Even the most ordinary fried rice makes him unforgettable!

Yan Qiushu was so delighted by the compliment that she was calculating when she could eat her homemade tofu pudding when Nanny Huang suddenly came over. She looked unwell and spoke hurriedly, "Miss Yan, the Madam wants to see you."

Yan Qiushu had no choice but to put down the work in her hands and followed him out. Before leaving, she asked Shui Yan and Aunt Xu to take care of it. They both knew how to make tofu, and the steps were very simple. The sweet and spicy tofu pudding were all prepared, and they could just season it and eat it.

But Dongdong and others wanted to go with her.

But she was stopped by Madam Huang: "Young Master, Young Miss, you guys can eat here first. Children should not get involved in adult matters, okay?"

The four children looked at each other and could only give up with regret.

Yan Qiushu originally thought it was about food, but she didn't expect that the children wouldn't be allowed to eat. She became a little unsure, and after walking a few steps, she asked anxiously, "Mammy, what did my aunt want me to do?"

Madam Huang looked at her sympathetically and whispered, "Don't be angry, young lady."

Yan Qiushu was dumbfounded: "How come?"

"It was the Xue family who sent someone to propose marriage." Nanny Huang said, and said unhappily, "But they want to give his fifth young master a concubine!"

Propose marriage?

Who is it for?

Yan Qiushu was aware of this in her mind, but because she was not a member of the Xiao family, she did not consider this aspect for a moment. But when she heard about taking a concubine, she suddenly understood.

It's for her!

Yan Qiushu was slapped in the face as expected. She was angry. Not only was she angry, she even laughed out of anger!

Taking a concubine?

How dare that innocent-looking and friendly young man want to take her as his concubine?

Yan Qiushu's pace suddenly quickened.

Nanny Huang was caught off guard and was unable to keep up for a moment. When she looked up, she could only see the extremely fast steps and the skirt fluttering due to the speed. She was stunned for a moment, but then she chuckled and jogged to keep up.

She is truly worthy of being the one that the Sixth Young Master has chosen!

It just has the aura of the Xiao family!