Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Konjac Tofu
The morning light seeped into the room through the window. When Fan Jing woke up, he found that it was already late.
He rubbed his temples and realized he had overslept.
The room was quiet, and the chirping of birds and insects outside seemed clearer.
Fan Jing glanced at Kang He's small bed. The mattress had been neatly folded in a corner, and the person had disappeared.
He got up and opened the door of the wooden house, and the fragrance of orchids drifted into his nostrils.
Kang He was not seen outside.
Fan Jing's eyebrows twitched, and the thought that the person had run away flashed through his mind.
But he dismissed the idea in a moment because he saw Kang He had left breakfast for him in the pot on the stove.
The taro brought by three families was the size of a fist and was cooked until it was very soft.
He pinched the taro, which was only slightly warm.
Fan Jing sat by the stove and peeled and ate taro. When he saw some burnt bamboo joints in the stove, his brows furrowed.
He was a light sleeper in the mountains and would wake up alertly at the slightest movement.
He slept so soundly yesterday, just like he did in the village, that he didn't even know when Kanghe got up in the morning to light the fire and cook the taro.
Of course he didn't know that Kang He had actually put the taro in the pot last night. People went to bed late and there was a fire in the stove, so the taro was still warm when he got up in the morning.
But he woke up much later than usual, so the taro was no longer hot.
When Kanghe got up in the morning, the taro was still very hot.
After Fan Jing finished eating, he prepared to go out.
Just as the door was locked, a figure carrying a backpack appeared walking towards this side from the woods.
He looked at people and rarely took the initiative to ask questions.
"Where did you go?"
"I know the way out and back. I just followed the path you took me yesterday and walked back and forth along it."
Kang He's shoes and trouser legs were soaked through by the morning dew, but he was very happy: "I dug some wild vegetables and got some mountain products."
After saying that, he swung the basket on his back and showed it to Fan Jing: "Take a look."
Fan Jingfu opened the door and the two of them walked into the yard together.
Kang He's backpack was filled with a lot of things in a mess, and it was actually full.
On top are fresh wild vegetables, including water celery, shepherd's purse, dandelion, bidens pilosa, and purslane.
I freed up some space to fill half a dustpan.
There is some filamentous palm bark underneath.
This leather can be used to make brooms, mats, straw raincoats, and ropes, and it can also be sold well in the city.
But you can't get much from a palm tree. They grow here and there in the mountains. Fan Jing was fully focused on living things and didn't go looking for them specifically.
If I come across it while circumambulating the mountain and have free time, I will peel it back.
Fan Jing saw that Kang He brought back seven or eight pieces of brown leather.
When the palm leather was removed, there were actually two large konjac heads, also known as konjac, at the bottom of the basket, weighing at least ten pounds.
Kang He went out with Fan Jing yesterday and saw how difficult it was to catch living creatures in the mountains. For a moment, he gave up the idea of making money by hunting like Fan Jing.
It is easy to learn how to set traps, but it is ultimately a matter of luck. Hunting is where the real skill is tested.
Fan Jing injured his hand and couldn't use the bow and arrow, so he fought empty-handed yesterday.
He doesn't know how to shoot an arrow, so if he relies solely on setting traps to catch live animals, it will take him a long time to save up enough money.
It wasn't that he was in a hurry to leave or save up enough money quickly. The truth was, people need food every day, and daily expenses also require money.
How can a living person be allowed to die from holding his urine? If this method doesn't work, try another one.
"Is this worth anything?"
Kang He held up the bumpy konjac in one hand and asked Fan Jing.
"A dozen bucks."
Fan Jing said: "Two."
"It's so heavy, but it's only worth this much."
Kang He knew that ordinary fruits and vegetables were not worth much, but he never expected the price to be so cheap.
"Taro from the fields can be eaten simply by boiling it in water, and it's only a few dollars a basket at the market. But kudzu root is full of poison and needs to be specially processed, so it's naturally cheap."
Fan Jing took a look at Kang He and felt that there was indeed something wrong with his brain. Sometimes he was smart, and sometimes not so smart.
His accent was a little strange when he went up the mountain, but it became more normal after he went to the county.
Kang He heard Fan Jing call konjac "kutou" (蒻头), and he took it to heart. He asked, "How much is the processed kutou worth?"
"Kuangtou tofu is three coins per square."
When Kanghe went to the city to sell mountain products, he would occasionally run into people selling konjac and tofu, and hear them shouting that they were selling it at this price.
He also heard Chen muttering to him that konjac tofu tasted delicious after being cooked in oil, just like meat, and secretly asked him to buy some when he went to the city.
But he felt that any food cooked with oil would taste bad.
But it wasn't a very high request, so he would usually agree to it.
But when he went to buy it, he might not be able to find anyone selling it, so he never ate it.
Kang He quickly calculated in his mind that one pound of konjac could produce three to five pounds of konjac tofu, so his two konjacs could produce at least twenty pounds of tofu.
One square is about one jin, worth three copper coins, so it can be sold for dozens of coins.
"Then it would be much more cost-effective to make it into konjac tofu."
Kang He thought that except for those rare and precious things, the raw materials really could not be sold at a high price.
If you want to sell it at a good price, you need to have some skills.
Fan Jing was suspicious: "Can you make it?"
Kang He smiled, but didn't brag to Fan Jing. He just said, "You can take a look later."
After saying this, he took out some dry grass, burned it into ash, and put it aside to cool.
In the afternoon, Kanghe and I went to patrol the mountains and check the traps, and only in the evening did we make tofu from konjac.
It is actually not difficult to make konjac tofu. Just clean the konjac and remove the skin in advance. Grind the konjac meat into a paste, add the appropriate amount of alkaline water, mix well, and let it sit overnight.
Because there was no special alkaline water, Kanghe made wood ash water.
He cut off the buds of konjac and buried them in the soil. They would grow into konjac again next year.
It's the same principle as taro and potatoes, except that now there are only taro and no potatoes.
Fan Jing had nothing to do, so he saw Kang He grinding radish heads to make paste. There were two large radish heads, weighing about ten pounds, which were enough to grind, so he gave him a hand.
He wasn't tired, but his left hand was itchy and he couldn't sleep most of the night.
The next day, Fan Jing stood by the basin, quietly looking at the konjac he had made last night.
After a night, a basin of paste took shape.
Gray, soft and bouncy.
This thing can be made into tofu by adding wood ash water.
Kang He also came over and pressed it. When he felt it was almost done, he poured some water into it, soaked it for a while, and then cut it into some squares with a knife.
I took out a piece and shook it. It was not too tender and falling apart, nor too old and honeycombed. I was quite satisfied.
The difficulty in making this konjac tofu lies mainly in the ratio of water.
He made it with one pound of konjac and three pounds of water. Because it was his first time using wood ash water, it was difficult to control the amount, so the alkaline taste was a little stronger.
The prepared konjac cannot be kept for a long time. It is fine to eat it yourself, but you can also sell it so that you can enjoy it fresh.
Kang He had one square of konjac tofu left at home. Seeing Fan Jing coming back with some banana leaves, he quickly rinsed them with water and packed them into his backpack. He asked Fan Jing, "Are you really not going to the city with me?"
Fan Jing sat by the stove, threw a piece of firewood into the stove, and hummed.
Kang He didn't ask anyone else to go with him. Fan Jing hadn't hunted anything these days, so there was nothing to do in the city.
He then said, "Then I'll come back and buy you some food. Don't go circumambulating the mountain alone with your injured arm."
Fan Jing glanced at Kang He.
"I know."
Seeing this, Kang He said nothing more and hurried down the mountain.
When we arrived at the county town, it was already bustling with activity. The farmers setting up stalls had already occupied the good spots and had sold most of their popular items.
Kang He originally wanted to find someone selling konjac tofu to ask about the market, but he didn't see anyone selling it along the way, so he couldn't ask around.
Kang He spent three copper coins to rent a scale from a grocery store.
So he quickly found an empty space and set up his stall.
Just sell the konjac tofu at the price Fan Jing mentioned.
He spread the linen cloth on the ground, took out the konjac and tofu from his backpack, and started selling them at the top of his voice, without feeling embarrassed at all.
"Xiao Lang, how much is this konjac tofu?"
"Madam, three coins a square, can you weigh it?"
Kang He looked and saw an old woman coming forward after hearing the shouting. She had a peach blossom hairpin in her gray hair. Even at her age, she still loved to tidy up.
He didn't call her mother-in-law, but chose a name that would flatter her.
When the old woman heard her being called old lady, she straightened her waist, obviously enjoying it.
"My daughter and her son-in-law are coming to dinner today. Pick out some good ones and we'll stew some duck."
"The old lady really knows how to eat. The stewed duck with konjac and tofu is the most delicious. How can she bear to go home when her son-in-law wants to eat it?"
Kang He quickly weighed the konjac tofu. Because the hand-cut ones were a little short, he used the leftovers to weigh more and then wrapped them in banana leaves.
The old woman was not a wealthy person, so how could she not be happy when she got a bargain?
When he gave the copper coins and left, he said in a loud voice, "This konjac tofu is really tender."
This place has opened a shop, and there are no other places selling konjac and tofu around. The wealthy people in the city are tired of the same dishes in the market and want to try something new.
Kudzu tofu is not a food sold every day. I saw that it is only available at Kanghe. If you want to try it, come and have a look.
Kanghe would say that half of them were sold out in a short time.
An old man came in the middle, speaking in a local dialect with yellow teeth. Kang He didn't understand anything at all. He spoke Mandarin to him, but the old man didn't seem to understand either.
Unexpectedly, he became angry and scolded Kang He several times, and even spat beside the stall.
The young man who was setting up a stall next to Kanghe couldn't stand it anymore and tried to persuade him.
The old man cursed in his local dialect: "You are such a dishonest person, are you really a mistress? You come out to sell a few rotten vegetable leaves and you think you can hook up with a man."
The young man's face turned pale and red: "If this old man insults my reputation like this in the street, we might as well ask the patrol officer to come and argue with me!"
When the old man heard that the patrol was going to be called, he left cursing.
"Thank you very much."
Although Kang He didn't understand what the two were saying, he could still tell that his young husband was helping him to stop the fight.
Seeing the old man leave, he hurried to thank him.
"Are you a stranger?"
The young husband asked after hearing this.
Kang He nodded.
"I've only been here a short time, and I don't understand the local dialect."
"It's no wonder you didn't understand what the old man said."
The young man said, "He thinks you're deliberately not speaking your dialect to him and is calling you arrogant. Don't take these unreasonable people to heart. Who knows, maybe they've been bullied somewhere else and are taking it out on us stall owners."
Kang He thanked the young husband, but it was also because he was not thoughtful enough. These days, he and Fan Jing were in the mountains, and Fan Jing always spoke Mandarin to him, so he neglected the fact that there were still many people in the county who spoke the local dialect.
If he had not slacked off and studied hard with Fan Jing in the mountains, he might have learned a lot.
He moved the stall a little and got some sand to cover the old man's spit.
This old man is really shabby.
At noon, Kanghe's konjac tofu was almost sold out, with only two irregular pieces left.
He sent it to the young man who had just spoken to him.
After packing up the backpack, I went to return the scale first and get back the deposit for renting the scale.
After counting today's income, I found that I earned sixty-three cents from selling konjac tofu.
It is true that I earned a lot more than selling konjac, so it was not a wasted effort.
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