The old lady smiled and continued to talk about the next steps.
"It's still early. During this period, we need to use a rake to break up the large pieces. After three days of fermentation, we need to seal it with mud and let it ferment for another half a month."
"Is that all right?"
"Not yet. This is the alcohol fermentation process. Next, we need to add wheat bran and rice husks to the alcohol liquid. The ratio is about 13:6:7. Stir well and put it into the vat for acetic acid fermentation. The temperature should be between 40 and 50 degrees..."
Grandma spoke a lot, but a good memory is not as good as a bad pen. Qiu Yuling had already taken out a pen and paper to start taking notes. The first part was just about vinegar curing. Later on, there was the smoked ingredients, the vinegar pouring, and the poured vinegar had to be aged. In winter, ice was harvested, and in summer, it was sun-dried for more than a year...
Qiu Yuling was grateful for the wisdom of the working people. The old lady explained the complicated process to her until the last stroke was completed. The old lady happily asked her if she had taken note of it. After she had taken note, she pointed at little Yuling and said with jealousy.
Qiu Yuling smiled and said that she would open a vinegar factory in the future, a century-old brand.
The grandparents and grandchildren prepared dinner, and the people from the Qiu family also came back from work one after another.
"Wash your hands and eat." Grandma scooped out the brown rice porridge, and Qiu Yuling helped her to place the chopsticks.
"Mom made potato pudding today. But I haven't eaten it in a long time."
Mother Qiu wiped her hands clean, tasted her mother's cooking with her hands, and felt that since Grandma Yuling came, she was also a child with a mother, and had food to eat and water to drink when she came home.
Qiu Yuling: “…” Is it my fault that I didn’t do enough?
Well, she complimented her mother and offended her youngest daughter. Mother Qiu also hurriedly gave her daughter some praise.
"My daughter is already a rare capable child, but that is a daughter's filial piety. What mother feels now is a mother's love."
That's the truth!
We had a very enjoyable meal.
"Grandma, everything you cook is delicious." Qiu Dashu had already ordered more rice three times and his stomach was full.
"It's very strange. What grandma cooks is delicious, what my younger sister cooks is also delicious, but what mother cooks is not tasty. Could it be that the inheritance list missed the one in the middle?" Qiu Dashu asked doubtfully.
"What do you know? What's this thing called? It's passed down from generation to generation." Qiu Dashan responded to his third brother's question.
"Even if there's food available, it can't stop you from talking." Mother Qiu pretended to hit the two brats with chopsticks.
"What am I saying wrong? Look at how much work grandma has done in just two days. She's dried so many vegetables, used the stone mill, and cleaned and moved the loom out. Mom, you're not that capable. I'm just inherited her ability."
With grandma around, Qiu's mother is just a paper tiger, and Qiu Dashu is not afraid of her at all.
"You little bastard, can't I have been doing this for so many years just to let you live on starvation?"
"We're eating, stop making trouble for the kids." Seeing that Mrs. Qiu was about to get really angry, grandma hurried out to suppress her.
Qiu Yuling and her eldest brother exchanged glances. The third brother/the third child is so brave!
After dinner, the sound of frogs and cicadas could be heard outside the yard, and the moon was bright and the stars were sparse inside the yard. Mother Qiu did not chase her children to bed as usual. She let them chat and followed her to the kitchen.
The old lady pointed to the fermenting vinegar vat and told her the next steps. In fact, Qiu's mother had also done this when she was at her parents' home. After listening to it again, she remembered the vague parts before.
"Mom, it's only been two days and you want to go back?" Mother Qiu couldn't help asking when she heard the old lady's detailed instructions.
"I won't be back for the next two days, but I can't stay here long enough to finish everything for you. I have to go back before the wheat harvest."
"Maybe the harvest will be good this year, so you don't have to think about going out to work all the time. You should pick up this skill. I'm old and can't do much work. You should at least do something yourself. If you can save money, spend less."
Grandma Yuling pointed to the loom hanging outside and asked Mrs. Qiu to settle her down.
Her eldest daughter is capable and efficient in doing things, but she is rough in nature and doesn't like to do these tedious tasks. But it's okay for a young man to be rough with his work, and she doesn't allow a girl to tidy up her work.
There wasn't even a decent bed sheet or quilt cover in that room, and the clothes were all a little too long and a little too short. It was only because the kid was diligent that he kept the room clean, otherwise it would have been too unbearable to look at.
Mother Qiu touched her nose in the sun. She just didn't have time. She worked during the day and had a lot of chores to do when she came back.
Grandma Yuling glared at me, "You still don't have time? Everyone's working. My son-in-law and the kids aren't lazy about cutting grass. Lingling is even more attentive to feeding the animals than you are. She's the youngest, but she's already made sure you're not hungry. You better cherish your blessings."
Not satisfied with what he said, he slapped Qiu's mother.
The slap was not heavy, and it was like tickling to Qiu's mother. "Mom, the children are still here. Don't let those bastards see it. I will pick up my skills right away. Don't worry, I will never be lazy."
In fact, Qiu's mother is not lazy at all. She always earns full work points at work and never avoids physical work. She is just impatient to do those jobs that take a long time to complete but do not produce any results.
But her mother was right. She only had this one daughter, so she should pay more attention to her in the future.
Only then did Yuling's grandmother give up and tell Yuling to stop playing, and then everyone went into the house to sleep.
I had a dreamless night and when I opened my eyes it was already school day.
For the first time, Qiu Yuling thought about asking for leave. She wanted to learn the weaving process from her grandmother. Although her mother also knew how to do it, she just didn't want to miss the real master's teaching.
Unexpectedly, Qiu's mother agreed and made it so easy.
Qiu Yuling racked her brains to come up with a reason to ask for leave, but her mother looked at her as if she was crazy. She didn't understand why she had to find an excuse like a funeral or illness. She could have just said she was doing housework.
Qiu Yuling: ...
She just didn't expect that the reason for asking for leave these days could be so simple.
He ran all the way, and came back with his arms flailing, his two short legs almost smoking from tossing around.
But when she entered the door, her grandmother was not there.
After checking every house and finding no one there, Qiu Yuling decided to go to the backyard and take a look. Sure enough, the old lady was chopping weeds and mixing them with chicken feed.
"Grandma, you take a rest, I'll do it."
Grandma said it was okay and she could do it, but Qiu Yuling didn't listen. As an old artist, she would never let anyone do the rough work when she was around.
Grandma smoothed her granddaughter's hair with a smile. She didn't care about rough or delicate work in her life.
"Grandma, why don't you stay at my house and retire? I promise to keep you plump and healthy, and I won't let you do any rough work. You can wait for me to come back and do any work, okay?"
Grandma looked lovingly at her granddaughter who looked exactly like herself when she was a child.
I thought to myself: Still a silly child!
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