Chapter 64 Dried Tofu, Bamboo Shoots, and Mixed Rice
When the rainy season arrived, Zhang Xiaohe came to Zhao Xuan's door and invited him to make soy sauce together.
Last year, the Yao family planted a lot of beans. In addition to being good at making noodles, Zhang Xiaohe is also good at making bean products. Before brewing soy sauce, Zhao Xuan had already received a lot of bean products made by the Yao family, including tofu, bean curd, dried tofu and some dried bean curd sticks.
This year, the two families got together to make soy sauce. The Yao family provided the soybeans, while Zhao Xuan and Lu An provided the salt.
Zhao Xuan learns the technique from Zhang Xiaohe and will have enough soy sauce for a year in six months. The Yao family plans to bottle the remaining soy sauce and transport it to the salt field market to sell in winter.
Lu An and Yao Yuan had agreed that this winter, the two men would go to the saltworks market together and exchange the various agricultural products they had obtained throughout the year for medicinal herbs and food that they could not get in the mountains.
Zhang Xiaohe prepared four large vats for drying soy sauce.
She didn't have any ready-made koji (fermentation starter), so her success in brewing soy sauce depended entirely on her experience. Besides salt and beans, there was also flour needed to ferment the beans.
The beans need to be soaked overnight before steaming. Zhang Xiaohe and Zhao Xuan spent a whole morning steaming two large pots of soybeans. Then, they coated the cooled soybeans with wheat flour and spread the flour-coated beans evenly on a round bamboo mat filled with dry straw, which was then ready for fermentation.
Zhang Xiaohe specially cleaned a room to cultivate the bacteria. Over the next few days, the beans will grow yellowish-green mold. Zhang Xiaohe will judge whether the beans have fermented successfully based on her experience. Zhao Xuan comes every day to observe the cultivation of bacteria with Zhang Xiaohe.
Zhang Xiaohe was not an experienced soy sauce maker. She had previously assisted a master soy sauce maker at the camp. Soy sauce making was not a job that required constant attention. She would finish her work and then learn how to make soy sauce from the master. She studied for two years. This time, she was doing it herself, so she was extra careful, afraid that a single mistake would poison two families.
She taught Zhao Xuan with exceptional care. When Zhao Xuan went to the Yao family, he would bring a notebook with him, and she would write down whatever Zhang Xiaohe said.
As the soybeans grow yellowish-green fuzz and then clump together, they are placed in vats for sun-drying the soybean paste, clean brine is poured in, and the sun-drying process begins. This is an extremely long process that takes more than half a year.
Over the past six months, Zhao Xuan watched as the soybean paste in the vat slowly turned black and pure, until it was dried into black granules. The four vats of soybean paste were reduced to two, and it was time to start leaching. A hollow bamboo basket with drainage was placed in the large vat, and clean water was poured in. The water soaked the soybean paste, and the seeping juice flowed into the bamboo basket in the middle. Only then could this dark black juice be considered soy sauce.
Leaving aside the details of sun-drying the sauce, let's rewind to the first day of making the sauce.
Zhao Xuan stayed at Yao's house for almost a day. Since he steamed some soybeans, Zhang Xiaohe made some soy milk. The two of them drank the soy milk while dividing the remaining soy milk into two pots. One pot was used to make dried bean curd sticks, and the other pot was made into tofu pudding, which served as their lunch. Then they made the remaining tofu pudding into firm tofu.
Zhao Xuan believes that beans are a kind of infinite flow; as long as one wants to continue making them, there will always be new bean products that can be created.
Firm tofu can be deep-fried to make chewy and crispy fried tofu, but apart from the extravagance during the New Year, the Yao family rarely uses oil to fry food on ordinary days. So Zhang Xiaohe prepared a pot of brine and turned some of the firm tofu into dried tofu.
So when Zhao Xuan got home, he took away a few pieces of fragrant dried tofu.
Zhao Xuan was in a good mood that day. It was already evening when she got home. Lu An wasn't home, but 460 was leisurely nestled on his big sofa. The house was deserted. Zhao Xuan walked around the kitchen and found two bunches of wilted garlic sprouts and some bamboo shoots from several days ago in the vegetable basket in the corner.
Bamboo shoots can be stored for a long time as long as the outer skin is not peeled off. Now that the spring bamboo shoot season is over, only a few will grow sporadically in some nooks and crannies. Zhao Xuan is greedy; even though he has gotten tired of eating bamboo shoots recently, he still can't resist picking some of the newly sprouted bamboo shoots.
These bamboo shoots were brought back by her greed, and they've been sitting there for a long time without being eaten.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, Zhao Xuan took out a few wilted garlic sprouts and bamboo shoots from the vegetable basket, removed the old leaves from the garlic sprouts, and peeled the outer skin from the bamboo shoots.
With the arrival of the plum rain season in the south, the house became damp everywhere, and the cured meat was no longer suitable to be hung outside, otherwise it would get moldy. So Zhao Xuan put all the meat into the large refrigerator.
She cut half a piece of cured pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat from the refrigerator, diced it, blanched it to remove excess saltiness, and diced the bamboo shoots in the same way, blanching them to remove excess bitterness.
She didn't go home all day. Lu An ate breakfast and lunch by herself. Lu An was very casual about eating alone. A big bowl of rice with some lard and soy sauce was enough for a meal, or she could have some dried radish and dried eggplant with it. Perhaps Lu An thought that Zhao Xuan would also eat dinner at Yao's house, so she was still working outside and hadn't returned home yet.
He still had a big pot of rice left over from the lunch he cooked at noon. I guess he cooked all the rice for the day—his own and 460's—just to save time.
Zhao Xuan planned to use the leftover rice to make a stir-fry of tofu and bamboo shoot rice, adding plenty of side dishes, which would be just enough for the two of them and their dog.
Sauté the blanched cured pork in a pot until the oil is rendered. Then add diced bamboo shoots and diced dried tofu and stir-fry until half-cooked. No salt is needed because the cured pork is already salty and fragrant enough, and the rendered fat from the half-fat cured pork is plentiful enough to coat the colorful diced pork pieces in the pot. Next, sprinkle in some shredded garlic sprouts for added aroma. Finally, cover the pot with the leftover cold rice from lunch, put the lid on, and simmer over low heat for a while to reheat the rice.
The sun had already set halfway behind the mountains, and the wind was gradually picking up.
Zhao Xuan likes windy days like this in this season, because the wind will carry away the excess moisture.
While the rice was still simmering on the stove, Zhao Xuan decided to sweep the yard. She swept the dust into a dustpan, opened the gate, and intended to throw the dust outside. As soon as she opened the gate, she saw a dog standing outside.
—A yellow, unfamiliar dog.
She was startled but didn't cry out. The yellow dog was probably startled too; it took a step back, quickly regained its balance, arched its back, and bared its teeth.
Just then, a gust of wind blew by, passing Zhao Xuan and brushing towards the little yellow dog. The little yellow dog smelled her scent, instantly retracted its fangs, sat up straight, stared at Zhao Xuan for a few seconds, then suddenly opened its mouth and exhaled a few breaths, before gently wagging its tail.
Zhao Xuan was a little confused.
This unfamiliar dog was so thin that its ribs were visible, and its fur was matted. It was clearly a mongrel, but also a stray dog without an owner.
Zhao Xuan stared at the little yellow dog for a few more seconds, then her heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at 460, who was sleeping in the living room, and then back to the little yellow dog that had been standing there for who knows how long.
"460!" Zhao Xuan shouted into the hall, "Your friend is here!"
460 raised its head, turned towards Zhao Xuan, and saw Little Yellow tilting its head outside the door. It barked once.
Little Yellow outside the door also called out.
Zhao Xuan saw a dark shadow flash by, and 460 darted out like the wind, pouncing on Xiao Huang. The two dogs immediately started fighting.
After greeting Xiao Huang, 460 turned around and jumped towards Zhao Xuan, seemingly introducing his friend to Zhao Xuan.
"Hi..." Zhao Xuan greeted Xiao Huang in a human way.
Little Yellow wagged its tail even more vigorously.
"Come in!" Zhao Xuan stepped aside to let the two dogs in.
460, pushing the somewhat hesitant little yellow dog, managed to get it through the door.
By this time, the rice on the stove was cooked. Zhao Xuan turned off the fire, used a spatula to scoop and flip the pot, and the oily mixed vegetables at the bottom were flipped up. The mixed vegetables, such as diced dried tofu, diced cured meat, diced bamboo shoots, and shredded garlic sprouts, were mixed with white rice. When they were tossed together, the oil seeped into the already heated rice, and a simple and honest aroma of rice was released.
Zhao Xuan filled 460's food bowl with a large bowl of rice mixed with dried tofu and bamboo shoots. 460 usually eats whatever the others eat, but Zhao Xuan still pays a little attention to 460's diet. For example, she would pick out the garlic sprouts and salty cured meat from 460's rice. Because 460's friends were visiting today, Zhao Xuan added several pieces of unsalted dried meat that she had specially dried for 460.
When a large bowl of food was placed in front of Xiao Huang, Zhao Xuan saw the shock in Xiao Huang's eyes.
460 jumped around it, gesturing for it to eat quickly.
Xiao Huang glanced at Zhao Xuan, then at 460, hesitated for a moment, and then buried his head in his food.
460 didn't eat with it, but waited until Xiao Huang was almost full before eating what it left.
Little Yellow is very well-behaved. Even after it has eaten its fill, it doesn't leave but stays close to 460. Zhao Xuan noticed that even with its friends around, it still pricks up its ears and brandishes its claws, looking wary of its surroundings.
Zhao Xuan wasn't stupid; she wouldn't rashly touch Xiao Huang. She watched the two children from a distance while they ate.
After seeing the puppy, Zhao Xuan finally understood why 460 often stayed out all night since moving here.
—It really did make friends!
She was very happy for 460. These wild dogs were very wary. She and Lu An had lived in the village for a year without finding it. It was only after they had become familiar with 460 for a year that their dog friend dared to come and visit.
After Xiao Huang and 460 finished eating, the two dogs crawled out through the dog hole in the yard wall to play.
Zhao Xuan thought the child probably wouldn't be back that night.
After Lu An returned, the two sat around a small table to eat. Each of them had a large bowl of rice with dried bean curd and bamboo shoots. While eating the rice, which was full of the aroma of bean curd, Zhao Xuan told Lu An about what had happened earlier.
The two shared their feelings, with a sense of relief that their child had grown up and was able to make friends on their own.
Later, several different puppies came to visit 460. Sometimes it was Xiao Huang bringing other puppies, and sometimes other puppies came uninvited. Sometimes there was only one, and sometimes there were three. The frequency of their visits was not very high. They all came when 460 was at home. And they all seemed to have made an appointment to wait quietly outside the courtyard. After getting permission from Zhao Xuan and Lu An, they would come in through the main gate.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An would provide them with a meal, and they would stay still and not run around. After eating their fill, they would leave through the dog hole on their own.
Later, when the Yao family found out about this, Yao Yuan wanted to pick a dog from the Paw Patrol to guard the house, but strangely, as soon as the Yao family approached, the Paw Patrol ran far away.
Lu An said that these wild dogs are all sub-adults and have developed their own values. They are used to life in the wild and should never return to the human world.
The dog really liked the dogs, and on one rare occasion, he encountered the Paw Patrol coming for a meal and followed them for a long time from a distance.
Although the Paw Patrol members were reluctant to go home with the Yao family, they knew the Yao family members weren't bad people, so they let the dogs follow them.
But that's a story for another time.
Skipping over the little episode of 460, Lu An and Zhao Xuan ushered in another period of leisure time.
As the weather warms up, the sounds in the mountains and fields gradually increase. Birdsong and frog croaks alternate between day and night. Even some abandoned paddy fields emit irregular "gurgling" sounds after a light rain. These are the bubbles exhaled by loaches and eels hiding under the wet mud.
Loach, eel, snail, and small river shrimp and fish from the streams were never lacking. In fact, when Zhao Xuan and his companions came here in late autumn two years ago, the fields were full of the fattest snails. Unfortunately, these things needed to be stir-fried with oil, and if they were just boiled in water, they would have a muddy and fishy taste. At that time, the two of them, who were starving, went to the fields and collected a large basket of snails. They boiled them in water for a long time and then ate them. The two of them ate that meal in silence. After that, even if the snails were huge and eye-catching, Zhao Xuan and Lu An ignored them. They would rather go to the pond and risk getting rotten feet to dig up taro to eat than touch snails, loach, or similar foods.
Snails and loaches are at their fattest and most delicious in autumn, so Zhao Xuan doesn't plan to eat them now. She and Lu An have never caught eels either; they look too much like snakes, and they can't tell whether the head they see sticking out of the wasteland is a snake's head or an eel's head.
This spring, when Lu An and Yao Yuan had some free time, they would go to the stream to catch some small fish and shrimp to eat. Catching these didn't require any special skills; they would just bring a winnowing basket, wedge it at the narrowest point of the stream, and the fish and shrimp would be blocked from going anywhere, leaving them all in the basket.
These fish and shrimp were pitifully small, not even as big as Zhao Xuan's finger. Some of the shrimp were even transparent. To cook them, you need to bake or stir-fry them, which requires a lot of oil. The result is that they taste pretty good. If you make them salty, they are fragrant and crispy, and can be served with thick white porridge in the morning.
There are no large lakes or rivers near their village, so they have to go fishing further away to catch bigger fish.
Their lives have improved a lot this year, and Zhao Xuan's palate has become more discerning. After eating too much small fish, shrimp, and snails in the spring, he wanted to change things up and eat some big fish.
They decided to go fishing at a small reservoir near Xiwei Village.
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