Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Bacon and Mushroom Rice.
The rain continued on and off for two or three days. Ji Xu came back from the county town and bought some rain gear that they didn't have at home, such as a bamboo hat and a raincoat. He bought two sets. But an umbrella was inconvenient to use when he was working, so he only bought one and left it at home.
He also bought each of the sisters a pair of paulownia clogs, with cattail hemp piercing the nose. If you ignore the two front and back teeth at the bottom, they are very similar to flip-flops of later generations.
Because wooden clogs have two teeth on the bottom, people often wear them when it rains, making it convenient to walk on muddy ground. If they get wet or dirty, they can just be washed off. They are not as expensive and difficult to maintain as cotton shoes.
Raindrops fell in strings under the eaves. In the second half of the day, after heating the stove, Ji Xu took off his clogs and knelt on the reed mat to make a toothbrush.
She had soaked the hard pig bristles in lime water, and now that they were dry, they no longer felt greasy to the touch.
The nobles of Chang'an used bronze or ox bone or ivory as toothbrush handles. Although she did not have such precious objects, wood was still easy to come by.
I saw her flattening the long wood into a shape that was round in the front and long in the back. She patiently used the chisel borrowed from the Chen family to chisel seven rows of twenty-one holes. She polished the whole thing with coarse linen before threading the needle. Along the small holes, she folded tufts of pig bristles in half and sewed them on. After closing the needle, she trimmed it with scissors. Now a toothbrush was ready.
This is a delicate job, and it only takes half a day to finish it. She is not in a hurry and can do it slowly when she has time.
"Is this the toothbrush used by the people of Chang'an?"
The brush head made first was smaller and was for Ji Zhu. She turned it over and over but couldn't understand it, so she showed it to Ji Feng.
"It's so hairy, sister, how do you use it?" Ji Feng didn't understand. If it weren't for her sister's love of cleanliness, they wouldn't even have the habit of chewing willow twigs, let alone seeing something like this.
“Add bamboo salt first.”
As Ji Xu spoke, he took out a small jar of bamboo salt he had bought from the county market.
It is called bamboo salt, but it is actually black, as if it has been mixed with wood ash water. It has a faint scent of bamboo leaves. There are also some that are ground with pearl powder and spices. Those are extremely expensive, so Ji Xu did not want them. He picked the most economical one to use. In short, it has the effect of cleaning.
With a toothbrush, she no longer needed to rub salt in her mouth with her fingers. Instead, she used a small spoon to pick up bamboo salt and put it on the bristles.
“Like this.”
Hold Ji Zhu's little hand and gently brush along the small glutinous rice teeth.
"Try it, Xiaozhu, but don't use too much force."
Pig bristles are not as soft and comfortable as the toothbrushes of later generations. If you brush too hard, it will bleed, so I warned you.
Jizhu bared her teeth obediently, brushed her teeth, rinsed her mouth clean, and was reluctant to close it, so she opened her mouth to show them.
"Are Xiaozhu's teeth much cleaner now?"
"Oh, this tooth has a cavity!" Ji Feng threatened her mischievously.
Ji Zhu opened her mouth wide and hurried over to Ji Xu to catch the bug. Ji Xu laughed and said, "Second sister is just teasing you."
Just as he closed his mouth, he placed the toothbrush in the small bamboo cup and said, "Xiaozhu, you must brush your teeth well every day."
This rain finally ended the dry season, but the muddy road became difficult to walk on.
Because the road was slippery due to the rain, Ji Xu did not allow Feng and Zhu to accompany him to the valley entrance that day, for fear that their shoes would get wet and they would have no change of shoes.
I brought a straw hat and raincoat, changed into paulownia clogs, and pushed the cart. The spring rain was cold, and my toes were frozen at first, but the way was long, so I didn't feel it after walking for a while. When I arrived at the tofu shop, I bought half a bucket of water, rinsed the clogs, and wore them on the way back.
The pair of cotton shoes was placed in a cloth bag, ready to be changed into when arriving at the gravel field in the county town. This way, even though he would rarely move around while selling tofu, he would still have the cotton shoes to keep warm.
The muddy ground was so difficult to push even with a wheelbarrow that it required twice the effort.
When we reached Woshe Valley, the soles of our straw sandals were wet with mud and became even more slippery. With a clang, the cart tilted violently. We gritted our teeth and exerted all our strength, twisting our wrists so hard that it hurt before we managed to steady the cart. If the cart, which was full of stuff, had fallen over, how much effort would have been wasted.
She stood there pacing her wrists as an ox cart passed by the side of the road. The ox's hooves stepped on the mud, and the wheels it pulled were turning and rolling. Soon the cart disappeared, leaving the onlookers envious.
She thought that she should buy an ox cart for her family. It would not only be convenient for transporting goods, but also save her the money of hiring a cart every day. In the long run, it would be much more cost-effective.
It would be better to buy a donkey to pull the mill. Otherwise, you will have to grind beans all day and night, your arms will be sore, and you will shake when eating breakfast. If you have a donkey, it will be much easier.
However, the kitchen definitely cannot be turned. If a donkey is used to pull the mill, the millstone must be placed in the open space in front of the house, which is too eye-catching. Passersby will inevitably come over to take a look, point and comment. It will be inconvenient for her to use gypsum water to make tofu later, as she also has to consider building a yard.
I couldn't help but count the money.
Let’s talk about the ox cart first. The ox alone costs about 7,000 coins, not to mention the cart behind it.
Nowadays, I sell 100 pieces of tofu every day, and a bucket of tofu pudding. Tofu costs 3 cents a piece, and tofu pudding costs 2 cents a bowl. One bucket can make about 50 bowls, and the total sales volume is about 12,000 cents a month.
However, the 12,000 yuan still had to be paid to the government as a 20% transaction tax. After deducting the 2,000 yuan for shop rent, the 1,000 yuan for market rent, the 25 hu of beans per month, which was 750 coins for beans, and the 900 coins for hiring Luo Shuangniang's ox cart, there would still be about 5,000 coins left.
If you want to buy a cow, a donkey, or a yard, you have to save up if you don’t have enough money. It would be best to think of other ways to increase your income.
While thinking about it, he tried to push the cart, but it seemed as if he was being resisted by a strong force.
She saw the wheel was stuck in the mud, so she changed directions a few times, but to no avail. She knew she was going to miss the market, so she had to find some rocks.
I saw Mr. Tian coming from behind, wearing a short brown cap and a coarse linen belt. Because he was walking on the muddy road, he tied up his trouser legs. He didn't wear clogs on rainy days, and his pair of cloth shoes were already wet.
Said, "I'll do it."
While holding the handrail, he pushed the car out with a little force.
This saved Jixu the trouble of searching for stones. She thanked him and took over, asking:
"Is Mr. Tian going to the county town as well?"
"Yes, to the county Teitabe."
Without letting go, he returned the car to her and said,
"You go away empty-handed."
As time was running out, Ji Xu stopped arguing and thought about buying him some wine to thank him later.
"It's spring now, and we need to plant rice and sow seeds. Has the farmer returned to the public farm to take up his post? I'm making a toothbrush. I'll send it to you when it's done."
"Um."
Ji Xu asked him about the weather and how long it had been raining, but he looked like he didn't want to talk to him, so he didn't say anything more.
So the two cars drove side by side quietly, with only the sound of wheels rolling on the ground and shoes making noises.
There was no more conversation. They went to the tofu shop, changed into dry cotton shoes, and started to set up their stall. Then Mr. Tian went to the county government in another direction.
At this moment, Feng and Zhu had quietly changed into wooden clogs, put on armbands on their sleeves, and went into Niupi Mountain.
It had just rained last night, and they were thinking about picking mushrooms. If they came too late, the mushrooms would have grown old.
The fresh taste attracted many people from Benguli to come here. Most families did not have enough food, so picking up the food and taking it home was a dish.
Wang Mazi's family was poor, and Wang Li had arrived before them. He had already picked some fruits in his basket and was climbing up a tree. When he saw them, he waved and said, "
"Hey, follow me. I have sharp eyes and can see a lot at a glance."
Ji Feng ignored him: "It's in the way, pick yours and don't bother with us."
He took Ji Zhu and went to look for her somewhere else.
The mountains are humid, and there are many dead branches and leaves on the ground. The fragrant mushrooms mostly parasitize on rotten branches and tree trunks. Their white stems and round caps appear a fresh brown.
Ji Feng would find the ones that were in the lower places, and Ji Zhu would pick them.
Although Jizhu was small, he had dexterous hands. After all, he was used to picking pine cones. He squatted there and picked them one by one and put them into the basket.
Ji Feng picked the taller ones herself, her hands and feet were very nimble, and she said happily:
"Mushrooms are delicious when made into soup, and they can also be dried and saved for later. When my sister comes back and sees how many we've picked, she'll be so surprised."
He said this with full of energy.
"Feng, your family eats meat every now and then, and the aroma of meat can be smelled all over the place. Why are you trying to snatch this delicious food from us? You're too greedy."
A group of women who also went into the mountains to pick mushrooms came and chattered.
Passing by this place, I saw Ji Feng had picked half a basket. The daughter-in-law of the Lin family who was walking in front curled her lips and pointed.
Ji Feng said, "Aunt, your words are so harsh. This Niupi Mountain is not yours. How can we come here to pick mushrooms even though we only eat meat and bran?"
In the past, the daughter-in-law of the Lin family asked her husband and sons to build a house for their family. If it weren't for this, Ji Feng would not be as rude as he is now.
"If we stop here and talk for a while, we can pick a handful of mushrooms." Ji Feng's hands kept working, throwing mushrooms into the basket one by one.
The Lin family's daughter-in-law wanted to pick the ones closest to her, but when she saw that Ji Feng had almost picked all the ones at hand, she walked away angrily.
"Xiaozhu, ignore her. She's so nosy. Let's keep looking."
As Ji Feng spoke, she spotted another cluster with her sharp eyes and, without calling out, waved to Xiaozhu to come and pick them.
The two of them looked at the increasingly full baskets and smiled happily.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard some quarreling and scolding, so he looked in the direction of the sound.
One of the women was the daughter-in-law of the Lin family, and the other was the daughter-in-law of the Deng family. They were pointing fingers and stomping their feet, and the noise made the whole forest noisy.
"It's such a huge mountain, but you insist on taking what's right next to me. What are you good at having eyes for?"
Wang Li, who was standing nearby, leaned forward from his position on the tree and said:
"They got into an argument over a patch of mushrooms. Aunt Lin insisted on picking the ones Aunt Deng had found first, but Aunt Deng wouldn't let her..."
Ji Feng watched with great interest for a while, then thought about the chores at home and took Ji Zhu home.
When Ji Xu came back, he was really surprised to see such a big basket of mushrooms. He praised them again and again and asked them if their clothes were wet and if they changed them in time.
When Ji Feng was praised, her tail was about to rise to the sky, and she laughed and said:
"My clogs got wet, so I changed into cotton shoes as soon as I got back. I also heated up the stove, so I didn't get cold at all."
Ji Xufang felt relieved that she had these wild mushrooms. She went to the west room and took down a piece of bacon from the beam.
The ham at home is still being salted, so it will take some time before we can eat it. The bacon was smoked with pork belly before the New Year. It has been air-dried until now, and the skin is dry, hard and yellow. When you cut it out, there is not a drop of moisture inside. The fat has soaked the meat, and it is like layers of snowflakes, very oily, and the fragrance fills the kitchen.
Ji Xu cut it into small pieces, sliced it thinly, cut half a head of garlic and a handful of peppers, and used them to stir-fry the mushrooms.
It is decorated with green and accompanied by the aroma of bacon. Even the soup is fresh. When poured on the rice, it is fresh, smooth and fragrant. Before you know it, the whole bowl of rice is finished.
"Sister, it's delicious. I want another bowl."
Ji Zhu loved him so much that she didn't even notice the rice grains on the corner of her mouth. She just ate with big mouthfuls, and was very well-behaved.
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