Chapter 70 Chapter 70 The Wang family’s roasted meat.
But the daughter-in-law of the Lin family asked them what time they got up last night, how much they spent on the mill, and how much beans they spent. The people who asked were very nervous and walked back and forth more and more anxiously.
"Why hasn't Miss Xu come back yet?" The daughter-in-law of the Deng family was impatient.
Mrs. Cao was always quiet and gentle, waiting without saying a word.
After all, Zhuang Huiniang joined the group earlier than them, so she was also able to keep her composure.
Ji Feng said sharply, "She's back! My sister is back! It's Luo's car!"
Everyone came forward and surrounded Ji Xu as she got off the car, asking her how her business was going and whether she had sold any goods.
Ji Xu said nothing, and rummaged in his cloth bag for a long time, until he was exhausted, and finally pulled out a string of coins and said with a smile:
"Here's two hundred and forty coins, enough for eighty sheets of tofu skin for today and tomorrow. Auntie, divide it among yourselves!"
"Today and tomorrow? You mean all the tofu skins have been sold today, and we can continue to place orders tomorrow?" asked Deng's daughter-in-law.
This morning, in Lingshui County, a clear voice rang out from a tofu stall:
"Tofu skin, come try these vegetarian tofu skin buns! They're free!"
"What is tofu skin? Can I try it for free?"
When people walking around the market heard about it, although they didn't know what tofu skin was, they still came to try the vegetarian tofu skin buns.
Ji Xu had set up a clay stove in front of the shop, with an old clay pot on top. Since the stove at home was rarely used in spring, he brought the clay pot to the shop to heat it. Tofu skin tastes better when it is freshly made. If it is made at home and brought here, it will lose its flavor when it gets cold. Therefore, he brought these two household items, including firewood, and kept them in the shop. He would buy a new one for his family next year.
I saw her stir-frying a cabbage, crushing two pieces of tofu into it, adding salt and sauce to season it. It was refreshing and simple. Then she cut the tofu skin in half into four pieces, wrapped the cabbage and tofu in it, and sealed the edges with water.
Melt some oil in the pot and fry until the surface is almost burnt but golden yellow, then take it out and let everyone taste it.
"Well, this tofu skin tastes even more beany than tofu."
"Look at that thin, dry piece of food, and it actually tastes so good!"
"Same price as tofu? Give me two sheets, and two blocks of tofu, too. I'll go back and make some vegetarian tofu buns."
"Can it be made into soup?"
Ji Xu replied, "Of course, it will make a delicious soup."
"Give me three."
"I want one too."
A long line formed in front of the shop, and after half a day, all the eighty sheets of tofu skin were sold out.
Ji Xu said with a smile, "Not only have they been sold, but they've also sold well. Look, I'll buy another eighty tomorrow, and I'll pay you in advance."
"Amitabha, this is a full two hundred and forty coins. How much did each family get? Look how happy I am that I can't even count."
Deng's wife held the string of money in her hands, her brows raised with joy, her mouth corners stretched to her ears.
"Sixty coins per family!"
Zhuang Huiniang said happily, but each family only took ten coins, and the remaining two hundred coins were stuffed back to Ji Xu as they had agreed in advance. They were the money for the two large iron plates from the two workshops.
"I told you I can't pay for it."
After carefully dividing the money, everyone felt relieved and became more optimistic about the future of the tofu skin business.
"Take this money back and see if my husband is still nagging. He bought me a stone mill yesterday and kept nagging me all night." The Liu family's wife counted the money and smiled from ear to ear.
The Lin family's wife had come to watch the fun, but now she was feeling jealous. The four families worked together to make eighty sheets of tofu skin, and none of them needed a bushel of beans, yet they could earn a hundred and twenty coins. Each person would get thirty coins. And that was just for one day. If it took two or three days...
She gritted her teeth and said shamelessly:
"Since it's so profitable, I'm willing to do it. I'll go find the Feng family and we can both set up a small workshop."
The Deng family's wife said, "You slipped away so quickly yesterday, and now it's already tonight! Never mind whether the Feng family is willing or not. The four of us are doing well, and now you want to join us. Wouldn't we earn less? How can such a good thing happen?"
The person's face turned pale and blue after hearing these words.
The next day, Ji Fu returned with an old wooden cart pulled by a skinny ox. Along the way, the villagers in Benguli laughed at him and said,
"The boss doesn't want you to work anymore? I see you coming home to live every day."
Ji Fu said: "The boss is considerate of me and let me come home so that I can reunite with my family."
"That's a nice thing to say, but how could I teach you to drive such a broken car? Lin Dadu said he would meet you at the west gate of the county waiting for a job." The man said.
"Ji Fu cursed: 'Bullshit! How did he see me taking private work? Let him come out and tell us.'"
The man laughed and said, "I'm afraid I'm mistaken. But since you're short of money, you should ask your niece to teach you how to make tofu skin. The Chen, Wang, Deng, and Liu families all help her make tofu skin. She earns at least thirty coins a day, which is more than what you earn in the county!"
When Ji Fu heard this, he was furious and started cursing as soon as he entered the courtyard:
"Thirty cents is nothing. I'll get my money back..."
Unexpectedly, Jin was in the room. When she saw her carrying a basin of dirty clothes and going to the well, she stopped complaining.
Jin said, "What are you mumbling about? I heard you were hiring someone in the county."
Ji Fu said, "It's just some private work. Seeing how jealous they are, they started to spread rumors everywhere."
Jin said, "Forget about the money from the private work. Even last month's salary, you didn't take a single cent home."
Ji Fu said, "I told Brother Wang I should have lent it to him. He has always been good to me. If our family is short of money, you will have to use your savings to help us out."
"What do I have to offer? Put away your evil intentions. If you have the potential, you should earn money and give it back. Instead, you are coveting my money."
Jin went to pound clothes while cursing.
"If you didn't have any connections with the second wife, how could this business of making tofu skin be run by my first wife's relatives?"
In Ji Fu's opinion, he had always been friendly and respectful to his brothers and had never criticized the second wife and her husband, let alone their daughter.
Now the second branch doesn't even like his uncle. It's purely an unprovoked disaster, and he was implicated by the Jin family.
When Jin heard this, she became furious and the two of them started arguing.
They all held their breath and shouted extremely loudly, which could be heard outside and even the Wang family who lived a little further away could hear it.
Wang Li was playing guessing games with his sister. He listened for a while and heard that they were arguing about who did more and who did less.
Every family in the village has its own problems, quarrels and fights are common, and he is used to it. He continues to grab stones and let his sister guess.
"Single or double?"
"They're quarreling again. Ji Fu has been coming back more often lately, and he's quarreling more often too."
Wang Mazi stopped by the wall and listened carefully, then went to collect the bedding.
It has been raining continuously in spring recently and the weather is very humid. Taking advantage of the strong sunshine today, we put the bedding and mats in the yard to dry.
When the gate opened, Cao came home, carrying a piece of good meat, which must have weighed two or three pounds. Wang Mazi was so shocked that his eyes widened.
"Where's the meat?"
Cao laughed and said, "Of course I bought it, or did it fall from the sky?"
"Bought meat? Mother, where does our family get the money to buy meat?"
Wang Li led Wang Mian closer, and they were equally surprised, with their mouths big enough to fit an egg.
Cao said, "Didn't your mother go out these past two days with a bag of beans? She went to your Uncle Chen's house and made tofu skin with your Aunt Zhuang. I buy the tofu skin at a good price, and it sells well in the county, so I can buy meat. I'm so lucky that my sister was willing to tell us this method and teach us how to make it together."
Cao secretly tucked her warm eyes and said with a smile:
"Hasn't our family cooked meat in over a year? Mother will make some roasted meat to satisfy your cravings."
"I'll light the fire!"
When Wang Li heard about roasted meat, his stomach growled. He was used to eating bean porridge, cabbage and turnip at home...all of which were cooked in plain water without even adding any animal oil. Wang Li almost forgot what this meat tasted like and was extremely greedy.
"Sister, what are you doing?"
At the Ji family's house, Ji Feng was in the kitchen, holding a fire stick in her hand. She had just started a fire to cook, and she stood by the stove and asked.
I saw Ji Xu chopping the lean meat into minced meat, adjusting the saltiness, spreading it on the tofu skin, rolling it up, and then cutting it into pieces two fingers wide. He put them into the oil pan and fried them until they were golden and crispy. Each one was placed on a plate, like a golden bell.
She said, "Dry fried bells, blow on them, be careful of the burns."
At the same time, he picked up some and gave it to Ji Feng to taste.
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard someone calling Sister Xu from outside. She was busy, so Ji Feng put down the fire stick and went to open the kitchen door. Ji Zhu also came to see.
Wang Li was holding a torn plate with roasted meat evenly distributed on it.
At first glance, you can tell that they are dry-roasted without adding a drop of water to the pot. The lean part is a slightly burnt sauce color, while the fat part is golden. Spread on the crisp cabbage, it is very tempting.
"Mother asked me to bring you some roasted meat."
Wang Li grinned, feeling extremely happy. In the past, Ji Feng couldn't bear to see him being greedy, so she would share the steamed buns or lard dough with him to satisfy his cravings. Now, he could finally share some delicious food with them.
"Thanks for thinking of me. Wait, I'll give you the plate."
Ji Feng took it, picked up a piece for herself and ate it, then raised it to feed Ji Xu a piece. It tasted fragrant on the outside and tender on the inside, and both of them nodded in approval.
Ji Xu said from inside: "Your mother's cooking skills are really good. I made some fried bells and brought them back to try."
I just happened to use the empty plate, so I picked one and asked Wang Li to take it back.
Wang Li said embarrassedly: "I came here to deliver something, why am I taking it back?"
When Wang Mian brought the fried meat back to his house, he loved it so much that he could eat it right away. He hadn't eaten meat for a long time, so his cheeks were full of it. It was so delicious.
"Slow down." Cao smiled and picked up the fallen meat crumbs back into her bowl.
"Mom, eat."
Wang Mian held up a fried bell and brought it to Cao's mouth.
Cao ate it, her mouth full of the aroma of meat and beans, and she said, "This dish made with tofu skin is so delicious, no wonder it sells so well."
Wang Li nodded repeatedly and was already serving his third bowl of bean rice.
It is said that the daughter-in-law of the Lin family was choked back and regretted it very much. When she thought about the money, she did not get any share, and her heart was upset. She thought about it and came up with an idea.
That day, she bought a square stone mill from the market and tinkered with it in the kitchen for half a day. Soy milk was a drink sold in the market, and she had seen it before. It was simply made by grinding beans with water and boiling the slurry. When the slurry in the pot cooled down, a layer of oil film would form.
The Lin family's daughter-in-law clapped her hands in delight. Why did Ms. Xu need to teach her? She had already figured it out on her own. She used bamboo sticks to pick it up and dry it. It was almost the same as their tofu skin, right?
The next day she took it to the market to sell it.
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