After dinner, the eldest and second daughters took their younger sisters to clean the kitchen, helped them wash up, and put them to bed.
Big Girl and Second Girl came out quietly to help Song Qingyun and Xia Weian.
Xia Weian and Song Qingyun had carefully rinsed the cow skeleton with water several times to wash away the blood and bone fragments.
The cow skeleton is so big that they can’t fit it all in one pot.
Xia Weian tried hard to break the cow skeleton into several sections, and they could barely put half of the pot down.
When Da Niu and Er Niu came out, the first blanching was completed and the cooking had begun. The fire was boiling, the water was bubbling, and the heat mixed with the fragrance spread in the kitchen.
Song Qingyun was making a fire while Xia Weian was washing the cow offal beside him.
When Da Niu and Er Niu came in, they couldn't help but sniff.
"Mom and Dad, beef bones smell so good when cooked." Erniu said with a smile.
"Mom, can we really make butter?" the big girl asked curiously.
"Bone soup is already very fragrant. Mom will scoop out some and put it in a bowl. We will have bone soup noodles tomorrow morning." Song Qingyun said with a smile, "Big girl, you will know whether it can make butter or not."
Erniu sat by the stove and wanted to help Song Qingyun light the fire.
The girl walked up to Xia Weian and said, "Dad, let me wash it."
"Let me do it, don't get your hands dirty. I've almost finished washing it." Xia Weian said gently. He was cleaning the beef intestines, which tasted sour and refreshing, and he didn't want his daughter to get her hands dirty.
"Big girl, you and second girl should go back to sleep. There's not much work to do here. Your mother and I still have some things to discuss."
The eldest and second daughter looked at each other. Both sisters felt embarrassed to let their parents work while they slept, as they were already grown-up girls.
"Big girl, second girl, be obedient. Your father and I will probably be busy until late at night, and we probably won't be able to get up tomorrow morning. I'll leave the house to you to take care of." Song Qingyun said with a smile.
She knew that if she didn't arrange something for the two children, they would not leave.
"That's fine. Erniu and I can't help, so we'll go back to sleep. I'll cook tomorrow morning and take good care of my sisters. Dad and mom, you should get more sleep tomorrow." said the eldest girl.
"Okay." Song Qingyun responded.
Only then did the eldest and second girls go back to sleep together.
Song Qingyun looked at the pot and saw that it had been boiling over high heat for five minutes. She then turned the heat down to low. Butter cannot be cooked in a hurry; it takes two or three hours, and she needs to add water in due amount in between.
"I'll go to the warehouse and get the other half ready."
"Go ahead." Xia Weian lowered his head to work and responded. He lowered his head to look at the other piece of beef offal. Why did he feel that there was something wrong with the piece in his hand...
But he couldn't tell what was wrong.
Song Qingyun slipped into the space carrying the remaining half of the cow skeleton. There was a big pot in the warehouse, which was the big iron pot they used to cook for the warehouse workers.
Song Qingyun cleaned the pot, threw the beef bones into the pot, boiled it over high heat for five minutes, and then turned to low heat.
The charcoal used in the warehouse has better temperature control.
Song Qingyun estimated the time and slipped out of the space.
"Sister Yun!" Xia Weian exclaimed.
Song Qingyun hurried forward, "What's wrong?"
"Look, isn't this... bezoar?" Xia Weian's hands were shaking with nervousness.
Song Qingyun was stunned for a moment, then leaned over to take a closer look.
Xia Weian held in his hand an irregular yellowish-brown ball, the size of a fist, with a rough surface and a faint bitter and fishy smell, which smelled a bit pungent.
“It seems so.”
"If it really is bezoar, all our current economic problems will be solved!"
They now have an estimated 200-300 grams of bezoar in their hands. Neither of them knows the exact price per gram, but they both know that bezoar is very expensive.
"Put the things away first, and we'll find time to go to the city to ask." Song Qingyun said after thinking for a while.
"Okay. Fortunately, I didn't throw this thing into the water just now, otherwise it would affect the efficacy of the medicine. Put it into the space first, wipe it dry with a paper towel, then dry it in the shade, and then put it in the refrigerator." Xia Weian said.
In his previous life, Xia Weian carried medicinal materials for a Chinese medicine store. He was hardworking and honest, and the old Chinese medicine doctor got along well with him. He liked to chat with him whenever he had nothing to do. He talked about the storage and preparation of some medicinal materials, and it just so happened that he mentioned the preservation of bezoar.
"Yeah." Song Qingyun responded and pulled Xia Weian into the space.
Xia Weian personally processed the bezoar.
Song Qingyun was busy inside and outside, lighting the fire and adding water.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Xia Weian had already processed the bezoar and was sitting on the bench, looking at Song Qingyun with a silly smile.
"What are you laughing at?" Song Qingyun rolled his eyes at Xia Weian. "You're already old, but you're still so restless."
"Sister Yun, can you stay calm? If it really is bezoar, such a big piece, if we sell it, we will at least be worth 10,000 yuan. Then we can buy houses in the city, one house for each of the seven daughters, and a storefront for each of them." Xia Weian became more and more excited as he spoke.
"Okay, if you keep talking, I think you'll have to think about coaxing your grandson."
Xia Weian laughed, "That won't work. Girls don't need to get married so early. It's better to be single than to marry someone unsuitable."
"I don't object to buying a house, but our relationship is only in the village now. It may not be easy to move to the city or county." Song Qingyun said worriedly.
Although the college entrance examination will be resumed in two years and policies will be gradually relaxed, we still have to keep a low profile in these two years.
Otherwise, if something really happens, it will be troublesome.
"You're right. We can't be in a hurry. We can buy houses and other things slowly. We still need to stay in the countryside for two years." Xia Weian said.
"What do you think about the children's future?" Song Qingyun sat opposite Xia Weian.
The fire was simmering slowly now, so she didn't have to watch it all the time.
"All the children must go to school." Xia Weian said firmly.
"Little Six and Little Seven are not old enough. Little Three is twelve years old and can barely go to elementary school with Little Five. Big Six and Little Two are fourteen. Is it appropriate for them to go to elementary school with their younger sister?" Song Qingyun said with a frown.
Xia Weian also fell into deep thought. He could spend money on Da Niu and Er Niu, but he wondered whether Da Niu and Er Niu could accept taking classes with the other kids.
Will they feel stressed and uncomfortable?
"According to the age in our country, the girl is already old enough to get married." Song Qingyun sighed, "It's us who delayed the girl."
Both the couple looked a little solemn.
The silence was filled with guilt.
"Sister Yun, I have an idea. I don't know if it's feasible."
"Tell me about it." Song Qingyun asked.
"There's only so much we can learn in elementary school. Why don't we hire a teacher to come home and teach the eldest, second, and third daughters?" Xia Weian said. "The eldest daughter is old enough to go to junior high school now. Once she finishes her elementary school lessons, we can discuss with the school and let her take the exam and go straight to junior high school."
"The college entrance exam will be resumed in two years. By then, my daughter will be in high school. Maybe I can give it a try."
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