Chapter 298 There is meat but no pot, what’s going on?
Before deciding to pull the pigs out in batches of three to face the butcher's knife, Sang Zhixia carefully considered many issues.
For example, what to do with the unused meat after slaughtering, and how to collect and clean the pig hair.
The boiled oil was promptly sent to the empty threshing ground, where Xue Liulinyun and others personally mixed the pre-prepared wood ash water and shell powder with the boiled lard.
The people arranged outside the threshing ground were from the Northwest Camp. They were responsible for stirring the soap liquid. The stirred soap liquid was then handed over to the waiting women, and then poured into the molds.
Sang Zhixia reviewed the entire soap-making process, from the first step to the last step, several times and even simulated and modified it on paper to avoid any mistakes.
However, there is always a loophole.
Sang Zhixia forgot that a pot is needed to boil oil.
Lots and lots of pots.
The white and greasy fat has been divided out, cut into small pieces and placed in a large bowl.
However, the available pots are indeed insufficient.
Xue Liu smiled bitterly and said, "The pots that people usually use at home are not big, and they can hold very little at a time. We often cook in large pots on the farm, and we did find five relatively large ones, but they are still not enough."
Eighteen iron pots collected from all over the place were put on the stove at the same time. The aroma of the boiling oil spread far away with the wind, but the amount of fat in the wooden basin only increased and did not decrease. The speed of boiling the oil could not keep up with the efficiency of cutting the meat.
Sang Zhixia had a subtle expression and frowned as she said, "Send someone to the county town to buy it?"
"The people we sent out have returned, and they only bought three pots, all this size."
Xue Liu gestured with his hands to indicate a common size, and said with a wry smile, "The blacksmith shop doesn't have much stock. Usually, you have to go to a shop that's sure it wants to buy something, and once you've agreed on the size, they'll hammer it out. These three were all forced out with extra wages, otherwise you'd have to wait for a deposit to be paid before they could make them."
Sang Zhixia was slightly surprised: "How long will it take to get it back after it's been shot?"
Xue Liu sighed: "At least a month."
Sang Zhixia: "..."
It has been a while since the beginning of spring, and the weather is getting warmer day by day.
If the meat is not passed through any other place after being slaughtered, it will not be able to be kept for more than a month and will definitely become smelly.
Once the meat has gone bad, what she can make is no longer soft and fragrant soap flowers, but stinky bombs that can suffocate people.
Sang Zhixia didn't expect that he would die here after a great victory. He was so surprised that he couldn't help but feel a headache.
"Then, using the pot we have now, if we assign people to work in shifts for twelve hours, and keep the stove burning constantly, how long will it take to cook all the meat?"
"Boss, the farm slaughtered thirty pigs this time, and the fat we collected was nearly 2,100 kilograms."
"The five large pots can fry 20 kilograms at a time. Using the method you described, simmering over low heat will take at least an hour. The other pots are smaller and can only simmer 10 kilograms at a time, so the time is about the same. So, if you calculate it this way, then..."
"You can't finish cooking the meat before it goes rancid."
Sang Zhixia came to a very calm conclusion and said with a click of her tongue, "Is this really impossible to endure?"
There is meat but no pot, what's going on?
With mixed feelings, Sang Zhixia walked over to the open space where the oil was being boiled and took a look around. Looking at the oil residue that had piled up like a small mountain in the wooden basin since yesterday, she narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "Every household in our village has a pot, right?"
Xue Liu groaned and said with a wry smile, "I'd like to borrow it too, but someone's family only has one cooking pot, and if they lend it to us and don't return it within three or five days, I'm afraid it's not easy to ask for it."
Once Sang Zhixia spoke up, the villagers would definitely not refuse.
But if I borrow the pot, what should I do when they eat?
"What's so difficult about this? We don't borrow all the money for the twelve hours a day."
Sang Zhixia clenched his left fist and slammed it against his right palm, then made the decision, "We'll only borrow the pot for eight hours a day. If you're worried, you can come and boil the oil yourself. After four full hours, the owner of the pot can take all the oil residue from the boiling that day. We'll also pay you five copper coins a day."
The spring plowing is coming to an end. At this time, the villagers are either helping out on Sang Zhixia's farm, or are in the spring idleness with nothing to do.
At this time, people who have a pot at home will not refuse the double temptation of oil residue and wages.
Xue Liu went to pass on the message as Sang Zhixia had instructed. In less than an hour, those who had heard the news came over holding their own pots of varying sizes.
Many simple stoves were newly built on the large open space. The bottom of the pot emitted bursts of sizzling aroma of oil, and the sound of spatulas stirring the pots mixed with the women's laughter, which temporarily solved Sang Zhixia's urgent problem.
Sang Zhixia exhaled and said, "The pot cannot be stopped, and the fire in the stove cannot be extinguished, but people cannot endure it forever."
"Uncle Xu."
Xu Tongsheng, who was eating oil residue with a small bowl, didn't expect that he would have his own things to do. He exclaimed in surprise and looked up.
"Boss, my pot was moved here yesterday. I can't even get a pot to boil oil out!"
Sang Zhixia was amused by his reaction. She covered her raised mouth with her hand and said, "Uncle Xu, I'm not talking about the pot."
"It's not difficult to boil oil over the stove, but the oil is scalding hot. If it burns someone, it's a serious matter."
"To be on the safe side, divide the people who work long-term on our farm into three groups, one for each of the twelve hours of the day. After a group has completed four hours, they must rest."
"Someone should be assigned to watch the stove during this time, firstly to prevent the food from getting burnt and overcooked, and secondly to prevent sparks from starting and causing trouble."
When the spring breeze is strong, everything withers. This is the time when strong winds are likely to cause forest fires. We cannot allow any trouble to occur at this critical juncture.
Xu Tongsheng swallowed the fragrant oil residue in his mouth whole, patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, boss, I will definitely take care of this matter!"
"Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Xu."
Xu Tongsheng took the bowl and went to ask people to divide into groups. When he learned that a new group had to be replaced every four hours, the woman who was waving the spatula felt very sorry.
"These oil residues that you can get for free are really good stuff. I was thinking of making a day and a night of it so I can take some home and eat it slowly."
If the farm hadn't been short of pots, where would I have found such a good thing?
Xu Tongsheng held up the booklet with the groups divided, puffing his beard and glaring: "You know this is a good thing, but you can't let your family take all the good stuff!"
"The boss said that everyone who worked hard to prepare the simmered food will get a share. Take the leftovers from the four hours of cooking and save them for a few days, and your whole family will have enough to eat!"
The woman being held by Xu Tongsheng was also quite talkative. She gave a narrow laugh when she heard this: "If we're talking about greasy lips, who can compare to Master Tongsheng's?"
"Master Tongsheng, please wipe your mouth first, otherwise the boss will see you eating the food from the stove first, right?"
"Hahaha! Master Tongsheng, did you bring something to wipe your mouth with? If not, we can grab a handful of dirt for you to make do with?"
A burst of laughter erupted from the rows of makeshift stoves, and Xu Tongsheng's old face turned red with embarrassment at the teasing of the women.
Xu Tongsheng grabbed his sleeve and wiped his mouth casually. He wanted to keep a straight face, but he ended up laughing as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Come on, come on, I'm too lazy to tease you guys!"
"Go and boil your oil! If you boil the oil until it's done, you're not allowed to take the oil residue away, and you won't be paid!"
There was a burst of booing from the women, and Xu Tongsheng ran away on tiptoe without looking back.
At a corner not far away, Sang Zhixia held the freshly cooked oil residue in her hands and said, "Let's go home."
Xue Liu asked in surprise, "Master, why don't you go and take a look?"
Sang Zhixia shook her head rapidly.
"No, no, don't you see Aunt Xue and Aunt Wu are here?"
People who don’t know her well just think that Sang Zhixia is young, but she is very capable in every way, and they won’t laugh or joke too much when they see her.
These guys are different.
Sang Zhixia said with lingering fear, "These guys are more talkative than each other. If you get caught, you won't be able to escape in less than half an hour."
If you can't afford to offend, you might as well go home and eat fried dough sticks.
Sang Zhixia wanted to go home and take a break, but just as she walked out with the bowl in her hand, she was stopped by Madam Su who came hurriedly.
After hearing what Madam Su said, Sang Zhixia snorted in anger, "So everyone has smelled the meat in my pot, and everyone wants to get a piece of it?"
It’s okay for others.
The carpenter she had worked with survived the famine by relying on the food she gave him to support his family. How could this man have the nerve to raise the price from her?
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