Chapter 13: Gathering
In the evening, Brother Liu Da and Brother Liu San will come home to help make the magical tofu.
Liu Yinyin naturally had to invite them to dinner, so she kept the 1.4 pound of small miscellaneous fish as an additional dish.
As the sun set, Liu Yinyin slowly watered the two plots of land.
When the brothers Liu Mingcheng and Liu Mingyuan came over after work, Liu Yinyin had already finished watering.
"Little sister, didn't you say that these jobs would be left to me?" Liu Mingyuan muttered calmly as soon as he entered the door.
Liu Yinyin found that her third brother was just a chatterbox, so she didn't argue with him and said with a smile: "There is still work waiting for you guys."
Liu Mingcheng was pulled over by his third brother in a daze, and asked in a confused tone: "Little sister, what can I do for you?"
On the way he asked Liu Mingyuan, but this guy couldn't explain it either.
Liu Yinyin greeted them unceremoniously, "You will know in a moment. Big brother and third brother, come and help me crush these leaves first."
The first step in making magical tofu is to pour water on the tofu leaves and rub them repeatedly.
Liu Mingyuan was puzzled and asked, "Little sister, these are just some leaves, why are you crushing them?"
"It can make delicious food." Liu Yinyin didn't keep it a secret.
Liu Mingyuan was shocked when he heard this: "What, is this true?"
The leaves of this tree are everywhere on the mountain, but I have never seen anyone use them for food before.
Liu Yinyin didn't dare to give a definite answer, and said vaguely: "I also heard someone say by chance in the county that this can make magical tofu. It should be true. Let's try it and we will know."
The bait has been laid out, and Liu Mingyuan and his brother are clearly interested in making magical tofu. No one says much and just concentrates on their work.
Making magical tofu is not difficult. The process is similar to making real tofu, but simpler.
Pour the fubi leaves into a colander, place it on a wooden basin, pour water on it and rub it repeatedly...
You can see the water gradually turning green until it reaches the same dark color as the rotten leaves.
Liu Yinyin brought over the gauze she had prepared in advance.
Pour the rotten leaf water into the gauze filter......
This is not the end, there is still one most critical step.
In order to make the rotten leaf water take shape, alkaline water is also needed.
This is not difficult. You can make alkaline water by simply using some wood ash.
Next, we just have to wait for the rotten leaf water to solidify into shape...
Liu Mingyuan asked doubtfully, "Little sister, is this all right?"
"Well, just wait about half an hour." Liu Yinyin said.
I just made two large pots of magical tofu and have only used up half of the tofu leaves. I have to continue making the other half.
After teaching Liu Mingyuan and his brother once, Liu Yinyin stopped watching and let them do it themselves while she went to prepare dinner.
Braised small mixed fish, scrambled eggs with green peppers, cold mixed water spinach, and the staple food was still the wild vegetable nest head, she steamed a total of ten.
By the time she finished making dinner, Liu Mingyuan and his friends had just finished making the magical tofu.
Liu Yinyin asked them to eat first.
Seeing that the dishes were similar to those of yesterday, Liu Mingyuan was too lazy to say anything else. His mind was now on the magical tofu that Liu Yinyin had mentioned.
Liu Mingcheng was also surprised, but he was introverted and didn't dare to directly tell his sister that she was wrong. He just thought about telling Jiang Cuihua when he got home and asking Liu Yinyin to live a frugal life.
After eating and drinking enough, the magical tofu is formed.
Liu Yinyin used a kitchen knife to cut it a few times and it became a tofu-shaped block.
"You're really a piece of tofu." Liu Mingyuan sneered, his face full of surprise.
Somehow, Liu Yinyin was a little excited at this moment. She hadn't eaten this thing for a long time.
Take three pieces of tofu, two large and one small, cut them into small pieces and put them into a bowl, then add a spoonful of sugar and mix them.
"Big brother, third brother, come and have a taste." Liu Yinyin also took a bowl and couldn't wait to scoop a spoonful to taste it.
The tofu is smooth and tender, and melts in your mouth......
It is chewy and elastic when you bite it. The tofu made from pure natural and pollution-free tofu leaves is delicious!
"It's really delicious." Liu Mingyuan exclaimed in amazement. The fairy tofu was cool and sweet, and he felt refreshed all over after taking a bite.
Liu Mingcheng said nothing, but just raised the bowl and gulped down half the bowl of the tofu.
Liu Yinyin also found it very comfortable to eat. Eating the magical tofu was refreshing in hot weather.
It’s a pity that there is no refrigerator, otherwise I would put it in the refrigerator and freeze it. The tofu would be delicious then.
"Little sister, shall we take the remaining magic tofu to the market to sell tomorrow?" Liu Mingyuan was still not satisfied, but he was reluctant to eat it anymore. He was still thinking about making money.
He had a quick mind and immediately guessed the way to make money that Liu Yinyin mentioned yesterday, which should be selling magic tofu.
Liu Yinyin admitted with a smile: "Yes, just a big bowl like this, we can sell it for two cents tomorrow, or exchange it for an egg."
Of course, other food can also be exchanged, but it is more convenient to barter directly.
"I think it can work." Liu Mingyuan said with great enthusiasm. The tofu is made from leaves from the mountains. Apart from a spoonful of sugar, no other capital is needed. This is the trading plan.
He is already looking forward to tomorrow's big fair.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t sell it, you can keep it for yourself.
When the two brothers were getting ready to go back, Liu Yinyin scooped out a few pieces of the magical tofu in a small basin and asked them to take it back: "Let others taste it too. Add some sugar. If you hang it in the well for a few hours, it will be cooler to eat."
Liu Mingyuan hesitated and said, "Why not save it and sell it tomorrow?"
"How much can you get from just a few dollars? You can't lose anything but your mouth." Liu Yinyin urged him to hurry up.
Pregnant women sleep a lot, so she has to tidy up and go to bed.
It was better to get together early. The next day, Liu Yinyin was awakened by Jiang Cuihua's loud voice before dawn.
Jiang Cuihua was all smiles today and looked particularly happy. Last night she ate the delicious tofu that Liu Mingyuan and his brother brought back.
She really didn't expect that the green leaves that were once inconspicuous on the mountain could have such a use.
Jiang Cuihua was so happy at this moment. In those days when people were short of food and clothing, food was a big deal!
Although the magic tofu is not a food, it is edible. Anything that can be put into your mouth is good.
Only Jiang Cuihua and Liu Mingyuan came, and everyone else still had to go to work as usual.
Liu Mingyuan moved four wooden basins of delicious tofu onto a cart and tied them up. There was also a basket of eggs on the cart, which Jiang Cuihua was taking to the market to exchange for some things that were missing at home.
Liu Yinyin didn't even have breakfast. She packed up and took a can of sugar and went out.
Liujia Village is quite far from the township market, about the same distance as going to the county town, and it takes about an hour to walk there.
In addition to them, there were other people in the village who were also rushing out, pulling carts or carrying baskets.
On the way, Jiang Cuihua took out an oil-paper bag from the basket and gave it to Liu Yinyin.