Chapter 50
The seemingly simple job was far from being that simple. After more than two quarters of an hour, Shen An's hands were sore, and he had only sawed less than one-third of the chopping board.
The little man was dumbfounded.
Sang Luo then took the saw with a smile: "Come, I'll help you."
The two of them took fifteen minutes each, and finally even Shen Ning tried his hand. It took more than half an hour to finally saw off the chopping board. The two children gathered together to take a look and touched it. It turned out to be quite good.
Shen An and Shen Ning were overjoyed. They personally participated in sawing the chopping board. The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction was indescribable. It was already evening, and the two little ones encouraged Sang Luo with bright eyes: "Sister-in-law, let's make dinner."
Sang Luo looked at the sky and thought it was not a bad idea. She collected the sour jujube cakes that were drying outside the house, put them into the jar that had just been emptied today, and started to prepare dinner.
The advantage of two stoves is that one stove can be used to steam rice, and the other stove can be used to make soup and cook dishes. It takes much less time. However, when it comes to cutting vegetables, the chopping board is a good one, but using a bamboo knife to cut eggplant is a skillful and laborious job. Does it sound contradictory? Not really.
You have to use the pointed end to pierce the eggplant skin to break through. This is considered a skill, but to pierce the eggplant skin, you need some strength.
"The only things we need at home right now are a water tank and a kitchen knife."
These two items are not cheap either, especially the kitchen knife. Iron items are not cheap at that time.
Sang Luo pinched the purse hanging on her waist. There was almost no money left, probably less than ten cents. Selling the magic tofu and sour jujube cake tomorrow would earn more than four hundred coins in total. There was no way she could buy both of them. She could use a wooden barrel instead of a water tank. Just buying a kitchen knife would probably cost her all the remaining money and tomorrow's earnings.
We have to treat guests the day after tomorrow, so shouldn’t we keep the money for the groceries?
Sang Luo unconsciously turned her gaze to the stone mill in the kitchen.
Shen An had long wanted to ask what this stone mill was for.
But the eldest sister-in-law has not stopped since she came back. She has arranged too many things, including buying chickens and ducks, installing new beds, and even preparing straw and mats. She then turned around and made duck nests, built chicken coops, and made chopping boards. She was so busy that the brother and sister completely forgot about the stone mill that was first delivered to their home.
At this moment, I found that my sister-in-law was talking about buying a kitchen knife, and she squeezed her purse, and her eyes glanced at the stone mill, but Shen An remembered it.
"Sister-in-law, why did we buy that stone mill?"
Sang Luo smiled: "To make money."
She patted Chen An: "Sister-in-law will make you another delicious meal today, but it will probably take until midnight before you can eat it."
Then, under the puzzled and expectant eyes of the little brother and sister, he took down the bag of soybeans hanging on the beam of the kitchen.
Chen An knew that the sister-in-law had other uses for the soybeans. He had waited for a long time but saw nothing happen. Today, he saw the sister-in-law bring it out. The brother and sister looked at each other and went over together.
"Sister-in-law, do I need to use a stone mill to cook these soybeans?"
Sang Luo smiled and nodded: "Yes."
Shen An and Shen Ning were both a little stunned. As for soybeans, everyone had eaten them. When there was no food, they were eaten as a meal. Bean rice was not that delicious and was far inferior to rice. When there was food, it was just a dish and could be used to make sauce. Apart from that, what else could they be used for?
Sang Luo didn't say anything. These days, most of the people in the county set up stalls, and rarely engaged in bartering. Most of the purchases were made directly with copper coins. So the soybeans were the ones she had exchanged for at the market or when she carried a load to sell tofu in various villages, a total of five liters.
This amount of soybeans was not much if he was going to sell them at a stall, so Sang Luo poured them all into a bucket, carried the bucket outside, fetched water from a mountain spring, washed the beans twice, then filled it with water again and carried it back to the kitchen to put away.
Shen An and Shen Ning followed the whole process, and that's it?
The reaction was all over her face, and Sang Luo smiled: "Soak for two hours, then we'll cook first."
She had made up her mind not to tell anyone, so the brother and sister could only suppress their curiosity and help prepare the meal.
Sang Luo is very patient when cooking. Even if her knife is not sharp enough, she still carefully cuts the eggplant into thick slices and then into strips as thick as her little finger. After everything is cut, she pulls the ceramic basin on the table closer, puts the eggplant strips in, sprinkles some salt on them, and stirs them to remove the water.
This step is very important when cooking eggplant at home. The blanched eggplant does not need to be fried in oil and it will still taste fresh and tender when it comes out of the pan. Of course, Sang Luo herself thinks that the eggplant variety and planting conditions are also very important. The taste of the eggplant she bought in the supermarket when she just started working in her previous life was definitely different from the eggplant she grew in the mountains later.
Let me put it this way, too many things in the city are forced to come into being, and they are really not as good as those you grow yourself in the countryside.
After mixing the eggplant and salt, she called the two kids and said, "Let's go find some wild onions and cut some wild leeks."
Living in the mountains, there is really no shortage of wild vegetables, especially recently they no longer rely on wild vegetables to fill their stomachs like before. The vegetables that were picked before have grown again, so there is no need to climb over other hills. Well, they can just continue harvesting the vegetables in their own area.
After a short walk outside, the three of them each had one in their hands.
Of course, not many onions were used. Most of what was picked were leeks. A large handful of mint leaves were also picked behind the house. There were now six or seven mint and basil plants transplanted by Shen An and Shen Ning.
She picked the garlic and washed it by the mountain spring in front of her house, then brought it back to the kitchen. Sang Luo took out a garlic from under the wooden table, peeled a few cloves, cut them and set them aside.
By now, the eggplants were pickled. Sang Luo took the filter cloth that was usually used to make fairy tofu and placed it in an empty ceramic basin. She put all the eggplants into the filter cloth, wrapped them up, and squeezed out as much water as possible before letting Shen Ning light the stove on the cooking side.
Chen Ning watched carefully, and while he was making a fire, he asked questions about the parts he didn't understand. With the cooperation of the aunt and sister-in-law, a mint-fried eggplant and a wild leek scrambled egg were ready. They were mixed with some dandelions, which were picked when looking for food for the chickens. The three dishes were placed on the small square table that Chen Youtian had helped to prepare.
After dinner, Sang Luo took the two little ones to sort out the extra thick bamboo branches from the day before and this afternoon, and moved them to the vegetable garden behind the house. Since they were raising chickens, they had to build a bamboo fence, otherwise some vegetable seeds would be eaten by the chickens before they even sprouted.
Compared to building a chicken coop, this is much simpler. Shen An and Shen Ning can do it. It just takes time.
It was getting dark and only half of the work was done.
It was too dark to see anything, so Sang Luo stopped struggling. Thinking of the chickens and ducks in the backyard, she was afraid of attracting snakes, rats, and the like, so she simply took out the bag of snake repellent powder that Old Lady Chen had given her and sprinkled it along the outer wall of her house.
Well, now they can sleep peacefully.
The old lady said that this thing is made of some herbs and is harmless to humans or chickens and ducks. Seeing that she used it up so quickly, she prepared a big bag of it for her.
As usual, they were going to make magical tofu in the evening. The difference was that this time, while waiting for the second batch of magical tofu to solidify, Sang Luo saw that the beans were almost soaked, so she took Shen An and Shen Ning to start making tofu.
The brother and sister followed the whole process without missing a beat. Not only did they taste the soy milk, but they also saw their sister-in-law make the soy milk in the pot gradually solidify like she did when she made the tofu.
After working for most of the night, each of them had a bowl of sweet tofu pudding.
They thought this was the ultimate state, but they found out that it was not. They still had to scoop it into a wooden frame covered with filter cloth, and then put a board that matched the wooden frame on top, and then put a big stone on top. After about half an hour, Shen An and Shen Ning watched their sister-in-law move the big stone away, pick up the board, and then lift the tofu cloth. The brother and sister's hearts began to beat faster.
Just like the fairy tofu, it solidified into lumps.
He was surprised at what he saw, but he also felt that he shouldn't be surprised because his sister-in-law had already made the magical tofu and sour jujube cake.
"That's it. I made less today, so I'll take it all to the county to sell tomorrow morning. When we have a feast at home the day after tomorrow, my sister-in-law will make a few more tofu dishes for you."
Shen An and Shen Ning nodded their heads like pounding garlic. They had eaten the divine tofu before, so what would tofu made from soybeans taste like?
The day for the feast has not even arrived yet, but they are already looking forward to it.
Sang Luo looked at all the three-plate tofu and found that the quality was very good. It looked no worse than the ones sold in supermarkets. She was very satisfied.
Use a bamboo knife to cut, one board makes sixteen pieces, three boards make forty-eight pieces.
She covered the tofu with the cloth again and began to think about how to price the tofu, two cents or three cents a piece?
The cost is really low. Five liters of beans cost only twenty cents, and selling them at two cents each is quite profitable. Forty-eight pieces of tofu cost ninety-six cents, and after deducting the cost, you can make seventy-six cents.
As for the cost of gypsum, it can be ignored.
In fact, as you do it for a long time and improve your skills, you will be able to produce more tofu from one liter of beans. But that's a matter for the future. For now, the cost is roughly this way.
She made less today, so she will have to sell all the tofu herself tomorrow. She can get all of it for 96 cents. Sang Luo calculated in her mind and felt that the money should be enough for her to prepare a chicken and a duck tomorrow. As for meat and eggs, the meat cannot be kept and has to be bought early on the 25th. Everyone will be busy with farming that day, so there may not be many people at the market. It is not impossible for her tofu and magic tofu to be sold in the villages.
I can still earn enough money to buy some meat and eggs, and keep some tofu for myself, plus the vegetarian dishes that the three families will send over, and I can prepare a decent banquet.
After thinking it over like this, I felt relieved.
There is a bathtub at home. After I finished my busy work and was sweating all over, I waited for the sweat to subside and then took a comfortable bath. I checked the chickens and ducks and found that they were all fine. Then I went back to the house and prepared to go to bed.
Shen An and Shen Ning were both a little too excited today, and it was rare for them to arrive at the same time as Sang Luo.
One is a new bed and the other is an old bed. Chen An had had enough of the old bed during the day, so he went to the old bed and prepared to give the new bed to his sister-in-law and younger sister.
Sang Luo waved her hand and refused: "Aning can sleep on the new bed if she wants, but I don't need it."
She prefers a position closer to the inside and draws a curtain to have privacy. As for the brother and sister sleeping in one bed, it is ok for them at this age in the countryside. Next year, when the mountain land nearby is filled up and level with the homestead, two west rooms will be added and the brother and sister will each have their own room.
After confirming that she really didn't want to sleep on the new bed, the brother and sister jumped onto it without saying a word.
Chen Ning was quite fond of sticking to Sang Luo. When he ran to the new bed, he did not forget to promise Sang Luo: "Sister-in-law, I will sleep on the new bed tonight, and I will come back to sleep with you tomorrow."
Sang Luo was delighted when she heard this: "I don't need you to accompany me. It's quite spacious to sleep alone. You can sleep on the new bed."
Chen Ning felt a little disappointed after hearing this, but the new bed smelled better at the moment. He thought about tomorrow's affairs tomorrow, so he happily went to the new bed.
Chen An knew that he was a boy, and it was not convenient for him to sleep together with his elder sister-in-law and younger sister, so he said nothing. However, his usually calm demeanor, which had claimed that he was a man in the afternoon, was completely broken, and he was now doing somersaults in joy on the new bed and new mat.
After having enough fun, the brother and sister each found an old piece of clothing and used it to cover their stomachs, which served as a blanket.
Sang Luo looked at it and took note. Their family was still short of two sets of pillows and quilts. Well, maybe they should buy an oil lamp and rely on the moonlight and the stove fire. When the moonlight was not bright enough, they could light a fire on the stone slab with firewood. It was not impossible, but it was inconvenient.
She lay down herself.
It was the first time since she traveled through time that Sang Luo could sleep in a bed by herself. She felt so comfortable that she lay down for a while with her arms and legs spread out. Then she turned over and rolled over in joy. She instantly understood why the two children were so happy to do somersaults in bed.
Seeing their sister-in-law rolling around on the bed, Shen An and Shen Ning were laughing in the other bed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
