Chapter 51
After a sound sleep, before dawn the next day, the rooster in the backyard began to crow dutifully to serve.
Sang Luo got up in the dark, went into the kitchen, found a fire starter and lit the stove. While boiling water, she began to process the last batch of solidified tofu in the light of the stove. After all the tofu were cut, she served the small pieces from the corners into two large bowls.
The water in the pot boiled. Sang Luo turned down the heat, scooped out all the water, and waited for the water at the bottom of the pot to dry up. Then she scooped a spoonful of lard into the pot. While the oil was hot, she put a bowl of tofu dregs left over from making tofu last night into the pot, stir-fried them for a few times, then added freshly boiled hot water and let it cook.
While taking out the wild onions that were not used up last night and cutting them on the table, I waited for the bean dregs in the pot to boil for a while, and made sure they were cooked thoroughly. Then I added salt and sauce to start seasoning, and finally sprinkled with chopped green onions and served it in a large soup bowl.
After rinsing the clay pot with hot water and making a bowl of stir-fried tofu, breakfast for three people was ready.
In fact, the ingredients at home are limited, otherwise tofu dregs used to make pancakes would be the best choice for breakfast.
Shen Ning rubbed his eyes and came in. When he saw the big soup bowl on the table, he stared at it for a long time and then reacted: "Sister-in-law, is this the leftover bean curd dregs from making tofu last night?"
Sang Luo smiled: "Yes, let's eat this and the fairy tofu in the morning. Go wash up, and then come to have breakfast."
Shen Ning was stunned. It turned out that this could be eaten. But that was right. Soybeans could be eaten, so why couldn't the residue be eaten?
Seeing that her eldest sister-in-law had prepared breakfast, she turned around and went to wash up. When the brother and sister came over, Sang Luo was using a steamer to steam the remaining bean curd dregs. Seeing them coming, she invited them to eat and said, "Tofu dregs are nutritious and taste good, but don't eat too much. One thing you need to pay attention to is that you have to cook it thoroughly and then boil it for a while before eating it. Otherwise, it's easy to get a stomachache, and worse, you may get food poisoning."
Seeing that the two children were a little stunned, afraid that they were frightened, he said, "Don't worry, cooked ones are not poisonous. I steamed the leftovers today. At noon, you can stir-fry them with a little oil, add water, boil them, and add seasoning to make a dish. You can also feed some to the chickens, but they must be steamed, not raw. Mix them with the wild vegetables, barnyard grass, and bran you mixed yesterday. If you feed the chickens, 90% of the other ingredients and 10% of the cooked tofu dregs are enough. Don't give too much."
Shen Ning's eyes lit up: "Can this be fed to chickens?"
Even people who can eat have never seen her so happy.
"Sister-in-law, then we can raise a few more chickens."
Raising chickens mainly consumes bran and grain. If bean dregs can replace part of the bran, we can raise more chickens. Anyway, wild vegetables and barnyard grass are free.
Sang Luo thought about it and it really worked.
"Okay, I'm afraid it's hard to buy in the village. I'll keep an eye out for it. Ducks and geese can eat this, too. I'll buy a few more ducks and geese later."
I have raised too many fish. If the bran is not enough, I can just buy some.
After having breakfast in the dark, Chen Youtian and Qin Fangniang told the ducklings that they could only be fed half-cooked rice and water frequently for the next few days. They also knocked on the gate of the Shen family's courtyard.
When picking things, the first thing Chen Youtian looked at was the square light wooden frame that Sang Luo had asked him to make. He had to take it to the county today, and there was obviously something inside.
Seeing him looking at her, Sang Luo smiled and said, "I bought the stone mill to make this kind of food. Today there is not much, so I will sell it myself. Tomorrow when uncle and aunt come to my house for a feast, I will make some for you to try. If aunt is willing to sell it, just come to me to get the goods after the busy farming season."
Before Chen Youtian could say anything, Qin Fangniang's eyes lit up: "You made some new food? Can I take a look?"
"There's nothing wrong with that." Sang Luo said as she opened the lid of a plate of tofu and then lifted the tofu cloth to show the two of them.
It was still dark, but after my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I could still see things, just not so clearly. "It looks very similar to the fairy tofu, but the color is different. We haven't seen it here before."
It's hard to say whether there is one or not. In the original body's memory, this thing did exist in the Dagan Dynasty, but the method of making it seemed to have been in the hands of certain aristocratic families. When their status reached a certain level, they didn't rely on it to make profits, but wanted something special. Even if this so-called special was not the only one, the matrons of the aristocratic families who were on good terms would give each other some recipes, but this was limited to their circle.
What do ordinary people eat?
Oh, what does that have to do with them?
The reason why aristocratic families are aristocratic families is because they hold many resources and inheritances that others do not have, such as borrowing books, antiques, paintings, and various prescriptions.
A large part of the dowry of a girl from an aristocratic family when she gets married is things like this, and these things are often more valued than gold, silver, and jade.
Naturally, Sang Luo was just thinking about it. She smiled and continued Qin Fangniang's words, saying, "It is very similar, but the texture is also different. Auntie, try it tomorrow. This dish is even more delicious than the fairy tofu. If it really sells, this should sell better than the fairy tofu."
Qin Fangniang was excited. To be honest, after setting up the stall for ten days or so, the family had saved up four strings of money. This was something she had never dared to think about before. She earned four strings of money in less than half a month. After setting up the stall for one and a half months, that would mean more than one thousand two hundred coins, right?
This can be directly exchanged for one or two taels of silver.
Before, she was still worried that the raw materials of the magic tofu might be seasonal. Now that something was available, how could Qin Fangniang not be excited? She smiled so much that the fine lines at the end of her eyes piled up: "Sell it, it will definitely sell. I'll try it tomorrow."
Speaking of this, she realized something. Tomorrow it wasn't just her family that was visiting. So, was Alie's wife planning to let the Shi and Lu families know about the existence of tofu?
Was it just to treat them with the food, or to let them know that it was made by her?
This thought only flashed through Qin Fangniang's mind, and she put it behind her. Whether to let others know or not was actually Sang Luo's business. Even if the Shi family and the Lu family knew about it and wanted to sell it, it would be understandable for Sang Luo to agree. This was Sang Luo's livelihood, and giving her a share was already a show of care for their family.
The group went down the mountain in the dark, loaded the car, and set off.
…
County seat, West City.
The sales of sour jujube cake were warmed up yesterday, and there were many repeat customers today. I think the women and children in the family liked it after tasting it, and many of them asked for more. As for tofu, since there was the magic tofu, many people found this new thing strange. After listening to Sang Luo’s introduction of various cooking methods, most of the deals were made.
In comparison, it was the Fairy Tofu that was influenced by tofu. Some people bought both, while others were very frugal and would of course choose the one they had never eaten. As a result, the Fairy Tofu sold a little slower than before.
Fortunately, there were only three boards of tofu, which totaled only forty-eight yuan. They were sold out in half an hour at the morning market. Only then did the sales of the magical tofu pick up speed.
She was busy until noon and sold out all the things she brought. Sang Luo packed up, paid the tax and went to the West Market. She counted the money she had and bought a live chicken and a live duck. Fearing that she would not have enough money to buy a kitchen knife later, she did not dare to buy anything else and waited at the gate of the West Market, waiting for Qin Fangniang to pick her up.
This was because she had so many things to sell now, and it would be almost impossible for her to carry them to the East Market to find Qin Fangniang by herself if they were all sold out. The two of them had agreed early in the morning that she would just have to wait at the entrance of the West Market today.
Sang Luo sat on a stone platform at the entrance of the West Market and waited for about a quarter of an hour. Qin Fangniang came over pulling her cart. Seeing Sang Luo from afar, Qin Fangniang pulled the cart faster.
After I met the person, I saw that Sangluo bought a chicken and a duck. Looking at how fat the chicken and duck were, I estimated that it would cost at least one hundred and twenty coins.
I was shocked and thought that tomorrow's dinner would be really lucrative.
You know, because a year's rent and taxes were collected in advance this spring, the farmers in the entire county, except for those with rich family backgrounds like Zhou Cunzheng and Zhou Lizheng, have been tightening their belts and living on thin air for more than half a year. Even if there was a happy event, they would not be willing to hold it like this.
While thinking about this, she helped Sang Luo move the things onto the cart and asked, "Are you going to buy anything else today?"
Sang Luo said, "I need to buy a kitchen knife. I'm afraid I don't have enough money. I didn't dare to buy anything else except this chicken and a duck at the West Market."
Qin Fangniang thought for a moment after hearing this and said, "It should be around three hundred and forty or fifty coins, right? With the wars in recent years, anything made of iron is expensive, but I'm just estimating. The iron knives we use at home are the ones we brought back from our hometown when we fled the famine."
The family was worth a fortune, and when fleeing from famine, they could not bring any crude things with them, so they had to take things like kitchen knives, hoes, and axes, which were valuable and could be used as weapons for self-defense.
After she finished speaking, she took out the purse from her bosom and said, "This is the money from selling tofu today. Please count it."
She had been doing this business for a long time and had already figured out her little account. She usually put her share in her sleeve pocket and put the money that should go to Sang Luo in her purse. She didn't have to go through the trouble of counting it again after finishing her business.
Sang Luo took it and counted it. She stood on the street and slowly fiddled with the copper coins. She was afraid of being spotted by thieves, so she stuffed the purse into her arms and said, "This looks like enough. Let's go buy a kitchen knife. I'll return the purse to you after I finish shopping."
After buying things, my wallet is empty.
Qin Fangniang also found it funny, but also felt bad for Sang Luo. She clearly earned more money than her, but after all these years, she still couldn't save a single cent.
I asked the price at the iron shop, and found out that the finished product was much more expensive than Qin Fangniang's estimate, at three hundred and eighty-five coins.
Sang Luo emptied Qin Fangniang's purse directly, then began to feel her own sleeve pockets, and finally her own purse. Tsk... It's really not easy to use copper coins. They take up too much space and are too heavy. How many pockets did she have to empty to buy a kitchen knife?
It's so embarrassing and funny.
So, it is nonsense to say that you are rich. If you really want to make a fortune, you can just wrap around the person like a frame, and even if you wrap around him so much that he cannot be seen, you may not succeed in making the fortune.
After emptying several pockets and getting back a kitchen knife, Sang Luo lamented the high prices these days and the inconvenience of using coins. She saw that she only had thirty-eight coins left, so as not to go home empty-handed. She carefully put away the kitchen knife and went to the grain store with Qin Fangniang again.
Target: flour and soybeans.
Needless to say, she has to make tofu at midnight tonight and sell it at the market tomorrow to earn some money to buy meat and eggs. As for flour, after making tofu, there will be fresh tofu dregs at home. When she was making breakfast today, she was thinking about tofu dregs cakes and tofu dregs meatballs, but unfortunately, the family was poor except for a little rice, and she really couldn't afford the ingredients.
Now that I have some money left, I can buy some flour today and earn more money to buy some eggs tomorrow. Not only will this satisfy my own cravings, but I will also have a snack or a main dish to entertain my guests.
I was so happy that I gave myself a thumbs up in my heart for being smart and knowing how to live a good life.
She budgeted carefully and bought just enough for the day. With the few dollars left, she went into the pharmacy and bought some ingredients for stewing, such as star anise and cinnamon.
That’s right, you can only buy ingredients for braised dishes in the pharmacy nowadays. Few people know about their function as seasoning, but it does exist. Sang Luo is probably not the only one like her. The child in the pharmacy does know something about it. After seeing the names of several medicines reported by Sang Luo, he probably guessed that they were bought for cooking.
It's not surprising that Sang Luo only asked for a small amount, and it's normal to sell things for a few dollars in the pharmacy.
The mixed bag of things emptied Sang Luo's purse of the last few cents.
However, braised dishes are also available.
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