Chapter 53
Today, when selling things at the market, Sang Luo would meet people from Shili Village. It was not surprising at all. She met the first one when her tofu was almost sold out. That was because she was efficient in selling things. If she had sold things later, she might have met a few more.
Now that a wall has been built around the kitchen, Sang Luo is not as nervous as before. Moreover, according to her original plan, the tofu will be sold in the surrounding area once the busy farming season is over. Therefore, there is nothing to hide. She greeted Zhou Cunzheng's wife openly and called her "Aunt Zhou" with a smile.
Zhoucun Zheng's wife came to buy meat, but she suddenly saw Sang Luo and her eyes fell on the shoulder pole in front of Sang Luo. It was obvious that she was selling something? ? ?
"Alie's wife, are you selling something?"
"Yes, I'm selling some food. Would you like to take a look?"
Zhou Cunzheng's wife came over and saw that the left and right sides of her shoulder pole were different. On the left was a bucket filled with something emerald green, and on the right was a square wooden box filled with square white things.
"What kind of food is this?"
Never seen it.
Sang Luo smiled: "The white one is called tofu, which is a delicious dish. It is very good to eat it braised, stewed with meat, or fried. The green one is called fairy tofu, which can be used as a dish or a snack. It can be stir-fried or served cold. If you eat it as a snack, pour two spoonfuls of melted maltose syrup on it, and it tastes great."
As he spoke, he cut off a small piece from the tasting area and held it with a leaf and handed it to Zhou Cunzheng's wife, saying with a smile, "Aunt, try it. This one has no seasoning, so it will taste worse, but you can get a rough idea of it."
Zhou Cunzheng's wife hasn't recovered from the introduction of tofu and divine tofu yet. She's still thinking about how the eldest son of the Shen family, Sang, has such a skill and started a stall selling goods for a living. No wonder the house has been built. The rumor in the village that one can make money by digging wild vegetables... is just bullshit.
In a few moments, his thoughts turned eight hundred times. He saw Sang Luo handing over the green food that looked like emerald. What was it called? Divine tofu? Made of beans?
While thinking this, he took the leaf that Sangluo handed to him and put it in his mouth to chew it. It tasted really good!
I can already imagine how much the kids at home will like it if you add some sugar water, and how much the men will like it if you add some oil, salt, sauce and chopped green onions. It’s refreshing, really refreshing!
"How much do you sell this?"
"It's not expensive, two cents a piece, you can cut a big bowl of it, would you like to try one piece, auntie?"
Two cents, it's not that I can't afford it. Zhoucunzheng's wife nodded and said, "Okay, give me one piece."
It's sweet, but if you mix it with some sauce for lunch and have it outside in the sun for half a day, I think everyone will like it.
Sang Luo used the lotus leaf to scoop up a piece of the tofu, and then took out a relatively large piece from the uncut scraps for tasting, and said with a smile: "Aunt, I just bought a chicken from your house yesterday, this small half piece is a gift from me to you."
Zhou Cunzheng's wife's eyes curved slightly: "You are so polite. Thank you. If you like it, I will buy it from you next time."
He looked at the white tofu again and asked Sang Luo, "How much is this?"
Sang Luo smiled and said, "It's the same. Two cents a piece. You're here to buy meat, right? This tofu tastes different from the fairy tofu. It will taste the way you season it. If you add a few slices of meat to stew it together, the tofu will also have a meaty aroma. There are many ways to cook it. Today is the busy farming season. Auntie can buy a piece and try it."
Zhoucun Zheng's wife had already been tempted, and she was pleased to receive half a piece of the tofu from Sang Luo. She had always wanted to taste the tofu, and she also wanted to take care of Sang Luo's business, so she nodded and said, "Give me a piece too."
Sang Luo responded with a smile, and Chen An quickly handed the lotus leaf to his sister-in-law. The green lotus leaf held the tender white tofu, which looked very tempting.
Zhoucunzheng's wife put the two pieces of tofu on the lotus leaves into her basket, smiled and took out four coins from her sleeve and gave them to Sang Luo: "Then you go ahead and buy some meat."
Sang Luo smiled and nodded. Zhou Cunzheng's wife went to the butcher and bought a piece of pork belly. Before leaving, she glanced at Sang Luo's carrying pole and saw that there was only a piece of tofu and a few small pieces at the bottom of the bucket on the left, and there were only two pieces of tofu left on the right. She politely asked if she needed to wait for them to go back to the village together. Sang Luo thanked her and said that everyone was busy today and asked them not to wait for her. Zhou Cunzheng's wife smiled and responded, then went back first with the basket.
The remaining portion was sold out in less than a quarter of an hour when a new customer came to the butcher's stall.
Sang Luo gave all the remaining pieces of tofu to the butcher.
The butcher took the lotus leaf handed to him by Sang Luo and took a look. It was enough to make half a piece of Shenxian tofu. "Oh, I'm getting a good deal."
Sang Luo laughed: "No, as long as you don't mind, I am grateful to you for your help today."
After a few words of idle chat, Sang Luo counted out eighty-seven coins, paid them, packed the meat, said goodbye to the butcher, and went to the grocery store across the street.
With thirty-three coins left in her hand, Sang Luo bought six eggs. Seeing the words "wine" written in black on red paper on a row of small jars on the counter of the shop, Sang Luo thought for a moment and asked the shopkeeper about the price of the wine.
Finally, after asking, I found out that the cheapest wine, a quite small jar, barely bigger than a man's palm, costs eighteen cents. Loose wine is also available. If you bring your own jar, it costs three cents and a dime.
It’s so expensive.
Sang Luo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Give me one jar."
In a blink of an eye, there were only nine copper coins left in his palm, so he asked for two liters of soybeans. Now he only had one penny left.
Chen An watched as his sister-in-law spent a long time making tofu last night, and sold it early in the morning, and all the money she earned was gone, only a copper coin was left.
The child's shoulders drooped, and he looked at the food he had exchanged for, feeling a little distressed.
Sang Luo packed all the things and stuffed the eggs into the soybean pile one by one. When she stood up and prepared to carry the load, she saw that Chen An looked a little depressed. She carried the load and walked out of the grocery store. After walking a few steps, she saw that the little guy was still a little depressed, so she asked with a smile: "What's wrong?"
Chen An turned his head to look at his sister-in-law, his expression a little unhappy: "Sister-in-law works hard to make money, but spends the money too quickly."
Sang Luo was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "It's OK. Although the money has been spent, our home has changed a lot, hasn't it? We have added a lot of things. Just think about the loads we carry now, the pottery pots and cooking utensils we use at home, the new tables, beds and chairs, the stone mill, chickens and ducks, and the beautiful yard. Isn't it pleasant to think about it this way?"
Chen An thought about it and it seemed to be true. Lately he often had a sense of unreality that he was dreaming.
He nodded.
Sang Luo saw that the unhappy look on the little guy's face had eased a little, so she didn't say much, just smiled and said: "Then you and Aning remember to entertain your friends in the evening. Today's meal is for the housewarming wine, and also a thank-you banquet. We want to thank the uncles, grandparents and your friends who helped build our house. My sister-in-law will be very busy today and will definitely be overwhelmed. The children will be at the table, and you and Aning will take care of them."
Shen An listened carefully: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I can take good care of it."
…
It was already mid-morning when they got home. Perhaps the sound of their conversation had spread over, as they were still some distance apart, Shen Ning came out from behind the house, his eyes lit up when he saw them, and he ran out happily.
"Sister-in-law, brother, you are back!"
Sang Luo saw that her hands were covered in dust and asked with a smile, "What are you doing behind the house?"
"I'm building a fence. I built a small section this morning. Once it's all done, we can let the chickens out."
This kid is quite good at finding work for himself. She didn't tell him about these things when she left. Sang Luo couldn't help but praise him, "Aning is really capable!"
Chen Ning smiled with eyes bent, and then came to Sang Luo's shoulder pole and asked, "Sister-in-law, what did you buy?"
There was no need for Sang Luo to say anything, Chen An had already reported everything one by one, and finally said: "It's precious, the money I earned today is basically spent."
I almost sighed.
Shen Ning: “Ah…”
Chen An: "But my sister-in-law said that this is what we should do. Everyone worked hard to help us build the house. Today is the banquet, and the most important thing is to thank them. If we understand the truth and know how to be grateful, then they will be willing to help us when we need help in the future."
Shen Ning listened carefully, and when she heard that she needed help, she thought of the previous days, and the little girl was still a little scared, and nodded repeatedly: “Then listen to the eldest sister-in-law.”
The brother and sister talked as they followed Sang Luo into their house.
Shen Ning was at the back of the house before, and the gate was closed. She trotted over and pushed the gate open, waiting for Sang Luo in the yard, saying, "Sister-in-law, not long after you and second brother went out this morning, Grandma Chen, Grandma Lu, and Aunt Shi all came over and brought a lot of food. I put them all in the kitchen."
Sang Luo knew this early in the morning. She nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take a look later."
She rested her burden in front of the kitchen door and carried the bucket into the house. Shen Ning followed her: "Grandma Chen and Grandma Lu said they would come to help us in the afternoon, so you don't have to rush to start in the morning. There are three of us, so it's still in time to prepare at the end of the hour. They will also bring the bowls, chopsticks and plates by then, and the tables and chairs will be ready for the uncles in the evening."
Sang Luo thought about the dishes she had prepared and realized it would be too late to prepare them at the last minute.
But he still smiled and nodded to show that he understood.
After entering the kitchen and taking out the things in the bucket, Sang Luo also saw the dishes sent by several families. There were really a lot of things. Even if the three families were added together, they would not be able to use them all today. Moreover, they would not have to eat wild onions and garlic today, as all three families gave them a lot of onions, garlic and leeks.
Sang Luo already knew what the dishes would be for dinner.
She looked at Shen An: "Xiao An, I have a task for you. Go to your grandmother Chen's house to help your sister-in-law borrow a pair of scissors. You will need them to kill chickens later."
Chicken and duck offal is a rare delicacy, and chicken and duck intestines really need scissors to be processed.
Shen An responded and went down the mountain.
Sang Luo turned around and used a ladle to fill the pottery pot with water, and asked Shen Ning to help light the fire.
Shen Ning was puzzled: “Sister-in-law, are you making lunch so early?”
"If we don't make lunch, we have to kill the chickens and ducks first, and then boil water to scald their feathers. It takes time to pluck and clean them up. I'm afraid it will be too late to do it in the afternoon."
Ah, Chen Ning has plucked it before. It takes a very long time to pluck it all out, especially the duck feathers, which are really difficult to clean up.
The little girl rolled up her sleeves and said, "Sister-in-law, let me help you."
He turned around and went out of the house to get some firewood.
While Chen Ning was boiling water, Sang Luo took two large ceramic basins outside the yard, fetched two bowls, filled each with half a bowl of salt water and took them out, and when she came back she also put the kitchen knife in her pocket.
The two chickens and ducks she bought yesterday were kept in a newly made bamboo chicken coop. Sang Luo opened the bamboo door and lowered her head to look at the two guys inside.
Whoever gets stabbed first will be the first to deliver the food.
The hen clucked and tentatively poked her head out.
Okay, it’s you.
As soon as he came out of the chicken coop, he was accurately held down by Sang Luo.
As soon as the cage door was closed, he grabbed the chicken by its wings and dragged it to the ceramic basin where the kitchen knife was placed. He plucked the hair from its neck and cut it to drain the blood. When Chen An came back with the borrowed scissors, the chicken and duck had already been killed in the two ceramic basins. Sang Luo also took the chicken and duck blood back to the kitchen to wait for it to solidify.
They boiled two pots of water and scalded the chickens and ducks. When the water was not so hot, the Chen An brothers and sisters started plucking their feathers.
Shen Jin left Shen Yin and Shen Jin at home to take care of Tian Yaer. He spent the whole morning scavenging for half a dustpan of pebbles. When he brought them over, he saw at a glance the two chickens and ducks that were being plucked in the ceramic basins.
He let out a roar, and the dustpan filled with stones in his hand no longer felt heavy. He actually jumped a lot faster while holding that thing. When he got close to Chen An and Shen Ning, he put down the dustpan and squatted between them. He looked at the chickens on the left and the ducks on the right, and was so happy that his drool was about to come out.
"Chen An, there are chickens and ducks for dinner tonight???!!!!"
"Are you willing to kill and eat the chickens and ducks you bought the day before yesterday?"
He raised his paw and pinched his cheek, then pinched it again: "Is it really what we'll have at dinner tonight? Can I have a piece?"
Shen An: …
"able."
Shen Jin was so excited that he wished time would pass quickly and it would be time for dinner. He was very enthusiastic: "I'll help you pluck the hair. I know how to do that!"
He didn’t dare to go to Shen Ning’s side, so he went to Shen An’s side.
The little ones at the Shen family were plucking feathers happily. At the Zhou family, Zhou Cunzheng's wife had already prepared lunch and was carrying it to the fields in a basket.
The whole family had breakfast at daybreak and went to the fields. They had worked for several hours without a break and were extremely hungry. When they saw the food being delivered from home, they waited for their father to tell them to take a break and eat. Then they all breathed a sigh of relief, put down their work and went back to the fields.
He sat under a tree beside the field, picked up a bamboo tube on the ground and drank a few gulps of water. After he caught his breath, he went to the rice basket.
You take a bowl and I take chopsticks. The rice is served first. When the ceramic bowl for the dishes is opened, the aroma of meat and vegetables overflows. The sons who were waiting for their mother to serve the dishes around the vegetable basket were stunned.
"What kind of dish is this?"
Zhou Cunzheng was drinking water when he heard his sons and daughters-in-law asking puzzled questions in unison. He stretched his neck to take a look.
???
He pushed his son away, took the bowl and chopsticks from the youngest son, picked up a piece and brought it to his eyes for a closer look, with a look of shock on his face: "Li Qi? Where did he come from?"
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