Chapter 54
Zhou Cunzheng's wife was confused when she heard this: "What Li Qi?"
She followed Zhou Cunzheng's gaze and fell on the thing he was holding on the chopsticks. Zhou Cunzheng's wife said, "What Li Qi? This is tofu."
"Tofu?"
"Yes, I bought it at the market today." At this point, Zhou Cunzheng's wife's eyes were a little excited: "You can't guess who sold it."
"Who sold it?" The family looked at each other, and the youngest son of the Zhou family urged: "Mom, don't keep us in suspense."
The village chief's wife had a lot to say to her family, and now that her son urged her, she didn't keep it a secret and said with a smile, "It's from our village, the Sang from the eldest branch of the Shen family."
The whole family's jaw almost dropped.
"who?"
"The girl who escaped from the famine?"
Muramasa's wife nodded: "That's her."
He told her how he met Sang Luo at the market in the morning and how Sang Luo reacted. He said, "I see business is pretty good. When I arrived, it was only 12:00 and almost all the tofu was sold out. There are about 16 tofu pieces on a board, and there are three boards stacked there. The other bucket of divine tofu is almost sold out as well."
"What is the magical tofu?"
The Zhou family looked at the vegetable basket at this time and found that there were still a few bowls that had not been opened. The village chief's wife opened one of them, revealing something green like jade inside, which was cut into square pieces, one bite long.
Muramasa's wife said, "This is it. I was going to make it salty for you, but Sang gave me a small piece, so I mixed it with sugar water and gave it to the children at home. They thought it was very refreshing. We don't lack vegetables at home, so I mixed it with sugar water and hung it in the well to calm it down. You can each try a little after dinner."
There were a lot of people, so each person only had two or three spoonfuls and it was gone.
What are you waiting for? Just eat. It's such a hot day, and the color of the magical tofu makes people feel refreshed from the bottom of their hearts. The youngest, whose bowl and chopsticks had just been taken away by his father, took another one, scooped two spoonfuls of the magical tofu and tasted it first.
After taking a bite, he couldn't help but sigh: "Mom, you really bought this. It's so comfortable to eat it in such a hot day!"
Those who had not yet served themselves rice stopped serving rice when they saw how he was enjoying it, and turned around to serve themselves the divine tofu.
Zhou Cunzheng also looked at the magical tofu, but did not go closer. Instead, he put the tofu into his mouth and tasted it. Yes, it was the taste in his memory.
Seeing him like this, Muramasa's wife asked, "What Li Qi were you talking about just now?"
Zhou Cunzheng pointed at the tofu and said, "I know this thing is called Li Qi. Five years ago, when County Magistrate Zhang first took office, he hosted a banquet for the village elders. Uncle Six brought me along that time. Do you remember?"
How could she not remember? She originally wanted her husband to take over as the next village chief. However, her family was not as well-off as others, and there was nothing she could do about it. The village chief's wife did not say anything, but just hummed: "Did you eat this at the banquet?"
Zhou Cunzheng nodded, "This dish was served at the banquet. We were seated at the end, so we just had a taste. But the head of the Wang family was at the table above. I heard their conversation and it seemed like this dish was very rare. How did the Sang family make this? And they called it tofu?"
"Every mile has different customs. Sang is a refugee from the north. What's so strange about the way she calls things is different from how we call them here?" The village chief's wife disagreed. She was more interested in the excitement of the two branches of the Shen family: "The Shen family has dropped a golden nugget this time."
Zhou Cunzheng was silent for a moment: "That's what he deserves."
In his opinion, the division of the Shen family should not be done. However, he was only a village chief with an empty title. All the paperwork and household registration did not need to go through him, and no one really took him seriously.
"Let's eat. Have you eaten yet?"
"No, I was afraid you were hungry, so I sent it here first. I'll eat after you guys finish eating, and then I'll go back and eat."
Zhou Cunzheng paused for a moment, looked at the basket, and saw that there were no extra bowls and chopsticks. "You can send them next time after you eat. It doesn't matter now."
The fine lines at the corners of Muramasa's wife's eyes slightly raised: "Eat yours."
After the meal, she packed up and was about to go back with the basket. Zhou Cun was about to say something, but he stopped her and waved his hand: "Forget it, it's okay, you can go back."
Originally, I wanted to ask whether the main house of the Shen family had been built. If it had been built, I wanted to ask when to put wine in the house and give a liter of rice to add a good omen.
But think about it, he didn't care about the division of Shen family, now they are getting better off and their family has to give them money, forget it, since there is no need to add icing on the brocade since no one has helped in times of need.
…
In the small courtyard on the mountain, Shen Jin had already finished helping with the plucking work and ran away to go home for dinner.
Chen An went to ask Sang Luo how to deal with chicken and duck feathers. Sang Luo took a look and told him to pick out the good chicken feathers, soak them in wood ash water to degrease them, wash them, then wash them with clean water and dry them, and they could be made into a feather duster.
As for the rest, mix it with some wood ash and pour it into the toilet to make fertilizer.
Shen An: "Can chicken and duck feathers be used as fertilizer?"
Sang Luo nodded: "Yes, not only can it, it is also a very effective composting material."
Chicken and duck feathers, wood ash and feces can greatly improve the soil quality. The land on the other side of the mountain is ready to be cleared and can be used in due course.
After cleaning all the chicken and duck offal, they put them in the kitchen for later use. Then Sang Luo washed her hands and cooked some simple vegetable porridge. After the three of them had eaten, Sang Luo took the three ducklings out and put them in a small ditch not far from the spring pool to let them swim.
This is an activity that is scheduled twice a day after the ducklings are bought.
A duck of this size must be allowed to get wet, but it cannot stay in the water for too long, otherwise it will easily die. Moreover, its stomach cannot get wet at this time, only its feet can be wet.
Sang Luo silently calculated the time in her mind. After about four or five minutes, she sent the little guys back to the backyard.
After a whole morning, I finally finished my work. I took a break, locked the gate, took the two children back to the house, and took a nap for half an hour.
Get up in the afternoon to boil lard, followed by stewing chicken and roasting duck to make braised dishes, and then braised pork. These are all big dishes that can be prepared in advance. In the evening, calculate the time, slice the braised dishes and put them on the table, steam the braised pork and stewed chicken, and leave the roast duck directly in the pot. In the evening, add a little firewood, add onions and garlic to reduce the sauce and serve.
After all this busy work, when Mrs. Chen and the old lady of the Lu family came over together with their own bowls, chopsticks and plates, they could already smell the rich aroma of meat at the foot of the mountain before they reached the courtyard.
It seemed to be braised pork, stewed chicken, and there was also a very pleasant aroma that was hard to identify at the moment.
The two looked at each other and couldn't help but quicken their pace.
Shen An and Shen Ning were squatting by the mountain spring pool, washing vegetables in pottery basins. When they saw the two old ladies, they stood up and said, "Grandma Chen, Grandma Lu, you are here."
He walked over quickly and helped carry the basket.
"Your sister-in-law is cooking so early?"
The two younger ones nodded, and Shen Ning said, “Sister-in-law prepared some cold dishes and meat dishes that can be prepared first.”
As they were talking, they entered the yard. Sang Luo, who was in the kitchen, saw the person coming from the window, and hurriedly put down the work in her hands to go out to greet him, and exchanged pleasantries.
Mrs. Chen sniffed and said, "I can smell the fragrance at the foot of the mountain. Are they preparing chickens, ducks, and meat?"
Sang Luo took the basket from the old lady and said with a smile, "Yes, there is nothing delicious. I'm sorry to bother you and Grandma Chen today."
The two old ladies laughed and said, "We have chicken, duck and meat, which is not good enough. What dish would be good?"
Chatting and laughing, they entered the kitchen and saw the dishes in several ceramic basins and large soup bowls on the table. Old Mrs. Lu exclaimed, "Alie's wife has good cooking skills."
Originally, she thought she was here to help with cooking, but now, just looking at the dishes made by Sang Luo, the two old ladies knew that they didn't need her. Although Sang was young, they might not be able to match her in cooking skills, and she had an order in doing things. Dishes that took a long time to stew had already been prepared, and she could handle it all by herself.
Well, the two of them took a rough look at what preparations had been made, quickly positioned themselves, and helped with washing and cutting vegetables.
The two old ladies quickly divided the work, and Shen An and Shen Ning's job of washing vegetables was taken over and they were sent to do other things. The young brother and sister looked around and saw that there was no room for them in the kitchen, so they simply went to build the fence that they had not yet finished.
Sang Luo was chopping meat filling in the kitchen to prepare fried meatballs. The main ingredient was none other than the tofu dregs that were just obtained from making tofu today. She added a little flour, chopped some vegetables, the meat filling, cracked four eggs, seasoned the taste with seasoning, and then fried the meatballs in hot oil.
When Mrs. Chen came in with the washed vegetables and was about to cut them, she saw the golden fried meatballs and said, "The children will be happy today. This is more sumptuous than the New Year's Eve."
When Sang Luo brought out a pottery basin, Mrs. Chen saw three pieces of white tofu and three pieces of green fairy tofu inside. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you serving these two dishes tonight?"
Sang Luo responded with a smile, and Mrs. Chen knew that her previous guess was correct, and she laughed heartily.
Just then, Mrs. Lu came in carrying some washed vegetables. When she saw two things in the ceramic basin that she had never seen before, she asked in surprise.
Sang Luo smiled and briefly introduced the names of the dishes. She didn't say that they were homemade. She just smiled and said, "I can't afford too many good dishes, so I'll ask Qiao Zong to make some fresh food to make things lively. When the banquet starts, you can try it and see if you like it."
Mrs. Lu naturally supported it.
Both kinds of tofu are not complicated to make. Because there are many children today, the fairy tofu is the simplest one, which is topped with sugar water and mixed in three plates. Two pieces of tofu are made into minced meat tofu, and the other piece is divided into chicken blood tofu and duck blood tofu.
Mrs. Chen watched from the side, then looked at the graphite on the side of the kitchen, and said to Mrs. Lu with a smile: "Old sister, you are blessed today."
Old Mrs. Lu thought that Mrs. Chen was talking about the good fortune, and she smiled and agreed.
However, Mrs. Chen felt that Sang Luo added the two dishes, the divine tofu and the tofu, not because the dishes were not rich enough and that she needed to add two fresh foods as she said.
How could such dishes not be rich? Just now she saw stewed chicken, braised duck, braised pork, braised noodles, braised pig ears, stir-fried chicken and duck offal with garlic, chicken blood tofu, duck blood tofu, fairy tofu, and fried meatballs.
The portion of blood tofu was not enough, so two tables had duck blood tofu and one table had chicken blood tofu. Together they were considered one dish, which made nine big bowls in total.
There was also a dish of pork liver, a radish bone soup that was being stewed, and no vegetarian dishes.
There are more than a dozen dishes in a meal, and meat dishes make up the majority. If this is not sumptuous, how can it be considered sumptuous?
Therefore, both tofu dishes became the dishes on the table today. Mrs. Chen had a hunch that Sang Luo had other plans.
In the past, it took a long time to make the magical tofu. In addition, they had to walk more than 20 miles every day and set up a stall in the county for more than half a day.
Sang is not an iron man, how can he bear it?
Moreover, the old lady knew something about Sang Luo. She was a person who would remember every benefit others gave her and would repay them if she could.
The Shi and Lu families helped build the house, and I'm afraid Sang Luo has long wanted to lend a helping hand as a way of repaying them.
Mrs. Chen guessed that after the busy farming season of the Shi and Lu families, there would be someone in their families who would be able to be like her mother Fang, and would be able to benefit from Sang's craftsmanship and start a business.
…
The cooking was still going on in the kitchen. A group of children who were invited today and did not have to go to the fields to harvest rice arrived early.
The aroma of meat made the children drool, but they only dared to do what Shen Jin did, leaning against the gate to look inside. When they saw that there was no table in the yard, they knew that the feast would not start soon.
The glutton in my stomach was making a lot of noise and a few gurgling sounds came from my stomach.
Hu Zi: "Shen Jin, you have the best nose, can you smell what this dish is?"
Shen Jin: "Porridge bone soup with radish."
A group of little kids nodded vigorously.
"What else?" Hu Zi sniffed, "The radish smell is too strong. I can't smell anything else."
Shen Jin sniffed again: "Stewed chicken, braised pork, and..."
There was something else he couldn't recognize. The smell was pleasant and strong, even radish soup couldn't cover it, but he had never eaten it so he didn't recognize it.
He said, “And ducks.”
I can't smell it, but he plucked the duck feathers with his own hands today, hehe.
A few younger ones hissed when they heard it.
"Shen Jin, you are amazing. You can actually smell the flavors of so many different dishes."
"Third brother, when will uncle bring the table? Why haven't we started eating yet?"
"Yeah, why hasn't my dad come yet? Grandma told him this morning to come back early today to move the tables and chairs."
"I'm greedy and want to eat meat."
"I want to eat chicken."
Shen Jin: "I want to eat everything, and I only had two mouthfuls of porridge at noon, leaving some food for dinner."
Hu Zi was shocked, but that shock turned into admiration in an instant. He suppressed it, but still admired: "You are amazing. Why didn't I think of it?"
Today is the busy farming season, so it's rare for our family to give us dry rice. We also had fried eggs for lunch, but we couldn't control ourselves and he ate a little too much.
Hu Zi thought to himself that if he could learn from Shen Jin and save some space in his stomach, he would be able to eat more food.
Chicken, duck, braised pork!!!
He couldn't take it anymore. He was drooling from thinking about it and couldn't swallow it fast enough.
Chen An, who was busy tying the fence behind the house, vaguely heard some noise and came out to see a pile of dolls stacked up by the gate of his yard.
Those who are too small like Chentie and Chentian can’t even squeeze in and can only stand at the back.
Shen An came over: "What are you doing?"
A group of kids who were drooling at the kitchen turned around, and their eyes lit up when they saw Shen An.
"We were smelling what was on the menu tonight, you know."
Chen An smiled: "Good food, isn't it time for dinner soon? I'll see it soon, why are you in such a hurry?"
Shen Jin swallowed hard: "You don't understand, we have been looking forward to it for several days."
Shen An looked at him with disdain: “Wipe your saliva.”
Shen Jin: ???
Are you drooling?
He quickly raised his hand to wipe it.
Well, the liquid that hadn't come out originally came out after I wiped it off...
He wasn't the only one. When Shen An told them to wipe their saliva, except for the older Hu Zi, all the younger ones reacted the same way as Shen An.
Shen Ning, who came later, laughed when he saw this scene.
She said, "What's there to ask now? If I ask my second brother, he will only tell me what vegetables my sister-in-law bought. How can they look beautiful on the table later? Okay, go play on the side. Hu Zi and Xiao Jin, come over and help me and my second brother build the fence?"
A group of children listened to Chen Ning's words and went to play aside because they could come to Chen An and Shen Ning's house for a feast today. They scattered to the side, looking at the water pipe of the mountain spring, the banana leaf roof above the chicken coop, and even the wild flowers that they would tear down and have fun for a long time. Anyway, they gathered in groups of three or two and started playing by themselves.
The four older ones including Chen An went to build a fence. Hu Zi and Shen Jin were now very happy to work for Chen An's family. They were not afraid of having too much work, but were afraid of having no work to do.
Neither of them had ever built a fence before, but with Chen An and Chen Ning teaching them, they got the hang of it quickly.
Hu Zi looked at the land outside Shen An's yard: "Your house is getting different little by little every day, and it's getting more and more beautiful."
"That's right." Chen An was very proud and said, "My sister-in-law is very smart. Did you see that chicken coop? My sister-in-law built it herself. Isn't it amazing? Your chicken coop doesn't have a banana leaf roof, right?"
Hu Zi shook his head, and Shen Jin also shook his head.
Shen An: "Building a banana leaf roof is both beautiful and rainproof. My sister-in-law said that banana leaves are rainproof."
Shen Ning: "It's too hot and there's shade, so the chickens and ducks won't get too hot inside."
While working, the brother and sister showed off the chicken coop built by their eldest sister-in-law. Hu Zi also became eager to try it out and kept glancing at the Shen family's chicken coop.
How did he get one? Either he went home and asked his eldest and second brothers to get one as well?
Just as he was thinking this, he heard a commotion among the group of children playing beside the house. Hu Zi and his friends took a few steps forward to take a look, and they were so happy that they almost jumped up!
"My dad is here carrying the table!"
Sanniu also cheered: "My dad also carried a table!"
Gold, silver, and iron:
Their father never did anything for them.
Chen An stopped tying the fence and ran over to see if he needed help. Then he saw Da Niu and Er Niu carrying two stools each at the foot of the mountain. Da Niu was okay, but Er Niu was obviously struggling, so he hurried over to take them.
It was not only Shen An who went down to pick up the stools, because there were tables and stools being moved over here from the back. Shen Jin, Hu Zi, and even Shen Ning also ran down.
The children were as happy as if it were New Year’s Day and followed the adults carrying the tables into the yard.
Because the kitchen was built large enough, the front yard of Sang Luo's house was obviously much larger than the back yard, so the three tables that were carried in one after another were placed in the wrong positions, but they were still able to fit in.
A group of children carried stools and placed them next to the table, one by one.
It’s so lively.
Sang Luo came out and asked Chen Youtian, Shi Erlang and Lu Dalang who were delivering the table, and knew that the family would be here soon, so the dishes that needed to be heated were heated up, and those that could be put out were also put out.
When Shen Jin and his group saw the golden fried meatballs, they cried out in excitement. Mrs. Chen, who was helping to bring out the dishes, laughed when she saw this scene: "Don't touch anything on the table yet. We have to wait for everyone to gather, offer sacrifices to our ancestors, and place the Kitchen God before we can start the meal, understand?"
I don't know who took the lead, but they all shouted in unison that they knew.
Mrs. Chen went into the house with a smile on her face. The better the family invited more children, the more lively and popular the place would be.
Sang Luo in the kitchen was confused.
Do we also need to offer sacrifices to ancestors and place the Kitchen God? ? ?
She was totally unprepared for this.
As soon as Mrs. Chen came in, Sang Luo came over and said, "Grandma, I didn't know the two rules you just mentioned, and I didn't prepare for them."
The two old ladies were stunned.
Isn't this common sense?
Sang Luo: ...
It's really not her fault. She grew up in an orphanage and doesn't understand these things at all. She also has no ancestors, so how could she think of worshiping them?
Mrs. Chen looked at Mrs. Lu and asked, "Do you have any incense or candles at home?"
Mrs. Lu nodded: "Yes, I'll go back and get it."
Having said that, he walked out quickly.
…
The three families arrived very quickly. Old Mrs. Lu came back with incense and candles. Under the guidance of the two old ladies, Sang Luo placed a bowl of rice with a few pieces of braised pork as offerings, welcomed the Kitchen God, and offered sacrifices to their ancestors. Then Qin Fangniang and her group arrived.
Walking in front were Old Man Chen, who was holding a brazier and carrying a ladder, and Chen Youtian and his son. Behind them, everyone had something in their hands. Some of the boys, who were as big as oxen, were carrying firewood on their backs.
Sang Luo was still confused when Mrs. Chen led her to call Chen An again. She was surrounded by a group of people who came to the banquet today and started to observe some customs.
Although Sang Luo didn't understand the meaning of walking into the courtyard carrying a brazier from the ladder that had been placed on the ground, it was indeed lively.
After everyone entered the courtyard, Qin Fangniang presented the gifts she had brought, and naturally spoke auspicious words. The sisters-in-law of the Shi family and Lu Dalang's wife followed suit.
It was only then that Sang Luo realized that the three families had prepared rice, oil and firewood for her to bring them wealth and prosperity.
I really didn't know how to thank them for a moment. I collected the rice from the three families and poured it into the rice jar, then put the oil into the kitchen, and stacked the firewood under the eaves outside the kitchen, then hurriedly led everyone to their seats.
At this time, she realized that she didn't see the second daughter-in-law of the Lu family, so she hurried in to ask Mrs. Lu: "Grandma Lu, why didn't the second aunt come? I didn't see the child Xu either."
Old Mrs. Lu was originally busy in the kitchen. She was startled when she heard this and went out to take a look. Well, the whole family, including the people from the eldest wife, were there, including the third son. The only ones missing were the second son's wife and A Xu.
Old Mrs. Lu's face darkened. She looked at her eldest daughter-in-law, and saw that her good daughter-in-law was avoiding her gaze out of guilt and didn't even dare to look her in the eye.
Thinking about what I had said this morning, it is impossible for all of the big family members to come, because there are five people in the eldest branch, father and son, and four of them are invited. Of course, Sang said that the children should be brought along as well, which naturally includes children like Shitou who did not go to help.
But with so many people in the Lu family, they are really shameless enough to sit down at someone else's house for a banquet.
Because four out of the five people from the first wife's family were invited, and the third son was also going, Mrs. Lu thought it would be bad to leave out the mother and son from the second wife, so she said early in the morning that the eldest daughter-in-law Chunniang would bring her fourth grandson Shitou to have dinner at her home today.
She didn't expect that her second daughter-in-law and grandson didn't come, but her eldest daughter-in-law and Shitou were there.
The old lady's cheeks tightened, and she tried hard not to show her displeasure, nor did she want to shame her eldest daughter-in-law to ask her to go back. As things had come to this, she could only say to Sang Luo, "Mrs. Liu felt that it was not good for too many people to come, and she wanted to rest at home, so she didn't come."
Sang Luo: "What do you mean? A greenhouse is all about having a lot of fun."
He turned around and called Shen Ning: "Go and invite your second aunt Lu and your brother Axu to come to the banquet."
Shen Ning responded crisply, turned around and ran out.
Old Madam Lu laughed and said, "How can I explain this? It seems like we are a big family and we are here to eat at a rich man's house."
Mrs. Chen saw what was going on and took over the conversation with some jokes, making everyone laugh. Only then was the matter temporarily over.
Old Mrs. Lu acted as if nothing had happened. She smiled and asked Qin Fangniang and others to go into the kitchen to help serve the dishes.
A few women came in and out several times, and the tables gradually became full. There were three tables filled with delicious food, which stunned everyone in the yard.
Qin Fangniang and Shi's sisters-in-law, who were helping to serve the dishes, were also a little slow to react.
This is too sumptuous. It makes me dizzy.
Everyone swallowed their saliva, but no one dared to sit at the table.
Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "What are you standing there for? Come to the table. I think it would be good if there were one table for each of men, women, and children. If there's room, we can put a few people in. If there's a crowded place, we can just stand by the table and stretch our arms a little."
There are three tables, and everyone can sit down if we squeeze together.
Everyone sat down in a noisy atmosphere, but after they sat down, no one started eating, as they wanted to wait for the second daughter-in-law and grandson of the Lu family.
When Mrs. Lu saw this, she waved her hands and said, "Don't wait. There are so many dishes. Come anytime and eat anytime."
Old Man Lu also said the same thing. Sang Luo looked at Mrs. Chen, who also nodded. She then said, "Okay, then let's start the meal. I bought a small jar of wine for Grandpa Chen and Grandpa Lu's table. I'll go get it right away."
"There's still wine?" Shi Erlang's eyes lit up.
Sang Luo smiled: "Not much, probably just enough for everyone to have a few drinks, uncles and aunts, please don't blame me."
"No wonder." Shi Erlang laughed heartily, "Just let me touch my lips. I haven't had a drink in half a year."
Sang Luo went into the kitchen with a smile, and came out soon holding the small jar of wine.
Seeing the wine, even Old Man Chen and Chen Youtian, who usually seldom spoke, couldn't help but show a hint of excitement on their faces.
Old man Chen said with a smile: "Alie's wife, I won't be polite to you today. I'm going to ask you to spend money today."
Sang Luo smiled and said, "It's just a jar of wine, what's the big deal? Just eat it up, Grandpa."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
