Chapter 202 Wang Zhou's Choice
When Lin Heng woke up again, the sun was already bright. Xiulan had also woken up a long time ago. Seeing Lin Heng wake up, she smiled and asked, "What nightmare did you have last night?"
Lin Heng waved his hand and said, "Nothing, I just suddenly dreamed of a group of snakes."
"Oh, I see." Xiulan blinked, a little surprised that Lin Heng was actually scared by the snake.
Then she hugged him and said with a smile: "It's okay, I'm here."
Lin Heng held Xiulan's face and looked at it for a while, then lowered his head and kissed her.
Noticing Lin Heng's actions, Xiulan immediately closed her eyes obediently.
Afterwards, the two had a profound conversation and then stayed in bed for a long time to rest.
There was nothing else to do in the middle of winter, so Lin Heng ate a big meat bun to ease his discomfort and had some fun activities with Xiulan.
After getting up, Lin Heng felt a little tired when practicing archery in the yard. He couldn't help but shook his head, thinking that it was really tiring to do this kind of thing early in the morning.
After practicing archery for a while, Lin Heng did morning exercises with Xiulan again.
Arriving in the kitchen, Xiulan and Lin Heng moved away the large wooden basin used for making tofu skin.
After uncovering the gauze and looking at the bean curd skin, Xiulan nodded and said, "Not bad, it's a success."
Bean curd skin is different from tofu. Tofu cannot be pressed too hard to retain some moisture.
The tofu skin must be squeezed hard to completely drain the water inside to form beautiful tofu skin.
“It smells great!”
Lin Heng smelled it and felt like eating hotpot. This tofu skin hotpot is absolutely delicious.
After looking at the bean curd skin, Lin Heng went to look at the oil skin, which had also been formed and was very thin and looked very good.
Then the two of them took out all the other tofu. The normal tofu was snow-white and delicate, the mugwort tofu had dark green mugwort leaves, and the cabbage tofu had yellow-green cabbage leaves.
Without exception, all of them are square, this tofu mold is very powerful.
"Let's go to the fields and get some straw." Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and said.
"I can go alone, you stay in the house and look after Xiaoxia." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"That's fine." Xiulan nodded.
Lin Heng took a rope and went out of the yard to carry the straw.
It is windy and gloomy today. Looking towards Shanghe Shimen Village, you can see the snow-capped mountain tops.
The snow on the mountains never melted, and the branches were covered with white frost at night. The view in the morning was quite amazing.
Not long after walking, Yang Zhaotao came over, greeted with a smile and said, "Where are you going, Lin Heng, so early in the morning?"
"Go get some straw, and you."
"I'm going to pick some vegetables from the vegetable garden..."
After chatting casually for a few minutes, Lin Heng left.
The fields are not empty in winter, but are planted with rapeseed, which is now lush green and very resistant to cold.
Lin Heng picked some good straw from the haystacks beside the field and took it home.
When he got home, Xiaoxia was already up and chasing Xiongba around the yard to play.
Seeing Lin Heng coming back carrying straw, she and Xiongba looked over at the same time.
"Just put it on the ground."
Xiulan looked at him and smiled.
This straw is used to make fermented tofu. It contains natural bacteria that can make the tofu ferment quickly and grow white hair.
There is no artificial fermented bean curd koji. People in rural areas use rice straw to make fermented bean curd at home.
Xiulan sorted out a batch of clean and tidy straw and spread it on the bamboo basket.
Then cut the white tofu into small square pieces with a side length of three centimeters, place them on straw, cover them with a lid and place them in their warm bedroom to wait for fermentation.
Generally, fermentation is completed in three to four days.
Xiulan used thirty kilograms of tofu to make fermented tofu. They all loved to eat fermented tofu, and she would make dozens of kilograms of it every Chinese New Year.
After finishing the fermented bean curd, Xiulan cut the rest of the white bean curd into small pieces and put them on a bamboo rack to bake.
Use a fire under the bamboo fence and put wet wood on it for smoke. In a few days, all the tofu will turn into dried tofu.
Compared to tofu, the shelf life of dried tofu is much longer.
"I'll make breakfast. You take a piece of tofu to my parents and my sister-in-law's house respectively." Xiulan handed the prepared tofu to Lin Hengdao.
Lin Heng took his daughter to deliver the tofu, chatted with them for a while, and strolled around the village for a while.
A group of children in the village were playing hopscotch, and Xiaoxia stood in front of them and watched curiously.
It was quite lively under the big ginkgo tree, but Xiaoxia was too young and could only giggle and couldn't play.
Lin Heng watched these children playing games, and the distant childhood in his memory gradually became real.
"Let's go home."
Shaking his head, Lin Heng took Xiaoxia back home.
When they came back, Xiulan's meal was ready.
Rice was cooked in the morning. In addition to the usual stir-fried meat with shredded sour radish and braised dishes, there was also a steamed mugwort tofu topped with bright red garlic and chili, which gave off a strong aroma.
There is also a vegetable, tofu and matsutake soup in the middle of the table, which is fresh and fragrant and will whet your appetite.
The mugwort tofu with a little garlic and chili makes you want to eat more while feeling the spiciness. Stir-fried pork with shredded sour radish is even better to go with rice.
After the meal, the soup was served in a bowl. The matsutake and black truffles elevated the taste of the soup to a higher level, with the fresh aroma of the mixed bean and mushroom flavors.
After the meal, Lin Heng diluted the bean dregs with water and served them to the female musk deer and red dates.
The red dates were as beautiful as usual, and I squinted my eyes comfortably through the bean dregs.
The female musk deer's belly is much bigger than before, and it can be seen that she is pregnant, but I don't know how many cubs she will give birth to.
Generally speaking, musk deer only give birth to one cub during their first pregnancy, but from the second onwards they will usually give birth to two cubs.
Lin Heng can’t be sure now, he can only be sure after it gives birth.
The female musk deer is now completely tamed and will not move even if you touch it with your hand.
The male musk deer was a bit timid and would instinctively back away when touched.
It doesn’t matter if I compare myself to Lin Heng, as long as he is not sick.
After finishing these things, the house is basically free and there is nothing else to do.
The three of them sat lazily in the bedroom, Lin Heng drinking tea and reading a book, Xiulan knitting a sweater, and Xiaoxia playing with her toys.
Time passed slowly, and three days went by in a blink of an eye. It was already January 7, 1984 in the Gregorian calendar, and the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1983.
Lin Heng and Xiulan went to check the fermented tofu as soon as they got up in the morning. When they opened the lid, they saw that the tofu was covered with a layer of dense white hairs.
Xiulan said happily: "This time it was very successful, more successful than ever before."
"That's great." Lin Heng said with a smile, turned around and went out to find a basin, and put all the fermented tofu into the basin.
Because I made so much, it took two pots to fill it all.
After putting it in the kitchen, Lin Heng and Xiulan went to wash up and exercise first.
After finishing their exercise, the two came over to continue making fermented tofu.
The jar for fermented tofu had been prepared long ago, and Xiulan had already prepared a lot of ingredients used to make fermented tofu, including chili peppers, garlic, ginger, pepper powder, fennel powder, etc. yesterday.
This powder is mainly composed of chili peppers, supplemented by various other spices. Pour it into a bowl and mix it with your hands, mashing and crushing the fermented tofu so that it is thoroughly blended with the spices.
After the fusion is completed, it can be put into a clay jar. Lin Heng used a large clay jar that was maroon in color, thick on the top and thin at the bottom, which could just hold 30 kilograms of fermented tofu.
After the fermented tofu is packed, the last step is to pour the wine. Pour the best grain wine to submerge the fermented tofu so that it is completely immersed in the wine.
Then seal the jar and place it in a cool and ventilated place for fermentation. Generally, by next summer, the alcohol will almost disappear, leaving only a little bit of wine smell, and then you can eat it.
And as time goes by, the smell of alcohol will completely disappear, leaving only the smell of fermented tofu and spices. At that time, whether it is used directly as a side dish or added to a dish, it will be an extremely delicious delicacy.
The two men carried the things and placed them in the bedroom behind the kitchen. The bedroom was now uninhabited and was filled with miscellaneous items.
After finishing, Lin Heng wrote a date and pasted it on the jar: "Okay, I'll wait until next year to eat fermented tofu."
Xiulan blinked and smiled, "Then let's make a stir-fried pork with fermented bean curd in the morning."
"good."
Lin Heng naturally had no objection to this, he liked this dish very much.
Stir-fried pork with fermented tofu is made by diluting the fermented tofu with a little water and stir-frying it with pork belly. When it is done, the meat is completely wrapped in the fermented tofu broth. If you like this taste, you will feel full of happiness after taking a bite.
Mixing this soup with rice or eating it with tofu has a unique flavor and is a rare delicacy in rural areas.
After breakfast, Lin Heng went to Liu Cihua’s house. As soon as he arrived at Hongfeng Mountain, he found that she was grazing cattle there.
She was a little happy when she saw Lin Heng, but she quickly pretended to be reserved.
Seeing her like this, Lin Heng smiled and said, "I'm here to bring you a message. If you have time tomorrow, you can go to town to meet Wang Zhou."
Liu Cihua blushed and nodded gently: "I understand."
Lin Heng nodded, said this and turned back.
In the afternoon, he told Xiulan about his plan to go into the city the next day. He wanted to sell the musk and see if there was anyone who would buy his century-old ginseng.
"Then go ahead, just be careful." Xiulan nodded. Naturally, she had no objection to this.
With his wife's consent, Lin Heng fed his son some red dates when it got dark, and set off on his horse early the next morning.
Grass is a plant that can take root as long as there is a little soil. Even this road, which has been trampled hard by people, is covered with a layer of white frost in the morning.
The clatter of horse hooves left one hoof print after another on the white frost. It was a unique experience to ride a horse against the cold wind in this winter morning.
It was only eight o'clock in the morning when they arrived at Huangtan Town. Wang Zhou had just washed his face and was counting the goods.
Seeing Lin Heng, he couldn't help but be surprised and said, "Brother Lin, you came so early today, is there anything going on?"
Lin Heng nodded and said with a smile: "Indeed, there is something. First of all, I told Liu Cihua that she will come down to shop today. You can find time to talk to her then.
The second thing is that I am going to the city, please get some grass to feed the red dates to me."
Hearing about Liu Cihua, Wang Zhou did not show his usual joy. Instead, he looked at Lin Heng and stammered, "Brother Lin, my parents came down a few days ago. They said they found a girl for me and asked me to meet her during the Chinese New Year and then we can arrange the marriage."
"Did your parents introduce you to me?" Lin Heng was stunned, a little surprised.
Wang Zhou nodded: "They said that the girl is very good and they like her very much. I am following Brother Lin now and your salary is stable. Many people have introduced me to potential partners."
Ever since his parents told everyone about his monthly salary of 20 yuan, people who had previously despised him came to propose marriage to him, which made him deeply realize the power of money.
"What's your name?"
Lin Heng looked at him and asked.
He was planning to train Wang Zhou to be his confidant, because this man was honest, obedient and easy to use. But if he had a wife he was not familiar with, that might not be the case.
This kind of honest man can easily be bewitched by his wife.
He remembered that in his previous life, he was able to marry his wife because he saved some money by driving a tractor. Later, when he lost the opportunity to drive a tractor and had to farm, he was beaten and scolded by his wife every day, and even none of their three children were his own.
Wang Zhou looked at Lin Heng and said, "My mother told me that the girl's name is Wang Cuilian and she's from the village next to us."
When Lin Heng heard the name, he immediately remembered that Wang Zhou’s wife in his previous life also had the same name, so it was most likely that they were the same person.
Although they were not familiar with each other in his previous life, this incident was so explosive that everyone in the surrounding villages knew about it, and he also remembered the woman's name.
Lin Heng looked at Wang Zhou and smiled slightly: "So what do you think?"
Wang Zhou looked at Lin Heng, hesitated for a moment and said: "I...actually I still like Liu Cihua, but my parents don't let me marry her, saying that Wang Cuilian is better."
After hearing what Wang Zhou said, Lin Heng felt a little relieved. If he didn't even have this little bit of awareness, then he wasn't worth helping.
"This is an easy matter. If you have really made up your mind and want to hang out with me, I will tell you a way." Lin Heng looked at Wang Zhou and said with a smile.
He remembered that Wang Zhou's parents didn't care much about him, but their attitude changed only after Wang Zhou started making money recently.
"Of course I'll follow you, Brother Lin. Whatever you say is what I'll do."
Wang Zhou had no hesitation about this. In the process of getting along with Lin Heng, he had already been conquered by Lin Heng's outstanding knowledge and vision, and had made up his mind to follow Lin Heng. He felt that this was the biggest thigh and noble person in his life.
Lin Heng was very satisfied with Wang Zhou's attitude. He smiled and said, "Go back and tell your parents that I introduced Liu Cihua to you. If they don't agree, you can't continue to work for me.
And if you can marry Liu Cihua, your monthly salary will increase to 30 yuan next year."
There is no need for any means, money is the best means. I believe that the power of this sentence is enough to make his parents give up all their previous plans.
"Thirty yuan!!" Wang Zhou opened his mouth wide. This salary was the same as that of bank employees.
Lin Heng smiled slightly: "This is just the beginning, and it will be improved in the future. I will not treat my own people unfairly."
Wang Zhou nodded immediately and said, "Thank you, Brother Lin. I will work hard. I will express my feelings to Liu Cihua today and tell my parents when I get home."
He believed that his parents could not resist the temptation of the thirty yuan. To hell with Wang Cuilian, he just wanted to cling to Lin Heng's thigh.
(End of this chapter)
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